Basics of HTML

All web pages and websites on the Internet exist fundamentally as text files saved with the HTML extension. Web browsers read these text files, decided based on them (and based on HTML defaults) which formatting choices to use on a page, generate all content from the text file and link to all images, and ultimately display the page.

Of course it's impossible to talk to a web browser in natural language: saying in plain language to "make the margins one inch on all sides" is easy to understand for a human layout editor, but impossible for a computer. Which is why--as we touched on in the first chapter--standard protocols for online systems were a necessary condition for the growth of the Internet. In order for two computers to talk to one another--and in order to ensure that they're talking in the way that the user intends--it's necessary to speak a common language, which is essentially what HTML and other internet protocols are.

HTML (or "Hypertext Markup Language") is the most successful online formatting protocol yet devised, and should be the basis for any good website. It's also a fairly simple language to learn (as opposed to object-oriented languages like Java or C#, which require a much greater working knowledge of computers and a much greater willingness to spend time organizing a program.) HTML is essentially a formatting guideline rather than a true programming language, which explains some of its versatility and ease of use.

So in order to learn DIY coding (or to learn how to talk intelligently to your web designer), we first have to learn some key features of HTML.

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How Should You Collect Money on Your Web Site?

The one site feature that you're unlikely to be able to provide on your own is a working system for buying products, sending shipping orders, and transferring customer's payments to your account. Systems like this are extremely complicated to code, difficult to integrate into a page, and above all risky in terms of security. You don't want to take a chance on building your own commerce system from scratch, starting to take customer orders, and then finding out that someone has hacked your system and reduced your business bank account to zero.

You have two options for getting around this problem: hiring a very, very good coder with experience in this area (which we'll talk about more in the next chapter), or going with a proprietary coding system. The former option--hiring an experienced coder and building your system from scratch--is riskier and costlier up front, but has some advantages in terms of site design and simplifying your accounting operations. The latter option--using a proprietary system--is safer in terms of site security and more familiar to many users (who tend to use systems like Paypal or BitPass for several different types of online purchase), but also comes with a price: hefty transaction fees and possible content restrictions. Which you choose is up to you, but if you think you have an excellent coder and a good system for taking in revenue, go with the former option: you'll lose some money up front, but you'll tend to gain more in the long-term in saved transaction fees.

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Sean Mize is a full time internet marketer who has written over 9034 articles in print and 14 published ebooks.

Top Software Programs For Web Site Design

Word processing and spreadsheets were the first of the killer apps for home computers when PCs first started to propagate to the millions of households out there. Then, there were Internet Browsers that took everyone by storm. So what are the hot categories and hot products now? There are more products out there now, than ever before for the home shopper and many of them are so incredible. In fact if I actually wanted to I could have done a top 100. The list is neither exhaustive nor scientific, but the products listed here are definitely great! If you have a computer at home, take a look at these products! I looked over many, many different products and product categories to find the best web site designer software programs, so with out further ado:

Adobe Dreamweaver 8 -

If you want to produce intricate Internet sites with e-commerce characteristics such as shopping carts, real-time database interaction, drop-down website menus and integrated multimedia, Dreamweaver is the optimum (albeit expensive) choice of web authoring tools for Windows and Mac users. Adobe Dreamweaver 8 is the darling of the professional web design community for its powerhouse features, including powerful support for Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and all major scripting languages. Critical Reviews agree that although installing is a breeze and the user interface is so well organized that it gives an illusion of easiness, Dreamweaver is anything but easy. It is a heavy duty software developed for the most sophisticated web design and editing user. Great for professionals, but not advised for the beginner! I consider myself to be pretty technically inclined and though I absolutely love Dreamweaver and wish I could use it, its damn near impossible for me! Before spending hundreds, be sure to check yourself at the door, swallow your pride, and do the trial!

Coffee Cup Software -

Reviews say CoffeeCup 2006 is a proficient choice in website software for the everyday home or small business user. It's best for those seeking for a far less expensive and intimidating product that will still yield very impressive results. You don't need a $400 program like Dreamweaver just to design simple, effective websites. CoffeeCup is easy to learn, with an outstanding tutorial to accommodate novices. Coffee Cup lacks advanced e-commerce characteristics, so it's best for straightforward home or business Web Sites. You'll still need a domain name and a web-hosting service to actually post your Website.

Adobe Illustrator CS3 -

With Adobe Illustrator CS3 the user can design artwork for practically anything. Illustrator CS3 was designed with leading edge drawing tools, color tools, and type controls that aid the user in creating and experimenting with new ideas. The user friendly options allow for less time spent on each project which in turn improves performance and work out put. Adobe has integrated Illustrator to be compatible with other Adobe programs.

