Posted by admin on May 19th, 2008 — Posted in WWW
The other day I was surfing the web as normal, going quickly
from site to site. I was looking for a good site to present with
an Excellent Site award and I was getting frustrated because
nothing was measuring up. You know, more of the say old thing
time after time. I’m sure you’ve had days like this when you’ve
surfed, everything just seemed, well, plain.
Anyway, I ran across a site which looked pretty good. In fact,
it was very nice, good graphics, excellent content, nice layout
and good navigation. In other words, at first glance it looked
like a good candidate for an award.
The only way to be able to judge sites in a high-volume awards
program such as ours (usually 40 or so entries a week) is to
ensure that time is well spent. This means when I view a
contender for an award the first 60 seconds of viewing is used
to quickly reject or accept a site. This whittles down the
contenders greatly so that my time can be spent on those web
sites that deserve a closer look.
So anyway, I was surfing the web and found a site which looked
pretty good. Very good, in fact. Lots of nice graphics, very
well-done layout, HTML code looked good and the content was
first rate. I continued looking and comparing and came to the
conclusion that I had a real winner here, a site which was
worthy of the excellent site award.
I hesitated as I started to give out the award, though.
Something didn’t seem right, something was wrong. I continued
looking, and before long realized I had found a para-site.
Oh, the guy was good, I’ll admit it. What had he done? He had
used frames to seamlessly merge someone else’s web site into his
own. Actually, on further investigation I found that this
“webmaster” had similarly merged over a dozen web sites into his
own.
I was shocked. Of course, I had heard of this phenomenon before,
but i had never seen it so blatant. The guy even claimed the
pages as his own work! as far as his visitors could tell, he had
done it all without help from anyone. Yet he was using other
people’s bandwidth, he was “stealing” their pages and he was,
well, obviously without any kind of ethics.
Needless to say, I didn’t give him the award. I also zipped off
an email to the webmasters whose sites had been “borrowed” so
that they could rationally decide what needed to be done.
Linking to another site is perfectly legal, completely ethical
and should be done without any considerations of any kind. The
web is all about linking - referencing other material at will.
The best thing you can do is link, link and link some more. To
any and every WEB PAGE that you find useful (never, ever link
directly to graphics or other multimedia - only to web pages).
On the other hand, para-siting (or framing, as it is commonly
called) another person’s site without permission is unethical.
It confuses visitors to your site and it steals bandwidth. It’s
even worse to attempt to pretend the web site being framed is
your own.
The moral of the story - stay ethical on the internet.
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Posted by admin on May 16th, 2008 — Posted in WWW
Sooner or later, as everyone finds out, nothing in this world is free. Although there are literally hundreds of Free Hosting adds surfacing on the Internet, no one can stay in business very long giving it away. So how can hosting services offer free hosting?
Easy.
One way is to make some of their money from registering your domain name. Domain registration is a necessary step for any future web site owner, (some low cost host play a numbers game between your monthly cost and your yearly domain registration fee, for example:
$5/month and $30 registration fee, or $7/month and only $6 to register, or…… you get the picture).
Another way they make money is to add advertising onto your web page. They will get paid either each time the banner is shown, or each time someone clicks on the advertisement.
Some will offer extra add ons like Spam or Virus Protection, Domain Theft Protection, or other services at an additional cost. Of course if you feel you have need for these services, then you should purchase them.
There are also limitations such as storage space, bandwidth, number of email accounts, and
so on, in hopes that you will need more later and decide to upgrade.
So are the so called Free Hosting Services even worth the time to consider?
Sure they are! There are situations where someone may not need tons of storage, bandwidth, email, and so on. Just find a
host that offers what you need without to many compromises. One such host that I use quite often is doteasy.com. No banners, only a yearly domain registration. And for me, they’ve always
responded to my questions within 24 hours by email.
So if your new at web page development, just want your own personal web page, ect., and don’t really have that intensive of system requirements, then Free Hosting is the way to go.
Visit the author’s informational site featuring home based business resources, tips and ideas.
