Galleries
Dynamic Drive ( http://www.dynamicdrive.com ) is a wonderful resource for building dynamic content on your pages.
Below is a selection of code and javascript that you can download to create an overlay gallery. This allows you to setup thumbnail, or smaller images on your page, that when clicked, open a larger image along with a caption, and darken the page behind:
http://www.dynamicdrive.com/dynamicindex4/lightbox/index.htm
Highlight Navigation
If you want to include a “You are Here” feature in your navigation, the tutorial below is a great place to start. This allows you to incorporate a script that highlights the button on the navigation bar that indicates which section of the site you’re in:
http://www.creativepro.com/article/dreamweaver-how-create-you-are-here-navigation-links
Social Networking: Taking Part in the Conversation
Once you have a website, it’s important that you continue to explore ways to promote your website. Whether you are a community building website, an ecommerce store (ie, you are selling a product) or a portfolio website, letting people know you are out there is important.
There are a number of ways you can use Social Networking to connect with peers, colleagues, customers and much much more. Below are just a few:
More than just a way for college kids to connect, Facebook has become an integral marketing tool for most organizations. Sign up, create an account, and use the PAGES feature to announce your website. Collect “fans” for your website, post information and press releases, images of new work, etc.
A hugely popular networking tool, use this to connect with former colleagues, current coworkers, friends, family members, etc. This allows job searches, postings for events, and much more. Create a profile, and use the new Sites feature to market your website!
A URL shortening service, budURL also allows you to track clicks as your site visitors click on the specially organized links that you create. Provides statistics that can show you how often people are visiting and clicking on certain website links, as well as links posted on Facebook, Linkedin, or via Email.
Twitter is an evolving phenomenon, that is an alternative way to stay in constant contact with associates, business partners, friends and more. You can even use Twitter to track keywords, client websites, or competitors, using Summise.
Blogs
You can choose to maintain your blog and use it as a source to promote your website content, products, services, client work, etc. Blogs are only as good as the content you add to them, so you might start out with setting up a Google Blog Reader account, where you can track blogs and real time news, and get a feel for how other people are using blogs to promote everything imagineable.
LinkedIn is slowly evolving into an extremely useful and robust business/marketing tool. You can really fill out your profile to include so many promotional elements – your photo, links to your website, blog, RSS feed, portfolio, etc, recommendations, etc..
LinkedIn has added new applications recently – one of which allows you to display links to your recent blog posts and those of your connections. There’s also a great application for promoting and inviting others to events (gallery openings, design shows, speaker events, etc).
You can also optimize your profile for search results. Google will spider your profile, but won’t show more than your name in the results.
For LinkedIn results, however, you want to make sure your headline, summary, and experience are well-optimized. Below is a post on a local LI user’s blog about it, which will give you some tips:
Apart from your profile, LinkedIn provides you with ample opportunity to demonstrate your expertise by giving free advice via the Answers section as well!
http://thecaffeinatedblog.typepad.com/the_caffeinated_blog/2008/08/unlock-the-full-potential-of-your-linkedin-profile.html
Selling products online can be a tricky side of the business. Merchant accounts, transaction fees, privacy issues, secure transactions, etc. Custom solutions can be expensive and time consuming so if you are just starting out, you might check out some of these basic storefronts:
- Google Checkout – General Ecommerce Storefront: http://storegadget.googlelabs.com/
- Yahoo! Store – General Ecommerce Storefront: http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/ecommerce/
- Network Solutions Ecommerce Packages – General Ecommerce Storefront: http://www.networksolutions.com/e-commerce/index.jsp
- Etsy – selling handmade products: http://www.etsy.com/how_selling_works.php
- CafePress – Brand and sell products with your own Logo: http://www.cafepress.com/make/personalized-gifts
Breadcrumb Navigation
WebMonkey was a long-standing resource in the design and coding community. It’s now a Wiki site, where programmers and designers collaborate and collect information to share.
http://www.webmonkey.com/tutorial/Build_Dynamic_Breadcrumbs_With_JavaScript_
Menus: Dropdown Navigation
Dynamic Drive is known for it’s extensive list of customizable menu systems. When you peruse the options, you want to make sure that the menu is cross-browser and cross-platform compatible, is controlled by CSS visually speaking and can easily degrade on older browsers. Lots of information here:
