ArtCone Photoshop Community

Highlighted Navigation

Sun, 09 Apr 2006 07:36:58 +0000

Ever see a website that highlights the navigation item pretaining to the location within the website to help users orientate themselves? In other words if you were to click on â€˜aboutâ€™ and you were taken to the about page, then about would be highlighted. Well thereâ€™s a neat little trick to accomplish this task. This whole concept is ideal for small, personal, or blogged out websites.

So to start weâ€™ll make a simple little navigation with a class attached to each link.
<ul>
<li><a href=â€#â€ class=â€homeâ€>Home</a></li>
<li><a href=â€#â€ class=â€aboutâ€>About us</a></li>
<li><a href=â€#â€ class=â€contactâ€>Contact us</a></li>
</ul>

Now we will insert an id into the body tag of each seperate page that weâ€™re making.
For Home: <body id=â€homeâ€>
For About: <body id=â€aboutâ€>
For Contact: <body id=â€contactâ€>

Now for the final piece of the puzzle youâ€™ll need to create a css code that will create a rule that will only react when class=â€homeâ€ is in id=â€homeâ€ or when class=â€aboutâ€ is in id=â€aboutâ€.
#home .home, #about .about, #contact .contact
{
commands for highlighted navigation go here
}

You can place whatever effects youâ€™d like to happen inside of the brackets of the css code.

Now you have all the elements neccessary. If you need to see a live example, Iâ€™ve made one in advance.

Click here

Website Design Guide For Small Business

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:10:32 +0000

g00glebox

Many small business owners, who still donâ€™t have websites for their businesses, now are going to enter WWW marketplace. Although there are many various web design and development services offered by companies but sometimes itâ€™s not easy to decide what exactly is needed.

Usually small businesses web sites are of brochure type and mostly contain information about the company and products or services it offers. The web site is dedicated to help building business relationship with potential partners and attracting new customers, so it must be made at high professional level but still being affordable for small business scale budget.

Let’s see what is needed for typical small business web site.

1) It must have custom site design with up to 10-15 pages, not just another template used million times before for other websites. The design must be unique and appropriate exactly for this web site.

2) Content management system (CMS) that allows the site owner to manage pages content by himself. The CMS must have simple and user-friendly interface giving real freedom for text content editing, images managing, and tables, charts, and diagrams building. The site owner must be allowed to update content when he needs and how he needs without being or hiring a webmaster. It really saves time and money that is very important for every small business owner.

3) Search engine optimization (SEO) is important as it gives the site a good start for further promotion if the owner needs it. SEO must include researching of online market area and finding appropriate strategy for the site optimization, promotion, analysis of competitive web sites, meta tags creation, site content optimization, and basic manual submission to search engines and web directories.

4) Domain name and reliable and affordable hosting. Both the services must be registered for the name of site owner who will own all rights.

It is ideally to have all these features in one package offered by one web design company so small business owner doesnâ€™t waste time for searching all these services separately.

IT-Inventors -professional web design company offers small business web design package: custom design, up to 10 pages, CMS, basic SEO, domain name and hosting. Package costs one time fee of $375 and web site can be up and running in 48 hrs

Learn more about "Small Business Website up in 48 hours" Package

Web Design Company Guide - How To Pick The Best Web Design Company

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:10:31 +0000

g00glebox

Nowadays website is one of the better options to promote your business online. The web design company provides help to create an effective web site. Business website describes all products of your company. Decide the purpose for which you are going to launch a website. Afterwards you should choose the best and reliable web design company.

Before selecting any company youâ€™ve check the reputation of that company. You should make a survey or you can also ask in local community about that company. You may also find some information on Internet. Actually a web design company is an effective tool to promote a business online.

You should check some basic requirements like whether the web design company offers some information on your company. You as well as your organization should be aware of certain guidelines. Your main motive to design a website is to attract more visitors to your site. Determine your budget and discuss your all requirements with different web design companies.

Afterwards you should determine that which company is best as per your needs and then select it for your website promotion. A professional web design company will satisfy your requirements efficiently whereas a fresh web design company will not take your entire project seriously.

Whenever you decide your web design company then try to fix a meeting with them because with a face-to-face meeting you can easily judge them. You should find answers for general questions like:

Are they providing as much services as you want?

Are they ready to listen you?

Is web design company know your company?

Have they interesting ideas about your site?

You should try to check their working skill. Always choose the best web design company because a bad choice can easily finish your site as well as your business projects.

About Author: Author presents a website on Web Design Company. Website offers all some useful tips on how to choose a web design company. Also offers information about web design company, affordable web design companies and professional web design companies. You can also visit his site about Site Development.

3 Quick And Easy Ways To Make Your Website That Much Better

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:10:30 +0000

g00glebox

There are some easily overlooked facts about websites that sometimes doesn’t get all that much attention, but could be the difference between your website being â€œokayâ€ or â€œfantastic!â€. They can make all the difference to your user who is visiting your website. We certainly don’t want to hinder their experience nor confuse them, so how can we make sure their experience will be a memorable one for all the right reasons?

Easy Navigation is the primary concern of many websites right now. If it takes more than 2-3 clicks to get to somewhere, then it’s not going to be seen. Navigation needs to be easy, self-explanatory, without need of a manual. If someone needs a manual to learn how to use your website, it’s time to re-think your navigation. A main central menu is common, with or without sub-menus. The basic â€œHomeâ€, â€œAbout Usâ€, â€œProductsâ€, â€œServicesâ€, â€œContactâ€ is your basic 5 page linked menu. Just build upon that. It’ll make maintenance easier and is faster for your customer to get where they really want to be, instead of treating your website like a Rubik’s cube!

You need to have consistent design. Without consistent design, your website could look like a child designed it. Can you imagine visiting a website, where it has a beautifully laid out design on the front page, then you click on a link to delve further, and the colour scheme has completely reversed, the menu has changed it’s position and instead of everything flowing say, vertically, it’s now all flowing horizontally? You would be confused to say the least and think that whoever put it together must be nuts. Don’t give your audience an opportunity to think that way about you. Your online reputation depends on it.

Last, but certainly not least, you WILL need up to date content. I don’t think I need to explain how your website visitor would feel if they found an article on your money saving website that mentioned â€œMoney Saving Tips for 1995â€ which is not only very out of date, but also mentioned items that are no longer for sale, or lists common things you can do which actually make you spend more money in the long term. Your visitor would feel that you don’t have enough confidence in your website to keep it fresh and up to date, so why should they have the time to make a repeat visit? If your website is about online business, remember that certain search engine optimisation tweaks only apply for a certain period of time, and many need re-doing as other new future search engines become more popular. Now it doesn’t matter how you get the content i.e.: hire a writer or join an articles directory, you need that fresh content and update your main content page at least every week. If necessary and if you have the skills, re-write your exiting content to include the latest relevant ideas.

Remember to keep these ideas in mind as you next plan to perform some maintenance on your online estate. Keep your navigation simple and flowing, consistent look and feel on every page (create and use your own template if need be, it’ll help!) and regularly updated content. Implement these and your website visitor will have a much, much more enjoyable experience and will return the favour by making repeat visits! Which is, after all, what you want.

Martin Coleman is a freelance writer and computer programmer. More information about his services and other articles can be found at http://www.martincoleman.com

My Mistakes As A Web Design Newbie

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:10:29 +0000

g00glebox

Learn from them

Approaching retirement age I was made redundant last year and decided to create my first web site, initially knowing little about it. I hope that, by reading about my experiences, I may save you both time and money if you ever find yourself in the position of wanting to build a site with little initial knowledge.

eBooks

I bought five or six ebooks on how to make my web fortune from the one-page web-sites that you see on the web. The prices ranged from $9.95 to $29.95. It would be unfair of me to say that they were of no use, as you can always pick up the odd pointer, or contact. However, with the benefit of hindsight I would not have purchased any of them. Instead there are free, better written books which give you at least the same pointers, and often have more substance. You can download from my web site, for free, two excellent books by Ken Evoy, which will provide you with a good basic knowledge to move forward. Donâ€™t get carried away with the sales hype contained in some of these â€œget rich quickâ€ single page sales letters that offer huge free bonuses and an imminent price increase.

Universities and colleges

There are various colleges and universities on the web which promise you the ultimate in web creation, site marketing, search engine optimization and much more, â€œall under one roofâ€ They usually have libraries of â€œhow toâ€ books and membership is by monthly subscription with some offering a lower fee for the first month. Have a look, by all means, I looked at three and claimed my refund within the stated period. I found that I could obtain similar information offered for free with a little searching, and that what they really offered was convenience.

Web Design software

I initially purchased a web site building package for $69.95 and was soon disappointed by its lack of functionality. I then looked over the shoulder of a friend whilst they showed me the workings of a top-end product costing nearly $400.00 but I found it to be too complicated with too steep a learning curve too be quickly productive. I posted a request for help on the Warriors forum and there were more recommends for a particular product than any other. So I decided that my first web site would be a review of that product, which I would create as a trial, before I went on to build a site that would aim at generating income.

What should the web site be about?

Several of the books that I read suggested that the subject matter should be about something that you enjoy doing and therefore you will create your site with more passion and enthusiasm. Whilst this is sound advice I found that the need to create a trial site, which would force me to learn the basics, was more than a sufficient driving force.

Domain name & Web hosting

Go for a dot com registration and pay no more than $10 per annum. Donâ€™t go for free hosting, you get what you pay for. I looked at hosting sites that offered complete package with hosting, autoresponders, SEO and linking software and much more. Whilst everything was conveniently in one place they failed to convince me that each product would stack up well if they were competing in each niche market. I therefore opted for the best of breed approach and a little less convenience.

Search Engine Optimization

This was probably the subject that I was most worried about as I new that it referred to making a web site as easy as possible for the search engines to find, but I had no clue as to how to go about it. I have a free ebook that you can download entitled â€œSearch Engine Optimization Made Easyâ€ which will give you the basics to carry out this process. The book is really a plug by the author of SEO software for his excellent product. I was fortunate in that the web design software I selected also, somewhat unusually, held my hand through this process, carefully pointing out page, by page, what I needed to do.

Article Distribution

I was aware that, in order to succeed, I should submit articles to the numerous Article Directories present on the Internet. There are two ways to do this. By purchasing one of the two major pieces of software to assist me in doing it myself, or to use a company to do it for me. I looked at each way and found that, whilst both software solutions cut out some of the tedious manuals tasks of submitting to over 150 directories, it was still time consuming. Having examined the market place carefully, discounting any company who charged for a fixed number of submissions, I opted for one who for a fixed quarterly fee would submit any number of articles.

Link software

Again, so that I would get more site traffic, I new that I should get other sites to link to mine and that I would have to manage those links and the emails back and forth etc. I initially started to design an Excel spreadsheet linked to Microsoft Word but decided that I would still have to create the links pages by hand. My advice is to obtain software which houses all your links in a searchable database, handles all of the emails, including template housing, and that automatically creates the HTML link pages for you.

Â© Paul Lewis 2006. Paul Lewis is the author of an in-depth review of web site design and building software, XSitepro.
You can see detailed functionality, and much more, by visiting the XSitePro full review at http://reviewxsitepro.com He is also CEO of Demovision Systems who specialise in Talking Heads. Examples can be seen on the About Us page at http://www.reviewxsitepro.com

Tips On Creating A Site Map

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:10:28 +0000

g00glebox

A quick search on Google for advice on creating a site map
initially threw up many links to software you could buy or
download for free to create a site map.

But why do you need a site map?

Basically as websites get larger and more complex both the
human browser and the search engine spiders need an easy to
follow map to find all the pages within your site. A site
map gives them a simple navigational tool.

Site maps have 3 main benefits:

1) A site map allows visitors to easily find what they are
looking for by simply visiting your site map and clicking
on the link to go directly to the page they want to visit.

2) Often technologies employed to assist in reading webpages
such as web page readers and screen readers can only follow
text links. For practical reasons it may not always be possible
to show a text link to every other page within your site on
your main page and other pages within your website and so
use a site map.

3) Search engine spiders like text and text links. If they
cannot follow a text link to a page of your site it may not
get indexed. Make it easy for the spider to index all your
pages through a site map.

A site map consists of the two things search engines love -
text and keywords. To build a good site map combine relevant
keywords with a hyper text links. For example on your site map
you may have a link to your webpage about website promotion so
your hyperlink should contains the words ’website promotion’
and link directly to that page within your site.

A site map does not need and indeed should not be fancy, but
should be clear and easy to navigate.

Here are some tips for a good site map:

1. Place a prominent link to your site map on every page and
lable it SITE MAP.

2. It should show all your webpages through different levels
as basic text links.

3. Use standard colours for links and visited links.

4. It should show a quick, easy to follow over view of the site
without the need to scroll around in the web browser.

Google started allowing people to submit site maps to their
account as a way of letting google know about all your webpages
and updates to your site. It does not increase your page ranking
at all but is worth taking the time to set up properly.

You can find free software for creating site maps at:

http://www.likno.com/sitemap.html
http://www.freesitemapgenerator.com
http://www.sitemapspal.com

And when you are done, don’t forget to tell Google about your
site map so they can trawl and hopefully index all the pages
of your site.

http://www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/login

A well planned site map can ensure your Web site is fully indexed by search engines.

Rachel Gawith runs her own homebased business website at http://www.computerincome.net where you can find recommended business opportunities, ebook reviews, articles, classifieds and a link exchange.

Fixing Yahoo Webhosting Validation Problem

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:10:28 +0000

g00glebox

Recently, I was attempting to validate a page for a client’s web site using the HTML Validation Tool and had some interesting and unexpected results. The document failed validation which was strange since I routinely make it a point to double check all of my markup before even uploading the page to the testing server. Determined to get to the bottom of this, I diligently went about inspecting the results and noticed something very peculiar. The errors were the result of HTML that I didn’t put on the page. "How can this be?" I wondered. "Where did this come from?"

