Designing a better landing page

This is guest post by Rob Toledo

Hundreds of thousands of web pages are designed every day around the world, and the vast majority of them are...average. That's because not every web designer puts as much thought into their pages as they deserve. If you're not sure what the most important considerations are with your next web page, check this short list for some commonly-overlooked elements needed to design a great landing page:


Think about how to keep your page loading quickly: It's easy to get caught up in adding more pizzazz and beauty to a landing site, but you rapidly reach a point of diminishing returns. It's more important to most people that your page load in 1-2 seconds than being covered in delicious gorgeousness.

Think about how your visitors will interact in the first 2 seconds: If your visitors never get around to reading the text, it doesn't matter how much your client pays for killer copy. So as the designer, you need to design a page that encourages skimmers' eyes to land on the most important elements first.

Think about what surfers will do if they get lost: It's surprisingly easy to get lost inside a web page. Clicking on a link you didn't mean to or on an image you didn't realize was a link, and suddenly you're not sure how what you're looking at relates to what you were reading. That's why navigation elements are critical on every page of your site, so make room for them.

Think about minimizing the impact of images and videos: There's nothing that affects page load time more than long videos, over-sized pictures, and dozens and dozens of small images each calling their own HTTP request. Instead, edit and minimize picture and size before uploading them to the server, and consider using CSS sprites to handle multiple smaller images at once. This helps reduce HTTP request load.

Think about what people in foreign countries will think of your site: In the USA, white is the color of purity and marriage. But in many African and Eastern cultures, white is the color of mourning. In the USA, the Chevy Nova is a car name that evokes the speed of light (an exploding star). But in Spain, 'No va' means "doesn't go", and that particular car failed utterly. Think about how visitors from around the world will perceive your site, and do your best to keep it culture-neutral.

Think about what your website will look like in the future: Your site might look great now, but consider the last time you surfed to a website and found a broken link, a fact that wasn't true any longer, or some other sign that no one was paying attention to on the website. How long did you stick around? Consider putting some measures in place to make sure that your website doesn't end up like the one you visited. A link checker that runs automatically once a month and a quarterly manual read-through can keep your site up-to-date with minimal effort.

Most Importantly: Think about what a surfer will do with your website: It's hard to believe that there are web designers out there who make landing pages that aren't carefully-crafted to be immediately useful to their visitors, but it's true. So just in case it's slipped your mind, always stop and think about what your website can do for your surfers. That is, after all, what a landing page is for.

About guest blogger

Rob Toledo loves web design, CSS3, Firefox and no longer supports IE7. He is working alongside Shutterstock creating web design guides on the proper use of stock photography and stock videos

Website Design – Why Simplicity is Beauty

In the world of website design, dynamism and originality make for excellent website concepts. Nowadays, people are after the unique, the scintillating, and the creative. However, despite the growing tide of overdone aesthetics when it comes to website design, more often than not, many professional website designers still veer towards the simple and often monochromatic themes that were the staple of earlier sites.

Social networking sites like Facebook itself is quite popular and winning despite its aesthetics of the plain blue and white variety. Despite the lack of pizzazz, plain websites have something that even the most ornate of websites don’t have – finesse. Plain websites often come in two-colored spreads, and while these are nothing close to the more stylish websites so common today, their plainness and almost Spartan look appeals to many due to its minimalist scheme.

If you’re looking to make a website without too much pizzazz but still want to give it a wow-factor, opting for simple website designs is essential. One of the best ways to meld simplicity with style is to pick colors which are soft and comforting to the eye. Pastels which are not too muted but aren’t too bright usually make for great choices, although darker colors also work well if done tastefully. Picking complimenting colors is a basic no-brainer if you’re looking to make a spread out of just two colors alone, although contrasting colors could also work well only if done-up correctly, which can be difficult for beginners.

The simplicity of the color scheme should not make the website seem half-heartedly done however, as sleek lines, clear and concise content placement, and easy navigation all redeem a site that is somewhat on the plain side. You can add a little spice to the plainness by incorporating some unique features into your website spread, although the primary purpose of a simple spread is to not detract readers from the content.

