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Tips for Small Business Owners
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3 WAYS TO KEEP SPAMMERS FROM HARVESTING YOUR EMAIL FROM YOUR WEBSITE
by Anna Dalea, ERT Website Solutions
Spam is unsolicited email - unwanted email that is not requested by the recipient. Websites are commonly scanned by robot programs that harvest email addresses so that spam can be sent to them. Personally I have recieved a number of "stock" emails, "Santa Barbara Bank & Trust" emails, PAYPAL or Ebay emails etc. Recently I have seen a number of increased emails with PDF attachments. A number of techniques are being used to prevent email addresses from being harvested.
"Encoding your email address into special values called character entities which represent each character is one method. Javascript programs have been written that will convert an email address to its encoded value (see the links below). You will then copy and paste the encoded email address after the "mailto:" part of the link. For example, this is an encoded link for Ohlone's webmaster email account (extra line breaks have been placed in the code below so the width of the page is not broken - make sure the encoded parts you use are all on one line in your web page):
<a href="mailto:webmast
er@ohlone
.cc.ca.us">
webmaster@
ohlone.cc.
ca.us</a>
There is no guarantee, however, that encoding your email address will prevent spam. Robots can be created that are smart enough to decode the encoded address. " -- http://www.ohlone.cc.ca.us/org/webcenter/emailencoding.html
1. Online Tools to Encode Your Email Address
- Ohlone's Email Encoder (online tool) - used with written permission from West Bay Web
- West Bay Web - Email Encoder (online tool) - "This form will allow you to encode your e-mail address through the use of Character Entities, transforming your ascii email address into its equivalent decimal entity. Simply enter your regular e-mail address in the first text box, click the encode button, and then highlight and copy the resulting code produced in the second text box. This encoded e-mail address can be read and translated back into its original ascii text by almost any web browser without any further action on your part. Just replace all instances of your e-mail address on your pages with the code, and you won't have to worry about spam lists."
- mailto Encoder (online tool) - "The HTML Encoder is a service of SiteUp Networks. The Encoder will format your E-mail address in a way that IS NOT readable by any E-mail extractor or search engine. The Encoder is only provided as a way to prevent HTML E-mail harvesters from getting your address from your web pages. If you do not have a web site, the Encoder will not be useful to you."
2. Tools that use javascript to encode:
Just drop this code into your web's html code where you want the mail to be listed and change the name after mailto: in the code and the domain name from sbcglobal.net to yourdomainname.com
<script language="JavaScript">
<!-- Begin
document.write('<a href=\"mailto:ozonko'+ '@' +
'sbcglobal.net\">');
document.write('Click here to email Lou</a>');
// End -->
</script>
Protect your email inbox. Posting your email address on a website is the best way to get your Inbox full of unsolicited email advertisements. This application, for Windows, protects your email addresses by converting them into encrypted JavaScript.
3. Using an email FORM -- can prevent this spamming issue because visitors to your site must fill out a contact form to contact you. Try, contactforms.com or my personal favorite "response-o-matic.com".
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| Posted by ANNA DALEA at | | | |
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SHOPPING CARTS: WHAT SOLUTION IS RIGHT FOR YOUR BUSINESS?
by Anna Dalea, ERT Website Solutions
At some point or another, every business owner has thought of possibly creating or implementing a shopping cart feature on their website. This is a very involved process and should not be delved into until you know all of your options and everything that will be involved in the process. There are three different types of shopping cart solutions that can integrate with three different types of business volume. We will explore these options here. Hopefully, this article will assist you in your decision. Don't get stuck paying tons of money if you don't necessarily have to or if your business is not at that level of sales volume.
