Okay, so about two weeks ago I started writing reviews for a website http://www.reviewstream.com and wondered how it would go. Well, after a week of writing close on average of 6 reviews a day, I have indeed received a payment of $55.20 today.
I could honestly say from my very experience this website is not a scam, which I have read around the place. All you do is follow the rules, and they pay you want you worked for. It's quite simple.
And about reviews being accepted, all of mine so far has been. I don't mind if they pay 30c per review, but for someone like me who don't work and especially don't like standing for hours working, this is the best thing I have found.
If anyone would like to see payment, I will happily show it. What I can say is I am just so glad I acutally found a service which really do pay!
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Monday, March 12, 2007
11 Mistakes when Making a Website
1. I've started on this site, but I suddenly changed interest. Now I'm going to do another one! Oh, wait, no! I changed my mind again. Argh, what should I do? Oh, I'll just combine all three together and make one large site. There!
If the idea of one topic bores you, perhaps you should rethink about making a site.
2. Ok, I want a site and I want it now. You, you and you, make this for me! Can you make me a banner? Oh and you make me an avatar. Wait, I want this here! I need 10 staff on my site to keep it going cos I don't know what I'd do...
Um, is this your site or someone else's? People can get annoyed by constant requests to make something. Learn about it first!
3. I am super busy and only have about 30 minutes each week to go on the internet! Oh, when you build your site, people would want updates, what will you tell them? If you're busy, then wait for a while. Don't build a site and leave it high and dry.
4. DO NOT give your details (login, password) to a friend unless you trust them 110% if they have revenge or anger issues, they may delete your website. I do not speak from experience, but you never know what people would do.
5. Don't stress yourself out. If your site is big and needs constant demands, then write it somewhere nice and big, and tell people what you will not be doing. You don't need a large amount of pressure built up, then you get so angry about it that you want to just take down the site.
6. Make your site to expect something in return! If that's the case, then you will be disappointed sometimes. Do not make a site because you want something. Do it because you are passionate about the subject, because you can show what you are great at!
7. Get really upset over people leaving rude comments. They are not worth it, seriously! There are so many people that just enjoy saying things to hurt others. If you are a beginner, then you will get better in time, don't believe what those creeps say!
8. Putting personal details there. Everyone knows this one, I hope! DO NOT put your telephone, address or anything personal on there. Email should be fine.
9. Be aware when you buy a domain, you are entering your address and phone number, email and all other details on there. People can acutally check it up using WHOIS. If you don't want people to track you because you have a domain, then get a host that offers Whois privacy. Trust me, this is a really tricky one!
10. Putting a haitus banner when you are away. That is uneccessary. You don't have to close it down because you're away! Just put a note saying you won't be there for a while. Perhaps ask a friend to temporarily look after it. Also, do not put it on haitus continously.
11. Having all these great pages up, but none of the links work. Yes, that's one thing that I do not like. If you have a page you're going to create, leave it as a surprise. Don't have 30 pages with links that do not work yet, as sometimes they never do. It makes me excited to see a page coming, but disappointing when it does not come for 10 weeks.
If the idea of one topic bores you, perhaps you should rethink about making a site.
2. Ok, I want a site and I want it now. You, you and you, make this for me! Can you make me a banner? Oh and you make me an avatar. Wait, I want this here! I need 10 staff on my site to keep it going cos I don't know what I'd do...
Um, is this your site or someone else's? People can get annoyed by constant requests to make something. Learn about it first!
3. I am super busy and only have about 30 minutes each week to go on the internet! Oh, when you build your site, people would want updates, what will you tell them? If you're busy, then wait for a while. Don't build a site and leave it high and dry.
4. DO NOT give your details (login, password) to a friend unless you trust them 110% if they have revenge or anger issues, they may delete your website. I do not speak from experience, but you never know what people would do.
5. Don't stress yourself out. If your site is big and needs constant demands, then write it somewhere nice and big, and tell people what you will not be doing. You don't need a large amount of pressure built up, then you get so angry about it that you want to just take down the site.
6. Make your site to expect something in return! If that's the case, then you will be disappointed sometimes. Do not make a site because you want something. Do it because you are passionate about the subject, because you can show what you are great at!
7. Get really upset over people leaving rude comments. They are not worth it, seriously! There are so many people that just enjoy saying things to hurt others. If you are a beginner, then you will get better in time, don't believe what those creeps say!
