Saving Money on Motorbike Insurance

So you’ve just got your new bike and can’t wait to ride it, you want to enjoy the freedom that only a motorbike can provide. It calls out your name and glistens in the garage just waiting for you to take it for a ride. And then, you realize, you have no motorbike insurance for that bike!
The majority of the world now requires motorcyclists to have insurance before using them on public roads.

Even if you’re not required to have motorbike insurance it’s still the best idea for your own protection. Many motorbike accidents are due to 3rd parties simply not seeing the motorbike so having this protection is an absolute must.

Can motorbike insurance be expensive? Yes! Motorbike insurance is often expensive when compared to car insurance. This is due to the insurance industry believing that riding a motorbike is more risky then driving a car. The primary reason being the one we just talked about above.

High performance motorbikes are also another reason why motorbike insurance is expensive. A little showing off with a high performance machine can be very risky in the eyes of the insurance companies. And it all comes down to risk! The more risky, the more the motorbike insurance companies will charge! Remember, insurance companies are there to make money from their services.
Motorbike Driving Course
A great way to keep your insurance down is to take a motorbike driving course. Even the most experienced motorcyclist can benefit from a motorcycle driving course, mainly due to the fact that the insurance company has proof you’re trying to be less risk to them. Make sure you provide the certificate though to get the possible discount.

Vandalism
A further reason why motorbike insurance is expensive is that motorbikes are at a higher risk of vandalism and are often easier to steal. If you let your insurance company know where you are planning to keep your motorbike you will probably be able to lower your insurance premiums. A garage or a storage unit will sometimes provide nice discounts from your insurance company. Another way to save money on motorbike insurance is to install security devices for when the bike is parked in public places. Once more, make sure you tell the insurance company everything which will lower the risk.

Debt consolidation company

Debt consolidation companies are showing up all over the place; in television ads, in the phone directory, and on the Internet there are countless organizations who offer their services for the consumer suffering from financial burdens. A debt consolidation company does just what the name implies.
 They consolidate all debts into one account, reducing payments, usually over a two to four year time span. Before this actually takes place, the companies contact the creditors to negotiate a lower interest rate.

Sometimes, an agency even succeeds in lowering the principal. These organizations disburse funds to the various creditors after the consumer sends a monthly payment, thus simplifying the payment procedure.

One of the requirements a debt consolidation company has when the consumer engages in their services is that the debtor must close all credit card accounts and destroy the cards. For a debtor who is used to using a credit card all the time, this requirement by debt consolidation companies is tantamount to cigarette smoker having to quit cold turkey. It requires a change in priorities and a new attitude toward buying.

The credit card gave the debtor a certain feeling of security, but the debt consolidation companies are aware that this account is the very thing that got the debtor into trouble in the first place. The freedom from indebtedness and the worry that it causes is the payoff. In addition to credit consolidation companies that are in business for that purpose only, there are legal firms who advertise these services also. They have the advantage of a greater understanding of the law, but their fees are higher than other organizations. Also, they often tend to steer a debtor toward bankruptcy quicker than counselors not working through a law firm.

In addition to helping a debtor get out of the trouble created by irresponsible spending, a debt consolidation company will offer it's clients financial counseling to help make the transition. This service is just as important as the consolidation itself. If a client goes right back down the same path, the logical ending is bankruptcy, and that has long term effects on a person's credit. Debt consolidation companies are not all alike, however, and some who advertise as being non-profit are really for profit companies.

It is important for a debtor to check an organization out with the Better Business Bureau before signing any agreement. Even in Biblical times, there were occasions where debtors were shown kindness. In Luke 16:5-6, there is this passage: "So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty."

Finding the Best Business Line of Credit

Starting a business can be rough when you don't have the capital to start one up. What you can find out when you look into the history of other businesses is that many businesses out there started out with next to nothing. They took the plunge, created a business, and borrowed the moneyOver time, they were able to pay the money back to those that gave them it in the first place.

Sure, the economy is starting to improve, but what you're going to find out today is that banks are still hesitant to loan to those that don't have the best credit in the world. Heck, I just had a major bank close my account down because of no reason at all and my credit score is well above 750! Sometimes the banks just don't make any sense.

Now, when you're looking for the best business line of credit, I wanted to give you some tips that you can use when you're looking to get some credit for your business. Most of these tips may work for you. It doesn't hurt to try it out, because the worst thing that can happen is that you're going to get a "no" from them.

Try a business credit card: The first thing that I would try is a business credit card. The APR is fairly high on some cards but it's a great way to get a small business line of credit. Plan on getting lines of $1,000+. Don't purchase things that you don't need, because the last thing that you want is for it to get out of control.
Try your local bank: Your local bank can often give you a credit line if you sit down and talk with someone. You may also find out that you can get lines of credit from local credit unions as wellMany people skip over the idea of credit unions, but they can give you a lot more money than you would have ever imagined.

