Choosing Community Website Software - Are They All That Bad?

If you are getting frustrated with researching and choosing the best social networking software, then you will find this article very valuable.

When I initially starting looking for community website software packages, I faced the same issues. When I would look up user reviews on a particular package, I would either find sales pitches by the providers or reviews packed of unconstructive remarks written by irritated users. As you know, these scripts aren't inexpensive, so making a decision was horrible!

1st challenge: Lots of unconstructive reviews, few encouraging ones.

Each time you type "Dzoic" or "phpfox" in Google, you'll probably find many reviews of persons saying they are all a rip off. Is this right?All of these reviews need to be put into perspective. Clients turn out to be annoyed when they purchase something that does not meet their expectations. Looking at the script features specified by the providers, I often wonder what these clients were really expecting.

Generally, angry customers did not comprehend the nature of the product they were purchasing. Community website software solutions like efriends, Dzoic, and so on, are ready made. They come with a very important list of features that are hardcoded. For someone with partial know-how of php, html and other languages, modifying these scripts will be a difficult job. Even for a skilled programmer, this would be a challenge. Due to the complexity of the scripts, a programmer would have to read a lot of documents and then attempt to comprehend the complete construction from scratch to make any noteworthy changes to the functionality.

Most of the bad reviews come from persons who did not comprehend this and did not take the occasion to plan out the exact requirements of their website prior to buying an out of the box package.

The basic rule to being a pleased client is determining what it is you are expecting exactly. Only at that time can you look for a community website software package that suits you best, and then maybe have minor changes made. Doing this the other way around is a costly recipe for failure!

2nd challenge: The offer is too big!

There are more than a hundred distinctive providers out there. How on earth can you make an informed decision with all these horrible reviews and expensive price tags?

Again, the answer lies in your methodology. No IT project can come to triumph without an obvious specification of requirements.

As soon as you have made a list of what you desire your site to be able to do, you should have restricted the offer to a top 5 list.

Now is the time to begin looking at the front-end design (the part the users see and navigate through). Out of these 5, which one do you like best? Which of the software solutions do you think needs the slightest modifications design and colour wise?

By now, you should have a shortlist of a a small amount of solutions that are fit for your needs.

3rd challenge: They are all so costly!!!

Lets think about this for a moment. You are purchasing a software solution with multiple interactive features like chat, video, audio, twitter feeds, mobile feeds, polls, groups, affiliate management, etc. If you were to create this yourself, even with programming expertise, you would be paying a lot more in terms of expensive hours passing by.

If you are not willing to invest this amount in your project, you ought to look for other solutions. Perhaps your project is better fitted for something like Ning, which hosts social networks without you actually purchasing the script and building a website yourself.

Again, it all depends on your expectations. What is it that you want to realize?

Conclusion:

1. None of the solutions are "bad" as such. What makes some better than the others, is the client service and documents on the software.

2. Being a pleased client depends a lot on yourself. Make a list of what you wish for exactly, and after that start looking for a solution.

3. Try to choose a solution that already has the design you are looking for.

4. Decide if your project is worth the money and compare this to the cost of a programmer or the time you would waste on it yourself.

5. To help in your search, acquire lists of features for each product, if possible with some user reviews about the client service.

Looking for social networking software to get you started?

Below software user review site will help you on your way:

http://www.TopCommunitySoftware.com

Website Text - Your Guide to Effective Internet Content

You have decided to create a website for your business or to upgrade your existing website. You have hired a talented designer or you plan on doing it yourself. You know that in today's competitive marketplace, every business large or small needs an Internet presence.

But what can you expect from your website? How do you decide its functionality, appearance, number of pages, and level of interactivity? What should the text say? How much text do you need? Here's an introduction to website text and its function.

There are three basic types of websites.

The Business Card

Effective for professionals and upscale service providers including attorneys, financial planners, dentists, and home construction companies, a business card website is typically no more than five or six pages: home page, services, about us, contact us, and case studies or testimonials. The site is designed to accomplish three goals:

1. To validate the visitor's choice of you and your company.
2. To educate the consumer in a very general way.
3. To provide a means to contact you.

