Websites are found aplenty on the Internet, but it is the quality websites that are limited in number. Quality websites are made available by its interaction. The website should have the capacity of grabbing the attention of the visitor. Using bright and shiny gimmicks to attract the visitor to a boring site is just not worth it. It is the matter, the website with easy navigation tools and interactive media like comments and message boards help in making a good website!
It is of no use creating a website that looks like a giant advertisement where you have to search for the required information. Avoid adding pop-ups to your site, as there are many people who automatically leave the site if a bunch of commercial pop-ups appear on the screen! Another aspect of a quality website is your idea. Your website is basically an outlet of putting your identity out in the world. So just be yourself, because if you try to appeal to an audience in a way that is not your true self, you are surely destined to fail in the website.
The first part of creating a true, quality website lies in the planning of the site content. Here you have to discover the optimal niche for the website, correct keywords and the most profitable website concept. After this, you have to make your concept better and more profitable by analyzing the competition you have! Build your website with all the pages acting like highly ranked doorways for search engine optimization. This can be done using general rules of writing the body copy and using Meta tags of its pages.
Another powerful and flexible tool for building high quality web pages is the HTML codes. You can also find HTML validators that help make your web pages faultless, standard-compliant and a quality website. Use attractive graphics with graphic software to make your website more attractive and interesting. Banners can be created from scratch or by using free banner generators. Never forget to select a domain name that is productive to your website. You can find tips to create and register domain names that help in increasing the popularity and quality of your website.
Choose a reliable and cheap web hosting for better quality of your website. In fact, ‘free’ web hosting provides a low-cost solution for hosting multiple websites together. Those who know nothing about HTML, FTP and the like can create quality websites using online website builders. Just compare and review them to get the most popular website builder!
Whatever technique you employ, make sure that your website doesn’t look like it was designed by a novice. You can find tips on web page designing, the basics of web page backgrounds, tips on the usage of fonts on web pages and learn about the different methods of website navigation on the Internet. These all help in the building of a quality website for you!
About The Author
Thomson Chemmanoor Is a Webmaster and Search Engine optimizer for http://www.digitallabz.com & http://www.articlenetworks.com to read more about this article visit http://www.digitallabz.com/web-site-design.html
seo@digitallabz.com
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Turn Your Website into a Pot of Gold
Out of 500 million web pages, is yours among the very few that visitors will remember? Businesses are catching on as far as hiring professionals to design their websites. A professional looking website does give visitors an immediate, positive impression.
However, no matter how well designed, a basic website does not leave a lasting impression. Visitors won't forever recall your spiffy "Location" page or "About Us" section. They won't even remember how polished your fiery red logo looks.
There is one important key to leaving an impression on website visitors and potential customers. One way to go from "good website" to "awesome website, dude!" It will inspire a visitor to bookmark your site, link to you, or refer friends to your URL. The key is to provide a rich and useful website.
The basic website is like a skeleton. People know what it is, a web site (a skeleton), but if all the people you know sat around in nothing more than their bones, would you be able to pick out any one individual? If you want a thriving website, put some flesh on its bones. Be recognizable by developing a web site face for customers to remember.
There are various features you can add to enrich your business site:
- Q&A with an email or form for question submissions
- Informative FAQ's
- A quality links page or directory with personalized descriptions
- A blog (Write your own informative articles to feature on your website)
- Writing articles that are featured on other sites, but linked to from a page at your site
- Including quality article reprints from other writers
- How to's and DIY resources
- Offering your own monthly syndicated article to related and popular content-driven websites
- Managing an email list highly tailored to your customer base
- If applicable, including files about your products, product maintenance, troubleshooting, etc.
- Providing useful print outs and checklists
- Reviewing and testing products your customers use in relation to your field of work
- Thorough portfolios of work, perhaps with a positive account/summary from each job included
- Standing out as a leader in your industry by providing a resource, such as a mailing list, for others in your line of work
- Providing clips of interviews or television shows you've appeared in as an expert in your field
Anything that shows you know your business, that brands you as an expert, is gold for your business website and to potential customers.
It is prudent to choose just one or a handful of features. Overloading your website will only result in its neglect due to overwhelming demands on your time.
Over time you'll see your online referrals increase, as well as the kudos you get for having a great web site. You'll also have a major edge on any competitive companies who only have the basic cookie cutter info. on their sites.
Establish yourself, your experience and credentials, your expertise and willingness to share information, and you'll be in the lead before a potential customer even receives any quotes.
About The Author
Copyright 2005 Rachel Lower is a freelance writer and web designer from Toronto. Visit her websites at http://www.hardwoodflooringsites.com and http://www.RachelLauer.com. (please use live links)
However, no matter how well designed, a basic website does not leave a lasting impression. Visitors won't forever recall your spiffy "Location" page or "About Us" section. They won't even remember how polished your fiery red logo looks.
There is one important key to leaving an impression on website visitors and potential customers. One way to go from "good website" to "awesome website, dude!" It will inspire a visitor to bookmark your site, link to you, or refer friends to your URL. The key is to provide a rich and useful website.
The basic website is like a skeleton. People know what it is, a web site (a skeleton), but if all the people you know sat around in nothing more than their bones, would you be able to pick out any one individual? If you want a thriving website, put some flesh on its bones. Be recognizable by developing a web site face for customers to remember.
There are various features you can add to enrich your business site:
- Q&A with an email or form for question submissions
- Informative FAQ's
- A quality links page or directory with personalized descriptions
- A blog (Write your own informative articles to feature on your website)
- Writing articles that are featured on other sites, but linked to from a page at your site
- Including quality article reprints from other writers
- How to's and DIY resources
- Offering your own monthly syndicated article to related and popular content-driven websites
- Managing an email list highly tailored to your customer base
- If applicable, including files about your products, product maintenance, troubleshooting, etc.
- Providing useful print outs and checklists
- Reviewing and testing products your customers use in relation to your field of work
- Thorough portfolios of work, perhaps with a positive account/summary from each job included
- Standing out as a leader in your industry by providing a resource, such as a mailing list, for others in your line of work
- Providing clips of interviews or television shows you've appeared in as an expert in your field
Anything that shows you know your business, that brands you as an expert, is gold for your business website and to potential customers.
It is prudent to choose just one or a handful of features. Overloading your website will only result in its neglect due to overwhelming demands on your time.
Over time you'll see your online referrals increase, as well as the kudos you get for having a great web site. You'll also have a major edge on any competitive companies who only have the basic cookie cutter info. on their sites.
Establish yourself, your experience and credentials, your expertise and willingness to share information, and you'll be in the lead before a potential customer even receives any quotes.
About The Author
Copyright 2005 Rachel Lower is a freelance writer and web designer from Toronto. Visit her websites at http://www.hardwoodflooringsites.com and http://www.RachelLauer.com. (please use live links)
What Is A Domain Name And Where To Register?
A domain name is an alias for an IP address. Now what is an IP address? An IP address is a numeric code that signifies where to look through the Internet for content. An example of an IP address would be 22.226.141.25. Rather than typing in a long and easily forgotten IP address, a domain name helps you by typing an easily remembered name to access the same site.
For example, www.domainsatretail.com is a domain name that points to a specific IP address. People can remember a domain name such as www.domainsatretail.com much easier than they can a long numeric code.
Domain names are everywhere as many use it everyday. Think of search sites. Google and Yahoo both have corresponding domain names www.google.com and www.yahoo.com. If you have ever sent an email you have used a domain name. For example when sending an email to user@sympatico.ca, sympatico.ca is the domain name.
Now that we have a better understanding of domain names, we need to know which domain name to pick and where can we register it. The domain name chosen for a web site can be a very important decision of marketing your company on the Internet. Its quite easy to just say pick a catchy domain that everyone will remember to use and you are set. In most cases it is that simple and you are set on your way to register the domain. However, at times the domain name you want has already been taken. And then you must think of a secondary name that you wish to use that will be just as catchy as the first.
OK, now you have picked your domain name you want. What is next? You need to choose a registrar for you domain name registration. There are many registrars who sign up and are available for the year, but you get no service from them whatsoever. Here are two domain name registrars that I would recommend for completing your domain name registration.
1) Domains at Retail – my own registrar that registers domain names. We provide great service and have 24/7 customer support. .com domain names are normally on sale for $8.75 US / year, however they are currently being run on promotion for $7.95 US / year. Visit Domains at Retail at http://www.domainsatretail.com for Cheap domain registration and excellent customer service.
2) Domains at Cost – excellent registrar with very competitive prices. I use this registrar for my .ca domain name registrations and renewals. They offer an excellent price ($14.41 CDN per domain name registration) and I am always able to get someone on the phone and my questions answered. Please Visit Domains at Cost at http://www.domainsatcost.ca for .ca Domain Name Registrations!
Good Luck with your domain name registration process and your start to your online marketing!
About The Author
Michael Kralj
Michael Kralj is owner of Emenki Web Solutions and Domains at Retail.
Emenki Web Solutions are web site designers and programmers based in Hamilton, Ontario, providing businesses with an informative and strategic approach to establishing an online presence on the web.
Please visit Emenki Web Solutions on the web http://www.emenki.com
For example, www.domainsatretail.com is a domain name that points to a specific IP address. People can remember a domain name such as www.domainsatretail.com much easier than they can a long numeric code.
Domain names are everywhere as many use it everyday. Think of search sites. Google and Yahoo both have corresponding domain names www.google.com and www.yahoo.com. If you have ever sent an email you have used a domain name. For example when sending an email to user@sympatico.ca, sympatico.ca is the domain name.
Now that we have a better understanding of domain names, we need to know which domain name to pick and where can we register it. The domain name chosen for a web site can be a very important decision of marketing your company on the Internet. Its quite easy to just say pick a catchy domain that everyone will remember to use and you are set. In most cases it is that simple and you are set on your way to register the domain. However, at times the domain name you want has already been taken. And then you must think of a secondary name that you wish to use that will be just as catchy as the first.
OK, now you have picked your domain name you want. What is next? You need to choose a registrar for you domain name registration. There are many registrars who sign up and are available for the year, but you get no service from them whatsoever. Here are two domain name registrars that I would recommend for completing your domain name registration.
1) Domains at Retail – my own registrar that registers domain names. We provide great service and have 24/7 customer support. .com domain names are normally on sale for $8.75 US / year, however they are currently being run on promotion for $7.95 US / year. Visit Domains at Retail at http://www.domainsatretail.com for Cheap domain registration and excellent customer service.
2) Domains at Cost – excellent registrar with very competitive prices. I use this registrar for my .ca domain name registrations and renewals. They offer an excellent price ($14.41 CDN per domain name registration) and I am always able to get someone on the phone and my questions answered. Please Visit Domains at Cost at http://www.domainsatcost.ca for .ca Domain Name Registrations!
Good Luck with your domain name registration process and your start to your online marketing!
About The Author
Michael Kralj
Michael Kralj is owner of Emenki Web Solutions and Domains at Retail.
Emenki Web Solutions are web site designers and programmers based in Hamilton, Ontario, providing businesses with an informative and strategic approach to establishing an online presence on the web.
Please visit Emenki Web Solutions on the web http://www.emenki.com
Should You Bother Learning HTML to Build Webpages?
The most popular method to build webpages today is to use WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) software. Microsoft FrontPage and Macromedia Dreamweaver are prime examples of WYSIWYG software. Both programs allow you to create webpages as though you were creating a document with your favourite word processing software like Microsoft Word or WordPerfect. Its as simple as entering paragraphs, headings and inserting clipart or images.
WYSIWYG software like those listed above are prefect for beginner webpage builders who want webpages constructed quickly without having to learn HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language).
All webpages are brought to life using HTML codes, regardless what webpage building software is used. WYSIWYG programs simply create the HTML codes as you construct a webpage (in the background, without you knowing), so you don't need to understand them.
This is without a doubt the biggest advantage over any other type of webpage building programs. It means that if you can press keys on a keyboard, you have what is required to create your very own webpage!
However, most WYSIWYG programs don't give you absolute, total control over webpage design (ie, exactly the way you want the page to look). There are design limitations.
For example, you may want to place headings, sub headings and a navigation menu in a particular arrangement on the webpage, but no matter how many times you try, the program won't permit such placement or position them correctly. This is one big disadvantage of WYSIWYG programs if you desire a custom look to all your webpages.
Knowledge of HTML, however, can assist you to overcome such design shortfalls in WYSIWYG programs. How is this possible? Let me explain.
If you understand HTML codes, then you understand why webpages appear the way they do in a web browser, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox. This is powerful stuff because the moment you change/modify HTML codes, the webpage will take on a new design/appearance.
And don't forget that HTML codes are exact, giving you total freedom over how everything appears on the webpage. Most WYSIWYG programs allow you to view and modify the HTML codes. As you can see, knowledge of HTML is beneficial.
The downside to HTML is the learning curve. It takes time to understand how HTML works and why, but once you know, using HTML to create totally custom designed webpages is easy. For the beginner, HTML can be challenging, but don't despair because there are HTML tutorials available that teach you basic and advanced HTML in a matter of days!
So the question is - Should you bother learning HTML to build webpages? The answer - yes and no.
It is obvious that WYSIWYG software speeds up production of webpage development regardless of your knowledge on how to build webpages. However, to further refine and tune your webpages exactly to your liking, it is usually necessary to add and modify HTML codes. So yes, HTML is worthwhile learning if you are unsatisfied with the webpages produced by WYSIWYG software.
There is little point learning HTML if you are 100% satisfied with the webpages made with WYSIWYG software.
One thing is certain. Using WYSIWYG software and learning HTML codes is the answer for those of us who want webpages made exactly to our requirements. Learning HTML is not as hard as you think. To get started, simply search any major search engine like Google, Yahoo or MSN using the search phrase "html tutorials", its that easy!
About The Author
Les Pinczi is the creator of interactive HTML learning software to assist you in learning how to create a web page in hours! http://www.webpage-teacher.com.
WYSIWYG software like those listed above are prefect for beginner webpage builders who want webpages constructed quickly without having to learn HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language).
All webpages are brought to life using HTML codes, regardless what webpage building software is used. WYSIWYG programs simply create the HTML codes as you construct a webpage (in the background, without you knowing), so you don't need to understand them.
This is without a doubt the biggest advantage over any other type of webpage building programs. It means that if you can press keys on a keyboard, you have what is required to create your very own webpage!
However, most WYSIWYG programs don't give you absolute, total control over webpage design (ie, exactly the way you want the page to look). There are design limitations.
For example, you may want to place headings, sub headings and a navigation menu in a particular arrangement on the webpage, but no matter how many times you try, the program won't permit such placement or position them correctly. This is one big disadvantage of WYSIWYG programs if you desire a custom look to all your webpages.
Knowledge of HTML, however, can assist you to overcome such design shortfalls in WYSIWYG programs. How is this possible? Let me explain.
If you understand HTML codes, then you understand why webpages appear the way they do in a web browser, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox. This is powerful stuff because the moment you change/modify HTML codes, the webpage will take on a new design/appearance.
And don't forget that HTML codes are exact, giving you total freedom over how everything appears on the webpage. Most WYSIWYG programs allow you to view and modify the HTML codes. As you can see, knowledge of HTML is beneficial.
The downside to HTML is the learning curve. It takes time to understand how HTML works and why, but once you know, using HTML to create totally custom designed webpages is easy. For the beginner, HTML can be challenging, but don't despair because there are HTML tutorials available that teach you basic and advanced HTML in a matter of days!
So the question is - Should you bother learning HTML to build webpages? The answer - yes and no.
It is obvious that WYSIWYG software speeds up production of webpage development regardless of your knowledge on how to build webpages. However, to further refine and tune your webpages exactly to your liking, it is usually necessary to add and modify HTML codes. So yes, HTML is worthwhile learning if you are unsatisfied with the webpages produced by WYSIWYG software.
There is little point learning HTML if you are 100% satisfied with the webpages made with WYSIWYG software.
One thing is certain. Using WYSIWYG software and learning HTML codes is the answer for those of us who want webpages made exactly to our requirements. Learning HTML is not as hard as you think. To get started, simply search any major search engine like Google, Yahoo or MSN using the search phrase "html tutorials", its that easy!
About The Author
Les Pinczi is the creator of interactive HTML learning software to assist you in learning how to create a web page in hours! http://www.webpage-teacher.com.
Successful Commercial Sites
Do you make your website just to entertain yourself or do you want it to be a great web store? The fact is more than 80% of websites are trying to sell you something. There is nothing wrong if you want to get some money from the website you made, but remember to put some REALLY interesting information on your pages. This information must be free, unique and necessary to as many people as possible.
Remember, Internet was built as a research network among universities in early 80's and only after the introduction of first graphic compatible browsers it exploded with the commercial websites. Search engine will definitely rank you higher for that free content and other webmasters will definitely create links to your website if it has useful and interesting information. The ratio should be 90% of free information and 10% of commercial content. You can only increase the percentage of free information.
There are also other reasons why to provide people with free information in the field you are making money: they will study, they will see that you know what you are talking about, and they will trust you! Excellent reputation is the main thing (the key to success) in doing Internet business. It must be built by years of hard work and could be destroyed in minutes.
What are the secrets of some commercial websites?
1) Content. As I have already said: free, unique and interesting.
