1) Don’t use sound on your site

If your visitor is going to stay on your site, reading your content, you will need to be sure they’re not annoyed by audio looping on and on. If you insist on adding audio, be sure they have a proper control of it — volume or muting controls would work.

2) Have an easy to use navigation system

You have to provide a basic and straightforward navigation menu so that even a young child will know how to work with it. Hold off on using difficult Flash based menus or multi-tiered drop down menus. Even If your visitors do not know how to navigate i guarantee they will still be able to find there way off your site.

3) Let the user know where they are

When visitors are deeply engrossed in browsing your site, you will need to be sure they know which component of the site they are in at that moment. That way, they will be able to browse related information or navigate to any section of the site simply.

4) Don’t use ‘welcoming’ splash pages

Splash pages are the first pages you see when you arrive at a website. They typically have a pretty pictures with words like “welcome” or “click here to enter”. In truth, they are just that — pretty with no real use. Don’t let your visitors have another reason to click on the “back” button! Pull them straight onto your site.

5) Don’t use excessive numbers of banner advertisements

Even the least net savvy people have hardened themselves against banner advertisements so you will be wasting website real estate. As an alternative, provide more valueable content and weave related affiliate links into your content, this will encourage your visitors to feel that they ‘need’ to pay for instead of being pushed to pay for something.

Web Design from Blogzeal.com

Mistake #1 – Failure To Provide Search Functionality

Blogs should be searchable. Include a search function on the blog so that website visitors can easily search your blog content for the things they are interested in or looking for.

Mistake #2 – Failure To Offer Syndication

Failure to provide an RSS feed for blog content is a common mistake. RSS feeds will significantly increase the number of blog followers. Many blogging platforms will automatically create an RSS feed for the content — if your current content management system does not have that ability, you can manually create the RSS feeds yourself, or use software like FeedForAll ( http://www.feedforall.com ) to create the feeds. RSS feeds will increase your blogs exposure and readership.

Mistake #3 – Failure To Personalize

Blogs are meant to be personal. Blogs that consist mostly of impersonal, factual news clips will not attract as much interest as a blog with a distinct personality. Add character and personality to your blog by personalizing your blog posts. Readers tend to enjoy blogs that contain personality and character.

Mistake #4 – Failure To Subscribe To Your Own Blog

Be sure to subscribe to your own blog and RSS feed, so that you can see exactly what your readers are seeing. Click through the blog posts to ensure that your linking schemes are functioning properly. Sometimes you might be surprised by how your blog content is being displayed to your readers, so be sure to subscribe to your own blog in order to quickly correct any errors.

Mistake #5 – Poor Navigation To Archives

It is important that you provide clear navigation to older blog posts. You can often categorize blog posts or list related blog posts beneath your main blog posts, which gives the reader access to additional related material if they found your blog post interesting.

Mistake #6 – Lack Of Consistency

Blog postings should be consistent, both in frequency and in tone. Blog readers will expect consistency in blog posts, and straying too far from the established and expected frequency or tone could sour some readers.

Mistake #7 – Lack Of Theme

Blog posts should be united by a common theme, simply because subscribers will follow blogs that contain an ongoing topic they are interested in. If the blog is simply a collection of random and unrelated posts, your subscribers may lose interest and wander away.

Mistake # 8 – Failure To Use Stable Hosting

Hosting should be reliable and stable. Nothing is more frustrating to a reader than being unable to click through on a blog post they are interested in. Use a stable web host and platform, even if it means you have to spend a little more money.

Mistake #9 – Changing Half-Way

Many people will try blogging initially, using a 3rd-party for hosting, and once they realize it is successful they decide to host and manage their blog locally. This means that any followers they’ve managed to obtain prior to that point must then resubscribe to the RSS feed or go to a different URL for the most recent blog posts. If you are going to blog, don’t do it half-way and then change things in mid-stream. As they say: go big or go home — meaning that you should do it the right way from the beginning, or not bother.

Mistake #10 – Lack Of Monitoring Metrics

View your blog logs on a regular basis, so you know which articles your viewers enjoy the most. Then you’ll know how to give your readers more of what has already been of interest to them. Analytics are critical in determining what people like and dislike, so don’t rely on assumptions… rely on numbers.
About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for RecordForAll http://www.recordforall.com audio recording and editing software.

