Web Design Tutorials
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How to use html software.
Using html software is rather easy. All you need to do is open up a notepad file.
You need to specify that you are making an html document by using <html></html> tags. So the first thing you type on an html page is <html> And the last thing you type on a page is </html> When you save a notepad file with html, make sure you save it as a .htm file or a .html file. For example, say you wrote a file in notepad. <html> <body> This is a sample file </body> </html> Then save it as index.htm. The rest is just adding tags like <B> BOLD </B> around lines of text and making hyperlinks. You basically just use different tags to specify what you are trying to code.
Personally, I like using Dreamweaver. It’s good to learn html. You can find many html tutorials online that tell you the basics, the fundamentals of html. Though honestly, I think anyone who hand codes all of their html is, well, to put it lightly, just plain crazy! A what-you-see-is-what-you-get editor like Dreamweaver does all of the coding behind the scenes for you. When you have learned the basics of hand coding html you should definitely switch to a what-you-see-is-what-you-get editor. Then, you can go into the html and make any corrections and you’ll know what you’re doing.
How to upload your web pages to a web server.
To upload your pages to a web server, you have a few options. The first is to use the built in FTP program that comes with a program like Dreamweaver. You simply click “Publish” then type in your domain name, your user name, and your password. Then you can just drag and drop the files on to your web server. If you are creating all of your own html files, you can use an FTP client such as Cute FTP located at http://www.cuteftp.com
You can also upload them from your browser at your webhosting site.
The Secret Truth You Must Know About Websites…
Here’s what I’ve found to be the truth about websites: Anybody can build a website! There are thousands and thousands of amateur web site designers out there, scrapping for jobs.All The competition is huge, and lots of these designers have studied for years and gone to schools. You could practice for years and try to learn how to do all of the fancy stuff with flash and super special effects. But, you might not ever put it to good use! At least as far as money-making is concerned. All of the super high tech stuff in the world won’t make a prospect buy your product…
Here is the secret key to making money with websites: SALES COPY! I repeat, SALES COPY is by far far far the very most important key to making money with your web sites. If you already know even the most basic html, you can make money as long as your sales copy is strong. I urge you to study everything you can on how to write sales copy!
I’m telling you, sales copy, communication of your offer is more important than any and all fancy web design skills! In fact, you could learn everything you need to know about html in a few weeks, but it’s the sales copy and copywriting techniques that will make you money. I hope you aren’t upset… You thought this was a course all about html, which it is… But the most effective use of html is to convey a strong sales message. The html aspect of this is very easy! All you need is a table with a few simple graphics (your graphics should be small in file size, say less than 200 kb per page) Then an order link to your product. There are some other things, such as adding pop-ups and code for mailing lists, but these are relatively easy too. All you really need to do is cut and paste it to the correct part of your web page from the program that generates it.
So, if you’re getting into web design, you should invest in copywriting too, more than anything. Even the richest gurus say this: They don’t keep volumes of books and tutorials about web design on their desk… What they have is volumes about writing effective sales copy!
Keep this in mind… I talk from experience! I’ve been online practically everyday for more than 2 years (and these were very intense years of trying to make money) My sites only became profitable when I really worked at writing good sales letters and learned all I could about it. The rest is the most basic html coding you could imagine!
Ok, I’ll stop ranting about sales copy… Actually, I’m going to rant for one more sentence! Learn solid copywriting skills if you want to make money from your websites. Invest in copywriting skills, the dividends are huge! Or, if you’re starting out, get some instant sales letters which are and find a product to sell or create your own. It only takes an hour or two or 3 to make a compelling sales letter from a good template. And continue to learn. I don’t know even 1/20th as much as I should know about sales copy…but you can bet I’ll read everything about it that I can get my hands on!
Where to get tons of neat features to add to page absolutely FREE. These secret sources took me years to find. It was only after being on line building web pages for a year that I found these fabulous sites! One of my favorite sources is http://www.dynamicdrive.com they have some cools stuff. The Warrior Forum. You get free access to lots of good products. There are a lot of entrepreneurs on there who give you free stuff or discounts for one reason or another. Maybe they want testimonials, or maybe they just want their books and products to move quickly around the web. In any case, the “Special Promotions” section of the Warrior forum is a great place to find products at steep discount or free. I highly recommend this source, especially if you want to get testimonials for your products, or do joint ventures with other web masters.
How to accept payments online within 2 days!
