Once you decide to start your own internet business you
will experience the challenge of building your own web
site. There are factors you need to consider such as what
platform you will go for. Personally I would go for a
Unix/MySQl/Php configuration over Windows. The reason for
this is that you get a lot free scripts that you can use
and their are plenty of paid scripts as well. You also do
not have to pay any licensing fees for software.

Use websites like Website Wizard When first starting out on
the internet. Building your own web site can be a daunting
task. You need to learn Html, Php, Cgi and MySQL which can
be quite difficult. You also need to learn how to setup
your credit card processing, mailing list and affiliate
program. To be successful you need to focus most of your
efforts on marketing. I suggest you use a system like
Website Wizard which has most of the modules that you need
built into it. This allows you to focus on your marketing
efforts.

In the long run I suggest you read a few html tutorials and
learn a lot of the web site design skills. For things which
are more complicated you can always outsource this. However
being able to do a lot of the tasks yourself will help you
to save money. Creating your own web site with your own
look and feel will always set you apart from competitors
and give you a distinct advantage.

Follow these how to build your own web site tips and you
will discover that building your own web site can be a lot
of fun.

Would you like to know more about the techniques that have helped me to quit my day job? I have just completed my new guide.

Download it free here: Secrets Of Internet Marketing

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

Creating a site blueprint using all the keywords generated from regular keyword research is one of the smartest things a content site developer could do. The advantages far outweigh the initial time (and tedium) spent to get it set up. These advantages include an increase in productivity, and an ease in maintaining motivation to develop more content as time goes on. With a blueprint, site navigation structure is generally more logical and user-friendly. And as sites age, a well-planned site avoids the chaos of one where pages added at whim. This makes it easier to maintain from a search engine optimization perspective - especially considering the trend towards the inclusion of latent semantic indexing as a ranking factor. Overall, developing a site blueprint can add significantly to a webmaster’s bottom line.

There is no doubt that it takes time to manually create a comprehensive site blueprint with a good keyword list. Given that, for a content site, one would probably have a minimum of 500 to 1000 keywords generated, a lot of sorting is involved. Such a content website would not normally use all of those keywords to create articles in the initial stages - unless page generators are used, or the developer has very deep pockets to hire writers. Neither of these scenarios is likely to apply to webmasters interested in building a good quality, sustainable business.

Yet it is an extraordinary waste of good foundation research to leave those keywords on the table. The reality facing most webmasters who don’t use a blueprint, and who continue adding articles to their site, is chaos. At best, the navigation becomes very cumbersome. It is certainly difficult to incorporate latent semantic indexing into such a site, and this can affect organic search rankings.

When a blueprint is created in a visual form, where the hierarchy of pages is represented in a tree, chart, or some kind of keyword map, it becomes very easy to pick up where you left off in days, months, and years to come. Instead of wasting time trying to figure out what needs to be done, it can be seen at a glance. If tree style editing software is used, notes can be left that eliminate the need to repeat any preliminary work completed, but lost on the hard drive. New ideas can be recorded next to the appropriate keywords. Synonyms can be listed. Essentially, the process is the difference between a well-organized filing cabinet and notes kept in 20 different places on the computer. That is a big improvement in productivity, and the benefits flow in a number of ways to motivation.

One of the problems facing webmasters is time management. A lot of time can get wasted doing non-productive things, and the tendency to seek those distractions out can be exacerbated by a latent sense of bewilderment (or overwhelm). You may know vaguely what needs to be done, but it can be difficult to get started without a clear plan. Without keeping track of what has been done and what needs to be finished, we aren’t able to hold ourselves accountable. Our websites can stagnate, and we wonder what happened to that income that once seemed so promising. A little bit of effort at the start of a new site can pay big dividends in the long run.

A good website blueprint can provide the structure for hundreds of articles. If webmasters want to add content on a regular and ‘natural’ basis (in the eyes of the search engines), a blueprint is a very visual and practical way to ensure the growth of a site. Search engines, and visitors are able to follow the intent of the site in a logical manner. And it should be simple to incorporate new keyword research. Organization at the start is one of the best ways to develop a large site - and search engines love large sites.