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Posted by admin on May 2nd, 2008 — Posted in WWW
Anyone in the market for a Web site host has certainly come
across a hosting company offering unlimited bandwidth and
unlimited disk space as part of their hosting packages. How do
they do this? How physically, can they offer unlimited disk
space when each server has a finite amount of disk space
available for use? Perhaps more importantly, how can they offer
unlimited bandwidth when the Internet does indeed have
limitations?
Some consumers see the term unlimited and assume that that they
can’t go wrong. This is merely a marketing ploy just like
unlimited minutes on your cell phone or unlimited trips to the
salad bar. At some point, there will be a limit. And in most
cases, it’ll cost you.
So why are unlimited plans even around? Because there are still
consumers that just don’t know enough about Web hosting and
assume that bigger is better. They generally see a low cost plan
(sometimes under $10/month, watch out!) and don’t think twice.
If you have a business Web site, the least you should be paying
for quality Web hosting is $20 per month.
However, if you decide to go that route, be sure to read the
fine print. Unlimited hosting packages generally have terms
dictating that when you reach a certain point, they can either
raise the cost of hosting drastically or even shut down your Web
site! Remember, they’re in business to make money and aren’t
going to run their business at a loss to simply retain your
business.
So what can you do to avoid a hosting nightmare? First, find a
hosting company where you can actually talk to a live person.
This may sound obvious, but many large hosting providers only
offer technical support via email with up to 24-hour response
times. If your site goes down, are you willing to wait 24 hours
for a response? Check to see if they even list a phone number on
their Web site. Many large hosting providers don’t and consumers
don’t even think to look for it until something is wrong with
their site.
Second, discuss your needs with the Web hosting company. While
most companies have set packages, some will be willing to
customize hosting plans so that you only pay for the services
you need. If a host isn’t willing to discuss the needs of your
site with you, how helpful are they going to be as your site
expands and your requirements increase?
Finally, plan for your growth. Don’t simply choose the cheapest
plan because it meets your current needs. Assume that your Web
site is going to increase its traffic over time and be sure that
when it does, there are no hassles or downtime. Pay a little bit
more if you have to because in Web site hosting especially, you
get what you pay for.
If you have a Web site for your business, Web hosting is the
most critical aspect because without it, your site is useless.
Knowing that your hosting provider is dependable and responsive
can make all the difference because ideally, the only time you
ever really need to talk to them is when something is wrong. It
all comes down to the idea that if they’re willing to be
deceitful to get your business by offering an unlimited plan,
how can you be confident that they’ll be honest when you need
them the most? Taking time to select the right host can make all
the difference and let’s face it, while there is no such thing
as unlimited bandwidth and unlimited disk space, there also is
no such thing as 100% uptime. You’ll need your host, so choose
wisely.
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Posted by admin on April 24th, 2008 — Posted in WWW
The use of the right colors on your web site can actually
increase your sales. When people see certain colors they can
change their emotions or they can symbolize things related
to the colors. Here are a list of colors with some emotions
and symbolizations they can cause:
Red - love, excitement, warmth
Pink - romantic, affection, sensuality
White - purity, peace, perfection
Blue - sky, water, travel, freedom, truth
Purple - royalty, dignity
Black - space, night, authority
Green - money, calm, envy, greed
Yellow - light, purity, understanding
Orange - autumn, youthfulness, fire
Brown - wood, comfort, strength
Its very important to know which emotions or symbolizations
will trigger your target audience to buy your product or
service. If your selling a money-making product you should
use green colors to represent money or bring out the emotion
of greed. People also associate comfort and travel with
money so you maybe want ad in some brown and blue
colors on your web site.
The same principle can be applied to graphics or pictures
of your product on your web site. Package your products
with colors that will trigger your audience to buy. If your
selling a book about how to be more romantic, use red
and pink colors on the cover. I hope these simple web
site color techniques will increase your business’s sales.
About the author:
Rojo Sunsen is a specialized bounty hunter who prefers to work quietly/confidentially for the benefit of her clients.
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Posted by admin on April 17th, 2008 — Posted in WWW
First impressions are lasting impressions! Whether buying a house, a book, or even a product from a web site, we buy what looks attractive or reliable from the outside.
