Unless you've spent the last 20 years under rock you've probably heard of HTML. However, in less your extremely tech-savvy or a web developer you may not have any idea what it is or what it does.
I'm here to fix all that… HTML is an acronym that stands for hypertext markup language. HTML is not really a programming language. All it does is format text. It accomplishes this by using special tags enclosed in angle brackets. Different tags do different things. I.e. The bold tag formats the enclosed text as bold. Not really rocket science huh?
Most (but not all) HTML tags will have an opening tag and a closing tag. The opening tag is placed at the start of the text that you would like formatted and the closing tag is placed at the end everything in between will be affected by that tag. For instance if you want to format a portion of text in Italics the HTML code would look like this;
The quick brown fox ‹I› jumped over ‹/I› the lazy dog.
In the above example the words " jumped over" would appear in Italics when viewed in a browser.
Easy cheesy see? Piece of cake right?
There is a handful of HTML tags that are used a lot and a few more that you don't see very often. So there really is not very much to learn to understand basic HTML. It does however get complicated when you start to add different elements such as cascading style sheets, scripting language and SQL amongst others. That however is beyond the scope of this humble blog posting… If you are interested in learning more be sure to check out my comprehensive HTML tutorial located here http://realestatetechonline.com/Tutorials/LearnHTML/tabid/96/Default.aspx
It can show you in far greater depth what you need to know and give you a thorough understanding of how HTML, browsers and web pages in general work. Armed with this knowledge, you can accomplish much. By understanding the basics you are sure to become a much more effective website owner.
Feel free to leave any comments or questions that you may have and I will do my best to answer them for you. Until next time; keep surfin'!
Showing posts with label how to. Show all posts
Showing posts with label how to. Show all posts
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
What every website owner should know
It is of little known fact that I am writing a book. The book is titled What Every Website Owner Should Know —Tips Tricks And Secrets To Success Online. I have recently sent the book off to my editor. I think that this book is unique because it is written for people like small business owners, office managers, or people that are self employed. Essentially anybody that needs or wants a website, but does not have a technical background nor the time to figure it all out themselves. I will release the book soon and I hope that it helps those of you that buy a copy get a jumpstart on your website.
Meanwhile, here are a few points that you should keep in mind if you are considering having a website developed for you...
Organize your thoughts —take your time and write down an outline of your thoughts. Make sure to include:
- Your Objective —what you hope to accomplish
- A Short List Of Websites—that you admire and why you like them
- Your Contact Information
- A List Of E-mail Addresses that you would like your webmaster to setup for you
- A List Of Pages that you would like to include
- A List Of Important Keywords regarding your site
- Passwords And User Names that may be relevant
- If You Already Have A Domain Name, Then Make Sure To Include:
- The Registrar's Name
- Your Login Information
- If You Already Have A Web Hosting Account Be Sure To Include
- The Web Hosting Company's Name
- The Ftp Information Including:
- The FTP Server Address
- Login Information
- The Type Of Hosting Account—for example Unix, linux, or Microsoft
- The Type Of Databases Available—for example MS SQL, MySQL, Oracle, etc…
- Whatever important information regarding your business that you can think of. This can be virtually anything about your business that you deem important. Try to be as thorough as possible, as this will help your webmaster build a strong foundation for your website. The more information that you can includ the better.
Additionally, if you have any photographs or images that you would like to use on the website, organize them as well. If they already on your computer so much the better. If they're not, make sure to give them to your webmaster anyway. If you want to physically keep the photographs and do not own a scanner, you can probably have them scanned inexpensively at your local copy and print store.
If possible include a caption or description for each one. This will also help your webmaster by clarifying how you want to use the picture or what it is about.
If you do not have suitable pictures or images, there are several web sites that provide stock photography at reasonable prices. If you take the time for images you like they will go long way in producing a website that you're happy with.
The service that I like to use is called istockphoto.com. There are literally millions of images to choose from. These images have been contributed by thousands of professional photographers from all over the world. The images are priced by size and resolution. Small images cost about a dollar and ultra large high resolution images suitable to print large murals usually cost about 10 to 15 dollars.
All you have to do is signup and purchase some credits, then you can download your desired images. Chances are, in less you all are planning to do some printing you will only need small to medium sized images at normal resolution.
Hopefully, this is enough to get you started on the right foot. If you stayed till end and subscribe to my blog I will continue to post excerpts from my buck and additional tips tricks and secrets that will help you be successful online.
Good luck, I wish you the best in your endeavors, and I hope that your efforts payoff. If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me and I will do my best to get you an answer. Even better, you can post your question to my community forum and we'll see if we can get answered for you there. All you have to do is simply register and then you will be able to post your questions. If you do register and post your question to you my community forum, I promise I will get to it, email is another story.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Choosing a Webmaster
Choosing a webmaster can be a challenging task. Creating a website is a big investment so naturally you want to find the best man/woman for the job. Hopefully this article will shed a little light on your quest.