1. Pre-fab shopping cart solutions. This includes Godaddy-like shopping carts. First off let me state that companies like Godaddy are a very inexpensive alternative to most of your website needs. However, their shopping cart has drawbacks, like most other companies that offer similar shopping cart solutions. This option is for the do-it-yourselfer who wants to create and maintain their shopping cart themselves. These people are concerned about PRICE, not visual appeal or quality of the design. The cheaper the better is their motto. Most start up businesses would most likely go this route because a lot is thrown in for one price. DRAWBACKS: pre-fab templates -- you HAVE to choose one of their templates for your site... also, another drawback is that your shopping cart has to be YOUR SITE... you can't already have a website up and running and think that Godaddy's (or a similar companies) shopping cart will integrate nicely into it. It won't! This option however, can be for a company that has A LOT to sell as the shopping cart is set up for this purpose.
2. Merchants, Processors & Gateways. If you are, again, selling a good amount of products that you expect will generate A LOT of business for your company, you may want to open a merchant account and use a credit card processor. This is actually a great way to go for business owners that have a good amount of merchandise to sell, or that want to have a nice integration of shopping cart and custom website design. It's a very involved process, but having a good processor to hold your hand through it all is a treat (one of which is someone I work with called Evelyn Sigel of CashFlowServices.com) The Gateway company will be able to give the webmaster, or whomever is creating your site, a special code that drops into your site so that viewers will see a purchase button for each item. You, as the merchant, will set up all the specifics -- of what you want your clients to see after they click the purchase button-- online with your merchant account.
3. Paypal. This option is great for small business owners who are just starting out and have no clue as to how much of their product they will sell. Perhaps they want to start out slowly with their business, but would like their clients to have the option to purchase with a credit card. This option is also for business owners that will only be selling a couple of items on their site. It's a much cheaper alternative in the short run -- if you expect small or few sales. If you're selling a book, I would go with Paypal... if you're selling seminars... i'd go with paypal. If you're only selling 5-10 items...paypal. It will at least get you started and give you the ability to feel it out to better assess your shopping cart needs. The only drawback is that sometimes clients don't necessarily like Paypal because you have to verify your payment method if you don't already have a PayPal account. It's a hassle to most clients! But it still is a good way to START a new business until you gain momentum and gain a budget that will allow for a monthy fee to a gateway.
Remember, just make sure that you fully understand what is involved with any shopping cart solution that you decide to go with. No matter which way you go, you will be EXTREMELY involved with the process. If you're going to accept credit cards online you will definitely have to go through a processor and gateway regardless. |
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| Posted by ANNA DALEA at | | | |
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| Posted by ANNA DALEA at | | | |
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NEED A WEBSITE? DON'T KNOW WHERE TO START?
BY ANNA DALEA, ERT WEBSITE SOLUTIONS
It's quite common for a business owner to be rushed into "getting" a website. Perhaps clients are asking if you have one or when it will be up and running... perhaps clients are requesting that you create a sub-website for them? For example, I just met with a property management company who's client is asking why the management company won't build a website for them. I was called in to a situation where the property manager had no clue as to what a website really was, any of the terminology, where to start or what the client really needed. They expected me, the web designer, to give them all that information.
The problem here? I don't know their company...furthermore, i'm not familiar with their client. If the property manager doesn't know what their client wants or needs from a website, then how should I? I'm not a mind reader...
Here are some things that business owners need to keep in mind when they feel compelled to get a website but don't have the first clue as where to start:
1) First you must find out the needs for the site. What information is needed to make the clients happy. What do the CLIENTS want to see? Most likely they'll want to see some information about the company, contact information and perhaps what services they offer... how about forms or documents? Newsletters? These are things that a web designer can't guess on. To make a site successful, it has to be thought out properly (not just jumped into to get something on the internet fast).
2) Do some research of other sites that you've seen that are in a similar field to yours and get a better idea of what you like or dislike about those websites. It will not only help you, the business owner, to know what you want, but it will help when it comes time to get a web designer on your team to give them direction.
3) Pick a color scheme for your site. Keep them similar to your logo colors. That's always a good idea. You don't want the two to clash. www.colorschemer.com
4) Who are you marketing your site to? Will it be basic HTML or will it be in Flash?
