This article is guest posted by Mathew Carpenter.

The rules of web design have been written and rewritten 100 times over. With technology constantly changing the nature of web design, trends come and go, and what were once fundamentals of design are now remnants of the old ‘net. These ten tips will help bring Australian web designers into 2009, and out of the 20th century mindset that all too many are operating in.

1. It’s not 1996: Tables are long gone.

There was a time when tables were a major part of any successful website. Back before ideas like cleanliness and usability, tables were a great way to sort information on a website. The problem is, what worked back then now looks a little boxy and utilitarian. New web designers and developers should focus on clean design rather than a design sorted by tables.

2. Lose the marquee text.

You know what marquee text does? It captures the eye. It also blinds any potential customers from your real content, and keeps them wondering where they should be focusing. There’s a place for marquee text — in video content. Make sure it stays off your website.

3. Fix your dead links.

This one’s a simple tip that gets passed over time and time again. Not only do dead links confuse and annoy your website viewers; they project an unprofessional and rough image. If you’re linking to other websites from your own, spend a little time each month checking over your links to make sure that they actually take you somewhere.

4. Templates are for MySpacers.

Are you making a social media profile? No — then don’t use a template. While you can customise your Myspace page with templates, you shouldn’t ever do so for your professional page. Not only do templates leave your website looking amateur and poorly designed, they often fail to truly provide the best design for your website’s content and structure.

5. Burn the ‘blink’ tag.

Blinking text is the plague of web design. In 1996, it was impressive, though only for about 30 seconds. Lou Montulli, the creator of the blink tag, is quoted as saying that it’s “the worst thing I’ve ever done for the Internet”. Take his word for it, and make sure that you don’t use it on your website.

6. Validate your xHTML and CSS.

Come one, this should be a no-brainer. It’s amazing how many professional websites there are out there with broken code. Running your pages through a validator takes no time at all, and the benefits of making sure that your code is correct are definitely worth the small time expense.

7. Pick a sensible colour scheme.

Think that pink text on a lime green background will make readers flock to your website? Think again. When you’re designing a business website, you should value customer experience first and foremost. That’s the philosophy that built Google, and it’s the philosophy that you should be applying to your website colour. Don’t blind your users into hitting the back button; keep them reading with something easy on the eyes.

8. Save PDFs for presentations and contracts.

Say you’ve got a customer on your website ready to place an order. They click on your button, ready to hand over their credit card details, and they’re immediately thrown off your website and into a PDF file. PDFs are distracting, annoying, and utterly inflexible for your average internet user. Whenever you get the chance, write your information on a simple page and leave visitors with the option of downloading a PDF file.

9. Stick in one window.

Opening windows is annoying. No internet user wants to end up with 5 windows open, unsure of what’s going on in each one. Make sure that any links on your website lead to the same window, and preferably the same tab. If you’re adding outbound links, make sure they open a separate browser tab, and not a new window.

10. Spelling matters!

Your website isn’t just another addition to your marketing and contact plan — it’s a very visible tool for your business. As such, treat it with the respect that it deserves. Spelling mistakes may not seem major, but they betray the trust and professional image that your website should project. Spell check, proof-read and edit your website content to make sure that it’s free of errors, easy to read, and suits your purpose.

This article is guest posted by Mathew Carpenter.

© Make Money Online

This may be a bit weird to say the least.

But I really feel that this is important because this has changed me. It has changed me in so many ways.

Keep in mind though that I’m not a psychologist or a Criss Angel student, I’m not really the master in these stuff.

Anyhow, Let’s start…

The Root Character Test

What I’m going to do is just ask you a couple of questions – as much as possible, be honest. Your answers will tell a lot about you.

Here they are…

(answer them one by one before looking to the next question)

If you had one thing to choose in your life to feel that life is worthwhile, what would that be?

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Now if that thing is in your life, what would that allow you to do?

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Now let’s say, you got that thing in your life exactly the way you want it to be. What would that make you feel?

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Cool, that’s it. Quick test.

Now that “feeling” (most people can’t put it to words, I can’t) is your root character.

When you thought of that feeling, you felt your life goal, you felt that you’ve already achieved it – you felt it for 3 minutes. You can die now :)

Now that “thing” that I asked you in the first question, is your path to that feeling. So in whatever you do, it should be something that will help you get to that feeling.

And that’s what I’ve been up to in the last couple of days, taking a big turn and going after that feeling.

btw, I’m back :)

© Make Money Online

This article is guest posted by James Blogger.

I define thought habits, a.k.a. mental habits, as being thought trails that you regularly (as in habitually) travel down. An example of a thought habit you might have may be accidentally leaving it too late to indicate while driving, or interrupting others’ conversations. Annoying thought habits can be accidentally developed through our lives, but we can also purposefully develop habits that can benefit us and improve our lives.

