This post is written by Kirsten Ramsburg of WebHostingSearch.com.

Websites come and go and if you want to add a website to the mix there are seven basic steps to follow.

1.Get a Domain Name

Internet addressing can be technically confusing. The domain name will serve as the identity of your website. So choosing a good one is important and it should be easy to remember.

If it’s a commercial site, it should be descriptive of your product or services.

One thing to watch out for is that the name you want might already be in use. Websites such as www.whois.com can tell you what names are taken and offer alternatives in case the one you have in mind is already taken.

The name needs to be registered through a domain name registrar or a host.

Image by crystaljingsr

2. Find a Host

An internet host is a company that owns computers called webservers.

After your website is uploaded to the host server, it handles all the work of receiving and answering requests for it.

Many companies will not only host your site but will also register your domain name. You may have to pay for both but the web hosting market is very competitive and it is possible to find cheap web hosting with a single company.

Photo by mayhem

3. Target Your Audience

Why do you want a website? If it’s a personal site for family and friends, then you already know your audience.

If it’s a website to promote a business venture, you need to narrow down the audience to the people who would benefit from visiting your site.

Whether it’s an established or new business venture, it’s still important to consider such variables as age, economic status and computer savvy of your intended audience.

Photo by wainwright.photography

4. Design Your Website

Designing your website rests heavily on the previous step of defining your audience. Deciding what you want to achieve comes before deciding how to achieve it, and both are best accomplished by a pen-to-paper outline.

Keep in mind, that often the simplest design is the best design. This is a good place to decide which keywords to incorporate into the design to facilitate your site being picked up by search engines.

Image by John-Morgan

5. Build Your Website

There are two choices. Hire someone to get it done or do it yourself. If you’re new to website building and have decided on a complex multi-page site you should consider hiring a professional. That can be pricey.

If you’re a beginner, there are a number of variously priced software programs that offer “professional” results with templates and drag-and-drop mouse moves.

Photo by woodleywonderworks

6. Publish Your Website

The steps are getting easier. This one involves uploading your website files to the host that you’ve chosen. Almost all of them offer easy to follow instructions on how to get your materials to their webservers.

Most of those software packages also include directions on how to do this, and File Transfer Protocol (FTP) applications can be used for speedier uploading.

7. Test and Maintain

Not all web browsers are created to equally view websites. If you’ve not tested your site on various browsers during the building phase, certainly check it once it’s online and make the necessary corrections.

Maintain your site on a regular basis. There are few things more irritating to a web user than going to a site that has outdated information.

Photo by .robbie
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Kirsten Ramsburg is a frustrated journalist and is currently putting all her passion for writing as a senior writer for WebHostingSearch.com guide.

______ This is a blog post from Gloson Blog. I hope you've enjoyed it! To leave a comment on it, please visit 7 Must-Haves to Starting a Website. Or, head to Gloson Blog for more posts! :) ______

Middle-clicking

I find this feature useful when you meet a page with many interesting links and want to open each in a tab. Middle-clicking the links will open them in a new tab. Then, I can read an article while the others load in other tabs.

Ctrl + Shift + T

Oh no! You’ve accidentally closed a tab! And now you have to type in the long address again? No, you don’t have you. You just have to hit Ctrl + Shift + T, and your accidentally closed tab will be opened again.

Alt + Enter

You’ve entered an address, “http://twitter.com/direct_messages” You want to open another page in a new tab. Simply type, “http://www.(thesiteyouwishtovisit).com” and hit Alt + Enter. The address will be opened in a new window.

These are the shortcuts I find convenient so far. I will update this post as soon as I find out more shortcuts I’d to share.

I hope you would find these shortcuts convenient and will make your browsing easier and more convenient .

______ This is a blog post from Gloson Blog. I hope you've enjoyed it! To leave a comment on it, please visit Convenient Shortcuts To Improve Your Browsing. Or, head to Gloson Blog for more posts! :) ______

Today, you are going to learn how to do it.

1. Firstly, of course, you have to make sure the bookmarks toolbar is displayed.
Just right-click the space after the ‘Help’.

Then, click on ‘Bookmarks Toolbar’ to activate it.

