infowaveindia web articles

If you will talk about developing a website with anyone, apart from gathering information about the type of website you need, an important (mandatory) question will come – “do you have any preference for the technology to be used for deploying this website?”

Most of the time answer is a question back “What do you suggest?”, reason being clients are not tech savvy so they really do not understand this question. And it’s logical too, if I am associated with implementing the technology I can better understand this question and directly say .NET or PHP as the answer, but if I am a cloth merchant looking for a website this question will sound like Greek to me.

Now here the service provider takes the advantage that they suggest the technology in which they expertise, rather it should be decided depending upon the nature of the application to be deployed, scope of the future enhancements and to an extent the budget the client has allotted for the same. While talking about deploying web based applications Linux and Windows are the most popular platforms. Now depending upon the platform of the server on which the site is to be hosted defines the options of the scripting languages and the database servers that can be used for developing the application. If we talk about Linux as the platform the most commonly used scripting languages includes – PHP, CGI, Perl, Python etc. For Windows platform the scripting languages used are ASP, ASP.NET, C#, Cold Fusion etc. For the database servers Linux offers support for MySQL, PostgreSQL, Sybase etc and MS SQL Server, MS Access, Oracle are the database servers of choice for Windows platform. Its not mandatory that these are the categorizations for the scripting languages and database servers for the said platforms, the scripting languages for Linux also come for as Windows binary and visa versa.

Though there are certain differences among these two as listed below, but both of them are platforms of choice for deploying functionality rich web based applications: -

- Linux is an open source freeware whereas Windows is a Microsoft brand.
- Additional components for Linux are generally free whereas the components for Windows need to be purchased.
- Linux is considered to be more virus proof then Windows
- Web space for Linux being freeware is less costly then Windows
- The cost of Linux web space includes the cost for database server whereas for windows if MS SQL server is opted it costs additional.

For the purposes of listing factors to choose which platform, we can say: -

- The budget the client has for hosting.
- If the specific requirement requires a specific component then identifying weather it is available with Windows or Linux
- If the size of database is going to be huge MS SQL sever is preferred because of the additional features it offers for the data management.
- Both Linux and Windows are equally reliable and robust, but yes on Windows special software are required for providing safety from hackers and non-authentic access.
- Is the client specific about brand then Windows is the only choice.
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If you’re going to be an internet marketer, you better get a handle on web site statistics. While there are hundreds of different tools for measuring web site activity, here is a quick guide to some of the more common statistics prepared by most tools.

Hits. “Hit’s are the number of times someone made a request for information on your site. It’s important to note some statistics tools count a hit as any information not necessarily a single visitor. For example, with some tools, if you’re home page has 3 pictures on it, a visitor to your home page might register as 4 hits – 1 for the page and 1 to download each picture.

Unique Visitors. Unlike hits, unique visitors are just that – how many unique people visited your site irrespective of the number of pages they viewed. If you’re trying to build traffic, this is the data to watch.

Pages. Page counts tell you how many pages on your site have been viewed. Theoretically, the smallest number of pages viewed would be equal to the number of unique visitors (if every visitor views just the home page before going elsewhere). A page count higher than the number of visitors is a good thing – this means visitors came in and went deeper into your site than just the home page. Some tools offer “by page” counts that will show you exactly how many times each page has been viewed.

Entry Pages/Exit Pages. Entry pages are the pages that a visitor first entered your site with. Exit pages are those that they left the site after viewing. This data is important to tell you what’s happening with your visitors. How they arrived will often tell you what offer they are responding to (if you use separate “landing pages” for email promotions, for example) and the exit pages will tell where (and hopefully why) they left. For example, if a high percentage of the exits are from the home page, it means a high percentage of people haven’t gone deep into your site. If, on the other hand, a high percentage have exited from the contact page, that may correspond to increased sales activity coming your way!

So, by all means, get familiar with these and other web statistics — in the final analysis, internet marketing is all about web statistics.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Raymond_Nesa

The second thing you must have on your web site is an opt-in form. No visitor to your site should be allowed to leave without the option of leaving their email address. You rarely get two chances with a visitor, so make your opt-in form prominent and offer some freebie to induce them to sign up. This can be a newsletter, a free ebook or perhaps even 5 or 7 part course. Courses are good since you can prove yourself to be an expert in your field.

However, once you have at least a first name and email address, you can keep in touch and send special offers of products that can provide you with an income. You will notice that all of the successful internet marketers have an opt-in form, either directly on their web site, or as a pop-up that appears while you are visiting their site.

Thirdly, it is of great advantage to you have a page saying something about you. Every web site should have an “About Me” page, so that visitors can read about whom your are, where you live and what you have achieved in the past. You can include a photograph of you, and even of your family. People feel a bit more secure doing business with someone who appears to have nothing to hide.

