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scottdkcp

posts: 19

Jan 23, 2009 4:03 AM ET Quote Report Abuse

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Hi all,

Matt, thanks for the info on the blog-building. I gathered it was something like css & php that I have not learned yet. I also use godaddy for my html-based website, and the godaddy hosting has worked very well for me, though it may not work well for more advanced users because of it`s lack of interaction with some applications.

I will have to investigate the use of php and css much more closely, because I do want to have a nicely organized selection of articles available on my website for local and non-local customers and clients sometime soon.

By the way, is it okay if I add a link (in a business links page I am working on) on my website to your entrepreneur blog? If so, let me know! Thanks again.

-------------------------

Chosen Point Consulting, Business, & Personal Services
Chosen Point Blog Aiming to provide Practical Solutions
Email me as I am looking for: networking & profitable joint-venture opportunities in Florida & beyond

JenniferKim

posts: 8

Jan 23, 2009 6:15 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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Matt,

Is there an advantage in using domainsinseconds.com versus purchasing the domain through Go Daddy?

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Jennifer Kim
Founder and CEO
Sweet and Single LLC
"The Premiere Dating Service for Asian American Professionals"

scottdkcp

posts: 19

Jan 24, 2009 1:25 AM ET Quote Report Abuse

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Jennifer, I wouldn`t think there is any real advantage to using a different domain provider and hosting service, other than cost maybe. But usually godaddy has some pretty good sales going on, and I do think it is much more convenient to have the hosting and the domain in the same spot.

However, watch out for stuff like Yahoo. They will let you register a domain and host it with them, but unfortunately, they will still OWN the domain name. So if you had a really successful website with domain that you wanted to sell at some point, you couldn`t, because Yahoo would be the actual domain owner. :(

With godaddy, once you register the name, it`s yours. That`s also true of name.com and I`m sure most of the other legit domain registrars out there.

If you are getting to the point where you need a simple website, you can probably do some site-builder software through godaddy or other sites. However, if your needs are much more complex (and I believe a dating site would be pretty complex), you might want to find a competent web designer/programmer to set up a site for you. And if you talk to them before you purchase a domain, etc., they might have some more insight on the technical considerations of hosting the site.

Whatever you do though, make sure you register the domain in your name, not Yahoo`s, not the web designer`s, not your friend`s or family`s name, make sure it`s in your LLC or even your personal name, so that you will have the final say on how that domain name is used. :)

MattThomas

posts: 203

Jan 24, 2009 8:48 AM ET Quote Report Abuse

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Scott - You probably wouldn`t need to learn that much (or any) php - I don`t know any. If you know html, just looking at the code can give you a sense of what the PHP is doing. Wordpress.org has a lot of resources and explains how to work with the php files. CSS is something I would reccommend you learn though. If you have a good hold on HTML, it wont be that hard for you, and you`ll find it to be well worth your time.

And that would be great if you link to my blog! I would greatly appreciate that. Thank you!

Jennifer - Scott sumed it up perfectly. I don`t really think I can add to that. For me, owning multiple domains, I personally like the idea of separating the domain management from the hosting. But that is just a personal preference (maybe even one that complicates things).

-------------------------

Motivation for Entrepreneurs
Entre-Propel.com

scottdkcp

posts: 19

Jan 27, 2009 5:35 AM ET Quote Report Abuse

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Thanks for the php css clarification Matt. Sorry I haven`t visited the forums in a couple days.

I`ll be setting up a useful links page on my very tiny website, but I hope to start adding some content, that`s kind of what started this whole conversation, and I`ll send you the links page link when I get it started.

I know a bit of html, enough to be fairly dangerous, but some of the stuff is pretty tedious to work with (ie frames, tables). I was just investigating javascript the other day, so I`m trying to broaden my horizons a bit at a time.

Good call on the domain and hosting separation as well. I probably should have done that from the beginning, but since I`m into it already, and I`ve had good luck with the godaddy domains and hosting, I`ll stick for now. I did register a domain through name.com to point to a shopping cart and have also had good luck with that.

Thanks again and I will look at the css stuff. And I will also get cracking on my links page!

MattThomas

posts: 203

Jan 27, 2009 10:38 AM ET Quote Report Abuse

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Thanks a lot Scott!

Just as an FYI about tables...you`ll never need to code another table if you know CSS. CSS does all the laying out for you in a much neater way. I learned this just last summer that using tables for layout purposes is now, in fact considered bad design since CSS is used for the layouts (which is what prompted me to learn CSS).

I know you`re already sold on learning it, but just thought I would give you a heads up so you save some time coding once you learn it.

