Just make sure you have FireFox installed first!

SEO for Firefox

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A useful tool that pulls data research right into Yahoo’s and Google’s search results and includes some of the following features:

• Page links – Shows estimated total number of links pointing to pages in Yahoo
• Cached – Shows how many sites in Google are indexed
• Provides Alexa site rankings
• Gives PR stats (Google PageRank)
• Bloglines – check out how many people are subscribed to certain blogs

SeoQuake

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• Allows users/web developers to view large number of SE parameters on the internet
• SEO Toolbar – Parameters shown in separate toolbar in browser
• SEObar – Shows values of parameters of web pages currently opened in browser
• Inclusion of parameters in SERPs (customized by users)

Firebug

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• Includes web development tools
• Allows you to inspect and edit HTML
• Monitor and debug CSS and Javascript in live web pages
• Find and edit DOM (Direct Object Model) quickly

Page Speed

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Never underestimate how important it is to have a fast and responsive site or blog.  This plugin is essential in helping to display problems that need ot be addressed so visitors don’t have ot wait for what they want.  There is more detailed information on this plugin in the post, WordPress load time – how to speed up your blog loading time.

• Used to evaluate web page performance
• Web sites run faster – runs diagnostic tests
• Reduces hosting costs and bandwidth
• Performs tests on front-end code and web server configuration

SearchStatus 1.30

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• Displays Google PageRank, Compete Ranking, Alexa Rank and SEOmoz Linkscape mozRank in browser
• Includes backward/related links
• Fast keyword density analyser

SEOpen

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• Yahoo and Google backlinks
• Alexa traffic and backlinks
• Page size and PR checker
• HTML validator

yExplore

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• Quickly accesses Yahoo Site explorer

Niche Watch Tool 1.0

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• Analyze niche keyword competition
• Gives backlink numbers, indexed pages, all in anchor, and page ranks
• Builds high PR links – gain better search engine placement

X-Ray 0.9

• Allows you to easily see how site was created
• View tags on web pages without seeing source codes
• Displays class and ID names

Web Developer 1.1.8

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• Includes many web developer tools
• Adds toolbars and menu to browser

User Agent Switch 0.7.2

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• Adds toolbar and menu buttons to switch user agent of browser
• Allows access to sites that restrict access

Google Global

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Has over 20 features – views paid and organic searches from any location across the globe:

• Cities
• Regions
• IP addresses
• US zip codes
• Different languages

Alexa Sparky

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• Shows Alexa information in your status bar
• Provides Reach and Rank data about the sites you surf
• Users can view web traffic metrics
• Find out what sites are more popular than others
• Allows you to web surf more efficiently – finds related links/sites
• Won’t interrupt your web browsing

LinkChecker 0.6.3

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• Checks validity of site links
• Tool button can be added on browser for easier access
• Uses color coding to highlight bad versus good links

Yes I know, it sounds weird. But give it a minute and it will become clear. Essentially this single Youtube clip has embedded their whole website inside mine but each click of the navigation takes you to a new interactive video hosted completely on Youtube.  Thats smart.

Really struck me as an excellent and original method of getting a message across and turning a website into something, not just a little bit different, but completely new and fresh.  Hats off to BooneOakley.

BooneOakley

We’re changing! Check out our new look!

And its all yours.

Hows how it goes…

The Shopping Centre

You want to build a shopping centre.  First things first you begin the planning stage whereby you sketch out the foundations of the structure and refine this with an architect while locating prime real estate with easy access and parking, until you have a solid plan in place.

Then comes the details.

Things like water, electric, lighting, security etc. Small but important non the less in this grand scheme of things.

Now you have a shopping centre. Great! But the next stage is to fill those units with businesses. So you start to advertise in the lead up to the opening of your centre, dealing with businesses, allocating units (only the best shops get or can afford what is considered the prime locations), negotiating prices and contracts until the grand day arrives and in a flurry of activity and press, you cut the red ribbon and hey presto, your open for business.

People come to the shopping centre for a number of reasons and these reasons are important.  Its convenient. All those shops under one roof.  Easy Parking.

All the amenities required to stop, purchase and go straight home. Another reason is the good deals offered by the businesses within the centre as they compete for your attention and rightly so! One other somewhat overlooked part of your shopping centre is the sense of community it could create. I cannot count the number of people who simply “hangout” their, meet friends for coffee or group together out of mutual interest on shopping bonanzas and bargain hunting.

And your shopping centre thrives.

So how does all this relate to your website?

The Website

Websites creations starts with the need to have a site. You will need a good web designer to plan out the site and decide on the foundations, requirements and structure of the site while also considering the hosting (location), a good reliable service is essential and should also cover all the fundamentals and details such as email, security, uptime and bandwidth and all the other bits and bobs to account for.

Now you have a website. Great! (you see where I’m going with this?) But the site is pretty empty so you need to fill it to attract those visitors. Yep! All those units in the real shopping centre relate to the pages of information in your site. So you begin producing content, good quality content which will attract the right kind of visitors to your site.

This involves knowledge, research and effort as you gradually build the required content to fill up your site (naturally placing and promoting your best content in the prime locations on your site). In tandem with this you are promoting this material as and when it is produced and also promoting the content via press releases and incentives for visitors to come and enjoy the information you provide.

People will come to your site for a range of reasons and the reasons are not dissimilar to the shopping centre. the site should have the required services and amenities the visitor wants, maybe its a simple thing like a phone number, or email address or the more advanced features such as interactivity and forums, all under one roof, or at least, inside your website.

