Webmaster Tools For Free

One thing is for certain, there are 100′s and 1000′s of websites out there these days.

And many of them are competing directly with you.

To  get ahead of these sites, it could cost you time and money that you don’t have, right? WRONG!

We are Professional webmasters that look after websites every single hour of each working day and we know a thing or two about getting the best from a website.

Now we give you FREE ACCESS to some of the tricks of the trade at the click of a button.

Over the coming months, just look at what our newsletters will contain…its a who’s who of climbing Google!!!

1. How to get your website ranked faster AND BETTER
2. How to check for coding errors without knowing HTML
3. How to convert more visitors into customers
4. How to use my email effectively
5. How to market to new customers WITHOUT spamming
6. How to harness Facebook and Twitter to earn money
7. How to grow my business without spending £££’s

And much, much more besides. Subscribe now for free and you will get the inside track AT LEAST 4 weeks before we publish it online PLUS it will also contain some golden bullets that won’t appear in our blog.

Legal Notice: We will send you an email no more than once per 7 day period and you retain the right to opt-out at anytime. Your details will never be stored locally nor used for marketing purposes outside of this email and they will never be shared with any third party.

Want a new website and would love to have a Professional theme for less. How does one for FREE grab you?

For the whole month of February, we are running this EXCLUSIVE competition when you can win a Professional website for free. It is free to enter, takes just one click and you are in.

Win A Free Website For Your Company

All you have to do to win this fantastic prize worth in excess of £1000.00 is to like our Page on Facebook. That’s it!

The competition is to get ITsold UK’s fan count over 100. Once we hit that magic number, on 29.02.12 all our fans will be entered into a prize draw to win this fantastic prize.

Just look at what you get when you win…

1.  A Professionally designed website theme just like this one (link opens in a new window)
2. The theme above CUSTOMISED to meet your needs
3. 3 months Professional Webmaster support for free
4. 12 months FREE hosting for your website
5. Email and telephone contact details for rapid help when you need it

To win this all you have to do is like our Page on Facebook….no catches, no credit card needed, nothing just one quick click!

As with all competitions, there are some terms but we have kept them to a minimum and here they are…

1. Only fans who have liked us on Facebook will be entered into the FREE draw
2. All entrants must be aged 18 years or over
3. The competition will end at MIDNIGHT (GMT) 29.02.12
4. The winner will be drawn AT RANDOM at 10.00am on 01.03.12
5. The winner will be announced on Facebook by noon of the above date
6. We must hit 100 likes for the draw to take place
7. The winner agrees to display a small text link back to ITsold at their page footer
8. ALL content must be supplied by the winner
9. This prize has no cash alternative
10. We will not develop websites of an adult nature of those promoting products, services or beliefs thought to be against the law and common acceptance
11. We reserve the right to refuse entry to those who breach our terms

It is not difficult to get website design wrong. Allow me to help you get it right first time. After 10 years in this business, I have learnt from my mistakes, have you?

I have been marketing and developing websites for many years and one of the tasks involved in this process is to review a website and decide what areas are performing well.

What Makes A Good Website?

One of the most frequently asked questions I get asked when a new client contacts me is

It is an age old question that requires deliberation and extensive thought as there is no quick fix and of course, no two websites are the same.

BUT, there are many common factors that need to be considered when starting a website or indeed reviewing the performance of a current website.

I have spent more than 10 years in the web development game and this has taught me A LOT. Allow me to share some of that experience with you.

Here are just a few of the key areas that I always recommend be addressed IN ALL WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.

This list is in no order of prominence as I deem them all as IMPORTANT.

