PHP Devlopment (CMS/eCommerce) Rich, functional, beautiful database driven websites. Complete front/back-ends customized to the needs of the client. Programmers on site to customize your Content Managment System. Site maintenance plan. Small buisness, personal, or commercial.

A word about PHP.
PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor is a widely used, general-purpose scripting language that was originally designed for web development to produce dynamic web pages. For this purpose, PHP code is embedded into the HTML source document and interpreted by a web server with a PHP processor module, which generates the web page document. As a general-purpose programming language, PHP code is processed by an interpreter application in command-line mode performing desired operating system operations and producing program output on its standard output channel. It may also function as a graphical application. PHP is available as a processor for most modern web servers and as a standalone interpreter on most operating systems and computing platforms. PHP was originally created by Rasmus Lerdorf in 1995 and has been in continuous development ever since. The main implementation of PHP is now produced by the PHP Group and serves as the de facto standard for PHP as there is no formal specification. PHP is free software released under the PHP License. Rasmus Lerdorf, who wrote the original Common Gateway Interface component, and Andi Gutmans and Zeev Suraski, who rewrote the parser that formed PHP 3. PHP originally stood for personal home page.


PHP (Practical Use)

You have read the technical definition of PHP, but may not understand the lingo. You may be wondering if there is a more practical way of explaining things and how PHP can relate to your needs.

To justify the use of PHP, one does not have to have a certain SIZE website, nor does one have to have a certain TYPE of website. If all you are doing on your website is showing an image or two, or posting a paragraph of text, PHP can do this just as easily as pure HTML can. However, setting up PHP to communicate with a database is used mostly for things a little more dynamic than what we just described. Perhaps you have an online shopping cart that needs to have its inventory updated periodically. Perhaps you need to be able to update your home page text or images and you have no knowledge of web design. Perhaps you need to keep a running count on how many people are subscribing to your newsletter. These are all perfect scenarios for using PHP. Can you imagine the ease and comfort of being able to log in to a particular page and update content on your own website, without needing any web design knowledge? This is what PHP with a database can do.

PHP vs. Java today

Now that PHP has a variety of wonderful IDEs to develop in, and now also supports OOP just as effectively as Java, why aren’t more corporations switching to PHP? The answer is simple. Change happens very slowly in large corporations. Furthermore, if your corporation is made up of hundreds of Java developers, and your entire system is already built in Java, how could it possibly make sense to suddenly switch to PHP? It wouldn’t make sense. As a result, most larger corporations are essentially locked into Java development, while smaller companies are more capable of building a foundation for their systems in PHP.

PHP vs. ASP

(You may also read about this in our knowledge base) When it comes to cost and expenses, ASP programs need to run on Windows with IIS installed on the server. You need to purchase both of these components in order for ASP to work. On the other hand, a PHP would only require running on a Linux server, which you can get at no cost.

PHP is very flexible when it comes to database connectivity. It can connect to several databases of which the most commonly used is MySQL. Note that there is no cost to use MySQL. But, if you were to use ASP, you need to purchase MS-SQL, which is a Microsoft product.

Loading speed is a big factor in maintaining a website. If you are particular about speed, then you need to go with PHP. PHP code runs much quicker than ASP because it runs in its very own memory space. However, ASP uses an overhead server and uses a COM based architecture.

In working with PHP, most tools associated with the program are mostly open source software, so you do not need to pay for them. For ASP, you might need to buy additional tools to work with its programs.

Both PHP and ASP have its own advantages and disadvantages. It depends on which part of developing a website you are most concerned with. Are you worried about the cost of creating your website? Do you want to use a programming language that you are more familiar with? Do you want a more stable and faster website? Choosing between ASP and PHP depends on your own personal preference. Involution Media can do both.

Website and Database Security

We can:

Implement a Security Policy following PCI Complience Analyze existing code to find vulnerabilities Offer Comprehensize Whitelist Filtering Strengthen your foundation to protect sensitive data Deploy Database Security Measures

About Security

Ben Parker once advised his young nephew Peter, whose super-hero alter ego is Spider-man, that "with great power comes great responsibility." So it is with security in PHP applications. PHP provides a rich toolset with immense power—some have argued that it is perhaps too much power—and this power, when used with careful attention to detail, allows for the creation of complex and robust applications. Without this attention to detail, though, malicious users can use PHP’s power to their advantage, attacking applications in a variety of ways. Involution Media will custom tailor a Security Policy that protects against these attack vectors, providing you with the means to mitigate and even eliminate most attacks.

