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Monday, March 26, 2007

Title Pros and Cons of Using a Flash Web Site


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Almost anyone can build web sites, but if you want to catch the attention of your web visitors, you may want to consider using a flash web site. A flash web site can deliver an interactive experience to the user by incorporating different elements like motion, sound, graphics, and video.

Flash web site development has come a long way since its inception in 1996. Seven out of the ten most popular sites on the web incorporate flash, and more than half a million web designers and developers regularly use flash to build web sites. But like everything, there are pros and cons to using a flash web site.

Pros of Using a Flash Web Site
A flash web site provides a unique user experience that regular web sites simply cannot achieve. With a flash web site, you are not limited to text and still images. You also can incorporate music and other audio files, rich graphics, and fast-paced animation. When you build web sites that incorporate a full blown multimedia experience for the user, your site will be much more memorable.

A flash web site also gives you the chance to build web sites that include an intro. An intro can be used to inform visitors about your business, products, and services as soon as they enter your site. When used properly, a flash web site intro can provide excellent promotion for your business.

Cons of Using a Flash Web Site
Everyone wants to build web sites that load quickly and provide the best user experience. One of the biggest disadvantages of using a flash web site is the long load time. Audio, fonts, and duplication can increase the size of flash files. The larger a file is, the longer it takes for a page to load.

Because Internet users can be impatient, you may lose some of the visitors who aren't willing to wait for a slow-loading page. But, there are things that you can incorporate into a flash web site to make the experience more bearable for the user.

To start, you can build web sites that include what is known as a preloader. A preloader asks the user to please wait while the page loads. You can also limit the wait time on a flash web site by preloading only a percentage of the movie before it begins. As the user starts watching the rest of the movie will load.

When you build web sites with flash it is very important to think about the user experience, but it is just as important to consider how it will affect other things like search engine rankings. This is one of the other major downfalls of a flash web site. Because of the way a flash web site is designed, search engine spiders are unable to read ths context or links within a flash movie. This could inevitably affect your search engine rankings and your traffic if you aren't careful.

About the author: Cliff Posey, owner of CRP Marketing, owns and operates webbusinesstoolsonline.com. Cliff has also operated several other successful web businesses including Love Song Cards and Radio Career Consultants. The content in this article was developed from his experience in these businesses and his continual research into further business improvements. This Blog is for discussion about web sites and web site traffic therefore your feedback is welcome.

Get more website success tips and strategies at and free website tools at Web Business Tools.

Monday, March 19, 2007

The Basics of Ecommerce Web Site Design


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Ecommerce web site design is similar to traditional web design, but requires a few more bells and whistles to handle financial transactions. This doesn't mean that you should be intimidated by the process and not build web sites that are capable of ecommerce transactions; it simply means that you may need to study this aspect of site development before getting started.

To begin, it is a good idea to read up on ecommerce web site design. This will help you understand how ecommerce site development differs from regular web site development, and will also help you to build web sites that accomplish their desired purpose.

Ecommerce Security
One of the most important aspects of ecommerce web site design is security. You need to make sure that your visitors can safely and securely input their most sensitive information into your payment system. To build web sites that are secure, you will need to protect pages with the encryption of SSL or Secure Socket Layer. Your web site host should be able to help you with this portion of site development and will most likely be able to sell you a digital certificate.

Visual Appeal
Visual appeal is another important aspect of ecommerce web site design. Competition is fierce on the Internet. If you want to build web sites that stand out from the crowd, they must be visually appealing. An attractive site will be more likely to draw customers, and is much more likely to encourage repeat business than a site that has been poorly developed. To get an idea of what looks good and what doesn't, you should visit competing and non-competing ecommerce sites around the web. You can also look into purchasing a book or another product that focuses on the visual aspect of ecommerce web site design.

Payment Processors
To build web sites that accept online payments, you will need to incorporate payment processors into your ecommerce web site design. You can choose to accept various credit cards, and other online payment methods like PayPal. This is something that should be arranged early in the site development process so that you can begin doing business immediately once your site has launched.

Software and Applications
There are many different software products and ecommerce applications that can be purchased to help you with your ecommerce web site design project. Some of these products will be helpful when you build web sites, and others will be helpful when you have launched the site and want to track orders, monitor your internal database, or enable features like email notification.

Professional Ecommerce Web Site Design Services
If you want to build websites that are ecommerce ready, but don't have the ecommerce web site design experience needed to accomplish the task, you can hire an ecommerce web site design professional to help you with the trickier portions of site development. With a minimal amount of help from you, a professional designer can build web sites that are visually appealing and then incorporate the features you need to complete ecommerce transactions.

About the author: Cliff Posey, owner of CRP Marketing, owns and operates webbusinesstoolsonline.com. Cliff has also operated several other successful web businesses including Love Song Cards and Radio Career Consultants. The content in this article was developed from his experience in these businesses and his continual research into further business improvements. This Blog is for discussion about web sites and web site traffic therefore your feedback is welcome.

Get more website success tips and strategies at and free website tools at Web Business Tools.

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

Using Web Site Promotion Services to Market Your Web Site


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Have you considered using web site promotion services If you are looking for a clever, new way to market your web site, you may want to investigate some of the different web site promotion services that can do the work for you. Web site promotion services design and implement specialized web site marketing campaigns for online business owners. These services can bring you the traffic you need to either get your business off the ground or expand a web site that has already been established.

The web is a crowded market place, which means that sometimes having a good idea isn't enough. You also need to actively promote your web site. Of course, not everybody has the time, skills, or resources to launch a proper web site marketing campaign. This is where professional web site promotion services come in to play.

What Web Site Promotion Services Can Do For You
Professional web site promotion services can take the anxiety and mystery out of web site marketing. Most services offer a variety of Internet marketing packages, allowing you to customize a campaign that's right for you and your budget.

The services most commonly offered by web site promotion services include web linking, search engine submission, press release submission, and email marketing. Some services may also help you optimize your web pages or find ways to promote your web site through various outlets.

Some of the best web site marketing techniques are web linking and email marketing. To get you the incoming links you need, web site promotion services will find affiliates who are willing to work with you, web sites that will advertise your product, and Internet shopping malls that can list a link to your web site.

Email marketing works in a similar fashion, advertising your web site and presenting links to potential clients. With an effective email marketing campaign, web site promotion services can substantially increase your traffic and help you to build a new client base.

Finding Credible Web Site Promotion Services
When looking for a credible service, the first thing you need to know is that not all web site promotion services are created equal. There are many unscrupulous companies out there who make all sorts of outrageous claims that can't be backed up with testimonials or proven results.

The best web site promotion services are experienced, familiar with a variety of web site marketing techniques, and able to provide you with a client list or some substantiated results. Don't be afraid to ask questions. You need to know which web site promotion services will work and which ones won't before you spend any money.

You will also want to get detailed information about the web site marketing services that will be provided and how they will be implemented. The web site promotion services that you hire should have a clear, reliable, and legitimate plan of action. If they can't tell you how they will be achieving the desired results, it should immediately raise a red flag.

About the author: Cliff Posey, owner of CRP Marketing, owns and operates webbusinesstoolsonline.com. Cliff has also operated several other successful web businesses including Love Song Cards and Radio Career Consultants. The content in this article was developed from his experience in these businesses and his continual research into further business improvements. This Blog is for discussion about web sites and web site traffic therefore your feedback is welcome.

Get more website success tips and strategies at and free website tools at Web Business Tools.