If you need any convincing on the importance of great content in website development, click here. Rebecca writes on developing and setting up viable home businesses here.

Improving your website’s ability to do what you want it to do (capture a subscriber or get a sale) is one of the most important skills you’ll possess. If you ask me, having this skill has the possibility to increase your profits by 200% to 300%. Traffic still remains a the number one key factor, but imagine if you drive 100 visitors to your website everyday, and one buys. If you can make two people buy instead, you have just doubled your profit. It is a simple concept, but implementing it can be a slightly different story. In this article I’m going to discuss 5 easy ways to skyrocket your website conversion rates.

Adding a guarantee

This is one of the number one rules of a web page if you are selling something, especially if it is a high-ticket item. You want to give your customer an element of safety when he purchases. This is especially so on the web where the consumer can’t see or feel the product for himself! Adding a guarantee tells the customer that you have confidence in your product. Sure, some customers will rip you off, but you’ll make far more sales with a guarantee.

Having an attention-grabbing headline

The headline is the first, and sometimes the only thing, your visitor will read. If you can grab your visitor’s emotions with your headline, it is more likely he will stay to read the rest of your website’s copy. The more your visitor reads, the more likely he or she is to take your desired action, be it a sale or an opt-in.

Using testimonials and endorsements

Having testimonials from satisfied customers is a proven way to increase conversion rates. It gives your website ’social proof’ and the visitor will think that if others have experienced positive results with your product, then it possible for them to do so as well. You can also ask experts to endorse your product, further adding credibility to your business.

Ease the sales process

Your website should have one or two objectives only, whether to get the sale or/and opt-in. If you provide too many options, your visitor may get confused and live your website. Don’t add too many links or Adsense advertisements to your website. If you make it easy and tell your visitor what to do, it is likely he’ll follow your instructions. People actually like being told what to do! Albeit subconsciously.

Emphasize benefits in your sales copy

This may sound obvious, but a lot of marketers still do not adhere to do this. Benefits are more emotional-based and will pull more sales because ultimately, emotions are what make people buy!

There you have it, five tips to instantly increase your website’s conversion rate. Start using them today, and instantly see an increase in your bottomline!

Fabian Tan makes a short trip to his office everyday - his home! In 2006, he ‘murdered’ his job and now earns a solid income online. Go behind the scenes to discover more of his job-killing strategies and secrets at MurderYourJob.com

While it is true that your squeeze page is critical to generating leads, it is also important to correctly set up and optimize your branding website. What exactly should you put on your branding website? What format should you use? Following are tips from an Internet marketing guru.

Branding Website Format:
The general format and layout of your branding website should resemble the format and layout of your sales letter. This means that the header, footer, and side lines in your sales letter should be used on your branding website as well. The header, footer, and side lines are a great way to enclose text. This layout gives a clean look that is easy on the eyes and loads quickly.

The most important feature on your branding website is the Opt-In box. This is so critical that is bears repeating. The most important feature on your branding website is the Opt-In box. The Opt-In box enables website visitors to sign up for your subscriber list. The Opt-In box should be placed on the far left hand side of the branding website. This is the area where eyes tend to go first when people come across your branding website. Having a visible Opt-In box provides an easy opportunity to subscribe to your list.

Your branding website should also include information about the products and services that you offer. For example, coaching, speaking, promoting, and product information should be presented. This allows the website visitor to become familiar with you and your products/services.

Make sure to also provide two free resources. Free resources demonstrate to visitors that you are not solely out for their money, but will offer them something free in the beginning of the relationship. Free resources can be anything you choose. Common examples include free articles, e-zines, and audios.

Don’t forget to have an “About You” section on your branding website. Provide your background, credentials, and even a photo. You may want to brand your face along with your products. Displaying a photo helps visitors to feel more comfortable with your products and services. They see the “face” behind the Internet business.

Also include testimonials and press releases on your branding website. Potential clients want to see your track record through testimonials. They also want to find out what your Internet business has been up to through the press releases.

