The good news is there is plenty that can be done to fix this problem. The most typical error is trying too hard. Too many images; too many flash gimmicks; too many fonts or colors. It’s just too much. All of this activity is not only distracting, it can also cause the whole site to run slowly – a sure fire death blow where visitation is concerned. Other websites are confusing, hard to find, have poor content or aren’t managed properly.

All of these things are easily solved with a little attention. To help turn around your website’s poor fortunes, here are five simple ways to make it better:

Design – If you designed your website yourself, and aren’t properly trained to do so, you can probably do better. There are many, many website templates available on the Internet that add a higher level of professionalism and visual engagement, and many of them are free. Those with the means can pay for a custom designed site which adds even more value in the long run.

Content – The “Content is king” cliché, is actually quite true. The best way to build your site’s reputation is to populate it with high quality content that is written in grammatically correct English with no mistakes or typos. Content should also be properly keyword optimized for high search engine placement.

Audit – Every page of the website should be analyzed to make sure it is working properly. Optimize images so they load faster; fix dead links; and remove anything that isn’t essential to the website’s design. Make sure your website is compatible with various browsers so it looks the same regardless if someone is using Explorer, Firefox or any of the others.

Social Media – Add social media “Share” tags so viewers who appreciate your content can share the item on their profiles and drive traffic to your site. Every website and blog should also be accompanied by a strong social media presence to further push your company’s message. Social media is a great vehicle for polls and contests that are great for generating a buzz.

Optimize for search engines – Whether you do your own keyword research or hire an SEO, making sure your website is visible to search engines is essential. In addition to making sure your content is optimized, ensure URLs as well. Use meta tags on each web page to further enhance SEO results.

This is by no means a complete list of things that can be done at little or no expense to enhance your website’s ability to return value on investment. These five elements, if actively pursued, will form a solid foundation to extend your website’s reach and influence.

Pick Your Keywords

It is essential that you base any article you write around a correct set of keywords in order to reach targeted traffic online. You can use keyword tools such as the one operated by Google to see which are the most searched phrases online. Make sure you don’t pick the most popular keywords with hundreds of thousands of searches a month as these will have too much competition – smaller keywords with less searches but that are more targeted are a much better choice.

Think About Your Audience

Selecting your keywords is also a good time to think about who exactly you are writing for. If you are looking to design websites for companies in a particular sector, carry out searches for keywords in this sector and make a note of them. You may also want to think about other demographics who may be looking for web design services, such as educational facilities or local charities.

Be Informative

When writing your articles, it is important to remember that you are writing to give consumers value and important information. Simply writing a 500-word advert for your business will quickly make readers click away from your articles. Write about topics relevant to web design or the company they are looking to set up. You will be allowed to write a short author biography at the end of your articles where you can put links to your business and promote yourself a little.

Publish Your Articles

There are hundreds of different article marketing websites out there that allow you to post pieces on a chosen topic. However, some of them are read by a lot more people than others, so you should make sure you are publishing your pieces to the most popular article marketing sites. Ezine Articles is one of the most popular and although you may have to pass a small writing test to be eligible for publishing, you should aim to get the majority of your articles on this site. If you are unsure, you can publish the same piece on a variety of different sites to make sure you are getting the widest audience possible.

By taking the time to incorporate five “must have” functions into your website you can help ensure a better chance at success for your project

1. Social Integration From Off-Site Sources

If you’re running a website for which you constantly interact with your users using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social networks you should show those conversations to be carried over to your website. An increasing number of websites in recent months have begun showing Twitter feeds from their accounts while providing Facebook activity streams and other offsite content conversations. By bringing off-site conversation to your website you allow users to create a circle of interaction that extends from on-site conversations to off-site conversations and then back to on-site conversations, a nice little circle of interaction that keeps users returning to your main product (your website).

2. Photo Galleries That Users Actually Want To View

One of my biggest pet peeves when viewing WordPress based websites is the lack of a decent photo gallery. The WordPress gallery isn’t the worst option on the face of the planet but there are better galleries available. When choosing a photo gallery I suggest looking for an HTML5 based option in place of a Java-assisted gallery which iPad and iPhone viewers will be unable to view. Choosing a gallery that allows users to switch between full page views and scrolling can help a gallery stand out while keeping a users on-site for longer periods of time. I often incorporate “embed this” options into my website so users can easily past my photos into their own websites while providing links back to my website (a great SEO technique).

