HTML is easy, but creating a professional website is beyond the
average Joe. When it comes to a e-commerce website, the design
is even more complex - logo, navigation, color themes, text
arrangement and content creation. Website creation has been made
easy with web templates. To increase client base, many leading
web hosting companies start offering web hosting templates or
hosting with templates.

Whether you’re looking for a simple web site or a functional
e-commerce website, the chances are that you may be able to find
a few web templates from your e-commerce hosting companies. A simple web template may
cost under $20 dollars, but a well-designed professional
e-commerce website will cost a few hundreds or more if not
thousands. The cost of web templates is still cheap comparing to
custom-made e-commerce websites when Web designers charge
anywhere from $20 to $100 per hour.

Besides the requirements of standard web hosting plans, Web hosting with templates for e-commerce operation needs
a shopping cart that supports online catalog and online payment
processing. Web templates for e-commerce often include common
pages and navigations for online shopping - searching or
browsing products, adding items to shopping carts and making
payment. The web templates for e-commerce do not include or
connect to any specific shopping cart. It’s up to the webmasters
to add shopping cart (paypal or 2checkout) to the site, which is
often the copy-and-paste of a few lines of HTML code.

The alternative e-commerce hosting to web templates is
e-commerce turnkey solution. EBay Stores, Yahoo! Store and
Microsoft bCentral are the most popular turn-key e-commerce
solutions for small businesses that want to setup online stores
easily. Different hosting plans may have different free
structures. The cost of each hosting plan often varies on
transaction volume.

When comparing functionality, there’re many questions to ask: 1)
whether a shopping cart accepts online check or eCheck beside
support on online credit card and paypal for payment options; 2)
whether there’s a limit on the number of products and categories
that you can setup; 3) whether it automatically sends out an
email notification once an order is placed successfully. When
looking at the cost of commerce operation, you’ll need to ask
questions about 1) what’s the basic monthly subscription fee; 2)
whether there’s a setup fee for a new online store; 3) whether
you have to pay for the addition of new items to the product
catalog; 4) how much it charges for each transaction. High
volume sites may prefer the plans that charge a higher
monthly-fee but a lower fee on each transaction, while low
volume sites work better with hosting plans that charge zero or
low monthly fee and initial setup fees but a slightly higher fee
on each transaction.

You’ve come up with a great product. You’ve got the sales letter written for your website. Now you need the graphic design to complement your product and the text that describes it. Not being artistically inclined or adept at the technicalities of computer graphics, you decide you need some help.

You may be thinking, “I’m not sure I can afford to hire a professional graphic designer.” The truth of the matter is that you most likely can’t afford not too.

Why?

A poorly designed web site, or a site that is glaring “homemade, homemade, homemade” gives the impression that the product or service it is promoting is of the same quality. As you’ve heard before- People do judge a book by its cover. Your book’s cover is your web site.

Fact of Life on the Internet- If your entire site doesn’t look professionally designed you’ve got major problems. At best making a profit with a poorly designed website is going to be a struggle.

So… you decide maybe your site does need the touch of a pro. Who do you choose?

As you begin your search you’re obviously going to try and make sure you get the best “bang for your buck”. Before you make a decision make sure all your questions are answered, preferably in writing. Some questions that you will definitely want answers for are listed below.

1) Is this person a professional? (Ask to see samples of their work)

2) Is this person trustworthy? (Ask how long they’ve been in business, and if they can provide references)

3) Are the prices fair and reasonable? (Make it clear you will be getting more than one proposal on the work you need)

4) Will I get the quality I need? (Make sure upfront that the professional you’re hiring will do revisions if necessary.)

Many of these questions can often be answered while viewing the designer’s own site. It will give you an instant review of their work. Often there will also a page containing samples of their work. If not, don’t hesitate to ask.

Andy Eaton has created a 10 day ecourse, which includes informative articles, training videos, special offer discounts, plus lots more - finally learn to create your own amazing ecover graphics. simply send a blank email to arpgraphicslist@graphicsecretsexposed.com or visit http://www.graphicsecretsexposed.com

Whether you have your own business already, or are looking for a way to cash in on the profit potential of reaching millions of internet users - you can’t afford NOT to read this……..

Say goodbye to the Daily Grind!

