June 26, 2008
Our specialty for years has been constructing and developing affiliate websites for our clients. We also rank well for our sites centered around these terms, so we get quite a few new inquiries about developing affiliate sites.
Many times though I get calls from people that want to build something, but really have no idea what it is. In essence, they want me to tell them what they should build. One question I get often is, ‘What’s hot right now?’
To be brutally honest with you folks, this is not the right approach to building an affiliate website portfolio. It’s not the road to financial freedom or wealth. Yes, you could hit a super hot item and get really lucky with your listings, but it’s going to be short lived and it’s never going to make you the millions you dreamed of.
What’s happening is this. A lot of people are in fact searching for new ways to make money. They have heard that affiliate websites can do that for you with very little overhead. Which is true. But what they have also heard or read, more times than not from someone that has never actually built an affiliate site, that they can put up a turnkey site and walk away from it. Sit on the sofa and wait for the dough to roll in.
This is where they do a quick search in Google and call me.
There are several problems with this line of thinking. First of all, it’s a business. There isn’t a business on the planet that you can pay a couple of dollars for and get a return of millions without any work. Find any successful business person and ask them how much time they take off. If they are honest with you, the majority will tell you that it’s not much. They spend their time working.
A large percentage of new companies fail. That’s all new companies. Including the web. When you decide to work online, you are starting a new company. And you have a chance at failing in your efforts.
The good news is that you can succeed. You just need to work hard to be in the win category.
That means passion. That means fire. That means desire.
To have these things, you need to promote something you love. Something you have a genuine interest in. Because it’s going to be your new life online. If you choose something just because it’s hot, not because it’s something you want to do, it’s very likely that your site will fail.
So start there my friends. Pick something you are passionate about and let’s build an affiliate site. You can make money online with affiliate programs. Find something you love and let’s rock and roll!
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June 10, 2008
I’ve covered this before, but it’s worth saying again.
Before you go about designing your website, design a business plan.
When you are searching for a developer, make sure that web designer you’re about to hire includes some discussion on the long term development of your site.
I’m not just talking about the actual construction of your website here. You want to consider how you’re going to make the site a winner after it’s been built as well. How and where do you intend to get your traffic from. How do you intend to work on your overall SEO performance? What kind of inbound link structure do you intend to build? Do you intend to do any link baiting at all? How are you going to build users and keep them coming back, time and time again?
All good questions. And all have different answers for different websites. Your web project is different than the next guys, and there absolutely never is a catch all answer that covers each and every business the same.
Ask questions. Make a plan. Then build it.
Chuck Crawford
affiliate website design
559-761-0910
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June 9, 2008
I was thinking a bit today on the difference between the words ‘cheap’ and ‘affordable’.
Really because I often get calls from clients asking for ‘a cheap website design’…
So I thought I’d examine the words a bit and how I view them in my own life.
First of all, to me, some things that are cheap, really aren’t affordable in the long run. One of my bad habits is picking things up at the dollar store. Cheap household tools especially. Have you ever bought one of these junky pieces of crap?
If you have, you know that they are good for about one, maybe two uses. Then it’s right back in line at the dollar store again for a new screwdriver or crescent wrench. Now, at first glance, that buck I paid for said tool may sound like a good deal. But as my wife pointed out one day, it’s really just paying the premium price in installments. Yup, a good old Craftsmen tool runs about 6 bucks or so. So if I’d have paid the price the first time, I’d have me a doozy of a wrench and not have to worry about it breaking.
Do Craftsmen tools break? You betcha. But they offer a warranty for the price you pay. So you are covered if something does happen to your tool.
How does all of this apply to affordable website design?
Simple. Cheap does not always mean affordable. Cheap and good are rarely mentioned in the same sentence. Cheap denotes a half effort. A less than par performance. A less than average product.
So no. We don’t offer ‘cheap’ website design.
We do offer affordable website design.
Call us and see:
Chuck Crawford
559-761-0910
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June 3, 2008
Are you managing your own project development?
Should you be?
First of all, ask yourself if you are really qualified to do the job. Do you know what it takes to build a successful website? Do you know how design is done? How a website should flow? What a good layout is, or should be? How the actual code should be done?
All solid questions you really should ask yourself before taking on the role of project manager. Don’t get me wrong, if you are developing your website, then you are the boss. But you really should consider hiring a project manager to oversee the actual design and development details. Especially if your new site is large and complex.
