Mar 8

Widgets for Webmasters
March 8, 2007
Posted in: Site Management by CSS-Hoster

I used to hate widgets. Truth is, I think they are cheap little toys, on par with filling a room with dolls or figurines or anything else that might make an otherwise appropriate looking room appear to be a playground for subjects of a Law & Order SVU plot.

That was, of course, until I realized that the multiple browsers tabs I had open, constantly refreshing, to check everything from my adsense to site stats to support chat were just plain stupid. So I gave the widgets thing a shot, and came up with 5 widgets no webmaster should be without. I did my best to put them to offer both a Windows (Yahoo) and Apple (OSX) version, but unfortunately only 1 support chat provider (AliveChat) offers a desktop widget, and they only offer it for Mac.

Web Site Up Time
Who in their right mind would keep a browser open to their site to constantly check if its up? Who in their right mind wouldn’t want to know if their site went down? Easy solution: widgets.

WatchMouse SiteMonitor

My Site Monitor

Chat Monitoring
I know, I know, not everyone needs support chat on their site. I have added this one because it is by far the most helpful (if you do use support chat services). Chatters demand an instant response, and I just don’t want to keep my browser open at all times. Oh yeah, did I mention that prices start at FREE!

AliveChat

Email Monitoring
This one I use solely for monitoring support email addresses. I get too much spam in my regular inbox to warrant quick notification, plus I prefer to use my site’s ticketing system to manage support emails anyway. This just notifies me when the messages arrive, rather than having to devote half my screen to a Thunderbird window.

eCheck

PopCheck

FTP
Ever need to just fix 1 file, and don’t want to waste your time opening a bulky ftp program? If you answered no to this question, you are wrong. You have just forgotten and should seek medical attention for what surely is a dangerous, debilitating condition that is causing selective memory loss. If you answered yes, then you need an FTP widget.

FTP Uploader

MiniFTP

Site Statistics
Visit site.com/cpanel > log in > click stats > click webalizer > click month > scroll down to day > realize that today’s stats won’t show till tomorrow > repeat the next day. Or just get a site stats widget and know. right. now.

AEcounter

ShortStat

Adsense
I am greedy. I mean really greedy. I think about risky bank heists and strongly consider forwarding chain mail. However, I am also terrified of prison. So, instead, I rely upon Adsense, and watch that ticker like it’s a pacemaker. “What, no one has clicked in the last hour? I might die!” Get an adsense widget and save yourself.

RevenuSense