UltraEdit 14 Text Editor -

UltraEdit is the perfect text, HTML and HEX editor, and an advanced PHP, Perl, Java and JavaScript editor for programmers. An industry-award winner, UltraEdit supports disk-based 64-bit file handling (standard) on 32-bit Windows platforms (Windows 2000 and later). Powerful Text, HEX, HTML, PHP and Programmer's Editor. Suitable for general text editing, programmer's, web designers, binary editing, email, and all your editing needs.

SmartFTP -

SmartFTP is an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) client which allows you to transfer files between your local computer and a server on the Internet. With its many basic and advanced features SmartFTP also offers secure, reliable and efficient transfers that make it a powerful tool.

Web Studio 4.0 -

Now includes drag and drop PayPal shopping carts, vista and Internet Explorer 7.0 compatibility, flash slide shows and text fx. Web Studio is easy-to-use web design software that lets anyone to produce professional-looking web pages in just minutes. With web studio's drag-and-drop interface, WYSIWYG layout and easy-to-use features, building a web site is easy and exciting. And Web Studio's fully-integrated site hosting makes publication a snap. Free website hosting is also available to help you preview your work online! Whether you require a business web site or personal web pages, Web Studio is the web design software of choice.

Of course there are so many other software programs out there, but these were the ones that got the highest ratings for text editing, web design, logo editing and ftp. One of the best sites you can look at for further discussion on these, and other programs available to the new designer or the advanced designer is CNET. Good luck finding the best program to fit all your needs.

This author is a HUGE fan of New York Web Development

Graphic and Web Designers Available

Most of the time you can find a designer that really stands behind his or her work. They believe that they not only can do you a solid job in building your site around your niche, but they genuinely want you to succeed, and are building the site for you, or doing graphic design, in hopes that everything will work out for you in the end, and that your business will boom. This isn't a very typical reason is it? Usually people just want to get what they want and get paid and move on.

However, I know a few designers that take great pride in their work, and the quality they can give to the end user, which in most cases are people like you and I, shopping around on a site, or looking for a service, or company to contact. These people believe that only high quality graphic design and web design will deliver the corporate image you want to project for your company. Whether your approach is hi-tech, funny, or straight edged, they can supply a professional blueprint reflecting of your business and geared towards getting you attention and results. Stimulating concepts, well-executed designs, and eye popping graphics is guaranteed to make your clients and your potential clients sit up and take notice.

Graphic Design touches on so many stages of your business. These designers provide a large group of services to meet all of your needs, from marketing to operations to customer service. Some of the "jobs" are listed below:

Brochures 
Catalogs 
Flyer's 
Illustration 
Invitations 
Logo Design 
Menu Design 
Newsletters 
Package Design 
Posters 
Stationery 
Web Site Design 
and more!

These guys really mean business. And when they commit to do your site, you won't even realize the work that needed done, until you see the finishing product that they the designer came up with! Seriously I will never be able to thank my designer enough for the amazing job he did on my website. It doesn't even look like the old drab site I used to have! We live in a constantly changing world where nothing stays in place for long. Just a few years ago everybody was amazed at personal home pages made in FrontPage and an opportunity to tell the world about you. Today the web is ruled by social networks, blogs and E-commerce. From every corner we can hear buzzwords like web 2.0, RSS, ajax, etc. Every day thousands of new websites emerge! Are you going to have a boring unnoticed page? Or are you going to go get a designer and get the best damn web page anyone has ever seen?!? Don't be foolish! Hiring a designer could potentially be the "change" you are looking for!

This author is a HUGE fan of New Jersey Web Development

A How-To Guide For New Web Designers

This article can be used if you are a web designer new or old, or if you want an idea of the things you should or shouldn't be asking your web designer to place on your website. Firstly, you have a site because its convenient, quick, easy, maneuverable and you can get a lot of use out of it right? Plus it's ultimately a "picture" of you. Since people can't visually see you, the website speaks for you. It doesn't really seem to matter if you have the best product known to man, if the website your running is poorly designed, you won't be able to even sell one item because, visitors will be driven off by the horrible design!

When people talk about good design, they aren't only talking about it in a graphical sense. They are talking about an over all sense of design such as interface, layout, accessibility, user-friendly, colors, etc. Listed below I have noted some features of some of the worst designs I have come across over the years. And this isn't just Kristi's Worst Of, these features are on a lot of other people's lists as well.. so take heed! Listen up and pay attention, you could very well have some of the features on your site right now! Oh the humanity!

