How To Choose A Web Designer

How does one assess a potential internet partner, who can and should be a long-time partner in the online success of your business? Here are some things to look at carefully when choosing a web designer, web developer, internet business consultant, or related service provider.
A little while back I had a bit of a discussion about a certain profession that I won't mention here in case someone from the industry in question takes it the wrong way. Don't get me wrong, every major profession is there for a reason and adds a tremendous amount of value to society. The fact of the matter is that every industry and profession has good aspects and bad. When you think of a doctor, lawyer, architect, accountant, etc, you tend to have a personal frame of reference, as well as a more widely held stereotype. There are usually some aspects of that profession that irritate you, or that you think could do with some improvement. Perhaps you don't make use of certain professional services because of these perceptions, whether or not they are commonly held or based on fact.

That got me thinking about my own industry, and what it is about the internet consulting and web design and development industry that drives people nuts, and that if things were different, people would utilize these services more often. What would people change about the industry if they had a magic wand? What would you do differently if you were, for example, a web developer, to differentiate yourself?These are some of the things I've been told hold people back when discussing this topic with some small businesses:

* Web design and development is too expensive for the average small business
* Apprehension over how qualified an internet professional really is
* There is too much jargon in the industry, which makes it confusing to assess as a non-technical business person
* There is a shortage of internet programming skills relative to visual design skills in the industry

Personally, my big wish is that a certain level of qualification (a degree combining computer science, design and business) was a requirement to practice, the same way that older professions are required to, like accountants, doctors, lawyers, etc. The low barrier to entry makes it difficult for businesses to distinguish experts from hobbyists. Imagine having to choose your doctor based on what he tells you he knows how to do for you!So, how then does one assess a potential internet partner, who can and should be a long-time partner in the online success of your business? Here are some things to look at carefully when choosing a web designer, web developer, internet business consultant, or related service provider, from my experience:

Technical and business qualifications and experience. Is the business comprised of an inexperienced person with a web design hobby, or has the business got people with tertiary level business, programming and design skills in-house? Make sure they have real-world business experience in developing e-commerce solutions, and look into how far back that goes.

What online business applications has the business developed previously, and how does this match your requirements? Some web design businesses will give you a very nice looking static brochure site, while others will be able to offer advanced functionality, such as a database and content management capabilities, e-commerce functionality, internet business consulting services, site promotion, site management, hosting, domain registration, design, application development, site optimization, newsletter systems, form processing capabilities, logging of user activity, online surveys and polls, user registration and authentication, advertising management, content syndication, and the like. Check how many of these are optional extras an how many are included in the price you are quoted up front. You should always get a detailed proposal up front, and compare apples for apples rather than being too subjective initially. RealmSurfer, for example, differentiates by bundling over 250 enterprise-level applications into our small business package, at a lower price than most web designers will charge just for the design and some basic functionality.

Long term cost/benefit. What is it going to cost you the next time you need to make a modification? I've never yet come across a successful website that was designed and left as it was created on day one. Your site needs to change with your business, so make sure you know how you will be billed for those changes, and what the time frame for them will be. Every site also has hosting, bandwidth and maintenance costs that most people don't think of when first creating a site. Look into what these will be, and what you get for them, so that you can budget for them when starting your project. Also keep in mind that a cheap solution with one or two features will probably not serve you as well as a slightly more expensive one with extensive built-in capabilities.

Personal style and preference. Different businesses will bring different styles and methodologies to the party. Make sure that the one you go with suits your personal preferences. If your internet specialist loves graphic-intensive Flash-based sites, they will probably develop your informative content-based solution, just not as well as someone who specializes in your preferred style.

Online promotion. Make sure that the business you choose is good at promoting their own online presence. Google, Yahoo, and MSN are the three most popular search engines, so make use of them when choosing a provider. If you are looking for a web developer in your local area, search for the terms you find most important and include the name of your area. For example, I optimize my services for the Joondalup area north of Perth, Western Australia, so a search for "web design Perth" or "web design Joondalup", "web development Perth"or "web development Joondalup", helps people find what they are looking for when searching for local website development service providers. An internet business that is no good at promoting itself online will be worse at helping you get yours up to full potential.

