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When you first set up a website in the World Wide Web, you may stick to something simple. A beginning website resembles a glossy brochure for your company or expertise. It details your mission, your company history, personnel contact information, and some basic services. This is great for some smaller businesses. In fact in Denver, software development is unnecessary for some very small operations that are essentially operating online to get some additional walk-in business.

But if you run a site that is even slightly more complex than this, software development, Denver and elsewhere, is necessary. Let’s look at some ways in which software development can benefit various companies and their online marketing strategy.

•Email lists. There are some basic programs available online for compiling email addresses of visitors to your website. Some hosting companies offer this benefit when you purchase a managed hosting package. This may be enough for you, but if you want something tailored to your company’s and your clients’ needs, you should look into Denver software development firms. They can analyze your strategy and your site architecture so that you get a software component suited to your professional image, rather than a cookie cutter program for a basic site.

•Opt-in lists. These are very popular today and most companies need to create an incentive for their visitors in order to be trusted with email addresses without a purchase. Work with your software development team to come up with strategies to offer free information products or sample services in exchange for joining opt-in email newsletters and automatic updates.

•Inventory presentation. You might be able to find a basic check out program through your hosting company or you might be able to insert the shopping cart program from a known online provider into your website code. However, a client who expects unique service and quality products will take notice, even subconsciously, of your web design. You can have slick and stylish web graphics and a killer homepage, but if your inventory display and shopping cart system are bare bones, you will lose the effect of that color scheme.

Fortunately, good Denver software development firms can create an inventory presentation and purchasing system to suit not only your special product needs, but also the esthetics of your site. Plus, the customization possibilities are endless. Size, color, style, and pricing are only some of the variants you might want your customers to select at the point of purchase. These elements, as well as quality graphics, are essential to good inventory presentation and effective sales.

•Search feature. Among all the elements that web users cite as a draw or as a deterrent to specific websites, the search feature is always near the top. One of your website’s intentions is to create an online catalog of products, services, and information for potential customers. To do this, they must be able to find what they’re looking for. The problem with most pre-packed search software is its lack of precision in selecting results that are related to the original search terms. So take advantage of professional software development to create search engine software that is tailored to your inventory as well as to your typical client needs.

About the Author

This article was written by Sytsma Morris-Reeves. Mr. Morris-Reeves runs NewMediaDenver,an Internet technology company located in downtown Denver, Colorado (http://www.NewMediaDenver.com). Mr.Morris-Reeves is a highly respected Denver SEO Expert since 10 years, and he constantly develops and stays current with all the latest SEO and Link Building Techniques.

You have a great product. You also have a great company image and marketing model. Now it is time to implement all your plans and bring together a website. You know very little about websites. Finding websites that have failed is easier than shooting fish in a barrel. Many people come into the internet business with the notion that if they are on the web, they are guaranteed to make money. Not so. The internet market is flooded these days, and in order to get noticed, there is a way to do things.

So, your first idea for a website is one with lots of things that move, flash, talk, or whatever. Most people think this is the best way to draw attention to their website. It draws attention, but if no one knows what your company is, they won’t find the website this way. It also can be a little annoying to visitors. Websites must be picked up by the search engines in order for people to start finding them. However, search engines do not like all those elements because in the search engines view it is the equivalent of a novel, when all they are looking for is a one page report. Granted, once you are a large established business like a television network or a shopping corporation, people will come to your site no matter what, and search engines lessen the penalty for using lots of heavy files.

Now you think you want the easy way out and want to go with a template website. Templates are a cheap and quick way to get a website live on the internet. There are different types of templates, but the ones you want to stay away from are those which are nothing but images. These websites are created in a photo editor so that all the components of the site like buttons, information, and descriptions are all just pictures of text, and not actual text. Search engines use programs that review your website to read what it’s all about. If all they see are image files, it doesn’t really tell them anything about the website. You also run into the same problem of presenting a book rather than a piece of paper. Images are large files, while pure text is not. It is in fact quite small in comparison.

So you realize you are going to have to put some work into the site to have it look how you want, and also be functional for search engines looking at it. Text is very important. All your buttons should be text. All your descriptions and company information should be text. Choose a layout that is easy to navigate with menus to locate all pages within the site. Also important is a site map. A site map will help you keep your site organized and it will help the search engines when they come to visit your site.

Choose a search engine optimization company that will help review your site. They can pick out things you may not notice. For example, design editors can help clean up html code and find any spelling errors. They can also help you choose the best web site design elements that will make your site look how you want, and also make it search engine friendly.

About the Author

This article was written by Nasir for Naxtor Technologies. Please visit Naxtor Technologies for more information about web site design and search engine optimization, http://www.naxtor.com.au

Read through the hundreds of forums and bulletin boards on the internet and you will find dozens of threads centering on the lack of web site traffic. All the other remaining threads bemoan the difficulty of getting visitors to return long enough to buy something. Then there are the threads about the complexity of getting listed and ranked well in important search engines.