Friends and family: If you go this route, let them know what it is in it for them. If you're going to borrow $1,000, don't give them back $1,000 but instead, give them that plus a percentage of your profits. You want them to loan to you. To make them feel comfortable, let them know that you will be willing to sign a contract.

Peer to peer lending: Sites like LendingClub and more are a great way to find loans. Again, you will ask for a loan, but you may find that the interest rate is very high. Only apply for a loan if you're in desperate need.

These for steps can help you get on the right path. A great, motivated business owner will never give up. Be creative and find something that will work for you.

Finding The Best House Insurance

We only want the best. The minute we figure out what the best it, the next thing we try to know is how to get it. When it comes to house insurance, everyone wants to go for the best.

In order for you to get the best house insurance, it is very important to own your residence and choose the policy that you are committing to carefully.

Financial guides are there to provide you with the policy provisions of insurance companies. By reading these carefully, you can decide whether the plan and the policy they offer you is what you need.

This is one thing you should always keep in mind. The best home insurance plan is the one that gives you the most of your money's worth. As a customer, you should get what you are paying for.

If you feel that you are getting better benefits at the price you are paying, then the insurance that you opt for might not be working for you. But if you believe that the insurance you signed up for is the best home insurance plan, then you made the right decision.

It helps to ask your agent or your insurance broker the questions you have in your head. That's another sign of best house insurance. If the staff is well-trained and knowledgeable of the products and services of the insurance company and can determine your insurance estimate just by looking at your requirements, then you can be assured that they will give you what you deserve.

An insurance company that also offers you tips on how you can qualify for discounts and more benefits can easily be called the best home insurance policy. Just make sure that you are indeed getting the benefits and discounts that they promised you'd acquire.
Generally, the best house insurance covers loss of belongings in case of theft, fire, and other natural disasters. If there is a property of yours that you must be replaced because it has been stolen, damaged or destroyed, an indication of the best house insurance is that it will pay part of the cost, or better yet, cover the entire thing.

It also protects you from liability lawsuits. This happens when you are sued by someone whose property has been damaged and you are liable for it. Your house insurance will cover part of it.

Here's a tip. If you find the best house insurance for your lifestyle and your budget, keep it. There are many homeowners and renters who are still searching for the best house insurance for them and are having a hard time. You finally have yours. Don't take it for granted.

A guide to car insurance saving

Chances are you are paying too much on car insurance. How can I say that? Simple. Most people can't be bothered to research short-term insurance companies.

There is no reason in today's technological age for anyone to pay too much for insurance. The Internet is a fantastic tool that's available to most people and it makes researching our choices as easy as one, two, three!

So why don't we? If we all realize that the Internet can force insurance companies to be more competitive, they will do just that. They will have to offer more comprehensive packages and at lower rates. Please keep in mind the following list when assessing your car insurance policy that may save you quite a lot of money at the end of the day.

There are five main ways to lower your insurance premiums. They are:
1. Keep your driver's record clean.
2. Research all the discounts you qualify for, and claim them!
3. Don't drive 'high risk' vehicles and make sure you equip your car with safety devices that will lower your monthly premium.
4. Adjust your coverage to carry more risk i.e. Take a higher excesses.
5. Shop around for a good, low cost insurance provider.
There are a number of discounts you may qualify for, and I'll go over them briefly...

Safety devices and assuming more risk
Fit your vehicle with a tracking device (if you can afford it), an alarm, gear lock and as many different safety devices as you possibly can. This will more than likely lower your monthly premium considerably. Also, most insurance companies have deals worked out with vehicle tracking companies that will offer you a lower monthly subscription.

Also, consider a higher excess. You are not planning on being in an accident or having your car stolen. If things worked like thatwe wouldn't need insurance in the first place! Always remembering to drive cautiously and always obeying the traffic laws will lower your risk considerably and make the chances of you having to pay over a large excess much lower.

Combined insurance and renewal rates
Try and insure all your home contents and cars on the same policy. This will most likely save you a significant chunk of cash every month. Also, ask for a discount after a few years of claim-free insurance, as you'll be a loyal customer. They probably won't want to lose you as a customer and will lower your premiums.
Occupations that are lower risk

It sounds silly, but over the years insurers have created a risk profile of prospective clients based on their occupation. Architects and engineers, for instance, are less likely to get into accidents than for instance, a DJ or a bartender.

It's never a bad idea to ask your prospective insurer if your occupation will affect your premiums.

Hopefully you will take to heart all or some of the tips provided in this article, but always 'Shop Around'! To find the lowest possible car insurance premiums you will need to compare, compare and compare some more! Good luck.

Understanding Health Care and Insurance Quotes

The following lines will demystify all about Health Care and how to get the insurance by getting a Quotation for the best plan that fits you without that feeling of taking a big load on your shoulders and easy to suit on a month's budget for every family in USA. Health Care has become a precious asset in the contemporary life due to all of our harmful habits mostly forced by the inescapable unhealthy way-of-life. Therefore, health is a mandatory concept to overcome the obstacles nowadays and that's what we most have to care for.
To understand how to get the best rates available to assure an extraordinary Health Care and get it unleashed despite whichever bad experience you have had on this sort of painful research you will be led to an easy and trustful online process which will doubtless clear your mind up to get your ready to make your best choice ever when it comes to look after yourself and your family.

