5 Important Rules in Website Design

5 Important Rules in Website Design

When it comes to your website, extra attention should be paid to every minute detail to make sure it performs optimally to serve its purpose. Here are seven important rules of thumb to observe to make sure your website performs well. 

1) Do not use splash pages

Splash pages are the first pages you see when you arrive at a website. They normally have a very beautiful image with words like "welcome" or "click here to enter". In fact, they are just that -- pretty vases with no real purpose. Do not let your visitors have a reason to click on the "back" button! Give them the value of your site up front without the splash page.

2) Do not use excessive banner advertisements

Even the least net savvy people have trained themselves to ignore banner advertisements so you will be wasting valuable website real estate. Instead, provide more valueable content and weave relevant affiliate links into your content, and let your visitors feel that they want to buy instead of being pushed to buy. 

3) Have a simple and clear navigation

You have to provide a simple and very straightforward navigation menu so that even a young child will know how to use it. Stay away from complicated Flash based menus or multi-tiered dropdown menus. If your visitors don't know how to navigate, they will leave your site. 

4) Have a clear indication of where the user is

When visitors are deeply engrossed in browsing your site, you will want to make sure they know which part of the site they are in at that moment. That way, they will be able to browse relevant information or navigate to any section of the site easily. Don't confuse your visitors because confusion means "abandon ship"!

5) Avoid using audio on your site

If your visitor is going to stay a long time at y

My Computer is So Slow

It's a big problem. You're trying to get some work done on your computer and it starts acting like it's sick. It's slow and definitely out of sorts. What can be done about it?

A computer can become under the weather for a lot of reasons. Usually, when it is ailing, it tells us by slowing down. Let's see if we can figure out what has happened to a computer that once flew, but now acts like it has the flu.

Don't forget the System Tray

First, if you have a lot of programs opened, just close a couple of them and see if that makes a difference. Also, check your system tray. This is in the lower right hand corner of your computer screen. Whenever you add a new program, the installer will ask if you want the program to open on computer startup. Usually, at this point we are all just clicking next in response to any question, so the result is we get a lot of programs starting up automatically. You can usually close these programs by right-clicking their icons.

There are other things that can slow down your computer and they are not at all your fault. There is one thing that happens to Windows operating systems in particular. We can just call it a Windows peculiarity.

The Windows Registry

The registry, which is a mainstay of Windows operating systems, becomes loaded with information it no longer uses. So, this added dead weight of useless information makes your computer use all its resources to do very little. It makes it seem like your computer is running up hill all the time. No wonder it acts sick! Fortunately, we can clean out this dead weight with a registry cleaner.

It's a big problem. You're trying to get some work done on your computer and it starts acting like it's sick. It's slow and definitely out of sorts. What can be done about it?

A computer can become poorly for a lot of reasons. Usually, when it is ailing, it tells us by slowing down. Let's see if we can figure out what has happened to a computer that once flew, but now acts like it has the flu.

Don't forget the System Tray

First, if you've a lot of programs opened, just close a couple of them and see if that makes a difference. Also, check your system tray. This is in the lower right hand corner of your computer screen. Whenever you add a new program, the installer will ask if you want the program to open on computer startup. Usually, at this point we are all just clicking next in response to any question, so the result is we get a lot of programs starting up automatically. You can usually close these programs by right-clicking their icons.

There are other things that can behind down your computer and they are not at all your fault. There is one thing that happens to Windows operating systems in particular. We can just call it a Windows peculiarity.

The Windows Registry

The registry, which is a mainstay of Windows OSs, becomes loaded with information it no longer uses. So, this added dead weight of useless information makes your computer use all its resources to do very little. It makes it seem like your computer is running up hill all the time. No wonder it acts sick! Fortunately, we can clean out this dead weight with a registry cleaner.

When your PC is running slowly it becomes impossible to continue up on your work. So, time being money, you have another important reason, other than the aggravation factor, to keep your PC humming along.

