Archive for Segments
6 Different Content Writing Ideas
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Inspiration for a web site’s content is often hard to find. So when I find myself in trouble, I turn towards my own list of six different content writing ideas that should help inspire you to get that new page up and running.
I would suggest you bookmark this list of content ideas, and save them for a rainy non-creative day.
- List – A list comes in handy in a number of different ways for a number of different reasons. Give the the top 10 reasons why this is great. Give me the top 4 reasons why you shouldn’t do that. Lists are also easily scan-able, so web site visitors love to check them out.
- Quote – A great man once said something or another, and you can use that to inspire you as to why what they said was right or wrong. Often, a quote makes a great way to start a web page’s content section – because it often breaks the ice in an article or web page, giving your reader something to think about.
- Interview – Do an interview with somebody about something relative to your web site. I’ve done a number of different interviews on this very podcast, found only at webhostingshow.com. It is always interesting to hear what somebody else thinks, so reach out to people around you that might be cool to interview on the topic your web site is about.
- Story – Tell me a story about that one time, you did that one thing, and how it is relative to the web page we are on now. Story telling is one of the oldest forms of communication we have, so sharing that on your web site is a great way to produce interesting content that people will be sure to read.
- Tutorial or Definition – When in doubt, show somebody how to do something. I would say 90% of the time, when people are searching online, they are looking for a tutorial on how to do this, that or the other. Being the source for that tutorial goes back to the idea of supply and demand. You want to be the source for the content relative to your topic, and have people come back to learn how to do this, that or the other.
- Argument – Now you should not fight with your web site visitors. Rather than fighting, I want you to give an argument why something is good or maybe why something is not so good. Get creative and passionate about your side, and then give facts to backup your opinion.
So there you have my secret six ideas for content inspiration. I hope you bookmark this list, save it for later – and when you run into your own web site content writer’s block, you pull it out to help inspire you.
Like This Article? Listen to it and more like it on podcast #202 of the Web Hosting Show!
Add me on Twitter! Come follow my daily antics, links, tips and more @mitchkeeler on Twitter!© Mitch Keeler 2010 | Check out my firefox help site and my tech blog too!
Basic Writing Advice to Improve Web Page Flow
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Do your web pages flow? By flow, I mean can you read through it without asking yourself what is this about again? If you find yourself stopping and starting when reading your own web pages, take this basic writing advice and try it out on your own web site content.
There are 3 Parts to Any Good Web Page
Everything I know about writing, I learned in grade school. When writing, you want to break your content up into three parts.
- The Introduction
- The Story
- The Conclusion
How Do You Use These 3 Parts of a Web Page?
In the introduction, you want to introduce what you are talking about, and give a summary of what will be found inside, if the reader chooses to dive any deeper.
The story would be the meat and potatoes of your web page. There, you talk about what you mentioned in the introduction.
The conclusion should do a quick summary again of what was in the story, and give you one last “sell” on why it was great.
By breaking your web site’s pages into chunks like this, you can help your writing flow better. After reading the introduction part, I should know what to expect, in the story I get the information, and in the conclusion, I get a summary of what has been covered and why it is important.
Like This Article? Listen to it and more like it on podcast #202 of the Web Hosting Show!
Add me on Twitter! Come follow my daily antics, links, tips and more @mitchkeeler on Twitter!© Mitch Keeler 2010 | Check out my firefox help site and my tech blog too!
How to Write a Better Title Tag
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The title tag might be a feature many people overlook, but it is just as important as having a nice looking web site layout. Some might even say it is the most important thing, because it is often the first thing a web site visitors sees. Today I’ll be telling you what the title tag is and what you can do to make yours better.
What is so Important About the Title Tag?
The title bar is important because it tells your readers what they can expect on that page. If you are missing a title tag, often the Internet browsers out there just name the actual file name as the title. If that happens, the title tag is not doing the job of telling the web site visitor what that page is about. Title tags are also used by search engines. The title tag is typically used as the first line of the search result. Once again, this is another reason why it is important to use a title tag.
How do you Write a Better Title Tag?
Now that we have gone over the importance of a title tag, let me tell you how to write a better one.
Keep the title under 65 characters. This is mainly for search engine optimization reasons, so your last few words or your title don’t get replace with a “…” when showing up on the search engines, like Google.
Use keywords phrases specific to your web site. Now this one might seem overly obvious, but some people still forget it. Use your most popular keywords that lead people into your site, or that best describe your site in the title tags.
Put your web site name at the end of the title tag. Now some people put the site name at the end, some people put it at the beginning and then some people leave it off, all together. Unless your site name is keyword rich, like “Best Coupons for Hosting” – I would say bump it to the end of the title. It helps to identify what page you are on. Then you can put the web page title before it, such as:
How to Write a Better Title Tag – Web Hosting Show
There you have the page’s name first, and the web site’s name second. Both are relevant when describing the web page in question so both should be mentioned in the title tag.
Re-use your title tag in your web site too. Your web site’s title should mirror your headline title on the web page you are editing. This is easy to remember to do with blogs, however it might be overlooked with hand coded HTML web sites.
There you have it. Those are my own personal tips to help you write a better web site title tag. Have any other advice or tips to share? Give me your feedback in the comments.
Like This Article? Listen to it and more like it on podcast #202 of the Web Hosting Show!
