Donkey God

So, you have your domain name and you have designed a website or had a website built for you, now what. Well, of course you need hosting. A lot of people want to start a business online but are not aware of some of the basics like how people are able to view or visit your website.

What is web hosting? Right now, if you have already built your website, all of those files are on your computer. People who are surfing the web don’t have access to your computer, therefore cannot find your website. Advanced users know they can turn their computer into a server where people are actually coming to their computer to view their website, however, this is not recommended and certainly not recommended for someone who is not very advanced as a computer technician.

There are computers who are set up to be servers. These are called host computers as well to simplify things. You need to upload your website files to the hosting computer so they can make it available for others to view on the web. This is the service we call web hosting.

Will just any web host do? No. This is a common misunderstanding about web hosting. All web hosts are not created equal. There are many different levels of web hosting and many different plans and packages to consider. There are also many other things you have to consider when choosing a web hosting company. Let’s go over one of the most important issues when choosing a web hosting plan to help you understand better.

A lot depends on your individual needs. Will your website have a lot of graphics and images? Will it have movies? Music downloads? Software or other downloads? Or is it a very simple and compact website that is mostly text? Do you expect a lot of traffic to your website?

The reason for all those questions is something called “bandwidth” or “transfer”. The amount of storage space a web-hosting plan offers you is usually far less important than the amount of transfer or bandwidth the web host offers you.

Every time someone visits your webpage, every file included in that webpage is downloaded from your website to their computer. In other words, from the web host’s computer to the visitor’s computer. This includes each graphic or image on the page, every icon, even the html page itself is downloaded by a user just visiting your webpage. The size of each of those files being transferred to the visitors computer is the amount of “transfer” or “bandwidth” you are using.

Let’s say you get 100 visitors per day to your website. Let’s also say that your html page is around 15k and you have 5 images on that webpage that altogether are around 50k. That means each visitor to your website is using up 65k in bandwidth every time they visit that page. Let’s also say your average visitor opens 3 pages within your website and those pages are the same size as your main page. That means each visitor uses 195k minimum and that is if they don’t keep going back to your main page.

Multiply that 195k times the 100 visitors per day you get and you are using 19,500k or a little over 19 megabytes of transfer per day. Multiply that by 30 days and you get 585,000k or 585 megabytes of “transfer” or “bandwidth” used per month.

Now if your web hosting plan allows for more bandwidth than you think you will need, then you know you are okay there. However, make sure you know upfront what the cost of going over your allotted bandwidth is. Some webhosts charge a lot for every megabyte you use over the limit they set for you in the plan you chose. It’s a good idea to pick a webhosting plan that is just one step above the one you think you need to allow for growth. You might become very popular like a rock star overnight!

D. David Dugan recommends the web hosting solutions offered by DD&C at http://hosting.dugancom.com Hosting popular sites like the article directory http://www.articlemotron.com is one of their specialties.

Simple Host A Web Hosting Review

Our History: SimpleHost, (formerly wyattweb.com) has been
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to become an industry leader hosting over 10,000 clients
world-wide. SimpleHost.com was launched to make web hosting
simple for the novice and expert alike. We offer powerful web
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Our Commitment: SimpleHost is committed to providing quality
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Whatever your level of expertise, our support staff will be
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Our Network: We may focus on making web hosting simple for our
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Learn more about Si
mple Host.

A very important point to consider while designing a website is proper navigation. You must ensure that potential clients or customers are able to find the information they are looking for without too many clicks. As a quick rule of thumb, visitors to your site should be able to visit all your pages by using, at most, 3 clicks. This is also important when considering search engine optimization (SEO) because search engines will only spider (or index) pages that are 3 clicks deep into your site. Not only does proper navigation allow users to find information they are looking for, but it also allows search engines to spider (or index) the information they are looking for. This is essential if you want high quality search engine traffic directed to your website.

