How To Sell a Website

After you have made an established website, you have many options in which will allow you to turn a profit. If you’re looking for a long term cash flow you can get some money your site using Google Ad Sense or other pay per click companies, cpm advertising companies or by selling links for a monthly fee.

One method of getting quick cash is by selling the website. There are many ways in which you can make your site appeal to other webmasters and help you get a successful fast sale. Often, a quick in and out deal is the way to go.

The first thing you should decide when considering the sale of your website is the amount of money you would be happy with if someone was to offer you a ‘buy it now’ price. You need to consider the time and effort that has gone into the sites production and advertising as well as the sites overall profit on a monthly basis. Obviously the more money your site makes, the more it will be worth to someone. Another major factor that makes the site appealing to others is the amount of effort needed to maintain the website. By using a CMS (content management system) it will make it easier to update as you simply log into a user interface and add the content with out any FTP details being needed. You can also set multiple accounts up so you can have people updating your site without any risk of deletion.

There are many different websites in which you will be able sell your site, it’s always best to add it to as many different ones as possible giving the maximum exposure and more chance of selling. It’s very popular that you auction off your site, you basically set a starting bid and people will look through the description and statistics given and bid accordingly based on how much they are willing to pay for it. You can also set a BIN price (buy it now) so if the bidding wars get a bit too feisty then someone can grab it instantly if they believe it has great potential.

Site point is a great site as it attracts some of best successful sites up for sale and only interested people will bid on your site and not waste your time. You can also advertise your site on certain webmaster forums which sometimes does provide a successful sale but can also give you more trouble then its worth. Unlike on the official sites that sell thousands of sites on a daily basis, the forums will attract many people that are just interested in how you got it successful and intend on copying the content, niche and style which is why you should be careful about the sort and amount of information you give out to people.

When listing your website you should provide a full description about your site giving the age, the approximate amount of back links, any successful search results in the leading search engines, amount of indexed pages, the monthly income and any other information that will strengthen the image of your site. After you have listed your site you will get inundated with emails asking for details and a BIN price if not set. People will always bargain you down as they will never offer the opening asking price so you need to be strong and don’t let your hard work go to waste.

After the sale of your site you still have to be careful, even if you have received the money. There are people who make a living out of scamming people, always use a safe method of payment, although pay pal is widely used people can claim a charge back for up to 60 days after the sale which will be hard to prove if you’re selling electronic good such as a website as you have no psychical delivery. Do it in stages to ensure you will receive the whole amount, first you can send the domain over to their registrar and then once you receive the remaining amount, send them a zip file with all off data for the website and don’t forget to push any databases your website uses.

A recommended method of payment is escrow as they hold the parties payment until both sides are happy that they have received their share of the deal in which the payment will be cleared to the seller with no hassle and no risk to either party.

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How to Get Indexed in MSN

There are 3 ways to get indexed on MSN:

1. Direct Submit: To get indexed by MSN you can try a direct submission. With this you just enter a code from the picture and drop your URL and wait….and wait.

The problem with direct submission is that you end up on a list and eventually the spiders crawl your site but that crawl doesn’t come with any authority.

2. Work with My MSN: The logic here is that MSN pays attention to its own sites. Create an RSS feed of your navigation and add it to your account at MSN. You may need to create an account to do this but that just takes a few minutes. Then go to http://my.msn.com/ and click "Add content". Enter the URL of your feed where it says "Search for content". A message should appear stating that it is syndicated content from the web. Check the box next to the feed and click "OK". You will be returned to your main page with your feed added.

I typically change the details to display the maximum headlines (30) that are the maximum days old (356). This ensures that if MSN sees the content they can crawl and index it.

While you are there, go ahead and add your site to the "My favorite links" box.

3. Get Links: Just like all major search engines MSN loves back links. Links pointing to your site act as votes for its value. You can get free links through directories or press releases or sometimes just by asking for them. The more links you get the more likely the spiders are to stumble across your site and the more “authority” it gets.