If you are considering a merchant account, think again! Ok, you might want a merchant account at some point, when you get a little money going, but here was my experience: I signed up for an expensive merchant account. First, I talked with the sales guy on the phone. Then he sent me this manila folder with all of these forms and fine print up the wazoo, I signed all of this stuff and gave my credit card number to pay the monthly fees. They sent me all of these complicated directions that would take a veteran web designer days to figure out. I never ended up using it to process even one payment --except for the test payment I was billed for more than 8 months. Why? Cause my product wasn’t ready! It takes a while to get going, so if you want a merchant account, you should already have a product that’s selling well.
Also, it took me a while to figure out how to cancel everything. Avoid complicated processes… Instead, I use ClickBank and PayPal which are great.
ClickBank is super simple and reasonable, plus there is a built in affiliate program. However, it’s only meant to be used for downloadable products. Visit http://www.clickbank.com
Where to register your domain name.
You should get your own domain name! I'll tell you where to get the best price. To register your domain name, I like GoDaddy at http://www.godaddy.com You can register domains for $8.95 per year. To make it work with your webhost, you need to set the domain name servers to that webhost. This is easy to do. Just login to your domain name account and select “modify DNS”.
How to code html.
There are plenty of tutorials about html that are practically all the same. The key is just to delve into it…it’s not hard at all.
The 10 things you absolutely must avoid when using html.
1: Avoid slow loading pages (duh) well, you should keep your page graphics to a minimum. Remember, sales copy is what makes a site profitable, and words don’t take more than 1 second to load! Graphics can enhance your pages, though people won’t wait more than a few seconds.
2: Avoid any colored backgrounds behind the sales copy. Just make your sales letter Black on a White background, or maybe at most a beige or light yellow background. Anything else is just plain silly and totally amateur. The background away from the text can be colorful or even have patterns, but don’t make the text hard to read!
3: Avoid anything uncessary, anything frivolous. Trim that baby down ruthlessly!
4: Complicated sales processes: Make it easy to order…make your whole site progress towards one goal…let it flow like a river towards your order link, then make it as easy to order as possible! Make your pages fast loading, money producing machines!
5: Avoid trying to sound like you’re a corportation if you’re only a home based business. You don’t have to say “We” all of the time when you’re trying to tell your visitors about something.
6: Marquees, Scrolling Text Boxes and Animations. These are...
7. Anything that blinks
8. Huge lists of links to other sites
9. Any cheap advertising. If you want to be a success online, get your own webhosting. Don’t post cheap banner ads to other sites. If you want to post ads, pick an affiliate program of a product you like that pays high commission rates…but don’t waste time with lousy ads.
10. Letting your visitors leave without getting something from them. Try to get an email address at least. Try to get them to opt-in to your newsletter. Don’t waste money getting them there unless you have a good sales messages and a newsletter.
Where to get huge discounts on html software.
One other way to find discounts is to look for student discounts in Google. Visit http://www.google.com and search for “student” “Dreamweaver” If you search thoroughly for 10-20 minutes, you should find a significant discount. But only if you’re a student Same goes for Macromedia Studio MX or Dreamweaver. I really like Macromedia Fireworks which comes with the studio pack. If you’re serious about web design, Fireworks MX is a good investment. Personally, I use Fireworks for my graphics and Dreamweaver for most of my sites. The Black Label software I use to add special features, like pop-ups and effects. My point is, look for discounts because they are out there. Do an extensive Google search and use parentheses arounf words like “student discount” or “student discount” “Dreamweaver”
You might also want to check out eBay for these products. Whatever the case may be, a good What-You-See-What-You-Get html editor is a sound investment for making money online.
This is what I would compare it to: If you were mining for gold, would you use a garden trowel? Of course you wouldn’t…that would be overly tedious and silly. Maybe when you need to chip away at some small detail or excavate a little nugget, you might want to go in and hand code the html. That is why it’s good to learn exactly how to code html. Learn all of the tags or as much as you can. But that doesn’t mean you should do it all the time! Wouldn’t you rather have a bulldozer? Or at least a big sturdy shovel? That’s what a good What-You-See-What-You-Get html editor is like. Get one.
What the #1 most important factor of any web page is.
If you are trying to sell something online, I'll tell you the #1 thing you need to have on your page. For weeks I had only a few sales...but when I put this on my page, sales started almost immediately! This one thing is the difference between prosperity and bankruptcy!