Here are a few things that you should consider:
1.) Your budget. Know what it is before you begin to negotiate. Don't be afraid to share this information with your webmaster. You can perhaps start a little low and hold some of your budget in reserve when you're negotiating, but it is difficult for the webmaster to make an accurate estimate without a ballpark figure for budget. I don't recommend that you tell exactly how much you're willing to spend, just a round figure so your webmaster will know " the league hewill be playing in".With that said, if you want the moon and the stars, be willing to pay for them. Building a website is a time consuming venture and a good designer will want to be paid a fair price.
2.) Know what you want. Make sure you have a general idea regarding what you are looking for. The more information you can provide your webmaster at the start the easier, faster, better the results will turn out. Outline your ideas, sketch pictures, and provide a list of websites that you like with a notation of the features that you found particularly appealing. This will go long way to helping your webmaster understand your vision.
3.) Provide Content. What do you want your site to say. The more the better; as far as the search engines are concerned text is king. Search engines can’t “read” pictures or images and therefore they do not help your websites ranking.
It should be you that rights the original draft of your content. Regardless of your writing ability, if the original sentiment comes from you it will most likely convey your message. Your webmaster or other individuals can edit it and/or rewrite completely, but even if that’s the case the original sentiment should be yours.
4.) If you have a shoestring budget, then consider a template.
Template Monster is a good place to start. Their templates are priced fair and more importanly, they are retired after 10 downloads. This way you can be assured your site is relatively original. The have hundreds of real estate sites to choose from.
*I have used them with great results. I should tell you I am an affiliate.
5.) Time. The more time you can devote to upkeep and new content the better. You will only get as much out of your site as you are willing to put into it.
6.) Marketing. I have written a couple of articles re: marketing. You can find them scattered around this blog. Marketing your website is a wide ranging topic that I will get into here. However if you subscribe to my blog I will continue to reveal new tips, tricks and secrets about marketing online
Here are a few things that you should consider:
1.) Your budget. Know what it is before you begin to negotiate. Don't be afraid to share this information with your webmaster. You can perhaps start a little low and hold some of your budget in reserve when you're negotiating, but it is difficult for the webmaster to make an accurate estimate without a ballpark figure for budget. I don't recommend that you tell exactly how much you're willing to spend, just a round figure so your webmaster will know " the league hewill be playing in".With that said, if you want the moon and the stars, be willing to pay for them. Building a website is a time consuming venture and a good designer will want to be paid a fair price.
2.) Know what you want. Make sure you have a general idea regarding what you are looking for. The more information you can provide your webmaster at the start the easier, faster, better the results will turn out. Outline your ideas, sketch pictures, and provide a list of websites that you like with a notation of the features that you found particularly appealing. This will go long way to helping your webmaster understand your vision.
3.) Provide Content. What do you want your site to say. The more the better; as far as the search engines are concerned text is king. Search engines can’t “read” pictures or images and therefore they do not help your websites ranking.
It should be you that rights the original draft of your content. Regardless of your writing ability, if the original sentiment comes from you it will most likely convey your message. Your webmaster or other individuals can edit it and/or rewrite completely, but even if that’s the case the original sentiment should be yours.
4.) If you have a shoestring budget, then consider a template.
Template Monster is a good place to start. Their templates are priced fair and more importanly, they are retired after 10 downloads. This way you can be assured your site is relatively original. The have hundreds of real estate sites to choose from.
*I have used them with great results. I should tell you I am an affiliate.
5.) Time. The more time you can devote to upkeep and new content the better. You will only get as much out of your site as you are willing to put into it.
6.) Marketing. I have written a couple of articles re: marketing. You can find them scattered around this blog. Marketing your website is a wide ranging topic that I will get into here. However if you subscribe to my blog I will continue to reveal new tips, tricks and secrets about marketing online
Friday, March 20, 2009
How to make a few bucks online Part II
If you haven't been following along you can click here to see part one which talks about setting up a blog online.
I have included a free step by step How To Setup Your Blog tutorial complete with pictures containing big red arrows to help you out every step of the way. It's easy, it's free and it it will take less than 10 minutes to get started. Incidentally, if you're wondering, I'm not selling you anything.
Once you have your blog and have published a few posts, you will probably want to start using it to make money. The first thing that you will need to do is set up an account with Google AdSense. I know I mention this in part one of the series, but now will look at it in a little bit more depth.
The Google AdSense program is in outstanding affiliate ad program. What does is allow you to run advertisements on your website or blog. This is how they do it; and advertiser signs up for a Google AdWords account and selects some key words to bid on. Google will then display those ads on web sites or pages that are appropriate for whatever keyword the advertiser was bidding on.
Here's where you come in. Not only does Google run the ads on its own web sites and search engine, it allows affiliates (people such as yourself) to display the these ads on their own web sites and share in the profit. So every time one of your visitors clicks on an ad Google adds the appropriate amount of money to your account. At the end of the month Google sends you a check. There it is a $100 minimum though. If you do not have $100 in your account your balance will roll over into the next month and this will continue until you have $100.