Website security refers to the security of the elements of a website through which an attacker can interface with your application. These vulnerable points of entry include forms and URLs, which are the most likely and easiest candidates for a potential attack. Involution Media focuses on these elements to protect against the improper use of your forms and URLs. In short, proper input filtering and output escaping will mitigate most of these risks.

We recommend that you read more about Security in our Knowledge Base

XHTML CSS Development ( New design, redesign, or refurbish )

Involution Media offers a variety of html structures. Custom CSS Layouts. Cross browser attention. Proper site indexing and web ready metadata expertiese. Site maintenance plan. Small buisness, personal, or commercial.

A word about CSS
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a style sheet language used to describe the presentation semantics (the look and formatting) of a document written in a markup language. Its most common application is to style web pages written in HTML and XHTML, but the language can also be applied to any kind of XML document, including SVG and XUL. CSS is designed primarily to enable the separation of document content (written in HTML or a similar markup language) from document presentation, including elements such as the layout, colors, and fonts. This separation can improve content accessibility, provide more flexibility and control in the specification of presentation characteristics, enable multiple pages to share formatting, and reduce complexity and repetition in the structural content (such as by allowing for tableless web design). CSS can also allow the same markup page to be presented in different styles for different rendering methods, such as on-screen, in print, by voice (when read out by a speech-based browser or screen reader) and on Braille-based, tactile devices.


CSS (Laymans Terms) read about CSS in our knowledge base

It takes time to learn the power of CSS. Forget everything you learned with table-based layouts. CSS Divs are not a straight substitute for table columns. They CAN be used for positioning page elements, but their power goes way beyond this.

A well defined CSS driven structure adds a level of efficiency and greater ease in modifying the appearance of a website. What if one could maintain his front-lawn in a CSS sense? Using a hand held device she enters height and color values, and instantly every blade of grass on the lawn is exactly the same height and color (wouldn't that be nice). A scenario such as this might apply to the copy on a website. Changing the font size, color, name, etc. for every page in a site would undoubtedly be cumbersome. Defining a single CSS object from which all copy elements reference would allow for dramatic modifications to the appearance of all copy on all pages in a snap.

Consider maintaining landscape elements in a predictable cascading effect. One may want all shrubs to be of equal width and height. However, they may want to define the color and petal size of the orchids produced based on the species of plant. In this scenario we would reference two CSS objects for each bush. The first is the same for each shrub, doing all the trimming so that each plant is of equal width and height. The second is specific to each species, defining what the orchids will look like. This scenario could represent the layout of a web page. A general layout such as equal columns with equidistant spacing. However, the similarities may end there as we may want to implement some type of distinction between each column. Whether the distinction is a background graphic, borders, or some other attribute, those instructions may be provided by means of a subsequent reference that adds more specific detail to the individual columns. The analogies mentioned should provide general understanding about CSS. One could certainly go into great depth regarding specific implementations and practices. Involution Media uses CSS in all of it's designs to maximize it's potential on the WWW.

Graphic Design ( Company or personal logos, banners, and letter head )

We offer a wide range of graphic design. Vector Illustrations. Raster editing/manpulation and/or touch up. DVD cover design and authoring.

A word about Raster and Vector graphics
Raster Graphics:
In computer graphics, a raster graphics image or bitmap is a data structure representing a generally rectangular grid of pixels, or points of color, viewable via a monitor, paper, or other display medium. Raster images are stored in image files with varying formats (see Comparison of graphics file formats).

Vector Graphics:

Vector graphics is the use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and shapes or polygon(s), which are all based on mathematical equations, to represent images in computer graphics.

Responsible Graphical Use

Involution Media pays close attention to what graphics we decide to implement on your platform. Different platforms call for different types of graphics and we understand that it is a highly individualized process. Let us give you an example of how Involution Media maximizes the efficiency of graphic design to better suit the ease and comfort of the end user:
Say your website requires very large background images to be displayed on all of the pages of your website. The first problem that you might consider is how large in file-size these images are and if the end user will be able to cache them in a timely manner. The second problem that you might encounter is incorrect placement of the images on the web page. Are they placed correctly with CSS to give a consistent viewing across all browsers? Involution Media will make sure to pay close attention to file size, and the CSS that is embedding your images. Pre-loading images via CSS is one of our specialties and vital at times when there are a lot of images to cache throughout the website.