Satisfaction guarantees. No website can make a flawed business model work, but an online expert should be able to help you make it everything it can be over time, much the same way a personal trainer can't make you fit overnight, but they can help you become a top athlete with focused ongoing attention. Find out what guarantees, if any, are provided. This is a real differentiator, because, understandably, many web design businesses won't do this. Those that do are at least serious and confident in their abilities to ensure that their clients are happy and successful.

Management of expectations. Any internet business that claims excessive short term success rates is probably overselling themselves. Make sure that they (and you) are realistic about the time frames in which your online presence will start producing results.

Consulting skills. Make sure that you are dealing with an internet consultancy, not just a web design house. Experienced internet consultants have the business experience to help you make your business successful online in ways a web designer will probably not.

Find successful web sites online. Many will have the site developer's details in the footerPsychology Articles, or in a credits section of the site.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David Malan is a web design, development and e-commerce expert, with over ten years experience in the industry. He owns and runs RealmSurfer Consulting, an internet business consultancy based in Joondalup, Perth, Western Australia.
Website: RealmSurfer Web Design Perth
About: About RealmSurfer Consulting

Advantages and Drawbacks of Digital Cameras

Whether you’re professional photographer or a tourist looking to record a few good memories, the first step to great photographs is a finding a decent camera.
Whether you’re professional photographer or a tourist looking to record a few good memories, the first step to great photographs is a finding a decent camera.

One of the first decisions you need to make is whether to go with a quick and convenient digital camera, or stick with trusty old film.

The main benefit of going digital include the ability to see pictures instantly on an LCD screen, saving the ones you like and erasing the ones you don’t. Another advantage is the versatility of being able to edit and perfect your photos on a computer, using a program like PhotoShop.

There are also immense economic advantages to using a digital camera. Being able to review each picture you take, and print only the ones you really like saves a lot of money that would have gone into buying film and developing poor-quality pictures.

Despite these tempting benefits, however, there is still a case for sticking with good old fashioned film photography.

The image resolution, for example, is generally better with a cheap traditional camera than a mid-range digital camera. In order to achieve true film-quality resolution on a digital camera, one must pay several hundred dollars for a 7+ megapixel device.

Another advantage of film is its distance from the world of computing technology; even a person who is totally computer-illiterate should be able to use a traditional camera to its full potential with no problems whatsoever. Furthermore, many photographers prefer the simple challenge of taking a good picture on film to the much less artistic process of “cheating,” and editing pictures on a computer.

Overall, the right type of camera depends almost entirely upon the photographer. Each person must choose for themselves which kind of photography they like better.

Another option, of course, is to buy both digital and film camerasPsychology Articles, and alternate depending on situation. This is often the best choice for a serious photographer who can afford the additional expense.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeremy Maddock is a well-known technology blogger, and owner of Camera Reviews.ca.

The Two Best Home Based Internet Marketing Business Tools

The best home based internet marketing business tools are not love, money, sex, weight loss, health, or making money. It's your e-zine and your website.

Your e-zine, or electronic newsletter, can be a great home based internet marketing business tool. But in order for it to work it has to be something original, and something that has a market. You can take an old theme, especially a theme that has a big following, or about which many have a need, and put a new twist on it. In fact, there are several time worn topics that people never tire of hearing about. If you can come up with some new and different twist on these old tried and true themes your e-zine will drive your Internet marketing.

The topics everyone wants to hear about are love, money, sex, weight loss, health, making money on the Internet, and maintaining their youth. Parenting is another big focus as is retirement. As baby boomers start to turn 60, the number of seniors is going to increase by 15 percent and they’re the most active and well-to-do group of retirees this nation has ever known. Finding a retirement-related niche will offer you a vast audience, and powerful Internet marketing.

Don’t worry about your topic or niche being too specialized. With the Internet and its billions of surfers, no topic is too specialized.

In fact, this is one area in which your home based internet marketing business tool will benefit from it being as targeted as possible. It is going to be a whole lot better for you, and a lot more successful Internet marketing, to have 500 people who hang on your every e-zine word than to have 5000 subscribers that might read it or might not. No matter what the topic, don’t think the Internet is so crammed on the subject or topic that there is no more room for you and your e-zine. That is just not true.