Be sure to follow up once you have done the work to get indexed follow through to make sure it worked. You can check your server logs or analytics program for "msnbot/1.0 (+http://search.msn.com/msnbot.htm)". This means the MSN bot has hit your site!

Finally, to see which pages MSN has indexed do a site: check at http://search.msn.com. You can enter [site:www.your domain.com] or click “search Builder then select Site/Domain. You want “Find only web pages from this site or domain” selected then enter your domain and click “Add to search”. The command will appear in the search bar and you can then select “Search”. This will list the pages MSN has in its index for your site.

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How to Find Your IP Address

There are many ways to determine your IP address. IP stands for Internet Protocol address, and this address allows your computer to “talk” to other computers online. Programs such as certain scripts require you to know your IP address to ensure only you are using the program. A VPN or a virtual private network can be established using your IP address to link your home and office computer. This allows you to work at home with ease. There are countless other tasks which require your IP address or use it in some way.

Regardless of why you might need your IP address, here’s how to find it.

Use a Specialized Website

A "What is My IP" site pings your computer and immediately offer up your IP address along with plenty of other details. The site can tell you about proxies, languages, cookies, screen resolution and more. Of course you can also find that information on your own or you might already have it committed to memory.

Find a Local IP Address

This is your internet IP address. You also have a local IP address that is very basic and has little purpose other than to be a placeholder. Your Internet IP address has many functions, your local (or LAN) one does not. But to find your LAN IP address, you can:

• Go to the Start Menu.
• Select Run.
• Type in CMD and press Enter.
• Then in the DOS box that appears type in “ipconfig” and press Enter.
• Your local IP address should appear.

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How To Download And Set Up an FTP Program

There are a number of things about designing and building your own website which cause confusion and uncertainty to those who are new to this activity. FTP, which stands for File Transfer Protocol, is one of those things that always seems to confuse and intimidate people who are new to website design. Part of this confusion is probably because the full name ‘File Transfer Protocol’ seems to shed no light on understanding what it is, what it does, or what it is used for. In this article I shall attempt to shine a light on this mysterious creature and take the reader through the process of downloading and installing a free and popular program to make FTP available to them.

First, to shed some light on the name ‘FTP’, or File Transfer Protocol’: the word ‘Protocol’ is used in it’s usual everyday sense that it is a set of rules or guidelines by which something is done. So, simply put, a File Transfer Protocol is a set of rules or guidelines by which files can be transferred from one computer to another over the internet or a network. This sometimes doesn’t make any sense to people who don’t understand computers because they don’t realize that many different computers use many different codes. If you have a file on one kind of computer and you want to use it on another kind of computer then without a set of guidelines, or a ‘protocol’, to ‘translate’ the file from one computer to another it would not be possible. FTP is a form of code which helps you when you move a file from one computer to another. Think of FTP as a ‘translator’ or ‘interpreter’ working in the United Nations so that all the different countries can talk to each other and settle their differences.

And that’s it: simple isn’t it? Often people don’t believe it is quite as simple as that but it is. There is nothing else to understand about FTP unless you are about to start programming, which you’re not.

The other thing that helps to make FTP appear confusing and complex is the fact that you often use a program to do it: These are called ‘FTP Clients’. FTP Clients manage the ‘translation’ from one computer to another and will allow you to upload files, which is to send files to the server; or download files, which is to get files from the server. They will also allow you to make changes to files on the server. FTP and the FTP Client are essential ingredients of a web designer, or website owner’s toolkit. There are very many different designs of FTP Clients, many are free and many will cost money to buy. Many operating systems have an FTP client integrated within them and browsers such as Firefox have an FTP client which can be installed and used as part of the browser. You will need to have an account with a web host before using an FTP Client, but so long as you do have a web hosting account then you can use an FTP Client to transfer your site and all your files to the web host, and back again.