Colors, like words, are used to communicate. Color is central to our lives - we rely on color to convey both emotional and psychological impacts that work subtly on the unconscious. For example, when was the last time you went into a restaurant and didn’t eat? Reason? Look at the color combinations - orange, red, yellow! With all of those “hungry” colors, who wouldn’t eat?
The purpose of color in your business’ web site design is not solely to attract attention, but to enhance the browsing experience of your customers. Through effective use of color, you can influence the mood of your customers. Blue, for example, relaxes, refreshes, cools; produces tranquil feelings and peaceful moods.
By adhering to a few simple rules, you TOO can make the most of color on your web site.
1. CONSULT the color palette!
While it is true that more and more of us are upgrading to higher resolution monitors, you must be aware of the fact that some of your customers’ monitors may still be set at 256 colors. One of the givens of web design is the sanctity of the 216 web-safe color palette.
Although most monitors today can display 256 colors, only 216 colors are common between the Mac and the PC. By sticking to the 216 web-safe color palette, you will ensure that your web page is displayed consistently across multiple platforms. After all, you can still paint a Picasso with 216 colors!
2. PLAN a color scheme!
Nothing is more entertaining than the excessive use of color! In fact, I recommend that you use as many different colors as possible on each page! WAIT! STOP! I was just joking! You should choose two or three, at most four, colors that give your site a sense of familiarity and professionalism that is easily recognizable to your prospects. If you have no design sense, check out: http://www.colorschemer.com/online.
3. ORGANIZE your colors!
Colors define your site’s mood and style - they also help organize. You can use different color combinations for different heading levels, for example, to make it easier for your customers to recognise the different sections of your web site.
4. PREVIEW your color combinations!
Your text and background color combination is crucial to the legibility of your web site. Although a white background with black text is the safest combination, you may use other combinations as long as your customers do not have to strain their eyes to read your text. If they have to - they’re gone!
You might as well have personally packed their bags and sent them on an all-expense paid trip to Hawaii! To help you preview your chosen text/background combination, visit: http://www.pagetutor.com/pagetutor/makapage/picker
5. OPTIMIZE your graphics!
Adding color images to your site? A rule of thumb is, “Lots of colors, use JPEG…solid colors or no gradations, use GIF.” Regardless of which file format you use, reducing the number of colors creates a smaller image file size. And a smaller image file size leads to a faster loading web page.
You can use tools such as NetMechanics’ GIFBot (http://netmechanic.com/GIFBot/optimize-graphic.htm), to help optimize your image size by removing extra colors that aren’t being used. Do be aware that reducing color in your images will also reduce quality. Therefore, the goal is to achieve a balance between file size and image quality.
6. BE CONSISTENT!
Your color scheme should remain consistent throughout your site. As confusing as the internet can be, why add more confusion? Consistency fosters familiarity and professionalism and makes your visitors come back!
Web-safe color is a web designer’s nightmare and only one fact is certain - the world of web design will continue to change! So look on the bright side - endure, compromise, and have fun! After all - its progress!
Bina runs the WebBriefcase at http://WebBriefcase.com.au, a site filled with web building tips, tools and tutorials for home business owners.
Sign up now for her free 7 part video enhanced course on “How to Make Your Own Web Site in 7 Easy Steps” mailto:subscribe@webbriefcase.com.au
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Posted by admin on April 13th, 2008 — Posted in WWW
Don’t mess with those links! When you’re designing your site, you should leave your text links in their natural state–blue and underlined. We all want to be creative and not do the bland, expected, normal thing. We want to change our links to red, green, yellow, even black–anything but blue. And we have the urge to take off those underlines.
Resist the temptation. It’s hard. But there’s a good reason to leave them alone.
From the earliest days of the web, text links have been blue. People intuitively recognize that blue, underlined text is a link. They know they can click on it.
The combination of blue and underlines means “If I click on this, it goes somewhere”. We’re conditioned to recognize those distinguishing characteristics. We’re like Pavlov’s dogs–we see the link and instantly know what it means. There’s no time wasted in trying to figure out whether or not that particular word or phrase is clickable.
