2008-Nov-9 - Testing website load time - "WebWait"

The test result may not be authority, but using the same criterion to test every time, it is convenient enough.

WebWait is a tool for testing specified website load time.

If a site loads slowly, user will soon go to other alternative sites. To prevent that from happening, sites need to do accurate check on speed before release.

It is good to use this tool to compare the results from your own site and other sites.

Further more, you can set multiple tests interval. e.g. test 5 times every 60 seconds, and it will calculate the average load time automatically (to avoid accidental test result).

To make a comfortable site, it is a good idea to make use of this tool.

2008-Oct-7 - Drag & Drop, Simple task management tool "Scrumy"

I think this really simple task management tool would be good for Agile development.
Scrumy does not require member login, and supports simply drag & drop tasks.
It's very easy to access, just add the project name after Scrumy's domain name and that's it.
Following that is to add stories and tasks. Drag & drop tasks to move between To Do, In Progress, Verify, and Done.
It is clear to anybody what the tasks are and where they are. Different owners have different colors on their task sheets. It's amazing.
Since there's no member login requirement, security is quite loose. But it is pretty convenient for quick projects within a team.

2008-Sep-29 - Checking broken links under specific URL - "Dead-Links"

Dead-Links is a simple tool that helps you to check whether the links to the page under the URL you specified are broken.

If some links on your website are broken, it may not only embarrass you, but also lose some users or customers.

There are similar tools already, but this one has an explicit domain and simple interface, it's convenient to use.

Although it takes some time to check, it's not bad to do periodic check on your own blog or site.

2008-Sep-5 - Screen Capture Software linking with Bug Tracking Systems - "Bug Shooting"

This is a good concept. Improvements on the other screen capture tools I used.

Bug Shooting is basically screen capture software. The selling point is that it can add comments and markings onto the screenshot, and send to the bug tracking system immediately.

It is true that when reporting a bug, attaching a commented screenshot is helpful, but sometimes the process is troublesome. So this tool manages the whole process and makes bug submitting easier.

Here's a short tutorial for the tool.

2008-Aug-19 - 14 Steps to Faster-Loading Web Sites

From "High Performance Web Sites", Steve Souders.

1. Make fewer HTTP requests
2. Use a CDN
3. Add an Expires header
4. Gzip components
5. Put CSS at the top
6. Move JS to the bottom
7. Avoid CSS expressions
8. Make JS & CSS external
9. Reduce DNS lookups
10. Minify JS
11. Avoid redirects
12. Remove duplicate scripts
13. Turn off ETags
14. Make Ajax cachable and small