All of these dilemmas have the same cure - CONTENT. Content that is pertinent to the subject of a website and updated regularly makes a site “sticky.” Sticky sites drive and keep occupied all the visitors you could possibly handle. Search engines drink from the fountain of fresh and interesting content provided by savvy webmasters who enjoy increased rankings and sales.

You too can enjoy these benefits with just a little effort and a small budget if you create or find content appropriate to your topic. Add some or all of the following types of content to your site and your traffic will increase and visitors will return often.

Articles - There is no doubt that free reprint articles are the best way to populate websites. You can maximize the benefits of articles by writing them yourself or by offering a small fee to writers for customized versions of their popular articles.

Quotes - An interesting set of quotes on topic will help motivate and inspire visitors. Add and delete quotes regularly to keep your site fresh. Find quotes at http://www.annabelle.net/ and http://www.brainyquote.com/.

Puzzles - People love games and puzzles. Appeal to the child that exists inside all of your visitors and they will reward you with their time and attention. One place to get a new monthly puzzle is http://tinyurl.com/6spgk. Consider investing a small sum to have a custom crossword puzzle developed for your site.

Forums - Follow in the footsteps of successful websites by adding free forums to your site. Check out forum software at http://www.yabbforum.com/ and www.phpbb.com Ask loyal visitors to serve as moderators for specific topic threads.

Feedback/Guestbook - Allow visitors to ask questions or comment on an issue raised by your site or your blog. Make this information public (so long as it is in good taste) and searchable by visitors.

Reviews - Unbiased reviews are universally popular. Add reviews of books, software, hardware, scripts, movies, television shows, schools or spas to your site and visitors will return again and again.

Case Studies/Success Stories - Everyone loves a success story. Interview your best customers and add their stories to your website to bolster your credibility and satisfy your content needs. Be careful to make the success story interesting and motivational rather than commercial.

Jokes - A sense of humor is often lacking on the internet. Imagine how impressed you would be by an attorney who has such a good sense of humor that he keeps all the best attorney jokes on his website. Follow in the footsteps of that attorney and visitors will look forward to visiting your site.

Newsfeeds - Does your site cover a topic that frequently generates breaking news? Add current news to your site via feeds available at such websites as http://www.news4sites.com/services/index.php?t=sites and enjoy a higher rate of return visits from your readers.

Resource Directories - Instead of the usual reciprocal link campaign consider adding a resource directory to your site that actually points your visitors to valuable sites that complement your own. List only the sites you choose and do not incur search engine wrath by insisting upon reciprocal links. All links in the directory should open to a new browser window.

Newsletter & Archives - You don’t have to recreate the wheel and attempt to create a huge list for your newsletter. Offer regular updates by e-mail or blog to current and potential clients and include links to pertinent articles or resources. Keep archives publicly accessible and search engines will visit often.

Blogs - Why should you jump on the current trend of blogging? Search engines adore blogs and visit them often because they tend to be updated frequently. You can use a blog to replace your e-mail newsletter and to feature your product or service reviews and other bits of pertinent information that do not merit a special e-mail to your customers.

Job Listings - Consider adding fresh job listings to your site that fit your topic. For instance, you could feature telecommuting jobs if your site topic is “work at home.” Make sure you have the permission of the employer prior to posting their openings on your site.

Testimonials - Request testimonials form current and past clients and sprinkle them throughout your website. Remove outdated testimonials and add fresh ones on a regular basis. Give your clients live links (opening in a new browser window) to their website within the testimonial.

Please remember that you need permission to use content created by someone else and at all times follow the rules of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. You can read the full text of this law at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c105:H.R.2281.ENR:.

The internet was conceived as a method of sharing information with people around the world. If we all return to these roots by filling our websites with topic appropriate content then we will be rewarded by search engines. Forums complaining about the lack of website traffic will disappear and be replaced by recommendations of interesting websites to visit.

(c) 2005, Davis Virtual Assistance. All rights in all media reserved.

About the Author

Bonnie Jo Davis is a Virtual Assistant and veteran article marketer.  For your free e-book “Writing For Publicity” visit http://www.ArticleSubmissionSites.com today!

Building and creating a website is a nightmarish task especially if you don’t have the slightest idea on what you are suppose to do. Staring on an empty screen and waiting for some creative ideas to pop up can be quite frustrating and disappointing especially if nothing really comes to mind. But why over exert yourself, when you can simply download a web template that is available online that comes in vast array of designs.

The advantages of customizing web page template designs

· In addition, there are also various web page template designs which may also be customized for added flare. Customizing the designs of web page templates requires for the addition of some elements like text, logos and images.

· Customized web page template designs are ideal for businesses who want to portray a strong and effective online presence. It is also excellent in providing businesses with the usability, the visual impact, and assists in building consumer trust as well as provides businesses with an effective branding solution that will surely leave a mark in the mind of consumers.

Here are the advantages of using web page templates designs:
· A web template or web page template provides web sites with ready-made frames that project a professional and classy look. Plus, with the use of web templates, web sites are created in a very short amount of time.