1. Clean and definable layout. 1 col, 2 col, 3 col options, using a colour scheme to define page areas
2. Accessibility. A vital element that should always be considered. Alt tags to images, anchor text, access keys, text vs bg contrast. The W3C guidelines should always be observed where possible and validated to remove as many errors as practically possible.
3. Site/business purpose. By landing on a page, you should know very quickly what it is they do/sell.
4. Text size (ties into pt 2). Big enough to read and give the user an option to increase/decrease the size (use css to control)
5. Contact points. Telephone, email, B&M should all be visible
6. Extra costings should be clear. (If selling) Shipping, VAT etc. before we have to add to cart!
7. Colour scheme. Must be appealing and easy to view. Would you read a page that have a yellow background with red text
8. Navigation needs to be consistent throughout the site and easy to find/use
9. Images need to be clear and optimised
10. Fast loading pages. Try and get all pages up under 5 seconds
11. Links must use the standard format. Underlined and act upon hover and if they open a new window…tell your visitors they do!
12. NEVER UNDERLINE BODY TEXT (people will think it is a link)
13. Avoid frames and iFrames AT ALL COSTS!
14. Keep your design within the scope of the screen resolution with key points ABOVE THE PAGE FOLD and NEVER make the user scroll horizontal.
15. Do not over cram text onto one page. Split it if need be
16. Have a site map.
17. Use your metas effectively. Especially TITLE. Do NOT just put your company name first.
18. Avoid bells and whistles in your design UNLESS THEY ADD TO/PROMOTE your services/products
19. Use bold text sparingly
20. ALWAYS keep your viewers in focus. Never write/design for SEO alone.

That’s my list. You will note that I have not added too much about the design aspect as this is mainly subjective. An excellent design to one, may be awful to another.

So, what do you think? Drop me a line and let me know.

Toodle pip for now.

Daren, ITsold Blogger Guy

Cheap Web Design. Too Good To Be True? I regularly get asked is £xxx cheap for a website design. The answer depends on what you want and what you get, and here lies the challenge. There is a MASSIVE difference in both your expectations AND the ‘designers’ ability to deliver.

So let’s see if we can help firm up those murky boundaries and remove some of those questions.

You have your business idea and you want the world to see it, use it and in the end, buy it!

The quickest and by far most cost effective method in this day and age is to get yourself a website.

Now, the first consideration that the majority of small business owners face is that of cost.

The price you pay for a website design can vary hugely and this could determine your results.

But it is wise to consider all the options as price is not the best criteria in always being the deciding factor.

So, in an effort to help you make an informed decision, I have put together a list of questions that you should fire at your prospective designers.

It is by no means exhaustive, but should help you along your way…

1. Is my website design bespoke (designed just for me by you) or are you using a template/theme?
2. Is my website going to be static (hard coded content that requires FTP access and HTML knowledge to change) or dynamic via CMS (managed via a control panel like WordPress)?
3. What can I expect within the first 3 – 6 month of SEO or is this not something you do?
4. Is my site going to be protected from spam/hackers and how are you going to do this?
5. Will my site be cross browser compatible (show up perfectly in IE8/9, Firefox, Google Chrome etc)?
6. Will be site be W3C compliant and accessible?
7. Will my site showcase my niche skills and products?
8. Can my visitors email me from my site directly?
9. Can my visitors buy direct from my site (if applicable)?
10. What kind of support will you offer and at what cost?
11. How much will my web hosting be now AND in the future?
12. How do I get hold of you when something goes wrong?
13. How QUICKLY will you act on any changes I need you to make?
14. How long will it take for this site to be built?

And the list can go on, however, the questions above are a great starting point.

One thing to remember is that when a ‘mate’ offers to do it for pennies, you can only expect the results to match his experience.

He may well be a professional agency designer or self-employed and be extremely good and do this as a favour, BUT I doubt this, as professionals will know the time and man hours required to produce a quality site and very, very few, would be willing to give their time away for nothing.

So come on, how much…

IF you are looking to manage the site yourself and do not want too many bells and whistles you should expect to pay in the region of £400 to £1000 for a brand new website.

Any less than this and I would want to see a lot of work.

If you get down to the ‘couple of hundred’ mark then please expect a recycled template and/or a site that will give you a presence online and not much more.

We have written one or two articles that can help, and we have listed them for you below.

1. What makes a good website
2. Web design start up tips
3. Web hosting buying guide
4. When will google rank my site

Thanks for stopping by and until next time, happy surfing…

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Not only can they concentrate on building exciting and relevant content, but they can do so, full in the knowledge that their website is up to date and secure. Combining our excellent service levels with our purpose built managed hosting packages, their website is now in rude health.

When we took this project on, our brief was simple. Make it work!

So, in partnership with eGardens, you can see from below, that instead of a stagnant static website, they now have a dynamic site that is feature packed for and will grow with their business.

