Latest Posts

Busy Year and More Updates

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It is time for another news update. The previous year and months have been fairly busy. Hopefully as time permits more updates to the blog will be coming. Before we can do that, there will be some upcoming changes to the GCO Studios website. We look forward to adding new hosting services to compliment our web design services and packages. The portfolio section will also get revamped and more clients will be added. Finally, a new demo site will be up and running to showcase some of the work that we specialize in. Stay tuned for the up coming changes.

Flatpress Review: Blogging without a Database

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Not too long ago, I started searching for a blog system that worked without a database. What I found was Flatpress. Although there are other alternatives on the net, Flatpress seems to have a good community behind it. Plugins are available to extend the blog’s capabilities and there are community members available to answer questions. Of course there is the online documentation available as well as the Flatpress wiki.

So what makes this blog system without a database so interesting? Well the fact that you server doesn’t have to access your information stored in a database simply means your blog reacts quicker to requests. The information is stored in text files and images are uploaded straight to your server. The back-end section is fairly simple and intuitive. There are additional plugins that can enhance and increase the ease of use of the admin section.

This alternative to WordPress is a great tool for anyone that doesn’t have access to a database but wants to have a self hosted blog. Themes can be developed for this system or you can develop your own theme. In any case it is a great tool and in future I will write some tutorials on how to develop themes or modify Flatpress.

How To Make Your PC into a Web Server

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When it comes to web development having a personal web server can be very convenient. It makes it quicker to develop websites, test them and debug any issues. However, not everyone can go out and rent a web host or setup a full web server. For the aspiring developer, web designer or just for the everyday hobbyist the best alternative to developing websites is to use your personal computer as a web server.

There are many great applications on the internet that can help you turn your everyday Windows PC into a web server. The two that come to mind are Xamp and Wampserver. Both of these applications are executable files which can install onto your computer and allow you to run a local web server so that you can experiment with web development. For people that own a Mac, there is the Mamp version designed specifically for Macs.

From personal experience, I prefer using Wampserver because it is much easier to use and it has a nice system trey icon to allow you to access various features of the server. Keep in mind that these are not the only programs on the internet for setting up your home computer into a web server. There are other alternatives out there but these are perhaps the best known with the most up to date support. Which program you use choose is up to you.

Updates Complete

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So it seems that I have completed work on all the updates to the website. Of course within the next few days if any browser issues arise I’ll be fixing them. For the moment GCO Sudios’ new website is ready. I’ll also be uploaded screenshots of previous versions of the site and some concept designs that I had initially considered.

So what can you expect now? In the following days I will start creating tutorials for any visitor who is looking for information on how to do simple or complex coding with WordPress and some ecommerce tutorials. I may start with an Opencart tutorial and will continue blogging on a daily basis, trying to maintain my consistency for the tutorials. In addition I will be setting up a new Youtube account to host tutorial and “How to” videos, especially on subjects that are hard to find online.

Thank you for your patience,

Jose Guerra

Redesigning the Site

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For the past several weeks I have been working on rebranding and redesigning the GCO Studios website. Although the previous design was nice, I felt that it lacked in it’s overall appeal. I therefore decided, after attending a seminar, that it was time to rebrand the site. I am very pleased with the results and will continue my daily updates as I make progress with the website.