· Web templates are also ideal for building personal web pages as well as enormous corporate site, online shops or business that serves as online counterparts for their brick and mortar shops. Aside from that, web templates may even provide as a design for any developed software.

· Web page templates or web templates are ideal especially for people who are not familiar with web designing. Web templates provide them with the initial elements to create noteworthy web site designs. Professional web designers who are equipped with the skills as well as the experience in creating astounding web page template designs create these web templates. Likewise, web page template designs play an important role in creating people’s impression of the company or of the business.

How to acquire custom web page template designs online?

There are phases or stages that are involved in acquiring for custom web page template designs online. The initial phase or stage involves the filling up or the completion of a design questionnaire where customers are asked about designs that they want. The second stage involves outlining of objectives based on customers’ expectations that will guide the designers in creating the design. The third and final stage is the implementation of the chosen design layout. The design layout will be uploaded to the web site of the customer where adjustments are going to be made to match the color as well as the font scheme of the site.

Important considerations in choosing web page template designs

Web page templates may either be bought or be downloaded free online. There are so many downloadable web page template designs that may be used as basis for fast and high quality web sites. These templates are completely customizable and are ready for immediate use. And to ensure that you get only the best quality web page templates, choose only those providers that have a good track record on their sleeves complete of course with their portfolios that will serve as proof of their expertise for creating web templates that really creates an impact.

In choosing a web page template design, it is important to consider its usability. The usability of the web design is an essential element that influences the site’s conversion rate. An effective web design is one that quickly loads and presents the content of the web site in a way that would be easily understood by web visitors.

About the Author

Nasir is a well-known internet consultant and developer with Naxtor Technologies - a web design and web development firm in Sydney Australia

The Web Developers Field Guide to Outsourcing

By Peter Ferrigan [Admin@ContractList.com]

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What is Outsourcing?

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Whenever you hire someone or a group of people that are outside of your business to handle business functions. This can include, auditing, payroll data entry and work in Information Technology.

Outsourcing is essentially hiring a contract employee for your business. While the concept can be used for businesses and projects of any size the work involved is about the same. You will still need to manage your work and employees, answer questions, make sure that work is completed on time and within budget. This guide will explain how to do all of this. In the next section you will learn about the benefits of outsourcing your development work and what this means for your bottom line.

Not currently spending anything on web development? Doing it all yourself? Hi, my name is Peter Ferrigan and this was me 3 years ago. I used to do the same thing until I realized that my job was to smoothly run successful websites and build new online ventures. You can look at the passion for new business or the pure number value. Either way there are larger things that you could be accomplishing with your time. How much is one hour of your time worth? If you are currently working for someone else, the number is easy to place. If you are self employed, it gets a bit harder.

Starting out as a programmer, when my work load increased and I was self-employed I naturally assumed that I would continue doing what I was best at, programming. The change from programmer to Project Manager happened when I started to put a number value on my time. One hour of solid coding, how much could I charge for this? As the work increased and my life got busier things started being measured in smaller amounts of time. Instead of basing my pay on the entire project, I began to look at how many hours it would take to complete and then my average pay per hour.

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Developer Fantasy Land
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Let’s say you take a small job that will take you an hour to complete. For this work, your client, or boss pays you $40. So your wage per hour is $40. This is of course assuming that you have an unlimited amount of clients or a rock solid job, which is why these figures are used as just an example. So you are currently making $40 an hour at a rock solid job or self employed with a waiting list of wealthy clients. Life is good. You set $40 per hour as the cost for 60 minutes of your time.

Change your perspective just a little bit and you can see that there is lost opportunity. I read once that when investing in real estate you should avoid all contact with a hammer, paint and nails. Why? Your job should be a professional check writer, because time spent hammering or painting is time lost doing something more profitable. Actions such as looking for another house to purchase.

Regardless of your current title, I am sure you know there are larger opportunities in your field. Most of the time these opportunities are lost because you are too busy focused on mundane details rather then the bigger picture of what you could be achieving. Included below is an example of how outsourcing can benefit you.

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Outsourcing for Increased Profit and Productivity
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Back to developer fantasy land, you’re making $40 an hour. What if you could find someone to do the same work for $5 an hour? What if they were available 24/7 and could work while you were asleep? How much would your time be worth then?

If you could find someone to do the same work for $5 and you were charging $40. You would make $35 an hour right? That’s the common assumption for the starting Project Manager (your new title).

How much time would it take you to find the programmer, explain the project and check the work. Usually from my experience (for a one hour job) only about 10 minutes. So what is your total pay? $35 for ten minutes of work. We are still in fantasy land, so after you have hired someone for $5 to complete your $40 job you go to the next client on your list.

Another $40 project appears, you spend $5 and 10 minutes. This keeps going on 6 times. So in one hour you have made $210 ($35 X 6) as opposed to your previous $40 an hour.

You have just given yourself a 525% percent raise.