5) Make sure that you have pictures ready that give a good representation of your company. Obviously, if they're pictures that you'd like on your website then that's even better!
Anyhow, this is a good place to start. Make sure you do your homework before calling a web designer. They need direction. If you make them GUESS what you want, they'll fail. It's all about what the business owner wants. Don't make the designer work hard for nothing (for you to just change your mind about what you want). Don't be wishy-washy. Have a clear idea about the direction you want the design to go in.
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| Posted by ANNA DALEA at | | | |
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BEING IN CONTROL OF YOUR SITE'S MATERIAL
BY ANNA DALEA, ERT WEBSITE SOLUTIONS
A very common situation comes up 9 times out of 10 when i'm working with a company that already has a website and is looking to revamp the design. They just don't know what they have on their site.
Most clients don't even know the difference between a website, web master, designer, hosting, or domain names. This is crucial that you make yourself familiar with this terminology. I make sure that I inform my clients about their information. If you don't, here's what happens...
Joe Schmoe designs and hosts your website.... a couple years down the road you find your site to be stale and in need of a few touch ups. So, you hear from a friend that there is a wonderful web designer that you should get in contact with to revamp your site. The new designer asks you a few questions...
1) Do you have a domain name?
2) Who hosts your website?
3) What is the FTP information?
4) Is your domain name and host server with the same company or did you get each from a different company?
5) I notice that you have flash on your site...do you have the original FLA (editable) file so that I can make adjustments for you? Or did your last designer only upload the SWF file?
If you can only answer one or two of these... you're not in control of your site. You should know the answers to these questions. Why? Why, if the designer has all that info? BECAUSE.... there have been incidents, first of all, where domain names have been taken or hijacked by other people... you could lose your domain name without even knowing it. YOU NEED TO BE IN CONTROL OF YOUR DOMAIN NAME... you need to know when it's due for renewal (how many years you bought it for). What is a domain name? It's your web address, basically. For example, www.ERTwebsitesolutions.com
You also need to know who hosts your site. Keep your records handy just in case you ever decide to switch designers. When you get a hosting company they will send you your login information...in addition to your FTP login information. FTP information is the host name, username and password that allows the designer to access the hosting server to upload the files for your website. It's very important information. Also, make sure that you are listed as the administrator on your hosting account. You need to be able to make decisions in case anything happens. What if you want to switch hosting providers and your designer is no longer in the business or you just can't get ahold of them? That's when being in control comes in handy.
It's better to keep both your domain name and hosting company as one...This is advice if you're starting up a new website. If you currently are in this situation of not having these with the same company... you may not want to switch unless the domain company is not trustworthy or charging you way too much money. Domain transfers are sometimes a pain in the ass because some of the larger companies don't want to give you up as a client and they'll hold onto it for quite some time before allowing it to transfer over... they want you to feel like it's a hassle so that you'll change your mind.
Lastly, if you know that you have flash on your site, make sure you get the FLA AND SWF files from your designer in case you ever leave them. Don't be afraid to ask for them as you've paid for all of this stuff...so it's rightfully yours!!!
Don't ever let a designer tell you that they will keep copyrights to their designs... if you pay for it, it's yours... if it appeases them, offer to allow them to add their byline to the bottom of your site that says they designed it.
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| Posted by ANNA DALEA at | | | |
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A feature that most clients like to implement on their websites are photo galleries. There are many different styles of photo galleries that can be created to suit your needs. They range from:
5) And then there's the good ol' fashioned flash photo scrollers. Those can be done by hand or through a program or bit of code.
In my honest opinion, the only ones that look good without making your site look old and antiquated would be the marquee photo scrollers and the flash scrollers...there are special/creative things that you can do to the flip galleries or automatic slideshows to make them look more updated, but from a plug-and-go standpoint, use the ones that are easily editable.