Browsing around on the internet you may find many sites where you can get a Insurance Quotation whose provider should deliver a proper Health Care service but unfortunately in most cases you are requested to turn your personal information inside out. However, in the genuine cases, before disclosing personal details, you simply enter your name, some information about past medical diagnoses and email to find out more about the process before being committed to anything. This makes the process safe and easy, and gives us no reason to take a little look deeper at how we can benefit.

Take advantage from this clever and easy engine that will help you get rid of the villain of most middle class US families. Health Care is no longer something that will haunt your dreams from now on. Get the quotation with the best rates available to assure an extraordinary long and joyful life for you and your beloveds.
Hopefully, you will be more encouraged now to take advantage of this greats offers, and see how you, your family, working friends and personal friends can benefit from it once you will be saving money and enjoying a new Health care service that will attend all your expectations and don't ever forget - Health is what we most have to care for.

The Insiders Guide To Buying Term Insurance

Most people consider cost the primary reason for choosing one insurance policy over another. While certainly important, there are additional and by no means less important factors. Among them are some questions to consider.

How strong is the insurance company?

In today's uncertain financial climate the quality of your insurance company takes on new meaning. While no insurance company simply goes out of business due to highly regulated reserve requirements of the various states they operate in, those carriers in danger from poorinvestment results or real estate loans may well be taken over by stronger carriers. While this generally means the new owner will abide by the guarantees of the original policy the "devil may be in the details." When this happens the new carrier generally considers this a so-called "closed" book of business, a severely restricts your future options.

What options do I have?
Most insurance companies offer both term and permanent life insurance, and most carriers will allow the owner of the policy to convert term coverage into a permanent policy within a specific time period. Although most will allow conversion into many of the competitive products they currently offer, those carriers taken over by others may find they options limited to older cash value policies that may not meet you new objective.

I'm not a smoker, but I enjoy a cigar every once in a while. Should I tell my agent?
The short answer is "yes". While you may feel this is silly, it's not. Why, because the insurance company has the right (and some say obligation) to deny your beneficiary's claim based on fraud, and this is a relatively easy way to show that you,

the insured, tried to deceive the company when you applied for coverageNote that policies have a 2 year period of contestability. This means the company may fail to honor a claim during this period based for fraud or suicide. Subsequent to this time, a claim is paid even if the insured failed to disclose an issue, or died by their own hand.

Why is convertibility so important?
Typically, our health declines with age. We may gain some weight, take a medication or two, or generally not be in the same shape we were at a younger age. However, once you have a term policy in force, you have "locked in" your health category with regard to convertibility. Many people drop their term policies only to find their new options severely restricted.

Why do premiums vary so much?
This usually has more to do with the insurance company than it does with you. Assuming the same health category, you may find premiums differ by 100% or more. While logic may tell you the stronger the carrier, the higher the premium, just the opposite can be true. Today, stronger insurers are using their clout to increase market share. Premiums can also depend on the investment yield the company has experienced, their average bond maturity, mortality experience and other factors. All good reasons to shop before you buy.

What is the first step?
Talk to an experienced independent agent who deals with many carriers. Ask for references, and check the agent's disciplinary record. All states have these records displayed on their insurance department website. Like the purchase of any important asset, let the buyer beware.

3 Basic Forms of Car Insurance

Car Insurance Information
Car Insurance is definitely an expensive proposition. The cost gets added on once you purchase your motor vehicle. Some of the costs like servicing costs, repair expenses, MOT, road tax expenses are other extra expenses.Many of us end up paying so much money for fuel like petrol and diesel for our vehicle.

Considering all these, it is advised that you go in for Car insurance and also make sure you are getting a good deal on your policy by having the correct car insurance information.

This concept of motor insurance would be really confusing for a novice motor owner. A first timer is sure to get perplexed with all the terms. Once he understands the entire concept after doing some research and also some amount of background reading, he would be in a better position to take the help of the internet to identify a policy which gives him the best for a lesser amount of premium. The right type of car insurance information would help him in the long run and would take care of his add on expenses.
Insurance
The concept of insurance is not as tough as it is perceived to be. Once you do your homework and understand it, it is pretty simple and uncomplicated. There are 3 basic forms of insurance. This is the beginning and you need to take the right decision about the policy you intend to take.

1) Third Party

This is the most uncomplicated and hassle free form of insurance which you could buy. It is mandatory that every motor owner buys it since it is required by law.The concept here is that in case there is an accident caused due to your negligence, you are responsible for reimbursing the expenses related to damage and repair causes to the motor vehicle. A Third party insurance does not give you the flexibility of claiming damages if any caused to your vehicle. Similarly, if your vehicle has been stolen, you cannot claim reimbursement from the insurance company.

