quote « e377

Tips For Efficient Travel Writing

Posted by Barney Garcia - on July 18, 2010 in Internet Business with No Comments

Travel stories should be simple, crisp and to the point with clarity of thought. Witty and vividly written accounts with an authors personal experiences, anecdotes and quotations can be especially interesting. One can experience travel through words only. Practical and accurate information in grammatically correct language makes reading a pleasure. Some tips on writing accounts of travel are given below.

Think like a Reader
Before starting an article, put your self in the readers boots. Ask what he/she wants. Who are the targeted readers of the particular publication, what are their travel aspirations, what information will be useful to them and how they enjoy the written articles. Once you are clear about that, then commence the work.

Travel Writing: The Big Picture
Now you have to get across the main point to the reader. Identify the central theme of your article, whether it is the location, people or activity oriented place. Work your impressions and facts around this big picture. Now structure your article around, sieve non-essentials, include important aspects and build the story sensibly.

Travel Writing: Be Personal
To make the story interesting, convey your personal experiences and point of view. That place must have been visited or written about countless times before. Write of your own personal approach, personal adventure that thrilled you, some new aspect of the place that inspired you, some new useful discovery of the place. This makes for an interesting insight into the writing.

Travel Writing: Be Funny
Travel to unfamiliar locale is often rich in comedy and comical events. Incorporate these funny incidents, mishaps or any such feeling into the article. Dont be afraid to make your readers laugh. Have a light, lively tone in your article.

Travel Writing: Be surprising
Be an open-minded traveler yourself. Try unusual activities, meeting new people, tasting exotic cuisines and getting involved with native activities in a new place. This will give you a different perspective of the place. Surprise your reader with this out of the ordinary, personally experienced information.

Travel Writing: Quote
Let the people express their thoughts, ideas and feelings about the place, work or activity. Quote extensively in their words. Quote real life stories and experiences for that personal touch to your article.

Travel Writing: Be balanced
Have a balanced approach. Blend your personal observations, descriptions and commentary with practical and useful information to the readers to make it a good travel piece. Two-third colorful description to one-third facts is a reasonable guideline to start with.

Travel writing is not only lucrative but lot of fun too. Keep your eyes open for interesting story line. Research well; write a well-constructed, focused, well-crafted and unique article on travel.

Stop Moving Your Own Piano (Youll Then Attract More Clients While Making More)

Posted by on July 1, 2010 in Sustainable Business with No Comments

Quote: “Invest three percent of your income in yourself (selfdevelopment) in order to guarantee your future.” Brian Tracy

Sometimes, the signs that it’s time to invest in taking your business to go to the next BIG level show up without notice. Take this past Monday, for example. The second call of my Preview Teleseminar Series for my workshop was scheduled and I was set to interview two inspiring and motivating solopreneurs on how they use the Client Attraction systems daily to make well into the 6figures. We had close to a thousand entrepreneurs registered for the call and I was excited to host it.

Then, the unthinkable happened. As instructed, hundreds of people starting showing up 10 minutes early to make sure they would make it onto the line before it was maxed out. As I was greeting them, I kept asking if my two featured guests were on the line. My heart kept sinking further and further into my stomach as I realized neither of them could get on the line as moderators.

Call it a systems glitch, call it a disaster, there was nothing I could do. Emails were going back and forth, with my special guests telling me they were indeed on the line but no one could hear either of them. I would have paid ANYTHING at that moment to be able to get an operator on the line to fix it for me. Anything.

I was crumbling inside, unsure of what to do. Have the call WITHOUT my two featured guests or reschedule it entirely? I chose to go on (perseverance) and asked everyone to hang up and dial in again, and was then able to get ONE of my guests on the moderator line. I interviewed her and it went great. Then, as she hung up to let the other guest onto the moderator line, I got cut off OF MY OWN CALL! I tried several times to get back onto the line and was blocked out for several minutes. (I found out later that Mercury was in retrograde.)