The bottom line is, you are able to only do so much by yourself to keep your computer from slowing down. After you closed all you can close and after you've gotten to the point there are only a couple of much needed icons in the system tray, you need to call on help from the outside world to aid you in getting your computer back up to speed.

Using a registry cleaner is taking on step in the direction of restoring your computer's speed. Assuming you have a good virus/spyware uninstaller on your computer, using a registry cleaner may be the only step you need to take to restore your computer to great health.

THE ATTACK BY FIRE

 1. Sun Tzu said: There are five ways of attacking
  with fire. The first is to burn soldiers in their camp;
  the second is to burn stores; the third is to burn
  baggage trains; the fourth is to burn arsenals and magazines;
  the fifth is to hurl dropping fire amongst the enemy.

 2. In order to carry out an attack, we must have
  means available. The material for raising fire should
  always be kept in readiness.

 3. There is a proper season for making attacks with fire,
  and special days for starting a conflagration.

 4. The proper season is when the weather is very dry;
  the special days are those when the moon is in the
  constellations of the Sieve, the Wall, the Wing
  or the Cross-bar; for these four are all days of rising wind.

 5. In attacking with fire, one should be prepared
  to meet five possible developments:

 6. (1) When fire breaks out inside to enemy's camp,
  respond at once with an attack from without.

 7. (2) If there is an outbreak of fire, but the enemy's
  soldiers remain quiet, bide your time and do not attack.

Autumn Fires

 In the other gardens
  And all up the vale,
From the autumn bonfires
  See the smoke trail!

Pleasant summer over
  And all the summer flowers,
The red fire blazes,
  The grey smoke towers.

Sing a song of seasons!
  Something bright in all!
Flowers in the summer,
  Fires in the fall!

Marching Song

 Bring the comb and play upon it!
  Marching, here we come!
Willie cocks his highland bonnet,
  Johnnie beats the drum.

Mary Jane commands the party,
  Peter leads the rear;
Feet in time, alert and hearty,
  Each a Grenadier!

All in the most martial manner
  Marching double-quick;
While the napkin, like a banner,
  Waves upon the stick!

Here's enough of fame and pillage,
  Great commander Jane!
Now that we've been round the village,
  Let's go home again.

HOW TO CHOOSE A PRINT & MAIL DEALER.

A direct-mail campaign is EXPENSIVE! There are many ways to cut the cost 
of your mailings. Bulk mail, SASE's, and many other ways. One of the best 
ways to lower your mailing costs, though, is by using a PRINT & MAIL DEALER.
Print & mail dealers do exactly what their name describes. They can take 
your ads, usually 8 1/2 x 11 flyers, print them and mail them to names drawn 
from a mailing list. Their services are quite inexpensive, sometimes 
costing close to what your local printer would charge for printing alone.  
How is this?
A print & mail business runs something like this. When the dealer receives 
an order from a customer, for example, 1000 8 1/2 x 11 flyers, printed & 
mailed, he will print the flyers on one side of the paper, with HIS flyer 
on the back.
Thus, anyone who receives the customer's flyer will also get the dealer's 
flyer. This cuts his advertising costs. Then, he will assemble a group of 
different orders together into one mailing. This could as little as two 
pages, to as large as 50 pages. These are bulk mailed to names drawn from 
a mailing list, usually of opportunity seekers or mail order enthusiasts.  
They could also be mailed out to those who have responded to ads the print 
& mail dealer has placed.

Hercules and the Waggoner

A Waggoner was once driving a heavy load along a very muddy
way. At last he came to a part of the road where the wheels sank
half-way into the mire, and the more the horses pulled, the deeper
sank the wheels. So the Waggoner threw down his whip, and knelt
down and prayed to Hercules the Strong. "O Hercules, help me in
this my hour of distress," quoth he. But Hercules appeared to
him, and said:

"Tut, man, don't sprawl there. Get up and put your shoulder
to the wheel."

The gods help them that help themselves.