2) Good design (website design must be clean and user-friendly, unprofessional design speaks for itself)
3) Search engine-friendly (Search engine optimization is complex set of knowledge on how to be number one in search engine listings)
4) Link building strategies ( for more information read this article: "The art of link exchange" http://www.metamorphozis.com/tutorials/the_art_of_link_exchange.shtml)
5) Company branding. (for more information read this article: "Make your own brand!" http://www.metamorphozis.com/tutorials/make_your_own_brand.shtml)
6) Excellent customer care and support (remember those notes 24 hours 7 days a week? This must be really true for a good commercial website)
7) Wise goods selection (You may think that people selling everything on the Internet but that is not quite true. There are some things that stores do not offer via the Internet and you need to find those things and offer them. Be a pioneer!)
These are the major factors that play role in building successful commercial websites. However, you need to search, study and select your own ways to online success. Remember, Internet is a very flexible and constantly changing environment; things that worked well several months ago may be completely useless in the present. Search and try! That is my main advice to succeed in online business.
Thanks for reading.
Article source: http://www.metamorphozis.com/tutorials/commercial_sites.shtml
About The Author
Oleg Lazarenko
Production Manager of Metamorphosis Web Design Studio –
Flash templates and Web Templates
http://www.metamorphozis.com
Remember, Internet was built as a research network among universities in early 80's and only after the introduction of first graphic compatible browsers it exploded with the commercial websites. Search engine will definitely rank you higher for that free content and other webmasters will definitely create links to your website if it has useful and interesting information. The ratio should be 90% of free information and 10% of commercial content. You can only increase the percentage of free information.
There are also other reasons why to provide people with free information in the field you are making money: they will study, they will see that you know what you are talking about, and they will trust you! Excellent reputation is the main thing (the key to success) in doing Internet business. It must be built by years of hard work and could be destroyed in minutes.
What are the secrets of some commercial websites?
1) Content. As I have already said: free, unique and interesting.
2) Good design (website design must be clean and user-friendly, unprofessional design speaks for itself)
3) Search engine-friendly (Search engine optimization is complex set of knowledge on how to be number one in search engine listings)
4) Link building strategies ( for more information read this article: "The art of link exchange" http://www.metamorphozis.com/tutorials/the_art_of_link_exchange.shtml)
5) Company branding. (for more information read this article: "Make your own brand!" http://www.metamorphozis.com/tutorials/make_your_own_brand.shtml)
6) Excellent customer care and support (remember those notes 24 hours 7 days a week? This must be really true for a good commercial website)
7) Wise goods selection (You may think that people selling everything on the Internet but that is not quite true. There are some things that stores do not offer via the Internet and you need to find those things and offer them. Be a pioneer!)
These are the major factors that play role in building successful commercial websites. However, you need to search, study and select your own ways to online success. Remember, Internet is a very flexible and constantly changing environment; things that worked well several months ago may be completely useless in the present. Search and try! That is my main advice to succeed in online business.
Thanks for reading.
Article source: http://www.metamorphozis.com/tutorials/commercial_sites.shtml
About The Author
Oleg Lazarenko
Production Manager of Metamorphosis Web Design Studio –
Flash templates and Web Templates
http://www.metamorphozis.com
Keyword Optimization - How To Achieve It
The most important thing you can do for your business and your website is develop relevant keywords that are not too competitive yet generate targeted traffic to your website.
It's called keyword optimization. Why is it important?
Because Keywords and keyword phrases do a couple of things for you:
- With the right keywords, you will attract the viewers most interested in the items or services on your site.
- You will rank higher in the search engines for your chosen keywords, saving you thousands of dollars in advertising.
It all starts, however, with the best keywords that pertain to your product or services.
When selecting keywords you should select 1 perhaps 2 of the most relevant keywords for each page of your site. I suggest using no more than two keywords per page, preferably one.
Why?
Because search engines strive to deliver the most relevant pages for the search term entered. The more focused your page is for the search term, the more relevant the search engines will find your page. The more keywords you use, the less focused your page becomes.
How do you find keywords that your target audience will use?
- Think like your readers. Take yourself outside your site for a minute and think about how you would find the products or services you are selling.
- Use Overture's Keyword Selector Tool http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/ Type in your most basic keyword and it will show you the variations of the search term and also the count of how many times that term was entered in the search engine.
- Think of phrases as opposed to one single word. If you sell clay pots, think of keywords such as painted clay pots, or clay flower pots, large clay pots, buy clay pots. Use descriptive words when brainstorming phrases.
- Ask your relatives, kids and friends what they would type in to find your products. You would be amazed at the great ideas that can be generated. For example, I asked a teenager once what he would type in to find shoes online and he said 'nice kicks'. As of this writing, Overture's keyword selector tool showed a count of 12130. Hmmm, never would have thought of it on my own.
- Use a thesaurus or Webster’s dictionary to find similar words to your chosen keywords. Consider all forms of the word. For example, for the term supply there is supply, supplies, supplier, supplying. Thinking of all forms of the word help a great deal in brainstorming keyword ideas.
- If you have a website already, place a search engine on your site. This would be a search engine that you put on your site that searches only your site such as http://www.freefind.com/. This will help you collect data on what keywords users are using. Once you've collected a good list of search terms you can use this to help you determine the best keywords.
Along this same line, you can also use your website server logs to gather information on the keywords used to find your site.
Once you've made a list of the best keywords and keyword phrases, you will need to determine which ones are the best.
Your challenge is to find keywords that have a high usage count but appear on the least amount of competing web pages.
Wordtracker.com is an excellent tool for helping you achieve this. Wordtracker's 'Keyword Effectiveness Index' (KEI) will provide you with the number of times a keyword is used along with the number of competing web pages. The higher the KEI, the more popular your keywords are, and the less competition. This means a better chance for you in getting to the top of the search engines.
Finding the best keywords and keyword phrases is an important part of your marketing mix. Find the correct keywords and build your content around them.
About The Author
Elizabeth McGee strives to help webmasters and business owners find trusted marketing tools while also offering tips, stragegies and information for online marketing. Sign up for her FREE newsletter by visiting her site at: http://www.pro-marketing-online.com.
It's called keyword optimization. Why is it important?
Because Keywords and keyword phrases do a couple of things for you:
- With the right keywords, you will attract the viewers most interested in the items or services on your site.
- You will rank higher in the search engines for your chosen keywords, saving you thousands of dollars in advertising.
It all starts, however, with the best keywords that pertain to your product or services.
When selecting keywords you should select 1 perhaps 2 of the most relevant keywords for each page of your site. I suggest using no more than two keywords per page, preferably one.
Why?
Because search engines strive to deliver the most relevant pages for the search term entered. The more focused your page is for the search term, the more relevant the search engines will find your page. The more keywords you use, the less focused your page becomes.
How do you find keywords that your target audience will use?
- Think like your readers. Take yourself outside your site for a minute and think about how you would find the products or services you are selling.
- Use Overture's Keyword Selector Tool http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/ Type in your most basic keyword and it will show you the variations of the search term and also the count of how many times that term was entered in the search engine.
- Think of phrases as opposed to one single word. If you sell clay pots, think of keywords such as painted clay pots, or clay flower pots, large clay pots, buy clay pots. Use descriptive words when brainstorming phrases.
- Ask your relatives, kids and friends what they would type in to find your products. You would be amazed at the great ideas that can be generated. For example, I asked a teenager once what he would type in to find shoes online and he said 'nice kicks'. As of this writing, Overture's keyword selector tool showed a count of 12130. Hmmm, never would have thought of it on my own.
- Use a thesaurus or Webster’s dictionary to find similar words to your chosen keywords. Consider all forms of the word. For example, for the term supply there is supply, supplies, supplier, supplying. Thinking of all forms of the word help a great deal in brainstorming keyword ideas.
- If you have a website already, place a search engine on your site. This would be a search engine that you put on your site that searches only your site such as http://www.freefind.com/. This will help you collect data on what keywords users are using. Once you've collected a good list of search terms you can use this to help you determine the best keywords.
Along this same line, you can also use your website server logs to gather information on the keywords used to find your site.
Once you've made a list of the best keywords and keyword phrases, you will need to determine which ones are the best.
Your challenge is to find keywords that have a high usage count but appear on the least amount of competing web pages.
Wordtracker.com is an excellent tool for helping you achieve this. Wordtracker's 'Keyword Effectiveness Index' (KEI) will provide you with the number of times a keyword is used along with the number of competing web pages. The higher the KEI, the more popular your keywords are, and the less competition. This means a better chance for you in getting to the top of the search engines.
Finding the best keywords and keyword phrases is an important part of your marketing mix. Find the correct keywords and build your content around them.
About The Author
Elizabeth McGee strives to help webmasters and business owners find trusted marketing tools while also offering tips, stragegies and information for online marketing. Sign up for her FREE newsletter by visiting her site at: http://www.pro-marketing-online.com.
A Beginners Guide to Web Page Design
Designing your own successful web page can seem difficult and nearly impossible if you do not do a little research first. The reason you need to know the basics of web page design is because the design of your website will actually influence whether or not people continue to visit your site and ultimately, whether they will buy from you or not. Obviously, a lot is riding on your website design so it is worthwhile to take this seriously and put some effort into doing it right the first time.
Design #1 Color
Any important aspect of your design process should include the use of color. Color affects people psychologically and different colors have positive and negative attributes or feelings they can evoke and men and women respond to different colors more positively than others. So, figure out your target audience, what you are selling, and what colors will best help you persuade your target audience to stay on your web page and to buy from you.
Design #2 Organization
A design flaw many beginners run into is organization. Your website must be well organized, and not just to you, but to the average person who has never visited your site before. It should be obvious where the information is and how visitors can get to it without wading through a lot of other links and information they are not interested in. Check out some larger, more successful sites to see how they deal with organization and just follow their lead.
Design #3 Too Much Text
Be careful about writing too much text and loading it to your website. Different types of writing is more appropriate for the Internet and in general bullet points, bold words, short paragraphs, and the like help break up a lot of text and make it easier to read. If you have a huge block of text on your web page, it is unlikely people will actually put forth the effort to sit down and read it. Make it easy for people to get the information.
Design #4 Too Many Graphics
Too many graphics is another design mistake by beginners. Graphics can be very useful, however if you use too many graphics you cut out the text you can use which is how search engines find your website and rank you in search results. Don’t handicap yourself with the search engines by using too many graphics.
Design #5 Focus
Beginners often times do not have a clear focus of their website before they start designing it and it appears unorganized, unfocused, and the point of the web page is a bit vague. Come up with a plan and outline the major points and focus of your website design before you start.
About The Author
Michael Turner reveals step-by-step how you can increase search engine traffic in his free 7 part mini-series. Grab it now at http://www.powertraffictactics.com/
info@powertraffictactics.com
Design #1 Color
Any important aspect of your design process should include the use of color. Color affects people psychologically and different colors have positive and negative attributes or feelings they can evoke and men and women respond to different colors more positively than others. So, figure out your target audience, what you are selling, and what colors will best help you persuade your target audience to stay on your web page and to buy from you.
Design #2 Organization
A design flaw many beginners run into is organization. Your website must be well organized, and not just to you, but to the average person who has never visited your site before. It should be obvious where the information is and how visitors can get to it without wading through a lot of other links and information they are not interested in. Check out some larger, more successful sites to see how they deal with organization and just follow their lead.
Design #3 Too Much Text
Be careful about writing too much text and loading it to your website. Different types of writing is more appropriate for the Internet and in general bullet points, bold words, short paragraphs, and the like help break up a lot of text and make it easier to read. If you have a huge block of text on your web page, it is unlikely people will actually put forth the effort to sit down and read it. Make it easy for people to get the information.
Design #4 Too Many Graphics
Too many graphics is another design mistake by beginners. Graphics can be very useful, however if you use too many graphics you cut out the text you can use which is how search engines find your website and rank you in search results. Don’t handicap yourself with the search engines by using too many graphics.
Design #5 Focus
Beginners often times do not have a clear focus of their website before they start designing it and it appears unorganized, unfocused, and the point of the web page is a bit vague. Come up with a plan and outline the major points and focus of your website design before you start.
About The Author
Michael Turner reveals step-by-step how you can increase search engine traffic in his free 7 part mini-series. Grab it now at http://www.powertraffictactics.com/
info@powertraffictactics.com
5 Powerful Ways to Make Money Online with a Website
There are many ways to make money online and the best way for you is to simply be creative with your skills, knowledge, and abilities. However, the following five options are powerful ways to make money online with a website and definite something you should consider.
#1 Knowledge
You can always sell your knowledge, which many times is the best way if you are an “expert” of any type or subject matter. People are looking for your knowledge and input, regardless if it is self taught, learned in college, or wherever. People are always looking for answers online, so if you sell your knowledge you can simply make money from what you know.
#2 Affiliate Programs
Become an affiliate for products based on your website theme and then simply promote these programs where you earn money from referrals. It is easier than it sounds and only takes you creating a website full of rich content.
#3 Hard Goods
Selling hard goods is a traditional way of making money and it transfers to the online forum as well. No matter what hard goods you have to sell you can certainly find a buyer online. Create a website that focuses on your goods, have a good shipping plan in place, and then start selling online.
#4 E-books
Selling e-books, articles, and other written materials is also a powerful way to make money online and if you are good at writing it is certainly something you should consider. You can have your own website selling pre-written topics or else you can also write on demand, whatever works best for you and your web business.
#5 Auction Goods
Auction web sites are also very powerful ways to make money. The reason for this is you can sell a wide variety of products, do not necessarily need your own website although it helps, and can change your products from time to time as you need to. Many people enjoy working and selling via auction sites because any number of things can be sold from old personal items to new products as well.
The best way for you to make money online is for you to do something that you like and enjoy. When you do some thing you like and enjoy you will be able to commit yourself to doing it fulltime. The reason for this is working online can be difficult at times and if you do not enjoy it then it will be difficult for you to be successful making money via your website.
About The Author
Michael Turner shows you exactly how to increase web site traffic in his free 7 part mini-series. Grab it today at http://www.powertraffictactics.com/.
info@powertraffictactics.com
#1 Knowledge
You can always sell your knowledge, which many times is the best way if you are an “expert” of any type or subject matter. People are looking for your knowledge and input, regardless if it is self taught, learned in college, or wherever. People are always looking for answers online, so if you sell your knowledge you can simply make money from what you know.
#2 Affiliate Programs
Become an affiliate for products based on your website theme and then simply promote these programs where you earn money from referrals. It is easier than it sounds and only takes you creating a website full of rich content.
#3 Hard Goods
Selling hard goods is a traditional way of making money and it transfers to the online forum as well. No matter what hard goods you have to sell you can certainly find a buyer online. Create a website that focuses on your goods, have a good shipping plan in place, and then start selling online.
#4 E-books
Selling e-books, articles, and other written materials is also a powerful way to make money online and if you are good at writing it is certainly something you should consider. You can have your own website selling pre-written topics or else you can also write on demand, whatever works best for you and your web business.
#5 Auction Goods
Auction web sites are also very powerful ways to make money. The reason for this is you can sell a wide variety of products, do not necessarily need your own website although it helps, and can change your products from time to time as you need to. Many people enjoy working and selling via auction sites because any number of things can be sold from old personal items to new products as well.
The best way for you to make money online is for you to do something that you like and enjoy. When you do some thing you like and enjoy you will be able to commit yourself to doing it fulltime. The reason for this is working online can be difficult at times and if you do not enjoy it then it will be difficult for you to be successful making money via your website.
About The Author
Michael Turner shows you exactly how to increase web site traffic in his free 7 part mini-series. Grab it today at http://www.powertraffictactics.com/.
info@powertraffictactics.com
How a Business Can Benefit from a Website
With over half of all U.S. households shopping online, the internet has become a massive market for small businesses to sell their products and services to consumers. The Internet is quickly becoming the “world’s market place”. Businesses benefit from websites because it saves money and time, reach a wider consumer market, gives customers what they want, and it will help keep up with competitors. Customers will enjoy better support, not be hindered by store hours, and a sense of professionalism from your company. In today’s age, all businesses that want to go somewhere should have a website.
A small business web site can save a company money and time. Real-world advertising today often costs thousands, or millions for television ads, of dollars to produce and distribute to the intended audience. Internet ads are usually free or less than $25. This means that businesses can advertise more, spend less and ultimately make more money by getting new customers to see ads. Ads that are placed on the Internet usually last forever too. This makes online advertising far superior than real-world advertising.
Websites reduce the cost of printing. Most businesses distribute catalogs, brochures and/or fliers to their customers and their target market. These papers cost the company money each time one is used. By replacing these with a web site, businesses can store all their necessary information and refer customers to the site. This means that businesses can display and organize a far greater amount of information then they could on paper. Information is also updated regularly, putting all previous information out of date. When this happens all paper materials must be reprinted with the new information. On the other hand, information on websites can be updated instantly for free. Businesses will enjoy this as a cost effective convenience, saving them time and money. Websites reduce the cost of printing in more than just one way.
Businesses can offer online support through instant e-mail communications. The most important part of any business is customer support. A company with good customer support sells more than a company that does not. E-mail is quickly rising as the preferred method of communication by customers. E-mail provides customers with the use of communicating on their own time. Most businesses aren’t open 24/7. Customers have busy lives and don't always have time to call about the question before closing hours. With e-mail, customers can type the question in their free time and send it straight to a customer representative. In turn, the customer receives an even better response because the representative has enough time to research the question more in-depth or could forward it to the appropriate person. In addition, e-mail is much cheaper than conventional communication methods. Businesses often spend hundreds of dollars providing toll free phone numbers to their customers. E-mail comes free with websites. Email is more convenient for your customers, allows better responses and is cheaper.