The whole thing unfolded like that scene from the movie Swingers when he leaves those messages, one after the other, sinking deeper and deeper into trouble. Have you seen it? Finally, I got on as a “regular” participant and had to keep the line unmuted for the rest of the call.

As I mentioned, I would have done (and paid) ANYTHING to be able to press a button and get an operator to help me. Throughout this episode, my intuition kept nudging at me saying, “Fabienne, you should have invested in your business and gotten the help you needed BEFORE this happened.” But after years of frugally using basic services, I’d gotten too lazy and perhaps too complacent to spring for that PAID bridge line the milliondollar infomarketers are using.

The good news is, the call ended up being a huge hit. People wrote me to tell me how inspiring it was, how motivated they got as a result and ironically, no one mentioned the technical difficulties. Several people signed up for the workshop as a direct result of that call, and I was thrilled that no one even brought up the snafus. But I learned three MAJOR lessons:

Persevere. No situation is ever as bad as YOU think it is. You may be crumbling inside, but in other people’s perceptions, it’s just another day at the office. Keep going. It will always work itself out. Let others take care of details for you so that you can focus on your “genius work”, the stuff that actually makes you mo.ney. You see, Sinatra didn’t move his own piano each time he sang at a gig. He had a team in place to handle those details so that he could focus on two things: Singing and Getting More Gigs. And that’s what you should be focusing on too: Working With Your Clients and Getting More Clients. Everything else can be delegated. Sometimes, it’s time to put the frugal part of you behind and REALLY invest in your business. No more holding back. When it’s time to grow, it’s also time to take out your wallet and INVEST in making mo.re. My experience has been that, when I do invest in my business, it always comes back to me at least 4 to 10 times over. And although “money” is usually the excuse I’ve used for not doing something (and I’m not the only one, you have too!), I’ve found that if I really look at a situation, I almost always have the resources to invest or can find a way to get them. Here’s what’s going to happen as a result of my lessons this week:

1) I will be investing in that paid bridge line with all the bells and whistles (and an OPERATOR) and in the success of my business at the same time. If I want to reach a milliondollar business, then I’ve got to have the systems in place to make that happen.

2) I will add even more team members to my staff, so that I can focus on creating more highvalue content and Client Attraction programs to help even more people succeed.

3) I will be less “hard on myself” when something I can’t control in the moment happens. It too shall pass.

Just for the purpose of today’s article, I’m adjusting Brian Tracy’s quote from above:

“Invest three percent of your income in yourself [and your business] in order to guarantee your future.”

Your Assignment: How will YOU invest in your business this week? Notice what you have NOT taken advantage of because you’re using the excuse of “not having enough money.” Using that excuse is an insidious form of self-sabotage. It’s a mindset that keeps you playing small and limits your growth. Time to stop being frugal and take action. The money will naturally show up to help you pay for it (it always does.).

Car Loan Calculators

Posted by Simon Gelfand on June 25, 2010 in Family Finances with No Comments

There are many car loan calculators available to allow you to determine your monthly payment or even your car purchase price.

‘Buy or lease’ car loan calculators are also available. Such calculators are capable of comparing amounts, and will let you see which is the better value for you.

One limitation of a car loan calculator is that it is not a quote. This is because your actual repayments may change based on your individual circumstances.

The features of a car loan calculator are generally similar. Most car loan calculators allow you to put in the amount of money you would like to loan. Afterwards, you can select how many months you would like to pay it back. Finally, you can click the car loan calculator button and see how it works out how much you will end up paying the finance company. This would, of course, depend on how many months you choose and what their annual percentage rate (APR) is.

A car loan calculator can be offered free on the internet as an Excel Spreadsheet Download Area. It is ready to use. All of them have several loan scenarios on one 8×10 printout, allowing you to make quick decisions about your car loan. You can also find car loan calculators online at E-LOAN and Capital One Auto Finance. If you have a PocketPC type PDA, you can download a version of some car loan calculator for PDA. You can use the spreadsheets to compare online auto loan rates to the car dealer auto loan rates. New car financing has never been easier for you.