3. Intuitive Website Forms

A simple contact form with “name, email and message” fields is useful if your only contact needs surround customer service issues however more intuitive forms can allow webmasters to obtain additional information from users while generating an instant dialogue with site visitors. For example if you’re website forms direct users to upload images, leave website URLs and provide times and dates for information they are providing you are essentially creating an in-depth conversation with users upon first contact. The more information you can obtain from a user through the use of forms the better conversation you can open up with those users. It’s important to remember that while commenting systems can start a dialogue with site visitors it’s your contact forms that are most likely to generate loyal users since they want to participate more in your websites success.

4. Interactive Commenting System

I have recently changed all of my websites over to the Facebook commenting system, my change came after months of research in which I realized that Facebook commenting drew in new readers at a faster rate than other platforms while generating a higher conversation rate. Because Facebook comments show up on a commenters Facebook feed their Facebook followers have a better chance of converting into visitors. Even if you don’t use Facebook commenting it’s important to choose a system that allows for more interaction than simple commenting. For example using the Disqus system on WordPress allows users to “Like” comments which in turn means they can upvote people they like and ignore other commenters. I personally believe that a commenting system should invoke a sense of camaraderie among site visitors while providing as much interaction as possible.

5.  Properly Implemented Share Buttons For Social Media

I hate visiting a website that features 15 different share buttons when three to four buttons will do the trick. In most cases Facebook Like and Twitter Buttons should be used, after that point a webmaster should determine which other buttons will likely convert on their site. For example a business news site will be served well by the LinkedIn button while Reddit users will likely ignore much of your content. On the other hand a site full of offbeat news stories, photos and videos will likely be served well by Reddit, StumbleUpon and Digg buttons.

In my personal experience giving too many share options can cause a reader to feel overwhelmed leading to users abandoning share options all together. If you can’t decide on exactly which buttons to use I suggest testing buttons while monitoring how they convert for your site. If all else fails use AddToAny or another social platform options that will allow for additional share options to pop up only when users hover over or click on a share button option.

Whether you’re choosing to build a site using a website builder or you’re starting your site from scratch without a template you should always examine the functions listed above so you can create communication with your readers while showcasing your content (photos, videos, text) in a way that readers find compelling. Share your content and then convert those shares into conversations if you can accomplish that goal you should witness some increased success for your web property.

Download Joomla

First, you need to install the program on your computer. You should make sure you are downloading the most up to date version of the program, as this will have additional benefits and features that are most likely not included in previous versions. You can access Joomla either by negotiating the ‘Control Panel’ of your web host or by downloading it directly from the Joomla website. This will also allow you to set up your chosen configuration and log in information.

Select a Template

Although Joomla comes fully equipped with a range of different template styles, one reason why programmers use the service is its adaptability. There are literally thousands of Joomla templates available online which come with the full HTML code necessary for coding. There is a wide mix of both free templates and ones you have to pay for, so think about whether a free design will be suitable for your needs.

Make Any Necessary Changes

One you have found a template, you can play around with the HTML code and change the appearance of the template as you see fit. Standard practice for web designers is to alter the header and the footer of the website in order to make their page stand out. To do this, access the ‘Template Manager’ area of your Joomla program. Making sure you have logged yourself in as an administrator, select ‘Edit HTML’ from the menu to start making your changes.

Create Your Content

You will now need to set up your template for you to make content. Whatever type of content you are going to add to your page, you will need both ‘Categories’ and also ‘Sections’. It is a good idea to leave the menu of your site until the end when you have created the content – once you know what is going to be on your page, you will have a better idea of how to create an easy navigable menu for visitors.

Continue Learning!

Joomla is a very intuitive program, but there is also a lot more that can be done with it once you have mastered the basics. The service comes with a number of extension lesson and additional classes to help you improve your coding abilities. A number of these extensions are also free, so there’s no excuse not to get stuck in!

To start using the system I simply navigated to: http://www.hostucan.com/hosting-relevant/ at which point I was able to enter the name of the hosting company I wanted to receive a hosting review and analysis about, in this case I used HostGator and then clicked on the magnifying glass.