Business card websites should have enough search-engine-optimized (SEO) text including keywords so that when a prospect performs a search, your website appears. For example, if you are a divorce lawyer in Spokane, Washington, your text needs to contain these keywords.

A business card website need not be expensive and the content need not change very often. Because you want your clients to read the text, the quality of the writing must be flawless. Each page will contain from 200 to 500 words, and each sentence must be polished to perfection.

To create fresh content, you may consider including a blog on your website. The website is considered a marketing expense because you are not using it to directly generate revenues. It establishes your brand in the marketplace.

The call to action is an invitation to the visitor to contact you for more information.

E-Commerce Website

Designed to make sales, e-commerce websites (like Amazon.com) offer products or services for sale. The website is designed to generate revenue and encourage visitors to make a transaction. There must be a high level of interactivity and security.

In marketing, there are three degrees of sales pitch: soft, medium, and hard. A soft sell encourages the visitor to make contact and to enter into the sales process (most business card websites are soft-sell). The medium sell makes it easy to complete the transaction on the spot: all the information is there, the checkout process is easy, and there is no reason why the customer should wait to make the purchase. The hard sell uses highly focused sales techniques to funnel the visitor to a sale; often there is the implication that if the customer waits, the opportunity will be lost.

E-commerce websites can be either a few pages or vast in scope with hundreds of pages. But the functional text is often kept very simple because you do not want the visitor to get bogged down by reading long descriptive paragraphs. The content may change frequently. Search engine optimization is important, depending upon the level of visibility of your company. Smaller websites (four or five pages) that sell a product or service must feature concise text that supports the sales process-no extraneous verbiage that will distract the reader.

The call to action is an invitation to the visitor to make a purchase, right now.

The Stand-Alone Website

In some cases, such as Google and Facebook, the website itself generates all of the company's revenues. There is no other "product." The stand-alone website creates income by charging for advertising, affiliates, links, and other Internet-related services. The only way for the site to grow and profit is to attract huge numbers of visitors. Search engine ranking is critical to success. These sites must be deep and must contain large amounts of text.

There is no call to action, except to stay longer on the website and view more pages, or to subscribe to the website.

Website Text

Many large websites have a two-tiered approach to text. The "public" pages that represent the site and are seen by every visitor, such as the home or landing page, the about us pages, and FAQ pages, must be written perfectly. One typographical error or poorly written phrase can create the impression that the site is unprofessional or, even worse, is a scam. (Ever notice how the dangerous phishing emails, like those that claim to be from your bank or Internet provider, always have bad English?)

But good writing is not cheap. To populate the back pages of websites with search engine fodder, business owners are often tempted to purchase bulk articles. As long as the keywords are right and the writing is good enough to satisfy the search engine spiders, the bulk articles may serve their purpose. But there are big dangers to this strategy. First, bulk articles are often copied from other articles and "spun," or changed slightly, to appear original. If you purchase these spun articles, chances are you are loading up your website with content that is nearly identical to content on dozens of other websites. The search engine value of the text is severely compromised because your page rank has been diluted. You can check on the originality of any text by using an online service such as Copyscape.

Second, you run the risk that a visitor will actually read your content. Substandard text makes you look unprofessional and indistinguishable from hundreds of other similar sites. It is much better if all the text on your website is of the highest quality, is SEO, and is original.

Your website may be read by hundreds or thousands of potential customers. It is always a good idea to invest in quality writing that will enhance your reputation and brand, and give your customers confidence in you.

Thomas Hauck Communications Services provides writing and editing solutions for businesses and nonprofits. Visit us at http://www.thomashauck.net/ for information on how THCS can impact your bottom line.

Web Development Company - 7 Stages of Web Development Life Cycle

Hiring a web development company is a tough job unless you know the minimum basics of a website creation. This is why because the web development companies may try to cheat you by pricing high to develop your website, if you don't know at least the common things involved in the development of a website.

So, here I would like to discuss the main stages involved in the web development life cycle.