Fourth is contact information. These things that you must have on your web site are presented in order of importance, since what might be the most important to one person could be the least to another. Contact information is essential. You should provide at least a contact email programmed to an autoresponder that informs the sender of the email that their mail has been received and will responded to within at least 24 hours.

A telephone number and postal address, while not essential, lets your visitors know that you are accessible, and don’t mind others knowing your phone number and address.

The fifth essential design item is a simple navigation system. Your main navigation should be on your home page, but this should not provide links to every page in your site. Your home page navigation should take visitors to your main theme pages, which themselves should have further links to lesser pages.

For example, your home page on a writing site could link to calligraphy, which itself could then lead to various calligraphy-related pages, then each sub-page to articles. Additionally to this you could sign up for Google Adsense and place an ‘Adsense for Search’ box on your home page. This provides a Google web search box that can also be used for a site search on up to three of your websites. Alternatively, you can use site search software available on the internet.

If you include these five web design basics, your site will be more successful than without them.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed my brand new guide to article marketing success, ‘Your Article Writing and Promotion Guide‘

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sean_Ray

Does your website deliver?

Many businesses, both large and small, are disappointed with the results they get from their web site. Although they get site visitors and even generate sales or leads, they haven’t managed to extract their site’s real potential. The reason is often a failure to:

• understand the wide variety of prospects that may visit their site;
• understand how to meet the varying needs of these prospects; and
• invest the time and the effort needed to make the site successful.

Make your site doesn’t have to be complicated. And, there is no need for magic. All that’s needed is the:

• willingness to understand your user population;
• the ability apply some common business sense; and
• a small dose of creativity.

In this article, we will identify some of the key things you can do to create and manage your web site to help you grow your business.3 Steps to Building an Effective Web Site for Your Business

STEP 1. Before You Start : Know Where You Are Heading

You need to decide why you want a web site and what you really want to achieve. I would suggest that a good reason is NOT - ‘because my competitors have them’ or ’so we can put it on our business cards’. This makes for very expensive business cards. Some good reasons may include:

• To attract sales leads from new customers;
• To sell directly to new and/or existing customers;
• To enhance the customer experience and service for your clients;
• To provide new and relevant information about you and your products to potential customers and business partners;
• To improve your products and services by obtaining feedback from customers;
• To help recruit employees;
• To reduce the cost of sales;
• To improve your businesses efficiency;
• To lower your marketing costs;
• To expand your marketing reach; and
• To increase your profitability.

STEP 2. You Know Your Target : Plan Your ExecutionThe Internet and your web site is just another channel to your target audience. You may already be doing taking similar steps in your current sales and marketing process. Now, you just need to translate this to the new medium. Planning your website is a critical component of your overall marketing strategy. Now more than ever, consumers are researching purchases and shopping online. While key business decision makers are sourcing product and services using the Internet. To develop your Internet marketing strategy, you need to carefully define answers to the following questions:

• Who is your target? How can you segment your online audience to better understand their needs?
• What is your primary message? Not ‘what are you selling?’. What value do offer?
• How can you begin to form a trusted relationship with your customer?
• What are you willing to promise? Will you deliver?
• What marketing channels match your sales mission?

The answers to each of these questions will depend on your product or service and your company’s “personality”. These are critical to your site’s development and how effective you will be about converting visitors in to interested customers. Develop your strategy together with your web design company so you can better understand user behavior and the technical requirements of search engine optimization. And working closely with your designer means your designer can better understand your customer and his or her needs.All this may seem like a lot. But, if you know your customers and work closely with a professional web design company, you will develop an you can develop a marketing presence that will pay dividends to your business and enhance your customer relationships. Experienced web development and Internet marketing specialists can help you develop a coherent plan and execute on that vision. Moreover, you will increase your chances of early success and, also reduce your costs - mistakes and wasted efforts are time consuming and unnecessarily eat in to your marketing budget.

STEP 3. Creating Your Website : How do I Pick the Right Web Designer?

For the do-it-yourself small business owners, the good news is that there are a lot of tools that will help you build your own site. But, keep in mind building a site that delivers requires significant time and experience.

Larger businesses may consider hiring a full time developer to design, build and manage their site. However, except for the smallest of companies (measured in revenue potential and not necessarily employees), outsourcing your online marketing makes sense. There are far too many skill sets, including technical, design and marketing, to trust any one person. Use a company that has a good balance of web design, technical know-how and Internet marketing skill to ensure your site looks good and performs.

TIP: Think of your web site as an extension of your business. Just like your business, your web site should not remain static. Your products and services change, as does your industry. Use your website to continually update the world. Not only is it good business practice, regularly adding fresh content to your site will — over time — improve your rankings in the search engines that generate your site visitors. A content management system or an integrated blogging tool makes it easy for you to update your content easily and without the aid of a web designer.