If your website is laden with useful content and nuggets of knowledge, you wouldn’t want to distract them by creating too opulent a spread that would reduce the readability of your content. Opting for clear and easily read fonts are keys to developing a good spread, while keeping everything orderly helps to improve the aesthetics.

Incorporating images or aftereffects to the site is just another way to add a subtle touch of style to an otherwise plain-looking site, although the color schemes should always compliment the overall site spread and not clash against it. Because website design can be very tricky for those who aren’t in the know, looking at more professional websites should help them in the choice of color scheme and overall style. If your site is blog or a site dedicated to dishing out content that is laden with text, a good font-type and size should be decided upon.

While you may be tempted to opt for more gaudy or stylish fonts, settle on common ones, or using unique but readily legible ones is always a wise choice. Though you may be tempted to color your fonts in the same scheme as your spread, only do so with careful consideration. If in doubt as to the aesthetics of website design, or if you find it difficult to decide on a color scheme, consult a web designer who can procure sample spreads that integrate your site’s purpose with simple yet engaging aesthetics.

About Guest Blogger

Norris Lemuel Lasay has been working as an online article writer for quite some time, covering different topics such as wireless internet, satellite TV and other technology related topics. If you need to find out more about satellite TV, you can visit this website.

Tips to protecting Google Adsense account

Google Adsense is the best choice for small or new website which has not enough traffic for selling ad or join private ad network . It's also a main income source for bloggers and website owners ,even pro blogger such as problogger.net or johnchow.com .
I've got my Adsense account since 2010 and this account still live till now . So in this post ,I just want to write down some of my experience in working with Adsense system . Hope this helpful to you.

1, Keep your adsense in safe

Do not show your adsense information in forums ,websites because you are violating Adsense TOS . If you want to show a proof of your earning , make sure you hide the name and necessary information before . A proof of earning can be reason for an attack to your site from people who is green with envy.

2, Do not cheat

Cheating Adsense by change the ip and click the ad yourself will make your account banned soon. Google keep track on your IP address when login /log out and IP of person who click the ads. If these IPs are the same ,you may got an warning email .
All the text / banner that encourage people click the ad is also a violation to TOS . I don't know they use auto bot to check the text/banner or have a team for this work ,but we hardly out of their sight .

3, Disable ad-serving from copyrighted material 

Always check for copyrighted material if you don't want to disable all ads in site : Pictures from pro-photographers , music /game ... The author can report to Google or Google check themself  .The best way to escape from this situation is very simple : remove all things that may copyrighted material and submit your site to Google support . They will review your site in next 3 working days and give you the answer . If your site meet their requirements ,they will restore ad-serving in your site.

4, Protect your Adsense Id

Sometimes,your adsense code can be appear in unwanted websites . Some people make a clone of your site with everything inside ,copy your post and ad code . Some people want to attack your adsense , they add your adsense code in their site with adult content ,copyrighted material ... You will get a ban easily without knowing the reason .
To make sure Adsense is only appear in your site , login to your Adsense dashboard - > go to Adsense Setup - > Site Authentication . You will find option for showing adsense ad in specific sites .

5, Invalid clicks

Google Adsense is one of the biggest incomes of Google , and Google invest billions dollars in Adsense system to make it become a giant in internet advertising industry . So their system is more and more intelligent .
Nowaday , Invalid clicks are still tracked but don't generate earning . Google can realize what invalid click and cheat clicks . Of course ,  this is still an automatic system and mistake is still exist .So take care of your account .

6, Bomb click attack

If  you have Google Adsense account for a long time ,you probably see a bomb click attack . The attackers click on the ads in your site many times . They try to make Google believes that account owner are cheating . And Google will give you a ban :D Sometimes , Google can realize this but sometimes they don't . I got a bomb click attack before . Google tracked the clicks but all these clicks don't generate any income and I didn't get any warning or ban from Google .
In my experience , to avoid troubles with a bomb click attack ,you should always keep an eye on your account . If there are any abnormal activity in your account ( the number of click increase extremely) , you should remove all Adsense code from your site , tracking the IP of attacker and then ban this IP range from accessing your site .

7, Try Google Adsense Support

If one day you receive a mail from Google for a ban or disable ad-serving ,you can take your last chance to mail to Google Adsense support . It's not easy to get the answer from them but it's better than do nothing and see all money wiped