Planning Your Website Redesign

December 2nd, 2009

If you feel that your website needs some modernization to touch up its look it is the right time to plan the redesign. And you must take into account that planning and preparation for your site redesign are the most important steps you must think over very thoroughly. You need to define your goals and set the specific purpose before you start implementing something in order not to miss any important aspect at the very beginning. Read the rest of this entry »

Top 6 Free HTML Editors for Linux and UNIX

November 6th, 2009

HTML editor is a tool which every webmaster needs beyond doubt as this software application allows you to create web pages with convenience and advanced functionality. Nowadays you can find a lot of HTML editors available for use but choosing it you should think over several aspects, such as your purposes, whether you need professional paid tools or free software will be quite enough and so on. Another issue to take into account implies the operating system you work with, e.g. Windows, Mac, Linux etc. Today we have prepared a list of most popular free HTML editors for Linux and Unix users.

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Maintaining Your Website Content

October 6th, 2009

After you have taken care of your website content update your next step will concern the way this content looks like and how correct it is. These little aspects of your website maintenance possess great importance and require extra special attention. That is why sticking to the following suggestions is obligatory and should become a must for you.

1. Spell check

The first thing you should check very thoroughly concerns your written content grammatical correctness. If your articles and any other pieces of content have spelling mistakes it may spoil the impression visitors get from your web pages and don’t position you as a professional. If the visitors will notice the orthographic mistakes they may suggest that the services you offer have drawbacks as well. That is why you must make sure that everything you write on your website is correct and true.
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Learn To Update Your Website Content

September 30th, 2009

In the previous article we have touched upon the topic of website maintenance and highlighted its key points in general. One of the first aspects to mention concerned content update which is an integral part of your website proper support. Today we will get closer to the issue and identify the main principles of refreshing your website content which will help you to keep your web resource on top positions.

In spite of the fact that website content updating is one of the easiest steps of your website maintenance which doesn’t require some extra knowledge and efforts it is very often neglected. And this tends to be a big mistake which prevents your website from being appreciated by the visitors and breaks its image. Moreover, fresh content is your way to high rankings as search engines like it very much. So if your website is not updated regularly it will lose its popularity not only among people but within search engines as well.

In order for you to update your website content at ease it is better to think over some plan or scheme which will help you to cope with your website update. First you need to decide what exactly you are going to post, so here are several useful suggestions concerning the type of updates.

1. News
News may comprise announcements of the new products releases or new services available for your customers as well as various internal promotions, newsletters notices and much more. Just a piece of current information concerning your website or events that are related to your business. Such kind of updates is rather fast and laconic so it won’t take you a lot of time to prepare it.

2. Portfolio
If you have completed some project or have done some kind of work that can be showcased display it within your portfolio page and let the visitors see what you can do. This will not only appear a content update but an attract visitors as well and let them estimate your endeavor.

3. Blog
A weblog contained on your website is the most effective way to keep in touch with your website visitors and see their direct reaction to what you do for them by means of comments they leave. The content you post within your blog may be as various as you want but it is better to make it meet your website topic and purpose. Your blog is a perfect place to post how-tos and tutorials as they will be appreciated by those who came to find some useful tips and solutions related to your business. Thus you will grant your visitors with valuable knowledge and position yourself as a professional. Before & after stories and case studies which touch upon your products and services will also appear to your visitors taste and moreover allow you to show the solutions your are able to provide.

4. FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions section is another opportunity to refresh your website with some written content. The thing is a lot of your site visitors may have questions concerning either your services or your website operating and you should provide proper and sufficient answers to them. So if you have noticed that some new issue has arisen update your FAQ page with new question/answer set.

5. Newsletter
Writing regular newsletters to the clients is the common practice for online business which helps you to keep in touch with your customers. Newsletters carry out the main function of your website updates – they remind your visitors of your business and get them informed.

6. Statistics
People like statistics as it lets them see the real course of business they are interested in. So it won’t be surplus if you add some historical data which will allow your visitors to see your products and services advantages clearly.

7. Interviews
If you want to update your website content and at the same time strengthen your relations with clients interviews and stories are the right way to go. All you need to do is to ask some of your customers about the products and services you offer, about the way they use it, how useful it was and so on. Such interviews will appear very interesting and valuable information for others as they will see your business reviews that rely on the real facts. And of course, will add to your benefits.

The way you embody the ideas listed above is completely up to you – whether you will do it yourself or hire a professional enthusiastic writer which will do the work according to the schedule you require. But in both cases your significant task is to think over the way you want it to be – what topic should be covered, what points to highlight and how often your website should be updated. You are fully responsible for your website updating strategy and need to dedicate some time to it even if you hire someone to write – be attentive with that. If you need to identify the frequency of your website updates then statistics will come in handy. It will let you see how often your website is visited and help you to provide fresh content in proper time so when the most of your visitors come to your site they will see that updates are already published.

The main rule to learn implies that you must not update your website too often or too seldom – you should provide fresh content timely and make your updates relevant. Moreover, it is advisable to keep an eye not only on statistics but on what your competitors do as well which will help you to be abreast of your business development and maintain the leading positions.

The Basics Of Website Maintenance

September 23rd, 2009

If you decided to establish a website you should be aware of the fact that it will require your constant support over the time of its existence. Of course website design and construction are a serious and responsible process you need to take most thoroughly but it is not your sole task. What is not less important after your website is constructed and launched is the maintenance of what you have created, and the most important thing you should remember is that your website maintenance should be endless.

No matter how stunning and usable your web pages design is, if you are not going to refresh its content and keep every aspect in order soon it will lose its sense and reputation. To stay up-to-date and be in demand your site requires relevant timely information update for the visitors to keep coming and appreciating it. This is the first rule of your website maintenance - provide fresh and interesting information and stay friendly to you readers.

Website maintenance is about keeping your site working properly no matter what. You can not take your web pages down in any way, you must not forget to update it for weeks while you are occupied with something else, otherwise you will make wrong impression both on the visitors and potential collaborators. Looking unprofessional is forbidden if you are going to achieve success by means of your website.

You should always take into account that your target audience wants to get the most out of your website and take part in its development. That is why you must provide your  visitors the ability to leave comments and feedbacks as well as offer their own suggestions for your website. This can be easily done by implementing a simple feedback form where every user will be able to submit his opinion. Visitors’ feedbacks can be very useful for you as they give you fresh ideas for your site further growth and help you to keep in touch with your visitors which in its turn creates a user-friendly image of your website.

But your readers’ feedbacks should not be the only source for your ideas, you must also check out similar sites, examine what they are about as well as find some popular and successful sources to draw inspiration for fresh content and new design concepts. Carrying out such research will be useful for your website development and the novelties you will implement will help you to keep your visitors interested in your site coming back for more updates. Another aspect of your website maintenance implies adding RSS feeds, newsletters and online articles which were published after your website start up. Such practice will also keep your website content up-to-date.

It is recommended to track your results to see how successfully you cope with your website maintenance and identify the strongest and the weakest points to make a more effective plan for the future activities if necessary. Besides, website analysis will be useful for your site optimization as well. And don’t forget to respond your visitors from your website as it is an integral part of its maintenance which builds trustful and stable relations with your audience.

If you want to learn how to maintain your website properly and make it popular among the readers stay in touch with LayoutsPack and follow our updates as we are going to provide with more pieces of valuable information. And feel free to leave your feedbacks as LayoutsPack appreciates every opinion!