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The current economic climate has made free software even more popular that it was before especially forum software.  vBulletin, probably the best paid forum software has recently increased its license fee for both new license and renewal which made using a free forum software more appealing than ever. I need to add a forum to one of my site, not keen about dolling out $160 to acquire one more vBulletin license to the 6 I already have I went shopping for free forum software.

I have use phpBB before but painful lesson of the past from running a forum with phpBB made me discard the idea outright, phpBB is probably more secure now but I decided to give SMF a try. The thing with using new software is that you become a complete novice again.

For people who may want to change SMF template from the default to something more uplifing, I hope you find this blog useful, here is how to change SMF theme:

1. To install a theme, you should go to the forum admin area and click on “Themes and Layout” in the “Configuration” section.

2. To install a new theme just click on the “Browse…” button to navigate to where the theme is stored on your local computer, and click “Install“. Once it’s installed you’ll see a confirmation page.

Another way is just to extract the theme’s .zip file on your local hard drive and to upload the files via FTP to the “themes” folder. To apply the new theme, go to “Themes and Layout“, change the theme from the drop down menu in front of “Overall forum default:” to the new theme and then click the “Save” button.

You can find more useful tips on how to start a forum, install a forum software, configure and modify a found at UK Webmaster forums general discussion or web design section. Its free to register.

Forums add new theme, boards, change template, graphics, images, install SMF theme, online, phpbb, SMF, smf templates, vbulletin

Search engine optimization makes a website stand the chance of  being fully indexed by search spiders therefore having a chance of being ranked high in the search engine results pages (SERPs). If a website rank high in SE, there are chances of good conversion rate.

URL stands for “Unique Resource Locator” and is used to identify specific webpage. Making a URL clean makes it much easier to remember, and also makes the search engines distinguish folder names and establish real links to keywords. if someone looks at a clean url they can easily know what the link is all about.

How to Optimize a URL for the search engines

* Use the static looking URL and make it short.

* Make your URL relevant to the content, Its great if the URL contains your targeted keywords for that webpage, placing your keywords in your URLs can help your rankings, but remember that changing your existing URLs without redirecting it to a new one will break all the links and bookmarks pointing towards that URL causing the page to drop out of the search engines. it is a fact that the webpage with the keyword in the URL will outrank and receive more click-throughs than a page without it!

There are two types of URLs: Dynamic and Static, Search engines prefer static URLs to dynamic URLs.

What is dynamic url:
A dynamic URL is a page address that results from the search of a database-driven web site or the URL of a web site that runs a script. The dynamic page is basically only a template in which to display the results of the database query. Instead of changing information in the HTML code, the data is changed in the database.Dynamic URLs are not very appealing to web spiders. The dynamic URLs are more transparent, allowing possible hackers to see the technology used to build them and thus facilitating attacks.
Dynamic URLs are generated from specific queries to a site’s database.

What is static url:
In static URLs, the contents of the web page stay the same unless the changes are hard-coded into the HTML, static URLs are more abstract, and thus more difficult to hack. maintaining static URLs is a much easier task than dynamic ones.

Search engines have problems indexing dynamic content. If possible, use static URLs to reference dynamic content or otherwise, try to link to your dynamic URLs from static pages.

A site rarely gets fully indexed when there are more than three variables in dynamic URL.  If possible avoid using more than two.  And, ideally, use static URLs.  If it is not possible for you to use static URLs then consider a mod_rewrite.
If you are operating a dynamic site you should, ideally, avoid using session variables whenever there is an alternative. The most effective way to prevent indexing problems with session variables is to use a good IP delivery program that will recognize search engine spiders and make sure they only receive URLs which have had the session variables removed.

Search Engine Optimisation dynamic url, optimastion, Search Engine Optimisation, static url, url optimisation

Webmaster Serve has been doing series of post on web hosting, the latest post is on how to choose a good web hosting company, here is a taste from the article:

For a web site to be made available on the Internet, it has to be hosted on a server by a hosting company. A web hosting company is a company that provides services which places your web site on a server which is connected to the Internet. They holds websites and the information they contain, for an individual or a company.

The question is now, how does one choose a good web hosting company.

* A good web hosting company should have enough resources available to offer their user’s reliability and stability ie their equipment and servers can handle their customers effectively. The hosting company should offers the business related hosting services you need now, and those you will need in the future because moving your website from server to server you may encounter some problems when migrating from one hosting company to another.

*  Make sure the web hosting company is reliable. A hosting company must use fast and reliable servers, their server should be up at least 99 percent of the time. Ask if the host has back-up servers available for use when the server is down.
Remember AGE is GoLD, the company should have been in business for at least two years.

You can read the full article here

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We have been doing series of articles on web hosting at webmaster forums. The articles look into various aspects of the web hosting business including shared hosting, cloud hosting, managed dedicated servers, dedicated servers and various aspects of the hosting industry.