If you mess with the natural appearance of a link, you lose that instant recognition. People have to stop and think (and often click) to figure out what your colors mean. I have watched countless people try to navigate websites and spend half their time figuring out what’s a link and what’s not. They have no way of knowing.
In addition, people scan a page for links. They like to be active on the internet, and they like to know what they can do. When they recognize a link in your copy, it’s a clear signal of someplace to go. Visitors want to know what their options are. It’s not a good idea to make life difficult. They’ll appreciate coming across a site that’s easy to use and doesn’t try to confuse them (for once!).
It is becoming more acceptable to use other colors for your text links, as long as they remain underlined. But if you can, it’s still best to use blue. This is because so many people use underlined, colored text on their sites that is NOT linked. Visitors have a tendency to get confused. They never know what to expect. With blue, it’s obvious.
Some people have brought up the point that if we stick to the status quo, there will never be any improvements in the system.
My answer: In a medium like the web, forward movement will never be a problem. The web continues to push ahead, regardless of whether your site jumps on the bandwagon or not. There will always be new growth, no matter what your site does.
The question is, when is it appropriate for your site to adopt the latest fads? To answer that question, you must keep in mind your site’s purpose and your audience.
If your site is technology oriented, and your visitors are technically-minded and on the cutting edge, then going for the latest trend is more appropriate.
But if your site is focused on an average web user, it’s different. If you’re sellling a product/service, communicating information, or driving any specific action, you need to keep your visitors focused on that goal. You shouldn’t distract them with trying to learn a new set of skills and standards just so they can navigate your site.
Never move faster than your audience is ready to move. At this point in time, people still struggle with being able to recognize links. A majority of people have a difficult time finding what they want. If they are still struggling, your site needs to accomodate them.
As more and more people become comfortable with advances in technology and design style, it will be appropriate to incorporate those advances into your site. Just wait until your audience is ready.
Final thoughts: If the context of your site makes it clearly obvious what is a link and what is not, it is sometimes permissible to use a color other than blue for your links. For this to work, your copy should have no colored text that isn’t linked (with the exception of headings) and no underlined text that isn’t linked. Only use another color if you are sure that visitors won’t have any trouble recognizing your links.
The main point: Visitors shouldn’t have to think about what is a link and what isn’t. Whatever you can do that maintains instant recognition is great. Go for it!
About The Author
There are 580.8 million people online. Can they find your business? Jamie Kiley creates powerful and engaging websites that make sure YOUR company gets noticed. Visit www.kianta.com for a free quote.
Get a quick, free web design tip every two weeks–sign up for Jamie’s newsletter: http://www.kianta.com/newsletter.php
jamiekiley@kianta.com
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Posted by admin on April 10th, 2008 — Posted in WWW
Introduction
A recent Google search for the term “website hosting” returned back 36,100,000 websites. Although we’re living in the information age, there is such a thing as information overload! Once you have collected your hosting referrals or selected a handful to pick from, how can you compare all the different plans, their features and pricing to decide who the best match for your business is? The task may sound daunting, but I will provide you with the information you’ll need to make an informed decision and select the best hosting plan for your budgeted dollar.
Assess Your Needs
Shopping for a web hosting provider without understanding what you need is like shopping for a new car with no idea of the features it needs to have: Do you need to haul with it? Does it need to seat more than two people? Does it need to have power windows, doors, locks? Etc.
The first thing you need to do is asses your needs. Here is a small set of questions to ask which will help you brainstorm:
1. How much disk space do I need? A 5 page website may only require 50mb, but a 200 page site may require 500mb to store all the pages.
2. How much bandwidth will I need?
3. Will I need access to utilities such as databases, chat rooms, forums, blogs or other medium where information can be stored and clients can connect with me?
4. Will I need to install and run special scripts? For example, opt-in mailing lists, calendars or help desk software? If so, are they operating system specific (Windows or Linux)?
5. What am I comfortable paying each month for service?
Once you have answered these questions you are ready to begin your assessment of different web hosting providers. If you are unable to answer some of the questions above, or would like additional assistance determining your needs, please contact Krista Garren for a complimentary consultation.
