Web Essentials News http://www.web-essentials.asia/ Web Essentials News en Web Essentials News http://www.web-essentials.asia/fileadmin/templates/main/images/rss_icon.png http://www.web-essentials.asia/ 23 23 Web Essentials News TYPO3 - get.content.right http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Mon, 14 May 2012 20:52:55 +0700 Dominik on Board of ICT Business Association http://www.web-essentials.asia/ Please join us in congratulating Dominik Stankowski who has been elected into the ICTBA Executive Board. In February, Dominik was elected to be the Treasurer of ICTBA for 2012. Commonly known, ICTBA is a business association created to foster knowledge and experience sharing among ICT professionals in Cambodia. Also, it represents Cambodia's ICT sector internationally. The Executive Board now consists of the following people: · President: Mr. Pily Wong · Vice President: Dr. Sok Siphana · Vice President: Mr. Franck Touch · Secretary General: Mr. Mike Gaertner · Treasurer: Mr. Dominik Stankowski This year, the ICTBA will focus on one side to increase the membership base and grow the association toward a bigger business exchange platform (networking, selling, sourcing/purchasing, advertising). On the other side, the association will position themselves to work with the government on better ICT development policies (e.g ICT education, import duties on ICT products and services, Intellectual properties). Additionally, Dominik with his team facilitates the development of the new website for the ICTBA, based on the world's most used enterprise CMS, TYPO3. We wish him all the best and success in all of his new endeavors. For detailed information about the ICTBA, please contact this email: contact@ictba.com or this website: www.ictba.com (soon to be relaunched). Dominik Stankowski who has been elected into the ICTBA Executive Board. In February, Dominik was elected to be the Treasurer of ICTBA for 2012. Commonly known, ICTBA is a business association created to foster knowledge and experience sharing among ICT professionals in Cambodia. Also, it represents Cambodia's ICT sector internationally. The Executive Board now consists of the following people: · President: Mr. Pily Wong · Vice President: Dr. Sok Siphana · Vice President: Mr. Franck Touch · Secretary General: Mr. Mike Gaertner  · Treasurer: Mr. Dominik Stankowski This year, the ICTBA will focus on one side to increase the membership base and grow the association toward a bigger business exchange platform (networking, selling, sourcing/purchasing, advertising). On the other side, the association will position themselves to work with the government on better ICT development policies (e.g ICT education, import duties on ICT products and services, Intellectual properties). Additionally, Dominik with his team facilitates the development of the new website for the ICTBA, based on the world's most used enterprise CMS, TYPO3. We wish him all the best and success in all of his new endeavors. For detailed information about the ICTBA, please contact this email: contact@ictba.com or this website: www.ictba.com (soon to be relaunched).]]> Announcements sotheavy@web-essentials.asia Mon, 09 Apr 2012 10:03:00 +0700 First TYPO3 Conference in Asia http://www.web-essentials.asia/ From 17 to 19 August 2012, the first TYPO3 Conference in Asia will take place in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia: T3CON12 ASIA! Web Essentials is glad to be a sponsor of this event and works closely with the Cambodian TYPO3 User Group to realize T3CON12 ASIA. T3CON12 ASIA provides a great opportunity to learn more about the enterprise Content Management System TYPO3, the next generation PHP framework FLOW3 as well as Mobile Development. Participants can connect with local and international decision-makers, developers and designers from the TYPO3 community and wider ICT network. The conference (17-18 August) will consist of 2 tracks: TYPO3/FLOW3 and Mobile Development. The conference ticket also allows access to a 3-day informal training week that will be held following the conference (27-29 August). This training week will be dedicated to programmers and also help facilitate knowledge transfer between East and West. A special student's day will be held on 19 August in order to boost TYPO3/FLOW3 awareness in the region. To international participants, the conference provides a glimpse into a different culture and allows to explore opportunities in emerging markets. Learn more about Cambodia's flourishing ICT industry as according to its ICT Business Association, Cambodia aims to become “the Silicon Valley of the ASEAN”. But don't forget to combine business with leisure as Cambodia, the Kingdom of