In these past few months, I’ve concentrated on building up three major thought habits:

1. I have as much right as everybody else

I used to be a pushover. Not in your regular, considerate way, but more your “oh, it’s ok if my living is somehow harming you; I’ll just go kill myself” way. Believe me, it was not a great way to be. So I started to consciously continually follow three simple steps in my life to develop my thought habit that allows me to stand up for myself and be assertive:

• Define what is aggressive or rude, define what is wrongly weak, and pick the assertive alternative to the two.
• Closely observe the consequent events
• Review if what I did was right

Eventually this pattern set in as being habitual, and today, several months later, I am a much more assertive person, and am so much happier because of it.

2. Keeping tidy

This may sound strange, but your parents were right when they said you should keep your room tidy; it does make a real difference. I’ve always lived messily, but I’ve found that cleaning up my work area (that could mean your office, room, house, wherever you’re working and/or living) is great at clearing your head, allowing you do think clearer and more concisely. It greatly improves your productivity because you become more focused.

But it’s not just a “I’ll clean up now and then” thing, you really do have to drill it into your mind to have a place for everything, and when you take something from its place to put it back. Coming for a background of being a messy kid, it’s been surprisingly difficult; but I do believe I’ve (somewhat) mastered this in the past few months. It has really helped me, and it can also help you.

3. If I want to be treated as special, I need to treat others as being special

All of the major religions in the world – Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, etc. – have the same golden rule. “Treat others how you want to be treated”. This rule plays true in all areas of life… and is able to be played with. Other universal rules (“what goes around, comes around”, the theory of Karma, yin/yang) are also very similar, with the same general message; your life is only as good as you make it.

Take advantage of it, I say! Be good to the world, and you will feel all the better for it.

James Blogger loves to blog about the internet and life and how to “do well with it”. He’s a rookie web designer, and general all-round observer of the internet. James Blogger believes that good things come to those who work for them.

© Make Money Online With A 13-Year Old

© Make Money Online

This article is guest posted by Melanie Bremner.

I have been in business online for approximately six years now. When people ask me what I do for a living and I respond “I am an Internet Marketer.” They always have that certain look on their face to say “Uh huh. Meaning…you’re a dreamer who works real hard for little or no pay.” Quite often the response I get back is “So why don’t you get a real job?” To this comment I am always offended. I have a real job. I am my own boss. I have to work twice as hard to find my own work and get paid, but the benefits are all mine to reap.

Although, I admit the first five years of my online business was spent more in trial and error, with not much money to see for my efforts, I saved all of my knowledge and am now compiling it into lessons, and articles for other newcomers to benefit from. I have persevered and diligently plugged away when all of the nay sayers were laughing behind my back. I have a dream. I know this dream is a reality. It is just one that needs to be fostered and cared for over time.

I believe it takes a certain type of person to make a living online. Being in business for yourself is not for everyone. I personally think that the pros outweigh the cons. I enjoy having the freedom to learn something new every day from research. I thrive on being able to complete the tasks I set for myself instead of having to do the mundane work delegated to me by a boss. Every accomplishment I make is done for my own self enlightenment and growth. Everything I do becomes a benefit to me and my future, not for the sole purpose of putting money in someone else’s pocket from my hard work. It is for these reasons I continue down my own path.

Sure I may not be making the big bucks yet, but I am gaining more ground and prestige with every step I make. I am happy following my passion. I am able to stay home to be with my baby and I am making new connections along the way. I know the money will follow. I never started this journey with outlandish fantasies of expensive cars and luxurious mansions. That is not me. I am content to spend time with my family, make enough money to pay my bills, and to keep on gaining as much knowledge and education as I can.

So the next time someone asks me what I do for a living I will say with a big smile “I’M AN INTERNET MARKETER!”

Melanie Bremner is presently running an online ebook store for families who would like answers to their parenting concerns. She also runs a small business content writing website where she is a ghostwriter for other small business owners, and sells lesson plans for beginning marketers to learn the ropes. If you would like to sign up for her monthly newsletter to receive free ebooks and tips on related subjects; visit her website at http://smallbizcontentwriting.info

© Make Money Online

This article is guest posted by James Barnes.

I got to thinking about one of Carl’s emails….about how, as a web site owner(I own/run 12 different web properties), you can get some pretty simple questions from folks that are just starting out. They tend to ask many of the same questions over and over again. Even with web sites in different niches, when you come up #1 in the serp’s(search engine result page) for anything, someone is bound to ask those questions eventually. Could some of them been my competitor? I’m more than sure a few were!