Assessing the Web Host
The next step is to begin to examine the different key areas of website hosting which will affect your decision:
• Disk space
• Bandwidth
• Scripts and utilities
• Dedicated/Shared servers
• Customers service/Support
• Uptime/Reliability
• Price
• Free Hosting Providers
1. Disk Space
This is the amount of storage space the provider is allotting you to store your website. Hosting plans will range anywhere from 25MB to Gigabytes in order to accommodate all range of needs. If your site is already constructed you can generally determine how much storage space is needed by totaling the file sizes of your pages and images. This is the minimum amount of space you will need for your website. A general rule of thumb is to purchase a plan which may have more resources than you currently need, but that provides you the ability to grow; after all, the overall goal is growth right?
2. Bandwidth
What is that anyway? Bandwidth is a measurement of how much information (data) can be transferred from your website and is calculated over a set period of time, usually a month. Each time someone requests content on your website (pages or images) from their web browser, this counts as bandwidth usage. Highly trafficked websites that have large pages or large images that have not been properly optimized will exhaust bandwidth resources much quicker than websites who optimize and control page and image file sizes. Prior to uploading your website, optimize your content and images to get the most bandwidth value for your dollar. Research the amount of traffic you anticipate having initially. For example, will you launch your marketing campaigns immediately after your site launches or will you wait a few months? If you have created a following for a new product whose launch is eagerly awaited, then it may be wise to select a larger plan up front to prepare for the upcoming traffic demands.
Be sure to inquire with the host about bandwidth limitations. Some providers will simply bill you for an overage, whereas others will automatically suspend your account (meaning no one can see your content) until the next billing cycle when your bandwidth is renewed. It would be devastating to try and pull up your website only to find that it has virtually vanished due to a bandwidth overage.
3. Scripts & Utilities
Will you need to store dynamic information online about your products, services or clients? If so you’ll want to be sure your plan provides a database tool. Databases are extremely versatile and will vary in flavor depending on the operating system you select for your hosting server. For example, the main freeware database tool in a Linux hosting environment is MySql. Most hosts will offer this tool to you at no additional charge. However, your hosting plan may limit the number of databases you can create, so carefully review each offered hosting plan and take notes for decision making later on.
Other popular scripts which are generally included with your plan (or are available free of charge) include chat rooms, forums (phpBB/Invision Board etc), blogs, calendar programs and help desk software. These scripts included in your hosting plan are pre-configured by the provider to work on their server.Many hosts may even offer the Fantastico script package which is a collection of 36 different free scripts which can be installed on your website with the click of your mouse.
Some of these scripts and programs will require a database to function. For example, if your selected plan allowed only two MySql databases, and you needed to install a Chat Room, a Forum and a Calendar, all requiring one database each, you would be unable to do so; you wouldn’t have enough database resources to accomplish this task. Carefully consider which utilities you will need, and take notes as to whether they will require a database to function. This will help you determine how many databases your plan needs to allow you to create.
One additional note is to carefully consider which 3rd party scripts you will want to install and what environment they require to run properly. 3rd party scripts are those which can be found on the Internet available for purchase or as freeware which can be installed on your website. Be aware however, that some scripts can run in both a Windows and Linux environment while others may be specific to only one operating system.
4. Dedicated/Shared Servers
The basic difference between a dedicated and shared server is that shared servers host many sites, whereas a dedicated server generally hosts one website.
One of the big advantages of a shared server is the cost savings. Shared hosting simply costs less. Spamming and how to avoid having your website blacklisted from different search engines has been a recent concern with shared hosting environments however. How does this impact me you might ask? If you are sharing a server with an adult website that sends out spam and is eventually dropped from the search engines because of it, your site (once listed) could inadvertently be dropped if you share the same IP address. This is because shared hosting environments usually assign many sites to one IP address. Ask the provider whether a unique IP address can be assigned to your website (generally for an additional small monthly fee) to guard against this should you elect a shared hosting server.
