Recent Projects: OpinionHead.com has a new look!

OpinionHead.com is my baby, and every time I get bored with a look, I change it, so, I can imagine that many others could want a fresh new look for their web domains, after all, why not?

One of those things that no-one ever agrees on, is changing the look of a business website, once users get familiar with one look, why change it? My reason is that just like anything else, you get tired of looking at the same ole thing all of the time. Another reason is that new features come along and to add them, you must make a change or two anyway, so, change everything while your at it.

I many cases, the cost to a client is minimal, compared to a new set up, most of the work is already done so the changes are mostly cosmetic and take less time.

Anyone looking to get a face-lift for their current WordPress site, let me know, and what you want, and I will fix it up for you. Any new clients looking for the most modern CMS website on the net should just drop me a quick note or call anytime, my rates are affordable, hosting and management may be  included.

Recent Projects: BurlesonCountyBusiness.com

This site is a pet project of mine, where I live, the only internet access available is either dial-up, or sattellite, the reason for this is of course do to supply and demand, since there is not much demand, there is no supply! Anyway, the purpose of this site is to be both a directory, and an affordable source of advertising for the local businesses that service our area. No, there are not many with websites here to promote, but, I can take care of that, and also provide information for the visitors to our area. Since this is a popular weekend destination for visitors from Houston and other, more internet savvy, areas, this site should be of some assistance.

Just as I am from Houston, many people come here to visit, but end up staying, so gradually, computers and the internet are moving in! For those that may be interested, here is a link, BurlesonCountyBusiness.com.

What do I recommend? Anti Virus Protection, a must!

Hopefully if you are reading this, you already have some sort of Virus Protection, if you don’t, I recommend that you get protected quick! Trust me, not having a good anti-virus software, is like walking around in a bad neighborhood with cash hanging out of your pockets and a sign on your back saying “Rob Me!”

I know, you get bombarded with all sorts of ads wanting to sell you the “Best” virus protection on the market! I do too, but, what is the best? That is easy, one that works!

I know, every new computer comes with some sort of FREE antivirus program installed or available on a disk, but is it any good? What is the difference, both Norton and McCaffee, and the others, cost about the same, which is better? Well, either one is better than nothing, but there are better ones out there. I have heard so many of my “Computer Geek” buddies profess that the best is from CA or Computer Associates, however, after purchasing it, there were some sort of conflicts with my firewall, which I also recommend, and other AdWare/MalWare protection that I use, none of which would I want to do without, so, I didn’t use it!

I live in the sticks, so my choices of ISP’s, Internet Service Providers, is limited to either Dial-Up or Sattellite, so I have both! Along with my Internet Service, WildBlue gave me a FREE year of F-Secure, ok, I had a few months left on my Norton, so I waited until that ran out and then installed the F-Secure. Had I known then, what I know now, I would have done it immediately! Trust me, I got three viruses in 6 months!

After installing the F-Secure, I now know why! Just surfing the web, my f-Secure has protected me dozens of times, from real threats, not those fake ones you see!

Since I build and also host websites, I get a lot of eMail, mostly junk, and about 100 times a week, full of Viruses or Worms or some other bad thing, and F-Secure cleans it all up, before it gets to my computer! Just make sure you turn on all the features, like web scanning, it will blow your mind at what kind of stuff tries to attack you! Granted, I am online pretty much 24/7 and working a big portion of that, I love building websites so its ok.

I am sure that you have picked up on the Anti Virus Protection I believe in, F-Secure, not only does it work, it is updated every few minutes! Yeah, every few minutes it checks for updates, if available it installs them, all automatically, I am busy enough so I really like that! Yes, it costs a few bucks more, but it IS worth it! How many computers do you have? You can install F-Secure on up to three computers, that will save you some cash there! So, if you have a subscription that is about to expire, give F-Secure a shot, you will not be disappointed, I know I haven’t been!

Just in case you need business cards, a very useful tool to promote your website, I use Overnight Prints for mine, they are the best I found on the web, as far as quality and price, you can’t beat them!

Monetizing your Website: How do I choose an Affiliate Program?

Monetizing your site is a matter of preference in my opinion. There are so many different “offers” out there, choosing what works for you is a personal matter. Myself, I hate ads on a website and nothing is uglier than having Google ads splattered all over the place! If you use Google AdSense, they pretty much own that space on your website and they even dictate how you can promote your site, and how many page views is too many and so on. Here is my philosophy on this.

