Archive for the ‘Design’ Category

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Nov82009

Attracting Visitors Using Clone Scripts

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Creating a basic website is very simple and reliable, with simple ready-made designs for you to start things off. But the real question is “Will your site be attracted by the target customers?” This is a tough question that you should answer in order to make your website look attractive. It’s either you hire a professional designer to design your website completely, in order to make your website look professional, but the thing is, it will cost you much and you mus pay the professional designer in a stable amount that he deserves to work with. If your amount is not good enough to him, therefore he won’t accept the job. This is another problem that you’re looking for a professional designer, but you only have limited budget. There’s another way to do it by yourself. Imagine that if you want your site to look like the popular search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing and social media sites like Youtube, Friendster, Facebook, Twitter and many more? All you need is a clone script.

A clone script can be purchased everywhere, either you search it or you browse some of the latest items in the marketplace on webmaster forums or databases that sells these kind of scripts. However, there is a rule if you want to avail the clone scripts. For example, if you want to have a Facebook clone script, you must first look on how Facebook looks like. They all are blue and white and their features as well.

What you need to do is to change the design and color of your Facebook script, and to make your features look unique than Facebook and you’re done! You will do the same if you want to create your own search engine like Google, Yahoo and Bing which they have their own clone scripts as well, especially social media like Youtube, Twitter, Friendster, MySpace and so much more.

Enabling or attaching clone scripts will attract the customers and your chances of getting up in the SERPS are potentially happening. This is another idea on how most websites using clone scripts are very successful to one another. Not only on the content with specific keyword research, or attracting affiliate links, design, banners and products will give you chance to be popular in the internet, but also using clone scripts. But we have to be sure that our design was unique than the original ones in cloning, as color and services may differ from each other.

Oct312009

Outsourcing Design and Programming Projects

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odesk

When I get overloaded with work and I can not manage designing or programming sites myself I use oDesk.

For a long time I have been using oDesk for web projects, I find their system very reliable and user friendly. You know when you hire someone on there that the transaction will be safely taken care of, not only that you can view their success rating and hourly rate without having to negotiate pricing or anything else.

It’s all there just like a menu and what’s even better you can use your credit card to make the order through to pay the developer, then oDesk pay them. I think this system is great as it enables you to pay through an Escrow system. So this ensures the buyer and seller are both happy before the transaction takes place.

Starting Off
When putting a website together it requires alot of technical thought and marketing concept including the purpose and thinking of ways to generate income. If your site is based on offering a service then this will be alot different to putting a site together that is based on automated earnings. But in reality know one has the ability and mind power to structure the site the way you want it including framework and branding and direction and giving the site real drive better then you can, so bear that in mind before starting.

I mean putting a site together on your end with a bit of effort is needed. You can not just think of an idea and get someone to do it. So if your up for it and have the passion then go for it.

Development Stage
What I do before putting a site together is I look at around 3 Top sites I like and then I put the design and ideas together in Photoshop as I already have design skills. Bear in mind if you have some technical knowledge then the easier it will be.

Most sites these days require css styling skills and then applying this to your coded php files for example. But if you are not familiar with this process that is also ok. It may need you will have to work a little harder or get the developer at hand to work in from design through to coding.

Once you have had a look at sites that you like, start puzzling it all together, add bits and pieces and modules onto your page that you like.

Follow Through
Once your happy with the direction then the next stage is following through. So you will need to first of all find a developer on oDesk perhaps two, one for designing css style sheets and one for asp or php programming and then ieven one more for ajax depending.

Once you feel comfortable with getting the right person, and this ensured by having conferences over GoToMeetings or Skype, you can then narrow down the person or team you would like to put on for the project.

Bearing in mind constant communication will ensure a better result, but make sure there is not too much of it as in my experience disturbing designers and technical team too much slows down the results even further. I normally keep lists together along with what is needed and tick them off as I go along. So it’s also important to be organized aswell.

Constant Marketing
Once the site is ready you must also maintain your site and do constant marketing including SEO and Viral Marketing but the best ways to find someone to do that for you I have always found is in SEO Community type sites.

Important Note: Always have a non disclosure agreement ready before having someone take on a job

Oct92009

Popular Sites with No Design

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I was amazed to see there are a quite a few sites out there which are very high Alexa ranked that do not have a design or skin. Take Craigslist as an example, it is the 27th most visited site in the world and doesn’t even have a god damn logo! Their site doesn’t come any basic then this and yet there are developers all around the world trying to clone it.

Craigslist, Digital Point, Wikipedia & Google to name a few….

Bad Design

Digital Point Forums is also another good example being listed as 257 th most visited site in the world according to alexa. It’s site pulls in around $10,000 a month from google adsense and has around 300,000 members. You would think with the amount of money that is generated from a site like this could atleast skin the site other then using a default template.

Another one is Wikipedia, perhaps they are an exception due to the design of the logo, but the rest of the site is purely default looking.

But my favourite example would have to be Google the whole search engine is as basic as it gets except for their logo of course and sometimes this is all is takes, but for the lucky few, I will continue to be a believer in design.

The key to success with any website is less distraction as possible and with little advertising where possible.

You can see that from the 4 sites I mentioned, their ads are very neat and out of the way. This is key for successful sites. Another great example of this is Twitter and Youtube. No advertising clutter!

Sep272009

SEO & Design Rap!

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Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Tiger Woods, Michael Jackson and who else? Welcome MoSerious . I think this guy is someone who could be the next ICE Cube/Larry Page, he is an SEO & Design rapper enthusiast.

This guy really knows his stuff about SEO and Design, the only problem is I don’t know what part to take him more serious. What he knows or what he shows? Enjoy: