I’ve long been a fan of iGoogle. You can add all sorts of Gadgets, RSS feeds, information and customisation to your very on version of Google.

Well thanks to the HTML widget, you can now add any Google Gadget to your WebEden website too! Any of the cool stuff that developers have created for iGoogle can now appear on your website. Watch the video tutorial to find out how:

Any comments or feedback? Please leave them below.

One of the primary reasons people build a website is to make money from it. And a popular way to make money from your website is to sell advertising on it.

You can choose to sell advertising space on your website to specific companies. Or you can let Google AdSense do the hardwork and sell it for you.

Google Adsense scans the text on your website and automatically serves relevant advertising around it. You get paid when someone clicks on those adverts.

Any WebEden customer can run ‘Ads by Google’ on their website, and make money from the the impressions and traffic that your website delivers.

Find out how to place Google Adsense ads on your website by watching the tutorial below.

Any questions or comments? Please leave them below.

Last month we talked about the 10 essentials that every business website should have.

No.1 on this list was contact details - its probably the most important element to any website.

You should give your website visitors the option of interacting with you in as many ways as possible: Telephone, email address, physical address, contact form, forum, Twittter, Facebook.

Today we had a great tip from Phil Evans who runs Fractal Design. Its all about how to add a Skype button to your website, so that people can contact you by Skype.

1. Go to this page on Skype: http://www.skype.com/intl/en/share/buttons/

2. Enter Your Skype Name

3. Choose a Style of button (and here are the choices):

3. Press ‘Preview your Button’

4. Copy the HTML that is generated in the box beside the ‘Preview’ button

5. Go to your WebEden control panel and place the WebEden HTML Snippet in the place on the page that you would like your Skype button to appear.

The HTML snippet can be found by going:

File Manager –> Library –> HTML Snippet

This is what it looks like:

6. Paste the code from Skype into the Snippet, and press ’save’.

Hey presto! A Skype button on your Website! People can now contact you via Skype.

Many thanks to Phil for this tip.

Any comments about this tip, or if you have any of your own, please leave them below

A few months ago we brought you news of a free online tool that gives you feedback on your website design. 5-second test shows your site to volunteers for 5 seconds, and then asks them to write down what they think your website is all about.

You can use those comments to improve your website, and make it easier for users to understand and navigate.

That post has been so popular that we’ve pulled together three more free online tools to help you in your website building.

Paint.net

Paint.net is free tool that lets you create or edit images, and then save them for use on your website. It’s like a ‘photoshop lite’ for those of us with out the cash (or the patience) for the full blown software.

With Paint.net you can build up your images in layers, adding complexity and texture. You can manipulate each individual layer at any time. Once you’re happy with your image you can flatten it, and then save it many different files types.

Zamzar.com

On Zamzar.com you can convert almost any file type to any other file type. Have you got an excel file that you want to turn into a PDF? Or what about a PDF that you want to turn into Word so that you can edit it? Zamzar can do the lot.

Zamzar can also convert a wide rang of music, video, image and compressed files.

Here’s just a few of the extensions that Zamzar can deal with: .ods; .odt; .ppt; .pptx; .ps; .pub; .rtf; .docx; .doc; .xls; .xlsx; .cvs; .odp;  .wpd; .wps… the list goes on.

Zamzar can also convert iTunes files to mp3.

The other cool thing about Zamzar is that you can add a button to your browser toolbar that lets you click on Youtube videos, convert and save them.

Imagemerger.net

One side effect in the digital-camera-megapixel-race is that the files that modern digital cameras produce are now pretty massive. Do you ever have large photos that take an age to download? Ones that you could blow up to the size of a poster? Would be useful to cut them down to size, possibly for use on your website?

With Imagemerger.net/resize.php you can do just that. You can specify the % reduction you want to apply to your image.

Imagemerer.net also has some other cool image manipulation tools – one which blends two photos together.

ColorZilla

Colorzilla is a free extension for the Firefox browser that can help you to choose the right colour for all the elements of your website.

You can download Colorzilla from the Firefox website. It has a colour picker that sits in the bottom left hand corner of your browser window. If you want to know what the RGB colour of anything on the web, simply click the colour picker and then click on the website that you want to know the colour of.