Wonders, has a lot to offer. Enjoy a tuk tuk ride through the bustling city of Phnom Penh, visit Angkor Wat, the famous temples in Siem Reap, and relax at one of the beautiful beaches. If this is not enough for you then you can catch a short flight to Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, or Saigon and discover other highlights in the region. To local participants the conference provides a true opportunity to meet TYPO3 core developers as well as learn why TYPO3 is the world's most used enterprise CMS. Looking forward to seeing you soon in Cambodia! TYPO3 / Web Development rebecca@web-essentials.asia Mon, 20 Feb 2012 14:32:00 +0700 Project Quality Advisor Joins Web Essentials http://www.web-essentials.asia/ It is our pleasure to welcome Mrs Christina Hong as the Project Quality Advisor for Web Essentials. She joined our team in November 2011. Christina has extensive experience in client relationship, clinical project management and supervision of cross-functional teams with companies in the United States. Hence, in her new role, she will be sharing her expertise in the area and providing advise and guidance to Web Essentials' production teams. Before joining Web Essentials, Christina worked as a consultant for Outcome Sciences from June 2010 until now. She was involved in identifying key work streams and issues in project management and creating process improvement solutions. Prior to that, she worked as a program manager and senior project manager at Outcome Sciences for about four years. There, she provided daily supervision for 6 project managers, allocated resources amongst team members and developed business proposals. Christina earned her master's degree in Business Administration from Brandeis University in the United States, and a bachelor degree in International Relations from Boston University. Mrs Christina Hong as the Project Quality Advisor for Web Essentials. She joined our team in November 2011. Christina has extensive experience in client relationship, clinical project management and supervision of cross-functional teams with companies in the United States. Hence, in her new role, she will be sharing her expertise in the area and providing advise and guidance to Web Essentials' production teams. Before joining Web Essentials, Christina worked as a consultant for Outcome Sciences from June 2010 until now. She was involved in identifying key work streams and issues in project management and creating process improvement solutions. Prior to that, she worked as a program manager and senior project manager at Outcome Sciences for about four years. There, she provided daily supervision for 6 project managers, allocated resources amongst team members and developed business proposals. Christina earned her master's degree in Business Administration from Brandeis University in the United States, and a bachelor degree in International Relations from Boston University. ]]> Announcements People Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:01:00 +0700 Web Essentials Welcomes Christmas and New Year 2012 http://www.web-essentials.asia/ Christmas and New Year celebration is a very enjoyable and happy time for everybody. For Web Essentials, it is a special occasion to gather all staff and their families together for a party. So, what did Web Essentials actually do to celebrate this special occasion? On December 17, Web Essentials threw a wonderful Christmas party at Elephant Blanc resort. This celebration was a special time filled with fun events and delicious meals for the staff and their family members. To begin the Christmas party, our director, Dominik, shared how Christmas has always brought him new hopes and dreams to develop Web Essentials. This party was more exceptional than last year’s since we planned an interactive program including role-play of the Christmas story, show contest, gift exchange and dancing. The party was filled with memorable activities because of active contribution from all staff. Everyone had major roles in their performances and demonstrated how creative and funny they can be on stage. We especially prepared gifts for the best performance. We even had presents for the kids which were handed out by Rebecca, the HR and Admin manager. Time seemed to fly while we enjoyed the party together. Laughing, smiling and joy was certainly in every staff. This great moment showed that we are all in the same unique family, the WE family. Christmas and New Year celebration is a very enjoyable and happy time for everybody. For Web Essentials, it is a special occasion to gather all staff and their families together for a party. So, what did Web Essentials actually do to celebrate this special occasion?