One of the most popular free FTP Clients is ‘FileZilla’; it is easy to download and use and, if you are using Windows XP, then I can take you through the steps – although I doubt they are very different if you are using another operating system. I am using Firefox 2, and so if you are using any other browser there may be some slight differences, but nothing major:

The simplest way to download Filezilla is to go to the Google search page and type ‘download.com filezilla’ into the search field and the very top result will be for Filezilla at the download.com website. Click on the link and you will see the name of Filezilla with a big blue link below it saying ‘download now’. Click that and a small window will appear with a button saying ‘save file’ – click to save the file and you will download the software automatically. It will take a few seconds to download.

Now look for the new icon on your desktop; it will be called ‘Filezilla set up’ or something similar. Double click the icon. The first thing you will see is a small window asking you to select your language, make sure it says English (or whatever your preferred language is) then click the ‘ok’ button. A license agreement window will appear; click ‘next’. The next page will ask you to ‘choose components’ – ion most cases the defaults are perfectly ok for most installations so I suggest you agree with the selection and click ‘next’. You will now be asked where you want to install the software, in most cases the default location is your program folder, which is fine; if you want to install it elsewhere then type the location in here, otherwise just click ‘next’. You will now be asked to choose a start menu folder, again, the default will be fine, click ‘next’. You will now be asked to decide on some general settings, if you are using a shared computer then select ‘use secure mode’ otherwise leave all settings as they are and click ‘Install’. The software will now be installed onto your computer; this will only take a few seconds and then you will be asked to close the window – click ‘close’.

You will now have a new icon on your desktop, coloured maroon and blue with a big ‘FZ’ on it and called ‘Filezilla’. You can put the original download file into your recycle bin and delete. Double click the new icon to start your FTP Client.

To use the FTP Client to transfer files between your computer and your web host you will first have to set it up. After double clicking to start up the FTP Client, click on the ‘File’ menu and select ‘Site Manager’. A new window will appear, find the button which says ‘new site’ and click it. A folder will appear in the main area of the window, type the name of your site into the new folder which appears.

Get your login details for your web host, because you’ll need them now. Under ‘Host’ type in the FTP address of your website; this will be a website address beginning with ‘ftp’ in a format such as: ftp.siteforge.net or else it will be a number series in a format such as: 88.88.888.88 – either will do. If the boxes below are greyed out then your site manager is set to anonymous login. To input your login details deselect ‘anonymous’ and select ‘normal’ for Logon and input your username and password for accessing your web host. You can now click ‘connect’ and your FTP Client will connect to your web host and you can upload or download files for your site.

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How to Build Link Popularity Naturally

There is a huge market for links in the webmaster community, but true link popularity can’t be bought. Incoming links can be purchased, but those must mix with authentic links from quality websites to give your website true link popularity.

Link Popularity

You are likely wondering, what is link popularity? The answer is simple enough. Link popularity is a measure of how popular and purposeful your website is based on the number of other quality websites that link to it. The more websites that include a link to your site, the better your site looks.

Incoming links are a sign that your website has something to say and is worth visiting. The more reputable the other websites are that link to yours the more important your site looks in search engines. Link popularity is just one of many factors that the major search engines consider when placing websites in their servers and on search result pages.

Build Link Popularity

There are many ways to build link popularity, but many webmasters try and skip the more authentic means and buy links instead. Paid links are frowned upon by major search engines, so it is far better to generate authentic links rather than buying one. You can use the following methods to build your own link popularity.

Submit your Website to Directories

By submitting your website to popular and well respected directories, you’ll automatically be gaining links back to your pages.

Use Article Marketing

Article marketing consists of writing articles for article directories or other sites and including a link back to your site as part of the article. As the articles are picked up on other websites, your link spread throughout the internet community. A solid article marketing campaign with quality articles likely to interest others in your niche can generate hundreds of links.

Use a Press Release

When you have something major to report, a press release will announce your event to the world via distribution and media outlets. As other websites pick up the news covered in your report, your link, which is naturally included in the release, is spread across the internet.

