Choose a Domain Name

When you're thinking about a domain try and keep it clear and concise. You might want to avoid long sentences, dashes, and hard to remember acronyms.

Check Domain Name Availability

You can type in the address to see if someone else already owns it, but keep in mind that someone may own the domain but not have anything up yet.

Your best course of action is to go to one of the many web hosting companies such as bluehost.com or godaddy.com. Today I'll actually go to verio.com and here – like on many other sites- there is a box where I can enter in the name of the site I want.

Test Domain Name Availability

I'll type in "about" and hit go. That domain is obviously unavailable, but I am offered similar domains such as abouts.info. It's generally a good idea to stick with the more popular .com, .org, and .edu. .Com is often used for both business and personal uses, .org for organizations and non-profits, and .edu for educational institutions.

I'll click 'try another name,' and now type in my own name. Now I'll hit 'search.'

It's actually available, and for $9.95 a year I can register the domain. Keep in mind that this does not mean I have space to put up the website. I'm just laying a claim to that domain name for as long as I keep paying.

Research Web Hosting Plans

If I click 'order now,' I can buy it. As with many companies I can now add a web hosting plan. Here's one plan (the bottom one) that includes 10 gigabytes of disk space and 200 email accounts for 19.95 a month. Many sites offer many different rates and services, so you may want to shop around before settling on one.

Register the Domain Name

Once you purchase your domain and hosting plan you'll receive an email with instructions on how to access your site.

Top 10 Tips to a Great Web Page

Make Your Site Valuable to Your Readers

There aren't any magic pills to create a great Web page that everyone will visit again and again, but if you follow these ten tips your site will be more popular and easier for people to read.

1. Know your audience, and keep them in mind when you write.

If your Web pages are frequented by people with slower modems then designing a page that looks best over a T1 is not a successful strategy.

2. Keep your pages short.

If you minimize the scrolling, chances are, your readers will get your message. A good screen size is 640 pixels wide by 480 tall.

3. Use tables of contents.

According to Jakob Nielsen only 10% of users will scroll beyond the first screen of text. If that first screen has a table of contents viewers will click on the links to the explanatory text.

4. Keep images small.

Large images annoy people. If it takes too long to download, many people will never see it, as they will have browsed somewhere.

5. Use Web colors.

The browser-safe color palette will ensure that most people will see your page and images in the colors you intended.

6. Avoid lots of text.

People don't read the Web, they skim it.

7. Check your spelling.

Use a spell checker, either in your editor or on-line.

8. Keep links current.

Check your links often to make sure they are still valid. Using a link checker speeds up pages with many links.

9. Annotate your links.

If a page is good enough to link to, then it's good enough to explain why you like it.

10. Put contact information on your pages.

The Web is interactive and dynamic, and you should welcome comments on your pages. Also, if there is a broken link or other problem, your readers can let you know, easily.

Top 10 Tips for Beginner Bloggers

The Tips You Need to Successfully Start a Blog

Starting a blog can seem overwhelming, but in truth, it's one of the simplest ways to join the online community. Follow these tips to ensure your blog is positioned for success.

1. Define Your Goals

Before you start a new blog, it's essential that you define your goals for it. Your blog has a greater chance of success if you know from the beginning what you hope to accomplish with it. Are you trying to establish yourself as an expert in your field? Are you trying to promote your business? Are you simply blogging for fun and to share your ideas and opinions? Your short and long term goals for your blog are dependent on the reason why you're starting your blog. Think ahead to what you'd like to gain from your blog in six months, one year and three years. Then design, write and market your blog to meet those goals.


2. Know Your Audience

Your blog's design and content should reflect the expectations of your audience. For example, if your intended audience is teenagers, the design and content would be quite different than a blog targeted to corporate professionals. Your audience will have inherent expectations for your blog. Don't confuse them but rather meet and exceed those expectations to gain reader loyalty.

3. Be Consistent

Your blog is a brand. Just like popular brands such as Coke or Nike, your blog represents a specific message and image to your audience, which is your brand. Your blog's design and content should consistently communicate your blog's overall brand image and message. Being consistent allows you to meet your audience's expectations and create a secure place for them to visit again and again. That consistency will be rewarded with reader loyalty.

4. Be Persistent

A busy blog is a useful blog. Blogs that are not updated frequently are perceived by their audiences as static web pages. The usefulness of blogs comes from their timeliness. While it's important not to publish meaningless posts else you may bore your audience, it's essential that you update your blog frequently. The best way to keep readers coming back is to always have something new (and meaningful) for them to see.

5. Be Inviting

One of the most unique aspects of blogging is its social impact. Therefore, it's essential that your blog welcomes readers and invites them to join a two-way conversation. Ask your readers to leave comments by posing questions than respond to comments from your readers. Doing so will show your readers that you value them, and it will keep the conversation going. Continue the conversation by leaving comments on other blogs inviting new readers to visit your blog for more lively discussions. Your blog's success is partially dependent on your readers' loyalties to it. Make sure they understand how much you appreciate them by involving them and recognizing them through meaningful two-way conversation.