2) Third Party, Fire and Theft

This policy is slightly better as compared to simple Third party insurance. In this type of policy, damage caused to another vehicle gets covered. Also damages if any caused to your own vehicle is covered. Moreover, your vehicle is also covered against any damage caused due to fire. It also protects you from theft. This is definitely costlier as compared to the basic policy. It definitely provides a better coverage with a little extra cost.
3) Comprehensive Insurance
This type of car insurance is costlier in comparison to Third party insurance. It covers damages caused to your motor vehicle even if you are responsible for the accident. It protects the defaulter as well.

Cases of hit and run are also covered under such a policy. Comprehensive policies cover car audio systems; provide free replacement of your windscreen if damaged. In case your car conks off and you are left stranded midway, you can always dial up the insurance company and help is provided instantaneously. These add on features increase the premium amount. So make sure you would need all these features and then make a decision whether you want to go in for this policy or not. These features make this policy an expensive proposition and you need to decide on your requirement before arriving at a decision.

Detailed information on New York Auto Insurance can be obtained from Department of New York State Insurance. In a city like New York, both the defaulter and defaulted party do not have to bother, since the expenses are covered by respective parties and each party would be able to settle their expenses through their insurance.

Long Term Care Insurance - Make sure these are included in your policy!

The majority of people need long term care insurance because not everyone will afford the cost of the nursing home facilityAround 50% of Americans will require long term care insurance in their life time so it makes sense to ensure your care insurance includes/covers the following...

Variable Coverage. Get a long term care insurance policy that includes coverage for home health aids, assisted living facilities, adult day care providers and nursing homes so you’ll have the best choice of care.

Inflation protection. Ensure you get a long term care insurance policy that includes inflation protection because the cost of these nursing homes will be considerably more in 15 to 30 years time.

A minimum of 70% Daily Benefit. If you require care services, ensure you don’t pick the cheapest daily amount. Instead investigate what the average daily cost is of a nursing home in the area and request around 70% of that. Also ensure you adjust this annually to account for changes per year.

Independent Care Management. The long term care insurance company will send a representative to determine the benefits you needIt’s essential to make sure your long term care insurance policy enables you the option of having a licensed health care provider that is independent and not someone working for the long term care insurance company.

There you have it, some practical advice and things to look out for when purchasing long term care insurance. Please contact us if you'd like to add anything to this article! Thank you.

Business Insurance Leads

In a world faced with all kinds of controversies from financial to political and even religious as well as social conflicts, securing one’s investment can be a very tricky venture.

Natural calamities as well as wars and other forms of conflicts may affect one’s status without warning. Although insurance has been a preferred source of security against uncertainties for a long time, natural calamities that have become more prevalent in the recent times have made some people quite skeptical about investing in insurance especially since most have felt abandoned by the insurance companies at their most vulnerable moments. With a growing skeptic attitude towards insurance products, insurance brokers are finding it more difficult to get business insurance leads by the day.

For some people who have been in the insurance trade business for along time, getting a business insurance lead may not be too difficult mainly because it is easy for them to get references from existing clients and even recommendations from friends and family who already appreciate the fact that they are in the insurance business. The greatest difficulty will however be experienced by people who are making a maiden entry into the industry.

Selling insurance can be quite a task especially depending on the general attitude of the masses towards insurance at any particular time. Insurance is an illusionary product, which the client may not really comprehend given that most of it, is about perception. By invoking the fear of loss in a client, they may be inspired into purchasing a policySome skeptic clients may how ever opt to invest their moneys in their own profit making ventures and can really discourage an insurance vendor by asking them funny questions such as what are they getting in return for the monthly premiums.

New Products with a bang 1

After being in the industry

for say 5 years, the company will evaluate their performance and see how well they have fared in the market. If they notice there is a dip in their market share or their products are not doing as well as earlier, it is time to come up with new products or change the marketing strategy being adopted to sell the products. The main objective of running a business is to earn profits and when that goes down, it is time to get back to the drawing board and come up with new creative product designs.

The whole process of product design and getting the design to the production team, and finally out in the market is a tedious process, one that involves a lot to research, time and attention to quality. The product design is where new ideas and the concept are developed. Based on their current product line, and what their survey tells them from the market, they will come up with new ideas. Creating a product that will sell, and have mass appeal is what matters the most. For example, if a company manufactures vacuum cleaners, they will have to come up with innovative product design to make it more interesting.

The product design team will have the ability to take the product from the inception stage till the time it is marketed in the retail stores or on websites. This applies to companies that are new and to those that have been around in the industry for a decade or longer. Intellectual property is also applied in this initial stage, where product design involves copyright and patenting of the same. If this is not adhered to, there are chances of someone else copying the idea and launching a product exactly like yours in the market. Be wary of competitors and unscrupulous employees who might sell you out.