Make sure that you provide contact information. Encourage website visitors to contact you if they questions or concerns. This way you are promoting an open, comfortable business relationship.

Branding Website Optimization:
Many Internet business entrepreneurs want to know how to optimize their branding site. Simple, you optimize it the same way you optimize your squeeze page. Remember, the goal is to have your squeeze page rank #1 in the search engines, while your branding website ranks #2. The key is to have search engine visitors see your name in the first few spots in the search engine results. This will help promote your image as the authority on that specific topic.

Matt Bacak began investing his first earnings at the tender age of 12, a young businessman in the making. Now, 15 years later, Bacak survived failed businesses, botched partnerships, heavy credit card debt and bankruptcy - all in preparation for the accomplishments he has achieved today as a well-established Internet millionaire and best-selling author.

For more information, visit http://www.powerfulpromoter.com or sign up for his Powerful Promoting Tips at http://www.promotingtips.com

If you have an Internet business then your website or websites are the foundation of your business. The look, feel, and perception of your website can make or break your success. Therefore, you want to maximize the effectiveness of your website to bring in subscribers and boost sales. Following are common questions regarding Internet business websites that every Internet entrepreneur should know.

Website Question #1: How do you set up a squeeze page?

The basic steps for setting up a squeeze page include:

1.-Make sure you have a domain and hosting account.

2.-Verify that your domain is on your hosting account.

3.-Go into Microsoft FrontPage and build a website. Microsoft FrontPage is simple to use and will walk you through the steps to build a website.

4.-Make sure that your Autoresponder form matches the form on your squeeze page so that your Autoresponder will correctly capture personal information from the squeeze page.

Other tips include writing a catchy headline that will grab visitors’ attention. Entice people to subscribe to your list by giving them free items such as a free newsletter, bonus report, or eBook.

Website Question #2: Should you have a photo of yourself on your squeeze page?
Be careful of having photos on your squeeze page because photos have large file sizes. If you do use a photo you need to make sure that you shrink the size of the photo file otherwise it will take too long to boot up your squeeze page. This will frustrate visitors and they may skip going to your page because they have to wait too long.

Also, when visitors view your squeeze page their eyes will first be attracted to a photo before they read anything else. Sometimes they may miss important information on your website if they are distracted by a photo. Therefore, it is recommended that you avoid using photos on your squeeze page and stick to text. Text is easier and your squeeze page will load much faster.

Follow these website tips and visitors will be subscribing at a rapid pace!

Matt Bacak began investing his first earnings at the tender age of 12, a young businessman in the making. Now, 15 years later, Bacak survived failed businesses, botched partnerships, heavy credit card debt and bankruptcy - all in preparation for the accomplishments he has achieved today as a well-established Internet millionaire and best-selling author.

For more information, visit http://www.powerfulpromoter.com or sign up for his Powerful Promoting Tips at http://www.promotingtips.com

Last Sunday at church a prominent building contractor approached me and asked quite innocently, “What do you charge to build a web site?”

I cocked my left eyebrow, looked him square in the eye and asked, “what would you charge to build a house?” He half-heartedly laughed and said, “Well my dear, that depends on what type of house you want!”

My point EXACTLY!

He paused for just a second… (do you see the “ah-ha!” light bulb appearing?) It was at that moment he realized that there is a lot more to creating a website than one might assume.

I went on to explain that just like building a new home, to build a website you need:

• - a well thought out blueprint
• - appropriate codes and permits
• - equipment and materials
• - an experienced labor force
• - and a solid footer and foundation to build the home on

Then you can begin:

• - framing in the house
• - installing electrical and plumbing lines
• - hanging drywall
• - installing windows, staining trim, installing cabinets, cupboards, bathroom fixtures
• - painting, plastering, carpeting and a bunch of other “-ings” plus millions of other annoying little details

So what does building a house have to do with a website?

EVERYTHING!

Let me break down your home, and your homepage.

