My 2¢ Worth

 had a problem with the brake lights on my truck. They would not come on unless you held the brake pedal clear to the floor. Well it's not good to floor the brakes. Floor the gas is my motto.

fter some investigation I found the switch which turns on the brake lights when the pedal is depressed was not making good contact. No contact = no lights.

ometimes our Web sites are the same way. Is your site making contact with your visitors? Remember: no contact = no sales.

erhaps the problem is your sites design. Content is indeed king, but a King without subjects rules a very small kingdom.

hat is where a good site design comes into play. Draw your visitors in with your design. Give them something pleasing to look at. Make them feel at home. Invite them inside.

've seen sites that looked like they were designed by pre-schoolers. Nothing wrong with that — we all tape our children's drawings on our refrigerators.

owever, this sort of sentiment does not make sales. Get your Web site professionally designed. There's a reason Web designers are in such high demand and make the big bucks. Those big bucks spent on a professionally designed Web site will pay you back many times over.

Feature Article

Creating a Basic Web Template System

by: Rick Hendershot Linknet Network

What is a web "template"?

As I understand this term, it is a design format which you can apply to all (or most) of the pages in your site. The biggest advantage of using a "template" system like this is that it allows you to make your most important design decisions at the beginning, and then just focus on content. Of course it also allows you to quickly create new pages based on your standard design.

The disadvantage is that many template-based websites look homogenized and lacking in unique character. Designers who sell templates tend to use the same formats over and over again, insert the same generic images, use the same techniques.

Just as important, I have never found one that I consider ready-to-go right out of the box. They always need modification, and often modifying a professionally prepared template is difficult because the designer will have used techniques you may not fully understand or are specific to the tools he or she used to create it.

So I prefer not to think of templates as the kind of thing you buy from an online template store. Rather I prefer to think of them as simply a basic page format that can be used over and over again. The best template is therefore one that uses "standard" techniques that can be modified without the use of specialized tools or programs (like Front Page or Dreamweaver).

Creating a Basic Template

If you are not familiar with web design, try working with a "bare bones" template to begin with. There are two ways you can go. You can work with basic html and tables, or you can create your basic template with CSS. I recommend you begin with CSS — especially if you have not yet become used to constructing web pages with tables.

CSS stands for "Cascading Style Sheets", but at the beginning it is not important to understand what that means. What is important is to understand that CSS allows you to create a set of formatting parameters in a "style sheet" (a seperate file) which you then can very easily apply to your individual pages. In other words, you seperate the "style" from the "content".

A simple style sheet can contain just three or four design elements. Here is an example which you are free to copy (right click and "Save target as" to a location on your hard drive)

This template contains a definition for the body text, a header component (with a background image), a "navbar", and a definition for two headline styles, h1 and h2.

Now that you have a style sheet you can begin building your web site by creating a basic home page. Here is an example which embeds the style sheet referred to in the previous paragraph. You can get the html code by just opening the page in a browser window, looking at the "Source" code, and saving the resulting file on your hard drive as, for instance, "sample-1.html".

Now you should have two files in the same location on your hard drive -- "sample-1.css" and "sample-1.html". You can get the image file by just right clicking on the image in the sample page and saving it to the same location on your hard drive.

Your second step will be to create the pages referenced in the "navbar", so make sure you think of names for these pages before proceeding (e.g., howitworks.html, products.html, about.html, sitemap.html, contact.html). Then build your hyperlinks into the navbar. (Look at the code of the sample file to see how it is done.)

Once you have your basic home page with links, this then becomes your template. Just save it as "howitworks.html", "products.html", etc., and make the changes to the specific pages.

The result (once you upload it all to your host server) will be a basic, functional website containing a number of properly interlinked pages. It will also be search engine friendly because the design is not cluttered with scripts, and the most important elements are clearly laid out at the top of the page.

For more web design tips and techniques see the Linknet Marketing Resource Library.

