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April 21st, 2010Build A Better Online Business With Wordpress
February 15th, 2010If you read any popular blogging tips online (like on this site), WordPress is often the software behind the site. There’s a good reason for it too. WordPress is the best software to easily build a site and a blog without much technical know how. An increasing number of marketers are finding that it’s an amazing tool to help them grow a profitable business empire and are switching from Blogger.
Besides being a good communication tool, blogging is also a great way to make money. If you’re new to blogging and yet want to start quickly, there are several business models you can try for maximum results in a short time.
1) Get paid to blog - Using this method, you create your blog and add a few good articles to it. Then you signup with paid blogging networks like Pay Per Post or Review Me and see what “opportunities” are available. These networks are filled with advertisers looking for blogger who can help them spread the word, and they are willing to pay. Accept the opportunity, write about it on your blog, and you get paid.
2) Create AdSense WordPress blogs – This option requires a little more technical know-how. You need to build a WordPress blog on a specific niche topic, and start writing some good content on it. At the same time, try to get links from other blogs by leaving comment on the blogs or by doing a link exchange with the blogger. The objective is to get more traffic who will click on your AdSense ads and make you money.
3) Setup affiliate marketing on WordPress blogs – Again, you set-up a good WordPress blog but with this model the amount of content you publish is not as important as the “selling quality” of the content. Each post you write must pre-sell the web visitor and convince him to click on your affiliate links. When the visitor makes a purchase online after that, you get credited for the sale and earn commissions.
Ultimately, which model you choose depends on how much time and resources you can dedicate to creating and managing your blogs. Your best bet is to choose a low-investment option at first. When you get the hang of it, you can venture into other blogging models as well. Just find something you are passionate about and start writing. Sprinkle in some AdSense ads and then start writing about related affiliate marketing products. Using WordPress is the best platform to build your empire on and best of all, it’s free.
If you’re serious about learning WordPress and making money from your blog, I highly recommend checking out WordPress Wizard 2.0. It’s a great video tutorial series that walks you through everything from the basics of buying a domain, setting up web hosting, installing WordPress, and other great internet marketing strategies.
Useful Tips for Effective Web Design
January 16th, 2010Here are some essential web design tips that every web site should follow. Design your web site by following these tips and I guarantee that visitors will have a great first impression of your site.
- Fast Loading web site designs - This is the number 1 tip that every web designer should follow. You might design a web site that looks fantastic but few people are going to see it if it takes a long time to load. Your designs should be optimized for the web and should not take more than 15 seconds to load. Remember, you might have a great design but very few people are going to see it if it takes a long time to load.
- Clear Navigation - Once a visitor has come to your site you need to make them go through your site. To do this you need to have clear navigation. Make sure all your important links are at prominent places. Preferably right on top – that’s usually where a visitor first looks. Make use of menus on the right and the left. Try to link to as many pages of your site. Let your information be accessible from all parts of the site. You never know what a visitor may be interested in. Try to also use the footer for your important links.
- All Resolutions - Today, there are computers with all kinds of resolution. They range from 640 x 480 to 1024 x 768 and go even higher. Your job is to design your site for all these resolutions. The best way to do this is to design your site in terms of percentage and not pixels.
- Browser Compatibility - Make sure your site is browser compatible. Your web site should look good in Netscape as well as in Internet Explorer. Don’t stop designing your site as soon as you find that it looks great on IE. Usually Netscape gives some problems, especially when you try doing complicated HTML designs. But don’t give up too soon, usually with patience these problems can be easily fixed.
- Readable and professional looking fonts - Don’t ask me how many times I’ve clicked out of a site just because the font is in Comic Sans and the color is a bright pink or green. Just by looking at the font you feel that the site is not a professional site. Don’t use Comic Sans and other fancy fonts that may not be available on most computers. If the font you use is not available in a visitors computer the web site will use the default font of your computer which is much worse. So try to keep to common and professional web fonts. The fonts that I always stick to are Arial and Verdana.
- Minimize the use of images - I believe that sometimes simple designs are the most effective for the web. Keep your site simple but neat. Don’t clutter your page with big, bulky images that take ages to load. Instead use tables creatively and design eye – catching icons that will draw a visitor’s attention to a particular section of your site. Tip – Visitors are usually more interested in content than in design.
- Use of white space - Try not to clutter up your page with too many images, backgrounds and colorful fonts. Again use the Keep It Simple principle by minimizing the use of graphics and using a lot of white space. White space gives a sense of spaciousness and overall neatness to a site. Notice the white space in our site.
- Check for broken links - Always check for broken links within a site before uploading it to your web server. In Dreamweaver you can check for broken links by right clicking on any file in the Site Files Window and then clicking on Check links – Entire Site. If you don’t have this facility you need to upload your site and then check it using online tools like Net Mechanic.
Symbolism In Logos
January 2nd, 2010When getting your logo designed, it’s important to think carefully about what it will convey to others. Every shape, line and color in a logo will send a message to all who see it. Much has been written on the psychology of color and the effect that shape and imagery can have on viewers. But this prose will discuss the importance of having your logo mean something.
I’m not implying that each color you choose in a logo needs to represent a company value the way white represents purity in America’s red, white and blue flag, but thought should be put into the design to make sure each stroke has a place and that the design helps convey to others what your company does, what you stand for, what you provide and why people should choose you.
Consider, for example, the Citibank logo. You wouldn’t think the company spent much time on the logo, especially considering that all it comprises is a lowercase sans serif font and a small, arched red line. But the logo does mean something. The small font makes the large financial services company seem approachable–the same thing AT&T has done–and the red line actually represents an umbrella, with the ‘t’ serving as the handle. The umbrella symbolizes the security and protection you will likely receive if you use the company’s services. 
It’s possible that the average person would never think about all that, but at the very minimum, the logo looks nice and professional, and the red line does provide a more secure feeling than a lightening rod shape would.
What is too much symbolism?
Perhaps the biggest mistake a person can make when trying to incorporate symbolism into their logo is going overboard with it. It becomes a problem when too many elements are included that no one will ever figure out or care about. For example, the Visit Malaysia 2007 campaign logo is eye-catching, but it would be impossible to interpret all the symbolism that the organization claims is within the logo. 
Here are a few descriptive points on the rationale behind the logo:
- “The red heart-shaped petal is symbolic of the people of Malaysia welcoming the world with open arms and open hearts.”
- “The five dots on the stamen represent the country’s 50 years of independence.”
- “The yellow symbolizes our constitutional monarchy, belief in God, and the rule of law.”
The list goes on and on.
Clearly, no one could ever decipher all the embedded symbolism present in this design. It would have been better to keep a few symbolic elements, such as the national flower, and make the design simpler.
The right balance
Below is nearly a perfect blend of simplicity and symbolism. The icon was designed for Houston Southwest Airport by Ben Vines. You can see how the image includes the famous star shape that brings Texas to mind, but incorporates a compass shape that points to the Southwest. The arrow shape can also represent a plane traveling in that direction. The image is simple, is bulging with meaning, and is memorable. 
Having a logo that means something is important, but don’t make the mistake, as the designer of the Visit Malaysia 2007 logo did, of thinking that people will spend hours anaylizing a design to look for hidden meanings and symbols. Keep your logo design simple and have it mean something, and you’ll be on the right track.