Potency Tips

Your small business doesn’t have a website, or perhaps the website you have is effective and you want to start over–how do you start or start over?. The truth is, there are several ways to “get a website” for your small business (for the first or second time around). The good news is that by following these nine steps, you’ll be on track, moving your business further into the 21st century with the website you want and need.

Step One: Decide the Purpose of Your Website

Why exactly do you need a website? What do you want your visitors to do when they visit? What IS the purpose of your website? These are questions you must ask yourself BEFORE you hire a designer or purchase an online content management system and start throwing text onto pages.

Anyone can put anything on the web, but if you want your small business to have a website that affects your bottom line in a positive way; it needs to call visitors to action. What that “action” is, is key–do you want them to sign up to receive more information about your product? Do you want them to call you for a quote? Do you want them to sign up for your newsletter? Do you want them to purchase your product online? Even a site that is essentially an online brochure needs to focus on the action you want your visitors (and potential customers) to take. For example, say you own a plumbing and heating business. On your website, your main goal may be to get visitors’ mailing addresses so you can market to them via mail in the future. All of the pages on your site should encourage this in some way or the other, perhaps through offering a free report, a free service evaluation or something. Whatever method(s) you employ, you must remember that that is the purpose of the site.

Now, that doesn’t mean the site can’t have multiple sub-purposes. I also encourage you to provide good information about your small business and it’s services, but for most traditional (non web-based) small business, starting out with a primary purpose is key. As you discover how potential and current customers are using your site, your purpose and sub-purposes may broaden, but if this is your first website (or your first attempt at an effective website) start with a very focused purpose and build from there.

Step Two: Develop an Outline of Site Content

Once you’ve decided on your purpose you can outline the content and functionality your site will need. For example, if you want people to request more information via e-mail and you want to capture their mailing addresses, you’ll need a form and a way to process the data; if you just want them to call a phone number, you just need to make sure the pages clearly indicate that and lead them to do so. The functionality of your site can get quite fancy if you want, but remember the PURPOSE while developing your site outline…all the bells and whistles are useless if they don’t drive visitors to take the action you want (For more direction on what your website content should include, see the resources link at the bottom of this article).

You don’t have to write the content at this point, just get an outline of the main pages and sub pages you’ll want, the general content of the pages and the functional items (like forms, calculators, surveys, etc…) that you will include to encourage people to take the desired action. This portion is essential to step three, setting a budget.

Step Three: Set a Budget for Site Development & Maintenance

The first thing to do when deciding on your small businesses website budget is to evaluate how much you can afford to spend. There are many different ways to get your website built, and how much you have to spend may dictate that process.

If you would like to hire a web developer, but have no idea of how much one would cost, get quotes from a few designers/developers (for more information on working with web designers, see the resources link at the bottom of this article). If you do get a quote and are planning on having the developer do maintenance, make sure to have them provide quotes for maintenance as well. If you want to do maintenance, make sure to tell them how you plan on doing so, or ask for advice. If you want to do it yourself, look into the cost of software and/or online content management systems (CMS).

While your looking into the potential cost, don’t forget to set return on investment (ROI) goals–how do you expect the site to affect your bottom line? Whether it be referrals or sales you will never know if you money was well spent if you do not track it’s effectiveness.

Step Four: Decide on How You will Get Your Website Designed

By this time you’ve gotten the quotes from your potential developers and have a good idea of cost. Now is the time to make your decision. Remember, you can hybridize–perhaps hire a web designer to design the look of your site, but use a CMS for everything else; or maybe you do the design and pass it on to a developer from there.

Step Five: Decide on Possible Names for Your Site and Register Your Domain

Most businesses, large or small, use their company name for their domain (or web address), however, you may find that the one you want is not available. Because of this, I strongly recommend having at least three possible ideas in your head. To find out if you domain name is available, you can go to one of the many domain registration services online (www.godaddy.com, networksolutions.com, register.com), type in the name you want and they will let you know if that name is available (For more information on select a domain name, see the resources link at the bottom of this article).