Look for someone with experience. Someone that knows the requirements and how to get them done. At times it’s tempting to cut corners and manage the entire development yourself, but know what you are in for and know what the job entails. If you don’t think you are qualified to get it done as effectively as your project really requires, hire someone that CAN get it done for you.
In the long run, the money you save will amount to much more than the cost of your project manager.
If you need help managing your development or design, give us a call.
Chuck Crawford
559-761-0910
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May 29, 2008
So let’s get down and dirty here.
You are running really tight, budget wise, and need to do your designing yourself. Or maybe you just WANT to design your own site because you know you have the skill to do it. At least you have a bit of HTML knowledge and believe you have what it takes to get your site off the ground.
OK, let’s get some basic stuff in line.
First of all, take the time to outline your site. By this, I mean take the time to actually get a big piece of poster board and draw out the pages of your site. On this piece of paper it’s not super important to have the actual layout of each page, but more importantly a loose knit web of how the pages are going to link to each other within the site.
Why the physical drawing? It’s an awesome reference tool to put on your wall when building your site. It will keep you focused with your interlinking, especially if your site is extremely large and complex. It’s also a good idea to practice this technique if you intend to interlink other sites as a larger web of sites. Keeping track of how the sites link to each other.
Now, when that’s done, you need to design your basic layout. You can do this in Photoshop, Dreamweaver, etc. Whatever tool you want to use. I’m a dinosaur and still use notepad to code most everything, but I do take the time to layout the pages in Photoshop first. This is for two reasons.
One, I have the basic layout of the site. I know where I’m going to put everything. Coding the site is much easier with this type of reference. Nothing is worse than staring at a blank page wondering where you are going to start coding. If you have an idea to look at, coding the page is fairly simple.
Two, I can create the basic images I need to do the initial design. This is helpful for client sites because I can use this image as a mockup for the clients approval prior to digging in and doing much coding on the site. If they like the direction and give me approval, I can then steam forward at a pretty fast rate and get the site done. If not, I haven’t spent a week coding the site for nothing. All I have invested time wise is the time in Photoshop.
So there you have the basic initial steps for designing your own website. Yes, there is much more to it, and this is a very very basic head start, but it will get you going in the right direction.
Or, you can call us and we’d be happy to take the reins and help you build your project.
Chuck Crawford
559-761-0910
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May 28, 2008
What is the actual reason for your site?
This may sound like a simple question, but it’s one that many people don’t really take a look at when developing their new website.
Maybe your boss told you it’s time to take your company online and he’s nagging you every day. Your purpose is only to get him off your back.
Maybe all of your colleagues have nice sites and they sit around at the country club talking about how beautiful they are. You simply want to be one of the crowd.
Or maybe you are the business owner or entrepreneur and really want to take your venture online.
No matter what class you fall into, you need to know exactly what objectives you want to accomplish with your site. You need to write them down. Add them into your written business plan and stick to the purpose when developing.
My father used to say, if you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.
So aim at SOMETHING.
Decide specific purposes and goals for your site. Then talk to your development team and decide the best way to achieve those goals. If they don’t understand your needs and are not providing you with a site that is moving in the direction you think it should, find another firm. You are the boss, you are the customer. Get what you want and what you are paying for.
If you are looking for a development team for your website or online project, why not give us a call?
Chuck Crawford
559-761-0910
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May 26, 2008
Is where you host your site important?
Many say yes, and I tend to agree. There are ‘Bad Neighborhoods’ on the web just as their are in the real world.
The difference is that these are website neighborhoods.
You see, each web address (www.yoursitenamehere.com) is actually tied to a number defining it and it’s whereabouts. These numbers are called IP’s (Internet Protocol). Each host pays for the use of specific blocks of these numbers and in turn assigns them to websites that are hosted with them.
You can have a shared IP or a dedicated IP. And I always suggest that you pay a little extra for a dedicated IP if the option exists at your host. It is a factor with many of the algorithms and can help your SERP (Search Engine Results Page) placement.
Shared IP’s with many hosts can be a bad thing. Your site can be held guilty by association by some of the engines. For example, if your site is hosted on the same IP along side adult sites, hate sites, spammy sites, etc, you can see your results drop. Yup, you might be living in a bad neighborhood online.
At times you can see these same issues with dedicated IP’s as well. Your IP block could be littered with junk sites and your site fall victim.
This is why we take extreme effort to guard our boxes and the sites we host. We personally know every single person on our servers. We do not offer public hosting, only private hosting exclusively for our clients.
At either rate. Be sure and investigate your hosting thoroughly. Know the neighborhood you are living in online. If you don’t like your neighbors, maybe it’s time to consider a move.