Build Your Own Popularity

Spend some time getting to know others in your webmaster community. If you know many other people and they know you and your site, it will grow naturally by word of mouth.

Participate in Forums

Webmaster and niche forums are an excellent place to advertise your website. Throw a link in your signature and you might gain a link from the site if it is not designated “no follow,” but other forum members will see your signature and visit your site hopefully earning you a natural link form their sites.

Promote You Site

Internet marketing is all about marketing. The more people you have visiting your website on a daily basis, the more people are likely to bookmark or link to your site from other places. Promote your site in as many ways as you can to get your name out there and start getting traffic. With a consistent campaign, traffic will grow and so will your link popularity.

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How To Build a Website

There are many methods you can choose when you decide to build a website. The method you select will depend on your knowledge of coding and/or programming. If you are a total novice to the web designer industry then there are programs that allow you to drag and drop items, place text via text boxes and change the colors with a click of a button. These are known as WYSIWYG editors (what you see is what you get), they are very helpful in order to get a nice looking website up and running in a short amount of time if you have no html (hyper text markup language, the coding used to build websites) knowledge. The main downside to using a WYSIWYG editor is that the coding will be full of rubbish and useless variables which will give you the disadvantage in the search engines as messy code will confuse the bots and penalize you for it. You could go through each page after it has been made and take out unnecessary bits of code making the page clean and user friendly, but by doing this you will have to have a good knowledge of html so you would be better starting from scratch in the first place.

If you are fairly comfortable with the way html works, you can make a website by just using notepad and saving the file with the .html extension at the end. This method is not used as often in today’s world as you can get programs such as Microsoft Front Page and Macromedia Dreamweaver. These both allow you to see a WYSIWYG view, a core code view and a split view in which you can make something and then tidy the code up straight after saving you a lot of hassle in the end. My favorite out of these two (and probably the most popular) is Macromedia Dreamweaver as it has inbuilt FTP access so you can manage a whole website from the one interface. By using the remote view, you’re able to see what’s on the server. This allows you to make adjustments and update your revisions directly to your server. Once complete, you can view the changes immediately in through the domain name the site is linked to.

The main benefit of this is being able to see what your website looks like in different browsers as they interpret the code in different ways which can make your site look absolutely fine in Windows Internet Explorer but completely messed up in Mozilla Firefox. While the majority of users use Internet Explorer you still have to make it compatible with Firefox as a small percentage use it and you would be loosing vital traffic if your site is not compatible with it. You are best downloading the main browsers (explorer, firefox, opera and any other you are willing to) and checking your site on a regular basis in each making it look the same in each one. Another way around it is to complete your site and then pick the next browser and adjust the code until it matches and then move onto the next one.

If you are not using a WYSIWYG editor then I always find it best to design each page in a program such as Adobe Photoshop so you can get the feel of the layout and color scheme before you actually start making the site in a code editor. The benefit of this is you may start coding your website and decide you want to change bits around, this is a lot harder once you have integrated the code into your website so by making the final layout in Photoshop and moving bits around with ease, it will make your life easier in the long run. Also it’s always easier to follow a template then thinking from scratch making it up as you go along.

Once you have mastered the basic html code and getting a website how you want it to look you can then move onto the more advanced coding which will make your website stand out from the rest of the competition in your niche. There are other variations of code such a PHP and JavaScript which you can learn in order to add more advanced features into your website.

Another common method of making websites in today’s world is using a CMS (content management system) which will make it easier to update and maintain your website once you have made a basic template adding ‘PHP includes’ where you want the data to appear. There are many free CMS templates available in which you can download for free and use to give a professional look to your website.

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How to Decorate a Christmas Tree

The Christmas Tree is the central decoration for the season. Decorating that tree can be intimidating, especially if you’re trying to work around your existing décor or creating a design that any professional would be proud of. Here’s how to decorate a Christmas Tree.

Create a Theme

The first step in decorating a Christmas Tree is to decided on the theme of your decorations. You may opt for the basic cheerful multicolored balls and lights, or challenge yourself with something more ornate such as finding a theme that incorporates golden decorations and lights into your living room’s existing apple décor. There are many ways to do this.