Your Site is Complete. Now What?

So, your site is live and you are pleased with the results. Great! Now all you need to do is find and attract pre-qualified prospects. But how?

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Taus

The First Impression

The first impression says a lot about a firm, especially about software development companies in a time like this when thousands of offshore firms fiercely compete against each other, and where professionalism has become a trade off for low prices.

When you first contact a prospective software development provider, ask yourself how they present themselves; how long does it take for the firm to get back to you on emailed questions? Does each representative have their phone number shown in their email signatures? Does the company phone you up to discuss your requirements? Does the company seem to grasp your requirements and is verbal communication flawless?

In today’s world of outsourcing, freelancers commonly use a company name of their own to lure their prospective clients into thinking that they have more experience than what they really have. In reality they might be one man shows who perhaps will not be able to provide you with sufficiently fast turn around times, nor a broad range of expertise. Always speak with a representative of your prospective partners and probe them on their company’s track record, location and number of employees. A company that refrains from having a phone conversation with you is a clear warning sign that something fishy is going on.

Software development companies should be able to present a lot of information on their operations and prior projects. Ask for case studies, coding conventions, testimonials, résumés of the staff that will be able to work on your project and all other information that can be used to judge the professionalism of your future software development partner.

Experience and References

Once you feel that the company evaluated has presented itself well in the first stage of evaluation, go ahead and ask for references and proof of prior experience such as case studies or perhaps even demos of applications similar to that you are going to develop. Once you’ve asserted that the company has the expertise required to take on your project you can proceed with asking for and analyzing the company’s proposal.

The Proposal

In the company’s proposal, cost and milestones should be clearly specified along with terms of payment. Other aspects worth noticing is whether or not the proposal stresses the benefits that the application will bring with it for your organization and if it includes suggestions on how to go beyond the initial goals outlined. What will the turn around time be for finishing the application, and more importantly what will happen if the deadline is not met?

In the final agreement you sign with your software development partner, make sure that a requirements specification is included and signed. The requirements specification should be as detailed as possible and all possible functionality that you require should be printed onto that specification. Without a clear requirements specification a software development agreement will do no good in case your partner decides to deliver an incomplete product.

Your project’s success or failure will be fully contingent on your choice of software development partner. Read on to learn about the most important aspects when it comes to analyzing a prospective software development partner and their software development proposal.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Claesson

Many people are paralysed by the thought of building a website. It looks like a daunting task if you have never built a site before. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Building a website isn’t as hard as you think.

In fact, if you can use a word procesor like Microsoft Word, you can build your own website easily and quickly. It’s as easy as using Microsoft Word and they are many web building or authoring software available to help you.

The web authoring software I use is XSitePro. The reason I chose XSitePro was because I have never build a website before and I know nothing about HTML. I needed a software that is very easy to use.

XSitePro is the solution for me. It only took me two hours to learn and another two hours to create my first website and publish it to the world wide web. It’s that easy.

The aim of XSitePro is to allow you to learn and develop your site for profits easily and quickly.

The documentation is very well written. There is one complete manual and one tutorial. Must start with the tutorial first, only take two hours to complete and then you are ready to create and publish your own professional site that can generate profits for you.

Your can create your site in 6 simple steps. And note that you can do steps 1-5 offline (no need to connect to the internet).

1. Create a New Project (just a click & enter the project name).

2. Add a Website (just a click & enter the site name).

3. Select a Template (just a click & select the template you want to use).

4. Start typing your content (just like using your word procesor).

5. Preview or Save it.

6. Publish your site to the Web (just enter your domain, web host name and password) - this is the only step you need to be connected to the internet.

That’s it. Very simple.

After I have successfully created and published my first website, I was totally hooked and I couldn’t wait to create my second and third sites. Now I can literally create a site within one hour. It’s really as easy as using a word processor such as Microsoft Word.

Of course XSitePro also comes with advanced features. Once you have gone through the tutorial and if you want to use the advanced features, you can always refer to the manual. XSitePro also provides a member forum where you can ask questions or discuss with other fellow XSitePro-ers.

Some of the XSitePro advanced features are:

- Built-in Search Engine Optimization (on-page SEO)

- Site Map Generation. Functionality

- Affiliate Manager

- Automated Navigation.

There are many more but these are the most unique and impressive features I found. If you go to the XSitePro site, there is a nice list of 47 features.

One very powerful feature worth mentioning here is the On-Page SEO. This SEO feature is built-in in XSitePro. It checks things like page title, keyword density, meta tags, heading, alt-image, etc.. to ensure that your web page is fully optimized for the SE. Very powerful feature. I always use this feature to make sure that my web page is fully optimized before I publish it to the Web.