The first thing you want to do, even before you publish the first issue of your ezine is to write several articles on the subject of your expertise, and around which your e-zine is designedFree Web Content, and submit it to several sites. Give the articles away free with the provision that your bio will contain an offer for a free subscription and a link or feedback form to accomplish that. If the site has no such option simply include your email address for readers to let you know they want a subscription. You can also submit articles to other e-zines. -Once you have several subscribers publish your e-zine. Don’t wait too long after your article published and they okayed the subscription. People forget they subscribed and they’ll accuse you of spam. That’s a charge you don’t ever want. It can get you banned and out of business.

The best home based internet marketing business tools are a two pronged Web site and e-zine solicitation and branding. One without the other eliminates a powerful lead generating combination.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Leonard Bartholomew, B.S. Computer Science. Leonard invites you to view the best home based internet marketing business opportunity tools of his trade.

Are you thinking of republishing RSS feeds?

There is lively debate about the republishing of RSS feeds on other sites. The argument surrounds the use of RSS feeds from the feed publisher being used in an unfair manner. This includes republishing the entire articles and not displaying sufficient credit to the original source.

Before we go into the details you may want to brush up on your understanding of RSS. This will help you fully appreciate and fully understand the issues involved.

I am glad this conversation is happening now as it needs to be made clear what fair use of RSS feeds actually means. There may be webmasters who are republishing RSS feeds in all innocence at the moment not realising the furore that is going on around them with regards to their republishing activities. I would like to help clear up any misunderstandings that surround RSS republishing.

Being an RSS publisher myself who is considering republishing other authors RSS feeds I would like to make sure I am not treading on any toes. I am basing the following RSS republishing etiquette on the good practice that Rok Hrastnik has enthused.

If you wish to republish an RSS feed then you should first consult the publisher with your intentions. This would be an email to the author stating how you wish to reuse their feed and the page or pages the feed will be republished on and the attributions you will make. You will need to clarify some points. If the authors feed contains ads then will they be republished? Will you be monetizing the authors work by placing ads on your republished page? To avoid conflict these issues need to be sorted out.

The general guidelines Rok Hrastrnik has provided state that the article title must link back to the original article. If the RSS feeds contains a complete article only an excerpt, Rok suggests 100 to 200 words, can be republished. A link should be provided to the article sourceComputer Technology Articles, the website of the original publisher.

Further to this it is suggested that no archives are kept on the republished site and no full articles are used. I would suggest permission is sought from the original author if you wish to keep an archive on your site.

You can follow this discussion further at PR meets the WWW and Micro persuasion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Allan is the webmaster at http://www.newsniche.com an RSS resource for webmasters. Learn how to use RSS to attract and retain visitors to your site.

Are you thinking of republishing RSS feeds?

There is lively debate about the republishing of RSS feeds on other sites. The argument surrounds the use of RSS feeds from the feed publisher being used in an unfair manner. This includes republishing the entire articles and not displaying sufficient credit to the original source.

Before we go into the details you may want to brush up on your understanding of RSS. This will help you fully appreciate and fully understand the issues involved.

I am glad this conversation is happening now as it needs to be made clear what fair use of RSS feeds actually means. There may be webmasters who are republishing RSS feeds in all innocence at the moment not realising the furore that is going on around them with regards to their republishing activities. I would like to help clear up any misunderstandings that surround RSS republishing.

Being an RSS publisher myself who is considering republishing other authors RSS feeds I would like to make sure I am not treading on any toes. I am basing the following RSS republishing etiquette on the good practice that Rok Hrastnik has enthused.

If you wish to republish an RSS feed then you should first consult the publisher with your intentions. This would be an email to the author stating how you wish to reuse their feed and the page or pages the feed will be republished on and the attributions you will make. You will need to clarify some points. If the authors feed contains ads then will they be republished? Will you be monetizing the authors work by placing ads on your republished page? To avoid conflict these issues need to be sorted out.

The general guidelines Rok Hrastrnik has provided state that the article title must link back to the original article. If the RSS feeds contains a complete article only an excerpt, Rok suggests 100 to 200 words, can be republished. A link should be provided to the article sourceComputer Technology Articles, the website of the original publisher.

Further to this it is suggested that no archives are kept on the republished site and no full articles are used. I would suggest permission is sought from the original author if you wish to keep an archive on your site.

You can follow this discussion further at PR meets the WWW and Micro persuasion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Allan is the webmaster at http://www.newsniche.com an RSS resource for webmasters. Learn how to use RSS to attract and retain visitors to your site.