There are few things that make this program stand apart. I've tried many other affiliate programs with little or no success. In my experience the Google AdSense program works. It works because it serves the ads that people want to see. Google generates the ads based on keywords that pertain to whatever it is your website or blog is all about.
While it is possible to earn a lot of money this way, most people will just earn a few hundred bucks every month or two. It might not make you rich, but it may just cover a car payment or give you a few extra bucks in your pocket. All it really takes is spending half an hour or so two or three times a week on your blog.
Your profits will take time to build up. First google will have to approve your application. Then, you will have to build your content. Finally, you will need to publicize and market your blog or website to build readership.
I will be covering all of the things in depth in future installments of this blog. If you subscribe to this blog I was in you an email every time it is updated with new info. If you stick with me through this there's a really good chance you can earn some serious money in your spare time. I will walk you through the whole process step by step with pictures, tutorials, walkthroughs and advice.
Subscribe to Marc Everlove's Tech Tips by Email
If you start a blog, leave a comment or email me, I would love to see it!
Remember, Rome wasn't built in a day. This will take some time to get rolling. However, once it gets up to speed, your blog can make you money while you sleep. People from all over the world can visit your blog anytime day or night. When they do come, some of them are bound to click on one of your ads.
You can make anywhere from 3¢ to 10 bucks on a single click! It all depends on how popular the keywords that are contained in your blog or to advertisers. When a key word is really popular advertisers will bid quite high for it. Regardless of whether you're ads make a lot of money per click or just a modest amount, you will be surprised how fast they add up.
I can tell you this; it is really nice to see that google check, the mail with the usual pile of bills. Think about it… Isn't it about time you got started?
I have included a free step by step How To Setup Your Blog tutorial complete with pictures containing big red arrows to help you out every step of the way. It's easy, it's free and it it will take less than 10 minutes to get started. Incidentally, if you're wondering, I'm not selling you anything.
Once you have your blog and have published a few posts, you will probably want to start using it to make money. The first thing that you will need to do is set up an account with Google AdSense. I know I mention this in part one of the series, but now will look at it in a little bit more depth.
The Google AdSense program is in outstanding affiliate ad program. What does is allow you to run advertisements on your website or blog. This is how they do it; and advertiser signs up for a Google AdWords account and selects some key words to bid on. Google will then display those ads on web sites or pages that are appropriate for whatever keyword the advertiser was bidding on.
Here's where you come in. Not only does Google run the ads on its own web sites and search engine, it allows affiliates (people such as yourself) to display the these ads on their own web sites and share in the profit. So every time one of your visitors clicks on an ad Google adds the appropriate amount of money to your account. At the end of the month Google sends you a check. There it is a $100 minimum though. If you do not have $100 in your account your balance will roll over into the next month and this will continue until you have $100.
There are few things that make this program stand apart. I've tried many other affiliate programs with little or no success. In my experience the Google AdSense program works. It works because it serves the ads that people want to see. Google generates the ads based on keywords that pertain to whatever it is your website or blog is all about.
While it is possible to earn a lot of money this way, most people will just earn a few hundred bucks every month or two. It might not make you rich, but it may just cover a car payment or give you a few extra bucks in your pocket. All it really takes is spending half an hour or so two or three times a week on your blog.
Your profits will take time to build up. First google will have to approve your application. Then, you will have to build your content. Finally, you will need to publicize and market your blog or website to build readership.
I will be covering all of the things in depth in future installments of this blog. If you subscribe to this blog I was in you an email every time it is updated with new info. If you stick with me through this there's a really good chance you can earn some serious money in your spare time. I will walk you through the whole process step by step with pictures, tutorials, walkthroughs and advice.
Subscribe to Marc Everlove's Tech Tips by Email
If you start a blog, leave a comment or email me, I would love to see it!
Remember, Rome wasn't built in a day. This will take some time to get rolling. However, once it gets up to speed, your blog can make you money while you sleep. People from all over the world can visit your blog anytime day or night. When they do come, some of them are bound to click on one of your ads.
You can make anywhere from 3¢ to 10 bucks on a single click! It all depends on how popular the keywords that are contained in your blog or to advertisers. When a key word is really popular advertisers will bid quite high for it. Regardless of whether you're ads make a lot of money per click or just a modest amount, you will be surprised how fast they add up.
I can tell you this; it is really nice to see that google check, the mail with the usual pile of bills. Think about it… Isn't it about time you got started?
Thursday, March 19, 2009
How to create your own blog tutorial walkthrough...
As a follow up to my blog post: Heck with the economy; How to make a few bucks online, I have published a pictorial walkthrough on one of my websites...
Feel free to stop by and check it out.
RealEstateTechOnline.com How To Set Up A Blogger.com Blog Walkthrough.
Leave a comment if you have any questions, or I can help you out...
Enjoy!
Feel free to stop by and check it out.
RealEstateTechOnline.com How To Set Up A Blogger.com Blog Walkthrough.
Leave a comment if you have any questions, or I can help you out...
Enjoy!
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