Designing a website, pay attention to the basics

One of the biggest mistakes novice web designers make when designing a new website is often the basics. They tends to go though getting the difficult aspects of web design done but usually fall flat on their face when their design is analysed for the basics web design which even a novice should know.

A case in point is the forum called Rock Forums, though as a forum the design is more complex because the design was integrated into vBulletin software, the script that powers the website, however it fails one of the most basic rules of web design which is to test the final design in all major browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera and Apple Safari).
Using Internet Explorer to browse The Rock Forum was fine but a visit to the site with Firefox see most of the important elements of the site including the logo fall flat on their faces.  A reference  guide novice web design should bear in mind when designing a website includes:

* Navigation
* Use of hyperlinks (general internal link structure).
* Important contents displayed prominently.
* Forms and contact pages.
* Speed of website
* Optimise graphics to improved SEO ranking, navigation for visually impaired and look and fell.
* Search capabilities
* Basic design concepts
* Site consistencies
* Standardisation and accessibility
* Compatibility with popular browsers.

Whether you are a beginner web designer or experience website designer, you can enhance you site design and development technique by exchanging ideas with other developers are UK Webmaster Forum.

Its is free to join.

Link Bid Script 5 directories offer

Link Bid Script popularly know as LBS, a bid for position directory script which recently evolved into a full fledged web directory script released the latest version, V1.5 today and announce the release date for V1.6.
The only significant difference between version 1.5 and 1.6 is that there is a network feature in V1.6 which allow sites submitted to one directory in network to automatically add the submitted site to all the other directories in that network.

To promote the release of LBS 1.6 a competition to win 5 domain name, 5 web hosting account and five installation of LBS 1.6 details of the competition can be found below.

Why star small when you can start big? Why pay for a bidding directory script when you can have LBS free of charge?

Imagine having 5 web directories with the hosting, the script, domain name and script installation done for you, imagine that the 5 five web directories are networked so that when site is submitted to one directory, it will be automatically added to the remaining 4 directories in the networks!

That is what you can win in this competition brought to you in collaboration with Link Bid Script. More information about this competition follows:

You can be the proud owner of a network of 5 directories powered by Link Bid Script.
* This competition will be run for 4 ( four ) weeks. At the end of the competition the winner will get his prize.
* Participant should be members of UKWebmasterWorld Forums
* To win, you need to submit UNIQUE article about web directories, your article can be on any aspect of web directory.
* Minimum words in your article should be 400.
* Mihai Jepan is the judge of this competition, the article he considers to be the best wins the competition.

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The winner will get:
* 5 Domain names
* 5 Web Hosting account on 5 C-class IP address
* Installation of LBS Directory software
* Free blog post to help you start your network promo going.

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How to enter
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* Register your interest at this thread on Link Bid Script forum.

How to start your own web directory

A web directory can be a great online marketing tool and a good source of revenue. When considering starting a web directory, you need to keep several issues in mind. First and foremost, you will need good reliable hosting. The most effective web directories today are subject specific, so you should consider a focus for your directory. A web directory can be quite simple, from a technological standpoint, or can involve extensive programming. The size and scope of your planned web directory may impact its overall design and structure.

You may be surprised to learn that you can start a web directory with a very low initial start up. You will need to pay for your web hosting and register a domain, of course; however, in today’s market affordable web services make starting a web directory easy. You can then find a free script online to use for your web directory, or purchase one if you lack the programming skills to create the backend programming on your own. Once your directory is set up, you need to begin marketing it, in order to make this a profitable venture.

Make use of online directory submission sites to market your directory. In order to make money, your web directory needs to get traffic and the best way to draw traffic is to offer a lot of information in your directory. Participating in online webmaster forums is another good way to draw traffic and links to your site. Keep in mind that subject specific web directories may be a more useful resource for many people and thus draw more traffic. Also, consider setting some quality control standards and avoid accepting pornographic or other questionable sites to your web directory.

How can you make money with your web directory? Online advertising programs are one great way to make money by starting a web directory. You may also want to sell featured links to bring in additional revenue.

Web directories are a great online resource for shoppers, those looking for information, and other web browsers. For webmasters, directories can be a useful money making tool. More than that, in today’s web market, quality web directories can improve search engine rankings and help sites improve their own profitability and visitor counts. If you are considering starting a web directory, you will likely find that it is easier and cheaper than you expect. Simply put, find a host, a domain and a script and you will be well on your way to being the master of your own directory.  PHP Link Bid is a free directory script software you may want to use to start you directory. It can be used for both regular directory and bid for position directory

Allskytv SEO Friendly Directory

————-Guest Blogger Jamie; AllskyTV Directory owner——————

Finding a good web directory these days can be quite an arduous task. Many directories offer the same things or start out well but quickly fade away. So how is this directory different? Allskytv SEO friendly directory has been designed specifically with you in mind. Each and every submitter would like to give their site the maximum possible exposure and that is exactly what you will get. On the submission page you will have the option to have deep links or not, the decision is yours. This is where Allskytv Directory is different. While there are many directories out there that offer deep links they are buried within the details page which can be as many as 4 clicks away from the homepage, this means that search engines are a lot less likely to find your links and pass the value onto you. On Allskytv Directory Links to the details page of the last 5 submissions are displayed sitewide. This means once your link is approved Google and other leading search engines will be guaranteed to find your dedicated details page along with the deep links you submitted. Featured links get the greatest benefit with 3 random links to details page shown on the homepage at all times. Don’t worry it doesn’t end there. All links are eligible for site of the day, this is where a site will be featured on the homepage for an entire day. As with other links it will point to the details page, which gives a detailed description of your site along with your deep links and advanced seo stats.

