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May 10, 2009

Web Design, increase your usability

It is easy to make a dorky web page. It’s also easy to make a very nice, clean, professional-looking web page even if you don’t have much design experience. Often the difference, even for beginning designers, is simply a matter of eliminating certain features that are guaranteed to make a page look amateurish. I’ve been going through the list of things that people - designers and non-designers - from around the country have cited as the things that make the difference between a well-designed and a poorly designed web page.

Here’s a list of ten additional design elements that will increase the usability of virtually all sites:

  1. Place your name and logo on every page and make the logo a link to the home page (except on the home page itself, where the logo should not be a link: never have a link that points right back to the current page).
  2. Provide search if the site has more than 100 pages.
  3. Write straightforward and simple headlines and page titles that clearly explain what the page is about and that will make sense when read out-of-context in a search engine results listing.
  4. Structure the page to facilitate scanning and help users ignore large chunks of the page in a single glance: for example, use grouping and subheadings to break a long list into several smaller units.
  5. Instead of cramming everything about a product or topic into a single, infinite page, use hypertext to structure the content space into a starting page that provides an overview and several secondary pages that each focus on a specific topic. The goal is to allow users to avoid wasting time on those subtopics that don’t concern them.
  6. Use product photos, but avoid cluttered and bloated product family pages with lots of photos. Instead have a small photo on each of the individual product pages and link the photo to one or more bigger ones that show as much detail as users need. This varies depending on type of product. Some products may even need zoomable or rotatable photos, but reserve all such advanced features for the secondary pages. The primary product page must be fast and should be limited to a thumbnail shot.
  7. Use relevance-enhanced image reduction when preparing small photos and images: instead of simply resizing the original image to a tiny and unreadable thumbnail, zoom in on the most relevant detail and use a combination of cropping and resizing.
  8. Use link titles to provide users with a preview of where each link will take them, before they have clicked on it.
  9. Ensure that all important pages are accessible for users with disabilities, especially blind users.
  10. Do the same as everybody else: if most big websites do something in a certain way, then follow along since users will expect things to work the same on your site. Remember Jakob’s Law of the Web User Experience: users spend most of their time on other sites, so that’s where they form their expectations for how the Web works.

PC Advice

Filed under Even More Random Thoughts by Katz

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Mortgage Protection Insurance: The Best Decision You’ve Ever Made!

Everybody knows that purchasing a house is likely going to be the biggest investment of their lifetime. The saying is “You Buy A House, You Make It A Home.” You should feel safer in your homed than you do anywhere else in the world. There’s nothing quite so comforting as know that you have an adequate amount of mortgage protection insurance in the event of your untimely death.

When you buy a house it means that you’ve decided to make a long-term financial commitment. Unfortunately, you never know what the future holds. One thing’s for sure though. If you’ll go one step further and purchase mortgage insurance this will help alleviate the stress often caused by a weak financial plan. To say it plainly, if you don’t have some type of mortgage life insurance and you die unexpectedly there’s a good chance that your spouse and children will be forced to sell the house and move into an apartment.

Believe me, I know it’s tempting to skip the insurance in an attempt to save money. However, perhaps it’s time to do a bit of research. With the economy in the shape it’s in nowadays there’s a very good chance that you can get a better deal on mortgage life insurance that you might have imagined.

Think about it. You’re committed to taking care of your family while you’re alive, but what happens if something happens to you? Wouldn’t you feel more at ease with a mortgage protection insurance policy as part of your overall financial portfolio?

Honestly, finding the right mortgage life insurance policy is not difficult. If you do your research on the internet it’s really not even all that time-consuming. Trust me, the peace of mind you’ll get from it simply cannot be measured in dollars and cents. Actually, it will probably turn out to be the best decision you’ve ever made in your life.

Acid Reflux

Filed under Even More Random Thoughts by Katz

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Where to Order Acai Berry Supplements If You Live in Canada

If you know what is going on in the health and fitness world, you have probably heard of the super food called acai berries. The antioxidant wonders of this berry have been touted on news programs, morning talk shows, and in magazine articles and news papers. If you live in the United States, there are tons of offers targeted at introducing you to this wonder food. However, if you live north of the United States border in Canada, you can be left wondering how you can take advantage of the health benefits and promotional offers. Read on to learn about Acai Berry offers in Canada.

ACAI BURN CANADA
A supplement called Acai Burn is one of the best available right now and it is available to Canadian residents. I do not know if there are any local Acai Burn Canada suppliers, but getting it over the internet is quick and easy. You can also get a free trial bottle when ordering online and I don’t think you will get that from a local supplier.

ACAI BERRY BLAST CANADA
Another good supplement that is available in Canada and over 30 other countries is Acai Berry Blast. The Acai Berry Blast Canada offer is not the same as the international offer and if you try an international offer, you will probably get redirected. For this company, it is the same as the offer for the United States so if you don’t see a link for Canada, just click on the main link for the United States.

If you want to find out more about where to buy Acai Berry in Canada including how to get a free trial head over to AcaiBerryPill.info where you can find out all about the acai berry and all the health benefits you can get.

One final note on these offers: make sure you understand what you are signing up for with these and any trial offer. Most of the time, you are agreeing to a recurring monthly shipment unless you cancel. It isn’t a big deal to cancel, but you need to remember to do it or you will get a monthly shipment. If you do forget to cancel and get a shipment, you can return it, but it is a little more work so make sure you cancel if you don’t want the monthly shipment.

Before you try any new health supplement or the best ab workout you found on the internet, you should check with your doctor to make sure there aren’t any hidden health issues you should know about. In most cases, there isn’t anything that will prevent you from exercising or dieting, but you should check to be sure.