Add me on Twitter! Come follow my daily antics, links, tips and more @mitchkeeler on Twitter!© Mitch Keeler 2010 | Check out my firefox help site and my tech blog too!
Best Audio Hosting Solution for Podcasts
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When it comes to web hosting for podcasts, a lot of this specialized hosting field has yet to be figured out. Sure, you have your specialized plugins, content management systems made for podcasting, and a better understanding of it around the world. When push comes to shove though, which is better, hosting everything from one place, or splitting your web hosting up between a shared host and a specialized audio hosting service?
That is just about the question Charley posed to me the other day:
In your opinion, is it preferable to have your blog and podcast mp3s hosted on the same server, or would it be better to keep the audio files with one host, and the web site files with another host?
For many years, I did this very podcast in a two host setup.
I was using Blogware as my blogging engine, then donated hosting space from a friend to host the audio files from. Back then, there weren’t a lot of dedicated podcast hosting solutions, and the whole process was new to all of us, I think. Of course now I host both the audio files and the web site files in the same place. So being one who has done it both ways, let me tell you which method is best.
Let Your Wallet Have It’s Say
For the most part, you should do whatever set up is best for your wallet at the time. You don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars in the effort to look like a professional. Go for the cheapest setup that works best for you. So with that said the “all in one” hosting would be my choice out of the two.
Now, that is not to say that specialized podcast hosting, like they provide at libsyn, does not have its place. You might find your web site host is giving you issues after a hundred episodes or so, due to the fact that your using up so much disk space and bandwidth for those files. In that case it might be better off going with somebody who specializes in hosting your audio files for you.
So if you can get away with getting started on a shared hosting plan at any web host out there, I would do it – however if they give you fits, then moving to a specialized podcast host would be the next best route before moving into something like VPS or dedicated hosting.
Thanks to Charley for the excellent question – and be sure to check out his podcast – Cross Driven Radio.
Like This Article? Listen to it and more like it on podcast #201 of the Web Hosting Show!
Add me on Twitter! Come follow my daily antics, links, tips and more @mitchkeeler on Twitter!© Mitch Keeler 2010 | Check out my firefox help site and my tech blog too!
Easier US Time Zone Conversions
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For remote web hosting technicians, trying to remember what time it is where your business is located can be a pain. Thankfully, I have an easy to remember bookmark that should save you both trouble and time when it comes to remembering when that next big meeting is for you and for your boss who lives across the country.
The web site to remember, bookmark (or both) is whattimeisitthere.info. This web site takes care of the time conversions for you. For example, many of you know I work remotely for Lunarpages, and they are based out of California. So, with me being in Texas – that is a big shift in time. So, let us say my boss wants to have a meeting at 4:00 PM Pacific time. All I have to do is pull up this web site, type in “at 4:00pm pacific”. I would then know that the would be 6:00pm central time, which is my own time zone.
For a handy tool to do quick US time zone conversions, go visit whattimeisitthere.info.
Like This Article? Listen to it and more like it on podcast #201 of the Web Hosting Show!
Add me on Twitter! Come follow my daily antics, links, tips and more @mitchkeeler on Twitter!© Mitch Keeler 2010 | Check out my firefox help site and my tech blog too!
Effective Web Site Navigation Rules
Posted by: admin | Comments Comments OffA web site visitor should never be confused by your web site’s navigational layout. Every web page out there should have an easy way to navigate both to new web pages and categories, but also back out of them. Think of it as reaching a fork in an old country road, choosing to go down the left road – and then turning around and finding a pink hippopotamus in a tutu. While that might sound ridiculous – many web sites leave visitors with the pink hippo more often than not.
Keep it Clean, Simple and Easily Recognizable
Every web site should start off with a clear, upfront way to navigate from one section to the next. A web site visitor is not going to stick around long if they can’t find their way around the site. The web site navigation should be around the top and stick out enough so it does not get lost in your web site’s content.
Don’t Use Crazy Names for Navigation Links
You should also use obvious names for each navigational link. Don’t use the name “Ice Box” if you want to give a link to your page about yourself. Instead, use the word, “About” or something to that effect.
Less is More
Keep it simple. Less really is more when it comes to web site navigation design. Giving your users too many buttons, links and sub-links right from the start will just lead to confusion. Rather than link after link, you might consider using a drop down list to give your web site visitors access to pages that fit under that specific category.
Never Leave Your Web Site Visitors Lost
My last ‘bit of web site navigation advice would be to remind people where they are. Each web page on your web site should be labeled telling the user where they are at. If they are looking through your list of articles on bugs, then at the top of the page it should say something to the effect of, “Bug Articles”. Also, always leave your web site with a path back to the front page – just in case they need to start over navigating through your web site.
Now, I want you to investigate your own web site’s navigation.
Is it simple enough to use?
Are you using obvious link and page names?
Are you keeping things nice and simple?
Do you remind people on the page of what they are looking at and where they are?
If you answered, “no” to any of these questions it might be about time you invested some of your time in making your web site navigation better.
Like This Article? Listen to it and more like it on podcast #202 of the Web Hosting Show!
Add me on Twitter! Come follow my daily antics, links, tips and more @mitchkeeler on Twitter!© Mitch Keeler 2010 | Check out my firefox help site and my tech blog too!