-------------------------

Motivation for Entrepreneurs
Entre-Propel.com

scottdkcp

posts: 19

Jan 28, 2009 4:29 AM ET Quote Report Abuse

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Matt, thanks for the further clarification on tables, etc. Honestly, the less I need to know the better, so when I get to the CSS, I`ll try to do it the right (and easy) way. Any HTML I have learned has kind of been on a very random basis. :( For now, at least I`ve been able to do some simple stuff just to make a web presence, all using HTML, OpenOffice, random javascript codes I found around the internet, LogoDesignStudio, and now godaddy`s Quick Blogcast, which you can find here:

http://cpblog.chosenpoint.com/

Oh, by the way, here is the link for my links page, which now includes your site link, and even a feedburner springwidget near the bottom (I thought that was a cool feature, so I also placed that on the links page). You can find your link here:

http://www.chosenpoint.com/links.html

and of course, the main website domain is

http://www.chosenpoint.com/

if you ever need it. I know this is not the website critique forum, but honestly, I did the website by scratch with some limited HTML knowledge, and a lot of wishing and hoping!!! The good thing is all the links work, and I think I spelled everything correctly, and that is half the battle.

Let me know if you see your link and your feed widget on my site, and if you have any general comments about what I`m trying to do with my online presence. I`m trying to stay as simple as possible, and thus far, I`m in pretty good control of the website, and I don`t intend to let it get out of hand with broken links, spelling errors, or non-working code. I haven`t spent a lot of time on the meta tags, but I`ll get to that as I learn a little bit more. :)

MattThomas

posts: 203

Jan 28, 2009 12:33 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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Wow, thanks for the great link and feed placement! Very much appreciated.

I like the simplicity you are using, in that there aren`t any design elements that are taking away from your message. The text and content is the main focus, which is ideal.

I see some parallels between the design of your home page and landing page design. Were you going for that? Designing landing pages for your site might be a good idea if any prospects land on your page from, say a Pay-Per-Click campaign or just a regular search engine results link. There wouldn`t be a lot of design work involved, since it does look a lot like a landing page already.

One other idea if the idea of coding or learning new languages scares you a bit. I have been hearing a lot of good things about weebly. Apparently the site is really great for putting together quick web pages with a minimal amount of work. Just a thought if you wanted to experiment a bit.

-------------------------

Motivation for Entrepreneurs
Entre-Propel.com

scottdkcp

posts: 19

Jan 29, 2009 10:20 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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Hey Matt, thanks for the help again on all this. No problem with the link and the feed, I really thought the feed thing was pretty neat. Eventually I am going to break the links page up into about 4 or 5 different link pages, so your link will appear on a different page, but for now, it`s all on one page. Eventually, it will be 1 page for Business Links, 1 page for Consumer Links, etc.

Yes, the website is very simple, and again, mostly because I started from scratch on it. But as I said, I do have total control over it right now, and want to keep it that way so I don`t get confused! I just figured out how to make page anchors, and will next work on meta tags and having links open in a new window.

I really have only heard about landing pages, but haven`t read about them. I guess my site is just one large landing page, but I have been tracking it with Google Analytics to kind of see what`s going on. I guess a landing page would just be a heavily metatagged page with maybe a logo and "enter this site" on it, is that right?

Eventually I want to have some subscription forms and possibly order forms of some kind to "convert" visitors or monetize the site a little better. But mostly, this is just an informational portal for the local business I`m doing. Crazily, I`ve had 1 vistor from both Norway and Finland.

I also haven`t done anything on pay-per-click or adwords stuff or any of that. I`ll get to it, but right now, I am going for not only simplicity, but total control.

I`ll read up on landing pages, and also check out the weebly site. I`m not afraid of new coding stuff, I just don`t want to learn stuff I don`t have to, or fail to learn something I really need to!

Thank you for all the help, because your blog site was a big inspiration to my new blog (which I really need to get some content on)!

MattThomas

posts: 203

Jan 30, 2009 11:13 AM ET Quote Report Abuse

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Glad to know I inspired you to start your own blog.

In regards to landing pages, they are not the "enter here" pages, but are generally very simply designed pages with little distraction and one goal: covert visitors. It is called a landing page because it is the page a viewer will land on from a search engine (either organically through a regular search, or through a PPC ad).

If you do want to ad order forms or subscription forms to the site, then looking to tune your site more to act as a landing page would be a good idea.

I`m no expert on landing pages, but I did spend last summer reading up on them and experimenting a bit, so I would definitely look into seeing if it would work for you. Good luck on that.

-------------------------

Motivation for Entrepreneurs
Entre-Propel.com

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