Registering is as simple as following the instructions at any of the registration services. However, if you don’t want to deal with this technical “stuff” and you’re hiring a designer, they can take care of these details for you. Do make sure that you’ve provided them several domain names in case one is not available.

Also, some registration services charge more than others. You can get a domain name for as low as $4, depending on various factors, but don’t expect that. If you’re having someone else register for you and you are concerned about the cost, make sure to ask what service they typically use and how much it will cost.

Step Six: Choose a Host for Your Small Business’ Website

Finding a host for your site is another important step. There are many places that you can find that are quite inexpensive, but make sure your host meets your needs. If you are hiring a designer/developer they may have recommendations if you are unsure. If you use an online CMS like they provide hosting as well.

Step Seven: Work Through the Design, Set-up and Testing Process

Once you’ve made all the decisions and set-up the ‘technical’ aspects of your site, it’s time to get down to the work of putting the site together. If you’ve hired a web designer/developer communication is key. Have examples of both “look” and functionality that you want to have on your site and make sure to thoroughly explain the purpose of your site. And again, provide honest feedback, this is your site and represents your small business and your brand–designers not only expect, but welcome honest feedback.

If you decide to do your site yourself, plan before you start. This means that before you even sit down at the computer, you should pick up a pen and paper and do a site map, or outline of your site as well as a sketch of at least your home page, for general placement purposes. I also encourage you to hire or barter for help if you need technical assistance. Again, your site represents YOU and your small business…if it doesn’t look good or do what it is supposed to…well enough said.

When you’re setting your site up, I also encourage you to make sure to set up a way to track your visitors. One great service to help you do so www.statcounter.com (and it’s free!).

Once your site is “done” be sure to TEST. I recommend testing it in multiple browsers and on both mac and pc platforms (if possible). You’d think with technology as advanced as it is that html would display consistently from browser to browser and from platform to platform, but believe me…this is not the case. And, sometimes functionality that works wonderfully in Internet Explorer, doesn’t in Safari on a Mac. In addition to viewing your pages, test all functionality and links. Just because it worked a week ago when you finished the page, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t test it–double check everything.

Step Eight: Go Live with You Small Business Website

When you finished your testing, and everything is in place, it’s time to GO LIVE! Start your marketing and drive current and potential clients to your site. If you have a mailing list, now is the time to use it; send out a postcard to all your customers with your URL and share not only the fact that you have a site but why (your purpose). If you have e-mail addresses of people who have agreed to be contacted via e-mail, send them an e-mail announcing the site (make sure to include a way for them to opt-out of the list…it’s the law…most e-mail list services do this for your).

There are lots of other ways to drive traffic to your site…but that’s another whole topic in itself.

Step Nine: Track Visitors, Keep Content Fresh

I mentioned tracking ROI in step three, now that your site is up, it’s time to put it to practice. Make sure the tracking you’re doing fits the purpose of your site. If your purpose is to get people to request an information packet via the phone or e-mail, you’d better be tracking how each request was initiated (this will be easy through an e-mail form, but you’d better ask everyone who calls!). Now if your purpose is to get people to purchase your product online, you need to do more extensive tracking

The other thing you must do if you want to keep people coming back to your site (which you may not) is to make sure to keep the content fresh. Post various community activities your small business is involved with, change your specials on a monthly basis, make your home page a blog…whatever is appropriate for what you do.

That’s it! You’ve just covered the basics on how any small business can get a website (or a more effective one). It takes a bit of work and planning, but in the end, if you do it right, it’s definitely worth it.

So, get started. Get out a sheet of paper and start brainstorming–how can the web help YOUR small business?

Being an online poker player is fun and can be rewarding. If you are a VIP online poker player it maybe even more so. Poker sites today offer many options for the VIP player.

A VIP player can have access at times to creating new leagues, better bonuses for real money games and access to different types of tournaments. Some sites may ask for payment for these, others it is how many points are accumulated. Either way the benefits can be rewarding to be able to access these different areas.

