MAKE YOUR OWN WEB PAGE

Business Computing Tips

      By Karen Fainges

Now the site is built how do you put it on the web and advertise it? The easiest way is to use a File Transfer Program (ftp) program. Most sites accept ftp and those that don't have a very similar sort of thing on the web. The two programs easiest to use and available free on the web and in PC magazines for a trial period are cute.ftp and Ws_ftp. I personally recommend getting them from a magazine as it saves a great deal of time, money and hassle.

Ftp programs are very similar to windows explorer. You log on to the Internet and click and drag the files from your computer onto the side representing the web. It's that simple. Most sites have complete ftp instructions available.

Last step is to advertise your page. This is an ongoing job. It needs to be done regularly to ensure any success at all. The good news is that it doesn't take very long. The major step is to register on search engines. This can be done manually through the sites themselves. Just look for a link saying, suggest a site, add your url or something similar. Click on it and follow the steps. Easy, free but time consuming. The other way is to buy a program like SubmitWizard from MyComputer.com or pay someone else to do it.

Either way, you can help make the submission process more effective using meta tags. Be sure to include a question and major words in the title and key words section.

Then ensure that all your advertising has your web site address (url) on it. This includes the bottom of your faxes, letterhead & business cards. Then network the web. Visit newsgroups, chat sites and web rings that would benefit from the solutions you provided and tell them that the solutions to some of their problems are on your page. Be careful not to spam i.e. send things to people who don't want them. Only give the information out when people have already asked the questions. Make sure you read the guidelines of any new news group or chat page and stick to their rules. Most have a guide to nettiquete for newbies.

It sounds a lot but the benefits can be many. Most of all, once it's there keep it going. Five minutes a day can make sure you keep your name in front of your customers. Regularly update the page to keep bringing them back and you have a chance at a slice of the lucrative e-commerce pie.

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Please feel free to pass this newsletter on to your friends, just let them know I wrote it.

Karen Fainges holds a Bachelor of Business, and a Grad. Dip. of Vocational and Educational Training. All that is nice but it's the 14 years of having to make sales or starve that make her think she has really learnt what does and doesn't work. A tutor for all ages, she specialises in helping people get started on the long road to technology.

"It has to be practical, it has to be cheap, and it has to work."

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