One thing to remember is that we are in outsourcing fantasy land where each programmer does exactly the right work; it is always completed on time and to your exact specifications. This of course does not happen all of the time. You will have some programmers cancel, others not respond and some might complete the work incorrectly. If you leave 20 min out of each hour to review and handle these issues, you are still making $140 / hour, 350% raise.

The best part is that outsourcing not only allows you to be more productive and profitable while you work, it also provides these benefits in the time your off work.

Let’s say you work just 8 hours a day, and no more (in fantasy land). This means that you are unproductive (on work issues) for 16 hours of every day. These 16 hours can start making you money. Let’s take a look at the numbers:

Stated before the average project that takes only 1 hour of your time can be done for $5 and 10 minutes leaving 20 minutes of every hour for exceptions. As you will be planning ahead for the next 16 hours this will take some additional time to prepare the work. Let’s give each project an additional 5 minutes to setup. This means each project takes 20 minutes: 10 to find explain and check work. 5 to plan ahead and 5 to cover mistakes. These 20 minutes are split between when you leave work and arrive the next day. We are going to outsource just 6 projects, which means this will take just one hour before you leave work and one hour when you arrive in the morning the next day.

Taking a wage of $35 per project this translates into $210 for 6 projects outsourced while you sleep. After this we need to deduct the $80 of time spent (2 hours) preparing the work and your total profit each night is $130. Over a year (without holidays) this is a $30,000 raise.

Of course the above example is just an example. I wish it were as easy as breaking down projects into 15 minute segments, and each segment only took 15 minutes. Also it’s important to note that no one is a machine. Unfortunately as your work increases, so does the number of people you need to manage. Without a reliable management structure in place this would also increase the number of delays and chance of error. Then there is the waiting list of wealthy clients, which for most developers, doesn’t exist.

So if you could be making $210 an hour during the day, and right now you are only making $40, not outsourcing is actually costing you $170 an hour of lost potential.

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Outsource Today’s Work
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The best way to start is to join a freelancer marketplace such as ContractList.com. These websites are broken into two sections; one for Project Managers (that’s you) and the other for Freelancers; this includes people who are skilled in programming, design, writing and other talents.

As a Project Manager on ContractList.com outsourcing your development work is broken into four steps: Signup, Post Your Work, Select a Freelancer, Payment and Feedback. Below you find a description of each step followed by the relevant link to complete this action.

Signup :: The first thing you will need to do is to signup at ContractList.com as Project Manager. This allows you to post projects, accept freelancers and make payments online.

After filling out the short signup page, a letter will be sent to the email address that you submitted. This is done to confirm that your address is valid and you are able to receive important announcements pertaining to your projects. [http://www.contractlist.com/wm.php?a=signup]

Post Your Work :: After signup, gather the project details together and login into your account. After login you will be taken to the Account Management page. Here you can see the information relevant to your account. To post a project, click the link ‘Create Project’ at the top of the page. You will need to fill in the Title, Project Type and description of the work that you would like to be completed. Later in the guide I will explain how setting the right budget lowers your cost, and which details to include ensuring you get the most qualified bids. [http://www.contractlist.com/wm.php?a=create] Select a Freelancer :: ContractList.com is setup in a way that allows Freelancers to openly compete for your business. This known as a reverse auction, where competition actually lowers the bids instead of increasing them. Each Freelancer will be able to submit a bid (the cost for the posted work to be completed) and a time frame for the delivery of completed work. As there are hundreds of Freelancers on ContractList.com your project will receive multiple bids from people around the world eager to complete this work for you. Go through each Freelancer’s bid and select the person that you feel is best suited for the work.

Payment and Feedback :: After the project is complete you will then need to log into your account to submit payment and feedback about the Freelancer that you worked with. ContractList.com creates online accounts for both Project Managers and Freelancers, which are used for transferring funds related to work completed. As a Project Manager there are several ways in which you can add money to your account: Checks, Money Orders, Bank Transfers, PayPal.com, Authorize.net, 2checkout.com, eGold.com, StormPay.com, YowCow.com are all supported. Once the funds are placed in your account, you will then need to transfer funds to the Freelancer you worked with. These channels are also used for Freelancers withdrawing funds so you don’t have to worry about how to send payment to a Freelancer in a different country.

Leaving feedback is a valuable way for you to record your experience with this particular person. When doing so, it is important for you to include comments about their skills, communication and working in the time deadline. This information is then used for other Project Managers considering them for work.

[http://www.contractlist.com/index.php?a=account] ———————————————————-
Completing Projects Faster, Accurately and Cheaper
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In this section of the guide you will find practical things that you can do to ensure that you project gets started smoothly, progresses quickly and finishes on time.

Detailed Description :: Include a detailed description of the work needed. Each word you add to your description saves you money. By spelling out the work required for the project you do not leave this up to the freelancer to figure out. A clear concise description will save you money on each project.

