J. K. Barbalace, inc

Website Development Services

Since 1995 Kenneth Barbalace has been developing award winning websites using industry standard best design practices and recommendations. Websites we design are optimized for search engines, load quickly even across slow Internet connections and look and function correctly across the broadest range of web browsers possible - including on mobile devices like Android smart phones and tablets as well as iPhones and iPads. We can even recommend a web hosting provider who is extremely reliable to host your site for you.

Dynamic Database Driven Websites

Websites we develop are dynamic database driven sites that run on Apache, PHP and MySQL using Linux, FreeBSD or Windows Server. Using our custom built content management system our clients can update their websites on their own without having to come back to us for every little thing. Our content management system, which a customer accesses via a private webpage address, allow the content of the web site to be updated without using special software or having any knowledge of HTML. This reduces the overall cost of ownership for a web site as the customer does not have to hire us each time they need to update the content of their site. Because these tools are web based, no special software is needed (e.g. HTML editors, etc.). If desired, even images can be uploaded directly to the site without editing (e.g. from digital camera).

Website Promotion & Search Engine Optimization

A well designed website is of little value if it can't be found. Websites we develop have a proven track record of doing very well in search engine results. Using over a decade of experience, we develop our sites from the ground up to gain maximum exposure in search engines. Over the years we've seen a lot of search engines and search engine optimization fads come and go. Our strategies are based on long term sustainable results. We don't chase the fad or search engine of the day and thus don't have to retool sites every time search engines change things around. We also don't play the SEO games and gimmicks that put sites at risk of being penalized by search engines. Our oldest and most successful site EnvironmentalChemistry.com consistently shows up on page one of search results for a wide range of search phrases with users having found this site using over 400,000 different search phrases between 5/1/2008 and 4/30/2009.

See our primer on Search engine optimization and website promotion

Web Server Environments Supported

We develop sites for the Apache/PHP web server environment using MySQL or Microsoft SQL. We prefer to develop in the open source Apache/PHP/MySQL environment because the cost of web hosting is much lower for this environment as opposed to choosing a Microsoft solution..

Design Standards

Currently our sites are designed to the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) HTML5 CSS3 and CSS specifications and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 (WCAG 1.0) and will work correctly on all popular modern browsers. In addition throughout the development process, our websites are rigorously tested against a wide range of browsers including: Microsoft Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari, Opera and mobile browsers for smart phones and tablets. This testing ensures that our websites function and display correctly across the widest range of web browsers possible. Websites we develop display identically on up-to-date web browsers, degrade gracefully on older or limited browsers and are fully accessible for those with visual impairments (e.g. dynamic braille display).

Designing for Accessibility

As a general practice, we design sites for "Priority One" compliance of the W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 (WCAG 1.0) and encompass almost all of "Priority Two" and "Priority Three" recommendations. This means that sites we design are accessible (as defined by WCAG 1.0) by individuals with disabilities like blindness. In most cases we are able to make sites we design Priority One compliant without writing special alternative pages.

At this point in time, laws regarding web site accessibility are for the most part unclear. If, however, a site meets one of the following two criteria, it must be designed for at least Priority One compliance:

• The site is a U.S. federal government site (currently existing sites do not need to be retrofitted, but relaunches must be);
• Any site belonging to an institution that receives funding from the Assistive Technology Act State Grant program, which includes most states and many educational institutions.

Although most sites are not at this time required to be accessible, laws surrounding this issue are evolving and designing for accessibility from the start could save on an expensive redesign later. In addition, it will show a good faith effort that could avoid expensive litigation as individuals try to find creative ways to apply the American's with Disabilities Act (ADA). Most importantly, however, by designing a site to be accessible, one is showing that they are a responsible member of the Internet community and want to make sure their site is accessible by everyone including those with disabilities.

More information and resources regarding accessibility laws can be found on our Accessibility Resources page.