Some of the features we implements were…

1. An easy to manage CMS for in house content additions
2. A fully function members forum
3. A subscription model for members to join
4. A payment gateway
5. A blog for members to add to
6. A gallery for members to show off their work

And much more besides. To see the results why not visit them now using the link below

This was the feedback we received on completion and sign off request

Products Featured In This Project

Here is a complete list of our services and products used in getting eGardens off the starting blocks.

1. Reliable UK Based Hosting - Reserved for our clients us ONLY
2. The Complete Website Solution - Including development and content inclusion

Join eGardens NOW

We know the mechanics of getting your site higher AND converting more visitors into paying customers.

By using our Professional Webmaster Services, you too can enjoy a healthier online experience in terms of ranking and sales.

Act now by calling us for free on 08000 337 402 or drop us a line and we will call you back.

Submit An Enquiry Now

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With a popular or well known and reliable Internet Service Provider (ISP) you won’t face many problems, however if you choose the wrong online partner, it can prove to be expensive to both your pocket and your businesses reputation as a whole.

Web Domain Hosting

When Not to Buy

When it comes to choosing a new host, I use a couple of simple techniques that often sort the wheat from the chaff.

Once I find a good host, I usually stick with them. I would also advise you do the same. As a good host can be hard to find…

What I shall aim to do here is to demonstrate to you firstly, how to spot signs of good practise and secondly, how to avoid hosts that may not meet with your desired requirements.

The first technique I apply is one of the most tried and tested, the old contact test. This splits up into two tests.

1. Test One. I will try and contact the host via the telephone. Simple you say, not really, for I will not be calling the sales line, I shall be calling (or selecting the option on larger company telephone exchanges) that will put me through to support…then lets see how long it takes to get where I want to.
2. Test Two. I will submit an email to at least 3 hosts. Timing the responses to all of them.

These tests will demonstrate quite simply, which company offers the best first line of contact. This can be a crucial element when you have an issue or are in need of urgent support.

And my other technique is much simpler…search the internet for the company name.

You would be surprised how many people make comments when things go wrong.

But be objective, when you stumble across a forum where one chap has had a bad experience, try and temper this with objectivity. Did this issue get resolved, how long did it take, is is a common fault or a one off. By doing this you will get a balanced view.

Now, about those elements that should tell you when not to buy. I observe some strict criteria when choosing a web host and if any (or all) of them hit any of my below points, I will cross them off my list and start again.

The list I use is as follows and of course you can add or remove elements that do not meet your needs

1. Responses to my email contact too longer than 24 working hours
2. The telephone call DID NOT clear up all my concerns clearly
3. I cannot find any references online of companies who use them
4. I did find many negative comments on forums that had a common fault theme
5. The pricing structure is now clear nor flexible
6. I do not have FTP access
7. I do not have access to a control panel
8. I cannot add my own email addresses
9. I have to contact the host providers to make all changes to my site
10. There is no Out of hours support infrastructure

Whilst most of my opinions are based on fact WITHOUT an affiliated interest, I do have my own personal favourite, but I am not going to spoil the fun you can have by researching…

Here at ITsold, our exclusive web hosting is reserved for our clients. This ensures complete control, high quality and the lowest contention rates around on shared servers.

This is where we take ALL the strain for our clients and allow them to grow their business.

Allow us to try and enlighten you as to how your website needs to meet some basic rules for a speedy inclusion.

When Will Google Index My Site?

In my experience there is no definite timeline as to when you get indexed and displayed in the results.

There are numerous elements to aid this and they are too many to mention all but the key factors in my experience are domain name age, content Vs keyword relevance, off page SEO , alt tags etc…

Just follow some simple, basic rules and your site will appear all in good time (maybe a day, week or month(s) depending on how competitive your marketplace is) but it will appear.

Some good basic practices to get into are as follows;

1. Ensure your site navigation is easy to follow for both human and bot (sitemap page & xml/.zip .rar) and are in place
2. Ensure you key pages contain AT LEAST 250 words of copy
3. Aim to publish AT LEAST 10 pages of unique content in line with No.2
4. Pay attention to your page title and descriptive meta
5. Add relevant alt tags and anchor texts to links
6. AVOID submitting a brand new domain URL to 100′s of forums/link exchanges (the big G hates this practise and it ‘could’ be frowned upon)
7. NEVER cloak link text with background colours at the top/base of pages(basic I know, but needs to be added)
8. Submit your sitemap.xml to google, yahoo and msn live (to name but a few)
9. Watch your links grow NATURALLY
10. Build a link relationship with site(s) that add value to your site and bear some relevance to your sites content.