Place your website address in the description. It always helps, and saves money to give a live example of the website you are referring to. If you are not comfortable placing your website, place one that is similar. Or if you do not have a website created, give a detailed description of the work that you would like done and give a few example websites, highlighting the features you would like to include.

Use Escrow :: ContractList.com employs an escrow system which allows you to place funds in a neutral account and release them once the project is complete. It is recommended that you use this system for each transaction, the reason being is that it gives each person 50% control over the money. Only you can complete the payment into the freelancers account and only the other Freelancer can release the funds back to you. Disagreements do occur and the best way that we can help you as a Project Manager is if the funds are placed in escrow. A good policy is to make your payment into escrow for the freelancer when you select his/her bid. This shows that you do have the money and it is committed to the project. Once the work is complete you simply complete the transfer into their account.

Post a Budget :: The worst mistake you can make is not included a budget at all. This outright says to people bidding on your project that you are clueless about the work required and money is no object in the completion of this work.

Post the Right Budget :: I half-jokingly suggest to anyone that brings this up that they should place a max budget of $10 for each project. By placing a $10 maximum you eliminate the idea that the Freelancer will be able to over charge you for this work. Instead you place them in the state of mind of “How can I win this contract for the least amount possible?” Obviously the $10 trick will not work for every project however if you are not sure how much your work will cost then put a $10 maximum.

Avoid Attachments :: Including an attachment in your project description, i.e. “please see the included file for complete details”. I have seen it time and again. Projects with attachments that are included in the description receive less bids and higher estimates. The reason is that there is an automatic assumption that if the description is to complex to be laid out in plain text, then the work involved must be equally as complicated.

Delay the NDA :: Personally I feel that NDAs are over used. If you feel that your project and work absolutely requires this level of secrecy then include this requirement down the road after you found a few good candidates for completing your work. By saying in your description that you require an NDA to be signed by all freelancers scares off a majority of potential candidates. A solution would be to put in the general description of the work you need done. Such as the type of website you would like to create or the specific steps involved. Once you have a list of qualified freelancers talk to them each individually about signing your NDA.

Don’t Modify the Posted Description :: Some people post a project and then the next day make a change to the description. After answering some questions and thinking about the work a little more, then make another change and another. This leads to inaccurate bids, uninterested freelancers and a very bad start to your work.

The best thing to do is before you place a project, write down every thing that about the work that you can think of. Include what you would like to end up with, what you have now, examples of similar work and your estimate of the work required. If you have started a project and need to make a change, the best thing to do is to rewrite a new project description and post it again. On ContractList.com there is no charge for posting projects and this simple action can save you a lot of time and stress.

Once the new project is posted, go back to the old one and invite each programmer to bid on your new project. This will give you clear and accurate bids to ensure that you pay exactly what the work requires.

Open Communication :: Issues in development can start out small and grow quickly you do not catch them early enough. For this reason it is crucial to keep open communication with all of the people you are working with. One idea is to create series of events according to the project deadline. Short deadline projects are relatively easy to manage.

For projects extending over 5 days, I have found it helpful to work out a list steps to measure progress. These include the dates for the first mockup, when revisions will be completed and the final deadline. Having a series of smaller deadlines breaks down a large project into smaller, easier to manage pieces. Having and sticking to your smaller deadlines consistently reminds the Freelancer that completing the work on time is very important to you. Use MSN :: By far the most popular communication tool when doing business online. MSN Messenger allows you to instantly connect with the people you are working with to hammer out details and check on progress. After you have accepted a freelancer to work on your project, immediately send him your MSN address and ask the following questions:

Do you have any additional questions about the requirements?

What do you need from me to get started?

How much longer are you available to work today?

Consistently check in and make sure you are available to answer questions. Once in a while ask “How is your work coming?” “When will a mockup be available?” “Do you have the demo ready?”

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Additional Help
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You now have all of the tools that you need to get started. Each step has been covered from posting your project to leaving feedback. We have also gone over some advanced topics that will help ensure your work is completed on time and to your satisfaction. You are ready to start outsourcing today.

If you have any questions about how to post your project, or the best way to word your description I would like to help you get started. Please send me an email via the Contact Form on ContractList.com and I am happy to review your project and help you get started.

Also if you are not sure how much you should expect to pay, just send me an email and I will get back to you shortly. [http://www.contractlist.com/index.php?a=contactus] I look forward to hearing from you and I hope that you have found this guide helpful and informative.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you,
Peter Ferrigan
ContractList.com
Admin@ContractList.com

About the Author

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Author Information
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Peter Ferrigan is the Administrator of the popular Freelance Marketplace Contractlist.com [http://www.ContractList.com]. He can be reached with questions or concerns by sending an email to Admin@ContractList.com.

As a business, your website can make you or break you. As a result, you need to choose a strong company to handle your web hosting.