Blog Design from Blogzeal.com

Use Twitter for the following…

Branding
Twitter can be used to secure a brand. Establishing brand identity is important to most businesses, and Twitter gives a business control over their message.

For example, the avatar used in a Twitter profile can reinforce a company’s brand. Use the image normally associated with your company’s brand as the avatar for your account. The Twitter profile webpage can also be customized to reinforce the company’s brand identity and message.

Marketers can also monitor what is being said on Twitter about their company and brand. Simply search http://search.twitter.com using the company name or brand name. When a query about the company or service is tweeted, reply to the tweet with an offer of assistance. To make it easier to follow such mentions, you can subscribe to a Twitter keyword search RSS feed, which will then notify you each time the company or product brand is mentioned on Twitter.

Marketing
Twitter can be used to let customers and potential customers know about new products, services, and promotions. Marketers can also conduct searches for questions where the company’s product is a possible solution. Marketers can then reply to the queries, offering assistance where it is appropriate.

Viral
Twitter, by nature, is a viral tool. New, innovative, and interesting items are quickly broadcast and re-tweeted, helping to spread the word. Consider what elements of the company or product are interesting or unique. The more out-of-the-box they are, the more likely they will appeal to Twitter’s viral audience.

Even The Playing Field
Twitter can be used to even the playing field between large companies and smaller ones attempting to compete. Small companies can personalize their customer interaction much more easily. Twitter also makes it easier to gain the attention of others. The Twitter community helps to even the playing field.

Press
Twitter can be used to attract the attention of the press or news media. Many bloggers and media personalities participate on Twitter. As a result, the posting of your new announcements may grab their attention, and result in unexpected press coverage. Public relations professionals should tweet when they issue press releases.

Instant Feedback
Twitter can be used to get instant feedback on just about anything. If a company’s development team wants to know what customers think about a potential new feature, Twitter is a great way to receive instant feedback.

Get Ideas
Twitter can be used to develop ideas for new projects or needs that people have. Monitor the Twitter stream for the types of products or services people are routinely asking about.

Connect
Twitter can be used to connect to others in your industry. Follow professionals in the same niche or market, in order to stay in the communication loop.

Respond to Criticism
Twitter can be used to respond to criticism in a constructive and professional manner. Watch for mentions that contain criticisms of your product or service, and then reply in a helpful and professional manner. How you respond often says more than the actual criticism itself.

Communicate
Twitter can be used to communicate and promote your participation in industry events, conferences, and trade shows.

Customer Service
Twitter can be used to provide customer service and assistance.

Personalize
Twitter can be used to personalize customer interaction.

Promotion
Twitter can be used to market things like special offers or time-limited discounts.

Twitter is surely a trend, but probably not one that businesses can afford to ignore.

About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for RecordForAll http://www.recordforall.com audio recording and editing software.

Web Promotion by Blogzeal.com

Here are the setup steps for both Business and Personal usage…

For Business Use:

1. Choose A Name
Select a name for your Twitter account. If the Twitter account is going to be for company use, you should use your brand name as your account name.

2. Create A Profile
Write a business profile that includes a description of your company, products, and services.

3. Add An Icon/Avatar
Upload a customized avatar that will reinforce your company brand, such as a version of your company logo. Twitter icons that are eye-catching will draw more attention to your posts.

4. Customize A Landing Page
Customize a landing page for your profile, and reinforce your brand and company message there. Use the profile space to provide additional information.

5. Follow
Follow friends or others with similar interests, products, or company focus. You can also follow industry leaders.

For Personal Use:

1. Choose A Name
Select a name for your Twitter account. This can be a nickname or your real name.

2. Create A Profile
Write a profile that reflects your personal interests. This will help people with common interests to locate you.

3. Add An Icon/Avatar
Upload a Twitter icon/avatar. Eye-catching Twitter icons will draw more attention to your posts. You can use a photo of yourself, or another image that reflects your personality.

4. Customize A Landing Page
Customize a landing page that reflects your personal interests or passions.

5. Follow Friends
Follow friends or others with similar interests, media personalities, or just about anyone you are interested in.

Engage
Keep in mind that Twitter is not about shouting your message — it is about engaging in a two-way (or more) dialogue. Begin tweeting by interacting with those that you are following.

