June 02, 2007
Using Website Templates
Sometimes the fastest and cheapest way to get your website idea off the ground is to buy a pre-made website template. You get a high quality design and you don't have to hire a web designer or web design firm.
I have found the use of templates work best if you have a bit of web design knowledge so you can customize your template from the default set up to your personal vision. Most website templates give you the basic framework, it is up to you to take that template and make it work for your entire website.
One of the more comprehensive template companies out there, Best Web Templates and Design, offers 1,000s of website templates for just about any category of website, you can search their inventory and pick the template that fits your website idea best.
Of course, even the best looking website is not going to bring you traffic, but getting your site up and running fast is a good first step to creating a successful web business. Once you have your website up you can start to focus on bringing visitors to your website.
Posted by Idea Man at 01:12 PM | Comments (1)
May 09, 2007
Niche Website - Wedding Gifts
Besides the convenience of shopping from home, one thing the Internet has brought to our doorstep is very specialized niche shops that would have a hard time surviving in a large mall or strip shopping center. So when you are thinking about creating your website idea, think niche marketing. On the internet, even the smallest niche can reach millions of potential customers that 10 years ago would have been out of your reach.
I recently searched around for a good friend that will be getting married this summer and needs to find appropriate gifts for the members of the wedding party. I found a great example of a well done niche website called Groomsmen.com that specifically sells wedding gifts and groomsmen gifts. If you ever arranged a wedding you know that time can be very limited. So a niche website like Groomsmen.com, which offers both information and a wide variety of specialized wedding gifts, will allow precious time to be saved on the most important parts of a wedding – the members wedding party.
Once you get one niche website going well why stop there? This web marketer also has other related niche sites that sell cufflinks and bridesmaid gifts. Many website models can be turned into multiple sites with very little effort. The great advantage of doing more than one website is that if one of your sites is not doing well at a certain time of the year, perhaps another site will pick up the slack.
Posted by Idea Man at 12:30 PM | Comments (0)
April 14, 2007
Host a web site
My friend has a very busy blog, but she wanted her own server for some other website ideas that she has, so I checked around the Internet and found a web hosting site that was easy to follow and had reasonable rates. They boast that they have maximum reliability, reliable support and fast page loading.
Their web hosting plans inlcude php, mysql, blogs, JSP, tomcat, python, CGI, Ruby on Rails, WordPress, mambo, Fantastico, RVskin, OScommerce, SSH, SSL and more. Their dedicated servers means you have the server all to yourself, and that means more reliability, speed, and control of your website.
They can help my friend, who is just starting out, or others who want their businesses to grow.
And one of the best parts: Micfo has 24-hour technical support and customer service. Who among us hasn't needed a hand at 3 a.m.?
Posted by Idea Man at 08:07 PM | Comments (0)
April 01, 2007
A Diamond Website Done Right
I've been thinking about buying a diamond so naturally I looked online
first. There are a lot of companies out there but it's a pretty daunting task searching through their inventories when I know next to nothing about diamonds. I was excited when I came across Abazias Diamonds though.
They utilize a lot of AJAX which makes searching through their 80,000-plus diamond inventory a lot easier. Getting info on multiple stones, comparing them and even requesting more information on multiple stones was a lot easier than other sites I've come across.
None of that does much good though if you don't know what you are looking for and their interactive diamond information section is sweet both in its technical and usability aspects. There's a printer friendly version as well if you want to print stuff or email it, but it doesn't score the cool points. They also maintain live help via an 800 number and live chat if that's what you prefer.
If you're looking for a diamond, an engagement ring, or any other jewelry for that matter check out Abazias. This site will come in handy for the upcoming holidays.
Posted by Idea Man at 09:02 PM | Comments (0)
February 04, 2007
Surrealistic Paintings
As a semi-collector of surrealistic art and a big fan of street art festivals, I have always thought that Internet art sales would really take off. Buying art from the comfort of home seems like a great website idea. However, there never have been many quality websites where one could buy art on the Internet. Maybe it’s because people want to see art in person to get a good feel for whether they like it or not. Still, one type of art I think translates well to a website is surreal art prints.
I found this great website that offers a nice viewing gallery of surrealism stretched canvas prints that can be purchased directly from the artist in many different sizes. Their selection is very good and they offer several variations of each print. If you like Surrealistic Paintings as much as I do and what to shop from the comfort of home, sometimes the internet can be a great place to start.
Posted by Idea Man at 02:39 PM | Comments (0)
January 03, 2007
Credit Card Debt
Because of all the “easy credit card” offers university students get while in school, they often find themselves with a ton of credit card debt after graduating. I thought I’d pass along a link to a great website I found that helped me get things in order before they got out of control.
Credit card debt has no easy solution. After listening through numerous debt podcasts, reading many debt settlement press articles, and getting debt settlement & debt consolidation advice from my friends and family, I felt that I needed a complete solution to my financial obligations. Debt consolidation or credit counseling is a viable alternative for debt relief when the credit card companies agree to the terms of the debt management plan. However, with the new bankruptcy laws and stringent creditor policies, card companies have lowered their initial commitment to debt consolidation agencies. Furthermore, the fact that creditors like Citibank, Bank of America, et al. have stiffened their policies, the net benefit of a debt management plan has been sourly effected. This leaves individuals in the uncomfortable position between avoiding bankruptcy and failing to meet minimum payments. Debt settlement may then be the only effective debt relief alternative.