Playing an poker tournament can be fun. It can also be fun if you are allowed to play special tournaments. These tournaments maybe league tournaments or even satellite tournaments that allow you to get a seat in a live action tourney. Tournament play can be made more interesting being a VIP poker player.

Sometimes being an online poker player is all you have to do to become a VIP player. Sites at times allow points or bonuses based on winnings of other tournaments. With these points or bonuses, it allows you access in becoming a VIP player. In being a VIP poker player, you can do a lot more things than before besides just having the title of it.

The boundaries have shifted. Years ago, people were taken by the first black and white tvs As TVs took off, everyone was satisfied with the fuzzy black-and-white pictures on their screens.Then most people rejected their old sets once color TVs came onto the market. And now, in line with the proliferation of blue ray, satellite tv and great video games, HDTV has raised our expectations and standards. Gone are the days when you could be happy with washed-out colors and a low resolution. Now you want a clearer picture and sharper colors, and you want it all for an affordable price.

HDTV is the pinnacle of TV technology.Dont get suckered into keeping your old standard TV. HDTV gives you an even sharper picture. Picture it this way, watching a standard TV is like viewing the world through a dirty windowpane. With HDTV, there is no window. The images on the television screen are as close to lifelike as you can get, that is, without actually getting off the couch and watching real-life images. An HDTV can accomplish this feat with its high resolution; a million pixels, often more, combine to create a brilliant picture that will wow any viewer.

But does it provide value for money? Fortunately, prices are falling every year. Five years ago, most people were priced out of the HDTV market.

However, be warned. A new HDTV is the whole equation.Nop, you will need a few more accessories like a blue ray dvd player or satellite decoder. This sends the HD channels to your television; without one, you can only watch standard programming. Second, you will need high-def channels. Your cable or satellite provider offers a line-up of HD channels, though the number of available HD channels is nowhere close the number of available standard channels. Third, you will need an HD show or movie. Not all shows broadcast on an HD station are necessarily high-definition; news programs are often broadcast in standard-definition, as are most daytime programs. If you are watching a standard-def show, you may see a black bar on either side of the screen. Also, since you are watching a standard-def show on a high-def screen, the picture will not be nearly as clear or as sharp as with an HD program. Only when you have all three elements - an HD box, channel and show - can you experience television like never before.

Visit Futaratty if you are looking for an LCD TV or any other television accessories.

You’ve all seen it on some websites. They completely overhaul the look of the website every other month. Or at least it seems that way. Then there’s the other extreme, where websites haven’t been redesigned since 1996. So how often is too often?

Change for the sake of change is pointless. Do not feel compelled to redesign your site if you are satisfied with its look. Instead, ask yourself these questions:

- Do I like the look of my site?

- Does the design appeal to my target demographic?

- >Is the design appropriate for the site’s content and subject matter?

- Does the current design make it difficult in any way to navigate the site?

- Do a lot of impartial people say that the site looks dated?

- Are there any fundamental design flaws, like inconsistency across multiple pages, that are integrated into the design?

There are, of course, advantages and disadvantages to redesigning your site. Depending on how it was set up originally, converting a lot of pages to a new design may take weeks, and that’s after the new design is done and approved. People who come back to your site that haven’t visited it in awhile will be greeted by a look that is unfamiliar to them. Unless you are prominently using the same logo, they may initially be unsure if they have come to the right site.

However, a fresh new look can often help you retain website visitors. Individuals who might have just given your site a cursory look before may be more apt to stick around and look in more detail. And the longer they look around on your site, the more likely they are to buy, to come to your physical store, to submit articles, etc.

If your site design is more in align with the purpose of the site, people will be more likely to engage in that purpose, regardless of whether it is shopping online, playing online games, or just reading more about your business.

So do not redesign just because it’s been a few years. Evaluate the current look. Perhaps you can send a poll to your top 50 clients and ask them questions about your website. See what they think of it. And then, if they feel a redesign is needed and you agree with their reasoning, go ahead and redesign!