About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for RecordForAll http://www.recordforall.com audio recording and editing software.

Web Promotion by Blogzeal.com

1. Custom 404 Pages

Create a custom 404 web page, so that any time your website visitor mistypes or misspells a URL on your site, they will still be provided with navigation options for your site (instead of getting nothing but a “Page Not Found” error message, which is neither friendly or helpful).

2. Redirect Non-www. To www.

Website visitors will often leave out the “www.” portion when they type a URL or link to your website. Set the website up so that it automatically redirects any non-www version of your domain urls (http://domain.com) to the www version (http://www.domain.com) of your website.

3. Properly Sized Graphics

Size and define all graphics and images on your web pages properly and correctly. Web pages will load quicker if the graphics contained on each page are properly defined so they don’t require the web browser to re-size them. Properly sized and defined images can reduce the web browser workload and speed up the page loading time.

4. Favicon

Add a Favicon (favorite icon) to your website, so that your company or product logo appears in the URL box. This icon will also show up in a bookmark list, and gives the web site an added level of professionalism.

5. Include RSS Auto-Discovery

If you offer an RSS feed for any content on your website, be sure to include auto-discovery code in the header of your website. This will allow many browsers and RSS readers to automatically detect the presence of an RSS feed and alert the visitor that it is available.

6. Alternate Domains

Domain names are relatively inexpensive, so you should register multiple domain versions and extensions in order to protect your brand. The varied domains can be parked on the main website, simply to prevent others from obtaining them. Registering alternate domain versions will help protect your brand.

7. Consistent Navigation

Navigation should remain consistent on a website. As a website visitor moves through the website, the navigation bar should remain in the same place on each page. This will make it easier for visitors to navigate your website, and become more comfortable as they move through your site.

8. Home Goes Home

The main graphic, company logo, or “header” at the top of the site should be included on every page in the site, and should always return the visitor to the home page of the website. This has become a web standard, and most visitors now expect to return to the main page of the site simply by clicking on the main top graphic from any page within the site.

9. Copyright Notice

Include a copyright notice on the bottom of each page contained on the website, and keep it current! It may seem trivial, but an out-of-date copyright notice can send a message to your visitors that the website and its content may be out-of-date as well.

10. Meaningful File Names

Use meaningful file names for any files, graphics, or web pages. Many search engines look at file names as part of their search algorithm, and using keywords in file names may help to improve search engine rankings.

11. Hyphens vs Underscores

When naming files and webpages, use hyphens (i.e. web-page.html) rather than underscores (i.e. web_page.html) for the file names. It is much easier for search engines to separate and index the keywords when hyphens are used.

12. Alt Tags

Use ALT tags to describe what images represent on web pages. ALT tags not only assist visually-impaired visitors in knowing what the images are, but they also help with search engine ranking.

13. Spell Check

Use a spell-check feature on the text of all web pages in a website. A website that contains mistyped or misspelled words just shouts “unprofessional”. Take the extra few minutes necessary to check the spelling of text on each page of your website.

14. Test

After making changes to a website, test it! Many times, a webmaster will upload changes, confident in their abilities, only to later discover that in their attempt to fix one thing, they have “broken” something somewhere else. Make testing a habit after making even the most minor changes!

15. Keep It Simple

Simple is good. Remove unnecessary clutter and distractions from a website and navigation menu.

About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for RecordForAll http://www.recordforall.com audio recording and editing software.

Web Design from Blogzeal.com

There is no agreement on exactly what Web 2.0 means. Depending on who you are speaking with, you may receive different explanations. At it’s heart, Web 2.0 is about the maturity of the Web. While many refer to Web 2.0 as companies that employ powerful web technologies, the key components of Web 2.0 are said to include: the Web as a platform, collaboration, and syndication.

Here are the “ABC’s” of Web 2.0…

A – Ajax

Ajax is an abbreviation for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, and is a web development technique for creative interactive web applications. Many Web 2.0 websites use Ajax to interact with website visitors.

B – Blog

Blogs are web logs that are updated regularly, usually on a daily basis. They contain information related to a specific topic. In many cases, blogs are used simply as daily diaries about people’s personal lives, political views, or even as social commentaries. The truth of the matter is that blogs can be shaped into whatever you, the author, want them to be.

