Welcome to Michael's Article Collection

Optimizing for Visitors not Search Engines

Most people feel that optimizing is to target the search engines alone. In my opinion, this is not the only case. Optimization requires a balance of traffic enhancements and a user friendly atmosphere that provides clear navigation. Most will agree it would be much better to have people accept offerings from a Site, rather than masses of people who do nothing. Here are some general tips and tho. . .

Switching Web Host

Moving a website is not as difficult as you may think because it really is easy. There are few steps to follow carefully.First Off:Do not get over excited when you see an extremely cheap hosting plan, look carefully at what the plan that they provide and always read the terms and conditions for tricks or more fees. Define your own requirements before hand and look for a hosting plan that match . . .

I’m Gettin’ Really Torqued!

For those of you who have been living in a cave for most of your lives, you can translate the “torqued” in the heading of this article to “mad” or “angry”. For today’s discussion of anger, let’s quantify the intensity of our focus with the words “downright, PO’d!” I think that’s quite clear. Let’s proceed.The first question is “What makes you really angry (as in PO’d)?”Inconsiderate, rude peopl. . .

Images: How To Make Them To Load Fast On Your Web Pages?

1. Use .gifs rather than .jpgs. GIFs are smaller in size when compared to JPGs.2. Use 'Height' and 'Width' tags for your images. So while page loading certain place is left for the images and visitor can go through the content while images are loading.3. If you are using large images, slice them up and make them load as part after part. For this you can use img tags like HSPACE=0 and VSPACE=0.4. . .

Bound To Your Old Expensive Web Host by Fear?

Bound To Your Old Web Host’s Sky High Rates By Fear?You're not alone! Many people are bound to the old web host they've used for years because they're afraid of the hassle of switching. Customers will pay rates three or four or even ten times greater than what they have to, just because they're terrified that switching will be too complicated or that they'll end up losing their site altogether.. . .

Color Psychology for webpages

Colour is an aspect of a website that is often picked haphazardly and without any thought from a beginner web designer. The lesser known quality of the colour of a website is that it can greatly affect the mood of your visitors. It is because of this that a websites colours need to be picked carefully.Other than the mood of the site, the colour can affect your visitors in the more known ways:To. . .

How To Design A Search Engine Friendly Website

There are many websites that fail to target their required traffic, even if they’ve had some search engine optimisation work done. One of the main causes for this is simply because the website isn’t search engine friendly.This is a basic essential that needs to be incorporated into the design of all websites at the outset – think of it as the foundation to establishing your search engine optimi. . .

5 Tips For the Perfect Domain Name

What is a domain name? A domain name is the location of your website on the Internet. Your domain name will be what you become known by online so it's important to get it right.Each website on the Internet is labelled with something called an IP address which is the actual address of the website online. A typical IP address looks like this: 159.134.27.64. Remembering a string of numbers like th. . .

Flash - To Use Or No To Use?

Out there in the WWW there are thousands sites using flash for their needs. But the majority sites are not in this list. Let's summaries some facts about flash using on YOUR web site and after that it's you who will have to decide: to use or not to use. There are some facts about Macromedia Flash Technology: The First Fact: Sites are look much prettier and professional with the flash animation . . .

Beginner Guide to Web Hosting

What is web hosting? Whenever you visit a website, what you see on your web browser is essentially just a web page that is downloaded from the web server onto your web browser. In general, a web site is made up of many web pages. And a web page is basically composed of texts and graphic images. All these web pages need to be stored on the web servers so that online users can visit your website.. . .

Beautiful Web Sites Seldom Make More Sales

Designing an E-commerce Web site is not as simple as having a "pretty" site that is a pleasure to visit. While it is important to have an attractive site, as much thought must be given to functionality as to appearance.Many Web designers seem to focus more on appearance than functionality, and while an attractive site is helpful, visitors that become frustrated by the inability of a site to fun. . .

First Web Hosting Experience

Well… you've purchased a domain name… created a pretty design… filled it with content… what now?HOSTING.I suppose that you know what a web hosting is, and we don't need to repeat in once again. Actually if you don't know what it is, and you don't even want to learn about it, you have a great way out:Just type ‘web hosting' in Google, click ‘I'm filling lucky' and then simply click the big ‘BUY'. . .

Buyer Beware: Web Hosting, Registration, and Site Buildin...