One Word: Testimonials!
Get as many testimonials as you can for your product. If you need some, give it away to people in exchange for a testimonial. You don’t say here’s my product in exchange for testimonials, say here’s my product, I really need testimonials. If you like it, please write a testimonial. People are great about this, and you can get solid gold testimonials in a few days. I’m going to very highly recommend that you join the warrior forum if for this reason only. For one of my products I got like 10 testimonials in 2 days, just by offering it for free in the special offers section.
After I had all of the testimonials I needed, I simply edited my message to say “offer closed.” Be very liberal with your product at first. Give it away to everyone and anyone. Credibility is of the utmost importance and will help you increase sales dramatically. You really can’t succeed without at least 2-3 good testimonials…but I’d say 10, 15 or more, as many as you can get is better. Sprinkle them throughout your sales letter, use them where appropriate.
How to find products to sell online.
If you want to sell things on your site, I'll tell you where to find products that you can sell for commission. This system makes it easy! It takes less than 4 minutes to add a product to your site with this method! If you want to sell products online, here’s some good places to look: Check out CBMall at http://www.cbmall.com/search/?storefront=lllllll You can get 50% or more to promote thousands of digital products. You should always look for products that pay at least 50%, and you should try them out before recommending them.
However, if you own a CBMall, you can always get your “affiliate discount” on any product you buy. I recommend that you buy products from your own mall. Some people think that it’s unethical, but I don’t. First of all, people who sell eBooks are happy with any sale of any kind.
Secondly, if you are going to promote someone else’s book for affiliate commission, you want to see if their system works, right? You want to see if you are going to get paid! So, you can order through your own affiliate link, if you remember. Some people might find this unethical. Personally, if I’m a vendor, and I’m selling a product, and someone who plans on promoting my product if they like it wants to take an affiliate discount, I’m not going to care so much…but that’s just me. Some people might be disturbed, but it’s up to you. As a friend of mine, and purchaser of one of my products, you can always take an affiliate discount on anything you buy from me if I have an affiliate program going.
Other products:
You can find resale rights to products. Make sure the product isn’t second rate or really outdated though. But you can find really good products with resale rights and make money from them. You should be able to charge at least $24.95 for the product (in my humble opinion) Otherwise, it probably isn’t worth promoting. Some of the software programs with resell rights are really good too
How to get other people to link to your site.
I'll give you a template message that you can send to other webmasters to get links for your site...just send a bunch of these and you'll help yourself to get traffic to your site. To get other people to your site, you might want to start an affiliate program. I recommend simply using ClickBank and then going to look for “affiliates” who will promote you for commission. You can also send personalized email to sites asking for a link.
Here’s a simple link exchange letter:
Hi [firstname],
I visited your site at {url of their site here} and noticed that we have some things in common. I wanted to tell you that we have a web site about [your site topic] that thoroughly educates surfers on [your site content here]. I’m sure your visitors to your site would really appreciate you providing them with a link to such valuable information. By linking to me, they’ll view your site more favorably and will be more inclined to visit your site again and again. It’s clearly a win-win situation for both of us. Linking to my site is very easy. All you need to do is post a hyperlink to [your site’s url here] Best Regards,
Your Name Here
Link exchanges can boost your rankings. I would suggest looking for people on Google who might link to your site. If you click on “Advanced Search” in Google, you can search by 100 sites at a time. A comprehensive link strategy is a good idea, but if you are selling something, you might also want to consider paid advertising. Personally, I like Google AdWords.
How to modify & work on your web sites from any computer in the world!
Whether you are at home, at an internet cafe, or simply have a laptop, you can work on your website from any location in the world, as long as you are connected to the internet. Simply login to your control panel and use the tools provided to edit the html. This is really great, and their WEBPanel system optimizes this. All you really need is your login and password.
I hope you have enjoyed this small tutorial, you are well on your way to making web sites that are capable of exchanging thoughts, information, and money. Web sites are a fantastic medium for exchanging these things. Treat them as such and you should do well.
But don’t clutter your sites up…Make your messages clear. If you want to sell something SELL IT! If you have other objectives, use a straightforward process that is logical and uncomplicated. But don’t distract the surfer. And lastly, invest in the content, the message of your website rather than the technology. People read at web sites. A lot! So if anything, work on your writing skills and your sales copy skills… HTML is easy as cake, it’s the words, the conveying your message concisely that takes time. Enjoy your sites and prosperity,