Requirement Analysis:

This is the basic step for starting a web development project and should be done carefully. This is also the first step in any web development company. The analysis can be done through questionnaires, email letters, participating in interactive sessions, meetings etc... that covers all the details of the chosen project (i.e., concept).

1. Purpose of the website
2. Marketing objectives
3. Who is your audience & what are their expectations?
4. Competitors
5. Database and price details etc...

Preparing Documentation:

By analyzing all the above factors, they try to estimate whether the project is achievable or not? If yes, they calculate "how much cost needed for complete project?" With these details, a specification document is prepared which is given to the client for verification and approval.

Tip: Here, the client should also have some basic knowledge on his project. He should compare these details with the market trends and decide whether to continue the project or not?

Note: Some companies normally rate high because they provide quality product. Remember, a quality product is always costlier.

Web Design:

If the given details are accepted by the customer, then the particular web development company will start the design for the website. Designs are nothing but the look and feel of the website at front-end. In this phase, they determine the architecture of the website by developing a detailed sitemap.

Tip: The client should give his suggestions to make the design more beautiful. Also check that the design is not used by someone else.

Website Development & Coding:

This is a very important phase in any web development company. It involves the actual coding and database design. Communicating with the databases will be handled in this development phase and the back-end code is written. This build is given to the test engineers to check the occurring errors.

Testing:

The test engineers perform test cases to test the build correctly working or not? The defects will be intimated to the developers for rectification. This loop continuous until no or minimal errors where found. The error-free build will then be given to the customer for approval.

Deployment:

If the customer accepts the build, then the website is deployed to make it go live.

Tip: Choose the best web hosting company which ensures full security and customer support.

Maintenance and Updating:

This is the final stage in the web development life cycle which involves in updating and maintenance of the website with latest features that are helpful to the users.

The above said life cycle is not fixed and may vary according to the web development company you choose.

About the Author - Radha Krishna Reddy is SEO Specialist, Presently working with HORA, a Web Development Company in India that provides an excellent quality services in India and World Wide,ranging from Web designing and SEO.

Understanding Corporate Web Development

Corporate web development refers to the act that involves the creation of a website for a company or a group. It is a concept that helps a company develop an identity online. A professionally designed company website will greatly help in attracting visitors and customers, thereby introducing to them the company and its services.

Another positive aspect brought about by only the best in corporate web development is that it enables a company to come up with its own brand identity. Likewise, a company website also presents important details about the company like its values and philosophy. A company's online presence also helps in bringing their goal/s across to their many clients and interested customers and partners. It is also important in marketing the company and its products/services to different kind of people.

In order to fully develop a company website, the following examples need to be followed and kept in mind:

* Before sitting down to decide on a website design, you must first identify which target market you would like to focus your attention on. It is highly important for you to be able to satisfy customers by catering to their needs and interests.

* Make sure that your site is not that heavy by minimizing the use of flash technology and other similar programs. Use this program or application only when it is truly needed.

* Build a site that is meant to sell your service or product. Ideally, each product should have its own page.

* You can build your company's credibility by providing information, in the form of articles, about your site and your products/services. It will also help if you provide a link within your site that will bring your visitors to the privacy statement page. It will also greatly help if you provide the complete and proper contact information on your site.

* Make sure that your site will be easy to navigate, especially for first time Web users.

* Regularly update your site. Never keep it stagnant as this will turn away customers and visitors.

* Personalize your site and make it interactive so that visitors and customers won't hesitate getting in touch with you regarding other matters.

* Finally, make sure that your company website provides only the right message and information that you want for your customers and visitors.

Keeping these tips in mind will help you come up with the most effective and "profitable" website that will bring in clients, potential investors, and potential customers.

Corporate web development refers to the act that involves the creation of a website for a company or a group. For more information, check out http://getdesigndashboard.com/

Where to Find Free Web Design

So you understand the importance of being on the internet, but don't know how to start. Are you looking for resources to build your own website? If you are, the best place to start is the internet, particularly the search engines.