I stumbled upon a help forum on debt settlement that talked about good and bad debt settlement companies and gave credit to some debt settlement and debt consolidation companies more than others. That's when I found out about Xcelerated Debt Relief and their debt forecasting program. Instead of negotiating with creditors, they were going to structure their program around my abilities and work with the creditors. I was also impressed by the fact that they qualified me for credit counseling and only proceeded with commencing a debt settlement resolution plan after we discovered that the payment plan for credit counseling was 20% higher than what I could feasible afford. With a plan in hand, I proceeded with repaying my creditors according to the schedule Xcelerated Debt Relief had forwarded to my creditors. None of us intended into unmanageable debt in the first place, but I'm glad I found a respectable alternative to filing for bankruptcy.
Posted by Idea Man at 04:47 PM | Comments (3)
December 22, 2006
Best New Sitcom
30 Rock is my favorite new comedy on TV in a long time. If you haven’t seen it, it is a fictional ‘behind the scenes’ of Saturday Night Live. It stars Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin.
Anyway, Alec Baldwin plays the show’s executive producer and is hilarious. At the 30 Rock Website, you can have Alec send a personal message via phone or email to any of your friends. Great show, great website.
Posted by Idea Man at 12:01 PM | Comments (0)
December 16, 2006
Cool cookware
During the holidays, I always find myself wandering the aisles of cookware as great gifts for friends and family. And I always wonder when I'm going to take some time and pick out some items for my home, too. I'm thinking I'll get some now as gifts and then later for myself.
I was surfing around to make shopping easier and found this cool site that has practical and fancy cookware. The copper cookware is especially notable for its quality and selection.
I need new basic stuff, like pots and pans. The kitchenware is perfect. I got my mom an Excellence steele casserole. After the holidays, I might go back online and get one for myself.
My ultimate favorite, though, is the selection of bakeware.I love the mini muffins, quiche molds, French bread pans. I'm hungry just looking at the pictures.
So this site is worth checking out. It's easy to use and the images are helpful. It's been around for five years so that says something. I wonder if I can learn how to use that chocolate bunny mold.
Posted by Idea Man at 11:29 AM | Comments (0)
December 11, 2006
Loans can actually get you OUT of a bind
We all want to get ahead in life, but sometimes it's hard to get just what we need on limited funds. My friend from England asked me if I had run across any websites that offered information on finance.
Well, I came across this great site on loans. The site is aimed primarily for UK residents but much of the information applies to our loan types here in the U.S. For instance, my research included finding information on home loans, which are referred to as secured loans in the UK. This site delivered the information in a clear and concise way.
Then I noticed a loan type that I had never heard of before, an IVA -
Individual Voluntary Arrangement. The IVA article describes how residents in the UK can wipe out a huge portion of their debt by entering into this contract. Essentially, you repay your debts over 5 years at a rate that you can afford, on completion the remainder of the debt is wiped out! I have some friends who consolidated their credit cards into one loan and paid it off in a reasonable time frame.
There are also specific types of loans only available to students including a graduate or undergraduate loans and also the career development loan. After loosing complete track of time I book-marked the site for a visit another day.
So I passed this information on to my friend and she was spending some time learning about her options. It's a good time of year, too, to think about your finances, set some goals for the coming year, and to figure out a way to pay off this year's debts!
Posted by Idea Man at 09:22 PM | Comments (0)
December 10, 2006
EU Call Home (free)
Here in the USA we pay to receive phone calls on our mobile phones, but did you know that in the UK you can call the USA free from their contract mobile phones? A great site I found, Cheap Phone Calls, also lists many other international destinations that are free or far cheaper than we normally see. They also sell roaming sim cards, where calls are free to receive in many countries, and again far cheaper to make calls, these can be bought by mail order, and are essential for the frequent international traveler.
Last time I was in Europe I was paying $2 per minute to call home on my international Sprint cell phone, next time I am definitely going to use this website to call home nearly free of charge.
Posted by Idea Man at 05:33 PM | Comments (1)
December 09, 2006
Creating a website?
If you have a good idea, you probably want to create a website to promote it. If you're not familiar with the process, it can be a little scary venturing into unknown territory. But you don't have to be a technical wizard to learn how to do it.
I found this great creating a website tutorial for beginners. It's a free, easy guide that shows you step by step how to create and build your own website. Well-written and to the point, it cuts through all the techie jargon and tells you what you need to know in plain English.
The domain name information page explains how to choose a good domain name and how to avoid a clunker. This information is really helpful.
The choose a web host section shows how to know if a web host is good or not before you sign up. That's really important. I know people who had some bad experiences with hosts.
Check it out, let me know what you think.
Posted by Idea Man at 12:44 PM | Comments (0)
November 30, 2006
Easy tracking
If you've ever shipped a package, you'll know how helpful it is to be able to track its journey. I usually write down the tracking number but then have to hunt around for the delivery service's web site to do the actual tracking.
Along comes this site that will track a package from the biggest, most popular delivery companies, including Fed Ex and DHL.
It's called iship, and I recommend you bookmark it. All you have to do is type in the tracking number from the package. One stop shop. We like that.
Posted by Idea Man at 12:18 PM | Comments (0)
November 29, 2006
Fun stuff
I can't resist. This site is so cool. You draw these lines and this little biker dude will ride his bike on them. It's call linerider. It's amazing how web masters come up with this kind of stuff.
I must say, though, that it can really eat into your time. So if you're goofing around at work, beware! Before you know it, you could be missing a deadline.
Posted by Idea Man at 04:02 PM | Comments (2)
November 22, 2006
Welcome
So much information, so little time. In this blog, we'll identify some great sites that are worth your time. One thing I like to do is surf the web and find great websites and tell others about them.
For instance, our friend has this great website business called PC Treasures. It's really cool, and you can actually buy a CD for only $1. He gave us whole set of educational CDs for our daughter and for her pre-school. They love it.
There is also a great selection of music from independent artists.
Your ideas?
Posted by Idea Man at 07:05 PM | Comments (0)