If you are like me, you are tired of dragging yourself to a 9 to 5 job every day - working like a dog - so someone else can reap the rewards! I am here to tell you that it is YOUR TURN to cash in, and unchain yourself from that desk!

I will share with you the secrets of the most successful internet marketers - why should they be the only ones profiting from the vast opportunities on the Internet?

Don’t be fooled by ads promising huge amounts of cash with little or no effort on your part. That is simply not a realistic expectation - you’ve been around long enough to know that you can’t get something (at least something of VALUE) for nothing.

What I will show you is a way to start your own website with links to some of the most profitable affiliate programs on the internet. There are a lot of companies paying generous commissions to people willing to promote their products! Selling the products that are in highest demand is one of the biggest keys to your success!

The task of setting up your own website seems huge, doesn’t it? Don’t worry! I will have your site set up for you - complete with all your affiliate links - within 24 hours! If that isn’t enough, I will do it for FREE!

Start generating income within 24 hours!

The only thing you have to do is get yourself a domain name, and you can be on your way to financial independence by this time tomorrow! Since it is your domain name, You will own this site, and You will have CONTROL over how it looks, what links to provide etc.

Many affiliate programs out there make big promises, get you set up with a website and then leave you high and dry - with no idea what to do next. Believe me, I have spent a lot of time (and MONEY) promoting someone else’s site with no idea of my progress - or even if any one had visited the site and purchased anything.

When you join this program, you will be connected to a vast network of people who are there to SUPPORT you and are genuinely committed to your success - including me!

After all, your success is literally my success as well. When you join the program with me as your sponsor, it means that every time you make money - I make money. In turn, as you recruit new members, their success becomes your success!

To prove my commitment, I will pass on a step-by-step guide called “30 days to Success” which will show you day by day how to promote your site in ways you may never have thought of! These money making techniques have already been proven to work for those so-called “internet gurus” - make them work for YOU!

Don’t re-invent the wheel!

Why spend all your time, effort, and money trying to figure out ways to promote your site when the information you need is right here at your finger tips - FREE!

Many people spend hundreds, even thousands of dollars trying to get visitors to their site and buy their products. They spend Hours…Days… Years … learning the tricks that I am offering you for free, right now!

Don’t waste any more time … start living your dreams today!

Your Partner in Online Success,

About The Author

Melinda Robb publishes “Cash Infusion”, a fresh and informative newsletter dedicated to helping people like YOU achieve Internet success! If you are looking for the best rated internet opportunities, the latest time saving tools, and helpful support from an HONEST friend in business, stop by and get a FREE subscription today at: http://www.melzbiz.com or melzbiz@getresponse.com

Discover How To Attract More Interested, Enthusiastic Prospects… More Customers… And More Cash Profits From Every Ad, Sales Letter, Web Page, Or Any Other Marketing Piece You Ever Use — 100% GUARANTEED!

1. DO NOT use excessive graphics or banner images on a single web page. They tend to slow the loading of your Web page. Impatient surfers might close their browser and move on. If you have many images on a single page, consider deleting few of them or moving them to a new page.

2. You should include these elements on your website: About Us [Brief description of your company and its products. You can include a few personal details about yourself and your employees], Contact Us [Provide the postal address, telephone, fax, email of your company or business.], A Links to Related Sites page, A Home Page link on each page and Site Search tool to allow visitors to find information on your site.

3. Give something FREE on your website. You can offer free ebooks, articles and/or software. The stuff that you give away should be related to the topic of your website and should benefit your vistors in some way. This helps to keep people coming back to your website.

4. You should specify colors for page background, text, active link, visited link and Url links in the body tag. This will ensure that your site is displayed exactly as designed. Although most people are used to reading text on a white background, you should avoid the white background because it strains the eye.

5. In the Keywords Meta tag try to use both singular and plural variations of the words. e.g. internet cafes, internet cafe. DO NOT use a keyword more than 3 times and DO NOT repeat a keyword one after the other.

6. Other than the Keyword and Description Meta tags, you must try to use keywords in following areas: the Title tag, the Content of the page, Image names, Image alt tags, Href title attributes and in the Text of a link.