8. Putting personal details there. Everyone knows this one, I hope! DO NOT put your telephone, address or anything personal on there. Email should be fine.
9. Be aware when you buy a domain, you are entering your address and phone number, email and all other details on there. People can acutally check it up using WHOIS. If you don't want people to track you because you have a domain, then get a host that offers Whois privacy. Trust me, this is a really tricky one!
10. Putting a haitus banner when you are away. That is uneccessary. You don't have to close it down because you're away! Just put a note saying you won't be there for a while. Perhaps ask a friend to temporarily look after it. Also, do not put it on haitus continously.
11. Having all these great pages up, but none of the links work. Yes, that's one thing that I do not like. If you have a page you're going to create, leave it as a surprise. Don't have 30 pages with links that do not work yet, as sometimes they never do. It makes me excited to see a page coming, but disappointing when it does not come for 10 weeks.
Reviews of Hosting Services
Hello, here are some reviews I've written for Reviewstream, and they talk about a few hosting services in great detail. Please vote for me if you found them useful!
MY REVIEWS
Geocities Web Hosting
Surpass Hosting
Servage Hosting
Please visit ReviewStream.com!
MY REVIEWS
Geocities Web Hosting
Surpass Hosting
Servage Hosting
Please visit ReviewStream.com!
Friday, March 2, 2007
Useful Hosting Services
There are a few hosting that may interest you. However, use at your own risk, I suggest do more research before acutaly signing up.
Servage
$8.95 AU / month
2100GB Bandwidth, 250GB of Space!
Support system is generally good. They reply
Bandwidth calculated daily
Max 400000 hits a day
Payments by Paypal and other methods
Site5
$5/month deal to be paid for 2 years.
5TB bandwidth, 55GB Space
Bandwidth calculated daily
Payments made by credit card only for the moment
Site sometimes known to run slow.
Remember, if you have queries, always ask the admins before deciding you'll switch hosting.
So far, besides those two, I acutally don't really know a better one yet. But I really can't say those two are exeptional either, because Servage has it's small problems and Site5 I have never used before.
Servage
$8.95 AU / month
2100GB Bandwidth, 250GB of Space!
Support system is generally good. They reply
Bandwidth calculated daily
Max 400000 hits a day
Payments by Paypal and other methods
Site5
$5/month deal to be paid for 2 years.
5TB bandwidth, 55GB Space
Bandwidth calculated daily
Payments made by credit card only for the moment
Site sometimes known to run slow.
Remember, if you have queries, always ask the admins before deciding you'll switch hosting.
So far, besides those two, I acutally don't really know a better one yet. But I really can't say those two are exeptional either, because Servage has it's small problems and Site5 I have never used before.
Dealing with Unwanted Visitors
Have you ever seen messages on your site where people are being rude, or seem to take pleasure in using language, insulting and others?
DO NOT LET THESE PEOPLE GET TO YOU!
Why? Because people who insult others usually are so bored with their lives that they find entertainment making someone else's life miserably. They are not even worth mentioned, and there is no need to take these people seriously.
Plus, people who curse really need an education because they obviously have no sense of language skills.
If there are visitors on your site that leaves insults, or anything similar, think of a way to block them, and possibly say something very smart to them. Or even coming up with a list of comebacks. They always help!
Laugh at these people. Obviously they want attention, most likely they want you upset, so don't give it to them! Laugh about it!
There will ALWAYS be people like that everywhere. Whether you're writing songs, or creating a website, or drawing, working in a business, at school, on the streets. There are people like that, and the best way to handle it is to not take them seriously, or else everyone would have a lot of confidence issues.
DO NOT LET THESE PEOPLE GET TO YOU!
Why? Because people who insult others usually are so bored with their lives that they find entertainment making someone else's life miserably. They are not even worth mentioned, and there is no need to take these people seriously.
Plus, people who curse really need an education because they obviously have no sense of language skills.
If there are visitors on your site that leaves insults, or anything similar, think of a way to block them, and possibly say something very smart to them. Or even coming up with a list of comebacks. They always help!
Laugh at these people. Obviously they want attention, most likely they want you upset, so don't give it to them! Laugh about it!
There will ALWAYS be people like that everywhere. Whether you're writing songs, or creating a website, or drawing, working in a business, at school, on the streets. There are people like that, and the best way to handle it is to not take them seriously, or else everyone would have a lot of confidence issues.