C – Collaboration

Collaboration is a hallmark of Web 2.0. Building communities and developing content from multiple contributors is part of what is unique about these second-generation websites.

D – Dynamic

Content Dynamic content refers to content which is obtained from another source, and which is automatically updated whenever the source content changes.

E – ECommerce

Ecommerce comes from the phrase “Electronic Commerce”, which basically means selling things over the Internet. Many websites now conduct financial transactions over the Internet. Ecommerce is simply a vehicle for collecting payments online.

F – Folksonomy

Folksonomy is a means of classifying and categorizing data on the web through collaborative efforts from the online community. While not strictly synonymous to the term, this is more commonly known as “tagging”, where keywords are associated with items or links. The keywords are used to classify the items.

G – Global Navigation

Global navigation refers to a somewhat standardized navigational menu structure that encompasses all the main pages on the website. Regardless of the particular web page you are on, you can navigate to any other part of the website using the global navigation system.

H – Hosted Application

Hosted applications are typically interactive programs that reside on the Internet, and are designed to run on the Internet rather than being downloaded and installed on the user’s computer.

I – Information Architecture

Information architecture describes the structure and methodology by which information (such as website content) is organized.

J – JavaScript

JavaScript is a cross-platform, object-based scripting language developed by Netscape for client and server applications. It is commonly used in web pages to add interactivity and to dynamically update content.

K – Knowledgebase

A knowledgebase is a collection of facts, rules, and procedures that are organized into a searchable format. In Web 2.0, website knowledgebases are usually interactive.

L – Long Tail

The phrase “long tail” pertains to search engine results. The “long tail” of search follows the thinking that the combined total results of multiple less-popular terms will exceed the results of a single more-popular term. Many webmasters have given up their hope of ranking well for the extremely popular terms, and instead are focused on ranking well for the less-popular but more abundant terms or phrases.

M – Mashups

Mashups are the result of merging content from a variety of different sources, and thus creating new content based on the merging and filtering of the resulting content.

N – Newsreader

A newsreader is a software tool or web application that is used to read and manage RSS feeds.

O – OPML

OPML stands for Outline Processor Markup Language, and is a standard for people wishing to import or export their RSS feed subscriptions.

P – Podcasting

Podcasting is online audio content that is delivered via an RSS feed. Many people equate podcasting to “radio on demand”. However, in reality, podcasting offers far more options in terms of content and programming than radio does. In addition, podcast listeners can determine the time and the place of their listening, meaning that they decide what programming they want to receive and when they want to listen to it. Listeners can retain audio archives to listen to at their leisure. While blogs have turned many bloggers into journalists, podcasting has the potential to turn podcasters into radio personalities.

Q – Query

A query is a phrase or a group of words, possibly combined with other syntax, used to pass instructions to a search engine or a directory in order to locate web pages.

R – RSS

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication, and is a standard for syndicating content online. RSS feeds are used to provide real-time information to interested parties.

S – Social Bookmarking

Social bookmarking and social networks are collaborative efforts that use democracy and voting to influence the importance of items that are bookmarked.

T – Tags

Tags are descriptive keywords that are used to classify and categorize items or URLs on social networks.

U – User-Generated

Content User-generated content refers to website content that is created by the users themselves. It can be in the form of message posts on discussion groups, blogs, comments on blog postings, wiki entries, etc.

V – Vlog

Vlog comes from the phrase “video blog”. This is a blog that mainly publishes video content rather than audio content. Video podcasting is sometimes called vodcasting.

W – Wiki

Wikis are a collaborative environment that is built around input from community users.

X – XML

XML stands for eXtensible Markup Language. XML is often used to update dynamic web content.

Y – YouTube

YouTube is a highly popular Web 2.0 video hosting website that allows users to submit, view, and rate videos.

Z – ZeeEnd

About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for RecordForAll http://www.recordforall.com audio recording and editing software.

blogzeal.com

Everybody loves a bargain! Where should you look for a bargain?

Software Deal Of The Day WebSites…

Software Deal Of The Day

Software-DOD.com features popular software titles, with a new discounted application available each day. The software discounts range from 10-90% off of list prices, and the featured software is only available at the discounted price for twenty-four hours. Software-DOD.com also includes “second chance” offers, which are offers designed for people who missed the primary Deal Of The Day offer. The second chance offers are still discounted below the normal price, but not as deeply discounted as the primary Deal Of The Day offer was.