7. Now a days most surfers are using PHRASES for search terms. This means that you should also use phrases in the Meta keyword tag. For deciding the keywords use the suggestion tools provided by Overture or 7Search. Overture is more popular than 7Search. You can also use the Free Trial provided by Word Tracker.

8. Try to keep the size of the HTML file of your web page under 32 kilobytes[kb]. Always check the web page/s for errors in spelling and grammar before uploading it to your server. After uploading the web page/s get friends and colleagues to read through your site and point out any errors they see.

9. Check for broken links on your web pages on a regular basis. You can do this manually or use a software program to do this for you. Links to website which have shut down or sold out will lead to broken links.

10. If you have an Autoresponder to build an Opt-In list, use a double Opt-In. The first message should ask for confirmation of the Opt-In and have a link that allows users to remove themselves from the list. Only if the user sends the confirmation, should the 2nd message be sent.

About The Author

Sushanth B is Webmaster for http://newsforuse.freehosting.net/

News for Use provides CONTENT of VALUE to Webmasters and Website owners. It has articles and resources on various topics.

Your real estate website should be the epitome of professionalism.

Why? Because websites reflect their owners. So if a real estate website is sloppy and full of errors, readers will think the same of the agent behind the site. And who wants an error-prone agent helping them with something as important as buying or selling a home?

Take hyperlinks, for example. A website with broken links does not inspire confidence. It does not convey attention to detail, which is what people look for in a real estate agent.

The Reason for Broken Hyperlinks
Broken hyperlinks happen for several reasons: (A) The link points to a file that no longer exists. (B) The link points to a file that has moved. (C) The link is written incorrectly.

Regardless of why broken hyperlinks happen, you should make sure they don’t find their way into your real estate website. When you do find them, correct them immediately.

Broken links say a lot about a website, and none of it’s good. They say…

• This is an amateur, unprofessional site.
• This site is not managed by anyone. (Known as the “ghost-town effect”)
• The owner of this site has no attention to detail.
• The owner of this site does not care about the site.

Checking for Broken Hyperlinks
Obviously, you don’t want your visitors to think any of these things. So conduct a daily walk-through of your website — weekly at the least. Click on all the links (especially those that link to off-site information, as this information may have been moved without your knowledge). Make sure all images display properly.

A weekly review will only take you two or three minutes, depending on how large your website is. But no matter how long it takes, it’s essential.

How to Automate the Process
For a faster and more thorough approach, enter each of your web page URLs into the link checker at this site: www.validator.w3.org/checklink. It will perform an automated diagnostic check of the hyperlinks on every page.

Some of the errors the program returns will merely be recommendations. You can be the judge of that. But it’s a quick way to check links for basic functionality — especially on larger sites with a lot of links and pages.

* Copyright 2006, Brandon Cornett. You may republish this article in its entirety (and unaltered), provided you keep the hyperlinks active and include the byline and author’s note.

About the Author
Brandon Cornett wrote the book on real estate websites and web marketing. The Agent’s Guide to Websites & Web Marketing includes more than 50 pages of tips and strategies, helpful illustrations, and a comprehensive review of real estate websites from all over the web. Learn more about this exclusive guide by visiting: http://www.armingyourfarming.com/products.

Your website does not stand much chance of selling anything if
it pays scant regard to the user.

In other words your Site Visitor’s experience, in terms of the
following, is what will make your site sell or smell!

The following 7 guidelines are all equally important and will
determine the success of your website.

1. Functionality

a) Functionality is a double-edged sword in that the site must
fulfill the users’ requirements only if they are your targetted
users.

You cannot be everything to everybody so just make your site
easy for the people you want to please - your target market

b) Your site’s design is the interpretation of its functional
requirements so unless it’s functional it won’t win many
customers and will probably go out of fashion tomorrow.

Therefore your site must function in the way the site visitor
expects whilst maintaining a professional look etc.

Functionality also includes automating routine tasks eg
producing online docs, taking orders, triggering e-mails etc
using forms & scripts

2. Content

Content is King and must be meaningful, interesting & viewable
in an acceptable font & color.

Your site’s content must also be kept fresh and updated
frequently to maintain interest in the site and repeat visitors.

The use of RSS can help deliver fresh content to your site on a
daily basis.

3. Navigation

Site Navigation must give your site visitors an indication of
where they can go on your website and how they can get there.