It turns out that the code was inserted by Yahoo in order to track site statistics, which I suppose is okay - kind of. There are two major problems with this, the first being the code is inserted after the tag and the other is it isn’t even valid markup. Now, this is the appropriate time for a disclaimer to mitigate the number of people ready to jump on me. Normally I would not use Yahoo’s Webhosting. However, based on past experience I have found their Small Business Merchant Solution makes building an e-commerce site a cost-effective solution for the client and makes updates to the product database very simple.

Getting back to the issue at hand, after a little digging around on the Yahoo help documents I was able to come up with the following solution that will block Yahoo from amending the markup and allow the site to validate.

First, lets start by taking a look at the original markup:
<br /><br /><script language="JavaScript" src="http://hostingprod.com/js_source/geov2.js"></script><br /><script language="javascript">geovisit();</script><br /><noscript><br />[img]http://visit.webhosting.yahoo.com/visit.gif?us1138276907[/img]<br /></noscript><br />

The first step to fixing the problem is to turn off site statistics by doing the following:

1. Sign in to your Web Hosting plan.

2. On the Home tab, in the Site Activity module, click the "Site Statistics" link.

3. Click the "Options" link in the upper-right corner of the Site Statistics page.

4. Toward the bottom of the page, select the radio button accompanying "Do not collect statistical data for my site (turn off site statistics)."

5. Click the "Save" button.

This will stop Yahoo from adding this code to your webpages.

Next, we need to take a look at the tracking code and fix the errors. The first error is the "language=’JavaScript’" attribute which is depreciated and no longer used. It has been replaced with the "type=’text/JavaScript’" attribute. The second error is in the SRC attribute for the image, it’s simply the unencoded "&" which should be "&". So with that taken care of here’s the updated code block:

<br /><script type="text/JavaScript" src="http://hostingprod.com/js_source/geov2.js"></script><br /><script type="text/JavaScript">geovisit();</script><br /><noscript><br />[img]http://visit.webhosting.yahoo.com/visit.gif?us1138276907[/img]<br /></noscript><br />

Simply insert the above code into the tags of all your web sites pages and violla and if the rest of your markup is correct the page will validate.

Of course, an even simpler and perhaps better solution would be to simply find another hosting company. But, like I mentioned earlier, in the case of a small to medium e-commerce site Yahoo really is perhaps the most viable option. I would be remiss if I didn’t add that I am really dissapointed in Yahoo though. If they are going to be inserting their own code into other peoples HTML, they should at least make sure it is valid and placed in the proper location. Coming up in a future post I’ll be showing how to validate HTML which contains Flash, since the Macromedia markup used thoughout the web is abysmal and not even close to being valid HTML.

William Mandra
http://www.m-networks.net

10 Tips To Improve Web Site Usability Testing

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:10:27 +0000

g00glebox

Web site usability tests are easy to run and they don’t have to be perfect for you to learn a lot from them. The important thing is just to do them on a regular basis so that you can observe user behavior on your site.

Every time I run one I learn new things about what works and what doesn’t on our site. I also learn how I can improve the way I conduct our testing.

Here are some things I’ve learned that you might find useful:

1. Set up the Test Computer and Browser Beforehand

Make sure the screen resolution is set to a commonly used size. Clear the browser cache, turn off auto complete, delete cookies and history, and generally make sure that it is set up to be as standard as possible.

2. Go Back to the Home Page After Each Task

This provides you with a common baseline to compare multiple users. Reset the browser each time so that there are no visual cues to guide the user that wouldn’t be present normally if they visited your site.

3. Begin by Setting the User at Ease

Make sure that they understand that you are testing the site and not them. Here’s what we put in our instructions regarding this issue:

Let the user know that we are testing the system, and not the user. There is no wrong or right way to do a task. If a user gets lost, that is ok, just have them notify the test facilitator. Some actions will not be able to be completed all the way - it’s the process that we are looking at.

4. Encourage the User to Speak Their Thoughts

This will enable you to record their thought process as well as where they clicked. Keep pressing this point during the test as most people will be reluctant to be as vocal as you want them to be.

If they are looking around the page, ask them what they are looking for, what are they thinking, etc. The more the user can open up the better you will be able to understand their behavior.

5. Take Your Time

Users will typically feel compelled to complete the tasks quickly. Encourage them to take their time and to complete the task as far as they are able to.

If a user seems like they have given up on a task too quickly, I will often question them in order to encourage them to explore further and complete the task.

6. Run Each Test With Two People

If you’re not recording the test on video, you’ll need one person to run the test and one to take notes. It’s simply not possible to do both yourself - you’ll miss important information and will be exhausted by the end of it.

7. Don’t Lead the User

Avoid asking questions or presenting tasks in a way that direct the user toward a particular action. It’s all too easy to write tasks that are leading this so really wordsmith your script before the test to make sure that it doesn’t guide users in any way.

8. Lead the User When You Have to

If a user has become lost, give them a nudge in the right direction. It’s better to have a user complete a task, albeit with a bit of guidance, than for them to give up too soon and provide you with no information. Just make sure you record this fact.

9. Be Positive

Most people find computers and the internet pretty daunting so it’s important that you keep them at ease during the test. Even if they end of way off the mark for a test, keep them unaware of this or they will think that they have somehow ’failed’.

Whatever they do and wherever they end up, say things like "okay, good, let’s move on to the next task". Don’t provide them with any opportunity to think that they are being judged or that anything they do is ’stupid’.

10. Involve Your Whole Team

You can’t beat watching someone use your site to see where the pain points are. Usability testing is not something that the usability person, the producer, the manager or anyone else should be doing by themselves.

Everyone on the team should be involved in these sessions, even if it is just to observe. This will cut down on long discussions (arguments) when you review the results and encourages everyone to always keep their work focused on the user.
Parting Thoughts

Of course, there are many other tips and strategies for running usability tests. These are just some of my own. Mark Hurst has a very different take on how to run usability tests. Although I haven’t tried this method I am keen to as I see the logic in what he is suggesting.

Whatever strategy you take when it comes to usability testing the most important one is just to get out there and do it.

Christian Watson is a web designer and runs Smiley Cat Web Design Blog for fun and occasionally for profit.

Do You Really Need A Sitemap On Your Site?

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:10:26 +0000

g00glebox

I don’t recommend using an "old fashioned" sitemap if you’ve got more than 20 pages on your site. The sitemap page, if you must have one, should be created for the user, not the search engines. Don’t expect them to help your rankings.

If you’ve got thousands or even a few hundred pages on your site, then I would use a sitemap at all. If the users come across your sitemap "pages" they’ll be confused and frustrated--and won’t be able to find what they’re looking for if they have to look at a huge list of links.

Pages with tons of outgoing links on the page are pretty much worthless when it comes to rankings because PageRank isn’t passed (or if it is, not much is passed), and there isn’t much link credit being passed. So, for ranking purposes, don’t count on a sitemap helping you out.

It’s much much better to rely on a breadcrumb trail type of navigation throughout your site. Break your site up into categories and make your main page link to your category pages--then your category pages should link to your other pages. PageRank and link credit will be passed, and if you keep your links categorized it will help with things like Google LocalRank.

It’s better to have more incoming links to a page than outgoing links on that page. So, if you have 10 outgoing links on a page then there should be more than 10 incoming links to that page. A sitemap page with a lot of links on it will be pretty much useless if there’s too many outgoing links on that page (by outgoing links I mean any link to another page, internal or otherwise).

Sitemaps and XML files, mainly made for the Google Sitemaps program are pretty much useless for ranking purposes. Sure, you will give Google a list of URLs to include in their index. And Google will crawl those pages. But if you only give the URL to Google and don’t rely on PageRank being passed properly throughout your site via the internal linking structure then your pages won’t rank well in the search engines. Don’t expect to give Google a URL to crawl and expect it to rank anywhere for anything if you don’t have everything else in place (like on-topic links to the URL). So, why waste your time creating a sitemap/XML file if you can get the pages crawled normally without a sitemap? They’ll have a much better chance to get good rankings if you don’t rely on a sitemap/XML file.

Huge sites like Amazon traditionally don’t have huge sitemap pages--they have links to their pages from other internal pages on their site. Personally, I don’t like to rely on sitemap pages or XML feeds to get sites crawled--there are other ways to get pages crawled and they might even rank well.

Bill Hartzer manages the Search Engine Marketing division of MarketNet, Inc., a leading full-service interactive design and development firm in Dallas, Texas.

Hartzer has infused MarketNet with his enthusiasm and vision for search marketing. Bill Hartzer is focused on developing results-oriented paid and organic search marketing programs to help clients increase visibility, broaden reach and maximize their return on investment.

How To Put The Power Of You Into Your Web Copywriting

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:10:25 +0000

g00glebox

One of the most important words in the vocabulary
of a Web copywriter is the simple little three-letter word
"you".

Many Web copywriters fail to understand the importance
of this little word, and for that reason they don’t
attract an audience of hungry readers.

In this article, I’ll show you how to use this little word to make your Web copywriting come alive and increase the power of your writing ten-fold.

**What Do All These Different Kinds Of Web Copywriting Have In Common?**

Here on the Web we do a lot of different kinds of
writing. Maybe you have a blog, and that takes one
kind of writing.

Then you have a home page on your Website, and that takes another kind.

And then you have a sales letter which you send people to where you sell your product or service,
and that takes yet another kind of writing.

And then you have content pages of one variety or another which take still another kind of writing...

Not to mention the emails you send out, the reports
and articles you write, your newsletter...

The list goes on.

All requiring a slightly different kind of writing in order
to be done most effectively.

Now, it’s not my intention here to get into a discussion of
the different kinds of Web writing and how we can make our
voice different when writing for them.

But there is one thing that practically all forms of Web
writing have in common.

And that’s this:

They’re for the benefit of your reader.

Or at least should be!

**Writing For The Benefit Of Your Reader**

Copywriting principles teach us, and wisely so, to think only
of our reader, and not of ourselves. To think first and foremost
about what we can offer our reader.

Maybe you had a writing teacher once who hammered home to
you the importance of audience.

"Audience, audience, audience," she or he said.

Well it still holds true. But not in the same way it did back
then.

That’s because on the Web you’re writing for an audience of ONE.
And that ONE person is your ideal reader. The person you most want
to read your content.

Think of it as "selling" your content to them. In order to sell
you have to grab your prospect’s attention quickly and hold it
before they click out.

It’s the same with your Web readers. They’ll click out in a heartbeat
if there’s nothing that grabs their attention.

Yes, I know that blogs can be different. But if your blog teaches
or sells in any way, then it too should grab them and hold them.

**Keep YOU In The Forefront -- Make Your Writing "You-Centered"**

When you write for your audience of one, you need to keep "YOU"
in the forefront, because YOU (your reader) is who you’re writing
to (not you, meaning you the writer).

When your writing is "you-centered" it speaks right at your reader.

It gets them right in their emotions, because it includes them.

So how do you make your writing you-centered?

By really, truly including your reader. By bringing them into your
personal space. By letting them know you aren’t just another squawking,
selfish writer who wants to show how clever you are with words.

No distant third-person narratives for you. No sirree. Or even chatty
first-person narratives (yes, you certainly CAN tell your own
story, but it needs to be for the clear benefit of your reader,
not just for you to blow your own horn).

Instead, you reach out to your reader and talk about things they are
interested in. About things that speak to their emotions, wants, and needs.

**How NOT To Win Friends And Influence People**

The other day a teenager came to our door selling something (I think
it was magazine subscriptions). His sales pitch, if you even want to call
it that, was to tell us how much he wanted to go on a trip to
California.

That’s all. Nothing about how the magazines would benefit us. He
never once used the word YOU when he spoke to us.

And then when we didn’t buy he had the audacity to get mad!

NOT the way to win friends and influence people.

That teenaged salesman forgot about the power of YOU. Instead he concentrated
on ME. And tried to get us to buy just so we could help him.

Yes, fund-raisers do use that approach when soliciting contributions.
But they still concentrate on YOU. Fund-raisers are you-centered. Not
me-centered.

**Become You-Centered And Watch Your Web Writing Come Alive**

You too need to become you-centered with your Web writing.

The next time you write, take a look at how often you use the word
"you" (or some form of it) in your copy. Concentrate on using that
little word as much as possible.

And when you’re done writing, sit down and actually count how many times
it appears in what you’ve written.

Making your content you-centered is one of the surest ways there
is to get read more. To make your writing come alive.

So, starting with your next project, put the power of YOU into your writing!
It’ll make a huge difference. I guarantee it!

Copyright (c) 2006 by Bruce Carlson

Web copywriting coach Bruce Carlson would like to help YOU with your Web copywriting and with building your online home business with the right words. Sign up for his Dynamic Copywriting Tips at:

http://www.dynamic-copywriting.com/news

How To Style An A To Z Index With Css

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:10:24 +0000

g00glebox

I’ve always been taken with the way that the BBC styles their A-Z index using a simple list and CSS. However, because they use pixels to set the dimensions of each list item, the design breaks when you increase the text size.

It’s always been important to me not to break the browser’s ability to resize text and so I thought I’d have a go at creating an A to Z index along the same lines that doesn’t break when you resize your text.

The code is actually pretty straight forward. Here’s the CSS first:

 #azindex {

	background: #75B9D0;

	float: left;

	margin: 5px 0 20px 10px;

	padding: 0px 5px 15px 5px;

	width: 520px;

 * html #azindex {

	padding: 5px 5px 10px 5px;

	width: 490px;

#index {

	font: bold 100% Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif;

	margin: 0;

	padding: 0;

#index li {

	float: left;

	height: 2em;

	list-style-type: none;

	margin: 0.65em 0.3em;

	padding: 0;

	width: 3em;

 * html #index li {

	margin: 0.2em 0.2em;

#index a:link, #index a:visited {

	background: #fff;

	color: navy;

	display: block;

	height: 2em;

	padding: 0.75em 0 0 0;

	text-align: center;

	text-decoration: none;

	width: 3em;

#index a:hover {

	background: #93D1E4;

	color: #fff;

	text-decoration: underline;

And here’s the HTML:

< div id="azindex">



[*]< a href ="#a"> A



[*]< a href ="#b"> B



[*]< a href ="#c"> C



[*]< a href ="#"> etc



[*]< a href ="#z"> Z



[/list]

And there you have it - an easy way to add a nice design to what would otherwise have been a boring list. You can find a link to an example in the resource box below.

