Archive for March, 2008

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Understanding HTML For A Better Business

Sunday, March 30th, 2008

What Is HTML? 

HTML or Hypertext Markup Language, is the predominant language in which most Internet web pages are based.  HTML accomplishes a number of tasks via a web page, including describing the structure of text based information to be displayed within the page (font sizes, text colors and formats, etc.), providing a means for the user to interact with the site via web forms, and embedding images and other types media for display to the user.

When an HTML page is provided to a user’s web browser over the Internet, the web browser will “translate” the HTML code into the format that will be displayed to the user.
HTML is written in the form of labels (known as tags).  Each tag includes an “open” tag and a “close” tag, and the text that is contained within the opening and closing tags.  For example, text can be made bold by using the <b> and </b> tag pair, so that the following HTML code will display the bold text word “Hello” in the user’s web browser.
<b>
Hello
</b>
HTML pages can also incorporate or embed the code for one or more “scripting languages”, including JavaScript, PHP, CGI, and ASP.Net.

What Can HTML Do for Me?

HTML provides the basic structure for your website, so it’s the foundation for your business getting its message to customers and potential customers.  When you understand the basic principles of HTML, you can begin to format your web pages to have a more unique and in- house appearance.  Brand recognition is important in business, and a little HTML coding can change a template style web page into something that is unique and recognizable.  In addition to displaying advertising copy, pictures, brochures and the like, you can also:

· Provide users with a feedback form to submit basic information to you through the website.
· Generate an email
· Offer a Guestbook

 

How Do I Learn HTML?

As you might suspect, there is a seemingly endless supply of web-based tutorials and instructional materials for learning about HTML.  There are a number of Internet-based tutorials to get you started, and to instruct you on any particular detail or HTML feature that you’re interested in.

Another way to “learn” HTML is simply to create you website using a web-authoring program, and examine the HTML code behind it.  We’ll talk about a few of the leading web-authoring programs later in this article.

Do I Need To Learn It?

Strictly speaking, you don’t need to become an HTML expert to build and administer your businesses website.  Many of the most popular tools for website construction include powerful capabilities (including many that most websites may never utilize).  As an added benefit, some of these programs are available at no cost. 

Since the HTML that serves as the backbone of a website is basically just text, any text editor (including Microsoft’s Notepad) can be used to create a website.  Even though writing HTML code directly in a text editor can eventually help you to better understand what’s going on “under the hood”, spending the time necessary to become a hardcore HTML coder might simply not be an option. 

In contrast, there are also popular programs that make it much easier to create your website layout and design through graphical user interface.  These programs do the heavy lifting, and will automatically assemble the HTML code based on the design you make.

Dreamweaver

Adobe’s Dreamweaver is one of the leading commercial web design software packages available today.  Dreamweaver has a reputation within in the web design community as being very rich in features, and one that generates very “clean” or more standards-compliant code.  (This means that, in theory, the Dreamweaver code should run more predictably on a broader range of web browsers.)  Dreamweaver also has strong support for CSS, JavaScript, XML, and a variety of other functionalities that are commonly used on “higher end” websites.  In addition, Dreamweaver has tight integration with Adobe’s other design programs, including Photoshop and Flash.  This can be a time-saver if you are using (or decide to use) those other programs.

On the other hand, Dreamweaver is expensive, compared to other commercial options.  In addition, many feel that because there are so many features and functions available in the program, it can be intimidating for new users and designers.

Expression Web

Microsoft’s Expression Web (the successor to the venerable FrontPage software) is Microsoft’s web authoring tool and is considered to be one of the leading web design tool available today. 

Expression Web has many (if not most) of the same tools as are available in Dreamweaver, and boasts strong integration with Microsoft’s other design and infrastructure products, such as Visual Studio, SharePoint, and the Office suite of products.  In addition, Expression Web’s menu structures and look-and-feel will be familiar to users of other Microsoft Office products, which can make it easier for those already accustomed to Microsoft products.