These principles must be at the front of your mind when you are planning your website. If you get it right at the outset, it will make it much easier to promote and manage your websites growth and search engine optimisation project as time goes by.

The ideal place to start is to find out what others are doing and then you can set about by beating them.

If this seems a little bit like rocket science, do not worry.

With over 10 years experience of internet marketing, I can help you rank highly in all the major search engines via my website maintenance services.

But how? Let me show you how to grab that market share in my mini series covering S.E.O. copy writing

Selling Online.

Part 1. The Hook SEO Copywriting Step-by-step.

Writing Headlines that sell. I have been writing effective copy for the website for many years now and you do not get to this stage of the career without learning a thing or two.

There are a million and one opinions out there today on how to sell, do this, it works better than that etc…yadda, yadda. Well I am here to tell you one secrect that matters.

Nothing sells a product better that it’s headline!

Before we delve deep into this subject, be honest, how many of you are viewing this page because of the headline?

Don’t be shy…but if you are, you see how easy it is to show that it works. Let me show you how to get the same results that will help to sell everything you offer.

This step by step guide is totally free and will cover 5 areas.

Todays topic, makes perfect sense, lets start at the beginning with the headline.

What is a headline?

I have seen the most common definition of a headline as “the heading or caption of a article” but lets forget that.

My definition of a headline is…

When you create a headline there are some simple steps to follow. If you want to sell more products than you ever have before then you must follow these steps…

For this example I am going to sell the best ever widget seen online that will help all gardeners when they are sowing seeds. It is blue, it makes everything easier for you as it is the only blue widget that spaces the seeds out for you and it costs £4.99.

Oh, and I have 1,000 to sell without a new line of supply.

Step One:

Look at your product and service. Ask yourself “who will buy this product?”

Once you have this answer, write it down. In this instance it is GARDENERS.

Step Two:

What are the KEY features of our widget?

Well, one stands out and that is it spaces the seeds. Write it down. If your product or service have more, then write them down. For this example, we are keeping it simple.

Step Three:

Why will our gardener want to buy this product?

Once again, identify it and write it down.

Here we can see the product will save time, space the seeds and make life easier when sowing.

You now have the content to get that headline running. Let’s have a go…

The current headline reads…

Not inspiring is it?

This is where you EVALUATE your headline. Is it specific, do we know who it is for, what it does etc? So, looking back at your notes, let’s try another one.

Better? Yes, but only just.

But it still lacks the BUY ME NOW factor wouldn’t you say…

Here is what I would suggest as a final headline…

There you have it. From this lead in, you have

1. Identified your market
2. Identified the purpose of the product
3. Identified the key features
4. You have used a price driven variant on the ‘Command’ headline

Until then, feel free to browser my site.

As a parent with children who are growing up fast, I am becoming more and more aware of how the internet now plays an increasing part in their lives both in education and socially. So my challenge is to ensure that we keep them nice and safe without having to sit on their shoulder all the time.

So how do I do it?

Here is my experience from the last 12 months.

How I Protect My Children Online

There is no coincidence that here at ITsold we are partners with Hewlett Packard.

Not only do they produce top quality machines that seem to last forever (my old NX8220 still works like it did in 2006) but they also help me MASSIVELY when my children choose to go online.

I combine their features with a very effective saftey net called Kaspersky,

But first, let me explain how HP help me keep my children safe online.

When I took delivery of my brand new Pavillion DV7, one of the first features I noticed was a little icon called “Magic Desktop’.

I opened this and to my amazement, it took over my machine and presented my with a whole selection of kid safe functions that included…the internet and kids pages.

Official ITsold Partners. Helping Keep Kids Safe Online

How Magic Desktop Works On HP Computers

From start to finish this piece of software is easy to use and very robust.

When you first launch it, you will be asked to create a master password.

Create this and treat this as seriously as you would any other password and under NO circumstances, share it with anyone.

Once this is completed, click on the internet icon and you will be presented with 3 pages of approved (by the manufacturer) sites that are deemed suitable.