When you are ready to start your journey into the web, you don’t necessarily need the most expensive web hosting account you can find. A basic account should meet most of your start up needs. As you learn the kinds of things that you need, you will most likely be able to upgrade your account as necessary. If however, you have an e-commerce site, you may need slightly more complicated web hosting services. You need a company that can handle SSL technology and Payment Gateway Integration, for example. Moreover, if you choose a different service to handle your Payment Gateway Integration than you choose to handle your web hosting, you must ensure that both services can work cooperatively to take care of your business. Remember, the key to all of this is to make you money, so you want things that work well for your customers, and the best way to do that is for everything to work together seamlessly. To that end, the ideal web host has to have all the options right there.

Traditionally, the first thing you looked for was reliability, but over time, most hosting providers have managed to get their act together on that front to the point where anything less than 99% uptime is a disaster. The new first step in web hosting is choosing the kinds of things you need to keep your website running smoothly, such as what kind of server operating system that host uses, how much room to grow they give you with your hosting package, and what software they offer you to help your website do things.

Some web hosts offer tools such as an HTML/Scripting Editor, so you can design your website on the actual site, rather than having to get a designer to do it. These work with an extensive web editor that allows you to build and enhance your website right on the host server. Other tools might include something like Task Plus, a scheduling application that reminds you when you have a task due. You might also find your host offering you information resources, such as e-books, or perhaps a series of templates to use on your site, or even scripts that allow you to set up email forms and databases and testimonial rotators. For example, Flizard.com offers these, a total value of US$276, as part of their standard package.

Of course they, like most web hosts (but not all – you should check first), also offer our full customer service and support, but in this company’s case they also offer 1 hour of free website programming consulting every month, so you can call them up and tell them what you’d like your website to do, and they’ll tell you how it can be done. That’s pretty handy, especially if you’re a little new at the whole website game – in fact, it’s pretty darn rare.

At an absolute minimum, you need a company that gives you a number of basic things. First, you need unlimited FTP access. Second, you need web support that is available to you all of the time. Finally, you need some guarantee on your satisfaction. Some companies have a money back offer, others will work with you until you are happy. There are some additional features you might be able to find, such as a very low or free set-up fee, but while those can be tantalizing bait, what happens down the road when the honeymoon deal runs out and your costs suddenly spike?

Some offer web mail services. Some even offer web-based site administration capabilities. There are e-mail auto responding services with some companies. There are even virus protection policies with some companies, but ultimately we recommend using a company that will answer the phone when you have a question, because that’s the kind of personal one-on-one service that really turns into benefits for you down the road. That’s what makes the free web consulting offer mentioned above so special – it indicates a company that actually wants to talk to you, and that’s rare indeed.

Starting your journey to choosing the right web hosting company can seem a bit overwhelming, but making the right decision will make you very happy with your web site.

About the Author

For more information on hosting visit http://www.flizard.com or phone Toll Free: 1-800-598-6934. Flizard is a Vancouver Web Hosting Company.

What do subscribers dislike most about your Website?

Obviously, many people leave a site when it takes too long to load. Every second is important; there are so many website to use. So why would they keep waiting for your site to load when there is another site available, much faster than your site.

It is good when you have a plan before you start making or designing a website. Planning is a very crucial part, first you should gather your development partners, analyze your needs and goals, the second part is creating a site specification document where you can detail or put detail what you intend to do and why. So if you have a planner you can see everyday on what you have finished or accomplished. It’s just like a milestone, where you can see how far you have been.

These things can be your guide on how to make your website:

• Define your goal

Without a clearly stated mission and objectives the project will drift, bog down, or continue past an appropriate endpoint. It is hard to make a project if you really don’t know what’s your goal or what do you want to do. This goal should be the foundation of your design.

• Know your audience

It’s very important that you know your potential reader so that you can design your site to meet their needs and expectations. For example the goal of your website is to attract young students to buy a certain product that is related to their studies, it is good if the design is a little bit colorful.

• Team

When you are working, it is important to be a “team player.” A team player works well with the other people on the job. Show loyalty to your team. Be committed to the team’s growth and improvement. Think of ways to help your team meet its goals. Remember that in an every successful project, manpower is the secret. So you should be intelligent to select who you will hire for a certain position, or who you will trust for a certain task.

• Maintaining the site

Your responsibility in making a web site does not end when you have finished it, but maintaining a finished web site is important. A web site needs constant attention and grooming, particularly if it’s in the line of marketing.

Once you know the ropes, making a web site is easy and fun. It’s an opportunity for you to develop your own site.

About the Author

Jonnalyn A. Ajeda
http://www.wickedinnovations.com
http://mischievoushoney08.wordpress.com/

Using Flash in Good Web Design

There seems to be a constant back and forth between programmers, systems developers, and web designers, not to mention users and merchants, about whether or not Flash is a good thing or a bad thing. You hear arguments on both sides, and they can both be convincing. If you know someone in I.T. in Denver, Flash design has probably come up in conversation before. The truth is that Flash design is a very individual decision.