The design is then processed, going through product development, where it is brought to lifeThe vacuum cleaner design is transferred from paper, onto plastic or other material that needs to be used. It is in this stage; the product is manufactured and tested for resistance and effectiveness. Quality check and inspection of the finished product is done without fail to make sure it has complied with all safety regulations. Only when the green signal is given by the final inspection team, will the new product be launched into the market.

As most of us have learnt in marketing

, there are four P’s which form the basis for any company to hold ground and remain unaffected. The first P being the product, which means the product that the company has been creating and working with needs to be one of a kind, if not at least the appearance, utility needs to be apart from the rest of the ones in the market. This is the only way the product will sell, and as time goes, with advancement in technology and growth, new concepts will emerge.

How to Create User-Friendly Forms



Forms are fairly easy to learn how to build, and while the back-end might be more tricky, it's still not terribly difficult. But creating a form that your readers will want to fill out and not get frustrated with is harder. It's more than just a matter of laying out your HTML in an accessible fashion. It's a matter of thinking about all aspects of the form and the purposes behind it.

The Layout of the Form

• Line up the entry fields.
  It's really easy to create a form that just has the form elements right up next to the field names.

Align the field names.
Lining up the entry fields is not the only part of the layout you should look at. As you can see above, if you don't align the field names it can be difficult to tell which label goes with which form entry. I prefer to align the field labels right up next to the form entry fields.

The Content of the Form

• Tell your readers what will be required.
  A user-friendly Web form will most likely include required fields. These are fields that they must fill out for the form to work. But don't make those fields a surprise to your readers.
  
  Make sure that each field that is required is clearly labeled, and not just color-coded. Color-coding does not show up in a screen reader or text browser.

• Don't ask too many questions.
  You might have 50 questions you would like to ask your readers, but chances are they won't want to answer them all. If your form is too long, they will get bored before they finish and you won't get any results. I have found that a good rule of thumb is no more than 7-10 questions per page, and no more than 3 pages per form.

• Don't ask your readers to type.
  If it is at all possible, use a drop-down form. This will insure that your data is consistent, and your customers won't have to type as much.
  This form is much easier and faster to fill out than a text field.

• Put common answers at the top or selected.
  When you're using a drop-down field, be sure to use either the selected option or put the most common answers at the top. Don't forget that it's okay to repeat answers within the form field, and don't stay married to alphabetical order if it doesn't make sense. For example, if you're asking people to fill in what country they live in, the most common countries of your readers should be at the top.

its stationery that’s a good start. For those of you starting from scratch, choose two or three complementary colours and stick with them – don’t change colou
8 Tips for Designing a Great Website

Square buttons, round buttons, flashy buttons … will they match my shoes, my handbag or my tie? Are you stuck in a maze of buttons, headings, bullets, sub-headings and colour schemes?
STOP!!!!
Take a deep breath and read some practical tips for professional looking websites.


1. Select a colour scheme and stick to it.
If your company has a logo or preferred colours on rs on every page.
The most common colour schemes include:
- Red, yellow and white
- Blue and white
- Red, grey and white
- Blue, orange and white
- Yellow, grey and white.
If you’re not sure what colour scheme to choose, surf the internet and find a website that you like. You can then model your colour scheme on what already exists.

2. Use templates.
Can’t find a website you really like? Another option is to choose a template. There are many templates or pre-set designs. These come as part of your web design software (such as FrontPage) or you can check out some websites that specialise in designing templates.
Visit:
www.web4business.com.au emplates1.htm
www.newtemps.com
www.website-templates-resale-rights.com
www.123webtemplatesandmore.com



3. Provide an easy to use navigation system.
This is one of the most important issues to consider when designing a website. You need to ensure your visitors can find what they are looking for easily. Most websites either display their navigation bar on the left or at the top. And since most people are used to this type of navigation, it’s best to stick with it.
It also helps to include your navigation bar at the bottom of each page to save your visitors from having to scroll back to the top.

4. Don’t go overboard on special effects
Whilst it is ok to have one or two special effects to jazz up your website, spinning graphics and logos often distract your visitor from the content, not to mention they can take too long to download. Your visitors may click away even before your spinning logo finishes loading.

5. Backgrounds
Ensure your visitors can read the text on the background, ie. no black writing on dark blue background or yellow on white. Also be careful that your links are visible before and after being visited. The default for links in most programs is blue (before being visited) and burgundy (after being visited), so if you have a dark background, ensure your links are light.

6. External Links
It is a good idea to open links to other websites in a new window. That way your visitors can easily return to your site when they are finished browsing the external link

7. Site Map & Search Feature
If you website is more than 15 pages, it is useful to have a site map or a “Search” feature to ensure your visitors can easily find what they’re looking for.

8. Content is King
While it is important that your website looks clean and professional, it is far more important that you concentrate your efforts on the content and promotion.
If you want a professional website, things to stay away from include:
1. Flash intros, revolving globes, bevelled line separators, animated mail boxes
2. Loads of pop up or pop under boxes
3. Autoplay music. Allow your customer to play music only if they choose.
4. Hit counters of the free variety, which say “you are 27th visitor”
5. Date and time stamps, unless your website is updated daily or weekly
6. Busy backgrounds.

