Want to know how to put a favorites icon in your browser?

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If you notice I now have a favicon symbol next to the domain name in the browser. At least it is supposed to be working for everyone. I know it works in IE and Firefox. I had been wondering about how people got that tiny little picture beside their domain address in the browser. It was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be.

I did a google search and found this favicon creator site. It was easy and of course free. All I had to do was upload the image I wanted to use, save it to my computer, upload it to my server and then place the code they give you into the header of my template.

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April 13, 2007 | Filed Under Blogging Tips, Just Whatever, Web Site Tips | Leave a Comment 

Smart Page Rank - Cool New Ranking Tool

I am not sure where I found Smart PageRank. I think it may have been over at DoshDosh. I really like this pagerank tool because not only does it give you your site’s Google pagerank it also gives your Alexa score, the age of your domain, backlinks and indexed pages.

I love this tool because I can find a variety of information all on one site. I just wish it included the Technorati score. Smart PageRank will also tell you how much your blog is worth. I am sorry to Time To Budget is only worth $3,390. Not sure what that number really means but it doesn’t sound like very much for all the sweet I have put into this site.

Before I was introduced to Smart PageRank I was using a number of sites to find the same information. I am always happy when I find something that makes my life easier.

March 24, 2007 | Filed Under Blogging Tips, Just Whatever, Link Popularity Tips, Web Site Tips | 2 Comments 

Blog Design is Important- The 3 Do’s and Don’ts

Whether you are already a blogger or considering getting into blogging you need to understand that blog design really does matter. By this I don’t mean that you need to have the most creative or beautifully designed blog but it is important to stay away from some of the bad blog design techniques.

I am not an expert at blog design and only speak from personal experience. I surf the net regularly for new blogs and I have come across so very nice blogs and some that I can’t get off of quick enough. Most of the blogs I have visited are somewhere between the good and the bad.

Sometimes you may only get a few seconds to convince visitors your blog is worth reading. Just because you might have an interesting post doesn’t mean people will suffer through bad or annoying blog design to read your post. This has happened to me on several occasions. I have left sites because of hideous backgrounds that made my eyes hurt, confusing navigation and for too many advertisements that made it hard for me to find the content. I don’t think I am the only one who feels this way.

It’s important you understand that blog content is absolutely the most important part of your blog. It’s not the Adsense ads, not the affiliate banners, it’s not the cool widget or plugins that you have found. So design your blog to make the content easily read. It may be easier to think of it in relation to home design or photography. Your focal point should be your content and all the rest should be accents or background. This doesn’t  mean you have to make the ads invisible either. Just give them an accent feel.

Here are some Do’s and Don’t and for blog design. I’ll start with the Don’ts first.

The Don’ts

1. Don’t choose backgrounds that will shock people at first site causing them to take their eye off the content. You don’t want your readers to have to adjust eyes to read the content of your blog.

2. Don’t fill every single space with advertisements. Again, content is the most important section of your blog. You want people to feel comfortable and to find the content on your blog easily. My biggest pet peeve is when people fill every space with Adsense (Google) ads. I am all for making money with Adense but when it’s hard to see the content amongst the Google ads it can get very annoying. Someone would have to have excellent content for me to put up with that. “Advertisement Happy” blogs are also often difficult to navigate.

3. Don’t choose blog templates that are hard to navigate or that are just plain ugly. Unless of course ugly is the look you are going for. An ugly template would be bright, bright colors and poor navigation to name a few clue ins. You are much better of using a very simple plain design.

The Do’s

1. Do make your content the focal point of your blog. Try and view your site from a visitor’s point of view to determine whether your content is easily read. You may ask a friend to help you out with this one.

2. Do keep advertisements and bells and whistles to a minimum. Accent the content not overpower it with ads and bells and whistles.

3. Do use a color theme throughout your blog and with your Adsense Ads. On this blog I have opted to give Adsense a background color that accented this blog. I wanted it to be visible because most people searching this blog are searching for more options. So by making the ads visible I make it very easy for people to find what they are looking for. Many people try and make the Google Adsense as part of the content and that is an option. I however felt an accent color would fit this blog better. The great thing about Google ads is that you can test different colors to see what works best.

 

January 10, 2007 | Filed Under Blogging Tips, Web Site Tips | 21 Comments 

Searching for a Web Host?

A website is an excellent way for you to increase your income by advertising referrals, affiliate marketing and adsense. Building a website doesn’t have to be a complicated design with all the bells and whistles. In fact too many bells and whistles can affect your site negatively. It is my opinion that a visitor friendly blog can be just as affective or possible more affective than a traditional website (more on this topic later).

Whether you are looking to create a traditional website or a blog you need to have a good web host to do this. There are hundreds of reputable web hosts to choose from. How do you choose just one?

Several months ago I did a search to find the web host that would best fit my needs. I tried several free hosts and researched probably 40 or more paid hosts before I decided on the one I believe to be the best. So  am going to share with you the list of requirements I had for my web host.

Here is the list:

1. Since I was on a tight budget I needed a host that did not require a contract. I needed a host that allow me to pay month to month.

2. I needed a host that was the best deal for my buck. I wanted as many add ons as I could get for around $10 a month (at the most).

3. I wanted to be able to build web sites using a good HTML editor, discussion forums, blogs and ecommerce at no additional charge.

4. I wanted a host that had good customer service. If I had a question I wanted a response right away.

5. I wanted to be able to host as many domains, sub-domains and e-mail accounts as I wanted.

 

I found all of my 5 requirements plus much more in HostGator. I have been using HostGator for almost 6 months and I am still very happy with this host.

I was also happy to find out that a professional Affiliate Marketer agreed with my decision when he mentioned that he used HostGator in his e-book.

December 8, 2006 | Filed Under Web Site Tips | 3 Comments