Basics of Affiliate Marketing

Autoresponders in General
Autoresponders have been around for quite some time. The Internet is overflowing with companies offering them packaged up with various features at various monthly fee levels. As more and more people do business on the Internet, autoresponders will take a special place in the overall marketing plan of any business on the net. They are the number one mechanism that helps businesses stay in close touch with customers or reach potential customers continuously.

Like everything else in this world, autoresponder providers charge fees for the service that they provide. This usually means a monthly fee is required and sometimes the fee can be on the high side. In exchange for this fee, they will host your autoresponder on their servers, which may not necessarily be a good thing. Why” Simply because you are at the mercy of these providers if there server goes down. If that happens, guess what? Your autoresponder messages do not get sent to your customers, which could cause a loss in potential sales. To further compound the problem, if the provider’s server is down often or for long periods of time, it could be catastrophic to your business.

There is an alternative to the above scenario in the form a “free standing” autoresponder package called Autoresponder Plus. Autoresponder Plus does not rely on installation on someone’s server; rather it is installed on your own web site or dedicated server. No third-party intervention is needed at all. As long as you have a reliable hosting service, you can add Autoresponder Plus to your business site and be in total control of customer communications. It’s a fact that if you don’t successfully manage your follow up marketing process effectively, you will lose potential customers.

The power of Autoresponse Plus

Let’s take a look at how powerful Autoresponder Plus is.

* It is an autoresponder and mailing list software for your web site.
* You can send out an unlimited number of follow-up emails and target thousands of prospects.
* You send out follow-up sales campaigns, courses, newsletters, and ezines from an intuitive browser.
* Once it is setup, it runs on autopilot!
* Create unlimited autoresponder accounts with unlimited messages any time.

Why use Autoresponse Plus?

By using Autoresponder Plus as your mechanism to reach thousands of potential customers, you will benefit in many ways. Take for instance the benefits of:

* No more monthly fees for autoresponder services. Pay a “one-time” fee and your own the package!
* No more reliance on the reliability of the servers of other providers.
* The convenience of having the ability to take total control over your email campaigns staying in touch with prospects and customers around the clock.
* The convenience of installing Autoresponder Plus on your very own site.
* The extra flexibility in maintaining Autoresponder Plus and the dramatic cost savings.
* The ease of installation and level of full technical support from ARP3 professionals that includes a fully staffed “help-desk” and tutorials.
* Capturing email addresses of prospects so you can immediately follow-up and turn them into customers.
* Delivering your message, over and over, to your target audience to get a sale.

How is Autoresponse Plus the email marketing solution to increase your sales

Autoresponder Plus acts as your personal marketing spokesperson, only better because it never takes time off! You can dramatically boost your sales through its use by giving you the freedom and flexibility to follow-up with prospects consistently and turn them into paying customers. It is a fact that if you want to turn “window shoppers” into buyers, you need to have constant contact with them. People need to get to know and trust you before they will buy from you. Autoresponder Plus helps you achieve this through its simplicity and convenience.

Autoresponder Plus offers an opt-in email marketing solution and follow-up marketing solution that are the best tools possible for building credibility and trust quickly. You can take charge of your marketing campaign by:

Building an opt-in list of prospects that you can follow-up with and convert into customers.
Using this opt-in list to market to this audience over and over again, after all, by opting-in, they give you permission to do so.
Fully automate your email and follow-up marketing efforts and run effortlessly on autopilot.
Eliminating annoying ads in your email campaigns that are planted there by other autoresponder providers.
Gaining the ability to send unlimited attachments such as .pdf files in your marketing campaigns.
Taking advantage of one of the most “user-friendly” programs on the marketplace.

Having your own autoresponder package installed on your business site not only makes a lot of sense but in such a competitive business climate as the Internet, it is a necessity if a business is going to survive. You are in control of your business; you need to be able to oversee every facet, especially the most important one, marketing. With the advent of such great marketing tools such as Autoresponder Plus, you can literally boost your sales many times over. It’s definitely worth exploring.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Matt Bacak became "#1 Best Selling Author" in just a few short hours.
Recent Entrepreneur Magazine’s e-Biz radio show host is
turning Authors, Speakers, and Experts into Overnight Success Stories.
Discover The Secrets http://promotingtips.com

3 Little Known Tips for Cardio

In the year 2006, I've seen so many articles on cardio that it even made me confused! Everything from don't with it "good night to cardio" to cardio is worthless to HIIT training and all kinds of crazy ideas. There's anti-cardio gurus and cardio masters. At times, cardio seems like a diet plan. Let me explain that...
I've got a confession to make...