5 Tips for Beginning Web Masters

If you are new to web site building then the task can, at first, seem like an overwhelming one. This is especially true if you've never built a website before and don't know where to start. Here are 5 tips for getting your first web site together quickly and easily.

The first thing you will need is a good web design software program. There are so many packages out there it may be difficult to choose one at first. If you are just starting and are not interested in learning HTML, Javascript, or any other web programming language, then you should choose a WYSIWYG design tool.

WYSIWYG stands for "What You See is What You Get." Tools that use this type of interface behave like desktop publishing or word processing programs. You simply type in your content as you would in your word processor. Many have drag and drop layout features, allowing you to place your images and text exactly where you want them.

Of course, there are expensive tools such as Dreamweaver, but you can get buy equally well with a tool like Microsoft Front Page, Coffee Cup's HTML Editor, or even one of the free tools on the market such as NVU or IMS WebDwarf. Another alternative is OpenOffice, a free suite of tools that includes a web page editor.

The second tip I have for you is to start by using a web page template. Web templates are pre-made web pages that you can use. They already contain all the formatting and graphics. All you need to do is supply the content.

If you are like most of us, designing a good looking site may be better off left to the professional graphic designers. This is the role of web templates. By purchasing an inexpensive template you get a great looking web site without a huge expense. Plus, templates are completely customizable so you can us it as a good starting point and alter it to make it uniquely yours.

Third, focus on your web site's main goal. Do not get so caught up in the web site's appearance or using fancy technology like Flash, audio or video, that you forget to create a site that actually achieves its goal. For example, if you are promoting a newsletter you will want as much content on the page, along with a highly visible way for subscribers to sign up. So many web pages try do too many things that they don't do any of them well.

Keep it simple is the fourth piece of advice I can give you. Remember to focus your energies on creating a truly useful site that people will want to return to. If you add too many distractions you will just confuse your visitors. Keep the ads, animations and other items to a minimum and only use them when they are necessary. Your menus and navigation should be intuitive and easy to use. Web sites naturally grow and change as time goes on so it is important to keep things as simple as possible to make it easier to edit later on.

Finally, have your site reviewed. Let others proofread your site and give you feedback. Also, you should test your web page on as many different computers and in as many browsers as possible. You will be amazed at how differently your page may appear in different web browsers. Sometimes these changes are subtle and you can easily live with the differences. However, they can also be drastic, causing your web page to be practically unusable in one browser. If you can, load several browsers on you computer and test the pages as you develop them.
Creating your first web page does not have to be a daunting task. There are many resources and tools available to help. If you keep your end goal in mind and focus on creating a simple site that achieves this goal, then you are almost guaranteed a success.

I make my living from websites -- at first designing for others, and now running my own sites. Over the years I've compiled my very best tips on web design, and I'm sharing that with you here. This is important because it's all too easy to create pages that frustrate your visitors even though that's not what you intended at all.

And visitors who are annoyed are likely to click off of it quickly without seeing what you have to offer.

Useful Tips for Effective Web Design

Here are some essential web design tips that every web site should follow. Design your web site by following these tips and I guarantee that visitors will have a great first impression of your site.

1. Fast Loading web site designs - This is the number 1 tip that every web designer should follow. You might design a web site that looks fantastic but few people are going to see it if it takes a long time to load. Your designs should be optimized for the web and should not take more than 15 seconds to load. Remember, you might have a great design but very few people are going to see it if it takes a long time to load. Click here to for 10 tips to fast-loading web pages.
2. Clear Navigation - Once a visitor has come to your site you need to make them go through your site. To do this you need to have clear navigation. Make sure all your important links are at prominent places. Preferably right on top - that's usually where a visitor first looks. Make use of menus on the right and the left. Try to link to as many pages of your site. Let your information be accessible from all parts of the site. You never know what a visitor may be interested in. Try to also use the footer for your important links.
3. All Resolutions - Today, there are computers with all kinds of resolution. They range from 640 x 480 to 1024 x 768 and go even higher. Your job is to design your site for all these resolutions. The best way to do this is to design your site in terms of percentage and not pixels. Click here to learn how to design websites for all screen resolutions.
4. Browser Compatibility - Make sure your site is browser compatible. Your web site should look good in Netscape as well as in Internet Explorer. Don't stop designing your site as soon as you find that it looks great on IE. Usually Netscape gives some problems, especially when you try doing complicated HTML designs. But don't give up too soon, usually with patience these problems can be easily fixed.
5. Readable and professional looking fonts - Don't ask me how many times I've clicked out of a site just because the font is in Comic Sans and the color is a bright pink or green. Just by looking at the font you feel that the site is not a professional site. Don't use Comic Sans and other fancy fonts that may not be available on most computers.
   