Here are some general kinds of car loan calculators and see which works best for your car loan needs.

Free Car Loan Calculator – There are tons of free car loan calculators around, especially on the internet. Remember most of the calculators are just to work out what your ideal monthly payments should be and are NOT a quote. There are free car loan calculator links all over the net.

New Car Loan Calculator – New car loan calculators help you work out your ideal monthly payments. A lot of new car loan calculators can be used for a variety of uses like used car loans. With this calculator, you can usually enter your own interest rate for your loan.

Online Auto Loan Calculator – There’s quite a lot of online car loan calculators out there that you can use and you’ll find links to online auto loan calculators that can hopefully help you find the best deal.

Why are car loan calculators useful? You’ll need to calculate your car loan payments and look up dealer costs for cars and trucks. Without the knowledge you have derived from using a car loan calculator, you could miss out on a good deal. Bank and finance companies could take advantage of your lack of research.

As you try to arrive at how much car you can afford with car loan calculators, don’t think in terms of the monthly payment or just of the total price of the car. The monthly payment, as we’ve seen, can be manipulated just as easily and both approaches leave out other costs associated with the car, such as insurance, fuel and maintenance. To truly understand if you can afford a car, you must take all these factors into consideration. There are ‘how much car can you afford?’ calculators which will help you arrive at a close approximation. They work in the same way as car loan calculators.

There’s still more to do before you actually start shopping for a car of your own. Decide whether you should buy a brand new or a pre-owned vehicle and whether you would be better off buying or leasing. There are pros and cons to both questions. Either way, car loan calculators can speed up your decision.

Using Quotations: When You Need Permission

Posted by Sophfronia Scott - on June 13, 2010 in Writing & Speaking with No Comments

First of all, here’s my disclaimer. I’m not a lawyer. The following is based on my own research and, as you’ll see, every situation is different. That’s why the use of quotes can be confusing. I do hope, however, that this can help you to make better decisions when preparing your own manuscripts or other creative projects.

Quotes are wonderful little things. They can convey a world of meaning in just a few words. And they’re everywhere: books, greeting cards, on the home pages of websites, in daily emails. But just because they’re everywhere doesn’t mean you can plop a few into your text without asking anyone’s permission. Sometimes you have to, sometimes you don’t. Here are a few guidelines to keep in mind when you’re trying to figure out which side you’re on.

1. Has the quote been set down in writing?

If the quote you’re using only exists as the words someone has said, then it’s okay to use it. For instance, if you hear Paris Hilton say something on television such as “That’s hot!”, you can use the quote. You should, of course, credit her for saying it. But if Paris were to write the words down in a book, then those words are covered by copyright. You would need permission from her or her publisher to put the quote in your book or on a card.

2. Is it under copyright or in the public domain?

Copyright isn’t always an issue. If the quote is from a work that is older than seventy-five years old, most likely it is in the public domain and you won’t need permission for it. Copyright lasts throughout the author’s lifetime, plus seventy years after the author’s death.

3. Getting permission.

If you do have to get permission for a quote, start working on this right away, even if the book isn’t done and you’re not sure you’re going to use the quote. It can take months to find out who to ask for permission, and even longer to hear back once you’ve sent the request. So give yourself plenty of time. You’ll want to send a letter describing your project and requesting the right to use the quote. Note: this will only be a one time right. Getting permission for one project doesn’t mean you have permission to put the quote in other books or other projects.

Unfortunately, there is no one place where you can check to see who owns the copyright on a work. Not everyone registers their copyright since copyright is an automatic right, so the Copyright Office won’t always be able to provide the information. You can start with the obvious: the author’s publisher or literary agent. If you can’t find the author that way, then using search engines on the internet would be your next resource. Remember to look for possible family members of the author as well. It’s important to find a family member since the copyright may have passed on to heirs after an author’s death.

