How did we build a site that has grown to more than 6,000 Web pages and 50 million hits per year--with a few part-time people, with no budget for the first five years, and a minimal budget the next five? We will describe an efficient and effective design process fundamental to our strategy that is essentially a method of disciplined inquiry. Our own XML content management system perpetuates our Website into the future as Web browsers, HTML, CSS, and editors continue to evolve.

With the struggling US economy, many businesses have had to implement steps to curb expenses and pinch pennies. One of the first areas to feel these cutbacks is the web site design and development group. Employees have been asked to fill roles previously held by other employees due to staff reductions. At the same time, these remaining employees are expected to execute robust and efficient mechanisms for their corporate web sites on a tight or non-existent budget. Developers and designers are looking for shortcut tools to get there. It's all about getting more bang for the buck. Web design on a Shoestring is the tool these web site developers and designers need. It reveals all sorts of free or inexpensive resources that are available but unknown. More specifically, Carrie Bickner shows you how any individual can do the things a team of web professionals are often brought in to do. Learn how to create a pennywise plan so that you avoid being nickled and dimed to death later. Find out the best ways to test your web sites efficiencies and functionalities. Understand the most effective content management systems, and the commercial products to use or avoid - all with no dollars being spent.

The Business on a Shoestring series helps small business owners grow their business imaginatively, effectively and without spending a fortune. Aimed at entrepreneurs with plenty of vision and commitment but not a lot of cash, each book is packed with ideas that really work, real-life examples, step-by-step advice and sources of further information. Having an online presence is essential for most businesses these days. Don't think that a small budget means that you can't compete with larger organisations: if your site is well laid out and your content compelling, you can! This book shows the way, covering topics such as: Choosing the right domain name; Smartening up a basic website; Driving traffic to your website; Analysing web traffic; Affiliate marketing; Search engine listings/optimisation; Taking advantage of free (and safe!) software and training; Relationship networking; Tapping into new or growing trends: Web alerts, RSS, Voice over Internet Protocols, instant messaging, espotting 'a great little package' The Bookseller

The latest Shoestring Entrepreneur guidebook takes readers through what is and isn't working in the world of Internet ventures. Each chapter offers clear, easy-to-understand advice on selected the right niche market and securing start-up funding, plus guidelines for creating Web sites and affiliating with larger companies . Spiegel provides an insider's understanding of how to drive traffic to a particular site and turn visitors into repeat customers. He reveals tactics used by top Web sites for developing lasting customer relationships, and explains how to best utliize e-marketplace. An excellent addition to the Shoestring series and a must-have for all up-and-coming entrepreneuers, this book is a road map to a profitable Internet buidness models as well as a guide to avoiding models that have led companies into financial disaster.

If you are an E-Commerce entrepreneur, this is the book that you'll want your technical staff to read before creating your Web Site. This book provides future developers and designers information on how to think about creating a successful Web Site. In terms of the physical site and its role in the overall success of the dot-com business, it urges readers to think about their business as a complex program that responds to the needs of the customer who contact it over the Web. Broken down into three sections, this comprehensive book covers the following areas: Planning and Analysis, Designing and Developing, and Marketing. Managing and Marketing a Successful Web Site is for the programmer or developer who is serious about exploring the nature of a successful Web Site.

This book walks through the steps needed to develop and build a successful website. It helps with build-ing a highly functional or user-friendly site, with the end goal being to make your site financially successful. It helps you to supervise a web designer/firm properly and not overpaying. You'll find out exactly what you need to do, which is NOT how to program code yourself, and you will know what to look for, the questions to ask, what role you should play and how to find the right people to work with. This book is meant to act as not only a step-by-step guide, but also as a checklist for those who have already started their project. This guide covers all aspects of finding and working with a professional and freelance web designer. So if you are interested in this subject, do not hesitate to buy this book. It is very simple to read, which is just right if you are unfamiliar with the subject matter and repeats all the most important points several times. This in this context is good. It also has specific, practical advice about what you can do right now to move forward. This book Covers: * The Basic Skills Needed to Become a Web Designer - Simple Programs You Can Teach Yourself * What Should We Consider While Choosing A Suitable Web Designer Or Web Design Company? * Hire A Professional Web Designer And Developer To Build Your Web Marketing Program * Choosing a Local Web Designer - A Shrewd Choice Or Should You Go Further Afield? * Is Your Web Designer Going to Finish the Job? Tips For Finding the Right Team * Web Designer - How to Engage the Right Website Designer Based on Your Needs * How to Design Websites and 5 Things Every Beginning Web Designer Will Face * Acquire Website Designing Skills to Shape Your Career As a Web Designer * Outsourcing Success - Tips in Hiring the Most Qualified Web Designer * Web Designer Needed - Should You Choose an Amateur or a Professional * Build Good Rapport With a Web Designer For Effective Website Design * How to Find the Right Web Designer For Your Web Development Project and much more...

A Complete Guide to Starting and Growing Your Own Business On A Shoestring Budget The Cheat Sheet for Business. For the millions who start a new business every year on the barest of resources, Shoestring Venture: The Startup Bible is like hiring a high-level consultant to deal with the bewildering maze of issues from finance to marketing to technology that all entrepreneurs face. Every business is nothing but a series of decisions which can make or break the business. You could say that, if there's a science of business, it's the science of making good decisions. And every bootstrap entrepreneur faces the daunting task of making ALL the business decisions, any one of which could either doom the enterprise or catapult it to stratospheric success. That meas that every entrepreneur has to quickly get up to speed on every issue their business faces. Shoestring Venture: The Startup Bible is the most exhaustive set of practical resources collected to empower entrepreneurs to make the right decisions on a limited budget, from business concept to product development to Web marketing. We call a "consultant in a book," there to give considered and experienced answers to the infinite questions that come up. Shoestring Venture-The Start-up Bible All entrepreneurs - even the smallest operating on the tightest of budgets - have the opportunity to build powerful start-up organizations without ever really having to walk out the front door. Using global communications and data networks, even bootstrap entrepreneurs can staff an entire organization with every human resource and skill they need at rock-bottom prices. In short, anyone can run a virtual organization using only a desktop or laptop computer. Shoestring Venture: The Startup Bible gives bootstrap entrepreneurs all the resources they need to build truly effective startups using the magic of outsourcing and offshoring. This is the century for small business . . . You have the tools to build a powerful start-up organization, from financing to product development to marketing, without ever really having to walk out your front door. Using global communications and data networks, you can staff an entire organization with every human resource and skill you need at rock-bottom prices. You are, in short, running a virtual organization using only a desktop or laptop computer. It's the magic of outsourcing. It means that you can be a pretty formidable player in the business world. Why? Because it permits you to focus your energies on what brings real value to your business-what you do best. That's what this book is all about. Shoestring Venture gives you the tools you need to start your new venture or take your current business several levels higher by exploiting the resources our interconnected world offers you. Chapters: Startup, Finance, Taxes, & Banking, Hardware and Software, Bringing Your Products to Market, Outsourcing Your Back Office, Information Technology, Web and Ecommerce, and Promoting Your Product: Marketing & Sales