A Website's Popularity
Ever see some sites that just seem to be flooded with traffic and others don't? It's simple, it doesn't matter how many affiliates you get, how many links people make to your site, how many people you tell, or anything like that, if a site hasn't got the contents, it is hard.
UPDATING
That is a must if you want returning visitors. If you make a site, then desert it, so would the visitors. I'm a person who love visiting sites that are frequently updated, I like to see the new things they put up and any news as well.
CONTENTS
The biggest mistake is to copy contents from other sites. If there isn't an ounce of originality in a site, then it's better off that you don't make one, because if I go to 10 sites on one subject, and see exactly the same designs, contents, I am likely to get bored with it. It's important to have a good amount of contents, and not pages that say "coming soon" for months and months. If you have a page coming soon, make sure it acutally DOES, if not, don't put it there.
SEARCH ENGINES
They do a lot getting you hits, but the meta tag and website name is important. Try to write a descriptive sentence about your site there, so search engines like google can display it. Try submitting your URL link to different search engines.
IT TAKES TIME! You can have the world's best website in layout, content and everything else, but it's not going to get a million hits overnight. It takes time, so be patient about it. You may need to do a little promoting at first, such as posting links on forums, etc, to just get you started off.
Remember, always make a site on what you are passionate about, that other people are interested in, and that you have inspiration to keep going.
UPDATING
That is a must if you want returning visitors. If you make a site, then desert it, so would the visitors. I'm a person who love visiting sites that are frequently updated, I like to see the new things they put up and any news as well.
CONTENTS
The biggest mistake is to copy contents from other sites. If there isn't an ounce of originality in a site, then it's better off that you don't make one, because if I go to 10 sites on one subject, and see exactly the same designs, contents, I am likely to get bored with it. It's important to have a good amount of contents, and not pages that say "coming soon" for months and months. If you have a page coming soon, make sure it acutally DOES, if not, don't put it there.
SEARCH ENGINES
They do a lot getting you hits, but the meta tag and website name is important. Try to write a descriptive sentence about your site there, so search engines like google can display it. Try submitting your URL link to different search engines.
IT TAKES TIME! You can have the world's best website in layout, content and everything else, but it's not going to get a million hits overnight. It takes time, so be patient about it. You may need to do a little promoting at first, such as posting links on forums, etc, to just get you started off.
Remember, always make a site on what you are passionate about, that other people are interested in, and that you have inspiration to keep going.
To Make or Not to Make a Website
Have you ever thought of whether you want to or not want to make a website?
YOU WILL NEED:-Determination and patience.{if you have never made a website before, don't expect to be perfect. it takes a lot of time, trials and erros, as well as patience to make websites. If you don't have patience and determination, rethink about making sites because you will likely give up after a while.}
ONE TOPIC:- I stress that because if you have multiple topics, it is confusing for people. Eg, you make a site on Webdesign, then you put a little info on Traveling, and you think that Weather Patterns are fun so you implement that too. People are not going to find exactly what they're looking for if there are 3-5 topics scattered everywhere. When have you ever typed in google: Travelling, Webdesign, Weather? Probably never.
-Programs: Frontpage, Dreamweaver & Photoshop{The most important programs are Microsoft Frontpage or Macromedia Dreamweaver. As well as Adobe Photoshop. If you have no idea how that works, then maybe start with pagebuilders such as ones in geocities that helps you understand how a webpage works.}
CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING
bandwidth-You will need to know that any website takes bandwidth. if you are downloading something off the internet, you are taking bandwidth from the person who created the site. This is usually allocated monthly, and specific amounts of bandwidth is given depending on how much you pay for them. Usually if bandwidth runs out, a website will be down till the next month.
space-Any site needs an adequate amount of space to host your files. For example, if you have a website with many pictures and media, you will need a big amount of space. If your site is small, then you won't need as mnay.
domain-Do you want a proper domain like mysite.com? You usually have to pay annually for those. They include .org .net and .com domains. If you use free ones, they are likely to be something like http://freewebs.com/mysite/index.htm
hosting-Hosting is what keeps your website online, so that people can visit from all over the country. There are free hosting and paid hosting. There are different ranges of prices, as well as space and bandwidth. Good free hosting is VERY hard to find, and I mean extremely difficult. Most times they have annoying pop ups, banner ads, an uploading limit of 500kb (so you cannot upload files bigger than that, limited bandwidth and space, server may be down frequently and others. Paid hosting is the best option if you are serious about your site.
ftp uploading- This took me so long to learn. FTP is a program that connets directly to your computer, so when you upload your website, you won't need to spend time uploading each file individually. If you've uploaded files on photobucket, you'd know what i'm talking about. FTP is easy to learn, and once you connect, you just select a folder and upload.