On December 17, Web Essentials threw a wonderful Christmas party at Elephant Blanc resort. This celebration was a special time filled with fun events and delicious meals for the staff and their family members. To begin the Christmas party, our director, Dominik, shared how Christmas has always brought him new hopes and dreams to develop Web Essentials. This party was more exceptional than last year’s since we planned an interactive program including role-play of the Christmas story, show contest, gift exchange and dancing. The party was filled with memorable activities because of active contribution from all staff. Everyone had major roles in their performances and demonstrated how creative and funny they can be on stage. We especially prepared gifts for the best performance. We even had presents for the kids which were handed out by Rebecca, the HR and Admin manager.

Time seemed to fly while we enjoyed the party together. Laughing, smiling and joy was certainly in every staff. This great moment showed that we are all in the same unique family, the WE family. 

]]> Announcements People Wed, 28 Dec 2011 15:21:00 +0700 Better Plan TYPO3 Projects with Agile Estimating http://www.web-essentials.asia/ Absolute estimating of programming tasks proves to be challenging in (too) many cases. When development takes longer than foreseen, any or several of the following areas are impacted: quality, finances, resource planning and client satisfaction. Studies reveal that 2 out of 3 software development projects are unsuccessful because they are over budget, late, missing function or a combination – in short: estimating fails frequently enough. Agile Estimating - Better Project Management Agile Estimating is a methodology for project managers to better plan their projects in advance and to keep their planning up-to-date and accurate throughout the development process. Violeng Mam, head of the project managers team at Web Essentials and Dominik Stankowski, CEO of Web Essentials presented Agile Estimating at the TYPO3 Conference T3CON11 in Germany. Agile Estimating - Talk at T3CON11 in Frankfurt The talk has been attended by a good number of participants and has triggered interesting discussions about the importance of solid project management. We believe that project management will become increasingly important in Web development projects as more and more websites are transitioning to Web applications and new technical complexities will have to be faced and overcome. New business requirements and better interoperability with other systems is going to put high demands on project teams. Agile Estimating - How It Works In Agile Estimating, estimates of tasks are done on a relative basis using an independent unit instead of hours or days. As the team progresses on its tasks, indicators such as the actual business situation, the constitution of the team, the learning progress of the team members and the feedback of the client are tracked. These indicators are fed back into an updated planning allowing for more accurate forecasts and giving a better basis for decision making. Presentation slides of "Better Plan TYPO3 Projects with Agile Estimating" Video of "Better Plan TYPO3 Projects with Agile Estimating" Agile Estimating - Better Project Management Agile Estimating is a methodology for project managers to better plan their projects in advance and to keep their planning up-to-date and accurate throughout the development process. Violeng Mam, head of the project managers team at Web Essentials and Dominik Stankowski, CEO of Web Essentials presented Agile Estimating at the TYPO3 Conference T3CON11 in Germany. 

Agile Estimating - Talk at T3CON11 in Frankfurt

The talk has been attended by a good number of participants and has triggered interesting discussions about the importance of solid project management. We believe that project management will become increasingly important in Web development projects as more and more websites are transitioning to Web applications and new technical complexities will have to be faced and overcome. New business requirements and better interoperability with other systems is going to put high demands on project teams. 

Agile Estimating - How It Works

In Agile Estimating, estimates of tasks are done on a relative basis using an independent unit instead of hours or days. As the team progresses on its tasks, indicators such as the actual business situation, the constitution of the team, the learning progress of the team members and the feedback of the client are tracked. These indicators are fed back into an updated planning allowing for more accurate forecasts and giving a better basis for decision making.  Presentation slides of "Better Plan TYPO3 Projects with Agile Estimating"
Video of "Better Plan TYPO3 Projects with Agile Estimating"]]> Announcements TYPO3 / Web Development Mon, 19 Dec 2011 09:46:00 +0700 Do You Underspeak? http://www.web-essentials.asia/ Approximately 3000–6000 languages are spoken by humans today. Knowing languages connects people from different parts of the world and is a personal capital. But learning a language might be a stressful and costly experience for many. Since September 2011, there is an alternative available: www.underspeak.com. New Language Learning Platform Web Essentials was responsible for the design of underspeak.com and the technical implementation. Web Essentials is proud to be a part of this revolutionary project and congratulates the founders of underspeak.com to its going live in September 2011. The website has been realised with TYPO3, the world's leading enterprise CMS. “Web Essentials constanly exceeds our expectations” said Adrian Schneider and Marco Steuri, Founder of www.underspeak.com. Learning a Language a Stressful Experience for Some... Learning a language in class can be a sobering and stressful experience for many students. Not everyone can cope with the pressure of being exposed in front of other class mates. The truth is, everyone can learn a language. What it needs is the right tutor and the right environment. But not everyone can afford an expensive private tutor. And its hard to find someone who can teach an exotic language. ... But Easy With underspeak.com This will be different from now on. The new underspeak.com platform is a directory of language tutors and students. This colorful website opens up the possibility to get in touch with a potential language tutor. The language lessons will happen while using Skype. The user can present his language skills on an innovative scale. And only with some clicks, you can find the tutor who can teach your language of desire. Uncomplicated, straight forward, cheap and geographically independent. Do you want to learn some Khmer or Swiss German? You will find me on underspeak.com. Do you underspeak? www.underspeak.com.

