12 Web Design Mistakes

Twelve years ago, I had the good fortune to align with a superb Web designer, and I still rely on his judgment. He taught me plenty about what a Web site should include, and what did not belong there. Ever since he became my Internet mentor, I have revised my Web site every couple of months. I will keep doing that, as I discover fresh ideas and strategies.
In addition to learning from my mentor, I have studied hundreds of Web sites other professionals have created for their companies. Now I want to share with you what I have learned, by advising you what not to put on your Web site (and if it's there already, I suggest you delete it).

Here's my list of Web site "No-Nos":

Your outdated photo

When people meet you after seeing the ten-year old photo, they will wonder: "If he is dishonest about his image, what else is he dishonest about?"

Pop-up ads

Sure, I know their purpose. Because you want site visitors to sign up for your newsletter, you install a pop-up to greet them on the home page. Bad strategy. Most viewers despise pop-ups and the delays they cause. Why else would Office Depot sell pop-up blockers?

Too much glitz and glamor

Yes, some color and motion enliven a Web site. Yet an overabundance distracts the viewer from your main message. You don't hear brass bands playing in the public library. So find the happy medium of sight and sound.

An extensive biographical sketch

Provide enough information to establish your credentials, but remember that boasting turns prospects away. Place your bio in a separate section with its own button, so viewers can click that button or choose not to. Instead of talking excessively about yourself, talk about what you can do for people who purchase your services and products.

Over-sized fonts

While you may consider them headlines, readers might dislike the jarring glare.
Introductions the viewer cannot skip
OK to have a musical intro and a "virtual tour," as long as you let viewers elect to bypass it and get to the heart of the site.

Data overload

You may have earned your CPA or majored in statistics. The average viewer, though, did not, and will prefer interesting, easy to understand stories and illustrations.

Relentless, annoying selling

E-Bay gets by with hundreds of sales offerings. However, that's why people go there. Probably they visit your site for information--which means they will tolerate only a moderate degree of sales pitches. Keep your sales and marketing to 20% or less of your content

Risky humor

What amuses a few viewers might offend thousands. When in doubt, leave it out.
Copyrighted material for which you lack permission
Many authors (including me) will be glad you want to quote them. They appreciate the visibility, and will not charge you a fee. Still, they expect you to ask them first. So does the law.

Links that no longer work

Be sure the links you provide have permanent life, or else you will frustrate and anger your viewers.

Typos

Typos destroy credibility immediately. Use spell check and two or three proofreaders outside your family.
To borrow an old expression, sometimes "less is more." Delete the annoying features I have mentioned, and you will keep readers interested and well informed.

Bill Lampton, Ph.D.--author of The Complete Communicator: Change Your Communication, Change Your Life!--helps you "Learn More. . .Earn More," through his expertise in communication, motivation, customer service, and sales. His speeches, seminars, and communication coaching have benefited top-tier clients, including the Ritz-Carlton Cancun, Gillette, Duracell, Procter & Gamble, Missouri Bar, CenturyTel, British Columbia Legal Management Association, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Visit his Web site to sign up for his complimentary monthly E-mail newsletter: http://www.ChampionshipCommunication.com Call Dr. Lampton to discuss how his services will benefit your organization: 678-316-4300. E-mail him: drbill@ChampionshipCommunication.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bill_Lampton,_Ph.D.

Resilient Mindset

Developing a resilient mindset of a millionaire by re-wiring your subconscious for wealth creation we will need to answer a few simple questions about financial pressure. When I refer to financial pressure I'm not necessarily talking about being broke and struggling. You can be wealthy and still have financial pressure. There is no right or wrong answers, only answers applicable to you.
1. When was the last time you felt financial pressure?
2. Do you currently feel financial pressure in your life?
3. Does having more money really create less financial pressure?
4. When have you felt completely free from financial pressure?
For some people being completely free from financial pressure might have been as far back as when they were at school. It could have been when they would get pocket money and had to determine whether to buy a Mars bar or put it in their piggy bank and for others, it may have been never.
Apart from happiness, what is it you think that people really want in their life? A resilient mindset, more often than not people are looking for a financial future they are certain about. You want the certainty to be able to manage money, have plenty of it and never have to worry about not having enough of it. Anyone would want that. Another word for that is security.
I believe that people really want to be certain that in the future they will not have to experience pain that instead they will have the financial freedom to do whatever they want, whenever they want, as much as they want using their a resilient mindset.
I know the quest for financial security drove me, because I had so much pain in my life and I never wanted to experience that again. So I was driven to become financially successful to avoid that pain. Pain drove me in the beginning more than pleasure. Pain is what drives people the most. If you've made a decision to start changing your life, or changing your financial future, eventually it will lead to more pleasure, but more than likely it's pain that drove you to your initial decision to change. Subconsciously you were probably thinking, "If I don't learn how to master money now, what will it cost me in the future?"