The one issue I had recently with the marquee photo scroller code was that when I had it fitting how i wanted into my site, I would upload it and check it out and it would stretch the table for a split second. However, it would look odd because each time you click to another page it would stretch briefly...and what you want out of a site is fluidity! Each page should look relatively the same in structure.
So, have fun implementing these photo galleries and being creative but there is no doubt in my mind that you may come into some road blocks. Don't get frustrated... there's always a solution or a way around the problem.
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| Posted by ANNA DALEA at | | | |
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GOOGLE ADWORDS ISN'T FOR JUST ANY TYPE OF BUSINESS OR SITE!
BY ANNA DALEA, ERT WEBSITE SOLUTIONS
Google adwords is a great place to pull traffic to your site. It allows you to be near the top of the search results (if you're paying enough) and you get tons of clicks. However, I did want to mention, for some of the small business owners who like to jump into a project without researching heavily, that you need to know you're niche and know how to get traffic through keywords and an accurate portrait of what your site is about.
Just recently I had a client who wanted to put up a one page website and feature it in an ad on Google Adwords. The problem was that the site he wanted built was a straight survey. The client thought that the survey would get MANY hits and that he would get tons of survey results sent to him so that he could start writing an e-book.
Now, I don't know about you... but when I go online to look for something, if I get to a site (or a popup) that is for a survey, I immediately click out of it and go somewhere else. I don't have time to fill out online surveys... i'm looking for information!
In my opinion, surveys are going to get you about as much feedback as a marketing mailer. If you send out 1,000 mailers the average return rate is about 1%, if that. I would assume that it would be the same with an online survey.
If you do want to put a survey out there on the internet, here's a source that tells you the best way to do so. It gives you a plan of action: http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/internet/page5048.cfm
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| Posted by ANNA DALEA at | | | |
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Most small business owners may start their business without a website. Sure, they can operate without one... but soon they'll start hearing, from their clients, "do you have a website?". Most clients will start asking because now-a-days if you're a company and you DON'T have a website you're not a very reputable company. Clients want to make sure that you're not fly-by-night...that you're staying put.
Most clients want to get more information about your company... the easiest way to get infomormation into your clients hands is through the internet. Instead of spending tons of money on marketing materials that tend to get tossed, invest in a website. Websites may seem to cost alot... but it's all up front costs and does not cause you monthly withdrawls of your hard earned cash.
Websites are a good way of getting outside business that you may have not received otherwise. You're able to reach so many people from so many different areas with the internet. It's a band-wagon that every business owner needs to be on.
Even the tiniest business needs a website, telling who they are and what they do...and how to contact them. If someone loses your business card it sure would be nice if they could just go online and look up your company to get the contact information that way. (hint, hint).
You do need to make sure that you at least have an about us page that explains your company's history, and a page describing your company's services or products. And you can't forget to have a contact page which gives every possible way of contacting your company. Without these three pages, your site will fail.
Don't jump in just yet... you need a design for your site that stands out and sets you apart from your competitors. So, start checking out your competitors sites for an idea of structure and design and call up a designer to get you some layout ideas. Remember, BRAND BRAND BRAND.
Your text (body copy) needs to set you apart as well. It needs to hook the clients from the get go. Get a great copywriter on your team. It's sure to bring in plenty of surfers and keep them on your site for longer that a few seconds.
Get a good team together and do your research! That's the start of a good website. |
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| Posted by ANNA DALEA at | | | |
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INTERVIEW WITH ALAN COHEN, COMPUTER PROINTERVIEWED BY ANNA DALEA, ERT WEBSITE SOLUTIONSKEEPING YOUR BUSINESS SECURE-- TIPS FOR THE INTERNET USERS1. YOU ARE A COMPUTER REPAIR TECHNICIAN, BUT WHAT IS YOUR SPECIALTY?
I work with small businesses and home based users. I trouble shoot system issues; set up small networks both wired and wireless. I am an Apple Business Agent so I work with both PC and Mac issues. I sell both PC and Mac solutions. I also help my customers with security issues.