Remember to keep good records of everything you do in your search: sending letters, making phone calls, placing ads. If you can’t contact anyone and you decide to use the quote anyway, you’ll want to be able to show that you made a reasonable effort to find the owner of the copyright.

4. Exceptions, of course.

Here’s where things get murky. Because a quote is so short, it can also be seen as not being a substantial part of a work and therefore available for “fair use”. However, the term is vague and there’s no clear guideline on what it really covers. So when in doubt, get permission. The rules seem to be a little different if the quote you want to use is from a poem or a song. In those cases I’ve found that it’s recommended you always seek permission for those works. I’m guessing it’s because poems and songs are much shorter than books, so any quote from them is using a significant portion of the work.

One last note: don’t let seeking permissions distract you from your writing. Do your research, send out letters if you have to, and move on. If you don’t it’s highly likely that the quotes will only delay your work instead of enhancing it.

2006 Sophfronia Scott

Auto Insurance Quotes

Posted by Kael on May 26, 2010 in Sustainable Business with No Comments

By taking the time to shop for and compare auto insurance quotes, you can find the best policy that is right for you, and many times you can lower the cost of your auto insurance coverage.

Many drivers see auto insurance as a necessary expense, but one that is distasteful to them. When asked if they’d pay for auto insurance if it wasn’t required by law, some admit that if they didn’t have to pay for auto insurance they’d save themselves the money.

The truth is that given the right insurance, in unexpected circumstances it can be very beneficial to have paid those insurance premiums every month. Auto insurance can provide financial protection and help prevent severe financial hardship in the event of an unexpected accident.

Shopping around and getting auto insurance quotes from several companies can allow you to compare the companies, their policies, and the cost of their premiums. In order to effectively do this though, you need to have enough information to make a real comparison between one set of auto insurance quotes and another.

This information can help you make sure that you get the coverage you need from a good company at the lowest rate.

So what should you do to make sure that you get the most accurate auto insurance quotes available? Here are some suggestions from experts:

1. Make sure that you compare similar policies.

Auto insurance quotes take into account the types of coverage you select, the amount of deductibles you’re willing to pay and a number of other factors when figuring your premium. In order to accurately compare a number of quotes, make sure that each quote you request is for the same options on your policy.

2. Give the same amount of information to each agent that you ask for auto insurance quotes.

Whether you’re comparing quotes online through a web interface or over the telephone, the amount that you’re quoted will be affected by where you live, how far you drive to work each day, how old you are, who else may drive your car, as well as a number of other factors.

The more information you can give when you ask for a quote, the more accurate the insurance agent can be with his estimate. The opposite of that holds true, too the less information you give, the more general the quote will be. If there is any question, an agent will usually quote you a higher rate.

3. Ask about special discounts for safety features as well as safe driver points.

When you’re gathering quotes for auto insurance, be sure to ask directly about safety feature discounts and safe driver discounts that may apply in your situation. Then you can be sure that they are included in your quotes.

4. Understand the differences in insurance terminology.

What is the difference between collision coverage and comprehensive coverage? How can raising your deductible lower your insurance costs? What will replacement transportation or glass coverage cost, and is it worth it for you? Researching the answers to these questions and knowing which options are included in your auto insurance quotes will make it far easier to decide which is the best policy for you.

For more information, see http://www.make-getting-insurance-easy.com/auto-insurance-quotes.html.

Viatical Quotes

Posted by Robert Lawrence on May 16, 2010 in Internet Business with No Comments

The word viatical originates from the word viaticum which was part of the last rites performed on a dying Catholic in order to prepare him for his destiny. History shows us that its early beginnings can also be found in Greece.

