Archive for July, 2008
How do you use Landing Page Templates
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Just what are landing page templates and how does one use them? To many this is just an opt in page where you can collect someones name and email address. What most don’t realize is it has many names, landing page, minisite, squeeze page, optinpage, and etc…
They all do the same thing, just people rename as things change. But the basis is all the same a simple page that allows you to capture your visitors name and email address in return for a free report or ebook or something.
This will build your list of loyal subscribers which have given you permission to send them emails about your market. Please do not spam this list it is your livelyhood.
The people here actually want something for value and the more value and respect you show them, the more they will learn to trust and respect you. Then when you have a great product or service you hear about you can email them about it and earn nicely.
To use a landing page template is very easy. A template just means the site is basically done already for you, you just enter in your information. So a landing page template is the same thing, a template that already is set up and ready for you to enter your information and your auto responder code.
Some things to keep in mind when designing your landing page - keep it simple and to the point; highlight or bullet the benefits THEY get for signing up; make sure to have to call to action, the optin box above the fold; do not, I repeat do not use the standard submit button auto responders have, you can change what it says, you should type in something relavent to what they are opting in for. Example, Get Your Free Report, Subscribe Today, Get your Newsletter just don’t use the standard submit button.
Another thing to think about when using a landing page template, is you do not need any graphices on it, especially a header, this has been tested and proven that you can get more subscribers if you keep your landing page to simple white background and black lettering. Having a graphic of your product or service is fine and does help your visitor get a visual of what they are getting.
I hope this has helped you understand exactly what landing page templates are and how to best use them for your business.
Please feel welcome to comment below would love to hear what you have to say, I do personally read all my comments.
Laura
How do I Make a Website?
Posted by: | CommentsLet’s talk about first what is the purpose of your website? There are a lot of reasons why folks put up a website, so you first need to decide what the purpose is, before asking How do I make a website?
Some common reasons people want to make a website, they want to make money online; they want to build a list of their own; they want to sell products; they wish to share experiences and photos with family and friends.
As you can see there are many reasons some one will put a website online. So depending of course what your reason is will depend on how you make a website.
If you are interested in selling products or services, then I suggest you take the time to learn about the coding aspect of HTML where you can control what your webpage does and looks like. This is not difficult to do and if you go and pick up the ebook Introduction to the Basics of Webdesign it will walk you through the process of making a website.
If you are just wanting to make a website for sharing photos and experiences with family and friends? My first thought is to use a Blog and not a website, this way you can interact with them about what you write about. It is much easier this way than to figure out website designing. I would recommend that you first start out checking this website out WordPressMadeEasy.net
Some things to consider on how do you make a website is that you will need a few things, you can’t just put a website up at no cost, well you could, of course get one of those free services at Yahoo or something, but you don’t have much control there. I highly recommend that you get some hosting and a domain name of your own.
For hosting I highly recommend and use – Hostgator they are reliable and very supportive of your needs
For domain name registration I highly recommend – Godaddy.com they are inexpensive and very reliable and helpful.
Your next step is to find a FTP program/software that will let you upload your work to your host. You will also need to find a way edit your HTML file, these are easy to find and do not cost you anything to use.
But there very first thing you need to remember is what is your website going to do? Before asking the question How do I make a website?
Again, I’d like to highly recommend the ebook Introduction to the basics of Webdeisgn it has complete stey by steps to follow and you can start using it today to make a website.
I hope this has helped and will give you some tips on where to get started.
Please do leave your comments below and questions and I’ll be glad to help you out.
Laura
5 Simple Steps to Build a Custom Website of Your Own
Posted by: | CommentsI see way too often folks just getting a free or paid template and adding some text to it
and stating they have a custom website. This is not true; they do no have a custom website.
To have a custom website you have to build it yourself or have a web designer build it for
you. Either way, it must be unique and fit your personality.
There are many things to take into consideration when you build a custom website; there are domain names, hosting, FTP software and more. Now these things are relatively cheap or no cost so don’t get caught up into that.
Here are some simple to follow steps to build a custom website:
#1 – Get your own domain name and make it unique to your website. Choose the right domain name to match what your website is about
#2 – Get good and reliable hosting. Too many times I come across folks so just don’t understand this and get any hosting then find themselves trying to switch. Check hosting companies out carefully. The number one thing you must be sure of is their support, if they have good reliable support you should be fine.
#3 – Your Graphics, now as much as you might hear that graphics will make your website more professional looking and better, this just isn’t always true any more. You do not need graphics on your website to make it work. Yes, you can have graphics on your website, but keep them simple, like the cover of your product if you are selling one, a picture of yourself, you can have a simple header at the top but it is not necessary. I have found that I get more subscribers without the header 
#4 – Your layout keep your layout simple and easy to use. Your navigation should be on the left hand side, as this is where most people look for it since it has always been there on all other websites or across the top. Don’t change what works! Make sure your categories are easy to understand for your visitors, don’t use fancy wording that they might not understand be clear to what each category is.