Until Next Time….
Chuck Crawford
559-761-0910
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May 25, 2008
Most new startups begin with a shoestring budget. It’s general, but many start with a budget of around $5,000 to $10,000. To some this may sound like peanuts, to others it may look like an impossible figure to come up with.
No matter what boat you’re in, you need to make your budget work for you, not against you. In order to do well and start off strong, you need to decide EXACTLY how much you are going to spend in specific areas of your development. To do that, you need to know what the basic areas of development are.
Of course you need to have your website designed. If you are going to sell online, you need to have a medium to do so. This not only includes the site construction, but having good custom content written for the sites text / copy. Don’t skimp here. This is your store. If you were building a bricks and mortar business this would be the actual physical location of your new enterprise. Build it well, build it to be solid. Find professional designers and writers that have experience in building sites similar to what you need.
Hosting. You need to have a place to ‘put’ your site. This is the remote server that holds all of your actual files. You need it to be reliable. If your users cannot access your site because your new host is shaky, then what good is it to have your site hosted with them. Ask questions. Find out what their uptime is by asking for references from them. Contact some of their current clients and ask how happy they are with the services. Also do a search and find out who dislikes them and why. Adding the word ’sucks’ to a company’s name in the search engines can do wonders in finding out exactly who you are dealing with.
Promotion. Once the site is built, you need users, FAST. Your method in obtaining them might include many different options, but unless you are super savvy and have a pocketful of free traffic sources, this is going to require a good chunk of your startup budget. Do NOT forget that you are going to need to do this if you are starting on a tight budget. Don’t use all of your budget to build your site and have nothing left when it comes to actually getting the site off the ground. It’s a recipe for failure that I’ve seen time and time again.
If you budget wisely, you can launch your online dreams on a beer budget. You simply need to look for the best options in all phases of your development. If you plan out each phase and know what you are willing to spend in every stop on the way, you’ve got a good chance at success. Blow it all at the candy shop and all you’ll get is a sour taste in your mouth in the long run.
If you need help developing your project, please give us a call. We are here to assist you.
Chuck Crawford
559-761-0910
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May 24, 2008
So you’ve either purchased a book or magazine outlining basic HTML and design, or you’ve just completed a class at the local junior college and you’re ready to build your site.
Cool. Let’s do it!
One thing you really need to take into consideration is this. Though you now likely know some really cool stuff, you don’t need, or want, to use every single bell and whistle in your new site.
Nope. If you can take one thing into your design is the KISS method.
Keep It Simple, Stupid.
Believe me. My very first website was FULL of really cool features, marquee’s, flashy stuff, etc. And it didn’t make me a dime.
Why? Well, back in the mid 90’s when I started building sites I really didn’t know much about what would actually SELL users. All I really knew was a bit of code and how to put it into pages. In my first website (which hasn’t existed for well over 13 years now, thank God…), I did not take into consideration that I needed to write some really excellent sales text. I didn’t take into consideration simple stuff like the time it takes for a page to load, what was sitting above the fold, what are the hot spots within a page, where do the eyes tend to wander, etc.
Nope. I didn’t know a thing. Luckily I had a mentor help me tear that page apart and rebuild it. To teach me that the online world and the real world are really one in the same. In order to sell your product you must have some sales ability. You need to tell your users WHY they should buy that product from you. You need to guide them through the site, and through the sale.
So yes, you now possess some awesome skills. Take the time to learn some basic sales to go with it. Write good text to include within your site. Study the layouts of successful sites and ask yourself WHY these sites are successful. What physical characteristics do many of them have in common? What aspects do you see over and over again? Remember, these sites use specific sales psychology for a reason.
It works.
If you’re confused and need help with designing your site. Please feel free to give my office a call.
Chuck Crawford
559-761-0910
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May 23, 2008
Are real estate websites different than other online offerings.
Yes, they are.
First of all, the real estate market is extremely competitive. We have several realtor’s and brokers as clients, and my experience tells me that these sites ABSOLUTELY must have someone in the know when it comes to the design and development.
Why? Simple. There are a truckload of factors to include in a real estate site that most of the time would not apply to other business websites. Minute details that can make or break your real estate sales.
After all, if you don’t sell any property, what good is your site? In many cases we’re talking about million dollar plus properties. Your site must reflect quality to match the price tag. And it absolutely must build confidence in your users to generate leads.
Call us today and we’ll help you build a solid realty site.
Chuck Crawford
559-761-0910
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