Ok this isn’t what it sounds like…
It’s not some promotion for a website dating service just a quick tutorial on how to add todays date on your webpage.
When creating a sales letter web page we like to include today’s date it creates the thought that the page is fresh and new and is proven to help conversion.
It is really an easy technique to implement.
I use a javascript include to do this, the main reason is to keep the code cleaner for the search engines to spider without having to sort through javascript code.
Anyway to get started just right click on your mouse (mac users ctrl + click) on the link below and download this file to your computer and then upload to your web site.
http://www.frankdeardurff.com/files/date.js
On your webpage insert the following code where you want the date to appear. (note if you have uploaded the script to a differnet location than where the page is you will need to be sure to check the path to the script and put that in the source path (src=”") below.
<script src="date.js"></script>
Another good place to use a similar script is in the footer where you always want the current year for your copyright.
Right click and save this file and follow the similar steps above.
http://www.frankdeardurff.com/files/year.js
<script src="year.js"></script>
I hope you find this useful for your website.
All the best and much success in everything you do!
Frank Deardurff III - That One Web Guy!
I see this mistake quite a bit or maybe I don’t! So many times I see order buttons and form submit buttons that don’t appear to be buttons.
Many web designers will make great looking graphical buttons to “match” the design of the rest of the site. While these buttons might look nice they aren’t always effective.
There has been a lot of debate about the fact whether graphical buttons are as effective as regular “HTML” style buttons. I suggest you test on what’s best for your market but I’ll make the comment I’ve made time after time if it looks like a button, acts like a button it must be a button.
Why would you want to chance the possibility of lost sales by “hoping” the website visitors realize that the graphic button you have in place is perceived is a button. This goes the same for your opt-in form buttons, you should be consistent with the buttons so the visitor knows what is and isn’t a button.
There are a few things you can do to “enhance” the regular “HTML” button to increase you can see an example of some these effects by visiting http://www.50biggestwebsitemistakes.com. You can see that I’ve increased the size of the button and text as well as adding a red border around the button to help draw attention to the button. This increases action to the button.
Just as is true with many components of marketing copy is king even on something as small as a button. By default the text on a HTML button says simply “submit” which really doesn’t say much. You want to change the text or copy on the button to have some sort of instruction or action so that there is no question what is going to happen when they push the button.
Some examples of Copy to use on an order button would be “Click Here To Order Now”; “Order Now for Only $29.95″; A few examples for the opt-in button would be “Claim Your Report Today!” or “Get A Free Chapter!”.
By applying several of these strategies just with the button it’s self you will be surprised how much you will improve conversion of opt-ins and orders. Of course be sure that you test everything and monitor by using your stats programs.
“If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it.” Lord Kelvin
All the best and much success in everything you do!
Frank Deardurff III - That One Web Guy!
Several people have asked what applications I have installed on my iPhone, well that would be a long list so I though I would focus on a couple that I use for my web businesses.
To Keep track of time on projects I use an application called “TimeLogger” really cool and easy to use. Allows me to send time reports back to the office. The next one would be “Things” that helps keep track of project lists. For notes and quick todo’s I’ve been using “Evernote” seems really easy to use and syncs with my desktop and my account on their website. Although I still like the interface of “One Note” on my desktop since it doesn’t sync anywhere it is quickly being replaced.
A must have app is the “wordpress” App that let’s me make posts to any of blogs that I have configured in the app.
For tracking stats I use the “Analytics” app which checks all my Google Analytics accounts. I also use the Google App for utilizing the Goolge services. Since I have a web hosting company (ThatOneHosting thanks for asking) I use the “pTerm” application to “shell” into the servers terminal interface to reboot or restart services and things like that.
A pretty slick app I found recently is “FTPOnTheGo” this app will allow you to connect via FTP to your website download a page make changes and then reupload. Really handy if a we quick change is needed.
I us an app called “WinAdmin” to remote into my home desktop in case I need to use an application that I don’t have access to on my iPhone.
I’ve recently been trying an app called “Photofx” to make minor modifications to images on my phone comes in handy if I’m wanting to make a quick post some where with a pic I’ve taken with the iPhone camera.
Of course as I’ve said I have tons of other applications installed like the different social media apps and games and readers and things. I’d be really interested to hear what iPhone Applications you are using to fulfill your business needs from your iPhone.
Feel free to leave a comment to let me know what your using or suggest one I should try out.
All the best and much success in everything you do!
Frank Deardurff III - That One Web Guy!
I thought I would show you this cool resource I’ve been using. And yes it’s totally free.
Check out the resource yourself at http://colorschemedesigner.com/
Give it a try and leave a comment as to what you think of it!
All the best and much success in everything you do!
Frank Deardurff III - That One Web Guy!
This is a common mistake on many websites and that is either a non-existant or weak guarantee.
There are many misconceptions about using a guarantee on the website. I’ve heard some discussion about the fact that if they add a guarantee to their website they are afraid that brings to light the possibility that the buyer can return the product.
I think that’s the furthest thing from the truth. In fact by not having a guarantee on your website makes the buyer think that the product is either, a possible scam, OR you do not have enough faith in the product to warrant a guarantee.
Of course there is always the possibility you simply forgot to add the guarantee to your website. Here are some things to consider when creating or updating the guarantee you have.
Most merchant accounts and payment processors want or require you to have a guarantee policy easily displayed on your website, be sure to check out what they require and adjust accordingly.
Be sure to make your guarantee “look” like a guarantee policy. Many times I see this section look like the normal sales copy on the page or if there is a box around it, it resembles the other boxes on the page.
What I’ve found to work well is add an image that resembles a certificate as a background image or create (or have created) the whole thing as a graphic to easily place all of the elements you want in that area.
Also what is appealing is to add an official seal to that area. You can easily find these at either istockphoto.com or fotolia.com both of these stock photo websites will allow you to purchase at a very reasonable price both the certificate and seal images to use on your website.
Finally, don’t leave any doubt about what your policy is, explain the details and be sure that it fits the offer. You wouldn’t use the same policy for a live event, teleseminar or webinar that you would for say an ebook, physical product, or services rendered. Simply do a little research what others may be doing and then modify to meet your needs and of course test to see what gets you the best conversions.
Feel free to check out any of my websites as an example.
All the best and much success in everything you do!
Frank Deardurff III - That One Web Guy!