New Language Learning Platform

Web Essentials was responsible for the design of underspeak.com and the technical implementation. Web Essentials is proud to be a part of this revolutionary project and congratulates the founders of underspeak.com to its going live in September 2011. The website has been realised with TYPO3, the world's leading enterprise CMS. “Web Essentials constanly exceeds our expectations” said Adrian Schneider and Marco Steuri, Founder of www.underspeak.com.

Learning a Language a Stressful Experience for Some...

Learning a language in class can be a sobering and stressful experience for many students. Not everyone can cope with the pressure of being exposed in front of other class mates. The truth is, everyone can learn a language. What it needs is the right tutor and the right environment. But not everyone can afford an expensive private tutor. And its hard to find someone who can teach an exotic language.

... But Easy With underspeak.com

This will be different from now on. The new underspeak.com platform is a directory of language tutors and students. This colorful website opens up the possibility to get in touch with a potential language tutor. The language lessons will happen while using Skype. The user can present his language skills on an innovative scale. And only with some clicks, you can find the tutor who can teach your language of desire. Uncomplicated, straight forward, cheap and geographically independent.

Do you want to learn some Khmer or Swiss German? You will find me on underspeak.com. Do you underspeak?

]]> Announcements Portfolio Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:25:00 +0700 Web Essentials Brings TYPO3 to Barcamp Phnom Penh http://www.web-essentials.asia/ On October 22nd – 23rd, Barcamp Phnom Penh took place with more than 1500 people attending. As the only web development company in Cambodia to specialize in TYPO3, Web Essentials contributed speakers for the sessions and co-sponsored the event. Web Essentials also shared their knowledge of the Content Management System TYPO3, which is one of the world's most used CMS. CSS3 vs. jQuery Proves to Be Popular Web Essentials had five representatives present their topics which were all related to web development. However, the topic that Web Essentials got the most attention and participants was “CSS3 vs. jQuery” which was presented by their frontend expert, Sophy Prak. It was a very active and energetic talk because there were around a hundred people attending this talk. Active Khmer TYPO3 Community The next topic that got good attention from participants was “Create an awesome powerful website with TYPO3 CMS” which was presented by Dimanche Eat and Phalla Lay. Many participants learned about TYPO3 for the first time, and even what is a content management system. Three other topics that were prepared by Web Essentials were “Advanced web application development with FLOW3 Framework” presented by Visay Keo, “Plan your project better by using Agile estimating” presented by Violeng Mam, and “Be a part of the Khmer TYPO3 Community” presented by Sovandy Chin. Frankly speaking, all the topics received good feedback from the participants who said they understood well about the presentation. Web Essentials hopes to grow the TYPO3 community in Phnom Penh and help to make web development a popular and active industry. Web Essentials Staff Eager to Learn Barcamp Phnom Penh was not only a place where Web Essentials staff could contribute their knowledge to others but also a place where our staff could learn new things related to both social and IT knowledge. One of the most popular non-IT session was “Entrepreneur Opportunity Meeting Life Changing-Road to Success”, which mainly discussed strategies to become rich and become employers. Last but not least, Web Essentials would like to thank all the participants who made our presentations active and run smoothly. CSS3 vs. jQuery Proves to Be Popular Web Essentials had five representatives present their topics which were all related to web development. However, the topic that Web Essentials got the most attention and participants was “CSS3 vs. jQuery” which was presented by their frontend expert, Sophy Prak. It was a very active and energetic talk because there were around a hundred people attending this talk.

