How's your website, then?

I'm not asking whether it's a good site or not, but what its performance is like. Is it slow to load? Does it have problems with certain web browsers? Occasionally you'll find that code working perfectly on, say Internet Explorer, doesn't work with Firefox. And vice-versa. Any coding problems?

How should I know? Who... who cares? I hear you ask.

Because it's important. You only have seconds -- tenths of seconds, even -- to make an impression on people who come to your site. If the site isn't working, has dead links or some old code that doesn't work and leaves the site with blank areas, you can bet your life those lovely, potential customers will click away at the drop of a pixel. And more than likely they'll be clicking away to the welcoming site of one of your competitors.

Wake up and smell the Mugicha! After reading this post you no longer have any excuses for not knowing. There's a website I often turn to when I want to see how my own site is doing, performance-wise. It makes for uncomfortable reading sometimes, because it doesn't hesitate to tell me stuff I don't particular want to hear -- the site's too heavy, too many images, too many elements, you've failed at life, you're a bad, bad person... et depressing cetera. But it's well worth it.

I have no connection whatsoever with the owners of the site and this isn't an affiliate link, so click in confidence. Here it is:

http://www.websiteoptimization.com/services/analyze/

Put in the full address of your website and have a look at what it says. Pretty eye-opening stuff, eh? You didn't realise it was that bad, did you?!

I'm not particularly interested in contacting the owners of the site to ask for their optimization services, but the results I get when I check my site are very interesting. Useful, too. Oh, and completely free. Check it out.

In the recent past, the Internet has become the prime means of media connection around the world. Aside from providing a fast and inexpensive means of imparting and extracting information, cyberspace has also redefined the very lifestyle of people around the world. From shopping to taking up courses, people have found immeasurable uses for the Internet.

No wonder then that everyone wants a space in cyber world. A website is the means of publishing personal or corporate information over the Internet. It is like a unique telephone number over a vast circuit of telephone lines; or better put, a unique address in the wide world of cyber space.

However, it is a well-known fact that not everybody knows how to create a website. A vast majority of Internet users who would like their very own web address in cyberspace do not have either the skills or the time to learn the intricacies of creating a website.

This is where an awb comes in handy. As the name indicates, an automatic website builder is an application or a group of applications that lets an individual who has no knowledge of underlying website software applications and languages involved build a website without sweat.

Unlike an HTML editor which merely facilitates in the creation of correct HTML scripts, an automatic builder provides the user with web page templates that are already built and can be modified by the user according to his or her preferences. Aside from pre-fabricated templates, some awb provide other important features as well. A number of automatic website builders have Shipping Cart feature that enables web visitors to shop for goods offered at the website. Still, other programs have built-in survey counters that can monitor the traffic of users who visited the website.

An automatic builder makes the process of putting the latest and most relevant information or content in a user's website quick and easy. Having the freshest content in a website means satisfied web visitors. This translates to higher traffic; therefore, improving a website's list ranking in search engines like Google.

Some websites come with a price. The range of prices may be as wide as a few bucks per month for subscription setting to more than a hundred dollars for one-time purchase arrangements. Others can be availed for free.

A purchased website builder provides premium features than a free program. A purchased program can come with unlimited number of website designs which could easily be a means to make money. By creating unique websites for friends and other customers, a user can easily earn additional income. Plus, this type of builder has tie-ups with other certified applications that can be enjoyed for free.

A free application, like the one commonly used for blog websites, has a limited number of website design concepts. There is a high probability that using this type of builder will be prone to pop-ups and third party piggyback advertisements. However, while the uniqueness or even the security of a website may be compromised, a free automatic website builder has zero cost.

Automatic website builders can be classified into to basic types; online and offline. An online builder enables users to edit the website they created using a web browser like Internet Explorer or Netscape. While an offline builder requires users to edit the site in a computer's local application before the edited website can be published. But no matter what type of automatic website builder application is used, the user is sure to have an efficient, effective and a fun way of building websites.

For more internet marketing tips and strategies be sure to follow the link in the resource box below:

There are a number of different browsers that you must compensate for when designing your webpage's in any format (CSS, tables etc.), some of the most common browsers are : Internet Explorer 6/ 7, Firefox and Safari. The main issues that arise with CSS design is that all browsers interpret CSS differently, for example Firefox does not understand some of the CSS commands that Internet Explorer does and vice a versa.

One of the main issues I have found when designing with CSS is a problem with margins in Internet Explorer 6. I found that when using a float on a div tag that also had a margin set, the margin would actually double and then knock the whole pages layout out. After numerous late nights and an insane amount of coffee I finally found a solution to this double margin bug. By inserting a simple line of code the double margin no longer double ! That solution is as follows, by adding this line of code to your CSS div tag 'display: inline'.

Another problem I have found with CSS in Internet Explorer 6 is a problem when trying to define a div tag that has a smaller size than the base font size. This problem again can be fixed with a simple line of code this time all we need to add is the following line of code to the div tag: 'font-size:0px'. There is also another solution to this problem that should have the same effect, because the div tag auto stretches to compensate for content overflow adding 'overflow: hidden' should also resolve the problem.

Unfortunately I have been unable to cover all of the cross browser issues that you may experience when designing with CSS, but most of the problems that you may encounter can be resolved pretty easily with simple trial and error. Happy designing!