1. Website : Part I
How To Design A Website If You're A Novice On The Internet
Most of my students are Internet novices and ask many apprehensive questions about how to design a
website. They worry about their ability to design an attractive site and are anxiously seeking the
quickest and best alternative.
After years on the Net, I believe you need to learn how to design your sites yourself, and here's why ...
The Internet is made up of two elements:
1. Text
2. Pictures
Yes, audio and video technologies are growing fast. But if you hope to sell on the Net, it's critical to
appeal to your audience, those folks who are willing to pull out their credit cards and buy your products.
A huge percentage of these are still on dialup and certainly aren't very sophisticated and fancy
techniques will isolate you from many of them.
So what are your choices if you want to build a website?
1. Buy a template:
This can work sometimes. I've bought them myself and they do look great. But there are some real
problems with templates:
* They can be expensive - especially if you want multiple websites. Good templates aren't cheap. The
few I've bought are in the $60-$70 range.

2. * If you don't know what you're doing, you can waste your money on templates that won't work for you.
For instance, you will often see templates with icons, pictures, company logos, "Buy Now" buttons and
more. Yes, they look great. But when you download the images they are not editable because if they are
in jpg or gif format, you can't make changes. The most common 'editable' images are in 'psd' format. If
you own image editing software, like Photoshop (which usually sells for about $600), you can make the
changes you wish. But if you don't own this kind of software then forget it - your images can't be
changed.
* Editing templates isn't easy. You might unwittingly purchase a template that allows 8' of space - and
your copy needs 10" of space. Now what? Cheaper templates require the purchaser to "slice" them. This
is tedious and time consuming and requires editing knowledge that most people don't have. Higher
quality templates allow the owner to edit them without slicing, but they are more expensive.
* Even if you can edit your new template, do you really think that you should allow a designer to dictate
the placement of your sales copy? Beautiful design does not equal sales. Just because something looks
good doesn't mean it's a good sales site. Many novices are impressed with the good looks of a template,
but Madison Avenue beauty doesn't equal profits on the Net. Earning money comes from effective
direct response marketing which means testing the elements on your sales page and changing them
until you have a winner. If your design is forced on you you are limited in the changes you can make.
2. Pay a website designer to build a site for you:
* Hiring a professional can be expensive. I currently have a goal of building two websites each week for a
year. Let's assume I pay someone $500 to build a website (which is quite a reasonable amount for a well
done site - it often costs much more.) That means I will be paying $1,000/week, every week, for a year.
My money is better spent on marketing than design.
* Every time you want to make a change on your site, you must wait on a designer to make the changes.
This is expensive and can be time consuming if the designer is busy with multiple clients.
* Just like a purchased template, most web designers are focused on looks and appearance, rather than
functionality or sales. All the best marketers acknowledge that plainer sites are more lucrative because
the focus is on the copy, the words, rather than fancy graphics or beautiful colors. Take a look at the top
money-making sites on the net. They rarely are flashy or dramatically impressive.

3. * Relying on a web designer creates dependency. Generally the motivation of entrepreneurs is freedom
so waiting for another person to make even the smallest changes to your site isn't taking you in the
direction you want to go.
3. Buy site-making software:
Every program I have seen involves a learning curve. One popular site builder, for example, has a 500
page manual, is expensive and a lot of the learning doesn't transfer to other site systems. I looked at
another one recently with a 300 page manual. The time that you spend learning these methodologies
could be spent learning an HTML editor that will make you fully capable of building your own sites,
whenever you choose, for almost zero cost.
Spend the time and learn do it yourself websites. I personally spent two weeks in 'Dreamweaver Hell'
several years ago. All reviews indicated that Dreamweaver is the best HTML editor, so I bought a book
and determined to learn the software on my own. The first book wasn't long enough so I returned it for
a second - and longer - book, which eventually was exchanged for an almost-1200 page manual. There
were moments of frustration, tears, triumph, cursing and the thrill of success, and I emerged able to put
together websites whenever I chose.
Saying "I want to be an Internet marketer" and not learning how to build websites for yourself is like
wanting to be a dentist - and refusing to learn about teeth; like being a star athlete - and refusing to
practice your sport. So what if your first sites won't win a design award? You'll get better. And you will
be independent. Isn't that the entire point of working on the Internet?
Hiring a web designer to come up with the custom solution that you need can set you back a few
thousand bucks. But you can do the whole thing yourself and make it drag and drop simple for mere
pennies with a tool like Breezy Websites. See http://breezywebsites.com for details!
Website : End of Part I

4. How To Design Your Site Effectively
You decide you want to have a web presence. How do you design your website in a way that is
effective? How do you effectively create website in a way that makes your clients want to come back? A
client or visitor to your website may not want to come back if their experience on your website is
tedious and cumbersome. Here are some tips to keep in mind when designing your website:
- Don't use a lot of animated graphics. In fact, don't use any at all because it makes the site look
unprofessional.
- Don't use frames to design your website. You will be in for a lot of code redundancy and it causes the
page to load slower.
- Use graphics at the lowest density possible. This allows the page to load faster.
- Try to get most of the content on one page preventing the user from having to scroll down to get the
important information that your first page needs to prevent.
- Use links to navigate to the various sections of the site at the top, side, and bottom. Doing this allows a
visitor can get to anywhere in the site from anywhere in the site.
- Always have link to get back to the home page on every page of the site.
- Use tables to lay out the sections on the site. This way, when one adjusts the size of the browser
window, it does not alter the positioning of the paragraphs or sections on the page.
- Use headers and footers common to all pages and include that header or footer each time a new page
is rendered. This way, if you have to change header or footer information, you only have to change it
once.