Author: Greg Dempsey - Investor/Marketer Title: Resilient Mindset
http://www.opulentwealth.com.au/
Reprinting this article is allowed with this footer attached
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Greg_Dempsey

New Traffic Page

If you need help with the basics of driving traffic to your site, take a look at:
http://www.independentwealth.us/TrafficBuilding.html
The above link is a site I just typed up that will give you a good idea of how to start getting customers to your site. The page covers SEO, article marketing, ebooks, etc.
The page is pretty basic, but, I hope it helps. : D

A Fool and His Money Are Easily Parted

* A Fool and His Money Are Easily Parted, by Bill Staton

Why is it that so many people who easily become wealthy also easily go broke? Entertainer Ed McMahon is a recent example. He made millions as Johnny Carson's sidekick on The Tonight Show. This is part of a recent interview on

Larry King Live:Larry King: What did happen, Ed?

Ed McMahon: It's a combination; it's like a perfect storm. Economy problems. Selling the house right now is a tremendous operation.... We've had this house on the market for two years. We've shown it, I don't know how many, 50 organizations or people. Nobody has made an offer. I mean, it's just a lovely home. I hate to leave it. I want to keep the home. I want this all to work out.King: And the payments, you can't make -- what's the problem?

Ed McMahon: Well, if you spend more money than you make, you know what happens. And it can happen. You know, a couple of divorces thrown in, a few things like that. And, you know, things happen. You want everything to be perfect, but that combination of the economy, I have a little injury, I have a situation. And it all came together.

King: Did you break your neck?

Ed McMahon: I broke my neck. I had a fall. ...

King: Has that stopped you from working?

Ed McMahon: Oh, sure. You know, you can't work with this [brace] around your neck. And I have to wear this.

King: But, Pam, the assumption is that the McMahons are multimillionaires and multimillionaires -- how much behind are you, $644,000, right? That's what's reported? ... If you're a millionaire, shouldn't you be able to pay $644,000?

McMahon: I think over the years, you know, it's just a kind of a combination of maybe Ed working so hard and not kind of looking at proper management, which happens a lot. ... Because you're a celebrity, people think you have a lot more than you have. And you always want to take great care of all of your friends and your family and everybody, and you do. And you don't, and I think, you know, we didn't keep our eye on the ball. We made mistakes.

King: And are they foreclosing?

Pam McMahon: Yes, they are.

...Billionaire sports entrepreneur Mark Cuban's brother, Brian Cuban, had this to say on a recent Cuban Revolution blog. Brian works with the Dallas Mavericks:"First, whether it is a lottery winner, an athlete or a star entertainer, if they are not equipped with the knowledge on how to make and save money they are in trouble."When they didn't earn it through disciplined business practices and they don't have those skills they usually go through it quickly."
Most lottery winners or athletes make a great deal of money in a short period of time. They start spending it on things that only go down in value (cars, jewelry, partying, entourage, etc.) and start to evaporate the money they do have. They can carry this off until they stop earning big money. This is when the trouble starts."It is hard to believe that MC Hammer, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and now Ed McMahon are broke. These are people who earned hundreds of millions over time and it disappeared. Lavish spending and entourages were probably the downfall for the first three for sure.

HERE'S THE KEY TO FINANCIAL SECURITY -- "However, if athletes [or anyone else for that matter] educate themselves, learn money management skills and make smart, safe investments along the way, they are usually in very good shape.

"Most people die coming down from Mt. Everest, not going up. The goal is to get to their Mt. Everest AND to get down safely."*************

Bill Staton, MBA, CFA, America's Money Coach® Chairman, The Staton Institute Inc. & Staton Financial Advisors LLC bill@billstaton.com mary@statoninstitute.comNot sure if you need a Money Manager? Take this quick quiz and find out: http://www.billstaton.com/quiz.htm

Investment Politics - Corporate Income Tax Reform

The investor's eye view of politics is a simplistic, practical, dot-connecting approach to sorting things out so that win/win change can be considered. Real world politics is not concerned with such things, and that is one of the most serious problems facing investors today. There are at least ten issues that require government action if we are to maintain our competitive position in the world economy. Most of these are interrelated and need to be acted upon simultaneously--- thus causing a major political dilemma.