Colorzilla then displays the RGB and Hex values of that colour.

Check these free tools out and let us know what you think.

Do you know any free online tools that you can share?

Those website builders who are keen to boost their website higher up the Search Engine Results Pages will know that an essential part of the process includes building inbound links to your website.

As we discussed in our Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) guide, one of the ways to get inbound links is to send out online press releases.

Press releases can contain keyword rich links which point back to your website. And if they picked up by a genuine journalist then they can raise awareness in the traditional way too.

Read on to find the 10 essential steps to create your perfect press release.

1. Grab your keywords
Those of your following an SEO program will already have a list of keywords that you want to focus on. (For more information about SEO read our SEO Guide.)

Try to use the keywords in all sections of the press release we discuss below. Don’t squeeze them in so that it ceases to make sense - remember that the PR still needs to be readable by a human.

2. Decide what to write about
It’s best to focus on just a single point for your press release, rather than try and include all your news.

If there are any recent events that have taken place in your business, these might be right for a release. If you’ve opened a new branch; been nominated for an award; expanded; started stocking new lines, these could all be the subject matter.

Alternatively you can create your own news. Have you surveyed your staff or customers and found something of interest? Have you held a competition? Have you made a donation to Charity? These could be good subjects too.

Here’s the crunch bit: write down your news in just 1 line.

This keeps it simple, focused, and gives you something to refer back to. It also stops you wandering off topic later in the release.

3. Layout
Boring but important, there are some elements that a press release should always include. From the top these are:

Date. Your contact details. Company logo (if you have one)
Headline
The Intro paragraph
The main body
The closing paragraph
[Ends]
Notes to Editors

4. The Headline
Place the headline in the center of the page below the contact details, in bold. Use the headline to concisely describe the content of the release. You need to make it easily and quickly understood by a business editorial person.

The other important factor is to try and use a headline that uses keyword from your SEO list.

5. The Introduction
The first paragraph should include all the main points of your press release. It should work like an expanded version of the headline. If you haven’t mentioned it by the end of this paragraph, don’t mention it at all. Make it no more than a few lines long. Work on the basis that most people won’t read on from here, so you need to make your point quickly.

Classic journalism looks at who, where, what, and why. Include these and you’ve nailed it.

Again, try to use your keywords in this paragraph, but only where they are part of the organic flow of prose.

6. The Main body
This is where you can expand on the essentials covered in the introduction. The main body should be no longer than 2 paragraphs. Its a good idea to reinforce any points made by including a quote from a relevant source, often the Managing Director .

If you’ve got any colourful facts or supporting market research or statistics then the main body is a good place to include it.

7. The Closing Paragraph
The final paragraph can include more general information about the company, such as the number of years it has been going, where it is located.

8. Links
Gaining inbound links to your website is one of the main reasons to distribute online press releases, so you need to make sure to include some! As discussed in part 5, use keyword-rich anchor text to link to an appropriate page on your website in the introduction. Many online press release publishers will not include this link. For that reason, make sure you include a link at the bottom of your closing paragraph. This is the way we do it for WebEden:

for more information go to http://www.webeden.net

9. Ends
After your final paragraph, you need to let editors know that the press release has finished by writing:

[Ends].

10. Notes to editors
After the end of the actual press release, you can write brief notes to editors who might want further information.

You may have high-res images for them to use, or be able to supply more in depth information to interested journalists. This is a good place to let editorial staff know about this sort of thing.

And that’s it

Follow this 10 point plan to get the most from your online PR. It will help boost you up the Search Engine Results Pages by generating inbound links, and will also raise awareness of your business amongst your target audience.

Here at WebEden we often get asked to have a look at customer websites and give our feedback on how they’re looking. We usually make comments on images, menus, fonts and layouts.

But often we find that business websites are lacking some of the essentials that every single one needs.

There are some basic questions that every business owner needs to ask themselves when putting their website together. These are questions like:

Why do I need a website?
What information do visitors need to know?
What will website visitors look for?
How can my website make a good impression, and make it easy for people to buy from me?

Here’s our checklist of essentials that we reckon every business website should include.

1. Contact details
The most important essential, but so often overlooked. Website visitors will often try to find your website so they can find your phone number or your physical address.

