I discovered that you can't do a typical upgrade install. You'll have to backup your database and any special configurations and do a clean install of Joomla 1.5 and then reimport everything. You can find the exact steps to take to switch from 1.xx to 1.5 on the Joomla website.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Monetize your website experiment: AuctionAds
AuctionAds: Increase the bid on your site's income!
Today is August 16th. I've just signed up for AuctionAds. Why? well my Adsense isn't sufficient to be able to dedicate as much time as I'd like on my websites and I have heard that it makes some people money.
I've added AuctionAds to my 10 most popular landing pages on my main website and I've added it to this blog's sidebar.
I will also modify my main site's Dreamweaver templates and replace one Adsense link ad block with an auction ad. I've been using the maximum link ad allotment and I don't think it would make a difference.
My first impressions about their system is good. I was able to sign-up quickly and it wasn't difficult to get the code and put it on my site. I tested it and I later noticed that AuctionAds is reporting those Ad Impressions.
Like most webmasters, I like to see frequent updates.
If you are interested in trying out AuctionAds on your site click the following link: Try AuctionAds
AuctionAds is different from Google Adsense in two ways:
1. It is not contextual. It uses keywords that you place in each ad.
2. They pay you per action so it is more of an affiliate program than an advertising program.
Someone has to register, or bid on ads for there to be any earnings.
They are similar because:
1. You can select the colors that are displayed
2. There are different ad sizes to fit your site.
I'll later post an update on how responsive it is and if any income is generated using it.
Today is August 16th. I've just signed up for AuctionAds. Why? well my Adsense isn't sufficient to be able to dedicate as much time as I'd like on my websites and I have heard that it makes some people money.
I've added AuctionAds to my 10 most popular landing pages on my main website and I've added it to this blog's sidebar.
I will also modify my main site's Dreamweaver templates and replace one Adsense link ad block with an auction ad. I've been using the maximum link ad allotment and I don't think it would make a difference.
My first impressions about their system is good. I was able to sign-up quickly and it wasn't difficult to get the code and put it on my site. I tested it and I later noticed that AuctionAds is reporting those Ad Impressions.
Like most webmasters, I like to see frequent updates.
If you are interested in trying out AuctionAds on your site click the following link: Try AuctionAds
AuctionAds is different from Google Adsense in two ways:
1. It is not contextual. It uses keywords that you place in each ad.
2. They pay you per action so it is more of an affiliate program than an advertising program.
Someone has to register, or bid on ads for there to be any earnings.
They are similar because:
1. You can select the colors that are displayed
2. There are different ad sizes to fit your site.
I'll later post an update on how responsive it is and if any income is generated using it.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Make an outline and mindmap of your website
Now that you have all your objectives, features, considerations, and analysis, it is time to organize it.
Define possible organizational structures that could be used on your website. What kind of menu would be appropiate for the information and categories you'll provide?
How many menus deep should your site's menu go?
A technological information site could have several levels of information in many categories however a site for children's games should not. In some cases a long list might be more appropriate than a menu.
How many side bars will you have? Will the menu be in a sidebar or horizontal above the content?
You could even have more than one menu.
For example: The education web site could have a teachers' section and a student section.
It could have a horizontal menu to select if you are a teacher or student and submenus for the level or subject being taught. The submenu might become a separate menu in a sidebar.
Perhaps there will be a separate menu to handle logins and profile information.
Once all of your must-have features are included in the design and you are happy, you can finally start installing your CMS and code HTML.
Define possible organizational structures that could be used on your website. What kind of menu would be appropiate for the information and categories you'll provide?
How many menus & where?
How many menus deep should your site's menu go?
A technological information site could have several levels of information in many categories however a site for children's games should not. In some cases a long list might be more appropriate than a menu.
How many side bars will you have? Will the menu be in a sidebar or horizontal above the content?
You could even have more than one menu.
For example: The education web site could have a teachers' section and a student section.
It could have a horizontal menu to select if you are a teacher or student and submenus for the level or subject being taught. The submenu might become a separate menu in a sidebar.
Perhaps there will be a separate menu to handle logins and profile information.
Once all of your must-have features are included in the design and you are happy, you can finally start installing your CMS and code HTML.
Analyze the competition before designing your business website.
Check out the competition
Before you start writing that first page of code or installing Wordpress, Joomla, etc., go see what other companies in your industry are doing. Also check site for related industries.
How are their services and products better or worse? How expensive are they? Can you offer the same product or service at a better price or quality? Can you do more promotions or give more of a sense of loyalty or added value?
What do you not like about the competitors' web sites? Are the colors confusing or hard to read? What about the page layout and font size?
Is the website for eyeglasses and contact lenses written in a small font?
Compare each competitor site with the others and make a list of good and bad features. Write down how that bad feature could be fixed or replaced.
