Build A Better Website

I’m always on the lookout for a good source of graphics. Since I’m not a graphic artist, I usually end up buying clipart collections that fill up my hard drive and frustrate the hell out of me whenever I try to customize them.

Now, these new “Web 2.0″ graphics have me reaching for my credit card again and dreading the thought of trying to customize these complicated graphics, with their dual gradients, diagonal line backgrounds, multiple outlines, shadows, reflections and glossies.

Then, I found an easier way!

Thanks to a brand new website, creating stunning Web 2.0 graphics is a snap! Without having to run (and learn!) Photoshop.

This is a web-based graphic tool that’s really slick. You can create astonishingly attractive logos, backgrounds, text and images without using any software tools of any kind!

This isn’t another clipart collection that you have to download, store on your hard drive, search through thousands of images until you find one you like, then edit with Photoshop or some other graphics software to customize it.

This is simple —

1. Log in to the image generator.
2. Select image type — text, rectangle or rounded rectangle.
3. Fully customize your image with diagonal lines, solid colors, gradients, outlies, reflections, shadows, gloss types and more using the simple online interface.
4. Click “Build My Creation” and Voila - your creation is ready. You can save, download, or even test it on their background!

Here are a couple examples I created, my first time on the site:

So when I first saw this, I thought, “OK, that’s cool, but how much? Scroll down throught the site, looking for the price… here it is… $6.97 — can that be right?… oh wait, that must a month!

No — that’s a one-time membership fee. At least for now. Until Bill Ortell, the site’s creator, comes to his senses.

It may or may not change to a monthly membership, but I’ll bet the price will go up.

Take a look at it now. I think it’s worth it.

'Til next time,
Vin Czepiel
Your Website Tool Guy
VocalPointMedia.com

I remember when streaming audio software first became readily available, back in 2003 if memory serves me. This was a big deal, because it made it easy to put audio on your website, and it would stream smoothly, even for folks on a dial up connection, which is what most of us had back then.

The first program I bought was Sonic Memo… eventually I would end up buying or downloading the trial version of just about every knock off that came down the pike… but Sonic Memo was my first. And it’s still one of the best.

Jay Jennings (the Mohawk Man!) was the creator. I was looking at his program for $97 and MP3 Sound Stream, which was around $39. The only difference I could see from the demos on their websites was that the Sonic Memo clip started playing right away, where the Sound Stream audio had a bit of a delay. Other than that, they both streamed smoothly and sounded good.

Jay had his phone number on his website so I called him up and asked him why his software was worth two-and-a-half times what his competitor’s cost. His answer was straightforward: “I’ve never tried MP3 Sound Stream so I can’t comment on it. But I know what Sonic Memo is worth and I stand behind it. Buy them both, and if you like MP3 Sound Stream better, I’ll give you your money back, no questions asked.”

I bought Sonic Memo and loved it.

Then the knock offs began hitting the market. They were cheap — some were even given away as bonuses — but very basic. On some, the quality outright sucked.

If all you wanted to do was a add a simple play button for a welcome message or testimonial, they’d be OK. But if you wanted to seriously impact your marketing with audio, you needed something with some features.

Website Jukebox is my new favorite. It has some amazing features.

Here’s the most incredible one:

You can trigger timed visual events at precise moments.
In other words, as your audio is playing you can have pictures or even different text appear on your webpage to coincide with what you are saying.

Watch this demo
Opens in a new window

Website Jukebox is part of the Total Web Audio package. With this package you get:

• Website Jukebox
• Audio Visual Tour Creator
• Audio Postcard Creator
• Video Postcard Creator
• Intro & Exit Music Mixer
• Streaming Ogg Vorbis Player

Plus, some great bonuses! (The Audio/Video Ebook Creator is one of them, but get it while it’s still available.)

If you want to see an example of how I used Total Web Audio on one of my websites, take a look at this.

So if you’re ready to get serious about audio on your website, get the Total Web Audio package. No other software package offers many of the functions and abilities Total Web Audio has.