Software DOD – http://www.software-dod.com

Bits Du Jour

Every day, Bits Du Jour offers 24-hour discount deals on Windows software applications or web services. They feature deals at a substantial discount, and the discount is available for that day only.

Bits Du Jour – http://www.bitsdujour.com

Give Away Of The Day

Every day, GAOTD offers one software title that will be a Give-away title for that day. The software will be available for download for 24 hours (or more, if agreed on by the software publisher), and that software will be absolutely free during that time. The GAOTD featured product is not a trial version, and not a limited version – it’s a registered and legal version of the software, and free for the website visitors.

GAOTD – http://www.giveawayoftheday.com
(there is also a “game” version of Give Away Of The Day available at: http://game.giveawayoftheday.com )

GameDuJour

Game du Jour is a “One Deal a Day” website featuring indie and casual PC games. Every day of the week, GameDuJour.com sells one popular downloadable game at a deep discount. But the clock is ticking, and each deal expires at the end of the day. Visitors to GameDuJour.com can download the GameDuJour game, try it, and buy it at a big discount until midnight Central Time. Then it’s a whole new game — the clock is reset and another game is offered at a bargain price.

Game Du Jour – http://www.gamedujour.com

Electronics Deal Of The Day Websites…

Woot

Woot.com is an online store and community that focuses on selling cool stuff cheap. It started out as an employee-store / market-testing outlet for an electronics distributor, but it’s taken on a life of its own, offering a variety of items, typically electronics and techie toys, at discount prices for a single day.

Woot – http://www.woot.com

LunarLoot

Daily discount deal on electronic products. Every 24 hours a new item is made available.

LunarLoot – http://www.lunarloot.com

Yugster

Yugster is a website that sells cool stuff at prices that typically cannot be beat. An item is Yours Until Gone (YUG)! Everyday they offer a new product at 6am EST, and when it is gone, it is gone. They also offer an additional unique option — if you register and become a “Yugster” (free), you get their daily offers a day before everyone else. Just log into the Yugster website as a registered Yugster, and you’ll not only see that day’s Daily Offer, but you’ll also have access to a special “Sneak Preview” offer for the offer scheduled for the next day. Registered Yugsters can also receive emails containing a heads-up on items available, and access to additional and special “private” offers that aren’t included on the website.

Yugster – http://www.yugster.com

Atomic Deals

Atomic deals is a reverse-price auction. The price of the offered item drops continually, until the item is sold out. Each day, new products are added to the site with three new deals going live every midnight CST. When an item “goes live” the AtomicDeals falling-price auction begins, and the price starts to fall. The price will continue to fall until time runs out or until the item sells out.

Atomic Deals – http://www.atomicdeals.com

1 Sale A Day

1 Sale A Day is a daily deal website, offering one deeply-discounted product every day, hence the name 1SaleADay. The product is only available for a 24-hour period, and expires daily at midnight (EST). It is then replaced with a new discounted product for the following day.

1 Sale A Day – http://www.1saleaday.com

New Day, New Deal

A single item is available each day at a discounted price. When the item is sold out, the deal ends. New products are available each day.

New Day New Deal – http://www.newdaynewdeal.com

Other Deal Of The Day Websites…

Crazy Mom Deal

This is another site offering one deal each day, with limited quantities. Prices are discounted, and when the product is sold out, the deal is done. Products are designed to appeal to Moms!

Crazy Mom Deals http://www.crazymomdeals.com

Daily Gem Deals

DailyGemDeals.com (DGD) is an online retailer that sells only authentic, high-quality jewelry at deep discount prices. DGD is different from the traditional online stores, which offer thousands of products at a variety of prices. Instead, DailyGemDeals offers one product at a time, at the best possible price. A single product is featured for 24 hours, ending at Midnight EST. Once the 24-hour period ends, the next product is featured until the following night.

Daily Gem Deals – http://dailygemdeals.com

MyDailySteal

The Daily Steal is posted every night at Midnight CST. The product offered is always in brand new, from-the-factory condition, never used or refurbished. They only sell one product per day, offered until their inventory is gone. They may have 10 or 10,000 units available at the posted price — the quantities are not listed, and when the items are sold out, the deal ends.