Starting out in any type of online marketing or Internet business can be confusing and overwhelming. There are so many different aspects of a start-up: domain name registration and purchase, Web site host purchasing, and of course, the "building" of the Web site itself. This leaves many consumers looking for an easier way to purchase everything in one place, both to save money and to save time.. . .

Color Psychology in Marketing

On the internet we don't deal with face to face selling. The internet is a visual and psychological medium. The words, or sales copy, on your website have by far the greatest psychological impact on your visitors and thus becomes your most important communication and sales tool. But another important psychological aspect of your website that is often overlooked are the colors. Yes, that's right. . .

Text Is King!

Are you building your website? If so, STOP! Take a look at what you have done so far. How many images do you have? How much text do you have?If your website has more images than text then you could be in trouble. Ask yourself these two questionsWhat are my visitors at my website for?Chances are, your visitors cam to your website to find information on a topic or to answer a question. They proba. . .

10 Things You Should Be Monitoring On Your Website

Every business needs to know how it is doing. That's the idea behind exit surveys, customer feedback forms, suggestion boxes and other devices. Without feedback from the customer, monitoring inventory, expenses, revenue and other benchmarks, a business can take a quick slide down a slippery slope, without the owner ever seeing it coming – or being able to stop the slide.Webmasters also have thi. . .

Learn the Language of the World Wide Web

If you are already on the web or thinking about it then you must know the terminology used on the web. Here is a Glossary of a few must know Web Terms. Visitors:The number of distinct people who visit your site. Page Views:The number of web pages that have been viewed by the visitors to your site. If a single page is viewed many times by a visitor, each view is treated as a new page view. Hits:. . .

Profitable Websites for Exclusive Industries

In the region where my company is located, South Bend, Indiana, the demand for web design and associated services could be described as: leery. It’s not that the locale is horribly lacking evolvement technologically; rather that so many proprietors in this area are very uncertain as to what the internet can do and how they can go about forming profitable web sites for their exclusive industr. . .

Conceptualize, Build and Publish a Web site

Conceptualize, Build and Publish a Web site - What's required to get started All of us knowingly or unknowingly, use a standard decision making process in our day-to-day lives. The very first step of this process is to decide whether TO DO or NOT TO DO. If the choice is TO DO, we think of the various ways and means of attaining our objective/s, compare their pros & cons and take a final stand. . . .

Managed Hosting

Managed hosting is a dedicated server that is accompanied by a full suite of technical support, maintenance and monitoring services. This differs from dedicated Web hosting, where customers are provided with their own servers but are still responsible for virtually all administrative and maintenance duties.Managed hosting are meant for those websites that are designed to host busy e-commerce si. . .

Web Site Optimization: How To Speed Up Your Web Site By M...

Web Site Optimization: How To Speed Up Your Web Site By Minimizing Your GIF and PNG Image "Bit-Depth"Are bloated images slowing down your web site and causing you lost business? Images comprise over 50% of the average web page so putting them on a diet is essential to improving web performance. One of the best ways to optimize GIFs and PNGs is to minimize the “bit-depth” or the number of colors. . .

Email Newsletter Format: HTML or Text

An email newsletter is probably the most effective way to communicate with your target audience. One of the main considerations before you create and deliver an email newsletter is what format to use: HTML or Text.Until a few years ago, some email programs couldn't handle HTML. Nowadays that is not an issue, since most email programs are HTML compatible: AOL versions 6 and higher, Internet Expl. . .

TEN Tips For Your Web Site Home Page

1. Loading time: try to be below 20kb less number of images specify height and width of images Html with out erros WYSIWYG editors load up your html code. so try using text editor part of your html editors instead of visual editor 2. Images Only home page:Say goodbye to images only home pages. Home pages with flash only introductions or only graphics don't attain good ranking in search engines.. . .

Adding Sound to your Web Site - The Good, The Bad And The...

Many webmasters like the idea of adding background music to their web sites but most shy away from doing it worrying about slow loading pages and large file sizes. There are many different ways to add background music to your site and some of them don't require large files to achieve professional results. Let's examine all the different ways to add background music to your site and rate them to. . .

Cheap Web Hosting - When Cheaper is Better

Anyone who has ever shopped for web hosting knows that you can spend anywhere from nothing up to several hundred dollars to host your web site. So what’s the difference? Well often times if you’re talking about typical shared web hosting in the $6 to $20 range – nothing. That’s right – nothing! Nothing that is, except good old fashioned marketing and hype!We compared standard features on 5 well. . .