The internet allows businesses the opportunity to reach a wider consumer market. There are currently over half a billion people connected to the internet and that number is growing double-digit rates. Conventional brick-and-mortar stores would never see that many people in an entire lifetime, but on the internet it’s only a click away. With a website businesses will be opening up shop in front of millions of people. Purchasing items online has also grown in popularity. Online purchases were reported to account for almost a third of all purchases made this last holiday season. Online shopping has become more secure and reliable so customers feel safer using it. This is good for businesses because they will be able to rely more and more on their online stores.
Internet users are online looking to shop. “If you build it, they will come.” They are often on a mission to find something. They are ready to spend their money. This makes it easy for businesses because customers will find them. Real world shops can be hindered by their location. If a certain area does not have a strong economy and their business is located their, they will not receive as much business as they would if they opened in a booming area. On the internet, everyone has an equal chance to sell. What makes this even greater is that the people coming to the businesses’ website have put in some effort to find it. They are looking for a particular product and want to find the best price for the most quality. All the business has to do is have a website that offers this. The customer will do all the work in finding it. A web presence will surely draw more customers to your business.
Businesses shouldn’t be secluded by geographic boundaries. The common saying goes: “Location, location, location!” On the internet, every location is made equal. That means every business will have an equal chance at marketing their products. This may sound like there is more competition online but the truth is that since there are so many people online there is even less competition for business than there is in the real-world. This means that an online business could potentially receive more customers than their actual brick-and-mortar store! Internet businesses are available to anyone around the world!
Businesses will be marketing products to people around the globe. This will open doors for networking with billions of other people. A small business could become very large just because an international dealer wants to become a redistributor of that product in their own country. In addition, just having an international market will increase your own sales. If people are enjoying your products and services here, their will unquestionably be a desire for them elsewhere. Opening shop in another country can post a difficult task. A website is a good solution to this. Businesses won’t have to build more stores and find employees in a foreign country. They resume work here and still sell to customers around the globe. Websites can increase business potential and amplify profits.
Many businesses rely on their online shop as a means of staying alive. Over 50% of small businesses using the internet believe it has helped increase their profits. Profit growth on average was 23%. If a business was lacking in sales and needed an extra boost to stay alive, a website could do the trick. The extra traffic and increased sales could save a company from closing. In addition, if a company just wanted to make some more money a website could easily bring in the extra customers. Businesses that were just making thousands of dollars could be making hundreds of thousands. Websites are a huge selling medium.
Give customers what they want. Customers are smart educated people. Times are changing fast and customers are changing with it. The internet was introduced long ago but is now becoming standard. Customers expect a place to visit the store online. If they see that the business doesn’t have a website, they will look down upon the business as unprofessional. Websites not only serve as a way to make more money, they enhance the company image. A business looks more established when they have a website.
Most all businesses have an internet presence. More than 2.6 million small businesses are online and almost all large businesses are online. If a business does not have a website by now, they are surely being left behind and missing out on huge potential to earn money. U.S. small businesses have more than tripled the amount of goods on the internet and now consumers spend billions of dollars annually. This is an enormous amount of money that a business could be profiting from. In this advanced day in age, all businesses should have a website.
Websites are a convenient place for customers to shop and review products. Customers are looking for convenience. What is more convenient than shopping in your pajamas on a Sunday morning inside your very own home? A business will receive more customers because websites are a convenient place for people to shop. Customers buy more when they pay something other than cash. When the money is not physically being handed over, the customer feels as if they haven’t even spent anything. By accepting online payments via debit and credit cards, customers will often buy more than they would in a brick-and-mortar store. Customers will see everything they want in your online shop and simply add it to their shopping cart. Since they don’t have to have the cash in hand upon purchase, they will more likely purchase everything that they wanted. In addition, this is also much more convenient for customers since the entire order process can all be done online. Websites offer the ultimate in convenience for customers.
The internet is not just a popular fad. It is here to stay. Online growth has been growing at double digit rates and will continue to that way for at least the next five years. Businesses that are cautious because they are unsure of where the internet is going should get online now. An investment in a website would not be a waste of money. With the internet growing this fast, the return that a business would receive would be far greater. The internet is here to stay and is only going to get bigger.
In conclusion, websites can be a tremendous advantage for a business. Websites save time and money. They are cheap to develop and virtually free to maintain. The business will reach a wider consumer market by not being secluded by geographical features and will also be able to reach an international market. Websites will provide better customer service by offering frequently asked pages and email support. Customers want businesses to have a website and frown upon those don’t. Businesses need to keep with the changing technology by empowering the internet Think of a website as another storefront that is accessible to anyone, anywhere. Imagine the amount of customers that will visit daily. Every business should have an online presence!
About The Author
Brad is the president of a successful web design firm. He started the company when he was only 17 years old! Ever since, he has been helping others create the same success that he had.
bseefeld@finallythebasics.com
finallythebasics.com
A small business web site can save a company money and time. Real-world advertising today often costs thousands, or millions for television ads, of dollars to produce and distribute to the intended audience. Internet ads are usually free or less than $25. This means that businesses can advertise more, spend less and ultimately make more money by getting new customers to see ads. Ads that are placed on the Internet usually last forever too. This makes online advertising far superior than real-world advertising.
Websites reduce the cost of printing. Most businesses distribute catalogs, brochures and/or fliers to their customers and their target market. These papers cost the company money each time one is used. By replacing these with a web site, businesses can store all their necessary information and refer customers to the site. This means that businesses can display and organize a far greater amount of information then they could on paper. Information is also updated regularly, putting all previous information out of date. When this happens all paper materials must be reprinted with the new information. On the other hand, information on websites can be updated instantly for free. Businesses will enjoy this as a cost effective convenience, saving them time and money. Websites reduce the cost of printing in more than just one way.
Businesses can offer online support through instant e-mail communications. The most important part of any business is customer support. A company with good customer support sells more than a company that does not. E-mail is quickly rising as the preferred method of communication by customers. E-mail provides customers with the use of communicating on their own time. Most businesses aren’t open 24/7. Customers have busy lives and don't always have time to call about the question before closing hours. With e-mail, customers can type the question in their free time and send it straight to a customer representative. In turn, the customer receives an even better response because the representative has enough time to research the question more in-depth or could forward it to the appropriate person. In addition, e-mail is much cheaper than conventional communication methods. Businesses often spend hundreds of dollars providing toll free phone numbers to their customers. E-mail comes free with websites. Email is more convenient for your customers, allows better responses and is cheaper.
The internet allows businesses the opportunity to reach a wider consumer market. There are currently over half a billion people connected to the internet and that number is growing double-digit rates. Conventional brick-and-mortar stores would never see that many people in an entire lifetime, but on the internet it’s only a click away. With a website businesses will be opening up shop in front of millions of people. Purchasing items online has also grown in popularity. Online purchases were reported to account for almost a third of all purchases made this last holiday season. Online shopping has become more secure and reliable so customers feel safer using it. This is good for businesses because they will be able to rely more and more on their online stores.
Internet users are online looking to shop. “If you build it, they will come.” They are often on a mission to find something. They are ready to spend their money. This makes it easy for businesses because customers will find them. Real world shops can be hindered by their location. If a certain area does not have a strong economy and their business is located their, they will not receive as much business as they would if they opened in a booming area. On the internet, everyone has an equal chance to sell. What makes this even greater is that the people coming to the businesses’ website have put in some effort to find it. They are looking for a particular product and want to find the best price for the most quality. All the business has to do is have a website that offers this. The customer will do all the work in finding it. A web presence will surely draw more customers to your business.
Businesses shouldn’t be secluded by geographic boundaries. The common saying goes: “Location, location, location!” On the internet, every location is made equal. That means every business will have an equal chance at marketing their products. This may sound like there is more competition online but the truth is that since there are so many people online there is even less competition for business than there is in the real-world. This means that an online business could potentially receive more customers than their actual brick-and-mortar store! Internet businesses are available to anyone around the world!
Businesses will be marketing products to people around the globe. This will open doors for networking with billions of other people. A small business could become very large just because an international dealer wants to become a redistributor of that product in their own country. In addition, just having an international market will increase your own sales. If people are enjoying your products and services here, their will unquestionably be a desire for them elsewhere. Opening shop in another country can post a difficult task. A website is a good solution to this. Businesses won’t have to build more stores and find employees in a foreign country. They resume work here and still sell to customers around the globe. Websites can increase business potential and amplify profits.
Many businesses rely on their online shop as a means of staying alive. Over 50% of small businesses using the internet believe it has helped increase their profits. Profit growth on average was 23%. If a business was lacking in sales and needed an extra boost to stay alive, a website could do the trick. The extra traffic and increased sales could save a company from closing. In addition, if a company just wanted to make some more money a website could easily bring in the extra customers. Businesses that were just making thousands of dollars could be making hundreds of thousands. Websites are a huge selling medium.
Give customers what they want. Customers are smart educated people. Times are changing fast and customers are changing with it. The internet was introduced long ago but is now becoming standard. Customers expect a place to visit the store online. If they see that the business doesn’t have a website, they will look down upon the business as unprofessional. Websites not only serve as a way to make more money, they enhance the company image. A business looks more established when they have a website.
Most all businesses have an internet presence. More than 2.6 million small businesses are online and almost all large businesses are online. If a business does not have a website by now, they are surely being left behind and missing out on huge potential to earn money. U.S. small businesses have more than tripled the amount of goods on the internet and now consumers spend billions of dollars annually. This is an enormous amount of money that a business could be profiting from. In this advanced day in age, all businesses should have a website.
Websites are a convenient place for customers to shop and review products. Customers are looking for convenience. What is more convenient than shopping in your pajamas on a Sunday morning inside your very own home? A business will receive more customers because websites are a convenient place for people to shop. Customers buy more when they pay something other than cash. When the money is not physically being handed over, the customer feels as if they haven’t even spent anything. By accepting online payments via debit and credit cards, customers will often buy more than they would in a brick-and-mortar store. Customers will see everything they want in your online shop and simply add it to their shopping cart. Since they don’t have to have the cash in hand upon purchase, they will more likely purchase everything that they wanted. In addition, this is also much more convenient for customers since the entire order process can all be done online. Websites offer the ultimate in convenience for customers.
The internet is not just a popular fad. It is here to stay. Online growth has been growing at double digit rates and will continue to that way for at least the next five years. Businesses that are cautious because they are unsure of where the internet is going should get online now. An investment in a website would not be a waste of money. With the internet growing this fast, the return that a business would receive would be far greater. The internet is here to stay and is only going to get bigger.
In conclusion, websites can be a tremendous advantage for a business. Websites save time and money. They are cheap to develop and virtually free to maintain. The business will reach a wider consumer market by not being secluded by geographical features and will also be able to reach an international market. Websites will provide better customer service by offering frequently asked pages and email support. Customers want businesses to have a website and frown upon those don’t. Businesses need to keep with the changing technology by empowering the internet Think of a website as another storefront that is accessible to anyone, anywhere. Imagine the amount of customers that will visit daily. Every business should have an online presence!
About The Author
Brad is the president of a successful web design firm. He started the company when he was only 17 years old! Ever since, he has been helping others create the same success that he had.
bseefeld@finallythebasics.com
finallythebasics.com
10 Ways to Achieve Superior Web Site Design
In order to achieve online success, one must have effective and reliable products and services and great web design as well. Many people are judging the book by its cover this is the reason why your website should also be superior.
Here are 10 ways to carry out in order to ensure that your website design will turn out to be a superior one:
1. Keep those banner programs away. Avoid plastering your pages with every banner program you can think of because it is like broadcasting to the whole world that you are a neophyte in the industry. Besides, it is useless when you are just starting out.
2. Proof read the whole site. Poor grammar and spelling is a manifestation of being unprofessional. If you can not pay attention to small things like that then how can the potential customers know that you can make a product or service great? Always have some rounds of spell check and have someone proof read the site. That way you can be assured of its content quality.
3. Evade "clip-art" type graphics. Learn to make your own graphics that will exude your business character and identity. You can get your hands on with Adobe Photoshop. However, if you are short on money, Macromedia’s Fireworks is a good alternative.
4. Forget about yourself! Nobody wants to hear about you. They want to hear about your products or services and how you can help them. So instead of focusing on yourself, focus on the functionality of your website. That will give lots of visitors that can turn out to be your customers.
5. Keep a consistent design. Inconsistent designs, backgrounds and navigation systems make the visitors feel lost. They will feel as if they have transferred to another site. To avoid this thing to happen, utilize a consistent web site design.
6. Stay away from excessive backgrounds. If you do not know what background to choose, stick with a plain one and blend it with a well contrasting text. The result will be an easy to read website.
7. Use small images. Use images that are small in file size. To do this, you can compress your images to a more reasonable size.
8. Keep your font size readable. Have your fonts at reasonable size. The content fonts should not exceed size fourteen and should not go down lower than size twelve. Using gigantic fonts are the biggest indicator of someone who knows nothing about designing online!
9. Keep your site clean and organized but not boring. Don’t scare your visitors away by crowded and messy website with neon colored texts. If that’s your kind of web site – my golly – change it! And you got to do it fast before a number of visitors already transferred to your competitors.
10. Check with every browser. Every web browser interprets code differently. Some may display the page perfectly however, some may do it atrociously thus, to be safe check with different browsers to test the compatibility.
About The Author
Maricon Williams
I love reading. Give me a book and I'll finish it in one sitting. Reading is the chance to be transported to a different world and so is writing. I'm more enthusiastic about writing however, since you can relay your ideas to someone else. I can only imagine that feeling when I hear a complete stranger talking about my ideas which read on an article somewhere. To relay my message to as many people is the same as touching people with music. Only mine's less harmonic. I try to make up for it with the color I bring with words. And most of the time, it’s more than enough.
For Inquiries and Comments about the article and for additional information about web designs, log - on to http://www.webdesignsprovider.com
maricon@rushprintingservices.co
Here are 10 ways to carry out in order to ensure that your website design will turn out to be a superior one:
1. Keep those banner programs away. Avoid plastering your pages with every banner program you can think of because it is like broadcasting to the whole world that you are a neophyte in the industry. Besides, it is useless when you are just starting out.
2. Proof read the whole site. Poor grammar and spelling is a manifestation of being unprofessional. If you can not pay attention to small things like that then how can the potential customers know that you can make a product or service great? Always have some rounds of spell check and have someone proof read the site. That way you can be assured of its content quality.
3. Evade "clip-art" type graphics. Learn to make your own graphics that will exude your business character and identity. You can get your hands on with Adobe Photoshop. However, if you are short on money, Macromedia’s Fireworks is a good alternative.
4. Forget about yourself! Nobody wants to hear about you. They want to hear about your products or services and how you can help them. So instead of focusing on yourself, focus on the functionality of your website. That will give lots of visitors that can turn out to be your customers.
5. Keep a consistent design. Inconsistent designs, backgrounds and navigation systems make the visitors feel lost. They will feel as if they have transferred to another site. To avoid this thing to happen, utilize a consistent web site design.
6. Stay away from excessive backgrounds. If you do not know what background to choose, stick with a plain one and blend it with a well contrasting text. The result will be an easy to read website.
7. Use small images. Use images that are small in file size. To do this, you can compress your images to a more reasonable size.
8. Keep your font size readable. Have your fonts at reasonable size. The content fonts should not exceed size fourteen and should not go down lower than size twelve. Using gigantic fonts are the biggest indicator of someone who knows nothing about designing online!
9. Keep your site clean and organized but not boring. Don’t scare your visitors away by crowded and messy website with neon colored texts. If that’s your kind of web site – my golly – change it! And you got to do it fast before a number of visitors already transferred to your competitors.
10. Check with every browser. Every web browser interprets code differently. Some may display the page perfectly however, some may do it atrociously thus, to be safe check with different browsers to test the compatibility.
About The Author
Maricon Williams
I love reading. Give me a book and I'll finish it in one sitting. Reading is the chance to be transported to a different world and so is writing. I'm more enthusiastic about writing however, since you can relay your ideas to someone else. I can only imagine that feeling when I hear a complete stranger talking about my ideas which read on an article somewhere. To relay my message to as many people is the same as touching people with music. Only mine's less harmonic. I try to make up for it with the color I bring with words. And most of the time, it’s more than enough.
For Inquiries and Comments about the article and for additional information about web designs, log - on to http://www.webdesignsprovider.com
maricon@rushprintingservices.co
You Too Can Have an Amazing Website
It is a well-known fact that a successful business depends greatly on how it is marketed. With an ever increasing dependence on the web, the use of a professional website is not only a necessity, but a priority. Although it is a common thought that only large businesses can have top-notch websites, with the tools available today what seemed impractical can now be a reality. Best of all, designing an extraordinary website can be done without hiring expensive web developers to create your site from scratch. Usually the first comment I get from my customers is, “I have the idea, but not the tools.” In this article, I will recommend which tools are the most helpful and where to find these tools so that you too can have an amazing website.
So you say, “I have the idea, but not the tools. What are these tools and where do I get them?” Let me answer that question with a question. Have you ever heard of web site templates? If not, they’re your answer to a professional website at a very reasonable price, usually around $60 to $70. A website template is a ready-made website design created for you to use as the foundation for quick and high-quality web development. There are thousands of templates available online so you are virtually guaranteed to find something that suits your design and format needs. It can be as easy as simply adding your text to the template or rearranging photos along with your text to produce the outcome you have been searching for.