• Blueprint = Web site map, big dreams, and a copy of “The Secret” DVD
• Codes & Permits = domain, hosting, and a blessing from the all mighty FTC & WWW police.
• Equipment & materials = software, hardware, project collaboration tools, a large bottle of Tylenol, and a hard-working industrial coffee maker!
• Experienced labor force = seasoned project managers, staff developers, programmers, and the patience, wisdom and vision of Mother Theresa!
• Footer & foundation = Site architecture, database development, and lots of perks (beer & pizza) to keep your programmers happy
• Framing = back-end programming, directories, assets, and whatcha’majiggers
• Utilities = highly technical thingies that make the website more enjoyable
• Drywall = individual web pages with groovy gizmos
• Cabinets, cupboards & toilets = shopping carts, copywriting, and a common user interface
• Painting, plastering, and those other “-ing’s” = Graphic and/or flash development & design - cosmetic surgery for websites!

And of course, those million other annoying little details don’t go away either!

But seriously…

Building a house, a car, a rocket, or a website takes proper planning.

Nail down your plans, or else you may end up with a motor home that goes 300mph instead of a 3 bedroom condo! That’s a visual!

Donna Payne is the Chief Web Goddess of The Web Coach.net a web development, coaching and marketing firm, and is known as the gal to call when you’re feeling overwhelmed. Learn Money & Time Saving Techniques that everyone should know when working with a web designer or building a website yourself. Download your FREE “Quick-Start Web workbook” and accompanying MP3 at http://thewebcoach.net “No PAYNE - No GAIN!”

When you first start thinking about building a website, you’ll need to know there are several options available -

1) You can hire a designer to build the website for you
2) You can learn HTML and build your website by hand coding
3) You can buy website templates and modify them to suit your needs
4) You can use an HTML editor

Hiring a Website Designer -

This is probably the easiest choice for getting your website built, since someone else will be doing the actual building. It’s also the most expensive way to go. Having your website built can vary considerably in price, depending upon the complexity of your website and the experience level of the designer you choose.

Sometimes, you can find local help from young people just getting started. They’re willing to work for a low price because they enjoy building websites and they’re interested in gaining more experience. Under these circumstances, you should expect to pay perhaps $100 or so for a fairly small website. Some high schools and colleges offer classes in web design, so check them out to see if they can recommend a budding designer that can help you.

If you’d rather hire a professional, expect to pay considerably more. A professionally designed website, depending upon complexity, can cost from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars.

You can download a free HTML editor at pagebreeze.com You can also search for ‘free HTML editor’ at Google to find other choices.

If you want to have an experienced designer build your website, but you don’t have the budget to hire a professional, there are alternatives. You could post your project on one of the online freelance sites and take bids. I have done this with projects before and I was able to get good quality work done at very reasonable prices. You can try elance.com or rentacoder.com to get started. This method will probably cost less than half of what you’d pay a commercial website designer.

Learning HTML -

Although HTML isn’t terribly complicated, it may take some time before you’re comfortable enough with it to build anything more than the most simple websites. In order to take full advantage of the available technology, many websites incorporate Javascript, PHP, databases, Flash presentations, etc. If you’re an absolute beginner, it may take you a while to come up to speed with all this.

Unless you just feel compelled to learn HTML, Javascript and all that, I don’t recommend that you code your website yourself. As a beginner, it will take you a lot of time to ‘get it all right’, and you may be better off finding a faster method of getting your website online. If your intention is to make money with your website, you’ll want to get it producing an income sooner, rather than later.

If you want to learn how to code HTML yourself, there are plenty of learning resources available. Just go to Google and search for ‘HTML tutorial’.

Website Templates -

Using a website template falls somewhere between coding HTML yourself and hiring it done. A template is a ready made webpage that has all the basic code to be displayed on the web. Generally, all you do is add your content. In most cases, you’ll open the template file using a plain text editor, such as Windows Notepad, then paste in your own content.

Templates are available in a wide variety of styles and layouts. They vary quite a bit in complexity and appearance, so prices vary considerably. In most cases, a decent template will cost from about $15 to over $100. By searching, you can also find free templates. When looking for free templates, be prepared to look at a great many of them before you find one that suits your taste.