2. Now, the bookmarks toolbar will be displayed. You might see some bookmarks there already, so remove it if they’re not your favorite sites.

3. Right-click on any empty space at the bookmarks toolbar.

Then, click on ‘New Bookmark’.

4. Be sure whether the site has a ‘www.‘ Most sites have it. If a site don’t have a ‘www.’, just enter the site address without it. Gloson Blog doesn’t have a ‘www.’.

Do not enter the name. I will tell you why later.

If the site has a ‘www.’, just type the site address with it.

Do not enter redirects (e.g. www.wikipedia.com. The address is www.wikipedia.org) In other words, just type the exact address.

5. Click ‘Add’ to add the site to the bookmarks toolbar.

Why should you type the exact address? It is because if you don’t, the favicon won’t show.

A favicon is an icon which is displayed at your bookmarks.
(Twitter’s favicon is a , Yahoo’s is a ‘ ‘, and mine is a ‘ ‘.)

After you click add, it should look like this:

If the favicon still doesn’t appear and you have followed the instructions above, either the site doesn’t have a favicon, or you haven’t visited the site.

Now, why shouldn’t you type the name? It is because if you do, there will not be enough space for all of your websites. But if you think you should type the name, just do it.

To edit a bookmark, right-click the bookmarked site.

And then, click ‘Properties’.

Here, you can add/remove the name or change the URL. If you remove the name, only the favicon will show.

This also works in Google Chrome. Right-click the bookmarks bar. (That’s what Chrome calls it.) Then, you click ‘Add page…’, then follow the same instructions above.

Here is the bookmarks bar I am using in Chrome:

If you middle-click a bookmark, it will open inn a new tab, I find this shortcut convenient.

Now, all you have to do is to keep adding your favorite sites, maybe until your bookmarks toolbar is full! And your sites would be just a click away.

______ This is a blog post from Gloson Blog. I hope you've enjoyed it! To leave a comment on it, please visit How to See All Your Favorite Sites at Once. Or, head to Gloson Blog for more posts! :) ______

THAT ‘FRIEND’ MAY BE A WORM

If, by chance, you’ve received a message from a ‘friend’ in the last few
days saying that you’ve been caught on tape, it’s not true.

Unless you’re Paris Hilton. But no, she’s been tossing a dwarf. OK, not really, but there are just two of the scams Facebook and MySpace users have been hit with recently.

The malicious software attempts to lure users in with messages ranging from “You’ve been catched on hidden cam” to the one about Hilton tossing a dwarf on the street. The messages contain a link that takes unsuspecting users to a webpage that looks like YouTube. There the page tells visitors that to view the video, they need to click on another link to download and install updated software.

Those who fall for the scam are actually installing malicious software.

The worm, called Koobface, turns compromised computers into ‘zombie’ machines that can be used in other types of online attacks. The malicious software may also include keylogger software, which can record a computer user’s keystrokes – and potentially grab passwords when they are entered on a computer.

Common sense needed

Alexander Gostev, senior virus analyst at computer security firm Kaspersky Lab, said in a statement that this type of attack could be a successful one for hackers.

“Users are very trusting of messages left by ‘friends’ on social networking sites. So the likelihood of a user clicking a link like this is very high,” he said.

Facebook has also been alerting users to a hoax message claiming that the site is overpopulated and that some accounts soon will be deleted. Facebook’s security page offers a few common-sense suggestions for those worried about security. (“If a link or a message seems weird, don’t click on it,” is one tip.)

The company is still investigating the malware attack, according to spokesman. According to research firm Cloudmark, users of a social networking sites are reporting a rise in spam. An average of 64 spam attacks have been reported over the last year, and 37% of users have noticed an increase in the last six months in unwanted messages. -

LAT-WP

Well, I guess we should be more careful about messages because some of them are dangerous and can harm your computer.

And by the way, this article is found in The Star newspaper on 4 September 2008.

______ This is a blog post from Gloson Blog. I hope you've enjoyed it! To leave a comment on it, please visit That ‘Friend’ May be a Worm. Or, head to Gloson Blog for more posts! :) ______