#5 – Content! This is the biggest part of your website and you have to be sure you are delivering quality content. Keep your content short and to the point. Make bullets to have the important parts stand out. Make short 3 or 4 sentence paragraphs. Have sub headlines in the middle of your pages there are a lot of people out there today that just scan webpages. Make sure you tell your visitors Exactly what you want them to do and how they can do it.
There you go 5 simple steps to build a custom website, put these to use and you can have your very own custom website in no time at all. Building websites today is easier than ever, since there aren’t many people anymore that care about graphics and fancy flash sites, they are more apt to leave your page with that stuff on it then actually read your site.
If you’d like to learn more about website designing I strongly recommend ‘Introduction to the Basics to Webdesign’ this ebook will walk you through step by step in building a website.
Is there a Right Time to Redesign?
Posted by: | CommentsAs a web designer myself, I get asked a lot by clients if they should consider doing a redisgn of their website? I often find myself telling them that it would depend on a lot of factors.
The number one question I have to ask them, is WHY?
If you are redesigning to just redesign, you need to consider a few things first. Your current website might be providing good traffic or selling things, there’s no need to redsign if you are currently seeing profits or traffic. If you do redesign you can possibly lose that affect and that would result in you losing sales and traffic.
How long has your website been online?
If your site is over say 4 years old definitely do a redesign. Your website is going to be old looking and unattractive. You need to make sure that your website is uptodate and has all the necessary functions, as the internet changes regularly it is important to keep up on this.
Some tips if you are going to redesign your website, make sure you do this offline and not online. Build your website and save it to your hard drive while you update it this way visitors won’t even know that your website is being redesigned.
For your customers send out an email and let them know that you are redesigning the website and get their input on what they think or would like to see on your site. Remember you are in this business for them.
Another tip you can do is to put a “Under Construction” on your site, state that your website is currently being redesigned and to please check back again. If you have a targeted date on when your site will be done, by all means put the date on the site so others will know when to check back. You can also add a bookmark us tag on your site and ask them to book mark you and to check back often.
You can take a look at other websites that are in the same market as yours and see how their websites compare to yours. Do their websites look fresher and newer than yours? What do they have on their website that you do not, but could implement.
These are just some of the ideas to consider before just jumping in and doing a redesign on your website. You might be surprised that your site is fine the way it is and your customers like it. If this is the case ask them why and take that into consideration also. You don’t want to make things harder for visitors or customers, keep it plain and simple.
7 Simple steps to Web Site Design
Posted by: | CommentsNo matter what Niche you are in, there are 7 simple steps to web site designing you should always follow. These 7 powerful yet simple steps will make building your web site better for you and your visitors.
Listed below are the 7 simple steps to follow:
Number One:
Your layout – your layout is very important. One thing to always do is have your main background white with black letter, this makes it easier for your visitors to read your page.
Number Two:
Ease of use – you also need to make sure that your web site is user friendly. Make sure that things are easy to find on your website. Keep things simple and always in the same place on each page.
Number Three:
The one key to making or breaking your website – CONTENT!! This is a must and you must do it properly. Also use original and unique content whenever possible. You can either write it yourself or hire someone to write it, but keep it short and to the point. Put together a newsletter or free report so visitors can opt into your site and learn more.
Number Four:
SEO – Search Engine Optimization – this is a must if you want to get as many targeted visitors as possible to your web site. Remember, thousands of visitors is not as good as a few hundred of targeted visitors. Using SEO with keyword research and implementing them is the appropriate places is a must.
Number Five:
Meta Tags – these are special tags on the source code of your website that tells the browser about your website. It helps you rank with search engines also. The tags are invisible to a normal visitor. It is important you know what your meta tags are and how to use them wisely.
Number Six:
Your Domain Name – Besides just building a website, things such as hosting and domain name play an important role in website creation. Choosing a domain name can mean the different between success or failure. Choosing the wrong domain name can definitely hurt you. For example; If your site was about dogs you would not want a domain name referring to golf.
Number Seven:
A Sitemap – having a sitemap on your website is always a good idea. This will help with search engines. It also makes finding things on your web site easier for your visitors and search engines. There are a few different ways to accomplish this, you can list all your pages on one page and name it sitemap, or you can put some articles relating to your website. Whichever way you choose, always put a sitemap on your web site.
Keeping these 7 steps in mind while designing your website you will be on your way to having a good web site designing technique. One of the things I’ve learned is to keep your web site simple and clean, don’t get carried away with putting a bunch of banners and flashy things up, it only distracts your visitors from doing what they came to your site to do, either buy from you or sign up for your service or product.
So keep it simple and clean!
For more information and detailed step by step tutorial pick up your copy of Introduction to the Basics of Web Design
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