Our toy drive has come to an end and we are so thankful for everyone who participated. We’d also like to extend a huge thank you to the Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) organization of Northern Michigan for helping to spread the word and distribute the toys to families in need this Holiday Season!

For all of those who donated via our online donation button, we are truly grateful! We were able to match the contributions dollar for dollar, which doubled the total number of toys that we were able to purchase.

This year CloudAccess.net is helping to collect toys and gifts for children in need this Holiday season. You’re invited to help this noble cause by donating any unwrapped toys or gifts appropriate for girls and boys from ages 6 - 16. All received toys and gifts will be donated to the Big Brother Big Sister Organization.

Suggested Items:

In case you need some ideas here’s a list of suggested items:

Sporting equipment/bags/balls; books, backpacks, cosmetics, purses, watch/wallet gift sets, stuffed animals, bath gift sets, board games, radio control cars/trucks, hand-held electronics, skateboards/helmets, curling irons, hair straighteners, hair dryers and art/craft sets. Toys guns or weapons will not be accepted.

Introducing DB Find and Replace

As a website builder or administrator, there are a few types of headaches or so called “web-aches” that you may be keenly aware of. At CloudAccess.net, we are in the business of alleviating these so called web-aches... our goal is to make building and running a website easier, and that all starts with understanding the needs of our customers.

Today we would like to announce DB Find and Replace; a highly anticipated tool within our control panel. Don’t be fooled by it’s seemly elementary name.. this is a powerful tool that can save hours of troubleshooting and helps sooth various types of web-aches primarily associated with the WordPress CMS.

Any aspiring web developer is familiar with the overwhelming number of template choices available in the community. Whether it be for an ecommerce, school, or nonprofit site, it’s critical to find the proper look and feel to give your visitors the best possible first impression. This blog offers some things to consider while you begin your template hunt.

Locate the right developer

Finding the perfect template is definitely going to involve some research. You'll want to make sure the template developer is reputable and has good reviews and ratings. You can start by browsing our list of recommended 3rd party template developers like Yootheme, RocketTheme, Gavickpro and more. We’ve already done some screening for you and we can vouch for the companies on our list. Another factor to consider while looking through template developers is to make sure there is some way to contact them. Check to see whether or not they have a call center or sort of support ticket system. This is very important just in case you ever find a bug or if you have a template-related issue. If you have a problem with the template you won’t want to be left in the dark and be forced to go through the search process again to find a new template.

Determine your skill level

Take into consideration your own skill level when it comes to development. Are you an experienced developer with knowledge of CSS or are you a novice? You might ask why this matters - the template should be ready to go, right? Templates do work out of the box, but this really should be one your top considerations in your search process because some templates may have little to no configuration settings in the administration area. For example, there may be no color picker or style presets, and if you don’t know CSS, you’ll have to find someone who does in case you need something changed. If you’re inexperienced with CSS, I definitely recommend making sure your template comes with a good set of backend features like a color picker, menu/module layout editors, and multiple presets to choose from. When these options are available, you can really customize a template with no knowledge of CSS.

We often see tickets about slow-loading sites or sites at a complete standstill. Most clients' first reaction is to blame the server, but this typically isn't the server's fault. Time and time again the very first thing we check is whether or not the client has Memcache enabled within the Global Configuration area of their Joomla site.

What is Memcache?

Memcache (memory caching) works within core Joomla and is a server-side caching technology. CloudAccess.net offers memory caching as part of our servcies, but the problem with Joomla and memory cache is that, once you start adding plugins, components and other extensions to your site, things become more complex. If Memcache is turned on and 3rd party extensions are installed, there may be compatibility issues that cause a looping effect, ultimately slowing down your site.

This looping effect slows down your site’s load time or could cause the site to become completely unresponsive. If you want your site to use memory caching you have to program it into your PHP code. The core Joomla CMS has a decent implementation of Memcache and we hope to see continued improvements overtime. If your site is only core Joomla, go ahead and try out Memcache and run a speed test. If you use 3rd party extensions, templates, modules, and other things that render when the Joomla site is called upon by a browser, your site may be slow to load.