Archive for June, 2007
Sneaky Web Designers
June 5th, 2007
MatthewDon’t be fooled by getting a customized site.
Customized web design:
Typically when a designer starts with a template and modifies the template by adding your business name and email address. You are limited to a cookie-cutter layout, color scheme, and font.
Custom Web Design:
This Begins with a blank page. The designer than takes your demographic, business plan, branded image, and their experience into consideration. With all things considered they then continue to ensure that the design will work across all internet browsers and be very search engine friendly. Custom web design allows you to have any layout, any color scheme, any font and more.
Google Buys FeedBurner
June 5th, 2007
adminGoogle announced its acquisition of FeedBurner on Friday, adding the major RSS feed distributor to its portfolio for a rumored $100 million. FeedBurner CEO Dick Costolo called the pairing “a natural fit.” The acquisition will allow Google to enter the rapidly growing online channel of RSS, a tool that provides subscribers with automatic updates of the latest news headlines or blog posts. Many advertisers value RSS as a way to reach niche audiences. And Google AdSense advertisers hope to expand their advertising reach through access to FeedBurner’s extensive content library, which includes content from the Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press. The company hopes to integrate FeedBurner publishers into AdSense and tie in FeedBurner Stats with Google Analytics.
Google Coupons
June 5th, 2007
adminThis is a free service from google that lets you offer printable coupons to your consumers through google maps. Log in to Google and enter your businesses information-Including your coupon headline, discount details, expiration date and more. When web users search for your business, the coupon will appear next to the map.
Business.gov
June 5th, 2007
adminBusiness.gov The business website from Uncle Sam sports a clean layout and simple navigation, directing businesses in all stages, from startups to established enterprises. This site is a great portal to other business government resources, and it features more than 120,000 compliance-related documents from 94 government sites.
Helpful Repair Links
June 4th, 2007
adminThese sites help you figure out what’s necessary. What’s safe and what’s not.
Got a question? Somebody in this forum will have the answer.
Spywareinfo.com: Volunteer sysops will hold your hand while you remove spyware.
Spyware Warrior: a list of what is naughty and nice out there.
Womenbiz.gov
June 4th, 2007
adminThe National Women’s Business Council has redesigned and launched womenbiz.gov to assist women-owned businesses with federal government contracting. The website expands on existing content to provide valuable information and tips specifically targeted at women-owned businesses. The site also lists resources, conferences and events, news, and more for women business owners interested in doing business with the federal government.
I won the international lottery!!
June 4th, 2007
MatthewI am super lucky because this is the third international lottery I have won is the past two weeks and the best thing is that I never even entered to win!! I rock. THe proof is below
Euro Millions Lottery.
Hoge Wei 28, 2011 Zaventem,
Belgium.
Euro Millions are Affiliate of Belgium National (BNL).
Sir/Madam,
CONGRATULATIONS: YOU WON 1,000,000.00 EUROS.
We are pleased to inform you of the result of Euro Millions, which was held
on the 17th, April 2007. Your e-mail address attached to e-ticket number:
05-32-44-45-50 (01-08), with Prize Number (match 3): 106000009 drew a prize
of 1,000,000.00 (One Million Euros). This lucky draw came first in the 2nd
Category of the Sweepstake.
Why isn’t my site bringing me…
June 2nd, 2007
MatthewWhy isn’t my site bringin me customers.
You are asking the wrong question. Lets start at step 1.
I can not tell you how many times I get a potential client asking me about this. Before you can get “something” out of your business web site, such as leads and sales, you have to put in the work to build a web site that will attract the visitors you want and encourage them to do what you want.
Ask yourself this, Does your business web site have a professional appearance?
Cookie-cutter site templates and/or home-made web sites stand out like sore thumbs, and do nothing to encourage anyone to do business with you. In fact, more often than not. They do the opposite to what you want. For example, if you are a landscape company and brag that you are the best company around but when a potential customer visits your website to view your portfolio and their first impression of your company is your $200 website your sisters brothers cousin built for you, it tells them that you do not care enough about your own company to present it in a professional way. It truly is very simple and always overlooked.
Unless you are an experienced Web site designer, you should hire one to design a business web site for your company. No matter how hard you try. You can not be an expert in landscape design and a professional web designer. Choose one career and be the best at that.
How to handle mistakes
June 2nd, 2007
MatthewBehind most great success stories is a long list of mistakes! If you need a little “adjustment” of attitude about mistakes - perhaps to begin to see them as just being part of the path to success - consider some of these perspectives.
To err is human. It’s also painful. Relating to this truth in constructive ways can be a great tool for growth.
Mistakes in business may cause you to lose time and money. Relationships may be strained. These facts are unpleasant, but they don’t have to be unhealthy.
Mistakes are stressful physically and mentally. But this same stress is temporary and propels us to change and grow in positive directions.
Trying to hide your mistakes rather than acknowledge them can be destructive to you and those around you. Don’t sweep dirt under the rug.
Acknowledging your mistakes is difficult, but will give others around you the opportunity to be honest and open as well. This leads to a spirit of cooperation.
Bottom Line
As you challenge yourself to move forward in life, you will make mistakes, whether theyre startup business mistakes or mistakes in your personal life. But if you look at them the right way, mistakes will make you stronger, healthier and ultimately more successful.
Not sure about CSS?
June 1st, 2007
adminSo CSS and Web Standards are definitely catching on everywhere (yay). But what if you don’t have a clue what they are or what the benefits of CSS and web Standards are? I found this great article by the gang at “A List Apart” a great design resource webmasters, or those just breaking into making webpages. Read below and enlighten yourself.
“When I first encountered Cascading Style Sheets in the autumn of 1998, I was trying to do cool stuff—make this stuff over here move, make that stuff over there change color—and it took another six months before I started using CSS to control presentation rather than behavior.
It took me two years to break out of the comfortable prison of layout tables, and another two years before I could use CSS to produce layouts that were originally intended for tables.
Even though I was forced during that time to deal with such anachronistic works of art as Netscape 4.0 and Internet Explorer 5.0 for Windows, the moral of the story should be clear: it took me a long while to achieve genuine mastery of CSS.
There are plenty of excellent books and articles out there, including many written by the contributors to this publication. While most of those works gracefully walk the inexperienced developer through challenging layouts and teach by literal example, few of them acknowledge that using CSS to create standards-friendly sites requires a mindset that is alien to many experienced developers. This requirement hamstrings a lot of talented people, and for two years I’ve been looking for the words that will heal their pain.
The cries of frustration I hear from other developers about CSS are only an echo of the ones I made for years. As a result I like to think that I can relate, and I’m writing to convey the most important lessons I’ve learned so far.”
Click here to continue to the article’s origin and follow the steps.