'Til next time,
Vin Czepiel
Your Website Tool Guy
VocalPointMedia.com

In Thomas Jefferson’s day, four out of five Americans were self-employed, mostly as farmers, craftsmen and merchants.

Along came the Industrial Revolution, putting the tools of mass production and distribution in the hands of the few who could afford them. By the end of Eisenhower’s presidency, 87 percent of us were employees.

Now we’re in the midst of the Internet Era. Computers, software, Internet access — broadband no less! — are cheap, available and easy to use. Tools and techniques for building an online business abound. I think it’s safe to say that anyone who wants to can learn to build a website.

If you’re in business and you don’t have a website, your competition is already kicking your ass. But you probably know that. If you don’t own the business you work for, then you especially need a website!

Why? Well, the best reason is job security. You may love your job, have a great boss and make plenty of money, but that can change overnight. Your job is only as good as your next boss. Years ago I worked in a motorcycle shop. Loved my job!… until the owner’s stupid son flunked out of college and Daddy let him run the shop. It didn’t take long for that moron to turn it into a real sucky job.

It could happen to you too, or any number of other situations that jepordize your livelihood. Start a part-time Internet business before it happens. You might be surprised — it could blossom into a full-time income. Even if you keep your job ’til you retire, the extra income could put you in a nicer car, a bigger house, send you on more elaborate vacations, or just pad your nestegg so when you retire you don’t have to lower your standard of living.

There are many types of online businesses and they all require a learning curve, some steeper than others. Start learning now so that when you need the income you’ll have it.

And if you never need it, just enjoy it!

'Til next time,
Vin Czepiel
Your Website Tool Guy
VocalPointMedia.com

If you want to maintain your own website without learning a lot of technical stuff, get a hosting plan with a Cpanel.

A Cpanel is a control panel (duh!) that lets you manage every aspect of your website server, from setting up mailboxes, uploading files (without using an FTP program!), checking your web stats, even installing scripts like blogs, forums, shopping carts, online photo albums and lots more.

I still have a couple of older hosting accounts that don’t have Cpanel, and they’re fine for simple, basic websites. In fact, that’s all I use them for — landing pages, temporary test sites, small, static HTML websites, squeeze pages, etc. I should migrate them over to one of my other accounts, but I pay for them a year in advance. Besides, they’re cheap enough, and I don’t want to take the time to do it.

Oddly enough,
the
Cpanel accounts
aren’t any more
expensive and
they offer a
lot more.Oddly enough, the Cpanel accounts aren’t any more expensive and they offer a lot more. As I was writing this, I checked the prices on the hosting company I currently use and recommend, and they’re running a special that makes them even cheaper than my basic, non-Cpanel account. And they give a lot more disk space and bandwidth!

If you’re in the market for a good hosting plan with a Cpanel, take a look at the hosting plan I use.

As easy as Cpanel is to use, if you want to fast track your learning, or maybe you’re a total newbie and haven’t developed the confidence yet to “poke and hope,” Bob the Teacher has a set of video tutorials, and the first one is free. Check it out at Learn Cpanel With Step-By-Step Video Tutorials.

'Til next time,
Vin Czepiel
Your Website Tool Guy
VocalPointMedia.com

Resizing photos is a basic skill every webmaster must know, especially now that most pictures are taken with digital cameras. (At least we don’t have scan them first anymore!)

Here’s an easy way to resize photos individually or a whole batch at a time. Easy Thumbnails is a popular free utility for creating accurate thumbnail images and scaled-down/up copies from a wide range of popular picture formats. An elegant
interface
makes it
a snap to
find your
images and select
them for processingAn elegant interface makes it a snap to find your images and select them for processing individually, in groups, or in whole folders, using a simple file selector and built-in image viewer. You can use slider controls to rotate images and adjust their contrast, brightness, sharpness and quality, and check out the results with the built-in viewer.

Easy Thumbnails really is easy to use. Watch this short video tutorial, then download your free copy!

Download Easy Thumbnails

'Til next time,
Vin Czepiel
Your Website Tool Guy
VocalPointMedia.com