My Daily Steal – http://www.mydailysteal.com

GoingToday

Going Today will offer one item every day until it is sold out. Their products are generally geared towards the musician geek! New items are posted each night at Midnight EST.

Going Today – http://www.goingtoday.com

Shnoop

Schnoop.com is an online store that focuses on selling general merchandise at very cheap prices. They offer one item each day, but unlike the other “one item per day” websites, Schnoop.com gives you a chance to buy the previous day’s item as well, until it is sold out. Items are in stock and ship out within 2-4 business days. They release a new item every 24 hours at 9PM EST.

Shnoop – http://www.shnoop.com

Deal of the Day Roundups:

The following websites are designed to track the daily deals. They monitor Deal Of The Day websites, and list the various deals in groups. The websites update daily to reflect the new deals that are available.

DealSucker – http://www.dealsucker.com
DODTracker – http://www.dodtracker.com
ZeroDay Deals – http://www.zerodaydeals.com
BargainJack – http://www.bargainjack.com

If you are conscious about your spending, consider monitoring these Deal Of The Day websites. Some of the offered discounts are significant. Deal sites are timely, as the discounts are only available for a limited time. Additionally, the websites update on a very regular basis.

About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for RecordForAll http://www.recordforall.com audio recording and editing software.

Search Engine Optimization

In addition, webmasters that may lack adequate graphic or design skills can quickly and easily create a website themselves, simply by editing and customizing the existing HTML layout in a web template. And locating a themed web template takes far less time than attempting to create a layout and graphics from scratch. Web templates also remove any coding issues. This is especially helpful to webmasters who are just starting out and just learning HTML coding.

The bottom line is that webmasters who use web templates will have their websites up and running much quicker.

Where To Find Webmaster Templates?

Locating a web template that meets your business or personal needs doesn’t have to be difficult. There are online directories and galleries, most of which are categorized into themes or by industries. For example, a variety of themed and generic templates can be found at Webmaster Templates: http://www.webmaster-templates.net .

Other web templates can be found HTML Templates Sources – http://www.small-business-software.net/html-web-templates.htm .

What Is A Good Template, And What Is Not?

Differentiating between a good template and a not-so-good template can be difficult for an amateur. A beginner should have no issues editing the basic HTML layout, but some of the more complex graphic templates and web designs can be difficult for a novice to manipulate. If you are a beginner, stick with HTML-based templates, which can be edited with a common HTML editor, until you get the hang of web design.

How Can Templates Be Edited?

It depends on the format of the web template, but in most cases the web templates available online can be edited using common HTML editors such as DreamWeaver, FrontPage, or Web Express. The graphics can be edited in any type of imaging application such as PaintShop Pro, Gimp, or PhotoShop. Some templates will also use CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) to control and standardize things like font sizes and colors across all web pages. These CSS files can be edited using a CSS editor like TopStyle.

What Should I Look For In A Ready-Made Web Template?

Web templates should be editable in any HTML editor.

What Am I Allowed And Not Allowed To Do With The Templates?

Different templates are licensed for different purposes and with different restrictions. You must carefully read the licensing agreement on the template’s website to determine how the template can be used. Most licenses allow templates to be modified and customized. Some licenses stipulate that the templates are for personal use only, and not for commercial use, so be careful there.

Web templates offer webmasters a great opportunity to minimize development time and get new sites on the web sooner rather than later. The structure of web templates allow webmasters to focus on the proprietary content development, and optimizing the website for search engines, rather than struggling with layout and graphics.

About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for RecordForAll http://www.recordforall.com audio recording and editing software.

BlogZeal for SEO

1. Images

Include “alt text” for any images on a webpage. The alt text should accurately describe the image. The visually impaired will often use screen readers to discern what the images are, and their screen reader will read the alt text and tell them what the image is.

2. Transcripts

Any audio recordings should have transcripts available. Hearing impaired individuals can then read the transcript to learn what is contained in the audio recordings that are available on the website.

3. Contrast

Website colors should be easy to discern, and contrasted so that they stand out. Keep in mind that different monitors will display colors slightly differently. As such, usability research suggests that you should play it safe and stick with websafe colors. Even individuals with minor visual impairments may have difficulties in discerning subtle color differences, so use contrasting colors to highlight important information.