Once a search is performed the next screen then shows the hosting company in question, as you can see from the screenshot below HostGator.com is shown with the ability to submit a review and a 100% recommendation rating (rating is based off currently available reviews and not for plan specific relevancy). To check relevancy for my framework (WordPress) I then clicked on “Relevancy Checking.”

After clicking on the “Relevancy Checking” tool I was then taken to a list of the providers hosting plans. For the purpose of my test I then chose the “Hostgator Baby Plan” and clicked on “Check” under the operator section.

Once I had drilled down to the Hostgator Baby Plan I was then asked to choose my “Application Framework” which in my case was “WordPress.” Next I chose the number of estimated daily page views I was expecting to receive, in this case “0-300″ page views.

Once I chose my framework and pageviews the host providers review page was shown, as you can see below the HostGator review was given a “Good” rating with an Average uptime of 99.98%. Ratings from the website are based off customer and editor reviews along with uptime variables and the ability for a hosting providers server setups to support the framework being users (some servers do not support certain technologies while others require “tweaking” to work properly).

Next I chose to examine the same baby hosting plan from HostGator with WordPress and 601 ~ 1000 page views. While the uptime on the site was once again 99.98% the program was listed as Not Recommended because no customer reviews were provided and the web traffic was too high for the small hosting plan. Also notice that the program recommends the HostGator VPS option because it is the highest rated option from this particular hosting provider.

Between a high number of available coupons, easy access to user reviews and the ability to check which systems offer the type of framework support a user needs HostUCan is a must have hosting provider search engine and review website for owners looking to use various technologies on their projects.

Setting up ManageWP is just a matter of downloading the plugin and activating the program on your website. Once activated the plugin shows up on the left side of your admin panel under the “ManageWP” heading.

As you’ll notice below the main ManageWP section all of the websites you have managed are added for easy access. To add a new website simple load the ManageWP plugin to the new website and active the plugin, then access the “Add Website” tab and input the website URL and username to add the site.

It’s important to note that the moment you activate the plugin any other website can claim your blog until you add the site to your dashboard, if you are not ready to add a site make sure to deactivate the ManageWP plugin on that site.

Also notice that you can choose a site color for each of your blogs in order to provide a unique look.

One of my favorite aspects of ManageWP is the ability to mass upload plugins and themes to all or any of the sites I have on my platform. For example with SplashPress I can select 901am.com, applegazette.com and bloggerjobs.biz and upload the same plugin to all of those sites. If the plugin doesn’t require special setup option I can even choose the “activate plugins after upload” to mass activate the new plugin option.

Here’s a quick look at the upload interface, notice the simple grid feature for choosing sites and upload options.

You’ll also notice the ability to choose where files are uploaded from (WordPress repository, My Computer, My Favorite and even in the .ZIP format which will be unarchived during the upload and activation process.

If you’re constantly worried about losing files on your site, server crashes and other unexpected errors you’ll appreciate the ManageWP backup feature which allows you to choose between MySQL and full site + MySQL database backups. As you’ll notice in the screen grab below.

Along with backing up a single site you can once again choose “mass backups” by clicking on the “select websites” part of the backup screen and you an backup your site to alternative destinations including FTP, Amazon S3 and Dropbox.

I love the fact that not only can I back up my files in bulk using the program without having to set a Cron Job or handle other server site information, I can also choose when to backup those files and even optimize my WordPress tablets at the same time.

If you manage a network of sites where you would like to bulk upload posts or pages then you’ll also love ManageWP. Using the options to the left side of the WordPress panel users can load a new post panel and then choose sites to bulk upload.

Throw in the ability to “clone/migrate” a website which makes setting up a site with all your favorite already used plugins and themes a snap, along with the options to bulk add users and bulk add links and it’s easy to see why ManageWP makes controlling your WordPress enabled websites so easy.

The next time I start a new website network I will be sure to give ManageWP control of those websites, a move that will guarantee easier site administration and a headache free experience.

Users interested in ManageWP can check out pricing by visiting: managewp.com/plans-and-pricing. In the meantime the program

Having a standard work-flow is essential and for that you need the right tools for you. Personally I prefer web apps which are accessible from any device. Must I find myself away from home without a laptop, I can still do some writing.