Finding web site templates is easy, but be aware of the differences in template providers you will come across. Performing a Google or Yahoo search with the phrase “web site templates” will yield several vendor choices and not all of them offer the quality you demand. They all promise the best templates around, but that is obviously not the case. So, how do you find the right template vendor? First, visit some of the sites you come across and examine their templates. You will know you are on the right track if you answer “Yes” to the question, “Am I impressed with these templates?” Always trust your taste.
Next, explore how many templates the vendor offers and how often their database is updated. As a rule of thumb, the more they have the better they are. This helps assure you that your choice will be more unique than otherwise. If you choose a template from a vendor who only offers a few select quality templates then the chances are that a great deal of other customers have chosen that same template. You certainly don’t want a website that is practically identical to dozens of others online. You will also want a vendor who updates their site on a regular basis. Weekly updates are good, but daily updates are even better. This guarantees that they will have fresh templates on a regular basis for you to choose from.
Finally, you want to make sure that your template is editable. This means that your template will come with the appropriate files (PSD, HTML, SWF, and FLA) that will allow you to make the necessary changes to your template. Ask you vendor before making your selection. Most templates come with these files, but it is better to be safe than sorry. You should be able to download your selection immediately or your vendor will provide a link to do so.
Great! Now you have a really impressive template and can’t wait to make the changes that will get you a completed website that blows away your competition. Well, you’re halfway there. You have one more important choice to make. Who will do the editing? You will either have someone internally run with the project or you can hire someone and outsource the job. If you decide to handle things internally make sure you have the necessary software to edit your files and someone who is somewhat familiar with how to do the editing. This is what your template vendor probably didn’t tell you. Certainly it isn’t as easy as purchasing a template and plugging in text. If it were then there wouldn’t be a market for web design and development companies. If you’re confident about handling it yourself then great, but be careful. You might find yourself investing a lot of time and money trying to get your desired results.
Your alternate choice, hiring a development firm, will almost certainly get your site looking and functioning the way you want it, but for a fee, of course. It is easy to find a development firm to handle your needs and you can find several online. Simply search with the keyphrase “web site design”. Call or email a few of them explaining your situation and needs and ask for a quote to perform the editing for you. Depending on the amount of editing you will require you should receive price quotes in the $500 -$1500 range. This is a very reasonable price to pay for a professional website. Most likely, you will be glad you did.
About The Author
Cal Hyslop
I have a background in business and technology with a Masters in Business Administration and am an owner of a website design firm located in Houston, Texas. The mission of my company, WebChrysalis, is to help individuals and businesses look like a million dollars online through the use of web templates and expert design.
webchrysalis.com
cal@webchrysalis.com
So you say, “I have the idea, but not the tools. What are these tools and where do I get them?” Let me answer that question with a question. Have you ever heard of web site templates? If not, they’re your answer to a professional website at a very reasonable price, usually around $60 to $70. A website template is a ready-made website design created for you to use as the foundation for quick and high-quality web development. There are thousands of templates available online so you are virtually guaranteed to find something that suits your design and format needs. It can be as easy as simply adding your text to the template or rearranging photos along with your text to produce the outcome you have been searching for.
Finding web site templates is easy, but be aware of the differences in template providers you will come across. Performing a Google or Yahoo search with the phrase “web site templates” will yield several vendor choices and not all of them offer the quality you demand. They all promise the best templates around, but that is obviously not the case. So, how do you find the right template vendor? First, visit some of the sites you come across and examine their templates. You will know you are on the right track if you answer “Yes” to the question, “Am I impressed with these templates?” Always trust your taste.
Next, explore how many templates the vendor offers and how often their database is updated. As a rule of thumb, the more they have the better they are. This helps assure you that your choice will be more unique than otherwise. If you choose a template from a vendor who only offers a few select quality templates then the chances are that a great deal of other customers have chosen that same template. You certainly don’t want a website that is practically identical to dozens of others online. You will also want a vendor who updates their site on a regular basis. Weekly updates are good, but daily updates are even better. This guarantees that they will have fresh templates on a regular basis for you to choose from.
Finally, you want to make sure that your template is editable. This means that your template will come with the appropriate files (PSD, HTML, SWF, and FLA) that will allow you to make the necessary changes to your template. Ask you vendor before making your selection. Most templates come with these files, but it is better to be safe than sorry. You should be able to download your selection immediately or your vendor will provide a link to do so.
Great! Now you have a really impressive template and can’t wait to make the changes that will get you a completed website that blows away your competition. Well, you’re halfway there. You have one more important choice to make. Who will do the editing? You will either have someone internally run with the project or you can hire someone and outsource the job. If you decide to handle things internally make sure you have the necessary software to edit your files and someone who is somewhat familiar with how to do the editing. This is what your template vendor probably didn’t tell you. Certainly it isn’t as easy as purchasing a template and plugging in text. If it were then there wouldn’t be a market for web design and development companies. If you’re confident about handling it yourself then great, but be careful. You might find yourself investing a lot of time and money trying to get your desired results.
Your alternate choice, hiring a development firm, will almost certainly get your site looking and functioning the way you want it, but for a fee, of course. It is easy to find a development firm to handle your needs and you can find several online. Simply search with the keyphrase “web site design”. Call or email a few of them explaining your situation and needs and ask for a quote to perform the editing for you. Depending on the amount of editing you will require you should receive price quotes in the $500 -$1500 range. This is a very reasonable price to pay for a professional website. Most likely, you will be glad you did.
About The Author
Cal Hyslop
I have a background in business and technology with a Masters in Business Administration and am an owner of a website design firm located in Houston, Texas. The mission of my company, WebChrysalis, is to help individuals and businesses look like a million dollars online through the use of web templates and expert design.
webchrysalis.com
cal@webchrysalis.com
Building Your First Web Site?
Creating your own site can be a satisfying experience. Here are some tips to help get you up and running.
Before doing anything on the technical side, you need some kind of basic idea to work with. I suggest first getting some paper and a pencil. Start by sketching a layout of how you would like your web page to appear. For example, a simple title at the top, the area in which you would like any content, pictures and so on. Now its time to do some programing!
Don't let the word programing scare you. Anyone can learn and there are several sites that offer free tutorials. One such site is http://www.w3schools.com/html/default.asp. Although it is not necessary to be a top notch programer to build and operate your web site, you should learn the basics of html. I recommend that you thoroughly learn about tables. They are widely used and with them, you can create a professional looking layout (even as a beginner).
You can use any basic text editor, like notepad, to write, edit, and save your code (html). When saving your work for the first time, choose Text Document for type of file, then save with the extension htm (for example index.htm). Your home page (the first page people usually see) is normally saved as index.htm. To see how your page looks, double click on the file and it should automatically open up in your browser.
Now that you've got your web page ready to go, it's time to find a host (a place for your web page to live). Since this is your first site, I suggest you use Free Web Hosting. Some host will put advertising, such as a banner, on your site as the cost of free hosting. Others will only charge you to register your Domain Name (www.YourSite.com). Be careful not to accidentally sign up for extras such as url protection, spam control, etc. (unless you feel you need them) as they will add to your cost. These sites will have a limit on bandwidth (how much data that can be transmitted per month), email accounts, and maybe a few other things, but are still great for first timers. If later on you feel you need more, then you usually can upgrade. To find a host, just use any search engine and the keyword phrase Free Web Hosting.
Ok! You've sketched a layout for your web page, learned some basic html, coded your web page, found your host with the most (couldn't resist), and registered your URL (www.YourSite.com). Now it's time to upload (transfer) your file (web page ) to your host. To do this you need a FTP program. FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. When using this application, there are usually two windows. The left window shows your computer files, and the right window shows the files stored on your host. For a good tutorial and to download a freeware FTP program, FTP Commander, go to http://www.nexcess.net/hosting/support/tutorials/ftp/ftpcommindex.php.
Now you should be up and running. But don't stop there. Continue to tweak, add pages, learn to link to other pages and sites, and frequently add new content. Who knows, you could eventually learn to profit from your creation.
About The Author
Tim Querrey is the owner of http://www.homerunbusinesses.com
Before doing anything on the technical side, you need some kind of basic idea to work with. I suggest first getting some paper and a pencil. Start by sketching a layout of how you would like your web page to appear. For example, a simple title at the top, the area in which you would like any content, pictures and so on. Now its time to do some programing!
Don't let the word programing scare you. Anyone can learn and there are several sites that offer free tutorials. One such site is http://www.w3schools.com/html/default.asp. Although it is not necessary to be a top notch programer to build and operate your web site, you should learn the basics of html. I recommend that you thoroughly learn about tables. They are widely used and with them, you can create a professional looking layout (even as a beginner).
You can use any basic text editor, like notepad, to write, edit, and save your code (html). When saving your work for the first time, choose Text Document for type of file, then save with the extension htm (for example index.htm). Your home page (the first page people usually see) is normally saved as index.htm. To see how your page looks, double click on the file and it should automatically open up in your browser.
Now that you've got your web page ready to go, it's time to find a host (a place for your web page to live). Since this is your first site, I suggest you use Free Web Hosting. Some host will put advertising, such as a banner, on your site as the cost of free hosting. Others will only charge you to register your Domain Name (www.YourSite.com). Be careful not to accidentally sign up for extras such as url protection, spam control, etc. (unless you feel you need them) as they will add to your cost. These sites will have a limit on bandwidth (how much data that can be transmitted per month), email accounts, and maybe a few other things, but are still great for first timers. If later on you feel you need more, then you usually can upgrade. To find a host, just use any search engine and the keyword phrase Free Web Hosting.
Ok! You've sketched a layout for your web page, learned some basic html, coded your web page, found your host with the most (couldn't resist), and registered your URL (www.YourSite.com). Now it's time to upload (transfer) your file (web page ) to your host. To do this you need a FTP program. FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. When using this application, there are usually two windows. The left window shows your computer files, and the right window shows the files stored on your host. For a good tutorial and to download a freeware FTP program, FTP Commander, go to http://www.nexcess.net/hosting/support/tutorials/ftp/ftpcommindex.php.
Now you should be up and running. But don't stop there. Continue to tweak, add pages, learn to link to other pages and sites, and frequently add new content. Who knows, you could eventually learn to profit from your creation.
About The Author
Tim Querrey is the owner of http://www.homerunbusinesses.com
Web Hosting Basics
So you're about to embark on your first web project and you're wondering where on earth to start? Well, one of the first things you'll need is a web hosting package. There are so many out there it can seem daunting to try and choose one. In this article we'll teach you the basics to help you make an informed decision.
What is Web Hosting?
For people to actually view your pages on the web, you must have your files located on a "web server". When they visit your site, what they are actually doing is viewing those files. You can rent a little bit of space on the web server, or if your site is large, rent an entire server for your site. Each server is assigned an IP address. This is a four number address that is separated by dots. i.e. 127.0.0.1 Every domain name actually points to an IP address and this is how visitors access your files on the web server.
Once your site is hosted on a webserver, it can be viewed by any computer in the world through a web browser. All they need to do is type in your domain name to view your web pages. Your site must be hosted on a web server before it will be available to external visitors.
What is a Web Host
A Web Host is a company that owns and maintains webservers with the purpose of hosting web sites. You rent space from these companies and in return they will maintain and service the server. Part of this entails keeping the server software current, applying any security patches and ensuring the site is always available, known as 'uptime'. To achieve peak performance, these servers are normally housed in specialist 'datacenters' with dedicated high speed connections to ensure that website loading speeds are as high as possible. A lot of web hosting companies will rent space in a large datacenter to save costs.
Web Host companies come in all shapes and sizes, from large multinational telecommunications companies to joe bloggs down the street with a server in their office. A number of web hosting companies will include a lot of other services to make them a one-stop shop to get yourself on the web. This could include domain name registration which ensures your domain name will point to the correct IP address as soon as the name is registered. If you register your domain name with a different company you will need to specify the IP address of your hosting server before anyone is able to view your files.
Types of Web Hosting
Shared Hosting
Shared hosting means your site will be hosted on a web server that is also hosting a number of other websites at the same time. The server disk space and server resources, i.e. RAM, data transfer is divided up between the various clients. Although your site is located on a shared server, your files are still secure and can not be viewed by anyone else who also has their site on that web server.
As well as sharing the server resources, all the websites also share the same IP. This can be important in some cases as some websites can get banned by search engines for improper behaviour such as SPAM or illegal activities. When a website is banned, the search engine will block the IP address which means all the other sites on the web server may also be affected. It is therefore important to ensure that the web hosting company careful monitors the activities of the websites they host or state what kind of sites are appropriate for that server.
Virtual Private Server Hosting
Virtual Private Servers (VPS) share some of the same characteristics as shared hosting but it provides you with a bit more control over your own destiny. Like shared hosting, a web server is divided up and the server's resources are split between the clients. What makes this different is that each partition is given its own IP address and generally, there are a very limited amount of users on each server, ensuring that you get a good share of the server's resources.
Dedicated Hosting
Dedicated Hosting means that the entire web server is 'dedicated' to one website, or one client. A client can host a number of their own websites if they choose to do so. The benefits of this are that you control the server, and can be assured that no one else is doing anything on their website that will affect your site. It also means that all the systems resources are geared to your site which will boost the speed and reliability of your site. On the downside, having your own dedicated server incurs a much bigger investment and you are responsible for ensuring that the server is always running.
This can be a great option if you run a large site that will cover these costs and you have the technical expertise to manage the server.
Summary
I hope that after reading this you'll have a better idea about what kind of web hosting plan best suits your particular needs. Remember to look around. There are lots of very good companies out there but there are also a lot of bad one's. It pays to do some research about the company you choose before purchasing your web hosting plan.
About The Author
Steve Ashton is a programmer and web developer. He runs two popular websites, http://www.abetterwebhost.com and http://www.domainnamescenter.com
What is Web Hosting?
For people to actually view your pages on the web, you must have your files located on a "web server". When they visit your site, what they are actually doing is viewing those files. You can rent a little bit of space on the web server, or if your site is large, rent an entire server for your site. Each server is assigned an IP address. This is a four number address that is separated by dots. i.e. 127.0.0.1 Every domain name actually points to an IP address and this is how visitors access your files on the web server.
Once your site is hosted on a webserver, it can be viewed by any computer in the world through a web browser. All they need to do is type in your domain name to view your web pages. Your site must be hosted on a web server before it will be available to external visitors.
What is a Web Host
A Web Host is a company that owns and maintains webservers with the purpose of hosting web sites. You rent space from these companies and in return they will maintain and service the server. Part of this entails keeping the server software current, applying any security patches and ensuring the site is always available, known as 'uptime'. To achieve peak performance, these servers are normally housed in specialist 'datacenters' with dedicated high speed connections to ensure that website loading speeds are as high as possible. A lot of web hosting companies will rent space in a large datacenter to save costs.
Web Host companies come in all shapes and sizes, from large multinational telecommunications companies to joe bloggs down the street with a server in their office. A number of web hosting companies will include a lot of other services to make them a one-stop shop to get yourself on the web. This could include domain name registration which ensures your domain name will point to the correct IP address as soon as the name is registered. If you register your domain name with a different company you will need to specify the IP address of your hosting server before anyone is able to view your files.
Types of Web Hosting
Shared Hosting
Shared hosting means your site will be hosted on a web server that is also hosting a number of other websites at the same time. The server disk space and server resources, i.e. RAM, data transfer is divided up between the various clients. Although your site is located on a shared server, your files are still secure and can not be viewed by anyone else who also has their site on that web server.
As well as sharing the server resources, all the websites also share the same IP. This can be important in some cases as some websites can get banned by search engines for improper behaviour such as SPAM or illegal activities. When a website is banned, the search engine will block the IP address which means all the other sites on the web server may also be affected. It is therefore important to ensure that the web hosting company careful monitors the activities of the websites they host or state what kind of sites are appropriate for that server.
Virtual Private Server Hosting
Virtual Private Servers (VPS) share some of the same characteristics as shared hosting but it provides you with a bit more control over your own destiny. Like shared hosting, a web server is divided up and the server's resources are split between the clients. What makes this different is that each partition is given its own IP address and generally, there are a very limited amount of users on each server, ensuring that you get a good share of the server's resources.
Dedicated Hosting
Dedicated Hosting means that the entire web server is 'dedicated' to one website, or one client. A client can host a number of their own websites if they choose to do so. The benefits of this are that you control the server, and can be assured that no one else is doing anything on their website that will affect your site. It also means that all the systems resources are geared to your site which will boost the speed and reliability of your site. On the downside, having your own dedicated server incurs a much bigger investment and you are responsible for ensuring that the server is always running.
This can be a great option if you run a large site that will cover these costs and you have the technical expertise to manage the server.
Summary
I hope that after reading this you'll have a better idea about what kind of web hosting plan best suits your particular needs. Remember to look around. There are lots of very good companies out there but there are also a lot of bad one's. It pays to do some research about the company you choose before purchasing your web hosting plan.
About The Author
Steve Ashton is a programmer and web developer. He runs two popular websites, http://www.abetterwebhost.com and http://www.domainnamescenter.com
Creative Services
If you left website building to the programmers alone, you'd end up with some very functional yet unappealing sites. If you left it up to the creative types, you'd end up with some very nice art that wasn't very functional.