Here is a flavour of some of the articles:

Shared Web Hosting

Internet is galaxy which is expanding its length and breadth in every direction and this has called for making its structure much more cost effective and productive. All most all the sectors in all the industries want to be present online as well and this happens only in the form of a websites. However, when you reach that level of popularity and the need arises of storing bulk information, video and audio outputs, images etc it becomes important to utilise the facility of web hosting. Full share web hosting post is here.

Control panels

Web hosting as we all are aware of is a very popular field in internet world and it is very essential that services which would be availed from the web host provider is checked and understood. Factors like cost, technical support, customer support, maintenance, security are very important. But, the most important of all is hosting control panels through which a client manages and controls his/her website(s). It should be updated and convenient to use having automated facilities which would save you time and extra money as well. You can read the full control panel article here.

There are many other useful web hosting posts and discussions you can participate in at the web hosting section of webmaster serve.

Web Hosting control panel, dedicated, managed, shared, Web Hosting

Who will not want to be their own boss and work from the comfort of home, sipping a cup of coffee and enjoying the cool breeze coming in through your study room window? This is definitely possible and the one of the very popular ways to accomplish this dream is through eBay where millions of people have earned millions right from their home and fulfilled their dreams.

E-bay have been successful in all the aspects of its structure and this has helped not only large population of the world to earn money but through the grand marketing and auction arena it provides, many of these people have been able to expand their business. It gives your product a wide exposure in international market through a single platform where people from around the world shop. Basically, you can say it is a giant one stop shopping mall with international interface where you get almost everything you imagine and also everything you haven’t.

One can affiliate their own site in eBay and get better publicity and credibility as well. It even provides you with an option of customising your banner and post in it as an advertisement which helps you with more traffic on your site and more customers as well. People get the chance of interacting and exchanging their views with traders of the similar line to get more ideas which leads to new business ventures and transactions.

However, it is very essential that a person understand the system which eBay follows with precision to make money on eBay as any flaws here can make or break your dreams. If you want to become a successful seller, it is best to wear the shoes of a buyer first and understand their point of view and reasoning. This will empower you with a horizon and a clear picture as to how to conceive your target of selling your products a successful venture.

Make sure you set up your eBay store in such a systematic and lucrative way with reasonable and diplomatic pricing which might be profitable to you, but looks beneficial to the customers. Thinking and selling products using buyer’s point of you will help you in defining few basic goals for example:-

? Understand what buyer’s want and if you can keep them happy, they will surely come by again.
? It is very significant to achieve and realise reliable credibility on eBay as it accompanies you in whatever activities you are engaged in eBay.
? Analyse the competition and work hard to make sure you provide the customers an edge over your competitors and to your business as well.

It is very important to initiate and imply new ideas from time to time to make your auctions more popular and attractive along with customer’s excellent feedback. This will help you in flourish further more in future.

It is very important for you to keep your eyes open while browsing through eBay and especially when you are surfing as a buyer.

This requires that you initially set up a buyer account which would be used for buying any kinds of products in eBay. While browsing through different auctions, products and stores make sure you focus well and take this shopping experience very seriously. Try and understand that buyers of your product will go through the same procedure and the things that caught your eyes will catch theirs too.

Gather knowledge through your experience by asking yourself few questions like what was so appealing in that product which appealed me to buy that? Why is it that this auction is giving me better feeling than others? What differentiates successful auctions with vice versa? Which is the precise specific information which could have made things easier for you as a buyer? After understanding these few fundamental points try to note the selling and check out process and last of all make note of your every day experience from eBay.

This is because eBay is versatile and gives you a pleasant and learning experience everyday if you want to buy or sell. The system of earning might sound easy but it needs a lot of research and strict disciplined procedure which requires tremendous dedication and management effort. If you can fulfil all these criteria successfully, then there is no reason why you cannot make money on eBay. Good luck!!

You can discuss this post and other topics relating to how to make money on the internet at Monitization section of Webmater Serve

Webmaster Serve ebay, make money from your site, site monitization, webmaster money

Not everyone in the UK likes the national minimum wage, and it was embraced in other parts of Europe before becoming part of our law around 10 years ago.

National minimum wage law

The national minimum wage (NMW) became law on 1 April 1999 to prevent unduly low pay and also to help create a level playing field for employers.

The number of hours for which you have to pay your workers the minimum wage is calculated differently according to the types of work they do. These are based on time, salaried-hours, output and unmeasured work.

Employers are legally required to keep sufficient records showing you are paying your workers at least the NMW. If your workers are paid well above the minimum wage, existing payroll and business records will be sufficient and there will be no need to maintain separate records. These mainly include PAYE and National Insurance records.

National minimum wage rates

National minimum wage rates are based on age, and are broken down into three groups

The main (adult) rate applies to workers aged 22 and over and is currently £5.73 per hour.

The NMW development rate is £4.77 per hour and applies to 18 to 21-year-olds.