Different types of websites employ different navigation styles, so it is probably best to visit websites similar to your own to see which navigation structure they have chosen. The most common locations for your navigation menu are either on the left side of the page or at the top of the page. When internet users view a website, they do so using what is termed as a “Z scan”. As soon as a page loads, most people scan from the top-left, across to the top-right of the page, then down to the lower-left, and eventually across to the lower-right of the page. So, it makes the most sense to locate your navigation menu in the area where the user is going to first look.

Smaller sites usually only require a static menu on either the side or top of the page. However, website that contains 10 - 15 topics on different pages may require a drop-down menu. These menus may use DHTM, _JavaScript, or some other programming language. When the user’s mouse moves over a main topic category, boxes containing subcategories will drop-down, allowing the user to quickly find the information they are looking for. I f this type of menu is used, it is best to also include text-based navigation in another location on the page. Older browser versions may not support drop-down menus, and therefore a small percentage of people may not be able to navigate your website. Even more important though, is the fact that search engines will not be able to navigate and index your site if there is no text based navigation.

Another concern is accessibility by assistive technologies. For example, blind Internet users literally read the code of your page. Therefore, if a navigation menu is image based or uses image maps, alternate text must be used to allow the user to properly navigate the website. To make things easy, no matter what type of navigation I choose for a client’s website, I always include text-based navigation links at the bottom of every page to ensure that they are accessible to all Internet users and search engine spiders.

A Few Important Tips

•Plan your site navigation structure before designing your website to ensure that you are not forgetting any page links. It may be cumbersome to fix every page you have created because you a missing a link or two.

•The navigation menu must be clean-cut and uniform.

•Do not make the user scroll down the page to see the navigation menu.

•If you have too many links, use drop-down menus or create a site map.

•The navigation structure should be flexible enough to allow the inclusion of a additional links at a later date.

•Use short, clear and concise words in your links so your customers know exactly what type of information that page will contain.

•Make sure every page has a link back to your homepage. This can be achieved by providing a “Home” link in the navigation structure, and / or linking your logo image to the homepage.

•For larger sites, breadcrumb trails can be used to let the user know what section of the website they are in. For example, at the top of a certain page, the user would see:

“Home / Products / Widgets / Green Widgets”

Paul Coulter’s company, www.cost-effective-design.com/“>Cost Effective Web Design provides low cost, custom web design services for small businesses in the Windsor Ontario area View the www.cost-effective design.com/services.html”>Custom Web Design services that Paul’s company has to offer.

Professional web design agencies are admired because they utilize an extensive array of web designing skills, promotion and maintenance service for the benefit of their client’s short term and long term requirements. They combine their specialized knowledge of web technology with the theme and content of your business to materialize into a unique web presence.

The professional web site agency knows the importance of having a unique web-presence. Having no presence is almost equal to the site being redundant. Thus as a part of effective marketing strategy, the agency does enough research with relation to the product or service the client wants to promote online. The agency works on the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to ensure which words are used by people to find information about the product or service you are dealing with. After finding the words or phrases, the agencies work toward the appropriate keywords and phrase which make the customers track your website. The professional web site agencies make sure that the website is search engine friendly with the right kind of content, key word and phrases.

Here are some more ideal benefits gained by using professional web design agencies:

Makes the site look professional: If a website is designed poorly or haphazardly your prospects will understand one thing: if the website and content is inferior then there is not much one can expect from the products or services the company handles. In the cyber world too, the first impression is the last impression. The web home page is the first impression. Based on the home page, any one can figure out what is the level of service that will be offered and how much will be the rate charged for it. A professional web design agency believes in making the home page and the content of the webpage as customer friendly as possibly without being dull or gaudy at the same time.

Long list of satisfied clientele: A professional web design agency has a long list of satisfied clientele and customers. There is a track-record, a body of work behind it which you can look at and then make an educated decision. In other words, you are not risking your money and time.

Getting your worth: The web design agency may charge you higher fees than normal, but you are being offered high quality work. This high quality work will pay you for years to come.

Abiding of the contract: Professional web-design agencies agree to a set time frame that is decided mutually by the web design company and the client; taking into consideration the specifications and the standards you have set for the website to be built. They make it a point to deliver before or within the time frame with the requisite terms and conditions.