Christian Watson is a web designer. You can find an example of the above technique on his blog.

The 7 Cardinal Rules Of Good Web Design

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:10:23 +0000

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1. Get rid of the splash page, all that is, is an extra click people have to go through just to get to the value, which should be immediately available on your homepage. The first thing a visitor sees on the homepage should be the promise of useful information and once again, don’t forget value, if they don’t think the site is worth their time to stick around for a few minutes.... they wont. Landing pages for targeted traffic are okay, just remember generic splash pages or "enter" pages are annoying and useless to visitors.

2. Eliminate all of the irrelevant advertisements because you should be selling your affiliate products for dollars, not sending people away from your site for cents. Now days most people with experience surfing the net have trained themselves to completely ignore banner ads, so don’t rely on them and do not use too many of them, especially animated banners for that matter, cause they are very annoying. Targeted adverts are the only way to go, within reason, don’t spam our senses with a billion adverts, its a turn-off.

3. One of the most important cardinal rules of functional, good web design, is if you have to explain how your navigation works... it’s a good sign you don’t have good navigation. Web site navigation should first above all, function, cause if it does not function it is useless and people will not stay on a web site for more than a few moments if they cant navigate easily. Make your navigation simple and elegant, don’t waste peoples time and patience with a bunch of useless Flash animation or disappearing links.

4. Have a clear naming or "branding" of each section of your web site. Don’t confuse your visitors. Let them know what section of the site they are in at all times because what is common sense to you, will certainly not be common sense to everyone else. All of us are, after all, individuals and we all think differently about each situation.

5. Audio, please oh please if you absolutely MUST insist on putting audio on your site, at the very least please provide a way to turn it off. There is nothing more annoying than audio on a page that you can’t stop. I just leave the website rather than sit through the interruption of some cheesy beat or one of those really annoying talking robot heads. When I am listing to satellite radio I don’t want some alien sound destroying my net surfing Zen.

6. Most people in Western culture read from left to right, which means the natural tendency when someone lands on your homepage is to scan from the top left and continue from there. This is also true with navigation, put your most important sections of your site on the left side of your horizontal nav-bar or on the top of your vertical nav-bars. People don’t want to see "Home" and "About Us" as the first links, no one cares.... at first. Give them the value, give them the bread and butter of your site... first. After they are satisfied with the meal, they will head on over to the "About" page for the desert, or the icing on the cake to seal the deal. Don’t spoil peoples’ appetites by putting something in their way that they didn’t come to your site looking for in the first place.

7. No one likes an ugly web site, but what people don’t like even more than an ugly web site, is a non-functioning web site. My final cardinal rule of good web design is the philosophy that every web site should look as good as it functions. Top shelf functionality will breed top shelf design, it’s the nature of good web design.

By Deckard
work at home blog.

Deckard is a work at home Internet marketer & web designer focusing on affiliate/associate programs & services. He is also a part-time college student & makes a good living online through affiliates income. You can learn more about some of the highest paying free affiliate programs available on the net at his blog, click the link above.

This article is free to reprint as long as the content is kept verbatim & the link is kept active with exact anchor text intact.

Website Design And Programming - Introduction To Web Forms

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:10:23 +0000

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There is practically no website without at least a form in one of its pages. Forms are useful to collect data from the website visitors and users. Once the user submits the form to the server, a form processing script must get the form data, validate that the user input matches the expected format for each field (e.g: email address field must be a string of text with the format of a valid email address) and process this information as desired. The script may save it into a database, send it by email or just do some processing with it and display the result. Validating the user input is essential to prevent malicious users from damaging your site.

A form definition in html starts with the form tag and ends with the /form tag. This tag can have several attributes like method (GET or POST), and action (the url of the form processing script). If use the GET method, the form data is encoded in the action URL. This method is recommended when the form is a query form. With the POST method, the form data is to appear within a message body. This is the recommended method when the form will be used to update a database, or send email, or make any action other than just retrieve data.

The form fields are used to collect the data. Generally a label is placed by each field, so the user knows what data to input. There are different kind of fields, among them:

Â· Textboxes
Â· Textareas
Â· Drop-downs
Â· Multi select
Â· File
Â· Radio buttons
Â· Checkboxes
Â· Buttons
Â· Hidden

The hidden fields are used to send some data that the user does not need to see, along with the form. An example of this could be a form number, so the form processing script identifies which form has been submitted.

The File field allows users to upload a file. The form processing script will get the file together with the rest of the form data. For this field to work properly, you need to include this attribute in the

tag: enctype=â€multipart/form-dataâ€.

Buttons are used to submit or reset the form.

Refer to an HTML guide for full description on the attributes and syntax of each tag. You may find a guide at http://www.w3schools.com/tags/default.asp or at http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/ among many other sites.

When the form is complex, it is useful to group fields in areas using the fieldset tag. Just place the fieldset tag, then optionally a legend Section Name /legend tag, then all the pertinent form fields, and the /fieldset tag after them.

It is possible to use CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) or inline styles to change the look of the form controls.

You can bring your forms to a different level by combining them with the usage of scripting language like JavaScript. You can make the form react immediately to certain events, like the user clicking on a control, or a field changing its value. You can highlight the field that has the focus, for example. Or count how many characters have been entered in a text box or a textarea. You can make calculations and display the results automatically. The possibilities are endless.

Sergio Roth is an experienced freelance web programmer. You can contact him for hosting and website development services at http://www.ayreshost.com.

What’S Stopping Me From Getting A Website?

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:10:22 +0000

g00glebox

Iâ€™ve been having a bit of a problem lately. As Iâ€™ve been working for an Internet company for a couple of years you might expect that Iâ€™d have my own website by now. I really wouldnâ€™t mind having one. As a creative writer it would be great to put up my books to sell, as well as advertise my skills for freelance work, and be able to put up my resume and portfolio. I even like the idea of making a few dollars by having items that I like, such as music albums or favorite novels that other people can then click on to buy through affiliate sites. The problem is this: There seems to be a barrier in my mind to taking the plunge into the Internet world. Today Iâ€™ve decided Iâ€™m going to get to the bottom of it.

First of all, I liken the acquisition of a website to any other service or product that one wishes to experience in this life. If I want to buy a book on the Internet, people will tell me to go to www.amazon.com. If I want to sell some old antiques my relatives left me, people will tell me to sell them on www.ebay.com. If I want to buy a good pizza Iâ€™ll go to the place that my friends recommend in the local area. However, it seems that when I ask the question (and this is to my friends who are software engineers), â€˜How do I get a cool-looking website in a few minutes for as little cash as possible?â€™ I get a wide range of answers that have confused me even more than when I started contemplating my own place on the Internet. â€˜Download softwareâ€™ is one answer that I donâ€™t like at all. When you want to buy music off the Internet people will tell you, â€˜Try www.itunes.com, www.limewire.com, or www.mp3.com.â€™ Why canâ€™t people give me a specific answer? Itâ€™s daunting when people tell you to just â€˜search Googleâ€™, I mean the Internet is huge right?

Thatâ€™s one of the problems. People are busy these days. The age-old saying, Time is moneyâ€™ couldnâ€™t be more appropriate than in this Information Age that we are now inhabiting. We want and need simple solutions to our inquiries. Otherwise, we fear that we will be wasting valuable time that could have been spent working productively, instead of on fruitless Google searches that provide us with millions of links, none of which seem to be related to any company or brand name that youâ€™d recognize. People want to hear a familiar, respected name like Microsoft, Sony Playsation, www.wikipedia.com, Apple Ipod, or www.myspace.com. Thatâ€™s another one of my blocks. Iâ€™d like to know that my fellow species believes in the product or service that Iâ€™m about to undertake in.

Itâ€™s rare for me to read a camera manual and I donâ€™t want to spend my time adjusting lenses and light settings on old fashioned SLR machines. Iâ€™m the kind of person who would like to point the camera, push the button, and get quality photographs. Lucky for me the camera industry has evolved to fulfill my desires. Many people will admit that the Age of the Internet is in its infancy and that my expectations might be a little bit ahead of their time. My tech-friends however donâ€™t believe it. To them, making a website is as easy as eating Momâ€™s apple pie. So, Iâ€™ve done a bit of research and discovered a couple of things.

Itâ€™s now easy to get a blog online. Blogs are online journals, but now I realize that they can be used in many of the ways in which I would like my website to function. They are in all actuality a type of website. The simple fact that they are usually only one or two web pages is what differentiates them from other websites. There are lots of blog sites out there on the web (many of which are free) like www.blogger.com which has just been bought by www.google.com, www.spaces.msn.com, www.myspace.com, www.xanga.com/Default.aspx and www.typepad.com. Supposedly you can get a site on www.geocities.yahoo.com up and running in just half an hour using one of their templates to put all of your information/details into. You can make it so Yahoo isnâ€™t even mentioned in your domain name, so it looks more professional if you are hoping to do some business. Also check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog which has a list of links to where you can set up a blog.

If you are a freak like me and are one of the around three percent of people in the world who own Mac computers (oh why do people have to do things differently, and incompatibly?) then you can check out Appleâ€™s new website technology called IWeb. I donâ€™t know if it will work with Microsoft Windows systems but you should check it out anyway. In Apple CEO Steve Jobsâ€™ latest keynote presentation he showed how you can have a multi-page website capable of blogging, podcasting, storing and sharing music, photocasting, videoblogging, and more in a matter of minutes. Now this looks good to me, but can I make it into a commercial site? I donâ€™t know. The idea is great though. With simple templates you can make your site look individual and exciting, just by dragging-in and pasting cool pictures and sounds all through the pages. Does only Apple do this? Have others figured it out that we need simplicity when getting a site going? Steve Jobs explained that there are easy ways of downloading site-producing software on the Web, but that usually the sites created are boring and ugly. He said that you could make beautiful sites as well, but youâ€™d need to know how to code html, in other words, be a tech-head.

People like me can be scared to start something new like having a website even though we hypothetically know the positive consequences that could eventuate from the venture. Our fears could be irrational and unfounded, but nonetheless they probably have some reason for coming into existence. Websites usually cost money (although many blog sites are hosted for free) and we donâ€™t want to waste our hard-earned paychecks having a site that does nothing for us. After you get your site we have to figure out the best ways to promote it, to bring in â€˜trafficâ€™. Can we make money from it? Does having large banner advertisements limit credibility? How do we get connected to these affiliates who we can work together with to sell products? Does commenting in other peopleâ€™s blogs and leaving your URL bring people back to your site? You bet, as long as what youâ€™re saying is honest and relevant.

Whatâ€™s scared me into waiting to go online? In the past there have been too few simple, clear answers as to where to go to get the job done easily with an aesthetically pleasing result for techno-novices like myself. We fear loss of money in having a site that does nothing. We are concerned that we may waste time searching for the â€˜rightâ€™ site-building software, and that there may be too many to choose from. So how do we know which the best are without many famous brand names and advertising? These are some of the stifling questions that stop a normal human being from going ahead with this opportunity that technically-savvy people never think twice about.

It seems that after doing more research that it may not be as hard as I anticipated, and the ironic thing is that it is usually the case. Experience leads to knowledge and wisdom. If we are too scared to act, then nothing gets done. We need to put our feelers out, ask people â€˜in the knowâ€™, and search the Web. Still, I love it when things are made easy for me because of other peopleâ€™s hard work and helpful, generous sharing of information. Get on the Internet people! Iâ€™m going to give it a shot.

P.S. If youâ€™re a little more technologically aware, you can get your own web hosting space and then download these supposedly easy software templates to build your own site: http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/hosting, and http://wordpress.org/. style="float: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: white; background-color: white">By Jesse S. Somer
http://www.m6.net
Jesse S. Somer is a simple person who would love it if he went to create a website and it could be done quickly and easily, with the resulting site being beautifully attractive.
Jesse S. Somer is a creative writer working at M6.Net: â€˜The web-hosting company for humans.â€™ M6.Net is working hard to help humanity experience the power and freedom to develop their own part of the Internet, to share their information and connect with anyone, anywhere, anytime.

Banner Design Success Techniques

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:10:21 +0000

g00glebox

Banners have been a major part of the World Wide Web world since its early days. Copywriters burn the midnight oil looking for new designs that will grab the visitorâ€™s attention and compel him to click on their banner. This article discusses some of the most successful banner designs.

Teasing your curiosity

â€œDo Not Click Hereâ€. How many of you have seen this slogan in a banner? What did you do when you first saw it? If you are like most people, when you first saw it, you clicked on it. What makes this simple sentence so powerful that it compels the visitor to click on it? The answer is curiosity !!!

Copywriters and web designers are always looking for ways to arouse the website visitorâ€™s curiosity. As banner designers their goal is to attract the visitor to the banner, usually completely ignoring the other elements on the web page that are more important to the website owner. However, because the â€œDo Not Click Hereâ€ slogan tells us nothing about what is on the next page, it arouses the visitorâ€™s curiosity and makes it almost impossible not to click on this banner to see whatâ€™s behind it.

Simple integrated design

When Larry Page and Sergey Brin first introduced their product, â€œGoogleâ€, to potential investors, they mentioned Adwords as a backup option in case they didnâ€™t make any money. We all know how lucky they were that they eventually needed to use that backup plan. What made these â€œboringâ€ ads such a great success?

Unlike other ads, Adwords neither arouse the visitorâ€™s curiosity nor disturb the main flow of the web page. In fact, the opposite is true. Adwords are meant to look like part of the search results giving the user the feeling that those ads are there because he asked for them. No one has any doubt that this simple design helps Google to promote both their search engine and the Adwords advertising program.