Viatical settlements are offered by dozens of companies around the world. Why? To aid senior citizens (viators) in their poor financial situation. Viatical settlements provide a way out of crisis scenarios by giving terminally or chronically ill patients the option of selling their life insurance policy for a premium amount. Naturally, the higher the bid, the more profit you make. Although this form of instant cash has a sad tone, it has been highly beneficial to people who have high medical bills and other critical emergencies. If your policy is a Term, Universal Life, Whole Life, Joint/Survivor or a Group contract, then the good news is that you are eligible for a viatical quote.

The person who buys the policy is called an investor. An investor can be the final third party who is interested in the policy or a viatical company that holds it as an investment. If it is a company that is buying the policy they can resell it at a profit. When buying a life policy of another person you to have complete knowledge of the viators medical history. You can either buy the whole policy or a part of it. Usually a policy will state the life expectancy of the individual because the quote will depend on how long the seller is expected to live. Once you buy the policy, you gain if the seller dies before the expectancy date but your return will be lower if he lives longer. In some cases you might loose a little form your principal amount if the seller lives a long life!

Due to this risk factor, viatical settlements and quotes need to be regularized and controlled. Thus, the State Insurance Commission gives out licenses to selected companies who are capable of handling this intricate business. However, in some US states the viatical industry is not regulated at all. Companies often buy the policies and then offer it to prospective buyers at higher rates. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners and Federal Trade Commission are two legal bodies that offer information with regard to viatical quotes and settlements.

If you are a Viator, then you have two choices. Either to can sell your life insurance policy directly to another person or you can use the services of a broker. Viators generally hire a broker because they know the market and can negotiate for a better viatical quote. The quote depends of many variables such as the state, age and medical condition of the viator. Prior to suggesting a bid, the investor, broker and viator will meet to highlight details of the case. The investor will want to know the medical prognosis so he can offer a more realistic quote. Once the quote has been offered and the bid accepted, the life insurance policy is transferred to the new holder. This completes the process and the viator is given a lump sum payment.

In conclusion, viatical quotes will differ from state to state and can be settled upon only after reviewing all the factors involved in the case. The viator and the investor have to come to an agreement is which mutually beneficial. While being a perfect avenue for the viator, he should also be wise to make sure the sale is worth his while.

Related Blogs:

T1 Service – General Overview

Posted by FullService Broadband Provider - on May 9, 2010 in Sustainable Business with No Comments

The cost of T1 service has dropped considerably since its inception in the early 1960s. No longer is this service for large corporations only. Mid sized and even small businesses can now benefit from dedicated T1 service. For the home business/home office, this service might still be a bit expensive. Its best to run your own quotes for service and cost it out. Business grade DSL is a viable and cost effective solution for the smaller business owner and the topic of a future article.

Given the cost effectiveness of T1 service, the aim of this short article is to provide a general overview of what this service is and how you can leverage this type of communications infrastructure in your own business.

To start with, T1 service provides 24 channels coming into your office. Each of these 24 channels can be configured for voice, data or integrated voice/data service. Today, with the wide spread popularity of VoIP, you can also configure a full T1 for data and run VoIP for your office phone needs.

T1s can be used for 24 digitized voice channels or 1.544 megabits per second of data. If youre using (or considering) a dedicated T1 for voice, the circuit would plug into your existing phone system. (Check with your communications broker to determine if additional equipment is required) If youre using (or considering) a dedicated data T1, then your circuit would plug into your network router.

If your business currently has 4 or more phone lines, it may be more cost effective to use T1 voice service. Depending on your data (internet) requirements, it may also be cost effective to use a dedicated T1 data service. For normal surfing, you can have hundreds of users all sharing this dedicated T1 data service. To take this a step further you may consider using VoIP over a dedicated T1 data service. Be sure to ask your communications broker about the best setup to meet your specific requirements.

Configuration can run from DSOs (64 kilobits per second) to OC192 (9.6 gigabits per second). This range certainly makes it a perfect fit for the small business owner as well as the large corporation. If youre looking to begin building an infrastructure that can grow with your business, consider T1 service. You can get a free quote as well as a free consultation by visiting our site.