Rank each feature accordingly
After you write down all of the above, start ranking each feature that you liked according to necessity. Keep in mind your objectives and target audience. Make the most important features essential to your site design. Integrate them before adding others.
Consider which products and services are best suited for your business website
Not all products and services are easy to sell online.
Farmers are not likely to buy a tractor online because they will want to check it out, test drive it around the show lot, and see all of the controls.
Eyeglasses are difficult to sell online because people want to see what they will look like with them on.
Groceries are also difficult. People like to select fresh goods and they'll be concerned that the could receive food that is past the expiration date.
When selling clothing you must include pictures of models wearing the clothing. Information about sizes are essential.
Consider catalog sales. Catalogs have similar limitations. The difference is that your website can be interactive.
What interactive features can you add to your business web site to enhance your products and services?
Some difficult to sell products
Farmers are not likely to buy a tractor online because they will want to check it out, test drive it around the show lot, and see all of the controls.
Eyeglasses are difficult to sell online because people want to see what they will look like with them on.
Groceries are also difficult. People like to select fresh goods and they'll be concerned that the could receive food that is past the expiration date.
When selling clothing you must include pictures of models wearing the clothing. Information about sizes are essential.
Consider catalog sales. Catalogs have similar limitations. The difference is that your website can be interactive.
Plan to add interactive features to show off your products
What interactive features can you add to your business web site to enhance your products and services?
- You could allow visitors to rate the products and add their own reviews.
- You could add a wish list feature for each registered user.
- You could allow them to recommend a product to a friend.
- You could add e-mail reminders for important events that could use a product or service.
- You could provide sample texts, sample images, and limited use software demos.
- You could show video clips of the homes your real estate company is selling.
Consider the tecnological level of your target audience when designing a business web site
Choose an appropriate resolution according to your target audience
What would happen if you designed your website for a 800x600 resolution?
It would be easy for anyone to read but what if your audience is computer game and graphic designers?
Do you think that 800x600 would be the appropiate resolution?
What if you were writing for school children in India. Do you think that they'd have the same level of technology?
Most people seem to use 1024x768 or 1280x1024 but there are also many people using smaller sizes, so it makes sense to use 'sidebars' which are left or right hand columns next to your main content. Yes, some people never change their monitor's resolution after they buy it so you could have a 19" monitor set at 800x600.
Consider the target audience's internet connection type and speed.
Technology is cheaper and faster in Western Europe, Japan, and the United States so you can expect that most people in those regions have faster connections than people in eastern Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa.
While Mexico City has easy access to technology, the prices are much higher for computers, internet service providers, ISPs, and Webhosting. In fact, we recently switch from a Mexican web hosting company to Blue Host in the U.S. It was about half the price for much better service.
People in the U.S. will have a faster internet connection than in Mexico for the same price or cheaper so it is difficult for economically challenged families in Mexico city to have the same access.
If you are going to have sound and video on a website for a country or region with more limited access then consider compressing the sound and video files so that it will still be playable on a slower connection.
Even in the United States you can find people without access to high speed connections. Many rural areas don't have anything faster than typical dial-up. Remote locations might even have to call long distance to connect.
So if you have a site about farming and ranching, a video heavy site might not be appropiate.
This is slowly changing due to new wide area wireless networks, but they probably won't become common in most rural areas for another 10 years. They are still not common in large cities. In reality, Wide area wireless networking ISPs are still considered experimental.
Divide your business website content & design according to different target groups and demographics
When you start to determine what content will be added to your business's web site, consider dividing the content according to the type of visitor you'll have.
An educational site could divide its content into levels of knowledge, classes, or divide teachers and students. It could even divide the content into subjects. By determining this before you start writing and coding your site, you'll save time.
After you divide your market, say teachers and students, ask yourself what their goals and needs would be.
You could determine that teachers need teaching ideas, lesson plans, and activities whereas the students need activities, tips for learning, reference and practice material.
How would you divide your target users? What are their goals, needs, and what are they looking for?
How would your website design be different for different visitors?
Would a site for children and a site for teenagers look the same as a site for 55+?
Would a site for mechanics look the same as a site for accountants?
Consider both page layout and colors when designing your business web site.
Divide content according to target demographics and consider their needs and what they are looking for.
An educational site could divide its content into levels of knowledge, classes, or divide teachers and students. It could even divide the content into subjects. By determining this before you start writing and coding your site, you'll save time.
After you divide your market, say teachers and students, ask yourself what their goals and needs would be.
You could determine that teachers need teaching ideas, lesson plans, and activities whereas the students need activities, tips for learning, reference and practice material.
How would you divide your target users? What are their goals, needs, and what are they looking for?
How would your website design be different for different visitors?
Would a site for children and a site for teenagers look the same as a site for 55+?
Would a site for mechanics look the same as a site for accountants?
Consider both page layout and colors when designing your business web site.
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