Take part in the action

Banner designers wisely used interactive technologies like Flash to develop type of banners that invite the user to take part in the action. Drawing the user into the action can be accomplished in many creative ways. Some web designers use popular old games elements as part of the scene. You all know the famous game pacman. One of the banners that I like the most is the one where the user is allowed to let pacman â€œeatâ€ few dollar signs. At the successful completion of this mission, a nice slogan is revealed asking him to open a saving account that will earn money with a fixed interest rate. The idea behind those interactive banners is simple: Let the user take part in the action and then at the right moment when his mind is less resistant, show him the sales message. Those interactive banners proved to be very efficient. Their biggest disadvantage is that most webmasters will not allow that kind of banner because it distracts too much from the web page content.

Back to Black and White

Website designers are always seeking to be different with their design ideas. One banner fashion trend that can be found lately is Black and White banners. Although research shows that blue and yellow are the most efficient color to use in a banner, Black and White banners have been seen a lot lately. Itâ€™s probably something that will eventually vanish, but the idea behind it is to be different and to make the user wonder whatâ€™s up and hopefully click on the banner to find out.

Get Out of the box

Have you heard about the milliondollarhomepage.com? If not, check out this website before continuing to read this article. This website has proven that creative thinking not only can bring you money but also create a whole new trend. Right after the milliondollarhomepage.com got the internet communityâ€™s attention, many designers used this idea to deign a banner on which they sell a 10x10 pixel area. Like the original concept, this banner design had its impact. Advertisers are investing money on these ad spaces while at the same time visitors are curious enough time after time looking at those unorganized pixel banners to click on them.

What about the next trends

What the next trends of banner design will be is something that probably no one can accurately predict. Itâ€™s up to some web designer to come up with a new concept that proves to be efficient. There is no doubt that in the future we will see new ways of designing banners, especially when more and more advertising budgets are being spent on the internet instead of commercial TV and other types of advertising media. I guess we will just need to be patient.

About the Author:

Warren Baker is an Internet business consultant for WebDesigners123.

WebDesigners123 connects the Freelance Web Designer with Webmasters who need their services.

If you would like to read more of Warren Bakerâ€™s writings, visit our Website Design Articles page.

A Lasting Impression: Make It A Good One

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:10:20 +0000

g00glebox

Letâ€™s face it, the web is made up of millions and millions of web sites all trying to get your attention - or better yet, to get you to remember them and revisit their site. So with the crowded nature of the web, how can you make your visitors remember your site after they leave?

According to traditional research, we know that people tend to remember the first and last things that they see in a sequence, and donâ€™t remember much about what was in the middle. Translate that into building your web site, and it means that your home page should be fun, interesting, attractive, or in some way memorable. (Visitors can jump off your site at any point, so thereâ€™s no way to tell what the â€œlastâ€ impression will be.)

People also tend to process information in small â€œsegments,â€ typically three or four segments at a time. For example, a catchy slogan or a great web address will be memorable long after the visitor has left your site. The web address www.ford.com or www.makeup.com kind of sums it all up, right?

Slogans and jingles are also good ways to include memorable segments on your web site. How many of you know what product is â€œgood to the last dropâ€? Do you know which company encourages us to â€œjust do itâ€?
Information seems to stay with us when the items are repeated, using clever ways to say the same thing by using your logo, graphics, headlines, etc. Information re-circulates through our short-term memory when we see it over and over. The more your web visitors see the information, the more they will remember it. Just be sure to vary how you present the information so the message is consistent but not annoying.

So when thinking about what type of an impression your web site makes on your visitors, be sure to make it memorable in some way. Do the thinking ahead of time for your visitors, so all they notice is a great, memorable web site.

Lauren Hobson is the Editor of Biz Talk Newsletter, a free monthly publication designed to provide small businesses and non-profits with tips and techniques to help them make the most of their web sites and marketing efforts without spending a lot of money. Biz Talk is published by Five Sparrows, LLC.

Website Navigation And Theme

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:10:19 +0000

g00glebox

Have you ever visited a website where you keep clicking on links, hoping you are going to find that information you’re looking for, only to be led to more pages of links. It gets frustrating and visitors often leave without finding what they were looking for. That is not good for you our your visitor. The answer is to have a clean, simple website navigation scheme that is as clear and obvious as possible.

There are several schools of thought on the best website navigational design. I don’t believe there is any one ’’best’’ design; Your navigation model depends on your website and its content and is often a combination of two or more designs. We will examine three different website navigation methods and see how they work. They are:

Linear navigation is used for a website where you want the visitor to go from one step to another in a particular order. This is usually used within a website but seldom as a stand alone design. The idea here is that the visitor follows the pages in a predefined order or sequence that you determine. This is particularly usefull for tutorials. But, it also has many other uses.

The database or grid design of website navigation is made up of multiple main divisions and each division is linked to its own database. This type of navigation can be used effectively when large amounts of data are required in the website design. With database navigation the visitor begins by selecting the main heading that best serves their purpose. From there they can drill down deeper and deeper into the selected database.

The hierarchical design goes from the general to the specific; from a home page to main sections to subsections and databases. A visitor could easily go from the home page to other areas of the website and back again. The goal of any hierarchical navigational system is to offer the user a clear and simple way to access all pages in a site.

Note: you don’t want to put a direct link to everything on your website on any single page. Your website links should progress through several levels branching out as they go. Too many links to choose from and your visitors often won’t know what to click on.

As I said earlier, many websites are a combination of navigational models and you will have to determine which method works best for your web pages. It is important to have a clear idea of your navigational system before you organize your website. Help your visitors find the information they need with the least number of clicks. This will also serve you in creating your site theme.

Website Theme

To enhance navigation every website should have some type of theme - a way of giving your site an identifying look. This can be through the use of a unique logo, a particular color combination or a recognizable idea such as gardening or pets. Let’s take a look at the theme of the website.

If you have chosen a title for your website or business, think about what theme would compliment that title. Let your imagination take over here and think of several ideas and write them down. If you don’t have a title or name chosen, think of the content, graphics and/or photos you’re going to include on your site. Deciding on a theme might help you come up with a unique name.

A theme can be obvious . . . such as a greenhouse using gardening tools, flowers, etc. Or it can be a metaphor. For example, a website about babies could also use a ’’gardening’’ theme. The metaphors of seedlings, growth, nurturing, feeding and caring for tender plants would translate very well. When the theme is a particular color or color combination, the links, buttons and graphics should all reflect that color theme. If a logo is used as the theme, that logo should be incorporated on every page.

What you are doing, with a theme, is providing cohesiveness to your site - letting visitors know they are still in the same place no matter what section they are viewing. Web users don’t like the feeling of being ’’lost’’ and will leave a site if they feel they don’t know where they are or how to find information. Combing your theme and navigation scheme is the way professional webmasters create their sites. You should too!

Gene DeFazzio is the author and webmaster of the RocketfaceÂ® Workshop http://www.rocketface.com/.

Web Standards - Should My Business Site Be Compliant?

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:10:19 +0000

g00glebox

Web standards is the new buzz phrase on the web. What are web standards? Web standards are basically the use of correct web coding standards as laid out by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The web standards which are of most concern to modern business are XHTML and CSS coding practices. In the words of the W3C, â€œThe XHTML family is the next step in the evolution of the internet.â€

In order to achieve appealing presentation it used to be the case that various HTML hacks would have to be utilised by web designers to make a page look appealing. The most commonly know ’hack’ (which is still in use today) is the use of tables to layout page structure. Thankfully these days are coming to an end, as web browsers have evolved and XHTML and CSS are now commonly supported standards. It is now possible to make sites which not only look great but are also constructed to the correct web standards.

This is all well and good, but should your business switch to a web standards based design? What are the business benefits of getting standards based re-designs?

One of the disadvantages of getting a web standards based design is that it can be difficult to find a designer who will make an attractive site which is also web standards compliant. A lot of very talented web designers do not create sites which are web standards compliant due to the time involved and the lack of appreciation received from the client for doing so.

The slow conversion to standards based designs is in part due to the ease in which a non-standards based site can be created. With the boom in ’what you see is what you get’ (WYSIWYG) site creation tools like Dreamweaver it is now relatively straightforward for talented graphic artists to create professional looking sites with little code knowledge. Although the sites look great, the construction can leave a lot to be desired. Poor page coding, although not always visually apparent, can result in your business losing money as well as make your site inaccessible to a large audience, difficult to navigate and difficult to maintain.

A quality web standards based web site separates the look of your web pages from the written content of your site. This addresses the negative points about a non-standards based site mentioned above. By separating style from content, standards based sites allow people using screen readers, mobiles, PDA’s and other web browsing methods to be able to navigate your site. These devices have trouble displaying table based layouts and big images so non-standards based sites are largely unusable. In the second generation of the web there is a wider range of platforms than ever before. Using web standards is the only way to ensure a high degree of uniformity across multiple platforms with your site. If your site isn’t accessible then your message is restricted to certain customers, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that this isn’t good in business.

A potential downside to a standards compliant website is some site add-ins such as certain bulletin boards, calendars and other dynamic content may not be written in a standards compliant manner. This becomes a problem when the add-in content is the only one that exactly fits your functional requirements. Sometimes in this scenario it may be necessary to forgo full standards compliance on pages where your non-standards compliant dynamic content is needed and migrate the page once the developers adopt standards.

A plus side of web-standards based sites is that maintenance is made easier, meaning your site can be more easily altered. As style is handled by an external (CSS) Style Sheet it is possible to change a sites whole colour scheme by changing a few key values. Also, as no styling information is in the HTML it is much tidier and greatly reduced in size making it easier to read and alter. Smaller file sizes mean that pages load quickly (providing a better experience for customers on slow connections), consume less bandwidth (reducing hosting costs to your business).

The final benefit of well constructed standards based websites is that as well as being accessible to your customers, often it will also be more accessible to search engines. Poorly structured inaccessible websites can often mean that some of the relevance of your text is misinterpreted by search engines. This means you could be losing out in search engine listings. By having a cleanly structured web standards website you are helping to ensure that your site (and its keywords) are correctly represented in search engines and is considered more relevant than non-standards based sites in your industry.

The obvious conclusion to this article is that web standards bring real tangible benefits to business. Although finding a design company that will construct a standards compliant site is more difficult than just finding a web designer, the benefits speak for themselves. By moving to a standards based web site businesses can ensure they have accessible sites which are maintainable and future proofed. Increased customer exposure and search engine prominence can all improve the level of business that comes to you via your website. Web standards are the future of the internet and to ignore it could leave your business trailing behind the online competition.

Thomas Ashworth
NuBlue Digital Web Solutions
http://www.nublue.co.uk

How To Take High Quality Product Images For Your Website

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:10:18 +0000

g00glebox

You will need:

1 Digital Camera of around 2-3 megapixels with attachments such as USB cable, software, etc.

1 Telescopic Tripod (not the expensive one, the $20 wal-mart 4 footer is fine)

1 or 2 Craft foam boards, color of your choice, white is best

1 clamp on type light with 75 wt bulb
knife, tape, etc.

This little mini studio works great for small items up to 12" x 12" or so. First get familiar with your camera, find the macro (close) mode and get it screwed onto the tripod. Build a box 24" square using the foam board and razor knife, but leave one wall out so you wind up with a 3 sided box with top and bottom. Tape the panels together neatly with clear packing tape, avoiding any gaps or scraggly edges. Find a place out of the way and sit the box up level with the lens of the camera, which is on it’s adjustable tripod. Insert your product into the box and center it on the floor of the box. You’ll now need your light, turn it on and begin experimenting with different light angels. Depending on the desired effect, you have about 1,000 possible light variations on the same exact product. I take pictures of cigars, so clarity of the cigar wrapper is key, but even the most beautiful and supple wrapper can look bad in the wrong angle of light. The cigar bands are also a consideration, since many of them are foil coated and shiny. You don’t want a glare, but at the same time you want to promote the brightness and color. A light from directly above the cigars brings out a bright, highly detailed image of the wrapper, but casts shadows down the cigar a mile long of even the smallest bump...making the cigar wrapper look less attractive than with the naked eye, certainly not the purpose when trying to sell a product to a customer via photos. A light from either side makes the cigar bands glare one sided which just doesn’t work. I have found that the best placement of the item is about 1/3 of the way into the foam box, camera at dead center of the item(most digitals have cross hair type markers for easy alignment), and the light just about a foot above the camera shining down at a 45 degree angle onto the object(this method does require light from the camera’s flash as well as the mobile light source, so make sure you have the flash enabled). Experiment moving the light farther and farther away until the images turn out the brightness you prefer. For me it’s about 18-24".

Now you can upload your images to your computer and open them into a photo editor like adobe photoshop or my favorite, Ulead Photo Express. This program will actually straighten and crop your images in 2 clicks. Resize your image and keep in mind that the larger the picture and more detail you want, the slower the image will load once online. I usually save for the web at around 350 x 200 pixels with an overall file size of 15k. You can manipulate the save as quality under the settings feature of the software. A few swipes of the white, fuzzy edged brush to mask any shadows or other imperfections on the nearly seamless white background, adjust the brightness if necessary, increase the sharpness by 1-2 degrees, and name/save your photo ie. book.jpg

book.jpg is now ready for publishing on the web. One last tip, if you want tiny thumb nails versions of your products, just momentarily resize the image down to 75 pixels tall and save it as the same filename but add a small "s" for small to the beginning of the filename ie. sbook.jpg, which simplifies the html code writing process immensely. You can write the link and image src code with the same exact image name, just with an added s where you want the thumbnail image to appear. Make the thumbnail the link to the full sized image by using the "a href" attribute around the "s" thumbnail, and you re done. Make sure you add "click here for larger image" or something to that effect so your customers know for sure the larger image is available. Your customers will thank you for the ease of navigation.

Ed Brown is the webmaster of Tarheel Cigars located at http://www.tarheelcigars.com
Email

Optimize Your Webpages In Just 3 Minutes

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:10:17 +0000

g00glebox

It’s fairly easy to optimize your webpages when you create
them. That would certainly increase your chances for better
search engine placement.

