Macromedia® Contribute 3Written by Vincent Czaplyski
What is it? A web browser and editor in one. Who needs it? Anyone who must make frequent updates to a website but doesn't want to wait around for a webmaster, designer or other person in charge to make changes for you. And if you're all thumbs when it comes to knowing about website design and upkeep, you're going to especially like this program. Made by same folks who developed highly capable Dreamweaver web design software, Contribute 3 makes it easy to manage your website. First of all it has familiar look and feel of Windows environment. You may find yourself forgetting momentarily that you aren't using Windows Explorer, since basic browsing functions work more or less same way. When I first discovered Contribute, Macromedia was up to version 2. The latest version 3 (actually 3.1) Contribute update delivers powerful enhancements including Streamlined File Publishing, Breeze Server Connectivity, and support for Subsites. This free update is recommended for all Contribute users. And like most Macromedia products, company lets you test drive software with a free 30 day download available from its website (see link below). What makes Contribute 3 especially useful though is fact that you can make changes to your website (or any website that you have permission to change) and publish your changes literally with a click of your mouse. You first have to create a one time only connection by entering appropriate user name, password and FTP address for website. After that, anytime you want to make changes to pages on site, you do following: 1. Click on connection dialog for that website in Contribute 3, which opens website in browser. 2. Click on EDIT, which allows you to start making changes. 3. When you're done, click on PUBLISH and Contribute 3 uploads changes to your website.
| | Web Page Real Estate 101Written by Ray Hadorn
"The value is in land" “Location! Location! Location!” “Invest in land..they aren't making any more of it" Those real estate axioms are well known and are even truer today than ever. But they also are applicable to your website. We hear and read every day how our websites are competing with millions of others in great race to be found online. We have to first work, work and work some more to get our piece of "web real estate" in a position to be found through search engine management and placement. We secure as many quality links as we can get. We meticulously research our ultimate key word phrases and then pay for best position. All of this just to get your website on screen in front of a potential customer. Once customer is looking at your page, you have just seconds to capture enough of her attention to keep her there a few more seconds, then a minute, maybe two or three minutes. Long enough to read your information and then gain enough confidence in you, who you are, and what you are offering to actually place an order or seek more information. Know what odds of all that coming together are? Ever hear of lottery? So what does all this have to do with web page real estate? When your landing page pops up on viewer's monitor, what do they see? Without scrolling down page, without clicking on any links, what is immediately visible? This initial space, considering a typical browser occupies about one inch at top can make or break your goal of getting them to hang around long enough to find out what your site is all about. So you can now see how critical it is when designing your main or index page. Give it some serious thought when planning this page. Your subsequent pages are worthless if viewer's attention isn't held long enough to even discover you have anything else to say. The value of your index page real estate is very high. Make sure that what they see and read from that initial screen view is best you have. Make it your knock out punch. Do not waste space with boring, self-indulging rhetoric. Don't fill it up with words about you and your company and how long you have been in business, what your goals are etc. If you want to make that info available do it via a link or popup.
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