So what is all the fuss about? Many moons ago when Flash technology first came out and the Macromedia Flash Player arrived on the scene, there were very few machines that had the software or even the hardware to play this stuff. Flash is basically the technology behind moving pictures on a website. It is responsible for the swirling graphics you see when you open an architecture firm’s splash page and the mini movie preview or commercial you see on Yahoo! when you do a search for movies.

When it comes to Flash design, Denver has some great minds. You can find quality web design that includes Flash elements to suit your company’s style, goals, and marketing scheme. A professional team is the best way to get this done, as it takes a trained Flash designer to really give you something seamless and highly functional.

And here is where the con side of the argument comes in. Some people say that Flash components on a website are just showy and take way too long to download. Well, five years ago, this was an accurate argument. Actually, even a year ago there were still a relatively large number of internet users who were still using a dial-up connection.

If you think back to the early days of the internet and how long it took you to watch those first Flash videos your friends sent you, or how impatient you became waiting for a website to load that had animated graphics on its splash page, you know why this argument has survived. But today, it is increasingly obsolete.

The majority of internet users today have high speed internet connections of some sort, as the affordability of this technology has increased. This means that the chances you will exclude a potential customer with your animated intro are close to nil. So Denver Flash design is on the rise.

A professional web designer who has experience with Flash design can write a program that is customized to your needs. They can create a thing of real beauty and excitement. Flash adds a touch of life to your otherwise static website. Remember that you customers want to feel like they are connected to you when they visit your website. By giving them animated components to view, you create a richer user experience to aid in this feeling.

There are so many ways that Flash can be used today that it would be a shame for you not to investigate how it could help your site. From interactive virtual salespeople to virtual makeovers, the possibilities are becoming endless.

About the Author

This article was written by Sytsma Morris-Reeves. Mr. Morris-Reeves runs NewMediaDenver,an Internet technology company located in downtown Denver, Colorado (http://www.NewMediaDenver.com). Mr.Morris-Reeves is a highly respected Denver SEO Expert since 10 years, and he constantly develops and stays current with all the latest SEO and Link Building Techniques.

PHP can be very useful in your webiste design, I use PHP for my websites difficult functions such as forums, blogs, chat, user forms, and shopping cart interface. But did you know you can use simple PHP for your website navigation systems?

The use of PHP for your websites header, left side navigation, and bottom of page information can be a great asset. Now I know what you are thinking, PHP can be complicated and intimidating to many of you, but first let me explain.

Using simple PHP include commands is a method any webmaster at any expertise level from novice to expert can implement with ease.

Most find editing PHP a frightening endeavor, but never fear, I will show you how.

A lot of us still use tables when designing our web pages instead of CCS, below is a veiw of the basic setup I will be discussing in this article:

Go here to see image: http://www.newcybertech.com/images/Artica1.jpg

As you can see from the image above, all the content surrounding the main content of each page will be shown in PHP and this is what this article is all about. The benefit of this technique will be when you update any of the surrounding PHP files, the results will be reflected on every page on your website that you have setup in this fashion. This sounds great right, but hold on, there is one more benefit.

You may say the same thing can be accomplished with robot include commands, but there is a catch to that.

The problem with the robot include command is that this content can not be seen by search engine robots. We all know that content is king to achieving high search engine rankings, so why hide the content you have? That’s why what I am about to teach you and using PHP for your website navigation is so important.

“All the information and links included in your navigation PHP can be seen and indexed by all the search engine robots for higher rankings.”

Now on to how it all Works:

Please read below if you need this information, if not browse down to the steps to generate PHP navigation on your website.

PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor, better known as PHP, is a highly popular, server-side scripting language that can be embedded directly into HTML coding.PHP can do anything that CGI can do, such as process form data and auto generate dynamic content, but PHP can do much more.It can be used on all major operating systems and supports most web servers.PHP is used by inserting PHP code inside your web page’s HTML code. When the page is called, your server automatically executes the code. What’s more, your visitors don’t need any special plug-ins for the code to run, as it will be displayed just like your HTML coding.As PHP is a server-side scripting language, although your visitors will not need to install any new software, PHP must be set up on your server.

Following is a very simple script that will test your server to ensure PHP is installed. It is a standard PHP function called phpinfo, which instructs the browser to print out information in regard to the set up of your server.

To use the script, simply copy the following three lines of code and paste them into a plain text editor, such as Note Pad.

< ?

phpinfo();

?>

Save the file as phpinfo.php and upload it to your server where you store your HTML files.

To run the script, simply point your browser to the script address. It should look something like this:

http://www.yourdomain.com/phpinfo.php

If PHP is installed on your server, you will be presented with a page of information about the PHP installed on your server.

If PHP isn’t installed, you will be prompted to download the file. In this case, you’ll need to contact your web host and ask them to install it, as it is free to download and install.

You can learn more about PHP and download it at

http://www.php.net/

Steps to generate PHP navigation on your website.