Note, however, that the source code that Expression Web generates is sometimes not as clean as that created by Dreamweaver (or coded directly into HTML using a simple text editor), so this may result in some problems (or at least some additional time required) if you decide to use Dreamweaver to modify a page that was created in Expression Web.  In addition, some page elements (such as tables) can require additional work if created in one program and then edited in another.

Nvu

For those who want to create relatively simple websites, without some of the fancy features that are available with Dreamweaver and Expression Web might wish to consider the open source product Nvu.  Nvu has a graphical user interface like Dreamweaver and Expression Web, and is very efficient at making much HTML coding easier and quicker.  As an open source product, Nvu is free of charge, and relatively well supported by its user community.

Web-Based Programs and Templates

Finally, be aware that there are a number of web-based authoring programs (such as Homestead) and template services available.  These options often require very little effort in terms of design and coding, and are generally available at very reasonable prices.  Keep in mind, however, that because most templates are or have been available to other users, you might wind up with a design that is not unique, or doesn’t provide your website with a sufficiently distinct identity.

How to Move Forward

At the end of the day, any web authoring tool is likely to have both have pluses and minuses.  Before committing to license any particular package, take a little time to try any available online or downloadable trial versions of the package.  The key to deciding is to identify your current and future needs, and balance this against your budget for the project.  While choosing a particular tool won’t forever tie you to using that same tool in the future, making a thoughtful decision at the outset can help you to avoid spending time making corrections and adjustments down the road.

In closing, if you’d rather NOT learn HTML or just find it too confusing but still need it to help you with your business you should check out MemberSpeed software solution.

MemberSpeed has full HTML editors built in everwhere you need to make your job easier. All you have to do is type and save. To learn more you can take MemberSpeed for a Free Test Drive here. http://www.memberspeed.com/Free_Test_Drive/optin.html

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Affiliate Marketing: Myths And Facts

Thursday, March 27th, 2008

Discover the Myths and Facts of Affiliate Marketing.

Affiliate marketing has the reputation of being a gold mine of financial wealth with little or no work involved to attain these tremendous riches.  While you can earn a substantial income as an affiliate marketer, there is work involved particularly now because the popularity of affiliate marketing has grown to the extent that a marketer will likely have tremendous competition.  This makes doing your research and establishing a niche vitally important. 

Once you start researching affiliate programs in greater detail, you’re likely to come across a number of myths about this kind of business.  It’s easy to see why some of these myths have come about.  Some people always want to believe in the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, in this case, that affiliate marketing programs are something capable of earning them a great fortune overnight.

In this article we will identify some of the myths and misconceptions surrounding these programs, and attempt to clear up some of the confusion around those myths.  Discovering what the most common assumptions are can help you achieve greater success in your affiliate marketing efforts.

Affiliate Marketing Myth: 
Affiliate marketing is a “no-brainer”.  This is most definitely not the case.  It’s true that affiliate marketing programs will generally eliminate or automate many of the technical tasks that come with promoting and selling another company’s products and services.  But selecting and configuring the best programs for you is not necessarily a simple decision, and there is no one program that is best for every single person. 

Fact: 
You will most certainly need to use your brain to succeed as an affiliate marketer.

 Myth: 
I only need to join one good affiliate program.  You might be tempted to identify the affiliate program that seems to be the best fit for your website. However, consumers generally like to do at least a little bit of comparison shopping, so you will want to give them some choice.  You may want to consider marketing a few products that are in direct competition with one another (assuming that the terms of each affiliate program permit you to do so).

Fact: 
You will want to focus your efforts on marketing programs that complement one another.  For example, if you run a culinary-focused website, then you could market cookware alongside affiliate offers for specialty ingredients and cookbooks.

Myth: 
The more affiliate programs I have, the better. 
If one affiliate program is not enough, then you should try to maximize the number you have, right?  Wrong.  If there are too many choices, then some potential customers may feel overwhelmed or confused, or perhaps that you haven’t carefully screened your affiliate partners.  These potential customers are most often likely not to purchase through you at all. 