Effective Web Design

D.zigns dzignerwebsThe BasicsBefore starting on how to design a website effectively, how about clearing some basic web design concepts?Designing EffectivelyNow that you know what web design and related terms mean, lets get down to the real thing: Designing Effectively How to balance artistic design with practicality and functionality. Use of graphics and content Unless your website is all abou. . .

The Golden Rule Of Website Design

Ever browse any of those personal improvement books that crowd the bookshelves at the booksellers and the libraries, not to mention the coffee tables of your friends and desks of your coworkers? Ever notice how they all say the same thing? That’s because there are very few truths in life.The same goes for website design, where the Golden Rule applies every bit as well as it does in your persona. . .

Creating Your Own HTML Email Templates in Outlook

If you want HTML Emails in Outlook to look the way YOU want, and your designing them in DreamWeaver - Heres How:Step 1When in Outlook (Pro), Go to the Tool | Options Menu.Step 2Click on the Mail Format Tab along the top of the current dialog box.Step 3Under 'Stationary and Fonts', Click on the Stationary Picker Button.Step 4Click the New.. Button.Step 5Enter any unique name (not an existing sta. . .

The Top 10 Essential Ingredients of Every LINUX HOSTING P...

Any website comprises the following – Domain name, Webspace, Webpages.Lets say, You have got your Domain Name (www.yourdomain.com). Its time to check for a good hosting service provider to have your files uploaded in the domain. If you are opting for Linux Based Hosting Plan, make sure you have the following included in your plans :1. Control Panel – This is the nucleus of your website. In a Co. . .

Five Tips to Launching a Successful Message Forum

Forums a.k.a. "message boards" can be great marketing tools for your website. They attract repeat visitors and provide a meeting place for them to share their thoughts, ideas, questions and concerns.Unfortunately many webmasters that attempt to launch a board on their site, end up closing it down due to lack of activity and popularity.So what's the key to success, you ask?Below you will find 5. . .

Traditional businesses on the Internet

Have you ever thought of putting your business on the Internet, but simply not known where to start or you're not sure whether the Internet is really meant for your business? Most of the time we see the big Internet businesses like Google, Amazon and Yahoo or the big corporations like Microsoft, Airlines companies and banks being successful on the Net. On the other hand you find someone with a . . .

Elements of Graphic Design for Your Website

We’ve all seen them. Poorly designed web sites that make you cringe as soon as they load. But how do you keep your website from becoming, well, ugh. You could hire a professional web designer, and that’s expensive, or maybe you already hired a professional, or someone who claims to be professional, and you don’t like what they’re doing with your site. It all comes down to the K.I.S.S. principle. . .

How To Design Your Website

This article is for people who are new to web designing and want some idea how to design your web site so as to gain maximum traffic on their website.Here in this article i will show you how to present information want in your web site. Many people while designing their web sites do not consider the needs of the user .I myself,a few days back was looking for some information. Like all of us do,. . .

Five Common Web Design Mistakes

There are often many mistakes encountered when creating a webpage or website. Learn about the top five website mistakes, and how to avoid them. Mistake #1 Web page size. If your website takes longer than 10-15 seconds to load you should consider optimizing it for the web. This is one of the biggest mistakes a web designer can make. You may have cable and love to fill your website with graph. . .

Search Engine Optimization Tools

Well, I bet many of you have been trying to find tools to help you in optimizing your website for search engines. So I thought I would throw together an article with a list of really useful tools (and of course ill give you a link to their websites so you can download them to!) Keyword Suggestion Tool This tool shows you the results from wordtracker (that online program that charges you to f. . .

Online Marketing Law! Whats Happening?

You read that right. There's a new law in California for online marketing. This law is thanks to the California's Online Privacy Protection Act. Who does this affect the most? This affects anyone online selling anything, operating a newsletter, or collecting data in any way from users online. It says it's targeting "commercial," and websites that offer services online. Are you selling anythi. . .

Web Accessibility Myths

With more and more countries around the world passing laws about blind and disabled access to the Internet (including the Disability Discrimination Act in the UK), web accessibility has been thrown into the spotlight of the online community. This article attempt to put a stop to the misinformation that has been thrown around and tell you the truth behind web accessibility.1. Creating a text-onl. . .