2. YOU'RE INVOLVED WITH INTERNET SECURITY AND FORENSICS. WHAT IS A MAJOR CONCERN, RIGHT NOW, REGARDING IDENTITY THEFT AND THE INTERNET?
People need to realize that this is the number one crime right now. They need to take active steps to insure both their data and their personal information is secure. It is very easy to transmit this information without a person even knowing it. One easy and very important step is to exit then re-start your browser after completing a secure transaction.
3. WHAT IS SPAMMING AND PHISHING, AND HOW CAN WEBSITE OWNERS AVOID BECOMING VICTIMS OF THESE SPAMMERS/PHISHERS?
Spam is a form of advertising. If you have an email address you get spam. It is a very inexpensive way for business to send out their advertisements. Phishers are criminals, they are attempting to fool the reader into believing their phony web site is legit. For example you may receive a letter from your bank stating your account has been suspended and you need to follow the link enclosed in the email in order to reactivate it. You are directed to your banks website; but it is really not your banks site. You then enter your personal information which is sent immediately. Your information is then sold or sometimes even given away to establish the authenticity of the thief's collection of information.
4. DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS FOR THE READERS ON HOW TO KEEP THEIR EMAIL FROM GETTING SPAM?
You can set up a separate email address that you can give out easily while your main address is protected. One service such as " pobox.com" allows a user to have different email addresses while forwarding them to your main address; this way you can terminate each account as it begins to receive to many spams. You can also use a free service such as http://www.spamgourmet.com/ that will allow you to create disposable email addresses that will only work for the amount of times you specify. 5. WHAT ADVICE CAN YOU GIVE TO SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS WHO ARE CONCERNED WITH IDENTITY THEFT AND INTERNET SECURITY?
Secure your wireless connections. Subscribe to some form of credit monitoring service. Consult with your IT Professional to make sure your system is free from viruses and spy ware. If you give your employees access to your network; if you terminate them make sure you lock them out of the network either before you give them their walking papers or the second after.
6. WHAT HAS BEEN THE SCARIEST THING YOU HAVE FOUND DURING YOUR INVESTIGATIONS?
Ex-employees tend to get very angry when they are asked to leave. The more access they have to a business persons computer the more damage they can do. I have seen computers hijacked, porn sites set up on servers and that is the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
7. IS THERE ANY WAY TO SETUP OUTLOOK TO FILTER THE SPAM (EVEN THE SPAM THAT SEEMS TO GET THROUGH THE SPAM FILTER THAT'S AUTOMATICALLY IMPLEMENTED)?
Filters can be set up but spammers have ways to spell things so they will get through the filters. You can try to list all possible spelling combinations and add rules as new types of spam gets though.
8. YOU OFFER IDENTITY THEFT SOLUTIONS TO ANYONE WHO WANTS PROTECTION. CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE PROGRAM AND GIVE A LINK FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROGRAM?
The service I offer is called Identity Theft Shield; it is a product offered by Pre-Paid Legal. This service not only monitors your Social Security number but helps you if your should have a problem. Those interested can go to www.alan007.com for additional information. 9. IF YOU BECOME A VICTIM OF IDENTITY THEFT, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE STEPS YOU NEED TO TAKE TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE?
File a police report. Get in touch with your credit card companies and let them know what is going on. Put a Fraud alert on you Social Security number and get ready to spend hours dealing with problems that surface.
10. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE MY READERS TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR COMPANY OR YOUR SERVICES THAT I HAVEN'T ALREADY ASKED YOU?
They can feel free to contact me should they have any questions by sending me an email at acohen@pobox.com or by calling me directly at 805-445-7558 |
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| Posted by ANNA DALEA at | | | |
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| Sure, you may be able to create a great looking website, but what happens after you have 10 or more pages uploaded to your hosting server and no traffic is hitting your site? Your broken links could be preventing search engine bots from finding the information on your site.
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| Posted by ANNA DALEA at | | | |
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