Politicians are much more interested in talking about change than they are in actually legislating it; they prefer to champion just one specific issue at a time so as not to appear too independent; and they can't keep themselves from back sliding into the now archaic distinction between investors and poor people. Rich or poor, most Americans have investments. For the small investor to become wealthier his or her efforts must be encouraged by the tax code-- the wealthy will become wealthier in spite of the tax code. And, believe it or don't, the vast majority of the wealthy (even corporate executives) are good, productive, caring-about-the-environment, people.

At the root of the problem is the tremendous investment the major parties have in nurturing divisiveness, jealousy, and misunderstanding in the electorate. The Republicans or Democrats in power are always ruining the country and, of course, the guys who are seeking power, will undoubtedly do the same. Perhaps the most obvious example of misguided political handiwork is the negative attitude of most individuals toward corporations, big business, and international economic collaboration.

As non-voting but taxable entities, corporations are easy to blame for all that is wrong in society, easy to sue frivolously with no remorse or control, and popular to tax--- by both parties. The sad thing is that most people don't take the time to appreciate just how important business success and profitability are to their own financial interests, short and long term. Mutual funds, for example, perform better when businesses, large and small, prosper. Profitable businesses produce jobs, provide higher salaries, and (once all the extra fees, mandates, taxes, and handouts are eliminated) lower prices.

Politicians have never been shy about dictating proper behavior to individuals or hesitant in shamelessly picking the pockets of businesses to fund their projects. Self-employed business owners, for example, pay a minimum 35% Federal Income Tax, state and local taxes of various kinds, and the usual Workers Compensation, Medicare, and double Social Security Taxes. It adds up to better than 50% quickly, and, at every level, all taxes, fees, subsidies, assessments, withholdings, compliance costs, etc. are:

(1) Added to the price of goods and services, (2) considered in hiring decisions at all levels in all business entities, and (3) factored into decisions regarding new plant locations and service function outsourcing. Businesses will only produce jobs in an environment that recognizes the importance of the contributions they make. Meaningful tax reform needs to begin where the jobs begin. Reforms to the Individual Tax Code and the Social Security/Retirement System can then be integrated into the business framework.

Just as Congress picks corporate pockets, corporations pick those of their shareholders. The compensation of corporate officers is a clear example of how this has gone totally out of control, even if it is understandable under existing tax codes--- both corporate and individual. Multi-million dollar salaries, bonuses, deferred compensation and option packages are all designed to avoid and/or to defer taxes while, at the same time, they are deductible on a dollar for dollar basis from business taxes.

Changes on the personal side could clean this up quickly but, for now, politicians need to focus more on protecting shareholders from these creative, and excessive, compensation schemes. Eliminating the Corporate Income Tax, and all tax deferral/option/bonus mechanisms that are not available to all employees at all levels, would be an excellent start. Then cap total compensation packages at a specific number--- any excess being paid only in the form of dividends to all shareholders.

The Corporate Income Tax is a non-productive weight on business decision makers, causing expenditures that would not be considered were they not tax deductible. Ironically, jobs are not created to reduce the tax bite because every dollar of salary brings with it an additional 40% or so in overhead. All the actual costs of doing business (and all the perceived risks associated with doing business) wind up in the price of goods and services. The fact that governments can raise corporate costs so much more easily than they can raise individual's taxes is perhaps the biggest shell game threatening our economic well being today.

If instead of taxing them into leaving the country, Congress would cultivate the profitability of corporations, while focusing regulatory efforts on the economic abuses of shareholders, employees, and consumers, a whole new era of economic expansion and productivity growth would ensue--- and we're just getting started.Investors need to impress upon candidates that they expect meaningful change throughout the tax code, and that a second term just won't happen without it.

After the Corporate Tax environment changes, politicians will be able to devote their energies to defining "proper corporate and non-corporate business behavior", and monitoring compliance with a whole new set of rules and regulations. Converting the United States into a Free Trade Zone, by eliminating all nuisance assessments from all levels of government, would: increase employment, reduce prices, and multiply distributable dividends. Making it happen should not be that difficult, particularly with the growing outrage concerning the obscene compensation of high level corporate executives, and considering how successful the FTZs have been on the local level.