5. - Use a white background for the main content of your page. The reason is that it looks much more
professional and it is easier to read.
Hiring a web designer to come up with the custom solution that you need can set you back a few
thousand bucks. But you can do the whole thing yourself and make it drag and drop simple for mere
pennies with a tool like Breezy Websites. See http://breezywebsites.com for details!
Website : End of Part II
How To Design Your Website For Optimal Productivity
What works best when promoting your web site.
Eight Simple, Yet Essential, Web Design Principles
by: Alan Richardson
As the internet evolves from its infancy into maturity, website development, design and marketing
becomes more and more sophisticated - and more and more complex. Content manipulation, various
scripting methods, fancy graphics and effects... and on and on... allow us to create some impressive web
sites.
A good gauge of this complexity is the a slew of new internet-related acronyms which popup on a
consistent basis. Heck, I don't know what half of them mean. But one acronym I do know - and it's not
an internet creation - is nevertheless key to the development and design of any successful business
website. Perhaps you've heard of it - K.I.S.S. As you probably know, it stands for 'Keep It Simple,
Stupid!'. And it's a methodology widely employed by the best web developers, designers and marketers
in the business. A philosophy that provides the foundation for all successful revenue-generating web
sites.

6. From the largest, multi-product online business conglomerate to the one-page one-product mini-site,
the purpose is the same. Provide visitors, whether internet savvy or first time surfers, with an online
experience that's fast, efficient, easy to understand - and dare I say it... yes, enjoyable.
Whether your an entrepreneur building your own web site, or reviewing one built for you by a web
development and design expert, it is important your web site, your online business, adheres to these
eight simple, yet essential, design principles. Heed them, and online success is sure to follow. Ignore
them, at your peril. Here they are.
Each web page must have a purpose - and that purpose must be clearly stated. While a consistent
design 'look and feel' is vital across all pages of your web site, each page has a specific function to
perform. And that function should be clearly understood by all visitors to your web site. Whether it's to
elicit feedback, provide feedback, promote your company, present product information, etc., all play a
role in your ultimate goal of growing your business.
Navigation around and through your business web site must be clearly visible and easy to use. See my
article on web site navigation for more details.
Avoid distraction and clutter by minimizing usage of fancy flashing and moving objects, which provide
more sizzle than steak, and make your essential products or services harder to find.
All business websites should have contact information clearly visible. A 'Contact' page is minimum. It's
also advisable to include contact information on every page of your web site. You never know when the
urge to turn from prospect to customer will strike your visitor.

7. Not everyone has broadband. Yes, there are still a fair number of users surfing the internet with slower,
less efficient, dial-up access. That may change in the future, but it's a reality today. Ignore this
substantial customer base and you're business will surely suffer. To avoid this pitfall, pay careful
attention to eliminate internet-clogging elements on your web site. When possible, use text instead of
graphics, static graphics instead of animation, several smaller pages instead of one large page. Do this
and you can feed quite well on the desertions from your flashier competitors.
For those who are broadband users, who are not negatively effected by all those 'bells and whistles',
who may actually enjoy such an impressive display, remember, 'form follows function'. This is especially
important on a business web site, where functionality is key. All else is fluff and distraction.
For those of us who may be 'visually challenged, make sure your web site is easy to see. Avoid fancy
fonts and use the more legible standard-bearers, such as Times New Roman, Courier New, Arial and
Verdana. For standard text, use font sizes of at least 10 pt... 12 pt is better. On many a web site, font
sizes of 8 pt or less are used, perhaps in an effort to avoid the need to scroll. Let me tell you... it's much
better to scroll than to squint. For when I squint, I usually stroll... right out of the site. It's also a good
practice to limit the use of italics as they too are harder to read. Lastly, pay attention to text and
background color. Although white text on a black background looks cool at first glance, it can quickly
strain the eyes. You don't want to do anything that will cut your visitor's journey through your business
web site..
Whenever possible, limit page lengths to no more than two page-downs. It is better for performance
(page loading) and visitor attention when pages are short, quick reads. If necessary, breakup your text
into multiple pages, with a 'continued' designation at the bottom of each page.
There you go. Eight simple, yet essential, web site design principles that can spell the difference
between online business success or failure. Always remember, you're never more than one-click away
from visitor abandonment. K.I.S.S. your website and it will reward you abundantly.

8. Alan Richardson is a well-known internet consultant and publisher with
http://www.optimalwebservices.com - a Web resource firm in North Easton, Massachusetts, offering
free advice and information for web-based small businesses and entrpreneurs.
To read other articles by Alan, click here.
To signup for the free 'Optimal Web Services for Small Business' ezine, click here
Hiring a web designer to come up with the custom solution that you need can set you back a few
thousand bucks. But you can do the whole thing yourself and make it drag and drop simple for mere
pennies with a tool like Breezy Websites. See http://breezywebsites.com for details!
Website : End of Part III