Active Khmer TYPO3 Community

The next topic that got good attention from participants was “Create an awesome powerful website with TYPO3 CMS” which was presented by Dimanche Eat and Phalla Lay. Many participants learned about TYPO3 for the first time, and even what is a content management system. Three other topics that were prepared by Web Essentials were “Advanced web application development with FLOW3 Framework” presented by Visay Keo, “Plan your project better by using Agile estimating” presented by Violeng Mam, and “Be a part of the Khmer TYPO3 Community” presented by Sovandy Chin. Frankly speaking, all the topics received good feedback from the participants who said they understood well about the presentation. Web Essentials hopes to grow the TYPO3 community in Phnom Penh and help to make web development a popular and active industry.

Web Essentials Staff Eager to Learn

Barcamp Phnom Penh was not only a place where Web Essentials staff could contribute their knowledge to others but also a place where our staff could learn new things related to both social and IT knowledge. One of the most popular non-IT session was “Entrepreneur Opportunity Meeting Life Changing-Road to Success”, which mainly discussed strategies to become rich and become employers. Last but not least, Web Essentials would like to thank all the participants who made our presentations active and run smoothly. ]]> Announcements Social Responsibility People Tue, 29 Nov 2011 16:14:00 +0700 Web Essentials Welcomes Social Media Advisor http://www.web-essentials.asia/ It is our pleasure to welcome Tim Brack as the social media advisor for Web Essentials. He joined Web Essentials in July 2011. Tim has extensive experience in communications and online marketing. As an advisor, he provides training and guidance to the communications and marketing teams. Click on this link to read his blog 5 Tips for Search Engine Optimization Besides working for Web Essentials, Tim is the Digital Marketing manager for Power Cloud Solution (Australia) where he is involved in marketing, social media and website management. Prior to that, he was an online communications/marketing manager for Kaplan for about two years. There, he worked with a SEO improvement initiative, and strategy development.Tim earned his master's degree in Organizational Communication from Charles Stuart University in Australia, and a bachelor's degree in Informatics from the University of Sydney. We wish Tim Brack all the best during his stay in Cambodia and a lot of great experiences! Tim Brack as the social media advisor for Web Essentials. He joined Web Essentials in July 2011. Tim has extensive experience in communications and online marketing. As an advisor, he provides training and guidance to the communications and marketing teams. Click on this link to read his blog 5 Tips for Search Engine Optimization Besides working for Web Essentials, Tim is the Digital Marketing manager for Power Cloud Solution (Australia) where he is involved in marketing, social media and website management. Prior to that, he was an online communications/marketing manager for Kaplan for about two years. There, he worked with a SEO improvement initiative, and strategy development.

Tim earned his master's degree in Organizational Communication from Charles Stuart University in Australia, and a bachelor's degree in Informatics from the University of Sydney. We wish Tim Brack all the best during his stay in Cambodia and a lot of great experiences!]]> Announcements People Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:27:00 +0700 5 Tips for SEO http://www.web-essentials.asia/ Search engines have the ability to drive huge amounts of traffic to your website so long as the site is optimised correctly. While good content is critically important to a website, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) still plays a big part in helping search engines to properly and efficiently index your website.The below tips cover some basic steps for SEO. Remember to not overdo any one element of SEO as search engines will see this as spamming.Tip #1: Cover the basics by using the Title and Meta Description tagsSometimes overlooked, the Title and Meta Description tags are likely to be the first elements that a search engine encounters when it looks at a page on your website. It is important to have unique text in the Title and Meta Description tags for each page of your website. Be careful to limit the amount of text that you use as well. Best practice states that Title tags should be less than 70 characters, while Meta Description tag on the other hand may be about 155 characters.Tip #2: Repeat keywords in the right placesIf you’re targeting a particular keyword on a page... ensure that the phrase is repeated in the right places on that page. For example, if you have a page that is about red shoes, then make sure you use “red shoes” in the Title tag, the Meta Description tag, the main heading (H1) tag and in the body text as well. The repetition helps to reinforce the page topic, letting Google know what your web page is about.Tip #3: Optimise image file names and alt textImages and photos are a big part of websites and help to break up large chunks of text. The main problem with images at the moment is that search engines cannot read the text that is embedded in the image. Luckily, there are a couple of other ways to tell the search engine what the image is about. Make sure to put in alt text for your images. This alternative text is good for accessibility and also for letting search engines know what is happening in the image. Additionally, consider using keywords in the image file name to reinforce the page topic.Tip #4: Utilise meaningful, readable URLs with keywordsMake sure that the URLs on your website are meaningful and user-friendly. Try to avoid URLs that include query strings, nonsensical combinations of characters or those that go into a very deep folder structure.Tip #5: Use free SEO toolsThere are many tools and resources out there to help you improve the SEO of your website. The good news is that a lot of them are free! Google Webmaster Tools also offers great free resources for seeing what queries your website displays for in search results and also what problems (if any) the google search engine has with your website. Open Site Explorer from SEOmoz is another great tool for analysing links that come in to your website and the rank that your website has with other websites.
The below tips cover some basic steps for SEO. Remember to not overdo any one element of SEO as search engines will see this as spamming.