Be Creative before you Purchase or Create a Website

Before you jump into spending coutnless hours on designing and publishing your website, or spending hundreds on having it done by anyone else you should plan out your full design (or structure). This is very important so that when it comes time to do this long-lasting project you will be well prepared. Layout the Structure of your website. The basics to getting your website going is to know w. . .

Eliciting Constructive Website Feedback

"It's good.""You've done a nice job.""I don't like it."At some point, you have probably received comments like this when asking for constructive criticism of your website efforts. Unfortunately, the generic nature of these comments does not give specific information on elements that you need to improve your site.So how do you elicit specific, constructive, targeted feedback from the public in o. . .

Most Common Search Engine Optimization Mistakes

Understanding exactly what search engines do and what search engine optimization is seems to elude many new website owners when first starting out. The fact is that when you’re not familiar enough with the industry to determine SEO fact from SEO fiction can only mean trouble for your website. Could you be making those same mistakes with your site? Here’s a consolidated list of things you most d. . .

Tips to Maintain your Website to Keep Visitors Coming Back

When you design a website you should create it so that your visitors are constantly coming back for more. In order for you to keep your visitors coming back you need to keep up with maintaining your website, and offering things that will keep your visitors busy. Tip #1 Keep your visitors coming back. Well, how do you do this? You can start by creating a forum. This will allow your visitors t. . .

Using Google AdWords to Increase your Adsense Profits

I had been using Google's Adsense program to generate some revenue from my various web sites. Prior to Adsense, I was never previously paid to run these and did so for a hobby. Overall I was pleased with the income I was generating. The only drawback was that I was always looking for ways to get people to my sites. I enjoyed working to bring in more visitors but felt that if I looked at my . . .

The Five Rules Of Influential Web Writing

Building a professional reputation requires a campaign founded on your words: the positions you endorse, the motions you advocate, the accuracy of your vision. Writing for the Web can either establish your expert credibility or destroy it.When your business requires powerful words online, follow these five rules for promoting the message that will serve you well in the digital world:1. Stay on . . .

Can Your Visitors Contact You From Your Website

Argh, where's the contact button?! Believe it or not, some websites just DON'T WANT any visitors (even customers) to CONTACT them. There's no email address, no contact form, no NOTHING! What if a potential customer wants to BUY something from your website but have a few questions or doubts that he/she needs to ask you first? If you have a FAQ page, that's the first place he/she will definitely . . .

Getting Your Site Seen By Search Engines

Is your website listed on search engines? When people search for you, does your site show up on page 1 or page 20 of the search engine results?Optimizing your site to get it ranked highly on the search engines can be a complicated subject. To simplify things, it’s helpful to first understand how search engines add sites to their database. Then we’ll cover some tips that you can put on your o. . .

Dreamweaver vs FrontPage

There are two major WYSIWYG(What You See Is What You Get) editors available for beginners. These are: Microsoft FrontPage and Macromedia Dreamweaver. So the question is which one is better? This article is not intended to humiliate Dreamweaver or FrontPage editors. I just attempted to analyze both programs from different points, based on Internet research, experience of other users and my years. . .

If Content is King, then surely Relevance is Queen!

There has been a lot of to-ing and fro-ing in the search engine world of late and there are lots of conspiracy theories as to why these things happen.It is easy as a webmaster to get caught up in these webs of intrigue.You get email notes about them, you view so-called experts'thoughts on bulletin Boards - hey you probably even read things in newsletter articles!Well I hope so anyway....The bi. . .

ASP Web Hosting

ASP web hosting refers to web hosting companies who provide support for ASP (Active Server Page). If you want a dynamic data-driven web site you may wish to embed ASP code into your web site’s HTML Pages. When a user is viewing a web site that is developed using ASP, the pages can change depending on the actions of the user. ASP code allows you to link your web pages to a database, where user. . .

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) & Web Accessibility

There's been widespread speculation about the new legislation being introduced under the DDA (Disability Discrimination Act), which will ensure that websites are accessible to blind and disabled users. Try to find specific information about it on the Internet and chances are you'll come up empty handed.The RNIB (Royal National Institute for the Blind) and the DRC (Disability Rights Commission),. . .

Benefits Of Making Your Website Accessible To Disabled Us...

The Disability Discrimination Act states that service providers must not discriminate against disabled people. A website is regarded as a service and therefore comes under this law.Some organisations are changing to their websites, but many are seemingly not making the adjustments. Disabled people don’t access their website, they say, so why should they care?There are, however, two very good re. . .