Even small things matter to spare time e.g., when I need to use several photos in a post, I edit them in order I will be putting them in the post. When I upload them in WordPress they’ll be automatically sorted by last modified date. This way I don’t have to look through the whole list for a photo. I just start from top to bottom.

I write in Google Docs, I use no HTML tags, and once in WorPress I just copy paste the links into tags. The Find and Replace option comes in handy when adding HTML tags in bulk. This works for me, while others have their own system.

I compiled a list of different web app, applications, plug-ins and extensions that might come in handy. Too muchmany tools isn’t good either. Get a couple of tools that does what you need without giving too many distractions.

WordPress Plug-in

Editorial Calendar

Keep track of your posting schedule withing WordPress dashboard.

Web app

Keep On Posting

Be it for personal or professional use, Keep on Posting will email you when you are slipping out from your posting frequency.

Application

Scrivener

Scrivener puts everything you need for structuring, writing and editing long documents at your fingertips.

Available for Apple only, cost $45. Public beta for Windows.

Application

Windows Live Writer 2011

Windows Live Writer makes it easy for anyone to tell stories like a professional blogger. You can create beautiful blog posts, and see what they’ll look like online before you publish them to your blog. Plus, you can publish your posts to any of your favorite blog service providers.

Web app

Diigo

Diigo is two services in one — it is a research and collaborative research tool on the one hand, and a knowledge-sharing community and social content site on the other.

Application

MarsEdit 3

Whether you love HTML or can’t bear the sight of it, MarsEdit’s editor will thrill you. If you prefer the best of both worlds, you can switch easily between the two.
Works with WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr, Squarespace, TypePad, Movable Type and dozens more through standard MetaWeblog and AtomPub interfaces.

Cost $39.95

Web app

TeuxDeux

If you like making to-do lists, you will love TeuxDeux. Use the free browser-based TeuxDeux at work/home and then take your to-dos on the road with the iPhone app($2.99).

Application (Mac)

LittleSnapper

With LittleSnapper it’s easy to start capturing webpages and your desktop. From entire webpages – including the bits that are out of view in a standard browser window and important metadata such as the web address – to specific windows on your Mac.

Cost $29.99

Browser Extension

FireShot

FireShot is an extension for Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome, Seamonkey and Thunderbird that captures, edits, annotates, organizes, exports, uploads and prints screenshots of your web pages.

Google Docs

Free, simple and powerful. Personally I only use Google Docs to write, keep track of links and keep notes. The sharing capabilities are the best, live editing and collaboration works smoothly. The integrated chat comes in handy when collaborating at the same time with more people.

Designs of the Week

The circus theme combined with the sketchy, painted feel looks great. Everything’s bright and cheerful.

Minimal but packs a punch with the clothesline effect. Nice integration of Google Translate for language localization, and the header matches each project color/pattern.

Nice little thumbnail tabs to the right for navigating through the slides, and a nice dark overlay to the left for blending into the background.

A more conventional look, but I like how the text and image areas are separated with a nice curvy cut, breaking the typical rectangular silhouette of carousels.

The splash of milk makes all the difference. This site’s filled with content but it still feels light and nicely organized.

Keeping the color scheme in grayscale to let the purple pop is an interesting technique. Although using black text on it isn’t very readable. So is using italics for majority of the site.

Fun sketchy illustrations everywhere—even the icons for meta information are custom. It also helps that there are tooltips in case they look a little vague. I like the treatment to the scrollbar although maybe some arrows or a change in cursor type would help more.

Love or hate the vintage, classical look, the details on this site are to die for. But really, it’s the main slideshow that’s the best part, which comes together in such a pleasant way.

Social Media Weekly

Accessibility – Web Accessibility Toolbar
“In honour of Jim Thatchers important and continuing contribution to making the web a more accessible medium, I have worked on an update to the Web Accessibility Toolbar for Internet Explorer, which includes new features that he has developed.”

HTML – New HTML elements and surrogate <div>s
“What else can we do to move forward without polluting our documents with non semantic wrappers?”

User Experience – Effective Developer Experience
“Platform product owners must be concerned with assisting developers in accomplishing this if end users are to have a good user experience overall. Attention to these details is called developer experience (DX), and enabling app developers to be successful through better DX will create a more successful UX for the platform product.”