Fact: 
Your patrons want to rely upon you to provide only the best affiliate offers to them when you have too many affiliate programs, you risk credibility.

Myth: 
Affiliate marketing is easy; it practically runs itself. 
Affiliate marketing does give you the opportunity to make money easily without many of the complications and difficulties associated with direct marketing.  But like any other business or professional pursuit, your success depends largely upon the effort you put forth. 

Fact: 
In order to maximize the effectiveness of your affiliate programs, you will need to monitor how many of your customers are considering (or clicking the links for) your affiliate programs, and how many of those are actually following through to purchase.  Sometimes moving an affiliate link or graphic to a different part of your webpage will greatly increase your success rate, but you need to have the data available to be able to make comparisons of effectiveness.

Myth: 
Affiliate marketing is a money-making machine.  You can definitely add to your bottom line by incorporating a few carefully-selected affiliate marketing programs to your website.  However, be aware that there is a great deal of competition among the affiliates of each particular program, and there is only a certain amount of consumer spending to go around. 

Fact:
Make sure you have reasonable expectations as you begin affiliate marketing (because you can earn a decent return on your efforts), so that you don’t become frustrated and quit before the program gets going.

Myth: 
I’ll have to spend too much money promoting my affiliate programs. 
It’s true that to be a successful affiliate marketer you’ll need to do some promotional activities.  The mistake some marketers make is focusing on quantity over quality.  Rather than trying to increase the total number of potential customers who see your affiliate products, you will want to try to increase the total number of quality potential customers who see them.  You can achieve this (and keep within a carefully considered budget) by careful Pay-Per-Click advertising, and by focusing on building a quality subscriber base, rather than simply promoting the products themselves.

Fact: 
Careful budgeting, testing, and planning will help you make financially sound, and profitable, decisions.

Myth: 
I’ll be able to tell right away whether my affiliate marketing efforts have been successful.  This is rarely the case.  In fact, it is very
 hard to predict exactly how long it will take for your affiliate programs to be successful. 

Fact: 
You may need to spend some time and effort learning how best to promote your program, or your program may simply involve products that have a longer sales cycle.

The Internet has so many myths about how to achieve success in affiliate marketing that new marketers will likely become confused about what’s true and what isn’t.  Do detailed research on any program you’re considering joining, and then jump in.  The success of your affiliate marketing programs it entirely dependent on your hard work.  There are a variety of ways to market affiliate products including via quality informative content, paid advertisements and pay per click campaigns, and all of those ways require a good head on your shoulders and careful tracking and assessment.

If you have patience and work hard, you’ll be able to achieve the results you want.

If you are looking for a solid, realiable and powerful affiliate management software to run your own affiliate program you should check out the MemberSpeed Affiliate Management Software here.

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CMS Solutions, Are They Right For Your Business And How Do You Find A Good One?

Saturday, March 22nd, 2008

What is CMS?

CMS stands for content management system.  It is basically a system by which you store and make files available to multiple users.  The files stored can be just about any type of file from documents to audio or video files to databases and images.  The purpose behind many content management systems is to enable collaboration.  For example, a content management system can store company documents maybe a proposal for a sale. 

If a company has several branches, authorized people from any branch can access the file and make adjustments, comments, or simply view the file.  This works well for companies that out source projects as well as internal uses like legal documents, sales bids and proposals and even website development. 

One of the basic strengths and uses of content management systems is that they facilitate collaborative environments. 

Where can you find a Content management system for your business?

To begin, there are a large number of options from freeware to high end expensive solutions costing more than $15,000 on up.  Then there are also open source options which while free can take many many hours to set up yourself and may not be the best solution for a proper business. 

Some of your open source options include:

• DotNetNuke which runs on an ASP.NET platform and supports Microsoft SQL Server databases

• Apache which runs on a Lenya Java, XML, or Apache Cocoon platform.