Whether you visit our site or someone elses, be sure to get a no obligation and risk free quote and consultation with a communications expert. Its best to use a communications broker because as such, we/they are not tied into a specific vendor. Call a specific vendor and thats the quote youll get. A specific vendors quote. Use a communications broker and youll be able (or should be able) to get several quotes from several vendors.

T1 service IS much more affordable today and can provide your business with a very cost effective communications infrastructure.

Success 5 Essential strategies

Posted by Roy Huston on April 29, 2010 in Family Finances with No Comments

In the first instance, what is the definition of SUCCESS? It
is ‘the achievement of something desired, planned, or attempted’.
Obviously, success is very relative – what is success to one
person may not be to another.

The key factors that define successful people however tend to
be the same. All the successful and wealthy people tend to
follow similar strategies in their quest to attain prosperity.
So, what are the essential elements to success?

1. Clearly defined goals

The first step in your journey towards your success is to
define your goals. Your goals must be simplified, measurable and
achievable. What is it that you want to achieve in your personal
life or financially? Establish the short and long term goals and
the precise activities that you will need to undertake in order
to achieve this success. You can not be successful if you do not
have stated goals to work towards.

2. Passion

If you want to achieve something in your life, you must be
passionate about it. If you are setting up a business, it must
involve something you are passionate about – otherwise you will
not have the necessary dedication to consistently work hard at
it. In order to start a business you are passionate about, you
will need to assess your interests and strengths; so that you
can start a business that is best suited to you, which you can
then be easily successful in.

3. Complete dedication and hard work

Success is for those who give their best effort. Mediocre
effort does not cut it. If you want to be successful, you must
be very dedicated and hardworking; and give whatever you do your
best shot. Apply your skills and efforts to your business at
your maximum possible level, and you will get the desired
results. As you get the desired results, this will give you
satisfaction and drive you to work even harder towards your
goals.

4. Take opportunities

Successful people grab opportunities when they see them! Be a
risk taker. As they say, ‘nothing ventured, nothing gained’. You
must always be on the lookout for good opportunities that can
make you money or make you become a better person in whatever
aspect of your life you desire to change. Do not be too
risk-averse. Jump onto the good business opportunities and do
not ‘miss the boat’. By doing this, you place yourself towards
becoming successful, and you do not live your life with regrets
of ‘what if’. A famous quote I like says “In order to succeed,
your desire for success should be greater than your fear of
failure”.

5. Be keen to constantly learn

Being knowledgeable will empower and inspire you, and help you
work towards your goals. If you have a business team, be a good
team member – learn from others and also share your knowledge.
You will need a good support network as you work towards
becoming successful. If you are failing to achieve your goals,
learn from other successful people. Is there anyone who has been
very successful with the same business like yours? – if so,
learn from them. Do not reinvent the wheel. Find a business
model that is proven and work hard on it to achieve your goals.

Success is for those who want it, and who go on a mission to
get it.

Follow the strategies outlined above and be on your way to
prosperity. Do not place any limits in what you can achieve. If
you face any temporary setbacks, learn from them and pick
yourself up and continue the journey – there is a common quote
which says “There is nothing so easy to learn as experience and
nothing so hard to apply”. Failure should not stop you from
working towards your goals. Another quote says “Success is how
high you bounce when you hit bottom”.

Success is dependant on effort. Apply the effort and be
prosperous!

Moving? You Need A Car Transport Service

Posted by Nathan Lynch on April 26, 2010 in Family with No Comments

If youre planning a relocation, you probably dont want to worry about the bother of hitching up and pulling an extra car or truck with you, especially if its going to be a far move like across several states, for example. A car transport service is a great way to move your vehicles without the hassle of having to rent a tow-train or other type of auto trailer. If you are relocating and have one or several cars you are taking with you, or even own an old classic car or truck that needs to be moved and want the peace of mind of knowing it will be taken care of safely and correctly, a car transport service might be the answer you are looking for.