Finally, for 16 to 17-year-old workers who are above school leaving age the rate is currently £3.53 per hour. Apprentices under the age of 19 are not entitled to the NMW and apprentices over 19 are exempt in their first year.

Compulsory School Age

In England and Wales: a person is no longer of compulsory school age after the last Friday of June of the school year in which their 16th birthday occurs.

In Scotland: pupils whose 16th birthday falls between 1 March and 30 September may not leave before the 31 May of that year. Pupils aged 16 on or between 1 October and the last day of February may not leave until the start of the Christmas holidays in that school year.

In Northern Ireland: a person is no longer of compulsory school age after the 30th June of the school year in which their 16th birthday occurs.
Read the second part-

Workers’ Rights Under the National Minimum Wage

Webmaster Serve careers, jobs, wages

Have you ever sent an email late in the night after a few pints to regret doing so in the cool light of the day the following morning? Writing on Google blog, Google employee Jon Perlow has on several occasion including one late night email where he contacted his ex-girlfriend asking her to let them get back together and on another occasion when he sent a text message to a girl he had a crush one.

The above anecdotes which Mr Perlow seem to regret inspire him to create and application that could help others avoid the embarrassments he has endured.  The application called Mail Goggles can be set to challenge you when using your emails late in the evening or at weekends just to double check that you really wanted to send the email  and that you are sober and thinking straight.

Webmaster Serve gmail, google mail, stop email

The United States Secret Service estimated that consumers nationwide lose around $745 million to identity theft each year. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, the average victim spends around 607 hours and averages $1,000 just to clear their credit records.

Identity thieves will employ a variety of methods to gain access to your information. They may obtain information from businesses or other institutions by:

* Bribing an employee who has access to databases
* Hacking into records
* Conning information out of employees

Once identity thieves have access to your personal information, they may use it to commit a fraud or theft in your name.

How can I tell if I have become a victim of identity theft?

Some signs include:

* Unexplained charges or withdrawals from your financial accounts.
* Bills or other mail stops arriving (the thief may have submitted a change of address).
* A credit application is denied for no apparent reason.
* Debt collectors begin calling about merchandise or services you did not buy.

Your computer can be a goldmine of personal information to an identity thief. To protect yourself and your computer against identity theft you will find the tips below useful.

* Update your virus protection software frequently and set your virus protection software to update automatically.
* Stay up to date with Windows Updates. The Windows Vista/XP operating system can be set to check for updates automatically and download them to your computer when available.
* Do not open files sent to you by strangers, click on hyperlinks, or download programs from people or companies you do not know.
* Use a firewall program, especially if you use a high speed Internet connection like cable or DSL that leaves your computer connected to the Internet 24 hours a day.
* Provide your personal information through a secured website only. While not fool proof, a lock icon on the browser’s status bar or a URL for a website that begins “https:” (the “s” stands for secure).
* Do not store your financial information on your laptop, unless absolutely necessary.
* Delete all the personal information stored on a computer before disposing of it. Using wipe utility software to overwrite the entire hard drive is recommended.

As with any crime, you can not completely control whether you will become a victim, but you can take steps to minimise your risk by remaining diligent and by minimising outside access to your personal information.

June 2008 identity theft

A senior member at UK WW forum made an observation about social networking sites based on his experience of how some users of social networking site Squidoo has been promoting their site using other social networking sites and forums, excerpts follows:

With so many social networks to choose from their are some do’s and don’t you should pay some attention to. Most if it makes perfect sense, but it’s hopefully worth repeating.

Don’t just join a social network for the purpose of dropping a load of links to your sites/pages. - This is often seen as spamming by genuine members of web 2.0 networks.

He went on to offer the following suggestions as to how to interact at social networking sites:

Do take part in discussions that you can contribute to. Be active and share your knowledge.

Only leave links to your site when relevant. The worst and most popular example of this is - blah on topic blah on topic blah off topic link to my site. Another example of this is just replying to a thread, page, comment, etc, in order to leave your signature link behind.

Forums diggs, site promot, social media, squidoo, uk ww

Many big names in news industry have announced the launch of Mozilla Firefox 3 RC 3. This proves the browser has become really popular lately and with the help of the community behind it - it becomes stronger and stronger each day. For example SP news says

Firefox 3.0 Release Candidate 3 is now available for download. With this release, Mozilla inches closer to the availability
of the final version of Firefox 3.0. The RC3 build really managed to come out of nowhere, as the initial plan was to shoot directly for the gold release from RC2. In fact, Mozilla has managed to say very little about RC3 in comparison to the previous candidate. However, one thing not made public was the impact delivered by RC3, an additional stage in the development process to the original plans related to the official release of Firefox 3.0. Ahead of RC3, Mozilla pointed to mid-June 2008 for the availability of Firefox 3.0.

So IE should better watch out, because Firefox will soon become number one browser in the top of the most used browsers in the world. And we are not talking only about the advanced web users or web developers ( which may use the extra tools and addons the browser website provides ) but of the casual internet user.

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