Adobe Illustrator Graphics

We are all flash artists by nature here at Involution Media so we are used to working inside a Vector based platform such as Adobe Illustrator. Adobe Illustrator is very powerful and is our basis for superior graphic design from the start all the way to the printer.

Adobe Flash ( New design, redesign, or refurbish )

Motion Animation, vector graphics design and manipulation. Action Script 3.0 Rich interactive experiences with Flash. Cross browser and flexible bandwidth attention. Flash Games for all ages. Database driven websites using FLASH/PHP. Site maintenance plan. Proper site indexing and web ready metadata expertiese.

A word about Flash
Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash) is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to Web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements and games. More recently, it has been positioned as a tool for "Rich Internet Applications" ("RIAs"). Flash manipulates vector and raster graphics to provide animation of text, drawings, and still images. It supports bidirectional streaming of audio and video, and it can capture user input via mouse, keyboard, microphone, and camera. Flash contains an Object-oriented language called ActionScript. Flash content may be displayed on various computer systems and devices, using Adobe Flash Player, which is available free of charge for common Web browsers, some mobile phones and a few other electronic devices (using Flash Lite).


Adobe Flash Basics Adobe Flash, formerly Macromedia Flash in basic form would allow you to create a page flip book animation where when you flip the pages really fast it would reveal an animation because on each page is a different picture. In Flash this is called "frame by frame animation" where on each frame of the timeline it reveals a different position, shape, color, or version of the same object. Today, with the help of Action Script 3.0 there is a lot less frame by frame animation being produced in a flash program, but it still to the core is based on key frames.

One could produce a 2 MB .SWF using the native flash UI with frames only which would create a longer than normal load time for the end user, especially those with lower internet connections speeds. The same Flash movie could be produced with Action Script 3.0, shrinking the file size down to a few Kilobytes. Using Action Script could say for example dynamically import images or text to the Flash stage compared to having them load from the library. This is just one of many ways to dynamically load content into a Flash movie externally instead of "in house." This saves a lot of room because of the sheer size of the images themselves. When you publish a flash movie to create a SWF it will take everything that it needs and compress it the best it can according to your publish settings. Imagine if you had 100 JPEG's to compress from withen the Flash Library; this would create an enourmas SWF depending upon the average size of the JPEG. Now imagine the same 100 images sitting in a folder somewhere on the webserver, being loaded in via XML and Action Script dynamically; this is much more realistic and right sized. This is why it is encouraged to animate with Action Script rather than just using the timeline and key frames. Many animationists hate having to learn a scripting language just to be able to produce a reasonably sized SWF from Adobe Flash but the trade off is well worth it. People in general do not like to have to WAIT for results and when you have a long loading web page the risk of your client leaving is much higher due to frustration.

Adobe Flash has many benefits as well as many liabilities in the digital world today. It has its purpose and should be used at the sole discretion of the client's needs as it pertains to the overall goal of the website. If the website is not meant to draw traffic but only to show off someone's art work then yes, use Flash. If you are actually trying to drum up business online and attract as many people as possible then use Adobe Flash only as a cosmetic somewhere on the website, making the rest of the site HTML/CSS. Never ever use Adobe Flash entirely for your website unless it is justified. Perhaps if one day Adobe Flash is more friendly with the major search engines in terms of being able to be indexed properly, crawled, and cached just like normal meta data, perhaps then will using a FULL FLASH website be encouraged for those that want to be found.

Database Migration

Database Migration from Microsoft Access to MYSQL Data Cleansing Data Repair Complete and accurate replication of all forms, reports, and misc data using PHP/Jquery Library/Ajax. Access Application Analyzation Security Layout And Plan

This is a basic overview to communicate our understanding of the fundamental needs concerning Database Migration. Involution Media can deploy a complete database migration from an existing Microsoft Access Database to a MYSQL Database. In doing so we can also translate all current Database forms to PHP to allow for the same Database inserts, updates, select(view), and delete queries which will give the administrator and/or staff complete or otherwise limited control over the entire schema. The new Database will in essence go from being local, to remote. The new platform will be a secure platform (PCI Compliant) backed by Secured Socket Layer to make ensure proper protection from eavesdroppers, hackers, and malicious phishing software that is ever-present, always present.