At Allskytv Directory there has been a great emphasis on search engine friendliness. All major categories have been optimised and have there very own title and metatags. This is a factor often missing from many other directories. It helps search engines to recognise the correct niche of your site and can furthermore help to boost your sites search engine rankings. Another aspect that enhances your search engine exposure is the search engine friendly url’s. You will notice that the url’s to details pages reflect that of the title of your site Example.

Thanks to the time and thought that has been put into Allskytv Directory you will get a nice amount of traffic, at the time of writing with an alexa ranking of close to 100,000 and many thousands of back links this is testament to the hard work and time that has been put into this directory.

While much of the efforts has gone into the seo of the directory you can see the site has a completely unique design. Made for easy user navigation and pleasant appearance, large thumbnails are in use, so your site will be shown the way you would like it. While you are visiting Allskytv Directory don’t forget to check out the sponsors and partner links. If you are seeking more places to submit your link you there is also a great list of Directories. Submit your link to Allskytv SEO Friendly Directory today.

You can discuss this post at Webmaster Forum

Interview with a DMOZ Editor

Open Directory Project, popularly know by its DMOZ by webmasters is “The Web Directory”. Its not only free to add your site to it, but once your site is listed in DMOZ, hundreds of smaller web directories including Google Directory get some or all of their data from DMOZ. This means a site listed in DMOZ is guaranteed several listings in smaller web directories.

DMOZ like most projects are usually beset by all sorts of problems, but the question uppermost in most webmaster minds is usually “why is my site now listed” or
“When will my site be listed”? In a recent Interview, Temi Odurinde put some of the questions webmasters like addressed to a DMOZ editor.  The full interview can be read at UK Webmaster World Forums. Excepts from its can be read below:

UK WW: The big crash DMOZ was supposed to have had wiped off lots of database, can you shed lights on this?
DMOZ Editor: The crash affected mainly the editing side of things, very few listed sites (if any) were lost. The only dater lost was sites waiting to be reviewed by an editor or those unreviewed due to being faulty. Many editing notes that are included when an editor adds/edits or deletes a site were also lost.

UK WW: I know DMOZ has a comprehensive list of things you should do to get your site listed, can you simplify it to just 5 tips you think could help one get listed in DMOZ quickly.
DMOZ Editor: Use the correct title, not the one best for your SEO purposes.
1)Use the correct and main url (if your site is www.acme.com/ submit that not acme.com/sales this just delays things more.
2)Write your description from an outsiders point of view, don’t repeat any keywords and avoid hype. Ensure the correct use of caps and don’t put your title in the description.
3)Make sure your submitted site is complete and has no dead pages. Sites submitted incomplete, under construction or with dead links etc will be rejected.
4)Ensure your site is submitted to the correct section of the directory. Remember the bigger the category you submit to the longer it will take to get listed. If for example you are a web designer and your site fits Computers/Internet/Web_Design_and_Development/Designers/Full_Service/ this will probable take a great deal longer than say a walk in shop located in Florida with 20 or so sites listed. Locality listings require a location address and do tend to get listed quicker.

UK WW: Some members of our forums said to put the following questions to you:
Question: Why are they not accepting directory submission while they have tons of crap blogs and buts listed there? What is wrong with directories?
DMOZ Editor: If you are referring to web directories please see http://dmoz.org/Business/Directories/ This is just a small section of directories listed.

UK WW Member: Most of the time directories are well edited and well look after. Yet they only list directories affiliated with editors only. What is wrong there?
DMOZ Editor: This is a misconception, editors are required to inform the OPD of any affiliated sites and display their own sites for all editors to see. Any editor manipulating a category or refusing to add competitors sites will have all editing privileges removed.
UK WW Member: What is it different from personal blogs, made for adsense blogs, proxy sites, etc?? What is the justification?
DMOZ Editor: Ad sense sites are aimed at redirecting the viewer for the purpose of financial gain only and consist of links to other sites only. These are not considered of any factual quality. Sites containing partial ad sense are acceptable providing they are not the soul purpose of the site in question.
UK WW Member: What should I do to get my sites accepted, since I read the guide and followed them every time, but no success so far
DMOZ Editor: See above 1-5 suggestions.

UK WW Member:
My question is, how many urls do they have waiting for approval?
DMOZ Editor: Not an easy one to answer, the directory has approximately 4,830,584 sites listed and over 590,000 categories calculating those waiting for approval would mean checking all countries of the world individually and then totalling them. At I guess I would say around 200.000

UK WW Member: Why is there such disparity in accepting editors? I have seen an application rejected, then a few weeks later the identical application submitted by a different person and they were accepted. I personally was refused 3 times, yet have written 5 applications for friends who were accepted as editors and are doing a fine job. This tells me that personalities come into play more than the quality of application.
DMOZ Editor: Many factors determine the acceptance or rejection of editor applications.
Appling for too big a category being the first. Chose one that has less than 50 sites and no editor, possibly your home town. Then apply for another town when that category is cracked and you have learnt the ways of Dmoz editing. Slowly moving up the ladder is the only way.
Incorrect submission examples, poor spelling, bad abbreviation, incorrect titles/url’s etc are another reason. Always check you examples are not already listed in the directory, submitting listed sited shows you have not looked that deep into the directory sites included.
Don’t expect to get in on your first attempt however good your application is, rejection is part of your learning to be not only a good editor but one that has good and polite communication skills. Politely reply to the rejection email and try again.
Remember Dmoz wants new editors but will not except you simply to clear sites. The quality of listing takes priority over quantity.

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