4. Scanable

Write your web copy in a way that makes it easy for visitors to scan. Use bulleted lists and bold headlines to assist with the web content’s readability.

5. Captcha

In addition to a visual captcha code, provide an optional verbal captcha code that can be “played” and listened to thru the visitors speakers. If someone has difficulty with their vision, discerning the characters in a captcha code can often be an exercise in frustration and futility. Providing an audio version of the captcha code will greatly assist visitors with visual impairments.

6. Type Face

Avoid using very small font sizes or overly ornate font styles. The more standard sans-serif fonts are much easier to read by most users.

7. Obvious

Make links and the website’s navigational structure obvious.

8. Consistent

Keep the navigation present and consistent throughout the entire website, so users know where to look for recurring options without having to search for them on each page.

9. Avoid Animation

Animated graphics can also be a challenge for visually impaired individuals. If animation is not a critical component of your message, avoid using it in your web design. Animated graphics are distracting, and often aggravating for individuals with focal impairments.

10. Text Only

Many webmasters offer a text-only or “print-friendly” version of important web content. Consider this as an option, as it will help those with text readers to completely understand and comprehend your website.

Ultimately, a webmaster’s goal should be to make their website accessible and usable to as many visitors as possible. With minor website changes, webmasters can be assured they are not accidentally or unintentionally excluding the disabled population.

About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for RecordForAll http://www.recordforall.com audio recording and editing software.

BlogZeal for SEO

Required Equipment

1. A Computer Capable of Recording Audio
2. Recording and Editing Software (RecordForAll Suggested – US$39.00)
3. Podcast Creation Software (FeedForAll Suggested – US$39.00)
4. A Microphone
5. A Recording Location (quiet, without any echo)

Start With A Plan Or Concept

First things first — you will need to decide on the podcast’s content and format. What types of content will the podcast show contain? How long will each broadcast be? How frequently will new podcasts be available? The general format of the show will shape future podcasts, so a fair amount of thought should be given to the show’s format. You must also determine what the approximate length of each show and show segment will be. Listeners will come to expect a certain format and time commitment. Create an outline that will dictate the format and segment lengths. If you are going to use audio advertisements in the podcasts, be sure to include them in your format outline.

The Actual Recording

The first show will be part of the educational process, and likely won’t be perfect. But there are a couple of the obvious things that you should plan on doing from the beginning, such as: The recording should be done in a quiet place. And record the show segments in “chunks” rather than trying to stream everything all together — this will make the editing process much easier.

Edit And Add Transitions

Edit each audio file to remove extraneous words, noise, long gaps or silence. Add transitional effects between podcast segments. To make the show sound more professional, introduce the show with a podsafe music clip, which can also be overlaid easily into each section. Audio recording and editing software will make building your show easy.

Create A Feed And Upload

Once you have completed the editing of the podcast audio file, save it as an MP3 file, upload it to the web, and then use podcast creation software to create an RSS feed. The link to the audio file will be included in the enclosure field of the RSS feed’s first item. Use the RSS feed’s Item Title and Description fields to describe the show. Use keywords related to the audio content in the description of the RSS feed. You may also want to include a text transcript of the show to give listeners a better sense of what the show will cover.

Promote The Podcast

Promote your new show to the masses. Submit the podcast to the various online podcast directories and podcast search engines. Include a page on your website that includes information about the show, and how to subscribe to it. Make it easy for interested parties to find information about the podcast.

Analyze

Analyze the podcast’s popularity by viewing web logs or other podcast tracking data. Continually monitor the podcast’s popularity, and determine whether subscriptions are increasing or decreasing. Pay attention to which topics attracted the most attention, and consider doing follow-up and related segments that pertain to the more popular shows.

Communicate With Listeners

Setup a forum, blog, or email feedback form to communicate with listeners. Allow your subscribers to comment on your show and provide feedback about what they liked and didn’t like. Build and improve your show based on the feedback you receive.

Podcasting is a viable and interesting new method of communication. Use podcasting to boost your company to the forefront of your industry. Leveraging this powerful communication tool will give you a leg up on the competition.

About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for RecordForAll http://www.recordforall.com audio recording and editing software.

Blogzeal