6. Be Visible

Much of your blog's success relies on your efforts outside your blog. Those efforts include finding like-minded bloggers and commenting on their blogs, participating in social bookmarking through sites such as Digg and StumbleUpon, and joining social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Blogging is not a demonstration of, "if you build it, they will come." Instead, developing a successful blog requires hard work by creating compelling content on your blog as well as working outside of your blog to promote it and develop a community around it.

7. Take Risks

Beginner bloggers are often afraid of the new blogging tools and features available to them. Don't be afraid to take risks and try new things on your blog. From adding a new plug-in to holding your first blog contest, it's important that you keep your blog fresh by implementing changes that will enhance your blog. Alternatively, don't fall prey to every new bell and whistle that becomes available for your blog. Instead, review each potential enhancement in terms of how it will help you reach your goals for your blog and how your audience will respond to it.

8. Ask for Help

Even the most experienced bloggers understand the blogosphere is an ever-changing place and no one knows everything there is to know about blogging. Most importantly, bloggers are part of a close-knit community, and the majority of bloggers understand that everyone is a beginner at some point. In fact, bloggers are some of the most approachable and helpful people you can find. Don't be afraid to reach out to fellow bloggers for help. Remember, the success of the blogosphere relies on networking, and most bloggers are always willing to expand their networks regardless of whether you're a beginner blogger or seasoned pro.

9. Keep Learning

It seems like everyday there are new tools available to bloggers. The Internet changes quickly, and the blogosphere is not an exception to that rule. As you develop your blog, take the time to research new tools and features, and keep an eye on the latest news from the blogosphere. You never know when a new tool will roll out that can make your life easier or enhance your readers' experiences on your blog.

10. Be Yourself

Remember, your blog is an extension of you and your brand, and your loyal readers will keep coming back to hear what you have to say. Inject your personality into your blog and adapt a consistent tone for your posts. Determine whether your blog and brand will be more effective with a corporate tone, a youthful tone or a snarky tone. Then stay consistent with that tone in all your blog communications. People don't read blogs simply to get the news. They could read a newspaper for news reports. Instead, people read blogs to get bloggers' opinions on the news, the world, life and more. Don't blog like a reporter. Blog like you're having a conversation with each of your readers. Blog from your heart.

Top 10 Social Bookmarking Sites

Social bookmarking is a great way to promote your blog, network with other bloggers and find new ideas and information to help you develop content for your blog. Following is an overview of ten of the most popular social bookmarking sites on the web.

1. Digg

Digg is the most popular social bookmarking site online. Users submit links to content they like, and other users comment on those submissions and add their own votes (called Diggs) to those links. Popular links will rise to the front page of Digg and are likely to get a lot of traffic. It's important to understand that you may submit your own content to Digg, but if you oversubmit your own content, you will be penalized and your submissions will not be readily available to other users. User caution and submit not just your own content, but other links of interest as well.

2. Technorati

Technorati is typically thought of as a blog search engine, but users can also save interesting online content as "favorites" which other users can access.

3. del.icio.us

Del.icio.us uses tags to allow users to bookmark and share content they like. Other users can find that content through searches on those tags.

4. StumbleUpon

StumbleUpon is very easy to use if you download the StumbleUpon toolbar when you register. When you find a webpage you like, simply click on the "thumbs up" icon on the StumbleUpon toolbar to share it with other StumbleUpon users.

5. Reddit

Reddit is the no frills social bookmarking site. Users submit links they like then other users vote for them (positively or negatively). The most popular posts rise to the front page for everyone to see.

6. Fark

Fark allows users to submit links to content they like and want to share, but those links are evaluated by Fark administrators who determine which links appear on the Fark home page.

7. Furl

Furl allows users to save copies of web pages as they appear at the moment they're saved. That means the exact page will be available to users to view or share at anytime even if the original page has since been changed or deleted.

8. Slashdot

Slashdot is very popular for links about technology, science or science fiction. If your blog is about one of those topics, your submissions should do well at Slashdot. Users submit content which is then evaluated by editors before it is shared with other Slashdot users.

9. Propeller

Propeller is gaining in popularity as an easy to use social bookmarking site. Users submit links with tags to make content easy to find, and they vote on that content driving popular posts to the home page.

10. Newsvine

Newsvine's mission is to bring big and little media together meaning traditional media sources and individuals. However, submissions are rated using several factors including reputation, freshness and and popularity, so it's difficult for individuals to get a lot of exposure and traffic from Newsvine.

5 Tips to Use Digg to Drive Traffic to Your Blog

How to Effectively Use Digg

Digg is a social news site that can help drive traffic to your blog. However, Digg is the biggest social news site on the Internet controlled by a handful of top users. How can you get your blog posts noticed in the fast-paced world of Digg? Follow these five tips of Digg etiquette to effectively use Digg and boost traffic to your blog.