HTML editors -

There are many HTML editors available, such as Microsoft Frontpage, Dreamweaver and others. Be prepared to pay $200 to $400 for a good, high quality professional editor.

The big advantage of an HTML editor is that you can build webpages without having extensive knowledge of the underlying HTML code. These editors work sort of like Microsoft Word - they give you ‘point and click’ capability. These editors have many built in features and a lot of power, so you’ll probably have a steep learning curve when you first get started.

As an alternative, you can find free HTML editors. The free editors are good for building fairly simple websites, but they lack some of the more sophisticated features present within the higher priced editors. However the free editors are a good choice for getting started. And due to their simplicity, it won’t take you as long to become productive.

Author: Carson Danfield
To Know much about building a website, follow this link
SevenDollarSolution.com

The first thing a start-up web builder must know, is where everything is. You have your computer and then someone else has another computer called the server computer. To have a website, you must rent space on that server computer. That’s where your website will exist - not on your computer, but rather on your server’s computer.

A server is a computer in an Internet host facility.

Any website operates from, and is on, a server somewhere in the world. That server is just another computer, but most people’s websites are on servers that are in shared hosting facilities.

An Internet host facility is a building containing many computers, all of them connected to the Internet. The server computers run server software that presents your website to any visitor that goes to your domain name. That host facility is usually a big warehouse full of computers and air conditioning systems, and a few harried individuals who run around trying to keep the computers working.

The strange thing about most of our websites is that we’ve never physically been there. We go there in our web browsers and our FTP programs (which will be explained later) and work on our sites. But very few website owners ever walk into the room where the actual computer is that hosts and runs our websites.

For example, you could be in your office or home in Texas and your website could be in lower Manhattan. It doesn’t matter where it is. But the key element when you work on your website is that you must communicate between your computer and the server computer.

When you work on your site you commonly have to move files from your computer to the server computer. If you write an article, you have to upload - that is, move those words in that text file - from your computer to the server.

Then when people go to your website, they will in fact be going to that server computer to read your article. Neither one of you has to know where the physical server is. So it’s that communication link between your computer and the server computer that is the important link in your ability to build and maintain a website.

One of the fundamental concepts here is that you upload files from your computer to the server computer. You can also download files from the server computer to your computer. You commonly do that with what’s called an FTP program.

FTP means file transfer protocol. It just means a program that knows how to move files from one place to the other. For more on FTP and web building, Website-DoItYourself will take you step by step through the process.

Creating a website or repairing a website that already exists, you have to be able to upload and download files; to modify them on your computer; and to upload them to the server computer.

Then when someone goes to your website, what that means is their browser on their computer links up to the server, and that server computer sends them a copy of your article. It appears on your visitor’s computer screen in their browser window.

That’s what we call going to a website.

Suzann Kale is a technical writer and copy editor. She helps edit http://www.Website-DoItYourself.com and has written many articles for science-oriented sites and hard copy magazines. She also runs a site on cosmetics and animal safety.

CRON is a function in Unix and Linux operating systems which allows you to schedule a job and the job will run at the date and time scheduled until you delete the CRON statement.

Initially, you may consider this to be too technical for you, but not so if you will carefully read this article. It is a function of which you should be aware. Even if you do not need it now, remember about CRON for the day you will need it.

Apache server includes this function and it is easy to use with the graphical interface.

The format for CRON is “CRON * * * * * Command to execute” Each asterisk represents a field in the command and can contain the following values. If you do not want to specify a value for that particular field, leave the asterisk in that position in the CRON statement line. Each of the five fields is separated by white space.

Here are the values that each field (left to right) can have other than the asterisk:

Field ——– Value —– Description

minute —– 00-59 ——exact minute the cron executes

hour ——– 00-23 —— hour of the day the cron executes(0 =midnight)

day ——— 01-31 —— day of the month the cron executes

month —— 01-12 —— month of the year the cron executes

weekday — 00-06 —– ay of the week the cron executes
(Sunday = 0, Monday = 1, Tuesday = 2, etc)

command —varies —— sequence of commands to execute

What prompted the need for the CRON on our site was our use of the software package that required that we copy the ClickBank master file into a file on the Boomer-eZine website periodically so our copy is kept current with the ClickBank master.