Another reason for hiring a car transport service would be if you were starting a used car lot and had to relocate multiple vehicles at one time. You probably have enough to deal with by getting the business ready for its opening, and letting a car transport service take care of getting the vehicles there for you would be a big time saver and load off your mind.

There are many car transport services readily available to assist you. One such company is United Road. They are one of the largest nationally-owned car transporting groups and offer services for moving multiple new and off-lease automobiles in addition to personally-owned vehicles. They provide a discount for volume shipments and promise the lowest rates in that area. United Road is an MDOT and MC licensed carrier with insurance provided to you at no additional cost. They also offer door-to-door pick-up and delivery service. They have a daily specials link on their home page and you and you can get a free quote for moving your single or multiple vehicles by clicking on their Free Quote link and filling out the electronic form. After you have received your quote, you can place an order via their website and even track your vehicle once theyve picked it up which is a very nice feature. United Road car transport services website address is www.vehicletransportusa.com.

Another car transport service you might want to check out is United Auto Transport. They are a fully licensed and bonded company with services all over the United States, Canada and even offer international transport. On their website, you can request a free quote and place your order online or by faxing it to them. United Auto Transport promises expertise in on-time delivery which they also back with a guarantee. For more information, visit them at www.unitedautotransport.com.

Related Blogs:

Getting A Website: How To Get A Better Price From Your Web Designer

Posted by Robin Porter on April 14, 2010 in Internet Business with No Comments

So you have decided you need a website. What next?

Before you contact some web designers to get a quote, you will save yourself time, money and trouble by first sitting down and thinking about what you actually need. The more you can nail down your requirements, the more likely you are to get a better price, and not be surprised by getting a bill for extras at the end of the project.

First, think about what you want from your website:

Do you want to sell products online, using a shopping cart and some method of accepting payments?

Do you want your site to be a static online brochure, showcasing your products or services?

Do you want your site to generate leads & enquiries for you to follow up directly?

Is your site primarily aimed at providing information for existing customers?

Is your site going to be a useable, interactive service e.g. searchable property database?

Now consider how many pages you will need. Web designers will use this as an important factor when quoting you; if you initially ask for too few, you may get a bill for extras. Ask for too many and you may be paying more than you need to.

Think about the titles of the pages you need (as they appear in the site navigation) As a minimum, you will probably need Home, About Us and Contact Us.

Now give some consideration to the design of the site. Do you have a colour scheme in mind? Do you want some Flash animation? What sort of imagery do you want used? TO get some ideas, surf the Net and note down any websites you find that you like the look of, and give the URL to web designers. This will help them get an idea of what you like.

You should also consider which technical issues are important to you.

Does you site need to be:

* Fast Loading? If your target market are home users, a large proportion may still be on slower dial up internet connections.

* Graphically Intensive? Perhaps you need to appeal to corporate users, by employing a strong, professional design.

* Optimised for a particular screen resolution? Do you want the site to look best on 1024 x 768 resolution screens, or perhaps your target market is more likely to have older PCs with screen settings such as 800×600.

* Updated yourself? If you regularly need to change the text/images of your site, you may need to ask for a quote for a Content Management System (CMS). Ask fort his to be identified as an optional cost, so you can judge if it is cost effective for you. Alternatively, you could purchase web editing software (such as Macromedia Contribute) though you will need to make your web designer aware that this is what you will be doing.

* Aimed at specific end users? Perhaps your target market are printers or music industry professionals, who tend to use Apple Mac computers. If so, make your web designer aware of it many designers do not pay much attention to checking web sites run correctly on Macs.

By taking a little time to consider the needs of your website, you will help your web designer immensely, getting the site you want at a cost effective price.

Gallery

Link Partners

Links page