The UK capital is the most mind-blowing place in the universe for shopping and of course for cheerful females. The appeal of the females that live in the city really makes it the best place to hire yourself a great escort. The escort market in the capital is uncommonly competitive and this makes the escorts who work in the escort industry try and be as pretty as they can at all times. The pleasant escort girls come in a variety of nationalities including German and the girls work most days either in a hotel or they can come to your home. If you love gorgeous girls you should try Lucy Bond for london Escorts.

Call girls in London offer companionship to their clients and will spend one hour at a time with the call girl for exchange of a monetary reward. The fees for London call girls range from 100 pounds per hour to 500 pounds per hour. The charge does not include the travel expenses or activities such as clubbing or theatre. The gorgeous escorts with Lucy Bond are stuning, the gorgeous call girls are hand selected by the business and have been picked for their intelligence.

The call girl organisation is new to the capital and have awesome rates available for new customers. The beautiful call girls from the organisation are all experienced and offer in calls and out calls in hotels.

Travelers to and from the Caribbean, Bermuda, Panama, Mexico and Canada will be required to have a passport to enter or re-enter the United States. This is a change from prior travel requirements and will affect all United States citizens entering the United States from countries within the Western Hemisphere.

This new requirement will also affect certain foreign nationals who currently are not required to present a passport to travel to the United States. Most Canadian citizens, citizens of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda, and to a lesser degree, Mexican citizens will be affected by the implementation of this requirement. Essentially, you must have a passport if you wish to enter the United States, even if you are a U.S. citizen.

When It Goes Into Effect

The travel initiative requirements will be rolled out in phases. The proposed implementation timeline is as follows:

1. December 31, 2005 - Passport required for all travel to or from the Caribbean, Bermuda, Central and South America.

2. December 31, 2006 - Passport required for all air and sea travel to or from Mexico and Canada.

3. December 31, 2007 - Passport required for all air, sea and land border crossings.

How Do I get a passport?

U.S. citizens may visit the Passport section of the State Department web site [state.gov] for information on how to apply for a U.S. passport. You should allow yourself a sufficient amount of time to apply and receive your passport in advance of travel. Current processing time estimates are 6 to 8 weeks.

In Closing

As the world becomes a more dangerous place, borders are being tightened. How depressing.

Rick Chapo is with www.nomadjournals.com - makers of writing journals for travelers. Visit www.nomadjournaltrips.com to read travel articles and travelogues.

The 6300 has not been the most well received handset Nokia have every produced, never the less it remains worth evaluating if you see one with cheap line rental or a lot of inclusive minutes. As you would expect from Nokia the functional design of this handset is good. Considering it is an entry level mobile phone the 6300 is fairly well featured when compared to some other handsets.

The available ring-tones enabled on the 6300 are Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3 along with a vibration alert . The screen is a TFT, 16M colors. If colour matters you may like to know that the 6300 comes in, Silver, Black, Red-Silver and White-Silver. In terms of size the Nokia 6300 is one of the more compact phones on the market. For a phone of this type, in terms of weight, the Nokia 6300 scores well against its competitors at 91 g. The Nokia 6300 comes equipped with bluetooth, making compatibility with a number of up to date mobile phone devices very simple. The 6300 is compatible with 2G GSM 850 / 1800 / 1900 - US version . A 2 MP, 1600×1200 pixels, video(QCIF) camera is integrated into the 6300 camera. A WAP 2.0/xHTML compatible browser is also included allowing mobile Internet access. The Nokia 6300 has a battery life of 348 hours standby charge and talk time of 1:30. The battery that is supplied with the 6300 is a Standard battery, Li-Ion 860 mAh (BL-4C). The following additional features are also present on the Nokia 6300 , Built-in handsfree, FM stereo radio, Voice command, MP3/MP4/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+ player, Voice memo, Push to talk, Calculator, Calendar and Java MIDP 2.0.