As a Dallas Search Engine Optimization Company & Interactive Social Media Agency, DexterityMedia.com takes a disciplined approach to creative service that always brings usability and searchability into consideration. It doesn't matter how pretty the end product is if it isn't navigable, functional and user-friendly. We aren't creating high-concept arthouse material. We're designing and writing for business. The bottom line is sales, and every design consideration, every word we put into our work, keeps that goal in mind. Gratuitous use of the latest tricks and gimmicks, though certainly within our capabilities, is not what we're about.
The DexterityMedia.com's creative team can put its skills to work for you in the following areas:
* Website Design and Redesign
* Copywriting
* Collateral Design
* Identity Development
We know why you're in business. Let the DexterityMedia.com creative team, in close collaboration with our technologists, strategists and you, design an online presence for your company that does more than generate "ooohs" and "aaahs" - but generates revenue as well. Contact us for an evaluation of your creative needs.
About The Author
Giovanni Gallucci
I provide strategy for new developments in social media, search, and technology for clients and function as a strategic representative to top Internet personalities and forward-thinking companies looking to break new ground in social media. I am also a founding partner of a Dallas-based online marketing firm called Dexterity Media.
http://dexteritymedia.com
As a Dallas Search Engine Optimization Company & Interactive Social Media Agency, DexterityMedia.com takes a disciplined approach to creative service that always brings usability and searchability into consideration. It doesn't matter how pretty the end product is if it isn't navigable, functional and user-friendly. We aren't creating high-concept arthouse material. We're designing and writing for business. The bottom line is sales, and every design consideration, every word we put into our work, keeps that goal in mind. Gratuitous use of the latest tricks and gimmicks, though certainly within our capabilities, is not what we're about.
The DexterityMedia.com's creative team can put its skills to work for you in the following areas:
* Website Design and Redesign
* Copywriting
* Collateral Design
* Identity Development
We know why you're in business. Let the DexterityMedia.com creative team, in close collaboration with our technologists, strategists and you, design an online presence for your company that does more than generate "ooohs" and "aaahs" - but generates revenue as well. Contact us for an evaluation of your creative needs.
About The Author
Giovanni Gallucci
I provide strategy for new developments in social media, search, and technology for clients and function as a strategic representative to top Internet personalities and forward-thinking companies looking to break new ground in social media. I am also a founding partner of a Dallas-based online marketing firm called Dexterity Media.
http://dexteritymedia.com
Build marketing web sites quickly - too good to be true?
I have been building and publishing websites for small businesses for the last eight years and over that time I have pretty much defined the way that I like to build sites and the tools that I like to use. During this time the business has changed and theWebBothy does less site building and has taken on more of a consultancy slant.
I started out using Front Page which had a lot of advantages for a raw beginner with its ability to be able to publish from the application itself using Front Page extensions. It did have its complications though and would add code that was peculiar to Front Page. I then moved on to Dreamweaver in all its guises and am not surprised that this product has come to dominate the professional design market. Dreamweaver is an excellent product and is extremely versatile, but it is also a vast application and can take some time to master all of its many virtues. Most businesses do not require an all singing and dancing site and marketing their product or service is more important than fancy flash graphics.
Just recently, after watching a few of their tutorial videos, I thought I would have a look at a product called XSitePro.
I had seen this product promoted by quite a few internet marketers and always discounted it as another easy affiliate sale for someone and probably a disappointing product as often can be the case. Well, I was wrong!
This piece of software is extremely good value. For $197 (that’s about £110 at today’s exchange rates) you get a complete system for getting a quality web site online. All you need is a domain name and some hosting and you have a fully functional business web site. It may not be very flash, in both senses of the word, but the nice thing about XSitePro is that it helps with search engine optimisation so your site stands a good chance of getting listed by the major engines.
There are many features to XSitePro, too many for me to list here but I will try to give you a summary of the most useful and important tools contained within the software over and above the WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor that produces the pages for the site.
• Add a site map to your site at a click of the mouse – search engines love them
• Create easy navigation menus and choose where to place them
• Add a breadcrumb trail with an easy to use tool
• Add unblockable marketing pop-ups – choose from three types
• Add Google Adsense ads into your web pages which means you can add an extra income stream without any extra effort
• Check the SEO status of your site with an easy to interpret report complete with any necessary actions
• Articles are a great way to drive traffic to your site, add them easily with XSitePro’s article template
• Use templates to create sales letters, product pages etc and even download extra templates from third parties
• Superb training videos and manual to take a beginner through to finishing a great site (these are genuinely some of the best I have seen)
These are just a few of some of the really nice features of this superb piece of software. XSitePro produce a “Seven Reasons Why You Need XSitePro” video and normally I would regard this type of promotion as a bit tacky but this is genuinely worth watching – click here to take a look.
You don’t have to take my word for it either. A few weeks ago, internet guru Anik Singal launched the excellent Affiliate Manager 1st Edition.
If you have this course you've probably seen the part of the presentation where Anik raves about XSitePro (if not don't worry as I've put a link to it below).
I e-mailed Anik and asked him if it would be okay to use this part of the video to promote XSitePro as it's such a wonderful third party endorsement.
You'll be thrilled to know that Anik said YES! Here's a link to a special page containing an extract from that video - http://www.xsitepro.com/anik2.html
I hope that you find XSitePro as exciting as I did. I am that taken with the versatility of this application that I will be producing some “how to” videos to demonstrate the power of XSitePro in the near future – keep checking back at my site for more details.
About The Author
Chris Cooper, owner and author of The Small Business Internet Manual has been responsible for getting numerous small businesses successfully online. To view more articles written by Chris and receive your FREE internet marketing gift worth 428, please visit www.thewebbothy.co.uk.
I started out using Front Page which had a lot of advantages for a raw beginner with its ability to be able to publish from the application itself using Front Page extensions. It did have its complications though and would add code that was peculiar to Front Page. I then moved on to Dreamweaver in all its guises and am not surprised that this product has come to dominate the professional design market. Dreamweaver is an excellent product and is extremely versatile, but it is also a vast application and can take some time to master all of its many virtues. Most businesses do not require an all singing and dancing site and marketing their product or service is more important than fancy flash graphics.
Just recently, after watching a few of their tutorial videos, I thought I would have a look at a product called XSitePro.
I had seen this product promoted by quite a few internet marketers and always discounted it as another easy affiliate sale for someone and probably a disappointing product as often can be the case. Well, I was wrong!
This piece of software is extremely good value. For $197 (that’s about £110 at today’s exchange rates) you get a complete system for getting a quality web site online. All you need is a domain name and some hosting and you have a fully functional business web site. It may not be very flash, in both senses of the word, but the nice thing about XSitePro is that it helps with search engine optimisation so your site stands a good chance of getting listed by the major engines.
There are many features to XSitePro, too many for me to list here but I will try to give you a summary of the most useful and important tools contained within the software over and above the WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor that produces the pages for the site.
• Add a site map to your site at a click of the mouse – search engines love them
• Create easy navigation menus and choose where to place them
• Add a breadcrumb trail with an easy to use tool
• Add unblockable marketing pop-ups – choose from three types
• Add Google Adsense ads into your web pages which means you can add an extra income stream without any extra effort
• Check the SEO status of your site with an easy to interpret report complete with any necessary actions
• Articles are a great way to drive traffic to your site, add them easily with XSitePro’s article template
• Use templates to create sales letters, product pages etc and even download extra templates from third parties
• Superb training videos and manual to take a beginner through to finishing a great site (these are genuinely some of the best I have seen)
These are just a few of some of the really nice features of this superb piece of software. XSitePro produce a “Seven Reasons Why You Need XSitePro” video and normally I would regard this type of promotion as a bit tacky but this is genuinely worth watching – click here to take a look.
You don’t have to take my word for it either. A few weeks ago, internet guru Anik Singal launched the excellent Affiliate Manager 1st Edition.
If you have this course you've probably seen the part of the presentation where Anik raves about XSitePro (if not don't worry as I've put a link to it below).
I e-mailed Anik and asked him if it would be okay to use this part of the video to promote XSitePro as it's such a wonderful third party endorsement.
You'll be thrilled to know that Anik said YES! Here's a link to a special page containing an extract from that video - http://www.xsitepro.com/anik2.html
I hope that you find XSitePro as exciting as I did. I am that taken with the versatility of this application that I will be producing some “how to” videos to demonstrate the power of XSitePro in the near future – keep checking back at my site for more details.
About The Author
Chris Cooper, owner and author of The Small Business Internet Manual has been responsible for getting numerous small businesses successfully online. To view more articles written by Chris and receive your FREE internet marketing gift worth 428, please visit www.thewebbothy.co.uk.
How to Create a Professional Website In Less Than a Week
painting, or take a piece of clay and create a winning statue, you need the right tools to do the right job.
The tools I'm referring to are web graphics software, web design software, and ftp (file transfer protocol)software. These are tools are a must if you want to get off on the right foot. There are so many of these types of programs that you must really do your homework in order to purchase the one the best fits your needs. Some of these programs can even be downloaded for free. Each program focuses on a particular task. The graphics software helps you create images for your website from scratch. The web design software in short helps you to design and build a website from scratch. The file transfer protocol software is you link to sending your completed web pages from you computer to the internet.
Day one should be focused on purchasing cyber "real estate", and purchasing a name for that real estate.
Building a website is like building a new house. You have to purchase the land and then you can purchase the materials to build the home on the land. Let's take a look at this. Every website has a so called name. Example www.1234.com. This is called the domain name. There are many places that you can purchase cheap domain names. They usually run under $10 dollars and are good for about a year. Once you have the domain name you can start looking for a place to host you website. There are many hosting companies that are popping up on a daily basis. Hosting can be dirt cheap or it can be rather expensive. It all depends on the quality of service you receive from the company. Here's another area you should consider researching before you make a purchase.
Day two should be focused on the whole planning aspect of your website.
The planning aspect of your website should be focused on the objective of your website, the audience you are trying to target, and how your competition is doing in the market. Focusing on the objective simply means to think about what you are trying to accomplish with your website. Your goals and accomplishments should fall into this category. You should also be trying to focus on a target market. Many internet marketers feel that you should focus on a niche market. Remember that the internet is a big playing field. A beginner will get lost in the crowd trying to cover several areas. Instead, try and focus on something with less competition but enough competition to stay in business. Targeting a specific market or niche market is basically the audience you are trying to win over.
Day two should also be focused on the look and feel of your website. For example, you should have a mental image of how you want your website should look. It would be safe to say that you could even sketch out a raw diagram of how you want things to look. Pay attention to the color scheme as well. remember that all colors do not coordinate with one another.
Day three should be focused on the type of graphics you plan on using.
In all honesty, web graphics can make or break the success of your online presence. The internet is all about information and speed. It's like going to a fast food restaurant. You go their because you something quick to eat. The internet is similar. A fast loading website will beat out any other website hands down any day. In order to have a fast loading website you must keep your image graphics file size down to a minimum. The more clutter or bells and whistles you add to your site, the faster it will take to load. There are several website design programs out their that will let you know how long it would normally take for you page to load up. Shrinking the file size, saving it in different formats, and even cropping the image can cut seconds off your loading time.
If you want to save money, you can purchase a graphics program and make images and logos on your own. If you are a bit scared of the venture, you have the option of hiring someone to do the job for you. Whatever choice you make, always do your research for the best details and outstanding customer support.
Here we are on day four. Only one day left. Creating your web pages.
This is basically the meat and bones of any website. For the most part, an easy way to build a website is to use what is called a template. Basically a template is a preset model used to create a number of different pages. It saves you time and headaches. Once you find the look and feel of your website, you use that interface as a preset model to help you move along more smoothly. There are many html editors that can help you do this quicker than usual. One thing to remember is that using an html editor prevents you from dealing with actual html coding. Basically what I'm getting at is you don't really need to know html when using an html editor.
You want to focus on building links, inserting and formatting text, and focusing on building your other pages throughout your site. Day four is the day where everything starts coming together. Take your time on this day. Don't rush anything. Make sure you are satisfied with one step before moving on. Your website is basically a mirror image of what you stand for. It will reflect on your work ethic and personality.
Congratulations you made it to day five. Give yourself a pat on the back. This day is spent publishing your website to the world.
This is where all you work is tied together and presented in a nice package. In order to do this you need some type of ftp software. In technical terms it's called File Transfer Protocol. This is how you transfer your web page files and graphics from your computer to your hosting company. The procedure is rather simple. You basically use a point and click interface. You highlight the file you want to transfer and hit upload or send. The software is rather self-explanatory. Once the site is up on the web, check for links that are not working, or slow download times. Way to go, you have completed your first website without all the technical wisdom. There are a few more details that you will run into, but this is like a crash course of something that is really rather simple.
(c) Copyright 2003 by R. Grisby
When you decide to tackle this task, just remember to take your time and plan everything out in advance. Do your research, and learn the basics of the three main software tools that are required. The tools are only as good as the user. If you become stuck or confused on a certain function, seek help. Customer support, chat rooms, or newsgroups. Remember the internet is a world of information. Use it to your advantage.
Follow these steps and you can impress your friends and family. Completing this will eventually get you labeled as a genius or whiz kid.
About The Author
R.Grisby distributes ebooks dealing with various topics. Self-help, motivation, website design, and how to manuals are some of the areas that are covered. Visit www.buildmyesteem.com and also www.grisbynovels.com/5daywebsite.htm
The tools I'm referring to are web graphics software, web design software, and ftp (file transfer protocol)software. These are tools are a must if you want to get off on the right foot. There are so many of these types of programs that you must really do your homework in order to purchase the one the best fits your needs. Some of these programs can even be downloaded for free. Each program focuses on a particular task. The graphics software helps you create images for your website from scratch. The web design software in short helps you to design and build a website from scratch. The file transfer protocol software is you link to sending your completed web pages from you computer to the internet.
Day one should be focused on purchasing cyber "real estate", and purchasing a name for that real estate.
Building a website is like building a new house. You have to purchase the land and then you can purchase the materials to build the home on the land. Let's take a look at this. Every website has a so called name. Example www.1234.com. This is called the domain name. There are many places that you can purchase cheap domain names. They usually run under $10 dollars and are good for about a year. Once you have the domain name you can start looking for a place to host you website. There are many hosting companies that are popping up on a daily basis. Hosting can be dirt cheap or it can be rather expensive. It all depends on the quality of service you receive from the company. Here's another area you should consider researching before you make a purchase.
Day two should be focused on the whole planning aspect of your website.
The planning aspect of your website should be focused on the objective of your website, the audience you are trying to target, and how your competition is doing in the market. Focusing on the objective simply means to think about what you are trying to accomplish with your website. Your goals and accomplishments should fall into this category. You should also be trying to focus on a target market. Many internet marketers feel that you should focus on a niche market. Remember that the internet is a big playing field. A beginner will get lost in the crowd trying to cover several areas. Instead, try and focus on something with less competition but enough competition to stay in business. Targeting a specific market or niche market is basically the audience you are trying to win over.
Day two should also be focused on the look and feel of your website. For example, you should have a mental image of how you want your website should look. It would be safe to say that you could even sketch out a raw diagram of how you want things to look. Pay attention to the color scheme as well. remember that all colors do not coordinate with one another.
Day three should be focused on the type of graphics you plan on using.
In all honesty, web graphics can make or break the success of your online presence. The internet is all about information and speed. It's like going to a fast food restaurant. You go their because you something quick to eat. The internet is similar. A fast loading website will beat out any other website hands down any day. In order to have a fast loading website you must keep your image graphics file size down to a minimum. The more clutter or bells and whistles you add to your site, the faster it will take to load. There are several website design programs out their that will let you know how long it would normally take for you page to load up. Shrinking the file size, saving it in different formats, and even cropping the image can cut seconds off your loading time.
If you want to save money, you can purchase a graphics program and make images and logos on your own. If you are a bit scared of the venture, you have the option of hiring someone to do the job for you. Whatever choice you make, always do your research for the best details and outstanding customer support.
Here we are on day four. Only one day left. Creating your web pages.
This is basically the meat and bones of any website. For the most part, an easy way to build a website is to use what is called a template. Basically a template is a preset model used to create a number of different pages. It saves you time and headaches. Once you find the look and feel of your website, you use that interface as a preset model to help you move along more smoothly. There are many html editors that can help you do this quicker than usual. One thing to remember is that using an html editor prevents you from dealing with actual html coding. Basically what I'm getting at is you don't really need to know html when using an html editor.
You want to focus on building links, inserting and formatting text, and focusing on building your other pages throughout your site. Day four is the day where everything starts coming together. Take your time on this day. Don't rush anything. Make sure you are satisfied with one step before moving on. Your website is basically a mirror image of what you stand for. It will reflect on your work ethic and personality.
Congratulations you made it to day five. Give yourself a pat on the back. This day is spent publishing your website to the world.
This is where all you work is tied together and presented in a nice package. In order to do this you need some type of ftp software. In technical terms it's called File Transfer Protocol. This is how you transfer your web page files and graphics from your computer to your hosting company. The procedure is rather simple. You basically use a point and click interface. You highlight the file you want to transfer and hit upload or send. The software is rather self-explanatory. Once the site is up on the web, check for links that are not working, or slow download times. Way to go, you have completed your first website without all the technical wisdom. There are a few more details that you will run into, but this is like a crash course of something that is really rather simple.