Since we get busy and forget to do this weekly, a method to have our web host perform this automatically was the answer.

The CRON function is very flexible and can be set to run on almost any time frequency you can imagine.

If you specify a minute in the first field and an hour (24 hour clock) in the second field and leave all the other fields as asterisks, the specified program will run on that hour and minute every day. If you want the program to run twice a day at 10 and 11 AM, you can write the CRON as:

CRON 0 10,11 * * * Command to execute With the proper combinations, you can set up a job to run automatically on almost any schedule that you can imagine.

Let’s try a few. Write a CRON to execute on every Sunday at midnight.

If you got “CRON 0 0 * * 0 Command to execute”, then you are right. The zero in the first position is on the hour. The zero in the second position is midnight. The zero in the fifth position (day of the week) is Sunday. This is what we used for our CRON settings for the CD AD Box update.

Set up a CRON to run once per year on the last day of the year at midnight.

CRON 0 0 31 12 * Command to execute If you have a graphical interface on your web server, it is easy to enter the CRON information

Sometimes the CRON function is difficult to find in your control panel. If you have difficulty finding it, send an email to the support group for your web host and ask if this is available and if so, where is it located.

As I said earlier, you may not need this right now, but remember it for when it will come in handy for you. It can greatly simplify the work of managing your website.

Copyright 2006 John Howe, Inc.

John V. W. Howe is an entrepreneur, author, inventor, patent holder, husband, father, and grandfather. He has been involved in entrepreneurial activities for over 40 years. He founded http://www.boomer-ezine.com and http://www.retirement-jobs-online.com to help Boomers (baby boomers) become entrepreneurs when they retire.

I once managed a large athletic park. It was a difficult job, fraught with all the troubles that any oversight job has, probably much like yours. From time to time, I would have the chance to give a tour of the place to someone who had never been there before. I always loved the opportunity. Being able to have a fresh set of eyes looking at your work, can be very revealing.

I would tour them around, watching their reactions, listening to their comments, and asking them questions about what they were seeing, then attempting to act on this new information to improve our service. What they saw was different from what I saw, because I was there every day, and my focus had become limited as a result. Try it at your job sometimes, you would be amazed, at what a different perspective can do to sharpen, and broaden your own focus.

The internet entities, who provide services for web users, could learn from this model. I took a tour through one of the major services, of their local small business listings, it took nine clicks, just to find my listing, and I knew where it was! I was not surprised that I had gotten no contacts through them.

A far worse plight awaits those who are not familiar, with all the technical jargon that has become so wide spread among internet based companies and their avid users. An outsider has no idea what is being said, and learning the stuff is worse than any language that I have ever tackled, and I know several!

With all the talk of domain names, “URL’s”, “ISP”, “SE”, “SEO”, “Nameservers”, “ftp”, “html”, “java script”, etc (those are the easy ones) anyone wanting to build a family website is left to find a company with a nice set of templates, and even then, much explanation is in order.

What I propose, is that providers of internet services, work on making the language a little easier to understand. Call one of your neighbors over and have them shop your business services. Find the most low tech human being you can find, and build your services around them! I really believe, that if this was done, many companies would be surprised at just how far from the reality of day to day life, that they have slipped.

There are many people who do not venture onto the internet, because of this gap in information. There are many more, who are interested, and may use their computers for e mail, or some searching, who would love to venture in further, but who will not do so, because of the language barrier.

Why should this be of interest to you if you are inside the business? Simple. You are missing out on an untapped market, thousands of potential customers, because you are speaking a different language!

James Burns is a licensed pest control professional, has been a Certified Professional Turfgrass Manager for more than 16 years, has a lifetime of experience in horticulture and agriculture, and is the owner of Rational Environmental Solutions, an IPM based pest control company in East Texas. He also has many helpful gardening tips at http://www.texpest.com