Continuous assistance: Professional web design agencies have a business contract with you and they will not leave you in the lurch after the web-site is designed. On the contrary, they will work with you and consistently meet your future web-requirements. You are their privileged customer and they are sensible enough to know that it costs less to retain an old customer than invest in another one. If they stick with you and handle all your web-site needs and do maintenance on your website to make it dynamic, then naturally you will be impressed and recommend them to your friends and business associates.

Indemnity insurance: There are some web design agencies which also offer indemnity insurance for loss of business due to slow Internet speed because of various reasons. Check the terms and conditions of insurance policy of the web-design agency.

Minimum Web Accessibility: Professional web designers endeavor to make every one and all have access to use and access the product or the service on the website, regardless of any kind of handicap or disability. Web accessibility implies designing web pages that people can use, operate and interact with according to their tastes and preferences. It is thus important that to make a website presentable and comprehensible in terms of usage and access. By virtue of minimum web accessibility standards, professional web designer work on designing a user interface which is easily comprehensible, accessible, user-friendly and satisfying to one and all.

Tanya Swithins, Website: www.pecdesigns.com Bio: Tanya writes for PEC Designs, a manchester web design agency.

Creating your website is an investment in your business. When done right, it should be a powerful part of your overall marketing mix. Too often, businesses make the same mistakes when building or maintaining their website.

If you’re planning a website development project, be sure to keep these ten areas in mind. If you currently have a website, use these ten as a checklist and see how you measure up:

1. NOT THINKING ABOUT THE CUSTOMER
If I’ve said this once, I’ve said it a thousand times: You don’t need a website. Your customers do. Build your site with them in mind. All to often businesses get too caught up in trying to list everything they do and who they are that they forget about who’s visiting the site. A simple rule to follow: if it doesn’t pass the “so what” plan, get rid of it.

Now that doesn’t apply to all pages on your site, of course. But it should apply to the majority of it. Especially the high traffic pages, like your homepage. That real estate is precious, so make sure your message matters to your ideal customer base.

2. NO PURPOSE FOR THE SITE
This goes hand in hand with number 1. Before you move forward, be sure to have a plan. You should have a purpose for you site and build it to match that purpose. Can the purpose change later? Of course it can. But if you try to build a site that is all things to all people, you’ll end up with a site that is nothing to those that matter most - Your customers!

Here’s a hint: think about your ideal employee. What would they say? What could they do? What could they handle for you in terms of communicating with your client? With that in mind, build a website that becomes your 24 hour employee.

3. YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW THEY WERE THERE
Even without a reason to return, what many sites lack is a way for visitors to tell you they visited your site to begin with. Consider this: would you build a showroom with no employees? Of course not - there would be no purpose. But, building a website with no way for the customer to interact is the same thing.

Does this mean you have to have expensive e-commerce and shopping components? No. Not every business can justify nor needs this level of web presence. However, little things like “how to” articles [take this one for instance], newsletters, free consultations or special offers are great ways to initiate contact from a visitor.

4. TOO MUCH FANCY STUFF
More often than not, when one or more of the mistakes on this page are made (usually lack of purpose, content and understanding of who the site is for) you’ll find a website that is full of flashing neon banners, scrolling text, pop up ads and banner ads. The reason? Rather than plan with substance, the website was designed to either impress on sizzle or to show off the latest trick a web developer has learned.

Keep in mind that your business website should be a place that represents your business in the proper way. Most businesses can do more harm than good when elements of flash and heavy elements are introduced into their website just for the sake of being there. Is there a place for flash, moving objects and sizzle? Oh yeah - and there are lots of terrific examples out there to point to. Unfortunately, there are many bad examples as well. And that’s not good for business.

5. NAVIGATION IS NOT CONSISTENT
Just like painting yourself in a corner, websites with poor or inconsistent navigation often leave visitors wondering how they got to where they are and how to get out.