Rough over view of how we do it:

Phase 1: Initial Database Migration Properties

A successful migration path has three fundamental tasks:
1. Rebuild the schema: we will create a new schema in MySQL that mimics the current SQL Schema rather than trying to simply recreate the Access schema in MySQL outright.
2. Clean the data: we will extract the data from the Access database, cleanse the data, and then import the data into the new MySQL schema.
3. Rewrite the application: we will rebuild the Access application using PHP. Involution Media will be using our Mysql Data Migration tool to deploy the migration. However, this tool is only as good as the underlying schema and data of the database to be converted. Because schema and data quality issues are so pervasive with Access, we might find it easier to rebuild the data schema in MySQL from scratch. Upon a deep overlook of certain ACCESS databases the following things could be discovered: Some of the Access data is lacking primary, foreign key, and referential integrity constraints. Some Access data is not clean: in part because the tables were not dened rigorously. As a result some of the data in the database is corrupted. This should not be taken as cause for concern. It only establishes an accurate methodology for the migration.

If you have a question about obtaining our services for any type of Database Migration feel free to contact us HERE.

Consultation/Facilitating (Windows/Mac)

At Involution Media we offer consultation for your current web project or for your own personal use.

Part I: Conception - Business objectives are defined with the client along with outlining the specific goals of the Web project, developing a creative brief as well as defining the particular target audience.

Part II: Architecture – A Site Map and navigational outline are developed along with a Wire Frame of the web site which provides the outline or storyboard that represents all the decisions pertaining to development and design. This critical step maps out every design, information architecture, navigation, usability and content consideration for a client’s approval prior to the actual production of the site.

Part III: Fabrication – Creative concepts will be presented to the client at this time. Upon final creative selection the actual Web site build out will commence. A very crucial component Involution Media utilizes in Web site design and development is building a search engine friendly site – if search engine spiders aren’t able to access the site due to programming code, dynamic URLs, no Meta Tags or poor keyword rich content, the Web site will not be indexed and visitors will have a difficult time finding the site.

Part IV: Implementation – Prior to launch, the Web site is extensively tested to assure the site is error free. Upon launch of the site, on-going tracking and monitoring will be conducted to assure good search engine placement and quality traffic is being driven to the site.

The end result is one that provides a good experience for the user by using good graphic design, effective copy writing and excellent web site usability, with the end goal of converting visitors into customers.

If you are interested in utilizing our Web project design expertise or would like a consultation and recommendations for your Web site, contact Involution Media today at (704) 907-1048.

We also offer consultation in the following software and scripting languages:

• Adobe Flash CS4-CS5
• Adobe Photoshop CS4-CS5
• Adobe Dreamweaver CS4-CS5
• Adobe Sound Booth CS4-CS5
• Adobe Premier Pro CS4-CS5
• Adobe AfterEffects CS4-CS5
• Adobe Fireworks CS4-CS5
• Adobe Illustrator CS4-CS5
• PHP
• LAMP(Linux,Apache,Mysql,PHP)
• HTML/XHTML
• CSS
• Digital Media

Have a question that you need help answering? Contact us today.

SEO (Search Engine Optimiziation)


Powerful SEO package offered. We understand that unless you can be found, a beautiful website is only that, "beautiful." All of our websites are clean and comply with up to date web standards to ensure maximum search engine benifets.

Our question to you:
Can your website be found in natural search results? Involution Media can help you change the design and structure of your website and linking strategy, improving your company's organic or natural search engine ranking. We do this by using accepted search engine optimization (SEO) techniques.

A word about search engine optimization:
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the visibility of a web site or a web page in search engines via the "natural" or un-paid ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results. Other forms of search engine marketing (SEM) target paid listings. In general, the earlier (or higher on the page), and more frequently a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine. SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, video search and industry-specific vertical search engines. This gives a web site web presence. As an Internet marketing strategy, SEO considers how search engines work and what people search for. Optimizing a website may involve editing its content and HTML and associated coding to both increase its relevance to specific keywords and to remove barriers to the indexing activities of search engines. Promoting a site to increase the number of backlinks, or inbound links, is another SEO tactic.