Is WordPress a Content Management System?
I would say YES and it's so much more. There are over 6,500 "plug-ins" or features and more being added. Our clients that are using WordPress are just delighted at how easy it is to update their own sites, add images or upload videos. If you don't have a WordPress site yet, then we can install links via www.cushycms.com for you to update pages in your site.

What is a 301 Redirect?
If you are redesigning your existing website and renaming pages then you'll want to make sure those old urls are redirected to the new pages. We always 301-redirect all old urls to their relative counterparts within the new site. This will also help maintain any current Google rankings that you have with those pages.

How many people are reading your articles?
Each month www.ezinearticles.com sends me a report with statistics on views for each article I've written. In December of 2009 there were 819 people that read my article titled "Google Goggles". That particular article has had 9,085 lifetime views. You can reach a large number of people by writing articles that pertain to your business. The goal is to share valuable information without blatantly selling your services or products. It's also a good way to let people know about you and your philosophy. This often determines whether they are a good fit for you and your business.

Facebook
I have 38 emails sitting there right now in Facebook. The majority of these are Facebook "friends" wanting me to sign up for their teleseminars, buy their products or services. My "real" friends and business associates do not solicit this way so I find it rather time consuming to deal with Facebook. The part I enjoy is connecting with family online. My siblings, nieces and nephews are quite active with their comments and uploading photos. Have you found that Facebook has greatly benefited your business? Please send me stats and details so I can learn more about this and share your wisdom with others.

What Kind of Creative Spirit Are You?
Take the quiz and find out at www.laurahollick.com I was pleasantly surprised by the results. Let me know what you find out about your type – maybe we are kindred spirits!

Why is it important to Validate Code?
It is our standard practice to validate code on sites we design. The reason we do this is to ensure your web pages are interpreted in the same way (the way you want) by various machines, search engines, as well as users and visitors to your webpage.

Conforming to standards and regulations is one of the many ways you can make your website universally understood. Make sure your codes and styles validate across the board. That means they have to meet the "strict" standards set by the W3C Organization and pass a variety of validations for CSS and XHTML. In simple terms, validation ensures that your website complies with the standards accepted by most web designers. That also means that it will be accessible to more people, across more web browsers and operation systems.

Validation doesn't just mean putting your pages through some web driven testers. It also means test-driving it with friends, relatives, co-workers, and strangers. Everyone has a different system and way of working, so ask for others to test-drive your site. Their feedback will be quite valuable and may surprise you! Source: www.wordpress.org

Personally Speaking
I'm a big fan of Steve Krug and his first book, "Don't Make Me Think! – A common sense approach to web usability." His new book is in stores now and I think it's another winner. It's called "Rocket Surgery Made Easy!" Visit his website to learn more about his philosophy and workshops: www.sensible.com. He approaches all this geeky web stuff with common sense and a sense of humor. I like that. Wishing you a fun-filled, fabulously fantastic February! ~ Anita