Friday, April 13, 2007

Web site must haves

By Florie Lyn Masarate

Books were the primary source of research before. With only these prints to attain information, people had no choice but to scan and even read through all its contents to find what they are looking for. Although there are indexes and page numbers indications, there is always a possibility that what is being said there does not correspond directly to what you are looking for. Bottom line, reading through.

With the internet at everyone’s disposal, researching and printing has taken a new perspective. Information getting is easier and much more efficient. With helpful and specific sites, what more could anyone ask for?

With the many companies using the internet for promotions and advertising, it is no wonder that the competition among them has become intense. More and more strategies are being thought of to gain advantage over another. What do these companies really need to keep people interested on their site?

Giving them the kind of content they cannot read anywhere else. In other words, try to be unique and different from the rest. Chances are, people would stay longer to read things they have not read before. And probably, even go back for more.

Remind people that your contents can be printed out. Any information that may seem important to them can be put in prints. Printing and browsing can be done all at the same time.

Get them to answer surveys about your site by offering rewards in return. Readers often disregard surveys that are made to help websites in their development. By offering them promos or small prizes, they would more or less spend a little of their time with these surveys.

Make use of directories where people can search for specific topics and information they need. This would insure time consumption and will be a relief to those in a hurry.

Be professional in your publishing. Grammatical and spelling errors are a major turn off to readers. Your website is being accessed worldwide by different kinds of people. Most of them are literate enough to understand and judge mistakes they will encounter.

Make your prints easy to read. Not too big or small for people to understand them easily. And not to bright or dark which is sometimes very irritating to the eyes. Using the right shade of colors in designs also needs consideration.

Use attention catching headlines, like a phrase or a sentence likely to arouse their curiosity. Graphic designs can also be a plus factor as long as it is related to your site and guaranteed to make people stop and stare and browse.

For comments and inquiries about the article visit
http://www.ucreative.com

About the author:


Florie Lyn Masarate got her first article printed in the school newsletter in the third grade. Her hobbies include reading any book she can get her hands on.
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Wednesday, March 28, 2007

7 Reasons Why Using CSS is a Must

By Michael Turner

CSS is a new option for website designers that have been using HTML and tables for most of their web designing careers. Of course, it is a huge change and requires learning a new language and skill, however most people are saying CSS is worth it and it will give you more control, options, and is easier to edit. Consider the following 7 reasons why using CSS is a must and see if it convinces you to change your method of web design.

Reason #1
Present Data Logically When you use CSS in the layout of your website you can present your data in a logical way and CSS can then manage how the information appears. This is significantly easier than other methods and is one reason why CSS is a must.

Reason #2
More Options With CSS you have more options for changing the location of information on your screen. This is important for a variety of reasons, especially if you anticipate the need to change columns or links at some time.

Reason #3
Complements HTML Another reason CSS is a must is because it complements HTML. HTML and CSS alone both have weaknesses, but when used together your website design will be significantly stronger.

Reason #4
Editing You can edit your website design if you need to for whatever reason without that much hassle if you are using CSS. All you do is go in and edit the definition. This is a lot easer than searching and replacing of years past.

Reason #5
Faster When you use CSS your pages not only load faster but they also can be scrolled quicker than ever before. This is a huge deal to most web surfers as well as webmasters because speed is a huge implication in whether someone stays on your page or moves on. CSS increases speed, and as a result is a tool you must learn how to use.

Reason #6
Print When you use CSS you can also include a printer friendly version of the website that makes it easier to print and can eliminate color, images, and other things that do not print easily.

Reason #7
Control If you have been working with tables for layouts you are probably tired of the guessing that goes on. However, with CSS you have more control and can issues commands and know exactly where the result will appear, rather than guessing. This is in itself makes CSS a must have.

Now that you have some information on CSS, you are probably interested in knowing more details about how it works and above all how you can learn to use CSS. Fortunately, there is tons of information available online that will provide you with the answers to your many questions on CSS and how it can help you.

About the author:

Michael Turner shows you exactly how to increase web site traffic in his free 7 part mini-series. Grab it today at http://www.powertraffictactics.com/

Friday, December 01, 2006

Pros and Cons of Dedicated Hosting

By Marcus Peterson

Dedicated hosting involves a specific server for a website and is allotted for its exclusive functioning. It is called dedicated, since there is a single server committed to ?host? or run the website. Shared hosting, on the other hand, has the same server that hosts a number of websites. This reduces running costs of a server and is relatively inexpensive compared to dedicated hosting. In this case, the provider takes care of servers, softwares and other requirements that are uniform for all the users.

Users who own large websites that have a heavy flow of traffic should consider dedicated hosting. These users do not mind paying extra for customized services in return for enhanced speed, security and technical privileges. With dedicated hosting, the site is loaded quickly. The owner can easily access and change the contents as desired.

There are a significant number of positive features of dedicated hosting, such as customized services and on-site support. Hardware and software requirements can be modified, depending on the needs of clients. Website uptime can be enhanced by on-site support and monitoring results. Uptime refers to the percentage of time that the website is running. A longer uptime increases the site?s reliability. Option of data and power backup is another added feature.