Shop Around the Theme

Once your theme is determined, begin your quest for decorations. Simple decorations such as bright glass balls and tinsel can be found everywhere, including local drug stores. Golden apples may require a trip to a decorating warehouse or specialty shop. You can also make ornaments using parts from craft stores or have your kids create fun ornaments from any number of household items.

Assemble the Tree

To decorate your tree you’ll need the following:

• A Christmas Tree – The tree can be real or artificial. Both options have pros and cons.
• Christmas Tree Stand – If you’re using a real tree, invest in a good tree stand. Also be sure to water the tree regularly to prevent the needles from drying up and falling off. Stand up the Tree and position it correctly.
• Tree Skirt – A tree skirt can be simple or ornate. It keeps the floor a bit cleaner, provides some extra color and decoration, and hides the tree stand or base of the artificial tree.
• Lights – If your tree is not prelit, and only a few artificial trees are, buy strands of lights. White solid lights are most common, but you can also buy colored lights, blinking or chasing lights, or even specialty lights such as snowflakes or chili peppers for your tree.

  Put the lights on your tree before any other decorations. Try to hide the strands in the branches so that only the lights show, not dangling wires.

• A Tree Topper – The tree topper can go first or last, but every tree should have one. If you’re using an angel or star, especially one that is lit, it should probably go on first to be sure you have it hooked into the lights correctly. A large bow should go after the rest of the decorations so that it is line with the rest of the garlands.
• Ornaments – After the lights and possibly the tree topper, hang your ornaments. You may opt to use a collection of ornaments in multiple colors that simply appeal to you or that your children have made. You might use only gold and red decorations to continue with a specific theme such as the apple theme mentioned above.

  If you’re going for a more casual look, hang a variety of ornaments including glass balls of every color and include ornaments that are fun and meaningful to you. Be sure to cover the tree evenly from top to bottom and side to side. Hang the ornaments from the tips of the branches in front of the lights.

• Garlands – The final stage of tree decoration is to place any garlands on the tree. Garlands can be strands of tinsel or beads. They may also be long strands of ribbon. Tinsel and beads usually are draped around the tree horizontally.

  Ribbons can be horizontal or can be twisted and run from the top of the tree to the bottom. This looks especially nice if the tree topper is a very large bow of the same ribbon. Ribbons go on top of all decorations, but smaller garlands, especially those with beads may be hung following the lights.

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How To Pay Off Debt

Hopefully you are not one of the hundreds of thousands that find themselves in over their head in debt. If you are however, you can find additional free information. Regardless of your current financial situation this article will serve to help you become more debt aware and possible save you a lot of money.

I’m sure you’ve heard, "Debt never sleeps" or "Debt is your second boss". How about "You are paying the credit card to let you work?"  It’s true, debt can compound as much as 21% each and every month. Still, all hope is not lost. Take a look at the list below and see if there is anything that you can do to reduce and pay off your debt.