This one is easy to solve, but surprisingly often overlooked. Just remember this: Never assume your visitor knows anything about your website or the browser and design your buttons so your visitor can go anywhere at any time.

6. TELL PEOPLE WHO YOU ARE
Communication is so important and yet it is done so poorly so often. Remember that you want people to find out about you, not research you. What I mean is by visiting your site, I should know what you do in a matter of seconds. Yes, seconds. Whether that is through clever photography or text or graphics, it doesn’t matter.

Remember this: people don’t like to read [it’s amazing you’ve made it this far!] - say whatever you need to say in simple, clear and concise terms so everyone gets it. National newspapers are written at an 8th grade reading level. You’re site should be too.

7. FIELD OF DREAMS MENTALITY
I was debating whether or not to include both 7 and 8 as one but they really are different problems, so we’ll keep them as is. When someone builds a website and then does nothing to help their own cause by following basic steps, they are essentially thinking “If I build it, they will come”. Hence, the Field of Dreams mentality.

Your website is competing with millions of pages on the web and you need to give it some help to get found. Meta tags, descriptions and keywords help your site to be “found” by search engines. Building the site is not good enough. Make sure you have keywords and descriptions that pertain to your website, but not in too general a term. For instance, if you are a real estate agent, using “Real Estate” is going to put you in a group of thousands and thousands of websites. But, if you live in New Hampshire and you use terms like “waterfront property in New Hampshire”, you suddenly are defining your terms to fit your site.

8. NO CROSS PROMOTION
If you follow this guide and don’t make these mistakes, your website will be a very useful marketing tool. Now you need to tell people about it. Put your website address on everything! Your business cards, your brochures, your invoices, your cash register receipts, TV, radio - whatever!

Even though your website will be “found” by Internet searchers, remember that a high percentage of your visitors will be folks that have seen your website address somewhere other than the web. Now - where are they going to see it? That is up to you.

9. NO PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE
Most people evaluate the website project by looking at how much it will cost. I agree that this is important. But you must consider other factors when building your site. One of the most important is scaleability Your business is going to grow, your website is going to have to grow with you.

Make sure you’re asking yourself “how will this site serve me in the future?” A little aforethought now will help you not only save money but time in the future when its time to add pages, content and additional features.

10. BASIC CONTACT INFORMATION IS HARD TO FIND
This one is the most amazing to me. I can’t believe how many people don’t put their phone number or email address out in the open where it can be easily seen and used. You would be surprised how many people use the web as a phone book. Not putting your phone number or email where people can see it tells them you really are not interested in hearing from them.

Think about that.

Cary Weston is President of Sutherland Weston Marketing Communications, a full service firm located in Bangor, Maine.
Sutherland Weston Marketing Communications can be found online at http://www.sutherlandweston.com.

You decide you want to have a web presence. How do you design
your website in a way that is effective? How do you effectively
create website in a way that makes your clients want to come
back? A client or visitor to your website may not want to come
back if their experience on your website is tedious and
cumbersome. Here are some tips to keep in mind when designing
your website:

- Don’t use a lot of animated graphics. In fact, don’t use any
at all because it makes the site look unprofessional.

- Don’t use frames to design your website. You will be in for a
lot of code redundancy and it causes the page to load slower.

- Use graphics at the lowest density possible. This allows the
page to load faster.

- Try to get most of the content on one page preventing the user
from having to scroll down to get the important information that
your first page needs to prevent.

- Use links to navigate to the various sections of the site at
the top, side, and bottom. Doing this allows a visitor can get
to anywhere in the site from anywhere in the site.

- Always have link to get back to the home page on every page of
the site.

- Use tables to lay out the sections on the site. This way, when
one adjusts the size of the browser window, it does not alter
the positioning of the paragraphs or sections on the page.

- Use headers and footers common to all pages and include that
header or footer each time a new page is rendered. This way, if
you have to change header or footer information, you only have
to change it once.

- Use a white background for the main content of your page. The
reason is that it looks much more professional and it is easier
to read.