I came across three typical webpage optimization mistakes
in a recent research. The pages did not perform as well
as intended. These mistakes could be repaired within
minutes.

I’ve listed them in general below and it would be wise to
check them out immediately to improve your website’s
chances reaching higher search engine rankings.

Here they are.

1. Not telling immediately What’s In It For Me!

On quite some sites I had to guess, click and read
too much to find out what your site is about and more
importantly, what it can do for me, the visitor.

Here’s one on which I found the following:

"My name is XXXX and I want to thank you for

visiting my site. I’m sorry I don’t have it

completed yet but I hope you’ll return again and

look around. My plans is to have this a

continuous growing site so you may want to visit

often."

Well guess what?

THEY WON’T COME BACK!
Thanks for playing, insert coin and start all over
again.

You know why? Because there was no reason to come
back. There’s nothing ’In It For Them’. That’s why.

Here’s another one:

xxxxx.com...... the home of great downloads,

information, articles, resources and links to

more free stuff!!!

Yeah right. Is it about babies, bulldozers, tickets,
holidays ....?
Why let me guess? Tell me IMMEDIATELY what’s in it
for me and I may hang around.

2. Bad use of Anchor Texts.

On most websites, to navigate to the home page, I had
to click the link ’Home’.
You can improve your ranking drastically if you
replace that by ’YourMainKeyword Home’.

Anchor texts are the words that appear in between the
and the part of your link. Search engines
add value to anchor texts, because they usually say
something about what’s coming. Even within your
website, use of a good anchor text is important.

In the link to the home page, refer to
www.yourdomain.com, without the index.htm(l).

If you’re exchanging links, the anchor text is very
important. Here’s a great tool to see how your
anchors look like from outside links:
http://2hop2.com/trk132b1n/

3. Wrong use of Title Tag in the HTML Heading

I’ve seen webpages with titles like ’new page 1’, or
only containing the business name (no specification)
and even one with only scrolling characters. Many
webpages had no title at all.

So .... USE YOUR TITLE tag and use it to its fullest
extent. It’s the most important HTML tag.

Include your main keywords in it. If that’s the name
of your company, then also put your niche and
location in it, that’s more targeted. Don’t use a
single word like Webdesign. Also don’t make it too
general like Easy Webdesign.

So instead of COMPANYNAME, make it COMPANYNAME NICHE
LOCATION. And if you can add something specific for
your company, add it.

So, instead of ’BluePrint’ (your company name) use
’BluePrint Webdesing Boston’. That’s more targeted.

Here’s how to work that out.
Think about your business or service. Why should
anyone buy from you or why should anyone sign up for
your newsletter? What is so special about you, your
product, your service, your newsletter? What makes
you unique?

Then ....

open up your text-editor (not a word processor like
Word, but something like NotePad) and write 4 or 5
lines of 65 characters, stating why I should buy your
product or service or why I should sign up for your
newsletter.

Save that little text file on your desktop. Not
somewhere on your hard disk, no, right on your
desktop so you can see it every day.
Open it every day, make several versions trying to
improve with each version you make.

Always use the best version whenever you send out an
email, make a post on a forum or a comment on a blog.
It’s your signature file.

Then make a one liner out of your sig-file. THAT
should be in your title-tag!

If you implement these three tips your pages will have a
better chance to score well in the search engines, because
they are more optimized.

Go on, check your pages now and optimize them!

Article by Case Stevens of AnOwnSite Internet Marketing

His newsletter is called Affordable Online Strategies and that’s where you’ll end your guesswork and confusion!

Finally your immense concern of building online income has become ridiculously simple ... just click below:

Affordable Online Strategies

Revenue Generating Web Design

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:10:16 +0000

g00glebox

Do you want a website that will generate hundreds of thousands of dollars? If the answer is yes, then you will want to read the following. Like any business venture the key to profitable web design begins with planning. Planning is almost always undervalued as the focus is to get the website online in the most timely fashion possible. Your website must be laid out in an organized fashion. Therefore, organizing your pages into themed based sections is extremely important.

The main reason that organizing your website into themed based pages is so crucial is that adverting revenue is the main source of income for more than 50% of websites. Whether its Adsense, Yahoo Search Marketing or Banner Adverting, the key is to drive targeted traffic to various themed based pages. When marketing advertising space on your website to potential clients, you will have a much easier time convincing them to advertise on your web site if you can convince them that only potential buyers will be viewing their ads.

If we use the example of a European travel site, the implementation of themed based pages would result in a real estate rental section, a tour section, an entertainment section and a currency conversion section. This would result in you having the ability to market advertising space on your currency conversion space to financial institutions, space on your real estate portion to realtors and space on your entertainment section to theaters and museums. The benefit to your potential clients is that only customers who are interested in currency conversion will be viewing their ads versus a visitor who is only interested in the weather and could care less about currency conversion.

With the internet being utilized more and more, businesses are realizing that newspaper and magazine advertising is not nearly as effective as advertising on websites which drive targeted traffic to their ads. A carefully planned web site will allow you to lead your visitors to all of your revenue generating pages and will result in an extremely profitable website.

About the Author

Carmen is the VP Client Relations of Ms. SEO Inc., a Calgary based Search Engine Optimization & Internet Marketing Company. Ms. Seo Inc. works with their sister company Ms. Hype Inc., a Calgary Web Design Company, and their parent company Cre8 Hype Solutions Inc., a Calgary based Internet Marketing Company, to offer their clients a powerful online presence.

Preventing Your Visitors From Eluding Your Cash Register

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:10:16 +0000

g00glebox

The World Wide Web is probably the biggest technological advancement in the last 75 years. Every bit of information you could ever need is right at your fingertips. However, reading that information can get to be a bit hard on the eyes.

As a Web-surfer, you’ve probably noticed that it is hard to spend a lot of time reading Web pages directly from your computer screen. The more information there is on a Web page, the more apt you are to print it out and read it later rather then read it directly off the screen. You most likely tend to scan Web pages, reading only what you find interesting.

Now, as a Web site owner, let me ask you this. Are you overwhelming your visitors with too much text? Yes, I know, "copy sells". However, long text (whether sales copy, reports, articles or anything else) read from a lighted surface (like your computer monitor) is not as enjoyable because of the eyestrain. However, there are ways you can create an environment where reading is pleasurable.

Get Their Attention With A Catchy Headline

The first thing your visitor should notice is the headline on the page. Make sure your headline is bold and at least 2 point sizes larger then the rest of your copy. Most importantly, use a headline that will get your visitors attention and will interest them into reading more.

That saidâ€¦ don’t stop there! Go on to include "subheads" throughout your copy. It has been proven time and time again that Web site visitors scan before they read. By including sub-headlines within your copy, you can help them quickly pick out exactly what interests them - keeping them at your site longer and increasing your chances of making a sale.

Break It Up

Break up your copy into easy to read paragraphs of about 3 sentences. Use subheads whenever possible. If you have an extreme amount of copy (long sales letter, extensive report, etc.) you may choose to triple space between paragraphs instead of double space. This will allow more "white space" to come through, thus making it easier on your reader’s eyes.

Break things out even further by using bulleted or numbered lists. These types of lists are easily scanned so be sure to include important points or benefits within your list.
Lastly, vary your justification. Flush left is the easiest to read. However, an occasional sentence or paragraph that is centered can bring attention to a statement and give additional visual interest to your reader.

Make The Fonts Eye-Friendly

Use an easy to read font for the main copy of your Web site. Arial, Verdana or Helvetica are good fonts to use because they are "non-serif". This means they have no "feet", they appear straight up and down. Non-serif fonts are more easily viewed on a lighted surface. Serif fonts (like Times Roman) that have small "curves" or "feet" at the stopping points of the letters are more easily read in print.

Some other tips include:

 Using a plain black font if possible. Colored text is very hard to read on a computer screen, as it strains the eyes.

 Avoiding all capital letters as they are associated with shouting.

 Using bold or italics only to emphasize important phrases.

 Avoiding underlined text. Underlines are associated with hyperlinks and your visitors may be mislead if you underline text that is not a clickable link.

 Creating graphics-free pages for information that your visitors would be interested in printing out.

Since your product is what your visitors came to your site for, it only makes sense to place special emphasis on the text. The more enjoyable you can make your customer’s stay, the longer they’ll visit, the more likely they’ll buy and the better the chance they’ll come back.

There’S No Reason To Fear When Making A Website

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:10:15 +0000

g00glebox

Iâ€™ve been writing about the Internet for a couple of years now so youâ€™d probably assume that I am proficient with all aspects of the Web, from using search engines to building a website. Well, youâ€™re wrong. Sadly, I fall into the category of those human beings that fear new experiences in life. You can tell me over and over how cool it is to have a website, I can search and visit other peopleâ€™s great sites, and still I will be doubtful that I can create one myself. Why? What is stopping me from doing what so many people have already done? Those people arenâ€™t better or different than me now are they? The answer lies in irrational fear. You know the kind of fear that I speak of. We all do. Somewhere in your life youâ€™ve deferred from doing something new because of the niggling doubts that pulled like ropes hanging from the branches of your mind.

What has stopped me from taking the leap and joining the online community that I so often speak positively about? I think one reason is that Iâ€™m a bit of a technophobe. I work with Internet â€˜wizardsâ€™ and when I hear terminology like html, C Sharp, bandwidth, and ftp, I get scared. I donâ€™t know what most of this stuff is and if I do know what it is, I donâ€™t feel very confident to partake in using it. Iâ€™m a normal guy. I have a hard enough time with my life in general without having to integrate a whole new language just to put myself out there on the Internet. I have feared that I wonâ€™t be able to understand the process of building a website, and that I would waste precious time (we already have a hard enough time getting all of the necessary things done each day) trying and then failing.

Thereâ€™s nothing wrong with failing at something (usually itâ€™s how we learn lessons best), but nonetheless I think itâ€™s part of the human condition to try and get around having to experience failure, even if it means not getting something that we desire done. Iâ€™ve wanted to have a website for a long time and yet this doubt of failure has stopped me in my tracks, literally turning me into a catatonic, barely existent web presence. Fortunately for myself and for you too, there are people in the world who are willing to help with things that we afraid to do, and vice-versa. It seems that for every one thing that we fear doing, there is both someone else willing to show us the way, as well as someone else who has a similar fear relating to something that we ourselves are comfortable in enough to teach them.

Recently a friend at work said that he would like to show me one way of building a website. I was reluctant to attempt it at first, but after his constant jovial cajoling I decided to let him have a go at teaching me. I was so pessimistic about the experience; I just knew that it would be harder than he said it would be. Boy was I in for a shock! In twenty minutes with his help I had done what I thought I could never do. Isnâ€™t that always the way? The things that we fear doing the most ends up being simple, and gives us the greatest feeling of accomplishment. Werenâ€™t you afraid to take the training wheels off of your bike when you were a kid, only to soon discover the joy and ease of riding freely on two wheels? I know I was.

On my computer my friend got me to open a simple Word document. Then he got me to cut and paste some photos from my photo library, and some text from some old stories I had written. We saved them as html. I didnâ€™t need to know what html was! Then he showed me how to make a second webpage and link it to the first by typing in a word, then highlighting it and saving it as hypertext. Again, I didnâ€™t need to know what it meant, only that the word was now able to be clicked on to send me to the other page. We also made a link to one of my favourite websites. I typed in the name of an author that I likeâ€™s name, turned it into hypertext, then simply put their web address into the required text box that came up automatically. Now when I click my mouse on the writerâ€™s name, I am immediately transported to their website. Cool.

All of a sudden Iâ€™ve got a website with text, photos, and links! The next step was to put it on the Internet. I went to the website of a web hosting company and within minutes had a domain name (web address), and a hosting account. Itâ€™s very cheap to do as well. In my case it was only 4 dollars a month. The feeling of knowing that I now had a web presence was to say in the least, exhilarating. My site is still a bit sketchy as itâ€™s in its early stages, but I am more confident in how to do things now, and I believe that in time I will be able to improve it more and more.

In the future I hope to have a site that has a videoblog (journal), podcast capability (audio files to share with others-music and my thoughts), blog (writing journal), cool pictures and photos, as well as some commercial aspects-like books to sell, and links to products I endorse. These links are a good way that people are making money just by directing others to places and things that they truly believe in. They also work to define your identity as everything on your site tells people about what kind of person you are.

There are other simple ways to make websites through easy to use template forms like www.yahoo.com, www.sandvox, and for freak Mac users like myself, the new â€˜iWebâ€™ program. I may try them out soon as well to see how they compare to this basic site-creating method, but in the meantime I think just working this way is going to alleviate the irrational fears that have plagued me for so long. I am no longer afraid to walk down this road, and I know that the more you learn about something, the more confident you get at doing it. I wonâ€™t tell you my site address just yet as itâ€™s only in its infancy, but when it looks cool and has the content that I deem as worthy to share, you can be sure that Iâ€™ll do my best to let you know where I am. Good luck to you too, prospective web masters!

Jesse S. Somer
http://www.m6.net
Jesse S. Somer is a normal guy with a website. He canâ€™t believe how easy it was to create.
Jesse S. Somer is a creative writer working at M6.Net: â€˜The web-hosting company for humans.â€™ M6.Net is working hard to help humanity experience the power and freedom to develop their own part of the Internet, to share their information and connect with anyone, anywhere, anytime.

Designing Your Website

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:10:14 +0000

g00glebox

â€˜First impression lastsâ€™ is very much true for online business. Website content (texts, graphics and animations) must create a 3D picture of product/service in the mind of the consumers, and entice them to buy it. Content can make a business click or sick on internet.

A website is like your online shop, your virtual interactive portfolio. For web design tool, it is important to determine your target audience and then design for speed, quality, and impact.

Speed

Keep the graphics to the minimum. Remember graphics donâ€™t entice customers to pay up, the content does. The rule of graphics is use only where necessary.

Quality

A customer cannot see you or touch your product or service. He can only see what is presented to him visually on the website. Your product or service has to make an impact as to be able to make purchase it. Quality here matters a lot. Nothing but the best is the rule when it comes to quality.