I will only advertise products that I use, and/or that I believe in. There are many different Affiliate Programs out there, and yes, you can sign up with all of them if you want, and to find the products that you use or want to promote, you may have to join multiple programs. One thing to remember is that many people, including me, use ad blocking software, so make sure that you use both text and image links, the text links won’t get blocked.

How do you find them? Well, I could list a few here, but I won’t, why? Because I believe that just signing up with these programs does you no good if you don’t know where to find the product you wish to promote, so, go to the website of that product or company and look for a link that says “Affiliate” or something close, click that link and it will set you up, but be forewarned, many advertisers are picky and may not approve you! I am still waiting on approval from a couple of them now, wish me luck!

Also, remember, when promoting these ads, if you use a traffic exchange, do not put pages that contain ads in your surf rotation, these could be considered a bad thing and get you kicked out, I know Google will drop you in a hurry! So, always be careful!

Now, I am going to list the products that I am affiliated with, yes, if you click the link and purchase something, I will get paid a buck or two, thanks in advance! As I stated before, these are products that I believe in and/or use myself, so I know they are good companies.

The first one, is by far the most important of them all, if you have a computer, and surf the Internet, you need a good anti-virus program! I have used several, and believe me, they are not all the same!
Enjoy $10 Off F-Secure Internet Security: Now only: $49.99

If your current anti-virus software is about to renew, give F-Secure a shot, here is a bonus, unlike the others, you can install F-Secure on up to three computers with just the one license!

Second,if you don’t have a Web Host yet, I use Hostmonster, I have been with them almost a year now, and switched from Yahoo. Yahoo is great for a starter, but it is not good for using WordPress, there are way to many restrictions on file types that you can upload, so, you are limited on what you can do with your site. Yes, this is an affiliate link, and yes, if you signup with Hostmonster I will get paid a few bucks, here is the deal, I will deduct what Hostmonster pays me, if you register your domain with them and hire me to build your site! Is that fair or what?

Maybe you never heard of Hostmonster, they are the same folks as Bluehost , if you prefer, check them out, as far as I know, the only difference is the name.

Take a look at Hostmonster You can even Demo the control panel and see how it works, I have never been so happy as with Hostmonster If I need support, I get a human on the phone quick, and they speak english, I love it!

Just in case you have never heard of TigerDirect.com, below is a banner that will take you there. TigerDirect.com is where I buy everything I may need for my computer, like hard to find stuff for older machines, and they have saved me a lot of money over the years. I have hunted all over the Internet for better prices, but there are none and the service is fantastic, my orders have been shipped and delivered as fast or faster than anything I have ever ordered online, this is definitely a company that I use and trust!

Just in case you need business cards, a very useful tool to promote your website, I use Overnight Prints for mine, they are the best I found on the web, as far as quality and price, you can’t beat them!

I hope that this information is helpful, if you need any of these products, check them out, I know you won’t be disappointed and maybe I’ll make a buck or two!

High Fuel Prices: Do bad things ever cause good things?

First off, I want to tell you that the high cost of fuel, primarily gasoline, but also propane, and the natural gas used to make electricity, are putting a hurt on me!

I have a pickup that I now drive only twice a week, just to haul off the trash, and to visit a buddy down the street! Why? well, I also have a car, a little one that is good on gas! Here is the biggie, I am now spending about 75 bucks on gasoline a month, just on that truck, the car, which takes me everywhere else, I am spending about $160 a month! I have another buddy spending like $350, so yes, we all feel that, but….

Something that I have had to do a lot of in the past, just because I live in the sticks, is order what I need online! Yes, shipping has gone up, but it beats driving across the country!

If there is anything at all positive in this, it is that business owners with websites, have an advantage over those that don’t. This world wide web can offer opportunities to those that use it, and use it wisely. I’m not saying that every Mom and Pop should go crazy getting a website, but, for those that need an advantage in competitive markets, the Internet can be a major tool.

As you have seen, my nickname is CarpetGuy, why? I am a flooring consultant. As we speak, I have a couple of flooring sites that are about to be completely overhauled! These two sites are in the very first group of sites that I built, so it is just time anyway, but, I have already noticed more traffic, and contacts from the websites. This tells me that instead of driving around looking for flooring, people are shopping on the Internet! Now is the time to make these sites stand out so that when the people finish looking on the web, and get in their car to go get a closer look, I will have a better chance of getting that customer!

Now is a good time to get a Web Presence, even if it is just a basic site with your business info and phone number, if it is set up right, it can help you, especially if you are in an industry that has avoided getting a website in the past. If you need a tip or two, just keep checking out this site, or use the contact us form and drop me a note, maybe I can help?