So, In the spirit of giving back what was gave to me, I offer to anyone just starting out, this humble guide of how I got started, and continue today, making money online. But Be warned. I’m an idiot when it comes to writing, so be prepared for run-on sentences and grammar problems, ok? I would like to add that no-one, not ever, not even once, has emailed me or taken the time out to say, “Hey James, you misspelled ______”. Enough Said.

But First…

Lets get something straight right now. EVERYTHING, and I do mean EVERYTHING you ever wanted to know about ANYTHING internet related is out there and online just waiting for you to read it, learn it, and implement it. Whether it be internet marketing, web design, SEO, or setting up that damn new wireless network that for some reason won’t connect to your printer, you just have to find it.

And well, it doesn’t cost a darn dime to do that. You just have to go out there, find it and take what you need. Being a self-proclaimed “Thug Marketer”(yes, I’m coining a new term here), I’m literally taking knowledge from everywhere and everyone I can and yes, ACTUALLY USING IT. It’s really as simple as that.

So I guess you could call this post, “How Do I Google For What I Want” or maybe better, “How To Find Anything Online”.

You Gotta Crawl Before You Can Walk & You Gotta Walk Before You Can Run

Ok, I think you get the gist of it. It simply amazes me when I give a client, friend or other(yes, I sometimes create sites for others) a url over the phone and within a few seconds they come back and tell me they can’t find it. They say a bunch of stuff is coming up, but not what I said would. If you don’t know the difference between a search bar and an address bar, would you please, for the love of God, click on the word “Help” at the top of your browser window and actually read on how to use your browser. You know where it’s at right? In Firefox it goes:

File Edit View History Bookmarks Tools Help

Click on it and learn. Once you learn the shortcuts of getting around your browser, you will, over time, save countless hours which can be much better spent on more productive chores. I started using the net alot in 1995 around when Carl was probably born. Sorry Carl, had to say it ;) I started using Netscape 1.0 and the very first thing I had to learn was how to use the browser.

It also doesn’t hurt to know how to get around your operating system quickly, whether it be Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, or whatever. By the way, AOL is killing off the Netscape Browser this February. Farewell to thee Netscape and thank you. Enough said about that.

So You Can Walk Now. So What.

Millions are now online doing exactly the same thing. Looking for information, using services, shopping, communicating, collaborating, researching, etc. More and more people are learning how to find whatever they want online.

But, if you are wanting to make money online, What is going to separate the wheat from the chaff, so to speak, is the amount of time YOU are going to spend searching for what you want AND determining the quality of the information returned to you. TIME. Yes TIME is the key.

Additionally, a mentor of mine once told me this, “Laser Focus = Success” period. Once you focus on that one bit of information you are searching for, stick with it. It’s so very easy to get sidetracked when searching and learning new things, so FOCUS and QUIT SCREWING AROUND. Find what you need and GET BACK TO WORK.

Are You Ready To Run?

Alright, let’s get to the nitty-gritty of this post. You need to learn to search, and search good. When you find what you need, you need to search some more to determine the quality of what you found. Now I’m not saying you absolutely MUST determine the quality of your results, but if you find others using that same info, it’s a good bet that it’s something you can use.

There are many guides on how to search, but one in particular seems to stand out. Learn it and you will gain an unfair advantage over the average person when it comes to finding what you want online. Oh, it doesn’t hurt to think outside the box too. For example, Read Carl’s post about getting .edu and .gov links.

When you finally get good at searching, you will find that more and more often, the info you need will be in the little snippet of text that Google returns with each result.

There is no monetary gain for me in any of this post or any of my future posts. No affilliate links or incentive of any kind. I think that it’s just time for me to give back. So without further adieu:

Here is a link to a free guide that will show everything you need to know on how to use Google to search and much much more: http://www.googleguide.com/

Alot of what you will learn will be applicable in most any search engine when searching. Additionally, with that same link, you can learn about crawling, page rank, spiders etc.

Read it. Learn it. Use it.

Feeling Lucky? Go ahead. Google Me. You know you want to.

James L. Barnes

Next up – How Do I Make A Website? – Part 2

© Make Money Online

This article is guest posted by Kenneth Elliott

I read an article yesterday that explained the many trials and tribulations that Internet entrepreneurs go through. The article centered on lasting effects, staying the course. I hear of so many people who broadcast these info commercials that in effect promise thousands of dollars a day with little to no work. Well, unless there is a crystal ball or a major platform for these types of websites “Don’t Believe Them”.