This is now quite an old handset, but still does a great job. If you do find one, in a sale you could get a fabulous deal.

If you are looking for a superb deal, order online where you can find thousands of competitively priced offers to choose from. Ordering online can lead to some big cost savings, it is even possible to get deals with 12 months free line rental on the Nokia 6300 , which need not cost anything to run.

As of late, gaming notebooks were usually custom made by select companies. In the past the lack of sales countered by the profit margins. Certainly I could positively say everyone desired one though. In my perspective they were the best laptops in the market. Regardless of the buzz created I do not think they were great sellers because I do not think purchasers would buy laptops as an alternative to desktops as they were so expensive. The future for gaming notebooks is now seen by the massive brands as a golden opportunity for them.

These are definitely high margin notebook computers for the global companies and they know it. These companies have possibly been losing a bit of cash on lower end systems so this should be an attractive opportunity. Getting consumers to buy laptops is kind of easy for bigger companies. Littler companies definitely have an enormous task ahead now. I express this because now the technology which was once special and high priced is now mass market. Customers just feel much more at ease making a massive purchase from an established name.

The laptop computers are surprisingly good as well. This is certainly the remaining advantage that littler brands can provide that the established brands can’t. The customizations factor is an enormous bonus to the consumer. Buyers of this kind are generally really educated in regards to the technology at hand, and so are able to carry out like for like evaluations. For a couple of consumers specs and statistics are more important than aesthetics.

As a potential consumer myself this is actually all a positive market condition for me. Better technology will be increasingly purchasable in the future for many customers as it will act to drive prices down even more. Who is to predict what will happen. I am really not that certain. I think technology is getting increasingly better however the new laptops will typically be over priced. Larger manufacturers have involved themselves with the laptops for gaming niche and only time will tell what occurs.

If you’re looking to buy a laptop you might want to visit http://www.rizeon.com

Poem

It was a Wednesday,
March 29, 2006.
It was a magnificent day
In the true sense of the word
And it came to pass!

Solar eclipse 2006
And it came to pass!

Scientists Predicted it
And it came to pass!

Philosophers foresaw it
And it came to pass!

Mystics knew it in advance
And it came to pass!

Oh, Divine Intelligence!
The Universal Mind!
How Omnipotent art Thou!
How Omniscient art Thou!
And how Mysterious art Thy ways!

Thou art Supreme
Glory be to Thy Name
Now and evermore!

by Mawutodzi Kodzo Abissath
March 29,2006,Accra
When total eclipse of the sun was experienced in Ghana

(Feature)

The solar eclipse in Ghana was spectacular indeed!The day was extra bright. The tropical sun was dominating when the invading moon came to block its surface without question.

It happened as was predicted by scientists. It was almost near to perfection. Scientists indicated it would occur between the hours of 0830 and 093 UT.

However,by 7.30 hours GMT some parts of the country,especially in the Western Region about 400km west of the capital city Accra, the lunar journey across the the solar pathway had actually started in Ghana.

In the Ghanaian capital itself the magical movement was spotted around 7.45 am. That was the precise time this writer noticed the event for the first time with the solar eclipse goggles, purchased for that purpose.

The much-anticipated eclipse of the sun and its resultant anxiety and eagerness was no longer a speculation. It happened on 29/03/06 in Ghana where it set off as its gateway to Africa.

Scores of exited,enthusiastic and over-joyed citizens viewed the phenomenon across the country.

At the time Ghanaians were enjoying the sight of the celestial romance between the sun and the moon with the planet earth acting as an eye witness,some selected other African countries were experiencing the memorable event as well.

Those other nations included Benin, Nigeria, Niger and Togo,all in West Africa; Egypt and Libya in North Africa and Chad in Central Africa.

The event attracted scientists and tourists from all parts of the world who trooped in to Ghana to witness once- in- a -century event.It was telecast live on the National Television for the world to behold.

Records show that the last time a total solar eclipse occurred in Ghana was in 1947. There was no television at the time in the country. Thus, in the next 50 years or so time,when the miracle is expected to occur again, our children’s children would be privileged and likily to view what we watched today thanks to Information Communication Technology (ICT).