(c) Copyright 2003 by R. Grisby
When you decide to tackle this task, just remember to take your time and plan everything out in advance. Do your research, and learn the basics of the three main software tools that are required. The tools are only as good as the user. If you become stuck or confused on a certain function, seek help. Customer support, chat rooms, or newsgroups. Remember the internet is a world of information. Use it to your advantage.
Follow these steps and you can impress your friends and family. Completing this will eventually get you labeled as a genius or whiz kid.
About The Author
R.Grisby distributes ebooks dealing with various topics. Self-help, motivation, website design, and how to manuals are some of the areas that are covered. Visit www.buildmyesteem.com and also www.grisbynovels.com/5daywebsite.htm
How Much Bandwidth Does Your Web Site Need?
One of the most common concerns people have when deciding to host a web site is figuring out how much bandwidth they’ll need. Get too little bandwidth and you might be hit with overage fees or have your web site shut off altogether. Get too much and you’re paying for bandwidth that you don’t really need. The following is a helpful guide for determining the amount of bandwidth that’s right for your web site.
Every time someone views a web page or downloads a file, bandwidth – also known as data transfer - is used. How much is used depends on the size of the page or file that is being viewed or downloaded. Essentially, the amount of bandwidth that your web site will need depends on two key factors: (1) Web site content and file size (2) Web site traffic/popularity. Let’s look at a few web site examples to get an idea of what their bandwidth requirements might be, and why.
Let’s start with web sites that have high-bandwidth requirements. If you have a web site that has large-sized content and gets a huge amount of traffic, you’re going to need a lot of bandwidth. An example of a web site that requires a lot of bandwidth would be http://www.compfused.com/ This web site is comprised of thousands of pages, and almost all of those pages are packed with images and video clips. Simply viewing the pages uses a lot of bandwidth, and of course downloading the video clips uses a TON of bandwidth. Combine this with the fact that this web site probably gets tens of thousands of visitors per day and you can see that its bandwidth requirements are quite extensive.
At the other end of the spectrum we have low-bandwidth web sites. A good example of a web site that requires a relatively low amount of bandwidth is my own site http://www.webhostingdiscounts.net/ Take a good look around this site and you’ll notice that its layout is very simple – this simple design is intentional to ensure fast page loads. My web site has about 20 pages total, and most of those pages are pure text, and therefore have a very small file size. Even though I get a good amount of traffic to this web site, its bandwidth requirements are very low because all the files that are viewed are very small and require very little bandwidth to serve up. My web site can get thousands of visitors per day and not break a sweat.
Now that we’ve looked at examples of high and low-bandwidth web sites, it’s probably a good time for me to mention that many web sites on the Internet fall into neither of these categories. Rather, your average web site is more of a medium-bandwidth web site, meaning that it is a cross between the high and low-bandwidth web sites that we discussed above. Pinpointing the optimal bandwidth for medium-bandwidth web sites can be difficult, but with proper planning you should be able to get pretty close.
The average web site contains a mix of text and images throughout its pages, and may or may not offer files for download. The average web site also gets average traffic, meaning anywhere from 50-500 visitors per day. Assuming these factors, a hosting plan with anywhere from 3-5 gigabytes (GB) of data transfer per month should suffice. For sites that get more than 500 visitors per day, or those that offer numerous large files for download, it may be wise to secure a hosting plan with 50 gigabytes of data transfer per month – or more. It is important to note that most web hosts quote your allotted bandwidth in “per month” terms, when in fact that number is actually broken down to a “per day” limit. For example: one web site of mine has 125GB of allotted bandwidth/data transfer per month. Sounds like a lot doesn’t it? It is. However, in reality that equates to about 4.2GB of bandwidth per day. One day, several months ago, I made a large (12 megabyte) video available for download on this web site. It received over 400 downloads within the first two hours! That amounted to 4800 megabytes (MB) of data transfer, or 4.8 gigabytes. You guessed it, I exceeded my daily bandwidth allowance and my site was disabled for 24 hours. Lesson learned? Either order more bandwidth or adjust my web site content to fall within my bandwidth limitations. Not wanting to pony up the dough and purchase more bandwidth, I removed the video.
While we’re on the topic of daily bandwidth limits, I’d also like to point out that if you’re hosting with a free host – such as Yahoo! Geocities – prepare for bandwidth limitations of just 3-5 megabytes per day. This means that you won’t be hosting any video clips or large downloads for long. I once had a web site hosted with Geocities that consisted of just one page – one single page. The page was filled with tons of sports car images both big and small. Once my site started to get 100 visitors per day, even that amount of traffic caused me to exceed my daily bandwidth limit. As a result, my site was shut down almost every day, for a period of several months, due to continually exceeding my daily bandwidth limit.
The point I am trying to make with this article is that with proper preparation and web site design, you can ensure that you always have enough bandwidth to go around. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:
1) When building a new web site, try to make the pages as small (file size) as possible. There are many free tools out there that will tell you the size of your pages and can also compress them to make them more compact.
2) When using images on your web site, try not to go crazy – keep the number of images to a minimum. If you must use tons of images, try a .jpeg or .gif compression tool to make the images as small as possible.
3) Make a concerted effort not to offer too many files for download. If for some reason you feel that you need to offer hundreds of downloadable files, try to select ones that are small (1-2 megs) in size.
By following the tips above, you’ll be able to more accurately predict your bandwidth needs based on your web site content and estimated traffic. Obviously these tips are only general guidelines – the true test is launching your web site and carefully observing and monitoring your bandwidth usage patterns for several months. Inevitably you may need to alter your web site layout/content from time to time to stay within your monthly bandwidth limits. Better yet, if your site becomes so popular that you really do need more bandwidth, simply order more bandwidth from your existing web host or switch to a host that provides more generous monthly data transfer. As your web site grows in size and popularity, sufficient bandwidth will always be a concern, but, such is the price of success!
About The Author
Marc Eberhart is an IT Project Manager, webmaster, and all-around Internet junkie. His web site http://www.webhostingdiscounts.net/ offers visitors 40% off web hosting plans with top-rated hosting companies
Every time someone views a web page or downloads a file, bandwidth – also known as data transfer - is used. How much is used depends on the size of the page or file that is being viewed or downloaded. Essentially, the amount of bandwidth that your web site will need depends on two key factors: (1) Web site content and file size (2) Web site traffic/popularity. Let’s look at a few web site examples to get an idea of what their bandwidth requirements might be, and why.
Let’s start with web sites that have high-bandwidth requirements. If you have a web site that has large-sized content and gets a huge amount of traffic, you’re going to need a lot of bandwidth. An example of a web site that requires a lot of bandwidth would be http://www.compfused.com/ This web site is comprised of thousands of pages, and almost all of those pages are packed with images and video clips. Simply viewing the pages uses a lot of bandwidth, and of course downloading the video clips uses a TON of bandwidth. Combine this with the fact that this web site probably gets tens of thousands of visitors per day and you can see that its bandwidth requirements are quite extensive.
At the other end of the spectrum we have low-bandwidth web sites. A good example of a web site that requires a relatively low amount of bandwidth is my own site http://www.webhostingdiscounts.net/ Take a good look around this site and you’ll notice that its layout is very simple – this simple design is intentional to ensure fast page loads. My web site has about 20 pages total, and most of those pages are pure text, and therefore have a very small file size. Even though I get a good amount of traffic to this web site, its bandwidth requirements are very low because all the files that are viewed are very small and require very little bandwidth to serve up. My web site can get thousands of visitors per day and not break a sweat.
Now that we’ve looked at examples of high and low-bandwidth web sites, it’s probably a good time for me to mention that many web sites on the Internet fall into neither of these categories. Rather, your average web site is more of a medium-bandwidth web site, meaning that it is a cross between the high and low-bandwidth web sites that we discussed above. Pinpointing the optimal bandwidth for medium-bandwidth web sites can be difficult, but with proper planning you should be able to get pretty close.
The average web site contains a mix of text and images throughout its pages, and may or may not offer files for download. The average web site also gets average traffic, meaning anywhere from 50-500 visitors per day. Assuming these factors, a hosting plan with anywhere from 3-5 gigabytes (GB) of data transfer per month should suffice. For sites that get more than 500 visitors per day, or those that offer numerous large files for download, it may be wise to secure a hosting plan with 50 gigabytes of data transfer per month – or more. It is important to note that most web hosts quote your allotted bandwidth in “per month” terms, when in fact that number is actually broken down to a “per day” limit. For example: one web site of mine has 125GB of allotted bandwidth/data transfer per month. Sounds like a lot doesn’t it? It is. However, in reality that equates to about 4.2GB of bandwidth per day. One day, several months ago, I made a large (12 megabyte) video available for download on this web site. It received over 400 downloads within the first two hours! That amounted to 4800 megabytes (MB) of data transfer, or 4.8 gigabytes. You guessed it, I exceeded my daily bandwidth allowance and my site was disabled for 24 hours. Lesson learned? Either order more bandwidth or adjust my web site content to fall within my bandwidth limitations. Not wanting to pony up the dough and purchase more bandwidth, I removed the video.
While we’re on the topic of daily bandwidth limits, I’d also like to point out that if you’re hosting with a free host – such as Yahoo! Geocities – prepare for bandwidth limitations of just 3-5 megabytes per day. This means that you won’t be hosting any video clips or large downloads for long. I once had a web site hosted with Geocities that consisted of just one page – one single page. The page was filled with tons of sports car images both big and small. Once my site started to get 100 visitors per day, even that amount of traffic caused me to exceed my daily bandwidth limit. As a result, my site was shut down almost every day, for a period of several months, due to continually exceeding my daily bandwidth limit.
The point I am trying to make with this article is that with proper preparation and web site design, you can ensure that you always have enough bandwidth to go around. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:
1) When building a new web site, try to make the pages as small (file size) as possible. There are many free tools out there that will tell you the size of your pages and can also compress them to make them more compact.
2) When using images on your web site, try not to go crazy – keep the number of images to a minimum. If you must use tons of images, try a .jpeg or .gif compression tool to make the images as small as possible.
3) Make a concerted effort not to offer too many files for download. If for some reason you feel that you need to offer hundreds of downloadable files, try to select ones that are small (1-2 megs) in size.
By following the tips above, you’ll be able to more accurately predict your bandwidth needs based on your web site content and estimated traffic. Obviously these tips are only general guidelines – the true test is launching your web site and carefully observing and monitoring your bandwidth usage patterns for several months. Inevitably you may need to alter your web site layout/content from time to time to stay within your monthly bandwidth limits. Better yet, if your site becomes so popular that you really do need more bandwidth, simply order more bandwidth from your existing web host or switch to a host that provides more generous monthly data transfer. As your web site grows in size and popularity, sufficient bandwidth will always be a concern, but, such is the price of success!
About The Author
Marc Eberhart is an IT Project Manager, webmaster, and all-around Internet junkie. His web site http://www.webhostingdiscounts.net/ offers visitors 40% off web hosting plans with top-rated hosting companies
How to Sell your Website
There are hundreds and thousands of websites on the internet today being bought and sold and there are many places you can sell your website such as ebay and website brokers. Though this article we will explore each of these possibilities in greater details.
Ebay - Selling a website on ebay can perfect for some and completely useless for others. As most people know ebay, it gets millions of hits every minute from people looking for everything from hair nets to race cars. For starters this is a great way to get word out that your website is for sale. It has lots of people viewing your ads but keep in mind your competition is feirce as so many people post sites for sale on ebay. To sell your website on ebay it has to stand out from the rest.
Forums - Forums tend to be a great place to sell websites. They tend to ask alot more questions about statistics and revenue than most other places but if you have a quality site you can sometimes get alot more for it buy selling your website in forums. Good forums for this include sitepoint.com, geekvillage.com and webhostingtalk.com.
Website Brokers - Website brokers normally go out and try to get you the best possible price for your website. They tend to have contacts in the industry and will get into contact with people you can't or dont even know exist. They generally charge a fee of around 10%-15%. There are a few websites around where you can post your website up to brokers - kind of like a cross between ebay and a brokers firm.
Sell to your visitors - A commonly used technique to get a good profit from the sale of your website is to post a 'site for sale' link or image on the frontpage of the site for sale. This targets the audience to people interested in the topic of the site. But be warned not all of these people are or want to be webmasters.
Personal Contact - If you have a low budget, selling your website though your personal contact can be very rewarding. This takes everyone else out of the equation and you pay no broker fees or ad fees. If you plan on selling your website this way make sure you know enough people who would be intrested in the site.
Website Checklist
Before you get to putting up website for sale ads and hiring a site broker, there are a few things you will need. Firstly, find out in detail your statistics. This including unique visitors per day or month, bandwidth used per month and current and past revenue for the website. Most people who are in the industry will ask for the pagerank of the website too. You can find out your page rank by downloading the google toolbar and re-visiting your website. A pagerank is considered by most webmasters as being a large factor.
About The Author
Matt Dobinson is the owner of PageBrokers.com - A website dedicated to buying and selling websites online for the best possible price.. He also runs WebmasterFreebie.com - an online community for webmasters.
Ebay - Selling a website on ebay can perfect for some and completely useless for others. As most people know ebay, it gets millions of hits every minute from people looking for everything from hair nets to race cars. For starters this is a great way to get word out that your website is for sale. It has lots of people viewing your ads but keep in mind your competition is feirce as so many people post sites for sale on ebay. To sell your website on ebay it has to stand out from the rest.
Forums - Forums tend to be a great place to sell websites. They tend to ask alot more questions about statistics and revenue than most other places but if you have a quality site you can sometimes get alot more for it buy selling your website in forums. Good forums for this include sitepoint.com, geekvillage.com and webhostingtalk.com.
Website Brokers - Website brokers normally go out and try to get you the best possible price for your website. They tend to have contacts in the industry and will get into contact with people you can't or dont even know exist. They generally charge a fee of around 10%-15%. There are a few websites around where you can post your website up to brokers - kind of like a cross between ebay and a brokers firm.
Sell to your visitors - A commonly used technique to get a good profit from the sale of your website is to post a 'site for sale' link or image on the frontpage of the site for sale. This targets the audience to people interested in the topic of the site. But be warned not all of these people are or want to be webmasters.
Personal Contact - If you have a low budget, selling your website though your personal contact can be very rewarding. This takes everyone else out of the equation and you pay no broker fees or ad fees. If you plan on selling your website this way make sure you know enough people who would be intrested in the site.
Website Checklist
Before you get to putting up website for sale ads and hiring a site broker, there are a few things you will need. Firstly, find out in detail your statistics. This including unique visitors per day or month, bandwidth used per month and current and past revenue for the website. Most people who are in the industry will ask for the pagerank of the website too. You can find out your page rank by downloading the google toolbar and re-visiting your website. A pagerank is considered by most webmasters as being a large factor.
About The Author
Matt Dobinson is the owner of PageBrokers.com - A website dedicated to buying and selling websites online for the best possible price.. He also runs WebmasterFreebie.com - an online community for webmasters.
eCommerce, How much does it cost?
Making profits with your existing website design or creating a new online store can be exciting, affordable and most of all; rewarding. Mmmm . . . that's what the last sales guy told me.
What is eCommerce (or selling via the Internet)? It is similar to selling through a physical building's business storefront, with one big difference: the costs for eCommerce are lower. The lower costs alone make it a lot more affordable for someone to start up a business or expand their storefront business onto the Internet.
So, the cost to do online business depends on how much time and effort you are able to put in and the eCommerce developer you choose to work with. Generally, developers should try to enable their clients to be as independent as possible in areas such as daily site updates, processing online orders, customer feedback and low or no cost (except time) online marketing.
Hosting costs are determined by: the amount of 1) server space you require for product photos, e-mail accounts, and 2) bandwidth - the more customers that visit your store, the more bandwidth you will require. Typically an online store setup may cost $15 to $90 per month for hosting.
Other costs include online store program and designing the storefront. There are many programs to choose from with some being free to some costing thousands. As with anything you buy, you do get what you pay for. Clients like to use online store setups that are easy for them to use when they need to do product updates and simple design changes. That way the initial higher cost for the client's online store will be offset by ease of use and low maintenance costs to operate over the long term.
Next we have graphical design costs, that can range from $70 for a pre-designed store template to a built from scratch setup that can cost $500 and up. If you have only a few products I would suggest starting with the pre-designed store template as the cost is low and the look is quite professional, with only a small amount of time required to input text and make some minor modifications to suit your requirements. If you have quite a few products and they are quite different from each other, you may incur more cost to develop the graphic design as each product category will have a look designed just for that category.
Finally, we need to open up the store for business: market the store and bring in some customers to buy the products. As mentioned earlier, there is no-cost marketing that can be done. For example, the site can be submitted to the primary search engines, adding the store listing to online directories that are relevant to the product or service, and exchanging store links with other sites that are similar but not direct competition.
What are we selling? When your starting out with a new product, try to stay with a unique product that is light in weight, as shipping costs are often overlooked in starting up an online business. If you already have existing products to sell, revisit shipping costs and see where you can find savings.
I find most business owners sell what they are most passionate about. Some of your present hobbies or interests could sell as the end product, as items purchased by other people. Some of the most successful online stores are a result of one's passion and desire to share their dream with others and if done logically and thoughtfully with a good web developer, can result in financial rewards at a low investment cost through an online store.
