Volume 1 - Issue 1

A Bit of This & That...

Time for Housekeeping

If you're like many webmasters, the first of a new year is the time for some reflection about any changes you are planning on implementing on your web site. Before you begin making broad changes, first take the time to do a bit of housekeeping on your site using our handy checklist:

  1. Check your site's copyright date and update it if necessary.
  2. Check your domain name registration. Update your information (name, address, phone, email) if necessary.
  3. Check your site's contact page information. Is your name, address, phone number, email address listed? If not, add the information or create a contact page for your visitors.
  4. Check your site's privacy policy. If you don't have one, now is the time to make one. If you collect any information via a form or take online orders, your need to disclose how this information is used.
  5. Check your site for out-of-date content. If you use terms like "we've been in business for 6 years", you may want to reword it to read "we've been in business since 2003".
  6. Check your site for broken hyperlinks. You can use the "reports" feature in Expression Web. Delete or update links as needed.
  7. Check your site for unused pages or images. Why use server space on pages or images you are not using. Again you can run the various reports to find out what is not being used.
  8. Check any forms on your site to ensure they are working as they should. If not, now is the time to fix them because you could be losing valuable information from your visitors. (If you need a bit of help with forms, review our Help Center article at http://www.rtbwizards.com/helpcenter/formsresults.htm)
  9. Is it time for a new look? Take a good, critical look at your web site. If you've been using the same text and graphics for several years, it's time to consider freshening up the look and feel of your site.
  10. There's so much to learn, so make a resolution to set aside one hour each week as "personal development time." Schedule this time in on your calendar as you would any other appointment and use it to learn something new like CSS or Search Engine Optimization. It's an investment you'll be glad you made.
Take Action in Tough Economic Times

If you go into shock every time you fill up your car or pay for groceries, you know that costs have skyrocketed over the past year. It seems that prices have gone up everywhere. However, if you have postponed plans to get a web site online, you may want to reconsider. This is a perfect time.

Not all costs have risen. In fact, there are great bargains to be found:

While some companies are cutting back on marketing, advertising, and more during an economic downturn, you can take advantage by establishing your web presence now to put you ahead of the game when the economy makes its move upward.

Time For School...

Protect Your Domain Name

If you have a registered domain name for your site, take care that you do not lose that name. How can you lose it? By not renewing the name before it expires! Losing your domain name can be easier than you might think. Here's how to protect your name:

Unfortunately there are plenty of domain "brokers" who are just waiting for you to make a mistake so they can pick up your domain name the minute it expires. Of course, these folks will be more than happy to sell your name back to you but usually for thousands of dollars.

Our Help Center

Need a bit of help learning how to use Expression Web or how to accomplish something on your site? We have an extensive help center with dozens of step-by-step tutorials. From how to download and unzip your template to the finer points of CSS, you'll find a lot of information on our Help Center.

Surf's Up...

Pixtivity: Cool slideshows and photo galleries seem to always be a popular topic and I get quite a bit of email asking for information on how to add these features into templates. Recently I found a really great program that was too good to resist. Pixtivity creates Flash-based slideshows and is incredibly fast, extremely easy to use and learn, and is very affordable. It's fast and easy. For more information, visit the Tivity.Com web site.

Icon Workshop: I really enjoy finding new, cool software to add to my tool box. My latest addition is IconWorkshop 6.0 by Axialis. This is a nifty little program that makes great icons, has PNG support, free "icon packs" you can download, and lots of extras. In fact, the icon-styled images on this page were made in the program in just a few minutes (without having to wade through a lot of help files first). I do love fast and easy. For inquiring minds, they do have a 30-day free trial download if you want to take it out for a test drive first.

From Our customers...

Want us to feature your site in our next newsletter?

We're bringing back out Customer Gallery!! If you would like for us to feature your site in our newsletter, just send us an email. Be sure to state the URL of your site, any comments you wish for us to include, and your name. Send your email to kareycummins@rtbwizards.com.

Note: This is for customers who are using one of our purchased templates. You must include a valid email address and URL for us to verify your site. Thank you.