Managers will make these changes work because the incentives are where they belong--- on the bottom line instead of the tax return. Small businesses would benefit from the reduction in taxation, and fees, and would be less constrained in their efforts to grow. If they don't do the right thing, they will become less competitive in the marketplace, and that is the way capitalism is supposed to work. But, don't be naive. Publicly held companies will need direction, guidance, and policing--- an excellent new career for displaced accountants and lobbyists.

Steve Selenguthttp://www.sancoservices.comhttp://www.kiawahgolfinvestmentseminars.com/ Professional Portfolio Management since 1979Author of: "The Brainwashing of the American Investor: The Book that Wall Street Does Not Want YOU to Read", and "A Millionaire's Secret Investment Strategy"

Tips to Increase Internet Traffic

There are millions, no billions of sites on the internet which attract little to no traffic. This doesn't have to be the case with your website. If you're all but finished your website, there are some things you need to know to increase internet traffic. Here they are...
Then, I will take you to more detail and then I'll give you access to traffic knowledge you possibly can't get anywhere else on the internet or in a book. Let's take it one step at a time.
You have done everything right. Now you need to let people know you exist. Maybe you are wondering if you should buy website traffic or, maybe, if there are things you can learn to get more website traffic more quickly and easily.
Some ways to improve your website traffic include content and article marketing, in-bound linking, Web 2 strategies, free website directories and search engine optimization. If you do nothing, you will likely get very little traffic.

1. Content and Article Marketing

To get traffic you need top quality content on your website. If you don't, any visitors you do get will click away from your website immediately and move to the next one in the list.
Article marketing can be used quite affectively to drive traffic to your site. Write good quality articles relevant to your website's content and submit them to online directories.
This will help get you noticed and listed in the most popular search engine directories. Remember to stick with quality. Check places known for their stringent approach toward quality such as ezinearticles.com to get an idea of what you should be doing.

2. Creating Links

Start a link campaign. The best way is to get in-bound links commonly known as back-links from similar or complementary website owners. Another way to create links is to make informed comments on blogs and forums that allow you a link to your website address. This is effective and many will click your link simply out of curiosity, especially if you have interesting things to say in your field. But remember, it is not the quantity of external links that is important; it is the quality of them. Keep away from reciprocal linking, it is most often not worth the effort.

3. Web 2.0 Strategies

Web 2 strategies, often known as social marketing, have become a huge online marketing tool. YouTube, Flickr, Reddit, Propeller, MySpace, Facebook, Stumbleupon and Digg are all examples of social marketing tools that have come to the forefront in recent times. There are many ways to use these communities to promote yourself and improve website traffic in an ethical manner.

4. Free Website Directories

Promote your website to online newsgroups and free directories. These are important for gaining prominence to some degree. Take care with directories and make sure you're not submitting to a link farm. Search engines don't take kindly to link farms. Make sure the directory offers significant traffic. Google themselves promote Yahoo directory and niche directories as good places to list your site. Yahoo charges a hefty fee but you have to decide how much credence you place in your site.

5. Search Engine Optimization

Make sure your website is optimized so search engines list you. You must be listed for people to ever see your site on a search engine. To optimize your website use keywords in your content, the same keywords in you meta keyword tag, a sensible and relevant meta description, headlines and page titles. Don't cheat! You need to learn a little more about On-page and Off-page optimization. You can Google these terms and find out more in detail later.
No longer do we live in an age where we can expect people to come to us. It is essential to know your target market and tactfully encourage folks to visit. Usually with quality. Remember, that in the end, real people will decide the future of your site so don't be in a rush.

Author Ray Baker, who tutors and consults to business on SEO has provided this review on an established source of internet traffic secrets
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ray_Baker

Conspiracy to Keep People Down?

You have probably run into to people who thought there was a conspiracy keeping them or everyone down. Sure, there are politicians making absolutely stupid decisions, but you still have a lot of power. No one says you can't apply for a new job or start your own business. Your employer can't stop you from quitting, but they can give you a bad reference and dog you in other ways. Your employer can't stop you from saving and making excellent investments. If you are at a loss for finding a way out of the rat race, visit:
www.financialindependenceuniversity.com and start studying today!