First of all you need to enable create a php file with html includes using the php include function. This is easily done by adding one line to your .htaccess file for your apache driven site and have php parsed in html files. To do this logon to your websites FTP account, go into the .htdocs file, find the .htaccess file, edit it to add this one line of code to the file:

AddType application/x-httpd-php .php .html

With that, you can have php blocks parsed in your html files so long as you put the php code in php tags. Example below:

php Code:

< --- ?phpinclude("somefile.php");? --- >

We will get into how to use the above command a little later in this article .

Now on to the steps:

Step 1.

Build the the following pages in your favorite HTML editor:

A. header.html

D. right.html (optional)

Or you can name these files what ever you like, but I will be referencing them as the above for this article. Once you have these pages built to your liking, we now start implementing with PHP. First build a new Index.html page, you can name it TEST or something until you get it the way you want it. Set it up with tables to look like the page below:

Go here to see Image http://www.newcybertech.com/images/Artica2.jpg

Step 2. Now here is the trick, rename each HTML page you just built, “header.html, left.html, bottom.html, and right.html (optional)” to the .php file extension. You can do this by opening each .html file in a text file editor such as Notepad and save as .php to the same directory as the .html files on your server. You will now have a copy of each file in HTML and PHP format.

Step 3. We are now ready to use the new PHP files, in each table around your main content we will insert the <--- ?phpinclude("somefile.php");? ---> Command functions.

See example below:

Go here to see Image http://www.newcybertech.com/images/php.jpg

Step 4. Open your new index page in your favorite browser and you will now see all the HTML pages you built come together as one page by using PHP.

Go here to see Image http://www.newcybertech.com/newcybertech.jpg

Step 5. Editing the new PHP navigation pages is easy, all you need to do is edit the HTML file you built in you favorite HTML editor. When your are done just copy the pages HTML and then paste it into the corresponding PHP file. To do this open the PHP file with a text editor and replace the HTML with in it with the edited version of HTML and save it as .php again. Now your PHP file is updated to match your edited HTML file.

In conclusion:

Now when ever you update your website header and navigation pages the results will be reflected on every page on your website that you have setup in this fashion. And as a added bonus all the information and links included in your navigation PHP can be seen and indexed by all the search engine robots for higher rankings.

About the Author:
Craig Freshwater is the Webmaster/CEO for http://www.newcybertech.com/ covering Webmaster Resources, Web Site Promotion, Search Engine Optimization, Web Design and Profit. Visit The Newcybertech Weblog http://www.newcybertech.com/Blog and the Newcybertech Forum http://www.newcybertech.com/Phorum/index.php for more great resources and articles.

About the Author

You have permission to publish this article electronically, in print, in your ebook or on your web site, free of charge, as long as the author bylines are included.

The choice between the type of web hosting, virtual or dedicated, is governed by several factors that need to be taken into consideration by the site owner. The key for a site owner is to try and fulfill his requirements while staying within his budget. An understanding of the pros and cons of both forms of hosting is the first step in deciding which to choose.

Virtual hosting: This type of hosting is preferred by most small websites. Several websites are hosted on a single server in this form of hosting. Hosting providers offer packages with different combinations of disk space, domain names allowed with each hosting account, and bandwidth allotments. Small sites and blogs that do not require too many resources to run can select a smaller virtual hosting package.

With virtual hosting, the distribution of resources means that the speed of web pages loading depends upon other web sites sharing the web server. If quick download and upload are essential to a site owner’s plan, then virtual hosting which offers sufficient bandwidth should be considered. A good host will ensure that websites with similar resource requirements are hosted together so that site owners pay only for the resources and scripts that are used by them.  

Virtual hosts may or may not allow access to non-public directories, these are directories used for storing files that are not meant to be accessed via the word wide web. Small sites that hold sensitive data should check for this facility. SSH/Telnet are important for site owners that wish to communicate directly with the servers and run queries on the databases.

In terms of security, websites can get compromised even when there are no lapses on their part; carelessness on part of neighboring websites on a virtual server can lead to the server getting hacked into and every website may be at risk. However, choosing a good host with solid security will mitigate this risk.

Dedicated hosting: With dedicated hosting, all the resources of a server are made available to the site owner exclusively. Dedicated hosting is best suited for sites that attract a lot of visitors and have a high bandwidth requirement, ecommerce sites that may need special software, or web sites that hold sensitive information and therefore need greater security.

Dedicated servers allow unlimited domain names and greater freedom in managing the website. Dedicated hosting is divided into managed and unmanaged hosting. Managed hosting implies greater support from a technical team that performs regular technical updates and routine maintenance without the site owner having to look into it. Unmanaged dedicated hosting is cheaper than managed dedicated hosting but additional support can be an added cost.

Dedicated servers are accessible only by the host and the site owners; by using features such as secure FTP and encrypted terminal sessions, site owners can be assured of greater security. Webmasters who run multiple sites can also host all their sites on a dedicated server; this enables better management and may work out cheaper than hosting the sites separately on different virtual servers.

About the Author

Paul Hanson recommends Net Explorers (http://www.hosting-netexplorers.co.uk/) for reliable UK web hosting.