About The Author
Since 1997, Dennis Dadey, Chief Designer at IR Design, has been helping people with e-commerce applications. Find out more about IR Design at http://www.irdesign.co
What is eCommerce (or selling via the Internet)? It is similar to selling through a physical building's business storefront, with one big difference: the costs for eCommerce are lower. The lower costs alone make it a lot more affordable for someone to start up a business or expand their storefront business onto the Internet.
So, the cost to do online business depends on how much time and effort you are able to put in and the eCommerce developer you choose to work with. Generally, developers should try to enable their clients to be as independent as possible in areas such as daily site updates, processing online orders, customer feedback and low or no cost (except time) online marketing.
Hosting costs are determined by: the amount of 1) server space you require for product photos, e-mail accounts, and 2) bandwidth - the more customers that visit your store, the more bandwidth you will require. Typically an online store setup may cost $15 to $90 per month for hosting.
Other costs include online store program and designing the storefront. There are many programs to choose from with some being free to some costing thousands. As with anything you buy, you do get what you pay for. Clients like to use online store setups that are easy for them to use when they need to do product updates and simple design changes. That way the initial higher cost for the client's online store will be offset by ease of use and low maintenance costs to operate over the long term.
Next we have graphical design costs, that can range from $70 for a pre-designed store template to a built from scratch setup that can cost $500 and up. If you have only a few products I would suggest starting with the pre-designed store template as the cost is low and the look is quite professional, with only a small amount of time required to input text and make some minor modifications to suit your requirements. If you have quite a few products and they are quite different from each other, you may incur more cost to develop the graphic design as each product category will have a look designed just for that category.
Finally, we need to open up the store for business: market the store and bring in some customers to buy the products. As mentioned earlier, there is no-cost marketing that can be done. For example, the site can be submitted to the primary search engines, adding the store listing to online directories that are relevant to the product or service, and exchanging store links with other sites that are similar but not direct competition.
What are we selling? When your starting out with a new product, try to stay with a unique product that is light in weight, as shipping costs are often overlooked in starting up an online business. If you already have existing products to sell, revisit shipping costs and see where you can find savings.
I find most business owners sell what they are most passionate about. Some of your present hobbies or interests could sell as the end product, as items purchased by other people. Some of the most successful online stores are a result of one's passion and desire to share their dream with others and if done logically and thoughtfully with a good web developer, can result in financial rewards at a low investment cost through an online store.
About The Author
Since 1997, Dennis Dadey, Chief Designer at IR Design, has been helping people with e-commerce applications. Find out more about IR Design at http://www.irdesign.co
Basic Web Design Principles
Home page should clearly indicate what the site is about. Provide top level navigation on the first page, your logo, and tell to the visitor what he can found on your web site. Your home page should be informative, and should call your visitor on action. Home page is the place where the visitor decides what he will do, click on some of your links, or leave the site. If you have a discount, or if you offer some free service in attempt to make a contact with potential customers, make sure to provide link to that service on your home page.
If you decide to implement flash intro on your first page, make sure to give the user possibility to skip the flash intro. The link “skip intro” should be outside of the flash, because you will force the visitor to wait until the Flash movie is loaded.
Navigation structure
Place the navigation on the place where the people are used too look for it. Don’t experiment with the navigation! I can’t stress enough this. Keep the navigation system same on ALL pages. Visitors are not ready to learn your site navigation system. Consistency is the most important thing here. You should focus your effort on building consistent rhythm across all pages of your site.
Font size
Your font size should be enough big so your text can be read without effort. There are many people who will not bother to read very small letters. Don’t loose your visitors because of font size. Optimal size seems to be 12-13 points. Visitors should be able to read your text easy, without any effort. Broke big chunks of texts in paragraphs and make them easy to follow.
Line Length
The length of a line of type should be comfortable to read. The optimal line length for printed materials seems to be about 10 to 12 words, or 60 to 70 characters. Somewhat shorter lines of about 40 to 50 characters may be more appropriate for larger displays. If the line is too long the reader must search for the beginning of it; if it is too short it will break up words or phrases awkwardly.
Creating emphasis
Creating emphasis is an important and integral part of designing and typesetting. Handled with taste and good judgment it can help direct and inform the reader. When these qualities are lacking, or someone feels that every word is important and must be emphasized in some way then your web page starts to look like a battlefield and becomes difficult to read!
Graphics
It’s well known that one picture worth more than million words. This rule applies on Internet too. Do your best to show clear, attractive photo of your product. If you offer a service, find a photo which will best describe him. However, be careful about file size. Don’t compress your photo to that level to not be clear, but also don’t leave the photo on full quality. That will make file size too big, and will increase download time.
Gif vs. JPEG
Less experienced web designers many times use wrong format to store their picture. Here are few guidelines which will help mistakes to be avoided. If your photo has small number of colors (less then 64) GIF will be better choice. Make sure however to reduce the palette size too. That is, if your image have10-15 colors only, reduce your palette on 16 or 32 colors.
Also, if your image contains text, GIF format should be your choice. JPEG use loosy compression method and will cause text and edges to become blurry.
If you are saving a photograph – save it as JPEG
JPEG images can contain over 32 million different colours. That is much more than the human eye can see.
If you want to incorporate large text into a photographic image, JPEG may be a good format to use. While the edges may still get blurred, danger of it becoming unreadable is slim. If you think your image is more important than the text, go ahead and use the JPEG format.
Speed
Do your best to reduce the download time. We live in a busy world and people are not will to wait long time. Try to reduce size of your graphics as much as possible without to destroy the image. Image must look good, but size (in KB) should be as small as possible.
Test before publishing
Do your homework, and do it well. Your visitors will not bother to send you an E-Mail that some of your links does not work or that some of your images does not appear. Even if someone do so, it is quite embarrassing. Perform spell and grammar checking. Remember that in many cases visitor will build his opinion about you or your company on base on your web site. When published, site should not contain any “under construction” or “coming soon” messages.
About The Author
Zoran Makrevski is founder and CEO of SEO.Goto.gr.
Since 1998 has focused on E-Commerce and attempts to bring more traffic to the customer sites bring him in the SEO industry, and he is running his own company today.
Search Engine Positioning Firm
SEO.Goto.gr
If you decide to implement flash intro on your first page, make sure to give the user possibility to skip the flash intro. The link “skip intro” should be outside of the flash, because you will force the visitor to wait until the Flash movie is loaded.
Navigation structure
Place the navigation on the place where the people are used too look for it. Don’t experiment with the navigation! I can’t stress enough this. Keep the navigation system same on ALL pages. Visitors are not ready to learn your site navigation system. Consistency is the most important thing here. You should focus your effort on building consistent rhythm across all pages of your site.
Font size
Your font size should be enough big so your text can be read without effort. There are many people who will not bother to read very small letters. Don’t loose your visitors because of font size. Optimal size seems to be 12-13 points. Visitors should be able to read your text easy, without any effort. Broke big chunks of texts in paragraphs and make them easy to follow.
Line Length
The length of a line of type should be comfortable to read. The optimal line length for printed materials seems to be about 10 to 12 words, or 60 to 70 characters. Somewhat shorter lines of about 40 to 50 characters may be more appropriate for larger displays. If the line is too long the reader must search for the beginning of it; if it is too short it will break up words or phrases awkwardly.
Creating emphasis
Creating emphasis is an important and integral part of designing and typesetting. Handled with taste and good judgment it can help direct and inform the reader. When these qualities are lacking, or someone feels that every word is important and must be emphasized in some way then your web page starts to look like a battlefield and becomes difficult to read!
Graphics
It’s well known that one picture worth more than million words. This rule applies on Internet too. Do your best to show clear, attractive photo of your product. If you offer a service, find a photo which will best describe him. However, be careful about file size. Don’t compress your photo to that level to not be clear, but also don’t leave the photo on full quality. That will make file size too big, and will increase download time.
Gif vs. JPEG
Less experienced web designers many times use wrong format to store their picture. Here are few guidelines which will help mistakes to be avoided. If your photo has small number of colors (less then 64) GIF will be better choice. Make sure however to reduce the palette size too. That is, if your image have10-15 colors only, reduce your palette on 16 or 32 colors.
Also, if your image contains text, GIF format should be your choice. JPEG use loosy compression method and will cause text and edges to become blurry.
If you are saving a photograph – save it as JPEG
JPEG images can contain over 32 million different colours. That is much more than the human eye can see.
If you want to incorporate large text into a photographic image, JPEG may be a good format to use. While the edges may still get blurred, danger of it becoming unreadable is slim. If you think your image is more important than the text, go ahead and use the JPEG format.
Speed
Do your best to reduce the download time. We live in a busy world and people are not will to wait long time. Try to reduce size of your graphics as much as possible without to destroy the image. Image must look good, but size (in KB) should be as small as possible.
Test before publishing
Do your homework, and do it well. Your visitors will not bother to send you an E-Mail that some of your links does not work or that some of your images does not appear. Even if someone do so, it is quite embarrassing. Perform spell and grammar checking. Remember that in many cases visitor will build his opinion about you or your company on base on your web site. When published, site should not contain any “under construction” or “coming soon” messages.
About The Author
Zoran Makrevski is founder and CEO of SEO.Goto.gr.
Since 1998 has focused on E-Commerce and attempts to bring more traffic to the customer sites bring him in the SEO industry, and he is running his own company today.
Search Engine Positioning Firm
SEO.Goto.gr
Web Hosting: Which Is The Host With The Most?
So you want to publish a web site do you? Welcome to the club. These days it seems that almost everyone has a web site of some kind, and thousands more continue to be launched every day. It's challenging enough to design a site and fill it with interesting content, but when all is said and done another challenge still remains - where to host it?
A popular choice for newbie webmasters, and even experienced ones, is to secure a free hosting plan with a company such as Yahoo! Geocities, Tripod or Angelfire. While these are easy to setup and free of charge, they do have limitations. Most free hosts don't offer all the nice features that paid hosts do such as FTP access, CGI-BIN, or your own personal domain name. Instead you’re stuck with minimal features and a generic URL such as www.freewebhost.com/marcswebsite. This somewhat limits your web site‘s potential. Most free hosts also require you to run banners or pop-up ads on your web site to make it worth their while - these banners and pop-ups can obstruct the view of your web page and ultimately annoy visitors and drive them away. Lastly, most free hosts have a daily bandwidth limit that is very small, so if you do get a lot of traffic you'll most likely exceed the allotted bandwidth and your site will be temporarily disabled. Overall I would recommend free web hosts for people that are new to web hosting and want to get a feel for how it works. I'd also recommend them for web sites that are personal in nature (such as an online journal) as well as web sites that don't plan to generate any revenue. Free web hosts are a great stepping stone to paid web hosts - I myself starting building web sites 4 years ago using free hosts, and today I run several high traffic web sites that are hosted on paid web hosting plans.
Now it's time to get into the good stuff - paid web hosting. Web hosting companies that charge money for their services are plentiful on the Internet, and feature a wide array of hosting packages at various price points. First we begin with so called "budget" web hosts, who claim to offer you the world for only $1 per month. Having used numerous such companies I feel I must tell you to proceed with caution here, as these companies aren't all that they are cracked up to be. Many claim to offer 24/7 e-mail support, which in my experience turned out to be 0/0 e-mail support. My e-mails were either never answered or answered a week after I sent them. Even when I got a response it was generic in nature and completely unhelpful. Also, expect frequent outages with these budget web hosts as they rarely even have their own web servers - often they are reselling space on someone else's web servers over which they have no control. One budget web host I used went down unexpectedly for 6 days, and they didn‘t even bother to notify their customers. As a result, my web site was down for 6 days and I lost most of my visitors as well as my hard-earned search engine rankings. Lesson learned: if the reliability and success of your web site is important to you, budget web hosting might not be the answer. However, this is not to say that all budget web hosts are bad - 1dollarhosting.com is one of the leaders in the budget web hosting arena and has quite a good reputation.
The next type of paid web host is what I refer to as a "mid-range" web host, meaning that they offer prices and service that will satisfy the majority of web sites out there. Mid-range web hosts like PowWeb, Your-Site.com and iPowerWeb offer packages ranging from $5 to $8 per month and provide the tools that most webmasters will need to run a web site, such as: CGI-BIN, tons of e-mail addresses, FTP support, visitor statistics and more. These hosts do have monthly bandwidth limits, but the limits are quite high, and most web sites will never reach them. However, if your web site features hundreds of file downloads and gets decent traffic you may be shocked at how soon you'll reach those bandwidth limits. When you do, your site may be temporarily shut down or you'll have to pay bandwidth overage charges, which can get pricey. Overall though, mid-range web hosts will be satisfactory for 90% of the web sites out there, and generally offer excellent uptime/reliability. In fact, many web-based businesses are successfully run using a mid-range web host. However, as mentioned previously, web sites that offer large files for download or sites that get a huge amount of traffic may find that a mid-range host doesn’t quite suit their needs. These types of web sites may require “high-end” web hosting solutions, the next topic in our discussion.
High-end web hosts typically service web sites that are extremely popular, have a high amount of traffic, and/or require pretty much 100% uptime. Most businesses rely on high-end web hosts to host their web sites. Rackspace.com is an example of a well known high-end web hosting company. Pricing for high-end hosts varies, but typically runs from about $50 per month to several hundred dollars per month. Many high-end hosts give you your own dedicated server (which they support) that is reserved just for you and your web site. The mid-range hosts I discussed earlier typically host many different web sites on the same server - this is known as “shared” hosting. High-end web hosts offer stellar reliability, bandwidth, and just about every tool you’ll ever need to run a successful web site. Another feature that some high-end web hosts provide is “co-location” hosting. In this scenario, YOU configure and provide the web server, but you get to plug it into their data center/network. This can be very nice because their data center usually has a fiber-optic connection directly to the Internet, offering blazing bandwidth and stellar reliability. People who run web-based businesses or extremely popular, high traffic web sites are good candidates for high-end web hosting.
Hopefully this brief overview gives you a good picture of the various types of web hosts that exist, and which one might be right for you. When you begin your search for a web host, always keep in mind the old adage “You get what you pay for” because it really does hold true in this case. Before you make the commitment to host a web site be sure to take some time and analyze what you want out of the web site, and decide which factors are most important to its success. Answering these questions will get you many steps closer to choosing the web host that’s right for you.
About The Author
Marc Eberhart is an IT Project Manager, webmaster, and all-around Internet junkie. His web site http://www.webhostingdiscounts.net/ offers visitors 40% off web hosting plans with top-rated hosting companies.
A popular choice for newbie webmasters, and even experienced ones, is to secure a free hosting plan with a company such as Yahoo! Geocities, Tripod or Angelfire. While these are easy to setup and free of charge, they do have limitations. Most free hosts don't offer all the nice features that paid hosts do such as FTP access, CGI-BIN, or your own personal domain name. Instead you’re stuck with minimal features and a generic URL such as www.freewebhost.com/marcswebsite. This somewhat limits your web site‘s potential. Most free hosts also require you to run banners or pop-up ads on your web site to make it worth their while - these banners and pop-ups can obstruct the view of your web page and ultimately annoy visitors and drive them away. Lastly, most free hosts have a daily bandwidth limit that is very small, so if you do get a lot of traffic you'll most likely exceed the allotted bandwidth and your site will be temporarily disabled. Overall I would recommend free web hosts for people that are new to web hosting and want to get a feel for how it works. I'd also recommend them for web sites that are personal in nature (such as an online journal) as well as web sites that don't plan to generate any revenue. Free web hosts are a great stepping stone to paid web hosts - I myself starting building web sites 4 years ago using free hosts, and today I run several high traffic web sites that are hosted on paid web hosting plans.
Now it's time to get into the good stuff - paid web hosting. Web hosting companies that charge money for their services are plentiful on the Internet, and feature a wide array of hosting packages at various price points. First we begin with so called "budget" web hosts, who claim to offer you the world for only $1 per month. Having used numerous such companies I feel I must tell you to proceed with caution here, as these companies aren't all that they are cracked up to be. Many claim to offer 24/7 e-mail support, which in my experience turned out to be 0/0 e-mail support. My e-mails were either never answered or answered a week after I sent them. Even when I got a response it was generic in nature and completely unhelpful. Also, expect frequent outages with these budget web hosts as they rarely even have their own web servers - often they are reselling space on someone else's web servers over which they have no control. One budget web host I used went down unexpectedly for 6 days, and they didn‘t even bother to notify their customers. As a result, my web site was down for 6 days and I lost most of my visitors as well as my hard-earned search engine rankings. Lesson learned: if the reliability and success of your web site is important to you, budget web hosting might not be the answer. However, this is not to say that all budget web hosts are bad - 1dollarhosting.com is one of the leaders in the budget web hosting arena and has quite a good reputation.
The next type of paid web host is what I refer to as a "mid-range" web host, meaning that they offer prices and service that will satisfy the majority of web sites out there. Mid-range web hosts like PowWeb, Your-Site.com and iPowerWeb offer packages ranging from $5 to $8 per month and provide the tools that most webmasters will need to run a web site, such as: CGI-BIN, tons of e-mail addresses, FTP support, visitor statistics and more. These hosts do have monthly bandwidth limits, but the limits are quite high, and most web sites will never reach them. However, if your web site features hundreds of file downloads and gets decent traffic you may be shocked at how soon you'll reach those bandwidth limits. When you do, your site may be temporarily shut down or you'll have to pay bandwidth overage charges, which can get pricey. Overall though, mid-range web hosts will be satisfactory for 90% of the web sites out there, and generally offer excellent uptime/reliability. In fact, many web-based businesses are successfully run using a mid-range web host. However, as mentioned previously, web sites that offer large files for download or sites that get a huge amount of traffic may find that a mid-range host doesn’t quite suit their needs. These types of web sites may require “high-end” web hosting solutions, the next topic in our discussion.