Impact

The rule of website usability is that your website has just 20 seconds. You either make an impact on your customer or you donâ€™t in these 20 seconds. To make an impact on your customer you need to get the right mix of graphics, colors, content and layout.

Impact of Content

Content is king, it is said. It either converts a visitor into your customer or it doesnâ€™t. Content can make or break a website. The power of the written word has been witnessed many a time. Products have become success stories, resumes transformed into high profile jobs, a 10-cent brochure into millions of dollars just because of the right word. Content should always be professionally managed by people who understand how it will impact your customers.

Impact of Colors

Pink is so feminine, ouch! Cute and light.

Blue defines power and professionalism. Itâ€™s also for space and networking.

Red is associated with love, passion, warning, excitement and action.

Green is for money, nature, animals, health, healing, life and harmony.

Grey is associated with neutrality. A sense of being reserved.

Website design tools

Serverplex.com features an excellent web design tool. No coding knowledge required. No HTML tags or any complicated code. A simple interface where you type in what you want. Add pictures. And you have your webpage ready. The icing on the pudding is yet to come. This tool is free!

Andy Lewis is an expert author on varied topics related to web hosting - http://www.serverplex.com/ and web designing - http://www.serverplex.com/webdesign.html

The Psychology Of Color In Web Design

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:10:13 +0000

g00glebox

The emotion of colors

Color by virtue of its tremendous expressive qualities is one of the most effective tools in advertisements and presentations. Web design is no exception in this regard. Psychologists have found out that color impression can account for 60% of the acceptance or rejection of that product or service.

Here’s a brief elucidation on varying dimensions of color.

There is a high degree of universality in the implicit meaning of color across cultures and geographies

Name something Green, people will refer to trees, name something blue, people will mean water. People generally associate colors with where each color is predominantly found, regardless of cultures and regions.

Here’s a description of the symbolic significance and potential uses of common colors.

Red

Symbolizes : Passion, fire, love, lust, war, violence, blood, and aggression

Potential Uses : Where the aim is to motivate an individual to initiate action, convey a warning, or stop the user.

When using different shades of red on a website, exercise caution Bright red can be quite irritating if used over large areas.

Pink

Symbolizes: Calming, cute, candy, soft romantic, and feminine

Potential Uses: When you want strike on a user’s caring or romantic side.

Orange
Symbolizes: Vibrancy and warmth. It is like a less passionate red.

Potential Uses: Recommended for food sites, nature sites.

Orange is good in moderation. Over-use should be avoided.

Yellow

Symbolizes: Sunshine, caution, happy, cheerful, warmth, hope, light, energy, weakness or illness, or symbolize cowardice.

Potential Uses: To make a webpage brighter and more spring-like.

Like red, it catches attention swiftly, but can be an irritant if over-used.

Green

Symbolizes: Spring, renewal, fertility, wealth, inexperience, health

Potential Uses: Excellent color option for websites about money and growing.

Blue

Symbolizes: Sky, sea, intelligence, reassurance, also depression and sadness.

Potential Uses: To give a website formal look and feel.

Purple

Symbolizes: Creativity, spiritual and mysterious.

Potential Uses: Best for spiritual sites, expressing romantic tenor

Black

Symbolizes: Power, elegance, and sophistication, death (Western context), evil, anger and sadness.

Potential Uses: Be on the safe side, never use over a wide area.

White

Symbolizes: Cleanliness, purity, and spirituality. It symbolizes life and marriage in Western cultures, but it is symptomatic of death in Eastern cultures.

Potential Uses: Great as an accent or background color because it makes other colors seem more vivid and bold

How to make color scheme work for you

Keep it simple . A color palette using three or fewer overall colors contributes to the clarity of a web page.

Use white space . White space does a balancing act for colors, lets the design breathe and makes a large site feel less complex.

Be consistent . Consistency in colors (i.e. links, menu items, instructions etc.) allows your audience to instinctively know where to look for information.

Know your audience. Before you set the ball rolling in design, you should be convinced enough what colors the audience would find compelling and right for your product.

Choose the right temperature of colors . The perception of your site is affected by your choice of warm or cool colors. Cool colors are water and sky colors like blue and purple; warm colors are red, orange and yellow. The temperature of a color affects how your message is likely to be perceived. SALE written in red will be perceived as more vibrant and urgent than soft purple text.

Let color contrast distinguish significant parts of your site.

Contrast between text and its background is essential for legibility. Dark text on a white background, for instance, is more legible than orange text on a red background. Different elements on your web page (i.e. the menu and body of the page) must contrast or they will begin blending together.

Color lesson: A well-considered color scheme can transform an okay website into a great web site

Color is one of the most important yet not-so-thoroughly understood elements of web design today. Whether web designers appreciate it or ignore it, visitors to a site respond to colors and other visual elements on the site on a psychological level, and will continue to do so.

Color affects the emotion of the audience, and emotion, in the process, drives decision-making. An intrigued visitor is more likely to be engaged in your site -- whether it is meant to inform, entertain, or to sell products or services or ideas.

But if the colors are unsuitable, or outrageous, or not in line with the underlying symbolism, the visitors can outrightly reject the site--and the products as well--no matter how good they are. So, picking colors on your website carefully can transform your site, and of course, your business too

Deepak Sharma is a Web Designer at BlueApple, a Web Design and Development Company with a well connected development infrastructure in India having a strong offering superior web services and solutions at competitive costs.

How To Select A Good Web Designer/Developer

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:10:12 +0000

g00glebox

Good web designs are very subjective and even the designs perceived as great by one person will not be viewed as so by another.

Before starting your search the first thing to establish is what budget you have. This determines whether you should be looking at a design agency or a freelance web designer.

So what do you need to look for? Do you look for someone with amazing creative talents, a history of excellent websites or simply rely on recommendations from others. Without doubt a web designer’s portfolio is of utmost importance, you are not going to contact someone if you are not keen on their previous creations. When looking at their sites check they don’t all look the same, check the pages load quickly and above all check they are easy to navigate through and that you never feel lost in the site.

When you approach a designer we suggest you ask the following questions:

1) If a logo is required ask them how they approach the branding process and how can they build on your current branding
2) Ask them how many design concepts they create
3) When coding sites check they validate all pages on the W3C validator? This ensures the pages are free from errors and any respectable coder will automatically ensure this is automatically carried out on all sites. A good test is to look at their recent client list and check those sites using the W3C validator http://validator.w3.org/).
4) You need to decide what audience you are targeting and hence what browsers you want supported. If you want a site that works in all version 4 browsers and above on PC and Mac then it will cost more than a site is developed for Internet Explorer 5 and upwards on the PC. When you have decided what browsers and operating systems you would like supported check the developer has access to all the relevant browsers and platforms you require (i.e. do they have a Macintosh if you require this)
5) If your site requires e-commerce ask the designer if they have experience in this area and get them to show you examples.
6) Do you require a content management system (CMS)? Content Management Systems help you manage the text on your pages without knowing any HTML. Many developers can offer this service so if you require one ask them for recommendations, as a CMS they have worked on before will be a lot more cost effective than using one they have not.
7) If you want your designer to market your site on search engines then experience in this area is vital. Many companies offer tools which promise to submit to 1000’s of search engines but most people agree these do not work as well as links submitted by hand. Find out what projects they have marketed on search engines, go to Google and if you have the Google toolbar installed find out the Page Rank of the site (a Page Rank of 4 and upwards is generallt regarded as acceptable, anything less than a 3 could do with further optimisation and site submission). Do bear in mind it takes time to get listed on search engines, and even longer for the Google Page Rank to be updated. (this process can take over three months)
8) Work out if you require affiliate marketing e.g. banner ads or other forms of online advertising. If you want to go down this route you need to make sure they have experience in this area or use a separate company for this work.

So where do you start the search for a designer? Google searches, Kelly Search (http://www.kellysearch.com) and the UKWDA (http://www.ukwda.org) are all good places to start but even better is finding a site you like the look of and enquiring who developed it.

http://www.netahead.co.uk

Blogs Share A Great Importance In Our Life-History

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:09:48 +0000

g00glebox

When the Web was created it was expected that the content to be instantly and equally available to everyone and he also wanted everyone to be able to link to that content without restrictions. This vision of the Web is now a reality and it has manifested itself in ways that TBL never imagined. However, even though the Web provided content to â€œanyone, in any country,â€ it was still incomplete. Browsers, HTML and multimedia made it easy for the masses to receive compelling content from a variety of sources but it was not so easy for those same masses to produce content.

While creating and publishing content to the Web had become infinitely simpler and cheaper than similar pre-Web methods, limitations remained that often prohibited those lacking the aptitude or skills from creating and distributing content. A prime example is the â€œHome Pageâ€ craze of the late 1990s. Millions of people created free home pages and had virtually no idea how to maintain, manage or present their content and the result was a giant graveyard of poorly designed Web sites with stale content. The problem was that the masses did not have the time, energy or desire to master the skills required to create and distribute content.

The costs, while still lower than pre-Web costs, were still too high (or at least perceived to be too high) for the average Joe to realistically consider becoming an active content creator and publisher. To put this in the context of Blogs we can say that blogs are the modern day telephones. Or, to use a more appropriate comparison, blogs are the Browsers of Web publishing.

The Impact of Blogs

Blogs have made the creation and publication of content as simple as browsing the Web. Blogging tools have removed virtually all the technical barriers that previously prohibited publication by the masses. Now, everyone with something to say or share can do so without needing to learn new skills.Within this emerging landscape a debate is raging among bloggers, technologists, former Gatekeepers and self-proclaimed pundits about the true impact of blogs. Many argue that blogs are merely a passing fad while others believe that blogs will soon replace much of traditional media methods. The truth is probably somewhere in between the extremes but it is interesting that blogs share some characteristics with the Open Source and Peer-to-Peer movements.

Blogs are:
â€¢ Decentralized
â€¢ Driven by community rather than profit
â€¢ Often subversive to existing power structures
â€¢ Unmanaged and often unmanageable

It is those very characteristics that make the future of blogging so difficult to predict and the impact so hard to measure. Yet, while this debate rages on, a very significant aspect of blogging is being entirely overlooked. That aspect is not how blogs are affecting the Web or media as a whole but how blogs affect the individual.

Prabhjot kaur working with A-1 as SEO analyst. A-1 internetdesign blog is a place to learn search engine optimization techniques for Free. Our SEO Blog http://www.thewebmarketingblog.com is a collection of search engine optimization news, tips, articles and commentaries As a professional services firm, A-1 internetdesign, will increase your online market reach to help you achieve greater business results.

Business Owners: 5 Of The Many Ways How Blogging Can Help Your Business

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:09:48 +0000

g00glebox

Businesses of all sizes are beginning to realize the advantage of blogging and what that activity can mean for their businesses.

Despite still being in its infancy, compared to other more mature marketing technologies, blogs are already significantly affecting businesses. That’s because, used and designed properly a blog can help you manage your website and leverage your existing content for better business visibility.

One of the best things about using a blog with your business is that it can be used in a variety of applications. Started as a simple personal journaling web application, a blog quickly mature and evolve into a business and marketing tool that some of us can’t live without.

So what can a blog do for your business?

1) Keep in touch with prospects and customers. Keep the interaction flowing and let them know you better. Demonstrate that there is a human behind your business, instead of a static website.

2) Position yourself as an expert in your niche. Regularly post about business events, share thoughts, new innovations or even provide customer service.

3) Capture leads. Engage them with content, delivered regularly through blogs, RSS feeds and e-mail.

4) Generate revenue. Selling advertising space, products, services, or build relationship and pre-sell. You to cash in your content by participating in contextual advertising program like Google AdSense, Yahoo! Publisher Network and others.

5) Boost business productivity. Used internally for communication, project management, or just a personal place to throw ideas at.

Standalone conventional websites used to adequately deliver information, but nowadays customers want more than that. We live in an information age where there is enormous amount of data being generated every single second. That has meant that end-users (clients) are beginning to shift their information consumption habit. As a result, they now demand more control over the medium, and they prefer to choose when and what information they’re going to process.

As part of the shift, consumer generated media is set to take on older web models, especially as consumers also want to participate in the market, not just as passive readers.

That’s why having a blog on your website can be a very good idea.

If customers are familiar with your product they may want to share what they think with others at your blog. On the other hand, if they’re unfamiliar with your product, they may want to hear more about what you have to offer from others.

In other words, the idea is to help them know your product better, and hopefully decide on your product when it comes time to buy.

One of the interesting things about using a blog, is that it forces people to become participatory. You find that you have no choice but to jump into the conversation. And remember, if you don’t allow people to have a say and talk on your blog, that doesn’t mean it’s the end of the conversation since they can just as easily start their own blog or leave comments on other people’s blogs.

Instead of just sitting and watching, customers want to have a conversation, where they can tell you directly what they think about a product or service that you offer. That can be scary, but it’s also valuable feedback.

Copyright 2006 Hendry Lee

Hendry Lee helps business owners leverage technologies and what they know to market their business online and actively blogs about Small Business Blogging. Subscribe to Biz Blog Tips to receive short and practical tips to start and get the most out of your blog.

Introduction To Blogging - Part 3A: Setting Up A Blog On A Free Host

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:09:47 +0000

g00glebox

Okay, you’ve decided start a blog and you’ve put together a rough publishing plan: how often you’re going to post long and short articles, who is writing, who is editing, who is managing the webmaster-related tasks (blogmaster). [See link at bottom.]

If you’re a small business owner, you’re probably going to have to wear all of these hats. But if you’re prepared, the next step is to set the blog up so you can start posting articles (sometimes called "entries" or even "posts"). (All links shown at the end of this article.)