   
   
   If the font you use is not available in a visitors computer the web site will use the default font of your computer which is much worse. So try to keep to common and professional web fonts. The fonts that I always stick to are Arial and Verdana.
6. Minimize the use of images - I believe that sometimes simple designs are the most effective for the web. Keep your site simple but neat. Don't clutter your page with big, bulky images that take ages to load. Instead use tables creatively and design eye - catching icons that will draw a visitor's attention to a particular section of your site. Tip - Visitors are usually more interested in content than in design.
7. Use of white space - Try not to clutter up your page with too many images, backgrounds and colorful fonts. Again use the Keep It Simple principle by minimizing the use of graphics and using a lot of white space. White space gives a sense of spaciousness and overall neatness to a site. Notice the white space in our site.
8. Check for broken links - Always check for broken links within a site before uploading it to your web server. In Dreamweaver you can check for broken links by right clicking on any file in the Site Files Window and then clicking on Check links - Entire Site. If you don't have this facility you need to upload your site and then check it using online tools like Net Mechanic.

Tips for designing a successful web site:
(1) The main page of your web site should load in 8 seconds or less with a 56K  modem
According to two recent surveys, conducted by Forrester Research and Gartner Group, ecommerce sites are losing $1.1 to $1.3 billion in revenue each year due to customers click- away caused by slow loading sites. If a page takes too long to load, your potential customer will not wait. Ultimately costing you business.

(2) Make sure you include proper META tags in the HTML of each page of your web site. META tags are HTML code that enable the search imagesto determine what keywords are relevant to a specific site. About 80 percent of all web siteoriginates from the eight major search engines. It would be a good idea to make sure you've done your homework and fully understand how to optimize your web pages prior to designing your site. This will save you a lot of headaches in the long run. For further information on META tags read the tutorial entitled, "Building Your Site."

(3) Be cautious when selecting your background and text colors. Busy backgrounds make text difficult to read and draw the attention away from the text. Always be consistent with your background theme on each page of your site. Your site should be nicely organized and uniform throughout. Keep in mind, colors affect your mood and will have an affect on your visitors as well. Bright colors such as yellow and orange, cause you to become more cheerful or happy, while colors such as blue and purple have a calming effect. Dark colors such as brown and black have a depressing effect. A good rule of thumb would be to use colors based upon the type of effect you're trying to achieve.

(4) Use minimal animated graphics. These can be very distracting and can cause your page to look unprofessional. In addition, animated graphics cause your page to load more slowly. Fancy graphics won't make the sale.

(5) Your main page should specifically let your visitors know exactly what you're offering. How many times have you visited a site and never figured out exactly what they were selling? If your potential customer can't find your product or service, they definitely won't waste a lot of time looking for it. They'll go on to the next site and probably never return. They're visiting your site for a specific purpose. They want something your site offers. Whether it is information, a product or service.

(6) Try to avoid placing banner exchange banners at the top of your page. These can instantly take your customers or even be indexed by search engine robots. Limit the number of banners on your site to no more than two per page. One is ideal.

(7) Always, include your contact information on each page of your site and try to reply to all comments and suggestions within 48 hours. This will help promote good business relationships. Your business relationships are the key to your success

Your First HTML Form

 


It's Easier than You Think to Make Your Site Interactive Using HTML Forms

Forms may seem like a really tricky part of HTML, but you will find that it can be a simple matter to create a useful feedback form for your Web site. You don't need to know CGI or programming to do it.

Tools For Building an HTML Form

• a text editor
  You can use your favorite HTML editor, but you should be able to manipulate form items and attributes.
• a Web page you want feedback on (and a server location for your feedback page)
• an email address to receive the feedback
• 30 minutes of free time

Steps to Build an HTML Form

1. Open your text editor to create a blank page
2. Build the main page container elements
   

   <html>
    <head>
    <title>Feedback Form</title>
    </head>
    <body bgcolor="#ffffff">

3. Give your page a heading.
   

   <h1>Feedback Form</h1>

4. Start your form. Your form tag will have a couple of special elements:
   
   • action="mailto:your email address"
     This will send the form results to your email address (be sure to change it to your personal address)
   • method="get"
     This sends it all as one request to the mail program (the post method has some unusual results in most browsers)
   • enctype="text/plain"
     This makes the results readable in your email box

   <form action="mailto:your email address" method="get" enctype="text/plain">

5. Add the questions to your form. My feedback form will have 3 questions: name, rating, and comments.
   

   Name: <input type="text" name="name" size="30" /><br />
    Please rate my site from 1 to 10 (1 = bad and 10 = good): <br />
    <select name="rating"><br />
    <option>1</option>
    <option>2</option>
    <option>3</option>
    <option>4</option>
    <option>5</option>
    <option>6</option>
    <option>7</option>
    <option>8</option>
    <option>9</option>
    <option selected>10</option>
    </select><br />
    How would you suggest I improve it?<br />
    <textarea name="improve" rows="5" cols="30"></textarea><br />
    <input type="submit" value="Send Feedback" /> <input type="reset" />

6. Don't forget to close your form:
   

   </form>

7. Put the final closing HTML tags on your Web page:
   

   </body>
    </html>

8. Upload your form to your Web site.
9. Validate your HTML to make sure that you haven't made any typos or other errors.
10. Link to your form.