Internet marketing/affiliate marketing takes a lot of time and efforts in the beginning. It’s like the turtle and the rabbit. Yeah, there are those that will begin with a fast pace but those who maintain the steady pace will win the race. Usually, the ones that start out with a fast pace burn out or just don’t finish the race. They fall out of the race in a month or two. That is what this business tends to do. People get into this business and feel that they can make $10,000 to $20,000 dollars in the first year as site like shoemoney.com or John Chow dot com. But what they don’t know is all the struggles and time these sites put into generating traffic and writing articles in the beginning. Hell, I thought the same thing when I first started. But I soon found out that a year or even two years is nothing when developing a base for this business. But those who stick in there will definitely see the benefit.

How Strong IS YOUR DREAM? There are thousands of dollars out there for those who will work hard and put in the time. Are you the rabbit or the turtle? Put the time in and work hard to develop the necessary relationships and you to will be bringing in the big money like shoemoney.com or John Chow dot com.

I wrote this article to give a little inspiration to those that have not seen the income that they wanted to see thus far. Stick in there. The seeds that you plant today will blossom!!

Kenneth Elliott is the owner of Make Money Online – Marketassociate.com. The website concentrates on revealing tip and tricks that will help developing individuals to make more money online.

© Make Money Online

Now here’s something unique. Bow down to the young Anakin with his trusty video content robot R2D2 :twisted:

Ohh man, what happened to Anakin’s neck? and what about R2D2’s fish bowl covering his head? hehe.

Thanks to the “sneaky” Prija for the amazing idea.

Checkout the 3 episodes:

• Prodigy vs. Tech
• Beauty vs. Brains
• Evil vs. Sneaky

Keep the magazines commin prija and watch out for Chewbacca! ;)

© Make Money Online

Oh wait, I’ll just check something, stay there.

…

OK, as I was saying. I’ll teach you how to

…

Sorry, forgot to check my AdSense and CJ account.

What The Heck?!

First of all, being statsaholic is perfectly normal, all of us should have gone through to it. It’s like experiencing puberty (Tell me if you didn’t go through this). You discover new things, you learn what’s this and what’s that, etc…

Though I know seeing a new dollar or two when you check your AdSense every hour is rewarding, it’s still not worth the time (Except if you have an experiment going on). Checking stats don’t make you money, it’s just wasting your time, do take note that I’m not saying that don’t check your stats. I just want to point out how much time you waste everyday just by checking your stats.

Let’s do some math here:

You check stats hourly = Let’s say 10/day
You consume = Let’s say 10 min per check

So 10 x 10 = 100 or 1hr and 40min!!! Wow, you can make a blog post with that amount of time!

That’s not how a productive person acts.

Some cures I’ve found effective:

1. Set Schedules

The most common solution to almost all problems, but also the most effective.

Last month when my blog REALLY started to grow, I was hooked at checking stats almost every 30 minutes, I have to stop writing an article just to check my stats, but I think I’m not that dumb to not notice it, so I was looked for a solution and luckily it solved my problem.

I stumbled upon this personal development site (Too bad I didn’t bookmark it, all I remembered was it’s design) that has an article about “TV addicts”? It showed how being addicted to something can affect our human mind, etc…

There he showed how “the pros”? manage to get over it. They set an alarm for let’s say 3 hours. All you have to do is wait for the alarm to ring and check your stats. There’s a study that if you do a certain thing for consecutively 15 days, chances are, you’ll get used to it.

2. Work More

When I was chatting with my friend Nathan, he asked me if I have some ideas for him to do because he can’t stop checking his adsense stats. Then it came to my mind that hey, maybe that’s why I’m not addicted to checking my stats anymore – it’s because I’m busy!

You cured stats checking, you’ve been productive, you’re making more $$$ ;)

3. If you can’t take it, use a tool

If those two didn’t work, then here’s something for ya. It’s a firefox plug-in that let’s you see your AdSense stats just inside your statusbar. Cool isn’t? (Oh yea )

Conclusion

If you don’t give effort, you won’t solve this problem. But you’ll grow with it anyway.

© Make Money Online

Who said inmates don’t dance? Just take a look at this. Prepare to be shocked how 1000+ Filipino inmates danced the “Thriller” by Michael Jackson with pretty darn good coordination.

LOL, Ang galling naman ni manong, kahit malaki ang tyan, kaya rin plang gumiling! (Look at the old guy, even though he has a big tummy, he does know how to dance!) Oh yea! The Gay man was just TOO FUNNY!

Here’s some more for your craving:

Yeah, it’s a little really out of topic, but heck?! I’m a proud to be Pinoy!

© Make Money Online

That would be great isn’t it? Though only few people have mastered this technique.

NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) is a way of changing a person’s view on something by using very complex techniques that somehow, unconsciously changes the victim’s perspective.

Cool eh? Here’s a video to give you a bit of knowledge on how it works

If I can only do that… heh

© Make Money Online