You have two blog hosting choices:

free host

your own domain

platform

client

administrative panel page

blogging client

any

one client to manage multiple blogs

BlogWriter

true standalone client

PFF

panel within the Firefox web browser

absolute beginners to blogging

http://www.blogger.com

sign up for a free account

create a new blog

sub

http://home-plumbing-tips.blogspot.com.

hyphenated sub-domain names

optional questions

picture of yourself

http://flickr.com,

choose a page template

Post a "Welcome to Such and Such Blog" entry

start posting

show preview

publish

save as draft

Get acquainted with the adminstration panel

next step

more relevant articles

start promoting

Links

Part 2: Planning Your New Blog

http://www.chameleonintegration.com/

http://blogspinner.countwordula.com/

How To Make Something Happen With Your Blog

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:09:46 +0000

g00glebox

Soâ€¦ youâ€™re a blogger trying to gain new clients for your services, or new customers for your products. Iâ€™m guessing you want:

What if I told you that youâ€™re already on the right track? That you can accomplish all of the above by doing something that youâ€™re already doing as a blogger?

You guessed it â€“ writing. You only need to write, as long as you do it in a strategic, persuasive way.

Tell Your Story

Copywriting skills are essential for effective Internet marketing, public relations, and yes... blogging.

You need to develop and tell the big story about you, your company, and your product or service. You should also strive to make each post, every networking email, press release and direct marketing piece as compelling as possible along the way to the sale.

Blogging may be new, but selling with words is not. To be a successful blogger simply means applying time-tested copywriting techniques in a brand new medium.

The Art and Science of Persuasion

Copywriting is the process of writing words that promote a person, business, opinion, or idea, with the ultimate intention of having the reader take some form of action.

Or another way of saying itâ€¦ copywriting is the art and science of getting people to do what you want.

If you think that sounds a bit shady, relax. We all use persuasion techniques each and every day, whether we are conscious of it or not. With our spouses, kids, parents, bosses, vendors, employees and customers, we try to do and say things that move them in the direction we desire.

When it comes to persuading in a business context, some are better at it than others. But itâ€™s definitely more of a learned skill than a natural talent.

Blogging and Copywriting: A Perfect Match

Good blogging and good copywriting share many of the same attributes â€“ plain spoken words designed to focus on the needs of the reader, using complete honesty and a demonstration of excellent value.

Itâ€™s not about fancy writing and big words.

Itâ€™s also not about being contrived or cheesy.

And itâ€™s absolutely not about inappropriate high pressure sales techniques that simply donâ€™t work.

People hate being sold, but they love to buy. Present a solution to a want or need in a context-appropriate manner, and youâ€™re well on your way.

Good copywriting delivered via blogging, RSS feeds and email is all about creating the perfect buying environment. With a bit of knowledge and practice, you can achieve that environment with your marketing efforts.

Brian writes Copyblogger, a blog that teaches web copywriting skills for selling with blogs and RSS feeds.

Conspiracy Theorists And Their Blog Predictions

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:09:45 +0000

g00glebox

Have you ever got caught up in a conspiracy theorists predictions and actually started considering their hypotheticals? It is not hard to do really, try doing a web search on 9-11 conspiracies or Illuminati or something of this nature and see what you come up with? There are so many conspiracy theorists from JFK assacination to the UFO at Roswell. The Internet has got them all doesnâ€™t it? You often have to wonder if any of it is real and if some is just misdirection covering another truth that someone may or may not have uncovered?

You have to give it up for the creative intrigue humans create in their fear-incited world of sound and fury between the ears of the creative mind. Indeed it is a fascinating study in human nature. Recently a Conspiracy Theorist type came to an online Think Tank Forum and made several way out predictions for the future and then wrote the dubious remarks: â€œTime will tell if my predictions come true (damn I’d love to be wrong)â€

Well, considering his worldwide calamity predictions of death, destructions and mayhem, it was amazing to me how much I hope he is wrong? He also left a web link, which turned out however to be a link on the Web which is dead. This can mean a couple of things. One he slandered someone, has been annoying someone or have written hate speech of some sort. And it was taken down by â€œBloggerâ€ and thus, if he is spewing hate, then shouldnâ€™t he be advised to revise his writing into something that would benefit all in a more positive way?

One has to wonder; did someone wrong him in some way? Why is he afraid to unveil his identity, is he a schizophrenic? He mentioned RFID implants as part of this over all conspiracy too, but why; has he been wronged by â€œThe System?â€ Is he a Sci Fi writer or a lunatic conspiracy theorist? If so, why wonâ€™t he tell us of his theories and conclusions in greater detail? If he has predictions, well those are always interesting to hear, perhaps he might state them in the appropriate sections on the think tank website and why he believes them to be true, with some decent proof, perhaps some dates so we can track these times and events to verify. Yes, we tried, no such luck. Moral of the story; be careful on getting sucked into conspiracy theory hokum. Think on this in 2006.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Confidence Is The Key To A Great Blog - Earning Friendships And Millions

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:09:44 +0000

g00glebox

Sophia Loren said: "Getting ahead in a difficult profession requires avid faith in yourself. That is why some people with mediocre talent, but with great inner drive, go so much further than people with vastly superior talent." It is the truth that reveals the reason behind so many persons getting more success although they may be inferior in talent than you.

Whether you have to appear for an interview, do business or run a popular blog you need to be confident in your ability. Many talented writers write in the blogs but they don’t get as popular as the blog runners of much less talent. Actually a man with confidence is able to communicate more powerfully with simple sentences. Confidence generates a sort of magnet in his simple words. This is the reason why condident persons are genrally successful in running business or getting good jobs. Now see who is having more friends - the fellow who is confident.

In ancient times although the means of communication and transport were few and very slow yet the religions spread at astonishing speed to far-off corners of the world. It was the miracle of the law of faith. A religion always demands unquestioning and committed faith in Guru and God. The whole energy of the followers is expected to nurture the grand tree of religion. Absolute faith transforms your mind and body into a powerful magnet. It attracts the desired object towards you.

Even in modern world see the new religious gurus. They are very successful although your children may be having more talent.

It is wisely said that faith can conquer the world.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Anandrahi
CEO: News of India Network
Director: LSE-India, Global English Training.
Best-selling Books written by Anandrahi:

(To get an e-book write an email).

email:

http://www.globalbusinesstimes.blogspot.com
http://www.newsofindianet.blogspot.com

Trained thousands of persons to get great jobs, improve personality, and achieve goals in business!

Building A Blog Business

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:09:44 +0000

g00glebox

A good working definition of a blog is simply a journal or newsletter that is frequently updated and intended for the timely reading. It often provides opportunities for unfiltered and immediate feedback, sports an informal or even partisan attitude, and is written in a more personal style than traditional press outlets.

Blogs come in all shapes and subjects, from the maunderings of troubled teen souls to displays of classical photography to breaking news and commentary. They can be online journals, locked with a password shared by a few trusted friends, or they can be page after page of source code, sharing useful and free computer programs with the world.

A blog may be an online journal tangential to a companyâ€™s main business, where users of a companyâ€™s products give feedback and ask for help. Blogs can be hosted by single individuals, shared by teams, or produced by entire companies. They may be hosted on a dedicated blog server using fancy templates or lovingly hand-crafted in HTML on a page that resembles a bulletin board.

But a blog is not simply a syndicated column or a newspaper that is online. Many news outlets feature their content online and even allow readers to respond to stories. However, the newspaperâ€™s business does not change just because it has a new medium. Editors and writers still do the same jobs they did before the advent of online distribution; the newspaper does not view itself as any different from what it always was.

And perhaps therein lies the difference: attitude. The newspaper sees itself as presenting all the news thatâ€™s fit to print, written by objective professionals, while the blogger sees himself as presenting a piece of his own world and his own expertise from his own perspective.

As blogs become more popular, more columnists are becoming bloggers and more bloggers are becoming professional in what they write. Perhaps in a few years, the distinction between the Old Media and the New will be irrelevant in the mind of writers.

The number of individual blogs has topped 20 million and readership is exploding. In fact, the trade magazine Ad Age reports that during 2005 alone, American workers will spend the equivalent of 551,000 years reading blogs, rumor sheets, and online diaries.

Hundreds of millions of readers worldwide get their news and entertainment from these independent sources, supporting their favorite bloggers through donations, link usage, and purchase of blog-related memorabilia.

The Blog as a Business?

Most blogs are small potatoes. The vast majority are online journals where teenagers talk about their lives to a readership made up of their closest friends. A growing minority, however, are businesses in and of themselves. They balance costs and income; they purposely seek out content providers, advertisers, and paying customers.

They make a profit. They are, in fact, Blog Empires, ruling over a reader-defined section of the blogosphere as the go-to site for millions who come to get the news, buy promotional merchandise, and donate money to keep their favorite bloggers fed and happy.

Thatâ€™s where you come in. You can draw millions of readers, because what you have to say is important. You can accumulate advertisers, because they will pay to reach your readers. In short, you can build your own Blog Empire, and itâ€™s easier than you think.

This book will walk you through the steps necessary to see your name in lights and your blog climb to the top of blog listings everywhere, and to fatten your bank account with the profits from your own blog business.

It will take a lot of work (what worthwhile thing doesnâ€™t?) but you may find that being a blogger, building a Blog Empire of your own, is the most fulfilling job youâ€™ve ever had.

New to the world of ecommerce and don’t know where to turn? Visit the beginners’ guide to earning online at: http://www.Digitalmoneymakers.com

Seo Copywriting Is A Waste Of Time For Blogs

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:09:43 +0000

g00glebox

Good copywriting skills can help you sell with your blog. But if you think by â€œcopywritingâ€ I mean â€œSEO copywriting,â€ youâ€™d be wrong.

In fact, youâ€™re probably wasting your time even worrying about traditional SEO techniques when it comes to blogs. Hereâ€™s why.

Writing for Search Engines

Search engine optimization (â€œSEOâ€) copywriting means writing web page copy that is optimized to rank well in the search engines. This includes inserting targeted key words in certain places (like titles), and in frequencies and densities designed to satisfy a particular search engine algorithm.

Why isnâ€™t this as important anymore? Essentially, SEO experts think traditional SEO for blogs is a big waste of time.

Humans Matter More

The gist of the argument is that when it comes to search rankings, whatâ€™s written on a web page is less important than what other people say about that web page, and how many times.

It all comes down to links.

First of all, referral traffic (links from other bloggers) is of higher quality for the things that matter most â€“ subscriptions and sales.

Itâ€™s like the difference between a prospect who is sent your way from a happy former client, measured against someone who finds you in the Yellow Pages.

But this also impacts your search engine rankings. The algorithms favor sites and pages with incoming, non-reciprocal links from body text â€“ in other words, express recommendations from other people. And much more weight is placed on the words used in those links (anchor text) than the words on the page linked to.

Just ask George W. Bush.

You wonâ€™t find the words â€œmiserable failureâ€ anywhere on the biography page of the current U.S. President, and yet that page ranks number one for the search term in Google. Thatâ€™s because a whole bunch of other people (mostly bloggers) decided to link to Wâ€™s bio with the anchor text â€œmiserable failure,â€ and obtained top ranking.

The trend of search engineâ€™s favoring what others say is intensifying. Just like offline, word of mouth matters most.

As mentioned above, search engines like Google already incorporate user feedback (links + anchor text) in their algorithms. When people link to and tag the posts of other bloggers on social book marking sites, and tagging is more fully integrated into the current version of search, rankings will rely on recommendations even more.

The end result will be better search, and the end of traditional SEO techniques.

Content Matters Most

This is why traditonal (not SEO) copywriting skills that catch and hold reader attention are important for bloggers. I would argue that great copywriting is the new SEO for bloggers, if it gets you positive links from others. And since blogging is a new form of public relations, and PR depends on great copywritingâ€¦

Well, you get my point.

So, maybe you should quit worrying about SEO and start producing incredible content and networking in your niche. Copywriting techniques will help you excel in both.

Donâ€™t be Search Engine Ugly

Now, for that grain of salt. Thereâ€™s no reason to completely ignore things like keywords in your writing. For one thing, it can influence the anchor text that is used to link to you, which is a good thing.

For example, take this article. Itâ€™s got the keyword phrase â€œseo copywritingâ€ right up front in the post title, and yet the headline still manages to be provocative. Thereâ€™s no reason why you shouldnâ€™t strive for human titillation and keyword relevancy.

Butâ€¦ if you have to choose between the two, go for the human factor first and foremost.

So, optimize your post URLs and include your keywords, but beyond that, let it go.

Search engine algorithms come and go, but human nature remains the same.

Learn how to sell with blog copywriting and RSS marketing at Copyblogger. You can subscribe for free via RSS or email.

Tales From The Blogosphere

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:09:42 +0000

g00glebox

I entered the blogosphere fairly late in the game. More than three years after starting and managing several busy forums and web sites, I dabbled with blogging through regular entries to one of my aviation web sites. Within weeks I got tired of the discipline â€“ not of writing â€“ but of ftpâ€™ing everything to the web. I gave up as I decided blogging wasnâ€™t for me.

Fortunately, I didnâ€™t stay away as I saw a challenge, and an opportunity, in front of me. Having blogged on other peopleâ€™s sites, I felt that if I could blog there, I could blog anywhere, including on my own blogs. Taking a look at my options, I decided to download WordPress and I now run two blogs from two separate web sites.

I am thrilled with each blogâ€™s success and have no plans of giving up on what I am doing. In fact, I am mulling over starting a couple of more blogs as I see the value of this type of medium online.

So, how are my siteâ€™s doing? Very well according to my sitesâ€™ statistics. No, there isnâ€™t much activity as far as comments go, but my information is getting read and the blogs are bringing additional traffic to both sites. Letâ€™s just say that the traffic increases alone have been enough to keep me going, but other factors weigh in including:

Blurbs â€“ There are times when a full length article just doesnâ€™t cut it, but a blurb [pithy paragraph] does. Blogs are great for showcasing tidbits of information and allowing bloggers to link to the full article if more information is desired.

Links â€“ On my Jet Movements blog, I added over 200 aviation related links recently. Within days, traffic to my site increased and the first page rankings came back from Google. Less than six weeks after starting, the traffic to this particular blog has been great.