Filed under Weight Watchers by Vinnie

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Promotional Items For Your Business

What better way to promote your company name and identity than to distribute customized stubby holders and belt buckles to all of your employees and professional customers marked with your business information. By doing so, for a minimal initial investment, you get company advertising literally walking around town on your employees and your clients. The belt buckles are a completely unique way to demonstrate your company’s individuality. In addition, the stubby holders which are covers for soda pop or beer cans, can be given to clients as well as employees for optimal usage of your promotional dollars. The belt buckle can be customized with any words and pictures of which you forsee as part of your company theme. The same flexibility goes for the stubby covers which can be printed with any graphics that you desire to [promote your services|demonstrate your mission} or company vision. The latter would obviously be a less expensive source of promotion.

There are many other promotional products that you make to order to advertise your company. The list is endless and ranges from simple ball point pens to customized clothing. Pens printed with your company name are a favorite because they are so inexpensive and are easy to buy in bulk, transport in your car and deliver to customers at any moment. Clothing is much more expensive, but like the belt buckles can be worn and your logo with your company name will be walking around town! A variety of products include water bottles, key chains, pads of paper, tote bags, Frisbees, coolers, coffee mugs, and more. The list is (truly endless|honestly neverending} and anything that you could come up with as a new promotional product could be emblazoned with your company name and added to the list.

There are numerous utilizations for promotional products designed with your company name on them. Two of the main utilizations are as materials used by your sales team to promote your company and make their sales call a lasting impression long after your sales professional has left their place of business. The promotional items can also be used when attempting to set up the sales appointment. Leaving a small promotional gift for the person that you are trying to contact is a sure way to get them to take your call. The second is as thank you gifts for your most prized selection of clients. These promotional (tokens of gratitude|gift items} can be given around specific holidays or at the anniversary of when you first started doing business with a client. Bearing gifts is a great way to ensure that a client knows that you value their business and appreciate their loyalty.

There are many ways to advertise your company. Purchasing promotional products is a great way to utilize the least amount of money and gain the maximum exposure for your company. Being creative and selective in the type of the promotional products that you choose to utilize will pull you away from your competition. Custom belt buckles and stubby holders are prime samples of creative products.

Filed under Fashion by Vinnie

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Make the mess in your Handbag go away

For a person who is always on the go, a purse full of clutter or in complete disarray is always given. This should not be the problem going forward. Confident and motivated people are known to be stickler to order and focused thinking. You can easily see through these organized thinking by the way they handle themselves on a daily basis. If you happen to take a peek at their purses and bags, you will find out how organized and clutter-free these individuals are with their personal belongings. Looking closely the personal items of this type of persons you will mostly likely find a purse organizer.

individuals who are very active and fast paced lives always use a purse to effectively their personal things. Here are some practical tips that these people can share to us for our own use.

You can have an easy organizer where you can update your activities and appointments. This is done by prioritizing the contents using purse organizers. When you are able to logically put in order your items inside your purse organizer, you can easily get the things that you need if and when you need them. With the appropriate purse organizer, you can easily go through the business cards, credit cards, IDs, important personal documents and other items that you normally have to carry every day. Once you are able to properly organize your personal items inside your bags, you are also able to put your cash in its proper place inside your purse. In this way, monitoring your weekly expenditures will be a lot easier as you can easily check how much you have in your purse at any given time. This is one great way of managing your daily expenses as you can easily monitor if you are overspending or not.

The best way to organize your personal items is by grouping like items into specific spaces. This way you will easily know which part of your bag you are going to look for a particular item. Another alternative way of organizing your personal belongings is by placing in a specific place those items which you regularly used on a daily basis. It is also a great thought to check the contents of your purse organizer regularly for items which are not being used already. You may have some items that need to be left out due to age. These are the items that need to be thrown away. This de-cluttering activity has to be completed regularly to ensure that you bring only those personal items which you will need every day.

Once you decided to have your own purse organizer, your next concern would be to the best version for your bag. In selecting the best and perfect organizer, the first thing that you have to consider is your handbag or travel bag. Consider the size of your purse and the things you want to put in it. Consider all those personal items and other things that you need to put inside your organizer. For those, items that could fit inside your organizer, reserve a section in your bag where you can all of these items. It would be a practical idea to put inside a special clear make up bag all your personal care items and make up collection.

Filed under Random Thoughts by Vinnie

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Urbane Apparel for Men from Junk De Luxe

The modern view of fashion tends not to pay attention only to women, but to men as well. Men usually opt for styles that exude confidence and also prioritizes comfort, and these hold for both casual and formal clothing. Junk De Luxe offers an impressive array of men’s clothing, perfect for everyday wear and for more formal events. Sweaters manufactured from comfortable cotton are ideal for colder seasons. Cotton shirts with short sleeves are also available, perfect for the warm seasons. Are you gunning for a sophisticate’s fashion touch? The long sleeve shirt with tie detailing is just the perfect choice for sophisticated trendsetters. Drop the mediocre and opt for the fashion that elevates you.

Filed under Fashion by Vinnie

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Choosing Wisely When it Comes to Men’s Fashion

If you think it’s only the women who need to be fashion conscious, you are mistaken. Men are encouraged to step out in style as well. You can display your individuality by choosing the best style for you in men’s fashion clothing. From a hectic day at your office to an exciting night out on a date, being in style should always merit your priority. There are shirts, jackets, and jeans which will satisfy the fashion style you are after. A range of contemporary designers offers more innovative creations. You need not spend a fortune for fashion moreover, so long as you are able to find cost-effective choices.

Filed under Fashion by Vinnie

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