1. Digg the Original Source

Digg users are very particular about how the site is used. There are a variety of rules that Digg expects users to follow. One of the most important rules of Digg etiquette is to always submit the original source of a story. If you're submitting a blog post or page that expounds on the original source of a story by adding new information or opinions, that's okay, but make sure your submission adds value to the conversation or story. If it doesn't, find the original source and submit that instead.
Read Review

2. Don't Digg Your Own Posts

Digg will penalize users who submit their own content too frequently. If you want your blog posts to have a chance at making it to the main page of Digg (and generating a lot of traffic to your blog), don't be the first to submit your post. Ask a friend or colleague to submit it first.

3. Digg Several Articles at a Time

When you ask your friends to Digg your blog post, make sure they Digg more than just your post while they're at it. Digg keeps tabs on people who just Digg a single item while they're on the Digg website in order to penalize spammers (particularly those who are paid to Digg specific stories). Ask your friends to Digg your post as well as a few other stories of interest or on the main page of Digg at the same time.

4. Use a Good Title and Description in Your Diggs

When you Digg something, give it a good title and description. The title and description are what you're using to convince other users to click on the submission, read the article and hopefully Digg it, too. Sell the article with a great title and description to increase your chances of getting more Diggs for it.

5. Be an Active Digg User

Digg users who are very active have a better chance of getting their Digg submissions noticed and attracting more Diggs to them from other users. Submit various posts (particularly breaking news items), add friends, comment, and add an avatar to your profile to make your Diggs stand out from other submissions in Digg's list format. The more active you are, the more people will notice you and become interested in investigating your submissions, which will ultimately lead to more Digg opportunities for your own blog posts. More Diggs for your own blog posts equal more traffic to your blog.

Writing Web Sites for a Global

If you write a Web page and put it up on the World Wide Web, then you have instantly created a globally accessible page. But just because a global audience can get to it, doesn't mean that your page will be understandable globally, and this doesn't mean just language.

Regional Topics

If your page is about a regional specific topic, then make sure you indicate that. Preferably right in the title of the page. Put the region in the keywords and page description as well. This will insure that someone in London, England looking for information on dog kennels won't get frustrated by a kennel Web site that only caters to dog owners in South Africa.Remember too, that even if your topic is regional, it has value to global viewers. What if someone from Germany is visiting your home town, and needs a dog kennel there? You also might want to expand your site to give more generic information that would appeal to a more global audience.

Language on the Web

Right now, most of the pages on the Web are in English, but just because you're writing your page in English in Australia, doesn't mean that a Canadian would understand it or find it useful. Make sure that you avoid slang on your site, as that is the most non-translatable element of a page. When you list a price, indicate what currency you're using. And when you list sizes or measurements, it helps if you list conversions, or link to a conversion Web site.If you are going to translate your site, it works best if you hire a professional translator. While there are translation programs on the Web, many of them can result in very humorous results. If you can't hire a translator, then consider not putting up the page in that language, your page will look more professional if the language it's in is correct.

General Tips

* Job listings

These are almost always region and country specific. Be sure to list where the job is located and where the applicant will need to live to take the job.

* Currency

Make sure that all prices have the currency listed. If you expect to sell to multiple countries, indicate whether you will accept other currencies, and it also helps to point to a currency exchange site.

* Shipping

If you can only ship within your country, make that very clear. It can be very disappointing for a customer to find exactly what she is looking for, only to find that it can only be shipped inside the U.K. (and she lives in Australia). Remember, that just because a reader lives in another country doesn't mean that she doesn't have friends in your country, the Internet is global in that way as well.

* Events

Online events are, of course, global, but offline events should have the place, including country, indicated. Never assume that your readers will know that San Jose is in California in the United States - and what about San Jose, Costa Rica?

* Measurements

In the U.S. measurements like pound and mile are common. In Australia, you might hear terms like stone or meter, and in Uzbekistan kilo or kilometer. It helps if you include conversions, and if you don't know the actual conversion, link to a conversion site. This includes measurements for recipes, distances, and temperature.

* Contests

There are many rules for contests around the world. Make sure that your site either follows them, or specifies the countries where the contest is valid.

Things to Avoid

* Assumptions

Never assume you know where your reader is coming from, unless you have done extensive survey work, it's hard to say. Even if your readers aren't coming in on .jp domains, doesn't mean they aren't located in Japan, they may be on IP addresses that don't resolve to domains, or their ISP is global and has a .com or .net domain.

* Generic terms such as:

o foreign/domestic/local - what's foreign to you may be local to your reader
o international - be careful here, you should use this term to define something that covers many or all nations, not just all but your own
o regional designations - "east coast" means something completely different to someone in Moscow, Russia than to someone in Moscow, Idaho, US.
o cities without indicating state and/or country - there is at least one London in the United States, as well as in England, and I live 20 minutes from Brisbane, but it's not in Queensland, Australia. slang and dialect - words that are not found in a good dictionary should be avoided, as they won't be easily translatable.


* Poor translations

As I mentioned above, poor translations can really hurt a Web site. Many people will forgive a site for not being in their native language, and will be willing to go to a translation site if they need the information, but if your translation is bad, they won't trust you or your site as providing a quality product. Make sure that whatever language your site is in is grammatically correct, and free of spelling errors.