HOW TO GET STARTED
So you know the basics, and now it's time to get down to the MAKING.
Firstly, do you know anything about html? This stuff is quite easy to learn, at least the basics are. Try looking on google for some tutorials. Or take a course if you're at school on web design. We learned a lot in computer studies on how to make websites, and they teach you step by step how programs like dreamweaver works.
If you want to make good layouts, the first thing is to get inspiration. Go on sites like Aethereality.net and see how they make it. See the different designs, go to your favourite site and see what's so great about their layouts.
Take that back and work on it with photoshop. There are a range of textures that help enhance graphics, and you can download them on many websites.
Make sure you have contents ready. Maybe you would like to make it as you go or have it all up beforehand. If you have the contents ready, such as what pictures you want, what text, then it will be easier once you start your website.
Save regularly. When you make websites, it's important that you perhaps make a few copies of the page before you want to test things out. Incase you absoutely stuff one up, which I've done countless times, and realise you don't have a backup, then all your previous work would be wasted. Sometimes when you're unsure what could go wrong, best to save a few copies of the same file, perhaps in different folders.
Think about your navigation, whether you want it on the layout on top, or the side. Maybe even have a rough sketch of how you want your site to look like.Test it on internet explorer or whatever browser you use, sometimes what displays on the webmaking program is very different from what it looks like on the browser.Save your files in one folder especially for that website. You could have subfolders for individual pages if you'd like, but save them all under a folder and give it the name of your website, or else it would be hard to find.
IMPORTANT POINTS TO CONSIDER
-Do not COPY AND PASTE Information from other sites! People spend a lot of time and effort on their webpage and it isn't fair if their contents were taken to another site without credit or a link back, or without the permission of the webmaster. If you really like information from a site, please either email them, or credit them. -Think of some original contents. Put something different on your site, if all the sites are exactly the same, then it would be pointless to visit them all. If there are different things, even your own writing or creation would attract more visitors.
-Keep your layout consistent. Don't change layouts for every page, if you do that, it is very confusing and people would probably think they're entering a new site. If you have a special section devoted for a specific category, then that is fine.
-Don't put background images everywhere, especially ones with pictures. If you see text over an image, is that easy to read? Probably not. When I come across sites like that, they seriously hurt my eyes literally, and I'd need to select the text to read it carefully, so please be aware!-Is your background colour matching your text? If your background is a bright green, and your text is a yellow, that's beyond impossible for anyone to read.
-Make sure your site doesn't have too many popups. If I enter a site and each page brings me 6 pop up ads, and it takes me longer to close them than to navigate, I'd probably give up because I wouldn't have the patience to close them all before more pops up.
-Try not to stretch the page out with a very large layout or big text. It may be frustrating trying to scroll all directions just to read a few words. Test it on a 800x600 screen resolution, if that doesn't stretch too much, then you'll be fine.
-Make sure you DO NOT direct link from other websites. You read about bandwidth and how people have to pay, is it really fair if you steal their bandwidth? No! So upload things onto your own server, instead of putting a link to your site of a video clip that is not on your server.
YOU WILL NEED:-Determination and patience.{if you have never made a website before, don't expect to be perfect. it takes a lot of time, trials and erros, as well as patience to make websites. If you don't have patience and determination, rethink about making sites because you will likely give up after a while.}
ONE TOPIC:- I stress that because if you have multiple topics, it is confusing for people. Eg, you make a site on Webdesign, then you put a little info on Traveling, and you think that Weather Patterns are fun so you implement that too. People are not going to find exactly what they're looking for if there are 3-5 topics scattered everywhere. When have you ever typed in google: Travelling, Webdesign, Weather? Probably never.