Dedicated servers are best for big, highly trafficked websites which will require large amounts of server resources to run. One of the downsides to shared hosting is that the server’s resources are divided across all the sites it’s hosting and answering page requests for. If you are in a dedicated environment you can better monitor your server resources. The downside is that dedicated servers will run you generally $50 per month or more. Shared hosting can be purchased for as little as 5$ a month. Most small or medium sized businesses will have neither the website size or bandwidth requirements to make dedicated servers cost effective.
5. Customer Service/Support
Pre-Sales
What is your preference on customer service? Do you prefer to call in and speak to someone live, or are you satisfied with using email to have your questions answered? Many providers will have a toll-free number you can call to address pre-sales questions while others may provide a pre-sales FAQ document, live chat option or a member’s forum where you can scan posts and find answers to commonly asked questions. As a consumer, you want to make sure that you have some options to choose from.
Support
Many providers will offer support through online Help Desk software. Rather than tying up phone lines with live help, they use their Help Desk to facilitate support request from users. Some providers may have Forums where you can post questions and receive assistance from other hosting customers. If you feel you are not Internet savvy, inquire whether you can receive live phone support. Be aware though that you may be required to pay an additional fee for this privilege.
You should be able to contact your hosting provider by more than one method. Be careful of any provider who does not provide adequate methods of communication and limits you solely to email contact for both pre-sales questions and support. Customer friendly hosts generally provide you a contact telephone for questions and most likely it will be toll-free. Should you elect a hosting provider that does not provide any telephone contact, do your research! Do they have testimonials? Do they have a forum where you can openly connect with other hosting customers and ask questions or request help? Has feedback about their service been positive? In this instance you’ll have to rely on any posted question/answer responses and your intuition.
6. Uptime/Reliability
Uptime is an important factor to selecting your provider. Does the provider offer a performance guarantee? Specifically, will they rebate you some (or all) of your monthly fees if you experience prolonged periods of downtime? Do they offer a money back guarantee? Most hosts will refund all or part of your monthly fees (provided you weren’t spamming or doing anything illegal) if you are not satisfied with their services after a period of time and choose to cancel your service.
You can also search for a testimonials page to see what their own customers are saying about them. Ask friends and colleagues whom they host their site with, and research the provider to determine if they would be a good fit for your website.
7. Price
Hosting normally will cost you somewhere between $5.00 - $10.00 dollars per month depending on the plan’s features. Anything below $5.00 per month, although it may sound like a great deal up front, may have to cut corners to offer such rates. Ever heard the saying “you get what you pay for?”. Do some research on lower cost providers to determine how they are using your dollar and what you are receiving for it. Likewise anything above $12.00 per month should be packed with features, or possibly include a complimentary domain name* and something other providers do not offer.
* Free domain names can be tricky! ALWAYS check with the provider and ask if the name will be registered in your name with you as the legal owner, or if it’s to be registered with the hosting company and leased to you. Often times if registered to the host, you will be unable to take this name with you if you change service providers. Efforts in marketing and search engine optimization and branding can be lost in these situations and result in major headaches and increased spending.
8. Free Hosting Providers
Website hosting has become so affordable in today’s market that it’s not worth the aggravation a *free* service will put you through to utilize their resources. I tagged the word free because there’s really no such thing as free web hosting providers.
Most free services are offered in exchange for placing ads or other annoying features automatically onto your website. Displaying ads on websites is a process that requires careful consideration - even when you are personally selling ad space on your own site. Placement of the ad, layout and content are all key factors in ensuring your ads do not drive away your target audience. When working with a free hosting service, most likely you do not have control over these items, and could not ensure that their ads would compliment your products and services. Far better to pay the $5 per month and secure reliable hosting that places no demands on your website than to select a *free* host and take your chances.
Closing
The main idea behind selecting a good web hosting provider is to think ahead. Always purchase as much bandwidth and disk space you can at the most affordable price. Your website will need to have room to grow with your changing business needs without having to continuously switch hosting providers.
About the Author
Krista Garren is a website design consultant and webmaster who specializes in assisting clients with building and hosting effective websites. Visit her website at http://www.atsirka.com for additional information or assistance with selecting a web hosting provider.
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