Font - 
Your font on your site should be legible and sized correctly. Don't make it so big that it literally makes people cross-eyed, but also don't make it so small that people need to get out their magnifying glass! There is a happy medium with font. If you can't pick a good font face or size, ask a friend, they will be more than willing to tell you the truth. Just don't ask a loved one like a girlfriend or mom, chances are they will lie!

Pop-Ups - 
In a lot of cases I'll let this go because I understand this is a scheme to either make you money, or a way to make me want to join your list. But keep the pop-ups to a minimum and please make sure they aren't "adult" pop-ups. The last thing I need nor want is to be on a site about flowers, all intent on concentrating on the screen, when *POP* an adult site comes out from no where! Not good! Not PG! Not professional at all! Also, make sure if possible to set your "pop-ups" on a timer. Sites like aweber will allow you to send X amount of pop-ups to the same visitor X amount of time for X amount of days. Make good use of this option.

Background Music - 
There is an exception to every rule. Most people say nay to background music I say yay as long as it follows these stipulations; No "fairyland" or "fairytale" music. That is just annoying. No rock n roll, head banging, screaming music. If you are going to have music on your site, make sure its "calming" music. No I'm not talking about elevator music! I'm just talking about instrumental, soft, calming music. Or if you want to take the characteristic of your personality, and do a little ditty, that's cool too. Try some low energy, soothing techno/dance music. Just make sure it's tasteful!

In concluding this article, let me remind you that as a webmaster your job is to make sure your website does what it's meant to do effectively. Don't let some minor mistakes stop your site from functioning optimally!

This author is a HUGE fan of New York Website Designer

Web Hosting Services For E-commerce Success

Have you ever wondered how Internet servers work? In keeping your web site well maintained, there is a need for an "Internet Host". There are quite a few different types of web hosting services and I will be explaining these as well as the concept of web hosting. Often when people are considering creating a website, their first question is- where do I start?

I am certain you must be familiar with the idea of 'domain name registration'. Just as every individual has a distinct driver's license number (or a passport number), similarly every website has a distinct domain name. That is to say, you simply cannot replicate a domain name that already is in existence.

You can certainly provide the same name just changing the extension part of the domain (like 'com', 'net' etc). Every website is linked to a server which in turn provides space to the website. However obtaining a space for your website and doing every thing on your own is not the only thing to do. Web Hosting is the major activity to be done in the virtual world of e-commerce

There are several types of web hosting servers available in the market today. Your choice of either a free standing or dedicated hosting server will be dictated by the size and nature of your business. The space provided by a server will also determine the cost of having one. There are many companies that manufacture portable servers for both small and large scale business users.

There are some individuals who contend that a free web host is superior to a paid web host. However, you will find that a paid web host offers a significantly more complete and dependable solution when compared to a free host. If you are a business owner who would like to run your business online, you need to choose a paid web host. Ad-supported 'web hosting services' are an inadequate solution.

You would not want your web site to face technical problems resulting in decrease in online traffic, isn't it? Paid hosting services offer round-the-clock technical assistance. There are some popular companies which offer affordable 'web hosting services'. Another area where paid web hosting proves to be better than free hosting is 'pop-ups'. Free hosting would flood your web site with a number of advertisements.

There are several types of web hosting servers and services available in the market today. Your choice of either a free standing, or a dedicated hosting server will be dictated by the size and nature of your business. Some people argue that free hosting is better than paid hosting. The truth is that paid hosting is much more reliable and comprehensive. If you own a business and wish to manage your online account, you must opt for paid web hosting. Free web hosting services can not provide the support and functionality required by an online business.

Web Design - It's a Personal Choice

When people are looking at ways to do their web design for their website, there are different things that they need to think about. These are what is going to help them choose the best web design that they can. Here are some things to consider when it comes to web design.

Target audience

The first thing that needs to be taken into consideration is the product or service's target audience. What is their gender, what is their age, what is their likes and dislikes? The audience should always be the first thing that is considered when it comes to web design.

Products

The second thing that needs to be considered is the type of products that the company is offering. After all, if you are offering baby products you don't want loud music and flashy colours.

Price

The third thing that should be considered when choosing web design is what price the products or services are. If the products or services are more expensive, the web design should be elegant and it should be something that should reflect the prices.

Budget

The last thing that a company should think about when they are choosing web design is their budget. After they have thought about the other things, they can look at the different options they have and choose one that they can afford.

Web design is something that requires a lot of thought. The same type of web design isn't going to work for every business because the web design should be as personal as the products are.

Are you really interested in driving massive traffic to your website?

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Mark Abrahams is a full time internet marketer who has helped others to earn a living online.