• Pay twice the minimum:
  First, you need to make more than just the minimum payment.  Honestly, if you make just the minimum payment, you are playing right into the banks hands.  You need to eat out less, not drive as much, stay at home on the weekends, etc. So that you may put that money toward paying off your debt.  If your minimum payment is $125 a month, then pay $250 a month!  Let go of a few of the luxuries so that you can relieve the burden.
• Snowball your debt payments:
  Second, you need to find out which credit cards/debt has the highest interest rates.  If you can consolidate your debt into one payment with a low interest rate, you will count your lucky stars in the end.  When you consolidate your debt, you save hundreds, if not thousands of dollars depending on your interest rates.  We highly recommend using the popular program of “Debt Help for Women”
• Use your savings:
  You could also use your savings to pay off the debt.  This is obviously a hard thing to do. However, if you become a slave to debt, it’s good to dig yourself out of that hole first, and then you can focus on building your savings account again.
• Try to get a loan from your life insurance policy:
  Many policies have a hard cash value? If yours does, you can borrow against your policy. In essence this is like giving yourself a loan because you are borrowing money that you own. The interest rate is usually far below other loan rates, and you will have more time to pay back the money. Be sure though that you do bay it back though. The downside to this type of loan is that you could die before it’s paid back. If this happens, the outstanding balance and interest will be taken from the overall value of the policy payable to the beneficiary.
• Family and/or friends:
  Family and friends are always a good source to help in time of need. Make sure it’s a friend who you have established a good trust line with. Otherwise, you will lose your friends and distance yourself from your family.
• Try a home equity loan:
  Home equity lines of credit are also a good way to pay off debt.  You can borrow the small amount and pay it off as a second loan on your home.  This is another way to consolidate your debt into one loan.
• Use your 401k:
  Do you participate in a 401k qualified retirement plan through work or your home business? Many plans let you borrow 50% of the account value, or $55,000; whichever amount is smaller. Interest rates vary from a point or two above the going prime rate. None the less, it will be much cheaper than high interest credit cards. Again, this is a form of consolidation. There are some setbacks though as the loan and interest have to be repaid with your tax dollars. You have to pay back the loan within five years or less. If you go to another job, you have to pay back the loan in full when leaving. If it’s not repaid, then you will have that amount treated as a distribution to you and you will pay taxes on it also. If you are under 59 there will be an additional 10% tax for early withdrawal. You should check up on your plans to see specific details per plan.

The last thing that Creditors want you to do is to run. They want to know where you stand.  If you can talk to your creditors and let them know where you are at, you might be able to negotiate new terms. If however, you could use some help with your debt, please click the link below for FREE information about debt help in your area.

CreditServicer.com provides free assistance for consumers seeking help with ChexSystems or bad credit. We also offer a variety of financing options such as bad credit loans and credit cards.

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How to Pay Monthly Bills Online

The introduction of automatic bill pay has simplified countless lives. Now routine payments such as mortgages and credit cards can be set up and left to run on their own without taking the time or effort to write a check every month. And the best part of all, most banks now offer free online bill pay, so you’re effectively saving the value of all those stamps by paying monthly bills online.

Set up an Online Bank Account

To pay bills online, you must have a bank account that is linked to an online account. The easiest way to pay monthly bills online is to work with your own bank to set up payments rather than use a third party bill pay source. If you already have a bank account with an established bank, ask about accessing your account online and the availability of bill pay services. Once you have online access, provided your bank offers bill pay, you should be set to begin paying monthly bills online.

Organize Your Bills

If you normally pay bills as they come through the door, you need to add a new step to your regime for a month. Rather than pay that bill using a check, set up an account for the payee online in your new bill pay account. Entering the payee will take a few minutes, but you won’t have to do it again after they are set up in the system.

Set Up Payments

Once the payee is added, set up the payment. If this particular payee is an installment loan or balanced billing, there is no reason to not set up a repeating payment. A repeating payment means the same amount is going to the same payee at the same time every week, month, or even year. Mortgages, minimum credit card payments, car loans, cable bills, cell phone bills, phone bills, student loan payments and more can all be set up as repeating payments.

Once the repeating payment is set up correctly to leave the account on the correct day every month, you don’t have to worry about that payment again. It will automatically be paid every month whether you take the time to login to your online bank account or not.

Other payments, such as the water bill or gas are harder to set up as repeating payments. If your service provider offers uniform billing, you can take advantage of that to set up repeating payments, or just set up a new payment every month when those few bills come.

Check Your Account

It is important, of course, to be sure you have money in your account for when the bills automatically are paid. You can pad your account with a bit of savings to avoid going negative if a bill leaves before your paycheck arrives, or you can time all the bills to leave at a certain time following the arrival and deposit of your paycheck.

Then, you can sit back and relax knowing your money is being direct deposited into your account then sent out to pay your bills all without having to pick up a pen or dig out another stamp – ever.
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