Tips for Improving Website Navigation

A business often has more than one target audience it wants to reach with its website. Different customers mean different sales appeals and a homepage needs to be able to direct visitor traffic to go to the right places to get information or make a sale.

In order for visitors to find the right information, a website's navigation path needs to be clear. Without a clear navigation path, visitors will become confused and leave before they can make a purchase.
Here are some ideas to consider when designing the navigation on a homepage:

Make the Navigation Familiar

Most people expect the navigation buttons to be on the left side of the website or at the top of the website. If the buttons are on the right, it makes the visitors hesitate and think. You don't want them to have to think about the navigation; you want it to be instinctive and easy.

The more familiar the navigation, the less likely they will get lost or confused. They will know how to find the correct path to where they want to go.

Use Text Links to Reinforce the Path

People rely on navigation buttons to find the main paths of the website, but it is also important to reinforce the main paths with text links within the content. Again, this makes it easier for visitors to immediately go to where they can get further information without having to think.

Decide on a Path for Each Buyer

As you put the content together on a homepage, or any other page of a website, you need to think about the complete path that you want to create to take the customer from information to purchase. The path will differ according to the audience appeal, and your purpose.

Sometimes your audience needs to be educated before they can make a purchase. In that case, you need to make sure that visitors receive enough information that they will feel confident in making the decision to buy. This type of audience will need to know the features of your product or service as well as the benefits before they can make a decision. It would also be helpful to have testimonials and examples to reassure them that they are making the right decision.

When you have to take the time to educate your audience, you would probably take them from the homepage to another area of the website where they can get further information about your product or service. However, if they didn't need to be educated, they could simply go from the homepage to the buy page and make their purchase.

So, on the homepage, you need to make sure that you have both types of paths available: one for the buyer who needs to be educated, and one for the buyer wants to immediately make a purchase.

Decide on a Path for Each Audience

When you are trying to appeal to multiple audiences, it is important that your homepage has information to appeal to each audience. When visitors come to your website they are looking for information to solve their specific problem. You need to have information that they can quickly and easily identify as the solution to their problem.

For instance, maybe your company offers a product or service that is useful to Human Resource Directors, managers, and individuals. Each one of these three audiences would have a different benefit appeal that could be used in gaining their attention on the website. An easy way to do this is to set up three bullets that are questions with text links to take each audience to a separate page where you can exclusively cater to this audience:

*Are you a Human Resource Director looking for XYZ?
*Are you a manager looking for XYZ?
*Are you an employee looking for XYZ?

You want each one of these three audience members to land on your site and immediately find the path that will take them to the solution they seek.

Conclusion

Good navigation on a website is one of the secrets to having a successful website. The information or content of the website needs to be laid out in such a way that it is easy to follow and logical. The easier it is for people to find information on a website, the more likely it is they will buy. And, the more difficult it is for them to find information, the more likely they will never visit your website again.

5 Vital Rules For Web Site Design

When it comes to building a web site that attracts visitors and performs well, it is important to pay close attention to every detail. It's not difficult to do and if you follow these five simple rules, you'll have a web site that people enjoy coming to and hanging out at.

1) Do Not Use Splash Pages

Splash pages are the first page you would see when you hit a web site. They tend to have a nice picture or photo with the words, "Welcome" or "Click Here To Enter." They may look attractive, but functionally, they are empty and a waste. The search engines are looking for solid content on your index page and a splash page doesn't cut the mustard. It also gives your visitors a prime oppotunity to click away. Make that first impression count!

2) Do Not Use Excession Banner Ads

People have trained themselves to avoid making eye contact with banner ads. If you are advertising on your site, the best advertising to do is in-context link ads. It's more of a pre-sell than a hard sell and will make all the difference.

3) Create A Simple And Clean Navigation

The simpler, the better. People are coming to your web site for information. They want the solution to their problem answered and want to find it quickly. Avoid flash and drop-down menus. Keep it simple, easy to navigate and easy to get back. A visitor should never, ever be more than 3 clicks away from your Home page.

4) Have A Clear Indication Of Where Your Visitor Is

As in point 3, it is essential that your visitors feel as if they are in total control of their browsing experience. Always make sure they know exacly where they are and how to get to wherever they want to be. Clear links, site maps, etc are important. If they get lost, they may just abandon ship!

5) Avoid Using Audio On The Web Site

Background audio and sounds that start automatically when someone enters your site is a killer. Don't do it! Many people get annouyed with something that they can't control. Some people tend to browse at work. If you do feel you need to use audio, put it in a control that the visitor has to push a play button to start and stop.

With those few but important tips, you will provide your visitors a wonderfully pleasing experience at your web site.