Showcase â€“ My second blog, The Article Writer, has helped me communicate better to my customers. Now, my customers can read about my writing style, my comments on raising SEO, book reviews, and more. This blog has given a â€œhuman touchâ€ to an otherwise good, but too-business-like web site.

Idea Farm â€“ Some of my blogs have turned into articles as I have taken a short, concise work and expanded on what I wrote through an article. Saves me time, too, as all I have to do is add a couple of extra paragraphs and my article is usually done.

Yes, blogging is a great way to communicate for business folks as well as teens. Some have thought that blogging was a fad, but I must say that it isnâ€™t and it is certainly here to stay. Have you started your blog yet?

Copyright 2006 â€“ For additional information regarding Matt Keegan, The Article Writer, please visit his blog for wit, quips, and freelance writing tips.

Build A Better Blog

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:09:41 +0000

g00glebox

So, youâ€™re blogging. Congratulations! Are you thrilled with your site or do you wish it had more to it? More trafficâ€¦more picturesâ€¦more ad revenueâ€¦ I know exactly what you mean! If you want a jam up blog, then going with the status quo is not something that you want to do. Instead, set your blog apart from the pack and your blog will really rock. You might even make a little extra income too!

Jet Movements and The Article Writer are the two blogs I currently manage. I also blog on a few other sites and I am considering becoming a paid blogger for a popular business site. Still, my blogs have to perform to the level I want them to perform and that involves some hard work and dedication on my part. Iâ€™m up to that challenge!

Traffic Patterns â€“ Iâ€™ve built traffic to my blogs by linking them to several other sites that I manage. Might as well take advantage of what I own to promote what I manage. In addition, when I blog elsewhere I am not shy about linking back to my blog. Finally, I add tons of links to each blog and this move has kept the traffic flowing.

Get Pictures â€“ Yes, including pictures with your blog entries is a must. Maybe not with every entry, but at least with some of the entries. On my Jet Movements blog, I frequently contact companies and ask them if I can get a logo or some other picture that they own and use it with a blog about that company. Naturally, I am not about to bash the company, so donâ€™t go that route if you want their help. Many are only too happy to oblige as they see you helping them promote their business.

Get Press Releases â€“ Okay, copying and pasting press releases verbatim is a bit dull. However, quoting parts of the press release and linking back to it can be good. I have seen blogs where a passing reference is made to a press release, but the words are strictly the authorâ€™s. Gives the blog a unique and interesting touch to it.

Get Templates â€“ I uses WordPress and the number of different templates associated with this blogging software is amazing. Still, the default WordPress 1.5 template is rather nice and I still use it for my Jet Movements blog. For my The Article Writer blog, I downloaded an uncluttered, but bright template that is easy on the eyes and nice looking.

Ad Mania â€“ All right, no need to overwhelm your visitors with ads, but going â€œad-lessâ€ doesnâ€™t make all that much sense either. The requisite AdSense ads can be helpful as can any banner ad space that you can sell. You might as well bring in a bit of income for all of your hard work!

Truly, there is much that you can do to build a better blog. If you want to shoot your blog to the top, it does take workâ€¦and plenty of it! Put the sweat equity into your blog and you will reap the reward of more traffic and greater income. Get noticed and get blogging today!

Copyright 2006 -- Matthew Keegan is the owner of a successful article writing, web design, and marketing business based in North Carolina, USA. He manages several sites including the Corporate Flight Attendant Community and the Aviation Employment Board. Please visit The Article Writer to review selections from his portfolio.

Blog Marketing: Where To Start

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:09:40 +0000

g00glebox

Maybe you have just read something about how Blogs can help you establish a web presence, but you are not sure how to start. Here is a guide and a few tips to get you started and increase your Internet traffic. Blogs can help any business, but they require research, maintenance, and creative writing skills.

Firstly, decide if a Blog is right for you by visiting
Blogs. Go to Blogger, then use the search Blogs function. When you arrive at Blog Search beta, enter keywords related to your particular business niche. You must have passion about your specific niche in order to keep posting about it.

A tour of Blogs will open your mind to the number of different conversations about your niche and the variety of approaches to Blogs. You will notice that some Blogs have many posts about a specific subject. These â€œBloggersâ€ are excited about their subject and that is why they attract traffic. Some Blogs run like an open diary, and at this time, most donâ€™t have anything to do with business or marketing.

The constant posting and reciprocal linking between Blogs are just two of many reasons why Blogs are successful â€œtraffic magnets.â€ If you are in business, ou may elect to have a Blog similar to those on Blogger or you might have a web host that already has this feature with your web site package. The Blog attached to a business website is really more of a â€œCorporate Blogâ€ concept, but you can use this approach as a tool to draw much more traffic to your current web site.

You should discuss your options with all interested parties, your web master, and web designer. You donâ€™t have to have an outside web designer or web master in order to start a Blog, but if you already have people in place, why not get an informed opinion.

Let us assume that you have chosen a path at this point. Gather any past articles that you have written about your business, modify them for keyword content, and start posting. The more often you post, the better it will be, and posting daily is optimum.

When you post articles, include the URL of your Blog. You might want to add a signature similar to this.

FREE (Your Business Niche) Report.

FREE (Your Business Niche) Newsletter.

Visit: (Your Blog)

FREE CONTENT: If you are a web master, blogger, e-zine, or Internet publisher, and can use quality content, please feel free to use my blog entries (articles) â€“ Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, and please include the resources in the above paragraph. Thank you, (Your Name).

Every time someone posts one of your articles with your resource box, thatâ€™s one more link back to your Blog. If your articles or Blog entries are perceived as valuable, you are creating more traffic for yourself. Most of the web sites that post your articles will be from the same or a related niche. These become valuable links because their readers are already interested in your article topics.

You should also include your Blog URL at the bottom of all your Emails as a standard part of your signature with your name, address, telephone number, and other contact information. If you have room on your business card and stationary, please make room for your Blog URL.

Lastly, a content rich Blog is a great compliment to any Email marketing campaign. Unfortunately, reaching interested prospects and customers by Email is not what it used to be. Over aggressive spam filters throw out a good percentage of legitimate Email, but an interesting Blog will keep your customers and prospects coming back for more.

Â© Copyright 2005 â€“ Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard is the director of Yoga teacher training at Aura in RI. Heâ€™s a master instructor of martial arts and Yoga. He teaches Yoga, martial arts, and fitness. He wrote: Is Running a Yoga Business Right for You? For Yoga students wanting to be a Yoga teacher.
http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org

Blogging 101: 6 Reasons Why A Blog Can Benefit Your Online Business

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:09:40 +0000

g00glebox

Blogs have taken over the internet!

Everyone is blogging from politicos to teeny boppers. Many teenagers have resorted to blogging as an outlet for their emotions, a little online nook where they can blurt out their feelings and blow off some steam. However, savvy marketers have discovered that blogging is one of the best Internet marketing strategies available. The best part is that blogging is just a cent or two more expensive than free.

So what exactly is blogging? Blog is just a fancy name for web log and really it is nothing more than an online journal. A blog can be set up for very little cost and it makes a very viable internet marketing tool.

Blogging for your online business is a proven way to enhance the visibility of your business products and services. Below are 6 proven methods for using a blog to jumpstart your online business and start cranking out the cash.

1. Building trust with your customers is key to any successful business. A blog is a great way to get information about your business out to your clientele. Keep your customers abreast on your business and any changes to your web site. Announce your new product line and affiliate programs with the use of your new blog.

2. Your blog is a great way to keep all of your articles and business information. Quality information makes for the best web sites, so put up all of those old articles and anything else you have lying around that makes good content. The content on your blog can be easily stored through archives.

3. As a business owner in your chosen niche you would probably be considered an expert, right? Well since youâ€™re an expert donâ€™t be afraid to give your advice and opinion. Blogging provides you a great opportunity to give product reviews on items that might help your customers. You could make some extra cash by endorsing quality products unique to your niche. Whatever your niche is Iâ€™m sure that there are products you can sell to earn affiliate commissions.

4. By posting your articles on your blog you can allow people to republish them as long as they include your resource box. We all know what is included in your resource box, thatâ€™s right it is a link to your web site! Before you know it we will start acquiring back links like crazy. As stated in the previous section you can use articles with affiliate links to start cashing in with your blog.

5. Use your blog as a way to gather information from your customers. Have them fill out surveys on how you can improve your product(s). It makes them feel involved and builds trust. Getting the input of others, especially people that have purchased from you is always a good thing. Even if you donâ€™t like the answers! A blog is a great way to get instant feedback from your customers and that is a very valuable tool.

6. Submit your blog to blogging lists and syndicate it so that it becomes a viral marketing machine. When you have a blog that stands out in your niche people will be walking over each other for every new post you make. By syndicating your blog you give notice to all interested parties every time you make a post!

Setting up a blog is easy, you can either purchase blogging software or use a blogging hosting service to do it for you. LiveJournal and Blogger.com are the most popular hosting companies in the blogging arena right now. They are easy to set up and the hosting companies provide you with easy to follow instructions on how to start your new blog.

Take these 6 tips and put them to use in your evolving online marketing arsenal, you will be glad you did.

Blogging is a great way to enhance your internet marketing efforts. Mark Williams has other terrific tips and Internet Marketing Strategies to help your marketing efforts.

Why A Blog Template Is Important For Contextual Ad Success

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:09:39 +0000

g00glebox

A few times during winter, the waves actually get big enough that people can surf them here in Naples, Florida. We are on the Gulf of Mexico, not known as a surf anything. The only time we have "really" big surf is when a hurricane passes by.

Recently we had one of those spells where the wind kicks up and surfboards show up out of thin air. Naples must have more displaced surfers than anywhere I’ve been. It was a sight to see.

When a surfer sits, he looks back over his or her shoulder to pick out a set of waves. Experience tell the surfer when it is good to go - to try to catch the wave. Most of the time the surfer has a good ride and they start over again.

As the web develops, those who make it their business to make a living from it, look for almost the same pattern as the surfer. They want a set, not a single event they can’t evaluate. Just like the wave, they look for momentum. They make sure the new trend will carry them through.

Oh, and I almost forgot. Most surfers go in pairs, or groups, and they keep their eye peeled, not competitively, but to see if the other surfer will risk going on the incoming wave. Sometimes waves look good, but a second opinion always seals the deal.

Internet marketers like you and I do the same thing. We watch to see if others are getting on the band wagon. That’s the way it was with blogs. First they started out as a means to blow off some steam - as you’d do with a diary - then they developed into a vital tool.

But why they have become so important, especially in our discussion, is because they lend themselves perfectly to search engines and the software that matches advertising to context. They were developed purposely this way.

First, the footprint a blog leaves is easily read by the top search engine spiders and bots. How many hours have you spent wondering if placing the headline in H2 sized font would be better for Google or Yahoo! than H3? And what about all those links? Did you make sure to name your pages something significant?

Blogs software does this for us automatically. It names pages in the best way possible - for the search engine. It does not make a mess of text when compiling it for the web. It gives nice links for past posts, or to friend’s sites.

Secondly, blogs ping. They automatically notify a repository that they’ve been updated. For example; this blog "pings" technorati.com, among others. It lets the web know there’s new news! Automatically. How cool is that?

Blogs are easy to add ads to. I almost said, "easy to monetize", but we both know monetizing isn’t as easy a placing ads on a page. Blogs are easy to update, easy to read, easy to archive.

So, unless you are a web designer that just can’t give up web site creation, blogs should be your first choice for starting a site to monetize. And, I can’t say enough about Blogger.com. They are easy to use and "free", which is almost always good in my book.

I encourage you to create a blog and get used to writing in it. It’s true - not every wave a surfer picks is a winner. Likewise, you may not hit a home run on your first blog. But you’ll never know unless you get the board out and wax it up while the waves are big!

Taking advantage of the blog momentum and technology is not only smart, it should be a critical part of your marketing plan.

Get out there with the best of them and enjoy the ride. - Surf’s up!!

Founder of one of the first web hosting companies on the Internet, World Wide Mart, Dave Jackson has been teaching others how to monetize their web sites for over ten years. Currently he teaches others to create a solid residual income by creating quality web sites of great benefit to visitors and monetizing them using contextual ads. His blog is Making Money with Contextual Ads.

10 Tips To Improve The Comment Section Of Your Blog

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:09:38 +0000

g00glebox

For many blog posts, the comments section - where the discussion occurs - is as important as the post itself.

This is where the original idea or technique gets tested, refined and extended, questions are answered, and other options to it are presented.

Consequently, it’s worth taking the time to make your comments section as user-friendly and as attractive as the rest of your site.

Here are some tips to bring the design of your comments section up a notch or two:

1. Clearly separate each comment by putting a border around it, using a light colored background or adding a dividing line between each.

2. Differentiate the comment’s meta data (commenter name, date posted, permalink, etc) from the comment by styling it differently. Use some combination of a different font, font-size, font color or background. Or, try putting the meta data off to one side, so that it doesn’t get in the way of the comment flow.

3. Alternate comment background colors to make them easier to tell apart.

4. Add a number to each comment so that other commenters can easily refer to it.

5. Differentiate author comments so that readers can easily see your contribution to the discussion. Try using a different background and border and/or adding something like "Author Comment" to the meta data.

6. Add gravatars to your comments to spice them up and to give your commenters a little more ’name recognition’.

7. Add a permalink to each comment so that other people can link to it - either from within the discussion or from other sites.

8. Add some graphical interest to your meta data by using icons - for example, a speech bubble icon for the posting date and a user icon for the commenter’s name.

9. Say how many comments have been posted in your comments header. For example, "9 Comments Posted. Add Yours".

10. Add live comment preview to your comment form so that commenters can see how their comment will read as they type it. This is especially helpful in making sure that links work correctly.

11. (bonus) Add the ability for readers to subscribe to comments by email or RSS.

Take a look around the web at what other people have done with their comments sections. There are some really creative examples out there if you search around a little.

Christian Watson is a web designer who’s blog focuses on web design, CSS, usability, SEO and blogging, among other web design-related topics.