**************

Rick Hendershot is based in Conestogo, Ontario, Canada. He publishes the Linknet Network a series of more than 35 websites and blogs that offer low cost advertising and link promotion opportunities to website owners.

Adding Audio to Your Site

You can add sound to your site that will be compatible with both Internet Explorer and Netscape as well. Add the following code to the HTML of your web page where you would like the control panel to display.

Change the text indicated in red to your sound file.

<embed src="yourfile.mid" autostart="true" loop="false" hidden="false">
<noembed>
<bgsound src="yourfile.mid" loop="1">
</noembed>

The "autostart" determines whether or not the music will play when the page loads. "True" specifies that the music will start on load and "False" specifies that music will not start on load.

The "loop" determines how the music should be played. "False" specifies that the music should not loop and will play it through one time. "True" specifies that the music should loop and play continuously. I highly recommend that you leave this set on false.

The "hidden" specifies whether or not the music's control panel should be displayed. "True" specifies that the control panel should be hidden. "False" specifies that the control panel should be displayed. This will enable your visitors to stop the music if they prefer. Once again, I highly recommend that you leave this set on false.

* Get these syndicated tip feeds for yourweb site, free. *

Second Article

How to Set Up and Manage Your Home Office

by: Nyall Bakk Advertising WorldWide, Inc

If you are thinking about running your own business from home, be prepared to work hard. While managing your own business can be very difficult it can also be very rewarding. Spending more time with your family and feeling a sense of pride and accomplishment are only a few benefits to running your own business. However, setting your home office up properly from the get go is vital to your success.

If you have a family it is important to get them on board and make sure they understand and appreciate any boundaries that you have established. For instance, your office should be free from distractions and a quiet place for you to work. If at all possible give them small tasks to do so they feel part of the process.

Getting Your Office Ready

Before you start conducting business you want to make sure you have all the necessary tools, equipment, and supplies you need to make your business successful. These may include but are not limited to a computer, printer, fax machine, dedicated phone line, scanner, calculator, filing cabinet, and book shelf. You'll also need office supplies, a desk and a chair. Make sure your work space is comfortable and quiet.

Using a Work Address

Rather than using your home address for work purposes, get an outside mailbox or PO Box instead. You don~t want clients thinking that they can stop into your office, and it appears much more professional to have a PO Box address. You can get a box at your local post office for a nominal fee.

Organize Your Time

While initially you may think that you~ll have much more time working from home, many people find that time management becomes more difficult. There are always things to do at home other than work. It is important to set aside time for work and time for family. Be sure not to let these two mix.

Start with an agenda. Use a desk calendar or a daily planner to organize your time. You can even plan your daily activities using the tools in Microsoft Outlook. Keep to the list and check each task off as you finish it. Include time for lunch, 15-minute breaks, and time with the family. If you~re more productive working 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., then schedule your time accordingly.

If you need to do business calls try and do them when everyone else is out. It can be very distracting to have others around. If someone else is always home be sure to keep your office door closed and ask family members to stay out.

Don't Take on Too Much

Rather than doing everything yourself consider investing in software programs that can help you manage your time more effectively. For instance, rather than keeping track of inventory through paper means, get some software that does it for you. You can quickly run reports on a variety of data that will help you save time and energy.

Know your limitations. Yes, you're the boss, but even the boss gets over-booked. Try prioritizing your work and setting daily goals. Running a home-based business often means you're working alone

If you find yourself getting bogged down in clerical duties, ask family members for help. It will save you time and money and they will enjoy being needed. This will help your business become more efficient.

Setting up your own home business can be a stressful and time consuming venture. By organizing and planning right from the word go everything will seem to go much more smoothly.

**************

This article provided free by Nyall Bakk - chief advisor to Advertising WorldWide, Inc it may be freely reprinted with this resource box intact. You can also exchange links (which will help to help promote your business) by going here: www.advertisingww.com/links.

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