• Fedora runs on a Java and supports MySQL or Oracle database solutions

• WordPress runs on PHP  and supports MySQL

• PHP-Nuke which runs on PHP and also supports MySQL

There are of course more than 50 open source Content management systems.  Now not all open source solutions are created equal and each need to be evaluated by what they can do for you, note that their price tag of free doesn’t take into consideration your time on setup, fixing bugs and making them all fit together to run a proper business. 

Experts agree that you will want to evaluate the following criteria:

1. Web application platform.  Look for a programming language that you are familiar with or that is widely accepted and easy to use. Additionally, the more operating systems and database solutions it is compatible with, the better for you and your business. 

2. Software license.  If you are going to change the software and redistribute it, you will absolutely need to investigate the particular licenses attached to the software.  Don’t assume because it is labeled open source that it is license free. 

3. Stability and development activity.  Many open source products are supremely stable because developers worldwide have the ability to improve, enhance, and strengthen the software without restriction.  That, in essence, is the core of open source products.  That being said, it would be foolish to assume that all open source products are stable and being consistently developed.  Some projects simply get abandoned.  Check to see when the latest version has been released and how many versions were released prior.  That is a good indication of the activity level.  Also, and active bug list on the website as well as a current list of bug solutions is a good indicator of developer activity.

4. User community.  The more people using an open source product, the better generally because this means people are actively striving to improve it and commercial enterprises are likely to partner with it to provide compatible software solutions.  For example, Google and Yahoo partner with Apache, the pioneers of open source. 

5. Documentation and source code are also good signs of continuous development and a working and viable product.  The documentation also reassures you that if you have problems or questions, there is documentation to help you out.

6. Web standards, accessibility.  Yes, there are open source web standards and the World Wide Web Consortium is one of the governing bodies.  Visit the WWWC website and make sure the content management product you’re considering checks out. 

7. Suitability and usability.  This shouldn’t be last on the list because if a product doesn’t offer the features you need, then it isn’t a product you should evaluate.  Make sure the content management system you’re researching meets your needs and provides the features you will need.  These may be accessibility features, tracking features, assigning tasks, formatting etc…

Outside of open source content management systems you will find some commercial options such as MemberSpeed.  These generally range in price from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand depending on their options.  Like open source options, commercial options support various platforms from PHP to web based content management systems and they support a variety of databases.  If you are considering an entry level commercial system you will want to evaluate them by the same basic criteria you’re evaluating open source options. 

One factor that wasn’t mentioned in open source criteria is tech support.  This is often because open source tech support is not your standard call and get an answer type situation.  Open source products generally ask you to report a bug and a developer will work on a solution. 

However, when you’re paying for a solution, tech support is a key component and something you will want to evaluate.  It won’t do you much good if your CMS goes down on a busy Monday morning and tech support isn’t answering your calls. For example, MemberSpeed has a fully dedicated support desk manned by experts who are ready to help its customers 24/7.

There are quite extensive CMS solutions offered by large companies like IBM and Oracle.  These products generally cost upwards of $15,000 on up and are extremely powerful and often beyond the scope of most small to middle sized companies. 

However, there are many small to mid sized business CMS solutions like MemberSpeed that are very robust and powerful yet affordable for even a home based business to use.

If you outsource any aspect of your business, rely on employees working off site, or operate in multiple locations, a content management system will make your workflow more seamlessly.  It will enable people to collaborate quickly and easily on a variety of tasks and your production will increase. 

While there are many commercial CMS options, the open source options available will likely meet most or all of your content management needs.  File sharing becomes as easy as logging onto the system and opening a document.  Collaboration is as easy as posting comments or making changes to documents, images, and even audio files.

If you’d like to take a free test drive of the MemberSpeed CMS membership management software you can get details here:

Click here to take MembeSpeed for a Free Test Drive.

Enjoy!

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