Logobee.com is one such logo design company who knows what they’re doing when it comes to making that positive impact for their clients.

Logobee’s in-house designers have been plying their trade for online and offline clients since the year 2000 and have done some very nice work for their nearly 10,000 clients during that time. Consistently clean, minimalist logos that are stylish and professional, unique, and effectively communicate the client’s core business are rare, but after looking over a sampling of the company logos they’ve created, we’re impressed.

The company has been around for a long time and just recently, in order to satisfy the demands of a marketplace thats becoming more and more accustomed to the “we want this done yesterday” way of doing business, Logobee ramped up accordingly by guaranteeing a first draft of customer logos within 48 hours. That’s no small feat when you consider the outstanding quality of their work.

And Logobee isn’t just a logo design firm, they also have a ton of information and tutorials available on their site, plus, a newly launched self-serve logo design template system where you can go to get help with designing your own logo in different degrees. The system offers three options depending on your needs and budget. These are: “Buy Exclusive,” “Buy Customized,” and “Get it Free.” You just select the style of logo you want, enter your details, choose from their options and that’s about it. It couldn’t be easier.

As if that weren’t enough, if you sign up to their affiliate program, you earn a $20 referral fee for each new logo project you refer to them and the people you refer also get a $20 discount on their logo design purchase.

And did we mention that anyone who orders a stationery package (you know, actual paper products with your company logo and other info) gets 500 business cards at no extra charge as a bonus?

A lot of happy customers have said a lot of good things about Logobee in their logo design reviews. They’re definitely worth checking out.

There’s a downside to playing too many games, of course- they’re notorious time-suckers, and if you don’t watch out, can kill your work productivity. But some types of games can help you develop certain skills- and I present them to you here. Also, keep in mind that all these games will improve your problem-solving skills. Ready?

Plants vs Zombies
What it is: Defend your home from hordes of Zombies by placing plants in outside areas of your house.
What it improves: Based on the classic “defend the tower” game formula, PVZ (which is what addicts like me refer to it as) requires developing strategies to ensure the security of your home. When you work with code and programming, security is always an issue- and applying basic security methods learned from the game can help.

Cooking Dash
What it is: Help Flo cook dishes and run several restaurant kitchens against the clock.
What it improves: Cooking Dash is a time management game, so that’s what it should help you with: prioritizing what’s most important, and scheduling your to-do list properly so that you get the most productivity. It’s all about working smarter, not harder.

Fairway Solitaire
What it is: It’s solitaire with a twist: you’re playing on various golf courses, with wild-shot cards and “clubs” you collect.
What it improves: Most card games help you develop your mathematics skills, and Fairway Solitaire is no different. Trying to figure out how to count how many of which cards are left covered, and which cards to play, can really work your analytical skills.

The Sims 3
What it is: A life simulation game, where you create and develop characters, control them, and develop relationships.
What it improves: This awesomely addicting game is great for improving your micromanagement skills- and, because a lot of the game deals with developing relationships with Sims who aren’t necessarily friendly, it can help you improve your interpersonal skills.

World of Goo
What it is: Use “goo balls” to construct things like bridges and towers, defy gravity, and get to the pipe in the sky.
What it improves: That this game is all about physics becomes obvious within the first few minutes of playing it. Because it has you building across chasms and cliffs, it’s also good for improving structural planning.

What are your favorite problem-solving games?

Designs of the Week

This site feels a little heavy because everywhere you look there’s something, but it does help that the headshots in the background are in neutral hues, not bold, high-contrast ones. It makes the colors on the shoe products pop, too. I like that the featured products slideshow use big photos, is placed front and center, and contains ample whitespace.

Now for something cleaner and simpler. Good use of bold colors and whitespace. And you can’t go wrong with Seth Godin’s head!

A one-page site with transparency, grunge, big backgrounds, and horizontal scrolling—what’s not to like? The split-screen effect, with varying fonts even, provides maximum impact and a great way to divide the two main sections of the site.

Social Media Weekly

Fonts, CSS – 10 great free fonts for @font-face embedding

HTML, Accessibility – Imporance of HTML headings for accessibility