Clients need not buy updated or maintain equipment, because the service provider looks them after. Upgrading to a better service is cheaper.

The downside of dedicated servers is related to expenses and a few other limitations. The monthly fees charged by service providers may seem rather steep over a long period of time, depending on the way it is used. This makes users consider purchasing a server, and using a co-location facility. This alternative allows a number of users to pool in their resources to set up a data center. Certain dedicated servers may restrict the use of IRC (Internet Relay Chat) or prohibit from posting adult content.

Dedicated Hosting provides detailed information on Dedicated Hosting, Dedicated Web Hosting, Dedicated Hosting Servers, Dedicated Web Server Hosting and more. Dedicated Hosting is affiliated with FTP Site Hosting.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marcus_Peterson

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Website Building 101

By Katerina Mitrou

So you want to get your online business up and running but theres one little problem - you need a website! For any business, big or small, a professional website is important if you want to attract potential clients or customers and create a solid foundation for continued success. But many people have no idea how to go about the process. Luckily, its actually quite easy to get a functional, well designed and user-friendly website online in a reasonable amount of time. And depending on your particular situation and budget, there are several options available to make your business goals a reality.

The first option is to hire a designer. If you are willing to invest a good sum of money into the initial stages of developing your business, hiring a professional website designer or web design company should be something to seriously consider. The job will cost you thousands of dollars (if you hire a reputable designer) but all the pressure and work will be on someone elses shoulders. Spending a lot of money right at the beginning of your venture may seem a little risky, but compared to other business endeavors the cost - and risk - are minimal. And the amount of money you have the potential to make after your site goes live will far outweigh the amount of money initially invested in its construction. Also, if you expect a professional job, hiring a professional is the best way to attain that objective.

A designer will consult with you regarding what you need in a website - a simple basic website, flash-based design, and e-commerce sites are the most common. You will also discuss form, functionality, color scheme, graphics, and other important points. Sometimes content can be obtained through your web designer as well, or you can fulfill your content needs after the basic website design is completed. In the end, hiring a web designer offers you a lot of flexibility and gives you the ability to fully customize your website in all aspects of its design.

Go it Alone

If you dont have the money to spend on a good web designer or feel its unnecessary for your purposes, theres no reason why you cant create the website yourself. And this option applies to everyone - even if you know nothing about HTML or web design. Of course, if you do know a little bit of HTML - or are willing to put your nose to the grindstone and scour the Internet and your local library to learn HTML - you can certainly build a website from scratch. But nowadays there are other ways to make your own business website without struggling with HTML or a costly designer.

Website templates, for example, combine the professional design talents of an experienced web designer with the cost-effectiveness of going it alone. Templates are ready-made web pages that a designer or design company sells for a small sum - the cost is so low simply because the template can be resold over and over again. In addition, if you purchase a website template that wont be resold after you buy it the cost will rise but still ends up being much more affordable than working with a designer one-on-one. The cost is kept relatively low because, although the template cannot be sold to another person, the design was already created and the buyer agrees to purchase it "as is."

When you visit a website selling templates you are given the freedom to browse through a wide selection of different styles of website designs. Once you find the perfect match for your business you simply purchase and download. All thats left is to edit it using a simple HTML editor to add content, graphics - you name it. One such website template company I found that offers quality, reasonably priced templates is http://templatedogma.com/.

The final option is to use an online website builder to do the job. This type of program holds your hand every step of the way so that you can build a website without knowing anything about computer languages or design techniques. Even if you use a WYSIWYG editor it is possible to get lost along the way, and as mentioned above, templates do require editing after you make the purchase. A website builder is the only option that essentially automates the entire process. You might not be able to customize every aspect of the site, as templates are usually part of the procedure, but adding content, pictures, charts and tables to the site is made entirely hassle-free.

As you can see, there are many different ways to build a website from the ground up. In the end, choose the option you think will lead you down the path toward online success and youll be happy with the results.


About the author:
This article was written by Katerina Mitrou sponsored by http://templatedogma.com/. Template Dogma offers a huge selection of professional, ready to use website templates and custom products too. Build your professional website in minutes with the help of Templatedogma.com. Reproductions of this article are encouraged but must include a link back to http://templatedogma.com/

Friday, October 27, 2006

Free Domain Name and Cheap Web Hosting Review

By Anthony Joseph

Free domain names and cheap web hosting packages are everywhere! In fact, there are thousands of companies that offer free domain names and cheap web hosting packages. Luckily for you, I have spent hours and hours carefully reviewing the "best of the best" free domain names and cheap web hosting packages.

Free domain names are the easy part for a person or business that wants to launch a website; you either get one or you don't. (We'll focus on the web hosting providers that do offer free domain names.) Cheap website hosting is the real challenge though. Yes, cheap web hosting is cost-effective and preferred, but you should select your web hosting company based on cost and the kind of hosting services you require.