High-end web hosts typically service web sites that are extremely popular, have a high amount of traffic, and/or require pretty much 100% uptime. Most businesses rely on high-end web hosts to host their web sites. Rackspace.com is an example of a well known high-end web hosting company. Pricing for high-end hosts varies, but typically runs from about $50 per month to several hundred dollars per month. Many high-end hosts give you your own dedicated server (which they support) that is reserved just for you and your web site. The mid-range hosts I discussed earlier typically host many different web sites on the same server - this is known as “shared” hosting. High-end web hosts offer stellar reliability, bandwidth, and just about every tool you’ll ever need to run a successful web site. Another feature that some high-end web hosts provide is “co-location” hosting. In this scenario, YOU configure and provide the web server, but you get to plug it into their data center/network. This can be very nice because their data center usually has a fiber-optic connection directly to the Internet, offering blazing bandwidth and stellar reliability. People who run web-based businesses or extremely popular, high traffic web sites are good candidates for high-end web hosting.
Hopefully this brief overview gives you a good picture of the various types of web hosts that exist, and which one might be right for you. When you begin your search for a web host, always keep in mind the old adage “You get what you pay for” because it really does hold true in this case. Before you make the commitment to host a web site be sure to take some time and analyze what you want out of the web site, and decide which factors are most important to its success. Answering these questions will get you many steps closer to choosing the web host that’s right for you.
About The Author
Marc Eberhart is an IT Project Manager, webmaster, and all-around Internet junkie. His web site http://www.webhostingdiscounts.net/ offers visitors 40% off web hosting plans with top-rated hosting companies.
Seven Things to do NOW to Look Good ALWAYS!
Fashion magazines target people every day with lists and charts telling them the latest trends and techniques to look better, skinnier, smarter, where to buy the hippest clothes or the latest shoes! If you’re a woman, you are probably bombarded more often than you like, and if you’re a man, you may not get the information that you really want to know! Due to the glut of information available, most people know the obvious things to do to look elegant or well groomed, such as getting a good haircut or wearing certain brand name clothes. However, this may lead people to overlook some simple, basic things that can be done RIGHT NOW to add that subtle flair and polish to your everyday look!
Renu Dalal-Jain, a certified image consultant and the owner of Flair Consulting in Philadelphia, PA, works with men and women to help them put their best personal face forward in social or corporate settings. She maintains that there are seven essential things any man or women can do, and often overlook, to help them present a well-groomed, neat, and elegant appearance to the world! And all this without spending a dime!
1) Keep your skin and lips well conditioned. Ashy knees, flaky skin and chapped lips do not look nice, and will make your skin look old and tired. This is especially important in colder weather. If you wear lipstick, it is imperative that you keep your lips moist, because chapped lips are even more apparent under color. Keep lip balm in your car and your bedside table and apply it whenever you get in the car and before going to bed at night.
2) Make sure your nails are well shaped and all a similar length. Nothing says you don’t care like ragged nails or nails that are different lengths! (Ladies, I know you worked hard to grow those nails but just because only one broke, you shouldn’t think nobody would notice!) If you polish your nails, keep your everyday color one shade brighter than your skin-tone. This looks professional and clean and makes your hands look elegant, especially if you wear rings. If you like brighter colors make sure you repair chipped polish right away! Chips in bright polish are extremely noticeable and make you look sloppy.
3) Make sure your clothes and accessories are in a similar color family – don’t wear shades of beige or brown clothing with black shoes or a white belt. As a rule of thumb, make sure your belt, shoes, and watchstrap are in the same color family. Sometimes a strikingly different purse or shoes can make a statement, but it has to be well planned. The article in question must be of good quality and in good condition, since you want people to notice it.
4) Your socks or hose must match either your shoes or your pants. Do not EVER wear blue socks with brown shoes, or black socks with sneakers! If you are wearing sling-back or open-back shoes, make sure your socks or hose are the color of your shoes or nude-colored. If you are wearing sandals, do NOT wear hose unless it is patterned (think fishnets) and “deliberately worn to make a trendy statement”.
5) Wear the highest length socks you can (at least mid to high calf-length). NOBODY wants to see shiny shins peeking out when you sit down!
6) Polish your shoes and clean your sneakers! The number one thing people forget to do when going out is to check their shoes for scuffs or dirt. Polished shoes show that you care about your appearance. The most expensive shoes in the world will look horrible if they are dirty or scuffed!
7) Keep your wallet or purse organized all the time. Nothing makes you look disorganized like an overstuffed wallet hanging on for dear life in your back pocket, or a purse bursting at the seams! Make yourself a system to keep the business cards, credit cards or receipts you don’t need all the time, in your briefcase or at home.
And a bonus: an understated use of scent (aftershave, cologne or perfume) shows that you take an extra step with your grooming and can have a positive effect not only on your own mood but on those around you. According to the Social Issues Research Center in Oxford, UK, subtle fragrances can have dramatic effects in improving your mood and sense of well-being. In addition, in experiments, subjects exposed to pleasant fragrances tend to give higher ‘attractiveness ratings’ to people in photographs. The regular use of pleasant fragrances helps to reduce mood disturbances in men and women.
About The Author
Copyright © 2004 Renu Dalal-Jain, MS, CIC
Flair Consulting
http://www.flairconsulting.com
rdalaljain@hotmail.com
Renu Dalal-Jain, a certified image consultant and the owner of Flair Consulting in Philadelphia, PA, works with men and women to help them put their best personal face forward in social or corporate settings. She maintains that there are seven essential things any man or women can do, and often overlook, to help them present a well-groomed, neat, and elegant appearance to the world! And all this without spending a dime!
1) Keep your skin and lips well conditioned. Ashy knees, flaky skin and chapped lips do not look nice, and will make your skin look old and tired. This is especially important in colder weather. If you wear lipstick, it is imperative that you keep your lips moist, because chapped lips are even more apparent under color. Keep lip balm in your car and your bedside table and apply it whenever you get in the car and before going to bed at night.
2) Make sure your nails are well shaped and all a similar length. Nothing says you don’t care like ragged nails or nails that are different lengths! (Ladies, I know you worked hard to grow those nails but just because only one broke, you shouldn’t think nobody would notice!) If you polish your nails, keep your everyday color one shade brighter than your skin-tone. This looks professional and clean and makes your hands look elegant, especially if you wear rings. If you like brighter colors make sure you repair chipped polish right away! Chips in bright polish are extremely noticeable and make you look sloppy.
3) Make sure your clothes and accessories are in a similar color family – don’t wear shades of beige or brown clothing with black shoes or a white belt. As a rule of thumb, make sure your belt, shoes, and watchstrap are in the same color family. Sometimes a strikingly different purse or shoes can make a statement, but it has to be well planned. The article in question must be of good quality and in good condition, since you want people to notice it.
4) Your socks or hose must match either your shoes or your pants. Do not EVER wear blue socks with brown shoes, or black socks with sneakers! If you are wearing sling-back or open-back shoes, make sure your socks or hose are the color of your shoes or nude-colored. If you are wearing sandals, do NOT wear hose unless it is patterned (think fishnets) and “deliberately worn to make a trendy statement”.
5) Wear the highest length socks you can (at least mid to high calf-length). NOBODY wants to see shiny shins peeking out when you sit down!
6) Polish your shoes and clean your sneakers! The number one thing people forget to do when going out is to check their shoes for scuffs or dirt. Polished shoes show that you care about your appearance. The most expensive shoes in the world will look horrible if they are dirty or scuffed!
7) Keep your wallet or purse organized all the time. Nothing makes you look disorganized like an overstuffed wallet hanging on for dear life in your back pocket, or a purse bursting at the seams! Make yourself a system to keep the business cards, credit cards or receipts you don’t need all the time, in your briefcase or at home.
And a bonus: an understated use of scent (aftershave, cologne or perfume) shows that you take an extra step with your grooming and can have a positive effect not only on your own mood but on those around you. According to the Social Issues Research Center in Oxford, UK, subtle fragrances can have dramatic effects in improving your mood and sense of well-being. In addition, in experiments, subjects exposed to pleasant fragrances tend to give higher ‘attractiveness ratings’ to people in photographs. The regular use of pleasant fragrances helps to reduce mood disturbances in men and women.
About The Author
Copyright © 2004 Renu Dalal-Jain, MS, CIC
Flair Consulting
http://www.flairconsulting.com
rdalaljain@hotmail.com
The 5 Biggest Mistakes Almost All Web Designers Make -- And Why These Mistakes Could Cost YOU A Fortune!
Huge Mistake #1: Creating a Website with Flash -- Did you know in a recent study, top internet marketers discovered that having a website created with Flash, actually DECREASED the response from prospects and customers by as much as three-hundred-and-seventy percent?
Here's why: Your prospects and customers are most likely visiting your website using all types of different computers, connection speeds and internet configuration settings...
What may look GREAT to one visitor, may not even appear for another! You could very easily have shelled out hundreds or even thousands of dollars to have a website created using the Flash technology, only to find out that some of your visitors will never see it! (not to mention the loading times can cause your visitor to close your site, never to return again.)
Huge Mistake #2: The "Internet Catalog" Approach -- You see this everywhere. Good, honest and hardworking businessmen and women get online to sell their products or services, and have a site created for them that contains a link to just about everything they offer on one page. Their thinking goes along the lines of, "...well, I don't want to leave anyone out. If they come to my site, I want to make sure I have what they're looking for..." -- This way of thinking could not be further from the truth.
Here's why: There's an ancient rule that goes back to the very beginning of direct-marketing on the internet, taught by the richest, most legendary and well-respected internet marketers of all time...
"When you give your prospects too many choices, they become confused and aren't sure what to do next. Confused people never buy anything."
Huge Mistake #3: Optimizing Your Sales Site for the Search Engines -- You'll see this taught in nearly every "internet marketing" course, manual or eBook out there... "You must optimize every page of your website for the search engines!" -- In fact, this false teaching is accepted as 'gospel truth' so often, that most web designers will offer to do this for you at no, or little extra cost...
What they DON'T understand is that certain words and phrases must be either re-worded (to make it "keyword rich") or taken out completely, just to be looked upon highly by the mighty search engines -- and this could KILL your sales, literally overnight.
Here's why: When you or a hired web designer optimize your SALES page (i.e. any web page designed to sell your products and services) to get a higher listing in the search engines, you're going to have to sacrifice the pulling-power of your sales copy (i.e. written sales material) just to get those higher listings. Sure, this can bring you more traffic -- but what good is all the traffic in the world, if your visitors arrive at your website and aren't compelled enough to read why they should order your product?
For years, it has been taught that you should always try to find a "balance" of SEO (Search-Engine-Optimization) mixed with promotional copy designed to sell your products and services...
WRONG AGAIN! -- The truth is that you should NEVER optimize your sales page for the Search Engines. Instead, you should create tiny "entry pages" for each keyword related to your product or service, (highly optimized for the Search Engines) and have them link to your main sales site! (we can show you exactly how to do this quickly and easily and get *massive* targeted traffic from the Search Engines - without ever *touching* your sales site!)
Huge Mistake #4: Having a "Graphics-Based" Website -- Sure, graphics can certainly help us to visualize a particular situation or circumstance, product or service... But did you know that having a graphically-driven website can actually DISTRACT your visitor away from your sales message?
After all, your sales message (or "web copy") is THE #1 most important factor in a website that makes money. If your visitors are paying more attention to your "professional graphics" than your sales message... you've just lost another sale.
Here's why: You've got approximately seven seconds from the time your visitor arrives at your site, to the time they decide whether to buy your product, get more information or LEAVE. If you've got a graphically-intensive website, your website will most likely still be loading past your seven-second time limit.
That's a "customer-killer" in and of itself - however, the real reason lies within the fact that the bigger, brighter and more beautiful your graphics are, the more they will distract your visitor from your sales message. And if your visitor is distracted even for one second, it could mean the difference between getting a sale, and losing a customer.
Huge Mistake #5: Designing a Website with ZERO Marketing Experience -- Most web designers have no idea how to make money on the internet, with anything other than their design services. It's not their fault - they simply have no or very little marketing and sales experience. After all, they're just website designers...
However, having your website designed by someone with ZERO internet marketing experience is like buying a street-car without an engine... it won't go anywhere, and it'll just waste your time and money!
For more information on how to have your website designed (or re-designed) by a well-known expert in the field of direct-response internet marketing, go here: http://www.ImmWebDesign.com
About The Author
Jason Mangrum is CEO of ImmWebDesign.com, a Joint Venture specialist, contributing author to such #1 bestsellers as "The E-Code", "Desperate for Money", "30 Days to Internet Marketing Success", author of "The Path of Manifestation" and creator of the "Instant Marketing Miracle - Automated Joint Venture Software." He has also been a featured speaker at prestigous events such as Marc Goldman's "Joint Venture Summit of the Century" and the world-famous "Spiritual Marketing Super Summit."
Here's why: Your prospects and customers are most likely visiting your website using all types of different computers, connection speeds and internet configuration settings...
What may look GREAT to one visitor, may not even appear for another! You could very easily have shelled out hundreds or even thousands of dollars to have a website created using the Flash technology, only to find out that some of your visitors will never see it! (not to mention the loading times can cause your visitor to close your site, never to return again.)
Huge Mistake #2: The "Internet Catalog" Approach -- You see this everywhere. Good, honest and hardworking businessmen and women get online to sell their products or services, and have a site created for them that contains a link to just about everything they offer on one page. Their thinking goes along the lines of, "...well, I don't want to leave anyone out. If they come to my site, I want to make sure I have what they're looking for..." -- This way of thinking could not be further from the truth.
Here's why: There's an ancient rule that goes back to the very beginning of direct-marketing on the internet, taught by the richest, most legendary and well-respected internet marketers of all time...
"When you give your prospects too many choices, they become confused and aren't sure what to do next. Confused people never buy anything."
Huge Mistake #3: Optimizing Your Sales Site for the Search Engines -- You'll see this taught in nearly every "internet marketing" course, manual or eBook out there... "You must optimize every page of your website for the search engines!" -- In fact, this false teaching is accepted as 'gospel truth' so often, that most web designers will offer to do this for you at no, or little extra cost...
What they DON'T understand is that certain words and phrases must be either re-worded (to make it "keyword rich") or taken out completely, just to be looked upon highly by the mighty search engines -- and this could KILL your sales, literally overnight.
Here's why: When you or a hired web designer optimize your SALES page (i.e. any web page designed to sell your products and services) to get a higher listing in the search engines, you're going to have to sacrifice the pulling-power of your sales copy (i.e. written sales material) just to get those higher listings. Sure, this can bring you more traffic -- but what good is all the traffic in the world, if your visitors arrive at your website and aren't compelled enough to read why they should order your product?
For years, it has been taught that you should always try to find a "balance" of SEO (Search-Engine-Optimization) mixed with promotional copy designed to sell your products and services...
WRONG AGAIN! -- The truth is that you should NEVER optimize your sales page for the Search Engines. Instead, you should create tiny "entry pages" for each keyword related to your product or service, (highly optimized for the Search Engines) and have them link to your main sales site! (we can show you exactly how to do this quickly and easily and get *massive* targeted traffic from the Search Engines - without ever *touching* your sales site!)
Huge Mistake #4: Having a "Graphics-Based" Website -- Sure, graphics can certainly help us to visualize a particular situation or circumstance, product or service... But did you know that having a graphically-driven website can actually DISTRACT your visitor away from your sales message?
After all, your sales message (or "web copy") is THE #1 most important factor in a website that makes money. If your visitors are paying more attention to your "professional graphics" than your sales message... you've just lost another sale.
Here's why: You've got approximately seven seconds from the time your visitor arrives at your site, to the time they decide whether to buy your product, get more information or LEAVE. If you've got a graphically-intensive website, your website will most likely still be loading past your seven-second time limit.
That's a "customer-killer" in and of itself - however, the real reason lies within the fact that the bigger, brighter and more beautiful your graphics are, the more they will distract your visitor from your sales message. And if your visitor is distracted even for one second, it could mean the difference between getting a sale, and losing a customer.
Huge Mistake #5: Designing a Website with ZERO Marketing Experience -- Most web designers have no idea how to make money on the internet, with anything other than their design services. It's not their fault - they simply have no or very little marketing and sales experience. After all, they're just website designers...
However, having your website designed by someone with ZERO internet marketing experience is like buying a street-car without an engine... it won't go anywhere, and it'll just waste your time and money!
For more information on how to have your website designed (or re-designed) by a well-known expert in the field of direct-response internet marketing, go here: http://www.ImmWebDesign.com
About The Author
Jason Mangrum is CEO of ImmWebDesign.com, a Joint Venture specialist, contributing author to such #1 bestsellers as "The E-Code", "Desperate for Money", "30 Days to Internet Marketing Success", author of "The Path of Manifestation" and creator of the "Instant Marketing Miracle - Automated Joint Venture Software." He has also been a featured speaker at prestigous events such as Marc Goldman's "Joint Venture Summit of the Century" and the world-famous "Spiritual Marketing Super Summit."
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