Again, like the shopping centre, they are also attracted by the offers and deals they can gain from using the services your site offers. Finally, if done correctly, you can create a sense of community to your site where opinions can be shared, advice given and interaction encouraged thus encouraging the growth of loyalty from your visitors.

And so your website requirements have been met and it thrives.

The reason I have to use similes and analogies such as this is the unfortunately poor understanding people have of their own website and the requirements it needs in order to succeed.

It requires time and effort, care and attention, investment and development in order to grow and maintain the online aspect of a business. Simply slapping 100 Euros down and sticking a site on the web will not result in success. Its a serious business and if done correctly can produce excellent dividends.

But dont expect much out if your not prepared to put effort in!

I will Submit your Site to 1 BILLION Search Engines for 5 dollars!
It will make you millions and get you loads of visitors in minutes!
Do NOT Delay – one off payment ONLY €49

This technique is so old I don’t even know why I have mentioned it, maybe because you still see it used (unbelievably).

Save your money and go have a good party, buy the girlfriend a present (definatley much more value there) or just give it to charity.

You do not need to submit your site to a search engine.

(at least not the ones that matter)

You CAN if you wish, but even then once is enough and only to Google it is more than enough.  A link from a site already established or a good press release to a popular article website will also allow the search engines to detect you. You will be detected and picked up, sooner or later.

Don’t waste your money on services offering this, its pointless, and frankly makes me feckin angry when I see it and see people paying for it.

Here, submit your site now, it takes 3 seconds:

Submit your site to Google

But dont just take my word for it:

References:
http://www.seobook.com/best-search-engine-submission-programs
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/ridding-the-world-of-search-engine-submission

In fact this was the main aim of a conversation I had today in establishing a business process when it came up in the conversation from one of my associates Mr. Finn Wissenberg who wished to direct me to this video below which is excellent in its explanation as well as its implementation.

Hats off to Jonathan Jarvis for this excellently executed simplification of the Credit Crunch.

Enjoy!

The Crisis of Credit Visualized

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

With that in mind I have sourced a small selection of resources containing WordPress Themes for Free:

WordPress Theme Central

Revolution Two

Smashing Magazine 2007

Smashing Magazine 2008

Massive Press

If you cant find a theme in this list then you are in trouble!

Make my logo bigger… ARGHHHHHhh!!

Add this add that change this change that, sometimes you wonder why you bother. If you dont know what I mean then watch the video below. If you still dont know what I mean then really your beyond help anyway.

Enjoy.

Anyways, how can you start out for free as a web design free lancer? Simple. Offer it for Free and someone will take it for free. Cant find someone to do it for free? do it yourself for free. Make a website, make a system, make something that can be used in a portfolio as an example of work done to illustrate to clients who you are and what you do. Even your own site can be a statement or promotional piece that shows potential clients what you are capable of producing.

Now hopefully you will end up with a free client somewhere along the line (by the way if you cant find someone who wants it free, then seriously consider another line of work…). Do the job take the knocks and get it done and completed. Now the serious work begins. Finding a paying client. Dont be a complete desperate fool at this stage.

DO NOT offer your services for next to nothing, you would be better doing it for free.

DO NOT offer to do a project which is really worht ALOT of TIME and MONEY for next to nothing or free.

DO NOT make your prices so low that you undervalue your own work, be honest, be fair to clients and yourself and it will benefit all involved.

Its your first project, so find something manageable, simple to complete and with easy satisfaction to both you, the client and hopefully the end user or visitor to the site.

If possible make a contract. Clarify the client requirements and what is required from you in as much detail as possible. If you dont have a contract, and even if you do, make sure you take 50% deposit to begin works and cover the 1st year of hosting, the initial design work etc.

Do the job and only put the site live or hand over any files created after all, and I mean ALL, outstaidng amounts have been cleared. Never have a client pressure you into hanidng over work or putting a site live without agreement in wirting from them to pay the difference.

An exception to this is having the site hosted on their hosting account. To many people guillably put files on the hosting account managed by the client only to have no response from them afterwards, or a nice email saying “we are not satisfied and are not paying…” even thoguh the site is live and functioning.. thats when you are beat.

NEVER EVER put the site, files, copies of the files or give the client access to the files via FTP until the work has been paid for. THEY DO NOT own it until it has been paid for.

Freelancing can be a very tough game and unless your tough yourself you may find the clients running your business for you very quickly. So good luck with managing those web design clients and not let them manage you and hopefully some of this advise will help avoid some of the more serious pitfalls alot of people encounter in the early days of starting out.

HOWEVER…

…sometimes I wonder if clients appreciate the fine line they walk when they try and influence the design of a web site rather than leaving it in the capable hands of the web designer… namely us.

I will now be referring people to this website as the finest example of work that we at 123 Marbella DO NOT DELIVER. If nothing else many of our clients will breath a sigh of relief that their website looks the way it looks today, even if it may be a few years old.

So without further delay, hold onto your hats, and grit your teeth, for the best example of the worst website design I have seen in a LONG time. (That being said the site is actually very interesting in the respect that it explains the reasons that things are NOT done.)

oh god, here goes:

WORST WEBSITE DESIGN

PS: If you have speakers, you may want to turn them of, rip them out and bin them… and also don’t blame me if this destroys any faith you have in mankind… I´m on the edge personally.