But this is the clever bit. They may have approved them, but you are still in control.

For each new opening of the page, you will be asked to check it and you approve it. If you don’t, your child will not be able to access this page at all.

Brilliant.

There are quite a few local (not on the internet) games and apps your child can use and all this can be done 100% safe.

When your child uses the magic desktop function, this is the peace of mind we parents can have…

1. They will not be able to access Google or any other search engine
2. They will never be able to access unauthorised websites
3. They will not be exposed to advertising without your explicit consent
4. They will not damage any files/folders on your machine (as MD works separately to your main desktop)
5. They can interact with websites approved by you ONLY

Standalone, this product is outstanding and comes ready installed on HP. So all you have to do is set it up by creating a password. Simple.

But if you couple this with Kaspersky and their amazing child protection features, ad blockers and age restrictions, a child of any age can surf safely.

I have used these products for over a year now and I can recommend them without fear or favour. From my youngest to my eldest, I am safe in the knowledge that my kids are safe online.

I can answer any configuration questions directly if you need any help/advice, just drop me a line for free and I will be happy to help or if you prefer, share your knowledge in our free forum today.

I will cover Kaspersky in more detail in another post due out early next week. But for now, grab yourself a slice of heaven and keep your kids safe with an HP Computer with Magic Desktop installed!

Thanks for reading.

Official ITsold Partners. Helping Keep Kids Safe Online

BUT, you are not sure on how to ensure maximum success with your site.

Our 10 step guide can help you decide if you can develop one yourself or seek professional assistance from web design & development companies.

Web Design Basics – 10 Points to Consider Before You Start

1. What is the purpose of your website.

Do you want it to solely act as an online brochure (information website) for your products and services? Will you use it to generate leads or to present a showcase your skills and previous work carried out. Or are you looking to sell your products online? In which case an ecommerce solution (shopping cart) would be needed.

2. What is your target market?

How big is it? What is the competition up to and what are the buying patterns used by the customers who use that market? Understanding your market and your competition will allow you to identify your customer needs and build an effective site set to this target.

3. Think WHY. Why would a prospect want to use my site and what are MY aims?

You maybe looking to reduce your sales resource and allow your prospects to purchase through an online, automatic system? Are you hoping that your prospects will come to the site to see the breadth of your skills? And how often do you expect prospects/customers to use it? Do you need to think about sufficient infrastructure to support high demand, do you need to ensure your website content is updated daily?

4. Site management. In-house or outsourced?

If your website requires frequent updates and you do not have the resource in-house, it might be worth looking at investing in a system that enables you to update information through an easy-to-use web interface (this is know as a content management system or CMS). This would allow members of your organisation make basic changes to the site.

Or you could enter into an agreement with your web development company to pay a set fee for a webmaster service. You could of course do any updates yourself, but if you need your website to be compliant with current UK legislation, unless you have a good understanding of writing accessible code, you could jeopardise its integrity.

5. Will your site fit into your marketing strategy?

Will it act as your sole form of communication with prospects or will it support other mediums and sales channels?

6. Do you plan to take payments online?

Have you considered online security and how to show to your customers that their personal details are safe?

7. What budget do you have in mind?

Allocating a sufficient budget to the project is vital. Don’t expect to get a high quality professional website design that meets your exacting needs for pennies. Whilst is it impossible to scope out an accurate payscale for every concept a good rule of thumb is:

Brochure websites: Expect to pay between £500 and £2,000 depending on content requirements

Ecommerce solutions: Expect to pay between £1,500 and £5,000 for SMB’s. Larger corporations can expect to pay upwards of £25k

Remember, if you pay pennies, your results will, in time, reflect this investment. Your website represents your company!

8. Content.

Ensure your content matches your business model and represents your aspirations as a company.

9. Website accessibility.

Making a website accessible involves considering the needs of all the different users who may wish to use your site, regardless of disabilities and of the differences between various Internet browsers.

10. OK, you know what you need, but how do you get it?

Speak to an expert. Web developers are human, you will be able to tap into many years qualified experience, this will ensure that you get the most out of the project. Considering things like search engine optimisation and how business in conducted in the online environment will give an insight that is more likely to result in a successful site.

Additionally, experience of making successful websites in such a competitive environment could make the difference for your website.