The internet can provide you with access to free web design in different ways. For example, there are sites that offer web design templates that you can easily download for free. You can use these templates to start building your basic web site on. Then you can spice it up with other tools and functionalities that you can also get from the internet, usually through HTML generators.

Aside from free web design templates, there are also sites that offer tools such as open source software that let your build your website from scratch, usually through coding. For those who are not as internet-savvy as web designers are, there are also easy-does-it tools which usually come with free tutorials. These types of tools allow amateur web builders to create a more customized web site than what is possible with the usual website templates. These allow them to add on certain functionalities, or alter web site structures.

Finally, there are also other design tools that complement and spice up an existing website. These include html generators that you can use to generate a gadget that you can publish in your web site. It may also include companies that offer free hosting services, so you won't have to invest on a server before you can build your own website.

Hassan loves to write. My new project entails about Womens Trench Coat and Non Skid Socks

Website Maintenance Services For Your Website

Website maintenance plays a vital role in keeping the website look fresh and up to date. It is imperative to keep the business web design updated with current and relevant information such as company's news and information, new products announcements, corporate information, job opportunities etc.

Freelancing web designer can facilitate the client with cost effective and convenient website maintenance plans aimed to meet the business requirements. While hiring an agency for web design and maintenance the company should ensure that the agency should be able to keep the website up to date, maintain and manage the website well, re-structure the website content as required and should also be able to tailor the website programming according the business needs. Hiring a freelancing web designer can substantially diminish the expenditure by eliminating the need to appoint full time web content programmers.

Website can be unintentionally damaged by ineffectual upgrading, files uncovered or deleted or links can be broken or lost. The regular maintenance can help shield the savings by keeping a watch over the site on ongoing basis. Keeping the website up to date is crucial to an online business; however one needs to ensure that the information should be correct and accurate. Website maintenance job includes content updates, replacing old pictures and graphics manipulation, newsletter and email maintenance, website modification, pdf creation or uploading and much more.

Website maintenance helps in improving the web traffic by increasing regular visit by users for fresh information, it helps improve the look of the website ensuring new ideas and technology which moves on with update, one can instantly add new product or add extra information to the existing web pages by regular maintenance.

Web design
http://www.bestwebsitesdesigner.com

Things You Should Do After Building Your Website

After you have built your website, there are certain things you must do, and that is market your site. Marketing is essential for having a successful website.

Here are my 10 tips for network marketing.

1. After building your website, advertise, advertise, advertise. Remember this you can have a beautiful new home you just moved in, but if you do not tell anyone it was there, no one would see it. Well it is the same with your website. If you do not advertise, no one will ever come to your new website.

2. You do not have to spend a lot of money to have a profitable site. If you have the time to put into your site, there are all kinds of information on building a successful website. If you do not have the time you can pay someone to do the work . You can search on Google for help. Google has a website that gives any kind of information you need.

3. Get into social networks which is an excellent way to advertise. Groups like Google, yahoo, and others. These groups discuss just about any kind of product or niche that you are interested in. I like twitter, face book and my space.

4. Give away something free on your website. You can write an e-book and give it away, or free newsletters for your customers to respond to. Make sure you have an email responder on your website.

5. Write articles and submit them to different sites. This is one of the fastest way to get noticed by others opt in subscribers list.

6. Build a relationship with your subscribers. Always respond back to your customers. Let them know that your care about their concerns.

7. There is all kinds of information online about building a website. Search the web often. Listen to the the online videos that show you how step by step.

8. Everyday do a little something to promote your site. Even if it is just reading more information. You have to do a little something and eventually you will have less work to maintain you site.

9. You can optimize your website with the right key words. This will give you higher ranking in the search engines.

10. You can also do Google AdWords. This is where you can advertise for a small fee and your site can get seen if you follow their instructions.

These are just some of the ways I found helpful and I wanted to past it on to some newer website owners.

Annette McQueen is the owner of http://www.annette5.ws and wanted to help people learn from her adventures. Anette knows what it takes to succeed. You can find different training on her website also.