The thing about computer languages is that there is some weird heaviness on the actual work involved. People are scared of by codes and although they see the power, they just can't seem to get going because they have no idea where to start.

That is where training comes in. And of course, fun training. You need to be taken by hand and shown exactly what you need to do, where you need to do it, and when you need to take the right action.

The funny thing about CSS is that it allows you to create your website in the fraction of the time when you would do it using tables. It's hard to believe, but still after all these years of promotion for CSS people (and companies!) still heavily rely on tables for layout. They have no idea that they are simply wasting time on old techniques that will be useless in a matter of time.

So where do you need to pay attention on when you are looking for a CSS Guide?

1. The Teacher

The number one thing you need to be sure of is that your teacher knows where he or she is talking about. Why is he or she teaching about Cascading Stylesheet, because they need to from their boss? Because they think they can teach, no matter the subject?

Think of that, how many teachers are only "teaching" stuff, and never practice it their own? Ask yourself "why" are you teaching you me this. Are you the best in the field? Where did you get your knowledge from?

2. Teaching Style

So the teacher may be a great person, has all the required skills, has a passion for the subject and knows about everything of it. But can your teacher deliver? Does he or she KNOW how to explain things? How to take you by hand and show you step-by-step how things work?

Is it fun to follow along with the teacher? CSS is one of those topics that can become boring easily when it's only discussed in a technical way. Make sure you know what you can expect!

An even more important thing is cutting right to the case. You don't want to end up with all kind of knowledge that you will never use in practice. It simply isn't useful to learn every possible css style there is when you just get started. And this brings us to the third point you need to pay attention on when you are looking for a css guide.

3. Teaching / learning speed

Can you keep up with the course? Does your teacher decide the speed, or do you? Of course a great way to follow a course is one that allows you to define your own speed. Home study courses and guides are wonderful for that.

4. Delivery

How is your guide delivered? Are you somebody that likes to read, follow along with a training video or both? Decide what you like, training videos are great, because they allow you to follow along in a real life situation. This means hands on practice, which is exactly what you need if you want to become good in CSS.

5. Contents

Last but not least, content. What is discussed in the guide? What is marked as important? Do you get a total reference, or do you know you don't need that, that the real thing you need is a hands on course with day-to-day subjects? Decide what you want to know, just the basics, how to create full layouts, or just how to create a menu using 100% CSS.

It's up to you now, decide what you need, you know how important the 5 above points are, and where you need to pay attention on. And one last tip, make sure you get some preview videos or sample chapter before following any course, it can save you a lot of time and money at the same time.

Hilco van der Meer
CSS Expert

When it comes to building a website you need to build it with one thing in mind and that is your visitors. Your website needs to be structured in a way that makes sense to those that visit it.

While visiting your website if they become confused they will merely hit the back button and you will be left with nothing. Your site needs to make sense and as a consequence you need to lay out the content of the site in a clear concise manner.

Avoid clutter and make sure that your navigational structure is easy to follow so that they can find what they are looking for quickly and easily. Structure it in a way that they will follow the path that you desire them to follow.

Not only do you need to cater to your human visitors but you also need to take care of your robotic visitors. You want to ensure that the search engine spiders can read and understand the content on your site.

This will enable your site to become indexed within the search engines faster for your desired keywords. To ensure this happens you need to focus on relevancy as this will help all your visitors.

To conclude search for things that you like using the search engines and make note of the sites that you find are helpful in providing the information that you are looking for then use this as an example. This will help you stay focused and provide a good site with good layout and content for your visitors.

Personal websites and business may not go hand-in-hand as far as you are concerned, but I urge you to think again. If you want to sell something, you may need to "sell yourself" first. People enjoy doing business with someone they know and like. More importantly, they want to know that they can trust you.

We are actually able to transact business all over the world due to today's technology. The problem with that can be a lack of personal service. However, with the internet, and especially with personal websites, we can feel as if we know someone that we have never actually met. We can know what a person looks like, we can know the sound of their voice, we can know all about their family, hobbies, dreams, future goals, etc.

When someone is surfing the web looking for a way to work from home, they are also looking for someone to partner with. Someone to mentor them and show them the way. They want to feel comfortable with a prospective future business partner.

If you want them to consider joining your opportunity, you have to be visible on the internet. You have to be willing to get personal and reveal yourself to them. Your site should be warm and inviting. It should provide information about you and your business opportunity. Give them a way to contact you.

This really is the way to gain business partners from all over the world, or from just the good old U.S. if your company is not international. Think about what you were looking for when you were searching for a home business. I don't know about you, but I felt a connection with my sponsor. I felt as if I knew her just by looking at her website.

That is what you want to create. You want to seem warm, friendly, and approachable. You want your reader to feel as if they already know you. A lady contacted me via email recently who was interested in my candle business. She practically told me her life story in that email, and it is probably because she felt like she knew me. She had seen my site and already knew all about me.

That is a good thing. It means that she felt as if I was someone she could talk to candidly. She must have thought that I would be approachable and would be receptive to her. Not everybody who contacts you will be so open. They may be wary of you and your business, but they contacted you because they found something of interest. This is when you provide them with honest answers to all their questions. It is also where you give them that personal attention that they are seeking.

Their state of mind when they contact you is not important. The fact that they made a connection is what matters. The reason for the connection was that they found your personal website and liked something they saw there. They were able to contact you because you provided them with either a phone number, email address, or both.

Do you see how this works? Prospects come to you. You do not have to "beat the streets" or chase your friends and family in order to build your business. This is not yesterday's network marketing, it is the new way. Believe me, it is also the best way. Many of yesterday's methods gave us a bad rap because they were so annoying.

Personal websites and business work well together. Get your own site up soon. It doesn't have to be fancy; just informative. Keep it simple and see what happens. I am sure that you will be pleased with the results. Remember to advertise your website and tell your friends about it. You cannot just build it and hope they will come.