At a minimum you need address, phone number and email address. Make these details easy to find – think about making the ‘contact us’ page one of the most obvious. Put your phone number big and bold on every page – top right hand corner is most common.

2. Map
Having a map of where you are:
*adds a reassurance to your website visitors that you actually exist.
*makes it easy for them to find you.

Here’s a tutorial on how to add a Google map to your website.

3. A ‘contact us’ lead capture form
Many website visitors want to know more about your products and services, but won’t feel like giving you a call. This might be because it’s out of hours, they’re busy doing something else, or they don’t want direct contact. This means that you need a lead capture form.

Having a lead capture form also allows you to give them more information when it’s convenient for you,

4. Photos of you
This is great way to add reassurance about who your website visitors are dealing with. Having a photo jump-starts a personal relationship between you and your website visitors, and boosts the likelihood that the visitor will want to get in touch.

5. Newsletter Sign up
Many website visitors are in a ‘research’ phase of the buying cycle. They’re not ready to phone you or start buying just yet, but still want more information.

A newsletter allows you to start warming up your relationship before they’re ready to buy. Website visitors get the chance to ‘taste’ your service before they actually commit to buying.

As a consequence, a weekly or monthly newsletter can be the biggest source of new leads for your website.

6. Blog
A blog is a half way house between your website and a newsletter. It lets you add personality to your website, and starts an open conversation with your visitors. You can use it to showcase your knowledge & products.

Another real advantage of a blog is that it lets you add fresh content to your website, something that Google really likes to see.  This can help boost you up the search engine results pages for searches that are relevant to you. For further advice with SEO read our Search Engine Optimisation Guide.

7. Customer reviews and testimonials
One of the most convincing ways to sell your products is by having other customers recommend them. As we’ve mentioned in our Social Media Strategy posts, good customer reviews are an important way to boost sales.

I know that you’re hardly likely to publish reviews and testimonials that show you in a poor light. But if you can get some genuine comments from a real people, and they don’t mind you publishing their contact details, then those comments go a long way to reassure others that it’s a good idea to buy from you.

8. Email to a friend
One of the very first ’social media’ applications, ‘email to a friend’ is now often overlooked

The best way to convince someone to buy from you is by having someone else recommend your products. An ‘email to a friend’ links on your website does just this.

Here’s a video tutorial on how to add the ‘email to a friend’ application.

9. Social book marking buttons
A more modern social media service, bookmarking buttons often run on the bottom or side of web pages accompanied with a message like ‘share this’, or ‘add this’.

Social bookmarks are public web pages where you list all the links to all your favourite websites. They are a way of saying ‘I like these websites’ to anyone who is interested. They are a great way for customers to endorse you. Popular social book marking services are called Digg, Stumbleupon, Delicious, and Furl.

Here’s a video tutorial on how to add social bookmarking buttons.

10. Twitter & Twitter feed
Twitter lets you have a public conversation with your customers or website visitors. It helps to add a human element to your website, and gives your website personality. Here’s a video tutorial on how to integrate your WebEden website with Facebook and Twitter.

Summary
Whilst is important to be concerned with design, colours, fonts, menus and layout, when building a website make sure you include these 10 essentials too.

Anything else you think is a ‘essential’ for your website? Leave us a comment below.

Another back-to-basics tutorial this one, and a little bit old school too. When you’re building a website it sometimes looks better if you add the time and date to your web page. It helps people know that your site is up to date, and what they’re seeing is ‘alive’. have a go adding the time & date and see if it suits your website.

Last week we let you know that the new WebEden control panel and editing tools are now live, in beta.

Its a massive update to the edit environment, and future proofs our website building platform for when we add new features. If you’re not sure how to switch to the new control panel, watch the tutorial below.

Let us know what you think!

We’re back to more simple website building tips this week. You have probably noticed that just before your WebEden website appears, there’s a ‘loading bar’. This lets the eagle-eyed website visitor know that the website is on its way.

You can edit and modify the look of this loading bar. Watch the video tutorial to find out how.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, or so they say. But when it comes to Web Design, there are a few rules that you need to follow so that your website is easy to read, understand and navigate. One of these is lining up objects on the page - it just seems to make more sense to your eyes and your brain. Here’s how to to make sure your objects are all lined up.