Tip #1: Cover the basics by using the Title and Meta Description tags
Sometimes overlooked, the Title and Meta Description tags are likely to be the first elements that a search engine encounters when it looks at a page on your website. It is important to have unique text in the Title and Meta Description tags for each page of your website. Be careful to limit the amount of text that you use as well. Best practice states that Title tags should be less than 70 characters, while Meta Description tag on the other hand may be about 155 characters.

Tip #2: Repeat keywords in the right places
If you’re targeting a particular keyword on a page... ensure that the phrase is repeated in the right places on that page. For example, if you have a page that is about red shoes, then make sure you use “red shoes” in the Title tag, the Meta Description tag, the main heading (H1) tag and in the body text as well. The repetition helps to reinforce the page topic, letting Google know what your web page is about.

Tip #3: Optimise image file names and alt text
Images and photos are a big part of websites and help to break up large chunks of text. The main problem with images at the moment is that search engines cannot read the text that is embedded in the image. Luckily, there are a couple of other ways to tell the search engine what the image is about. Make sure to put in alt text for your images. This alternative text is good for accessibility and also for letting search engines know what is happening in the image. Additionally, consider using keywords in the image file name to reinforce the page topic.

Tip #4: Utilise meaningful, readable URLs with keywords
Make sure that the URLs on your website are meaningful and user-friendly. Try to avoid URLs that include query strings, nonsensical combinations of characters or those that go into a very deep folder structure.

Tip #5: Use free SEO tools
There are many tools and resources out there to help you improve the SEO of your website. The good news is that a lot of them are free! Google Webmaster Tools also offers great free resources for seeing what queries your website displays for in search results and also what problems (if any) the google search engine has with your website. Open Site Explorer from SEOmoz is another great tool for analysing links that come in to your website and the rank that your website has with other websites.

]]> Social Media Wed, 02 Nov 2011 16:02:00 +0700 Web Essentials in the Thaizeit http://www.web-essentials.asia/ Web Essentials was featured in the magazine Thaizeit this month. This magazine, which is in German, is the leading information platform for all who are interested in South-East Asia. The print magazine is published and sold bi-monthly in Germany and Thailand. However, all articles, news, and resources can be accessed for free on their website, www.thaizeit.de. Web Essentials is portrayed as a social business in Cambodia which trains young Cambodians in TYPO3, the world's number one Content Management System. Please have a look at the article which was written by Katja Dombrowski: Social Business bildet Internet Programmierer in Kambodscha aus was featured in the magazine Thaizeit this month. This magazine, which is in German, is the leading information platform for all who are interested in South-East Asia. The print magazine is published and sold bi-monthly in Germany and Thailand. However, all articles, news, and resources can be accessed for free on their website, www.thaizeit.de. Web Essentials is portrayed as a social business in Cambodia which trains young Cambodians in TYPO3, the world's number one Content Management System. Please have a look at the article which was written by Katja Dombrowski: Social Business bildet Internet Programmierer in Kambodscha aus]]> Announcements Social Media People Wed, 05 Oct 2011 13:12:00 +0700