Interestingly, virtually all hotels in six out of ten Regions in the country where the total eclipse was experienced were booked in advance. The regions included the Greater Accra, Eastern, Central, Volta and Western Regions. The rest of the Regions experienced what was characterised as ‘partial eclipse’.

Along the courntry’s coast, some high grounds offered unique spots such as hill or mountain tops,in towns like Anomabo in the Central Region, McCarthy Hill in the Greater Accra,Shai Hills and Aburi Hills in the Eastern Region of the country.

Tourists who came to Ghana enjoyed themselves to the blue heaven.They experienced the proverbial Ghanaian hospitality that would be engrained in their store house of memory forever and ever! ( Can someone say Amen?)

In some hotels for instance,special traditional drumming and dance programme s were organised to entertain tourists while they were watching and snapping pictures of the natural phenomenon.

“Oh Africa is full of natural beauty of beauties”, some of them exclaimeed. Infact,some first time visitors to Africa never dreamed that apart from the usual wars and starvation scenes the foreign media always associated with the continent, there could be such magnificent natural wonders to behold in Africa.

In Accra, the usual traffic-jammed streets were deserted.Workers abandoned their desks for once and rushed out of their offices to experience the romantic relationship of the two celestial bodies.

And at exactly 9.10 a.m, when the moon succeeded in blocking the view of her superior astral sister, the sun, a Siren was sounded in Accra to alert the citizenry that some miracle was about to occurr and was actually occurring indeed. There were some fanatic religious elements in the country who called themselves “prophets”, had the audacity to challenge the scientists that the solar eclipse would occur only over their dead bodies.But it came to pass!

Multi-coloured flames of fire works decorated the skies of the city. There was an extraordinary blissful breeze from the Atlantic ocea that has been bombarding the shores of Ghana since creation manifested itself.

The atmosphere instantly changed to that of autumn-like-season in Europe. It was fantastic and sublime.the mixture of day and night put together.It was indicative of the handiwork of some Divine engineering.

Then a mini-night fell during broad day time! While human beings were enjoying the scene and clapping their hands in admiration for the mysterious nature of the Supreme Being, some poor birds and other creatures in the animal kingdom were thrown into some sort of semi-confusion.

I saw a lone vulture on top of a nearby storey building that had no choice but to go to bed prematurely. Oh,Nature, How wonderful you are!How magnificent you are and how beautiful is your creation!

That was how the March 29,2006 total eclipse of the sun came to pass in Ghana. And it came to pass.

Mawutodzi Kodzo Abissath
Ghanaian Journalist and Poet
Accra Ghana.
(An eye witness-account of the memorable event.It is predicted to happen again in Ghana in 37 years’time. Where shall I be then?)

Mawutodzi Kodzo Abissath is Ghanaian Journalist and Poet.He is the current Information Manager of the Government of Ghana Portal http://www.ghana.gov.gh

It’s a fact that men and women don’t enjoy sex in quite the same way. Some women do not enjoy the intensity of sex, nor do they get out of it the same experiences.

Statistics show that compared with females, males begin their sex life at the approximate same age (16.9 years for men vs. 17.1 years for women) and have more partners. But men have no medical equivalent to a gynecologist and by consequence, they cannot see regularly a professional for wellness care and have less access to counseling and information on sexual health issues such as contraception and sexually transmitted diseases.

Report by the Urban Institute found that less than half of teen boys had a talk with a health professional about sexual health. On the other hand, means sexual health is less covered by health insurance. For instance, some programs pay only for treatment of women having sexually transmitted diseases, and do not support men’s treatment for the same diseases, even though their female partners can be reinfected.

The same study revealed that primary care physicians don’t always ask about sexual health of their patients, even though sex troubles can be a symptom of underlying situations such as diabetes and hypertension.

Valerian D is a freelance writer interested in issues affecting men such as male sexual problems