The navigation must be;

clear (must look like navigation),

consistent (the same on each page),

predictable (style & location on the page eg lh side bar or top
bar)

and must lead to obvious content (navigation bar descriptions
must be accurate)

4. Load Time

If your site does not load in less than 12 seconds, the chances
are that your site visitor will have given up waiting and closed
the page.

A lot of viewers access the net with dial up connections so you
need to ensure that your pages load within the time frame for a
56.6kbs modem.

Therefore a web page has to be designed in the ’slimmest’ way
possible so as to minimize load time.

Clean code also better for search engine spidering & bandwidth
saving, ie the cleaner the html & css the less the load on your
server.

5. Usability

Your site may look great but if it’s difficult for your visitors
to figure out how to buy what they are looking for it’s
usability is not up to scratch.

Usability refers to the ease with which your site’s user
interface can be used by its intended market to achieve its
objectives.

Usability incorporates many factors: design, functionality,
structure, information architecture, and is a combination of
good planning, good content and good design, putting yourself in
your visitors’ shoes, anticipating their needs and requirements.

6. Graphic Design

In order to create an aesthetically pleasing look for your
website you will need to use graphics, pictures, images & logos
as a text heavy page is certainly not easy on the eye.

Web safe colors should also be used to add to the overall effect.

Remember to bear in mind that graphics (jpeg or gif) need to be
of an appropriate size and compressed so as not to compromise
the page loading speed.

7. Compatibility

It is vitally important to design your site so that it is
compatible for all browser and screen resolutions as you don’t
know what browser and resolution your site visitor will be using.

This is important because pages that look fine in IE often look
totally different in Firefox and pages look great at 1024×768
can be squashed up and overlapped at 800×600

Therefore to maximize your website’s potential ensure that the
above guidelines have all been employed.

The following site is a good examples of the above: www.onlinesynergy.za.net a>

Creating a web site takes thought, planning and execution. Unfortunately, many designs are dead in the water before they are even published as far as search engine optimization is concerned. Whatever you do, avoid these critical mistakes.

Database Parameters in URL

Many web site designers don’t take into account the effect of database parameters in site URLs. A database parameter tells the server what should be loaded onto a particular page when a viewer tries to see it. In essence, the page is “dynamic” because it is being pulled together with each click. Robot programs that are used by search engines to index sites hate dynamic pages. Often, they will not even index the pages and the page of your site is not listed in the search engine.

Let’s look at an example using the Nomad Adventure Journals site. The home page URL is aptly, http://www.nomadjournals.com - a static page. In this URL, there are no parameters telling the server to load anything other than a static web page. All search engines will index this page without any problem.

Now, what if we changed the page to something dynamic. Let’s say we designed it to record the session identification [identify the viewer] and dynamically load the pictures on the page. We would have one parameter for the session identification and four parameters for the various pictures on the page. The URL for the home page might look something like:

http://www.nomadjournals.com/home/index.html?&DID=9&User_ID&CATID=15&ObjectGroup_ID=39

What a mess. A search engine robot is going to balk at indexing such pages. It simply can’t tell what is on the page. If you have parameters and session identifications in the URLs of your site pages, you are going to have a very difficult time getting into the search engine rankings. Obviously, that precludes you from getting any top rankings and free traffic.

Fixing The Problem

Fixing the problem often is lengthy and costly depending on the number of pages on your site. If you have over 100 products, a complete re-design may be the best answer. If you have a relatively small number of pages, there may be less brutish options.

Converting pages to static html is a definite solution for smaller sites. Essentially, one would take the page for each product and convert it into a static html page. The domain would then be converted to short sub-domain. If a user then clicked on the “buy” button for the product on the page, they would be sent to a dynamic database page. The viability of this solution is dependent upon the layout of the site. Some sites can be fixed, some simply cannot.

In Closing

The database parameter problem is surprisingly common with sites selling products. A majority of site designers do not understand search engine optimization and don’t realize the problem they are creating. If you intend to build a database driven site, make sure you bring in a search engine optimization specialist before it is created. Nobody wants to spend the money to design a site twice.

Halstatt Pires is with the Internet marketing firm - www.marketingtitan.com - a San Diego Internet marketing and advertising company.