For example, "shared hosting" is generally the cheapest web hosting package available because your website will share hosting space on a server with other websites. Because of the low monthly cost, shared web hosting is ideal for personal websites, and small businesses. "Dedicated hosting" is more expensive, but only your website will reside on one particular website hosting server, which is usually only necessary for hosting websites with extremely large numbers of visitors or unusual hosting support requirements, such as video or MP3 based websites. Hosting servers are also differentiated by the type of programming languages available. Does your website require PHP hosting or MySQL hosting? If so, you will have to pay close attention when selecting your website hosting package. If you’re shopping for website hosting for your business, make sure to ask your web developer which programming language your site requires.

You should also pay attention to the amount of web space and transfer allowed. Web space is just like the hard drive on a computer; there is a limit to the number of files you can save. Transfer, also known as bandwidth, is the amount of information downloaded when someone visits your website. This is critical if your website gains a significant number of visitors or includes large audio or video files. Web hosting providers will jack up the fees if your site goes over the allowed web space or monthly transfer limits, similar to the charges for using extra minutes on a cell phone.

A couple of assumptions before we get to the top three cheap web hosting companies: I'm going to assume that you're looking for the absolute cheapest web hosting available, based on cost, and that you're O.K. with a "shared hosting" plan. With that in mind, let's move on to the top three free domain name and cheap web hosting packages.

#1 Free Domain Name and Cheap Web Hosting Package

Host Monster. Host Monster has everything! They simply dominate cheap web hosting with tons of web space (50GB) and an extremely generous amount of monthly transfer (999 GB). The 24/7 tech support is an absolute must for any website hosting service and Host Monster has that too. All that aside, what really pushed Host Monster to the top of our Cheap Web Hosting list is the $4.95 monthly plan, one free domain name, and the ability to host unlimited domain names! That’s right, Host Monster allows you to host an unlimited number of websites for only $4.95 a month. Basically, Host Monster is the best value we've ever seen for cheap web hosting, hands down.

#2 Free Domain Name and Cheap Web Hosting Package

Start Logic. Decent amounts of space (50 GB) and transfer (750 GB), but are slightly less than Host Monster $4.95 a month. [How much is Start Logic? (Also $4.95?)] Start Logic also boasts 24/7 tech support and will throw in one free domain name, but only allows a total of 10 domain names per account. As you can see, Start Logic and Host Monster are very similar, but the smart move is to get the unlimited domains and higher transfer with Host Monster for the exact same price. Really, there’s no reason to choose Start Logic.

#3 Free Domain Name and Cheap Web Hosting Package

1and1. They are the cheapest web hosting service in terms of monthly cost at just $2.99/month, which is insanely cheap. In fact, it’s the cheapest cost per month I’ve ever seen on website hosting. 1and1 also gets high marks for reliability, customer service and being the largest website hosting provider in the world. Another benefit is one free domain name is included, but the storage (5 GB) and transfer (250 GB) are the lowest on this list and only allows a total of 10 domain names per account. 1and1 does offer some great features such as free blogging tools, a website builder and a photo gallery. If you’re new to website hosting, or are strictly looking to build a small website without video or audio files and little traffic, this is an excellent place to start, just be aware of the storage and transfer limits.

Did you know there are new free domain name and cheap web hosting packages popping up all the time? You can check out a frequently updated list of the top ten cheap web hosting providers at http://www.hosting.infodogs.info/.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Anthony_Joseph

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Things to Keep in Mind While Selecting Web Hosting Service Provider by Nik

Web hosting service provider should be reliable, cheap and provide all the services a webmaster wants. Web hosting provider must qualify certain attributes to be chosen as a service provider and they are:

1. Must provide enough Disk-space.

Web hosting service provider must provide at-least 2GB of web space since your business is going to expand in future. After your business grows and you find that the space provided by hosting provider is less and you need to shift to another web hosting provider is quite frustrating and time consuming job.

2. Must provide unlimited services like email accounts, bandwidth, database space and others.

If you are starting with an online business than bandwidth factor is quite important since if your business grows and the amount of visitors also grows can affect the bandwidth factor and if the bandwidth provided exceeds the limit it will cost you more. So more the bandwidth the better it is. The email accounts service should be unlimited since you have to provide various email accounts for various purposes of your business.As your business will grow, the more customer information you have to store which in-turn will grow your database, so unlimited database space is important.

3. Payment of Web Hosting service should be yearly or lifetime.

Payment scheme should be chosen either for yearly or lifetime, since once you have paid for lifetime you won't have any problem if your service provider changes any payment scheme or bring any new clause. Otherwise if you pay as per monthly scheme than if any clause gets changed you have to follow that clause.

4. Must provide have 24/7 technical support.

Your web hosting service provider must provide the technical support all the time, since if any problem occurs you can contact them and get instantly solved. Otherwise it might affect your business.

5. Must offer 99.99% uptime.

Your website must be 99.99% time up otherwise it will adversely affect your business. If your customer wants some information about your product and your site is not up and working than customer will turn to another company and you will loose your customer.


About the Author

Information provider on topics like Web Development and Search engine optimization. http://www.corporatesitesolutions.com