-Programs: Frontpage, Dreamweaver & Photoshop{The most important programs are Microsoft Frontpage or Macromedia Dreamweaver. As well as Adobe Photoshop. If you have no idea how that works, then maybe start with pagebuilders such as ones in geocities that helps you understand how a webpage works.}
CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING
bandwidth-You will need to know that any website takes bandwidth. if you are downloading something off the internet, you are taking bandwidth from the person who created the site. This is usually allocated monthly, and specific amounts of bandwidth is given depending on how much you pay for them. Usually if bandwidth runs out, a website will be down till the next month.
space-Any site needs an adequate amount of space to host your files. For example, if you have a website with many pictures and media, you will need a big amount of space. If your site is small, then you won't need as mnay.
domain-Do you want a proper domain like mysite.com? You usually have to pay annually for those. They include .org .net and .com domains. If you use free ones, they are likely to be something like http://freewebs.com/mysite/index.htm
hosting-Hosting is what keeps your website online, so that people can visit from all over the country. There are free hosting and paid hosting. There are different ranges of prices, as well as space and bandwidth. Good free hosting is VERY hard to find, and I mean extremely difficult. Most times they have annoying pop ups, banner ads, an uploading limit of 500kb (so you cannot upload files bigger than that, limited bandwidth and space, server may be down frequently and others. Paid hosting is the best option if you are serious about your site.
ftp uploading- This took me so long to learn. FTP is a program that connets directly to your computer, so when you upload your website, you won't need to spend time uploading each file individually. If you've uploaded files on photobucket, you'd know what i'm talking about. FTP is easy to learn, and once you connect, you just select a folder and upload.
HOW TO GET STARTED
So you know the basics, and now it's time to get down to the MAKING.
Firstly, do you know anything about html? This stuff is quite easy to learn, at least the basics are. Try looking on google for some tutorials. Or take a course if you're at school on web design. We learned a lot in computer studies on how to make websites, and they teach you step by step how programs like dreamweaver works.
If you want to make good layouts, the first thing is to get inspiration. Go on sites like Aethereality.net and see how they make it. See the different designs, go to your favourite site and see what's so great about their layouts.
Take that back and work on it with photoshop. There are a range of textures that help enhance graphics, and you can download them on many websites.
Make sure you have contents ready. Maybe you would like to make it as you go or have it all up beforehand. If you have the contents ready, such as what pictures you want, what text, then it will be easier once you start your website.
Save regularly. When you make websites, it's important that you perhaps make a few copies of the page before you want to test things out. Incase you absoutely stuff one up, which I've done countless times, and realise you don't have a backup, then all your previous work would be wasted. Sometimes when you're unsure what could go wrong, best to save a few copies of the same file, perhaps in different folders.
Think about your navigation, whether you want it on the layout on top, or the side. Maybe even have a rough sketch of how you want your site to look like.Test it on internet explorer or whatever browser you use, sometimes what displays on the webmaking program is very different from what it looks like on the browser.Save your files in one folder especially for that website. You could have subfolders for individual pages if you'd like, but save them all under a folder and give it the name of your website, or else it would be hard to find.
IMPORTANT POINTS TO CONSIDER
-Do not COPY AND PASTE Information from other sites! People spend a lot of time and effort on their webpage and it isn't fair if their contents were taken to another site without credit or a link back, or without the permission of the webmaster. If you really like information from a site, please either email them, or credit them. -Think of some original contents. Put something different on your site, if all the sites are exactly the same, then it would be pointless to visit them all. If there are different things, even your own writing or creation would attract more visitors.
-Keep your layout consistent. Don't change layouts for every page, if you do that, it is very confusing and people would probably think they're entering a new site. If you have a special section devoted for a specific category, then that is fine.
-Don't put background images everywhere, especially ones with pictures. If you see text over an image, is that easy to read? Probably not. When I come across sites like that, they seriously hurt my eyes literally, and I'd need to select the text to read it carefully, so please be aware!-Is your background colour matching your text? If your background is a bright green, and your text is a yellow, that's beyond impossible for anyone to read.
-Make sure your site doesn't have too many popups. If I enter a site and each page brings me 6 pop up ads, and it takes me longer to close them than to navigate, I'd probably give up because I wouldn't have the patience to close them all before more pops up.
-Try not to stretch the page out with a very large layout or big text. It may be frustrating trying to scroll all directions just to read a few words. Test it on a 800x600 screen resolution, if that doesn't stretch too much, then you'll be fine.
-Make sure you DO NOT direct link from other websites. You read about bandwidth and how people have to pay, is it really fair if you steal their bandwidth? No! So upload things onto your own server, instead of putting a link to your site of a video clip that is not on your server.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