In the year 2006, I've seen so many articles on cardio that it even made me confused! Everything from don't with it "good night to cardio" to cardio is worthless to HIIT training and all kinds of crazy ideas. There's anti-cardio gurus and cardio masters.

At times, cardio seems like a diet plan.

Let me explain that...

With a diet, you have so many foods to choose from that you can literally make any combination up and call it a "diet."

Cardio seems to be that way lately. There's a lot you can do with your cardio workouts. Keep them short, make them intense, do all kinds of machines, do it every day, do it once a week, don't use machines at all but go outside and run hills... etc. List goes on and on.

Let's try and answer the question of the best time to do cardio and how much recovery after your weight sessions you need in order to get workout but without burning up any precious muscle.

3 Simple Steps to Effective Cardio Workouts

1- Use cardio as a tool.

Cardiovascular exercise is good for the heart. However, so is weight training. And lifting weights and building muscle will do more to get you leaner than 6 spin classes 6 times a week.

If your goal is to build muscle and gain weight or burn off the fat, then use cardio sparingly as a way to your goal.

Did you know that 1 lb of muscle burns more calories than 1 lb of fat? By focusing on building more muscle, you'll get leaner quicker than if you plug away at a treadmill all day long.

Let's put it this way...

If you cut bread with a saw (weight training) it gets the job done nicely. But if you cut the bread with a saw and then use a finely sharpened knife to make the slides perfect (cardio) you'll get the best of both worlds.

You'll get slides of bread quickly (saw) and you'll get them neatly carved out (knife).

If you can think of cardio as a tool to stripping off unwanted fat AFTER your weight training and nutrition is in order, you'll use the tool as it's meant to be used.

2- Do your cardio at the right times.

There's a loaded question if I ever saw one!a) the right time is anytime it works for you. If you read several articles about morning cardio and you simply cannot do it, then do it when you can. There's plenty of studies that debate the optimal time to do cardio but they all point to the single fact that it doesn't make a massive difference in your overall gains. When it comes to eliminating body fat. Whether it's early morning, late evening, the most important thing is that you just do it.b) do your cardio AFTER your weight workouts. Why after? Because your weight training workouts require something called glycogen. That's short term fuel. If you burn off and use up your short term fuel first, you'll have little to give when it comes to your muscles.

The fuel your muscles need for a weight training workout is different from the potential fuel sources you can use when doing cardiovascular activities.

When you do your cardio AFTER your weight training sessions, you are warmed up and have a better chance at using fat as a fuel source over glycogen.

3- Separate your cardio from your weight training sessions

If at all possible, try and give yourself plenty of time between a cardio workout and a weight session. Some programs recommend 8 hours. This means you'll do cardio in the AM and weights in the PM. You'll have plenty of time for post-workout nutrition and a few meals in there as well to help with recovery.

But what if you can't?

2 Tips to Cardio Workouts

Tip #1 - Do your cardio AFTER your weight session as in the step above. While this won't be ideal, it allows your body to use glycogen for short term fuel for the weights and potentially fat as a fuel source.

Tip #2 - Engage in post-workout nutrition (protein and carbs) after your weight training session. While you probably won't burn as much fat, you won't risk burning off as much muscle either.

The reason your body burns muscle is that it costs a lot to maintain it (metabolically speaking). In that caseFree Reprint Articles, make sure you can support the muscle by not overtraining and engaging in proper nutrition.

Those two simple concepts will go a long way in helping you to preserve muscle when you have a short rest period between a weight training session and a cardiovascular workout.

The bottom line is that cardiovascular exercise is part of a health and fitness routine. It should be used as a tool. Sometimes more (getting ready for a competition) and sometimes less (lean bulking). Lately it's been over-rated but it certainly isn't worthless.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marc David is a bodybuilder and author of the, Beginner's Guide to Fitness and Bodybuilding. You can get info on Marc's e-book at: http://www.Beginning-Bodybuilding.com . To get Marc's free e-zine, visit http://www.JustAskMarc.com