Web Design & Development Blog - Practic WEB

desktop email

email

email graphics

email program

incredimail

incredimail email

IncrediMail notifier

IncrediMail is an email program you can download and use on your computer. The thing that's different with IncrediMail is that IncrediMail lets you create and sent beautiful, colourful emails. Some of the things that IncrediMail include are:

• backgrounds you can use in your emails
• emoticons (smileys) you can add to your emails
• 3D effects
• animated graphics
• sounds and sound effects
• animated email notifiers

IncrediMail notifier

Email has never been more fun then when you send your emails with IncrediMail. The first thing you should do when you start up IncrediMail for the first time is to select your IncrediMail notifier. This is the thing that will tell you that you have mail when new email comes in for you. These are really cute and talk to you to tell you that you have a new email. There are many IncrediMail notifiers to choose from. Here are just a few examples:

• a duck that waddles up and quacks at you (my son got a kick out of this one)
• a puppy that barks at you
• a butler that says "You have mail madam" (probably says "sir" if you are a man
• a cursor that spells out "message waiting"
• a big happy face that says "you have an email"
• a mail box that says "new mail arrived" while it opens up and puts a letter inside
• random so you get a different notifier each time

The notifier can have the sound turned off if you prefer. You can also choose to have it show up on top of all your other screens or in the background. There are many more IncrediMail notifiers to choose from too. If you don't like any of the ones in the program, you can download more online.

Sending a New IncrediMail Message

When you are ready to send a new message just click on the icon that says "New Mail". When the message box pops up you will notice a style box open up along side it. The style box is where you find all the cool things you are going to use to make your new emails look the way you want them to. Some of the things you will find on your IncrediMail style box are:

• backgrounds (so many to choose from, how do I choose)
• animations (cute little characters and other things you can add to your emails)
• sounds (make your emails make sounds, say things or play songs)
• e-cards (send a Happy Birthday or other type of card right in your IncrediMail emails)

Writing Your New Email

Start typing your new email, but first check out a few of the other things you can do with IncrediMail:

• change fonts - This means that you can change the way your letters look. Try it out and see what I mean.
• font size and color - Make your words bigger or smaller if you want to and change the colors too.
• emoticons - These are those cute little smiley faces you see lurking around chat boards and forums. You can add them to your emails now. No matter what you're feeling you will find an emoticon to match.
• insert picture - You can put a picture right in your email. It doesn't get inserted just as an attachment either, but is instead embedded in your email.
• recorder - Record a voice message instead of typing. This is great for sending messages to small children or people who can's see or read email.

Just Another Email Program

IncrediMail is more than just another email program. With all these cool features you'll feel like a high tech Web designer. Sending cool graphical email is simple using IncrediMail.

IncrediMail still offers all the normal things that email programs have traditionally offered too. You can still send attachments, add a signature and keep an address book. If you like using a desktop email program, and you want to add graphics to your emails, then IncrediMail is definitely the email program for you.  

bloglines

feed reader

feeds

google reader

rojo

social networking

With the advent of Web 2.0, websites have sprung to a new level. The look and feel along with the types of functions a website could perform is exceeding our expectations everyday. Webpages that started as a static page with text and images is turning into a multi-million dollar industry which could perform functions that were done using softwares on specific platforms. The advancement is plenty and a lot of us might feel that it is hard to keep with with the new technologies revealing everyday.


Rojo.com is a website that has been impressive. It uses the state of the art technology to gather feeds and along with it provide social networking. So, you don't have to venture to a different website like shoutwire to find the latest news. It is a great place to meet other people who are like minded.

There are many websites than required to grab the feeds onto one place. Some examples are bloglines, google reader, feed lounge, yahoo etc. All these websites use Web 2.0. They differ on performance and the number of features they offer. I find Rojo rich in features and performance being excellent as well. Rojo uses tags to segregate the feeds which is much effective and superior than categories. Tags are an easy way to find the feed that we are looking in case we have hundreds of feeds.

The scene of Rojo as a social networking website is still in the beginning stages. It is yet to gain popularity and it would strictly be a matter of time before Rojo displaces websites like netscape and digg off the block.

affiliate

affiliate program

earn cash

make money

money

web site

Yes, it's true. You can make money from your Web site. How much depends on how big your site is, how your site is organized and most importantly, what your site's about. Some subjects just make more money than others. It's true.


There are a couple different ways you can make money from your Web site. The obvious way being that you sell something that people will buy. But that's not what this is about. I'm not talking about selling items that you have to supply and ship. This is much simpler.

The first step is signing up for an affiliate program and the next step is adding affiliate ads to your Web pages. That's pretty much it. Strategically placing your ads is important too.1

Here are a few of the affiliate programs that you can sign up with to help you make money:

• Google Adsense - You may or may not be admitted into this program. Google has a lot of rules about who can and can't use their program. If you do get in remember, never click on your own ads. This is a pay per click program and if you get caught clicking on your own ads, and you will, you will be dropped from the program fast.  
• These ads are mostly text ads but are very eye catching and are self ading. By this I mean that you place the code on your page for an ad and Google figures out which ads to put on which pages for you. This is really easy and is a big money maker for a lot of people
  
• Amazon.com - This program is a pay per sale program. You place a link to a specific product on your Web page. If someone clicks through to Amazon.com and buys something you make money. A lot of people buy from Amazon so if you place the right ads on the right pages you just may make money from this.
• Commission Junction - Use with caution. This is probably one of the biggest affiliat programs on the Net. Because of this there are some rules you need to know. If you don't make money in six months they will charge you a fee and close your account. I'm not sure of the exact rule but I had this happen to me once. This is a pay per sale program and they have a lot of companies to choose from.
• LinkShare - This is also a pay per sale program. They have a lot of companies you can choose to use. Place ads to companies that are similar to your site and don't choose too many. It's tempting to choose a lot of different companies to place ads to but don't do it. Using the same ads on many different page is actually better for getting your readers to click on them.
• Affiliate Fuel - Some of these ads are pay per sale and some are pay per lead. The companies advertising here are different than the kinds of companies and ads you will find on other affiliate programs.
• BeFree - Very similar in structure to LinkShare and Commission Junction. This is a pay per sale program.

content

keyword phrases

keywords

search engines

traffic

web pages

web site

web site traffic

Getting people to visit your Web site can often be a difficult task, especially if your Web site is small. There are several main things you need to consider, and things you need to do, if you are hoping to get some traffic to your Web site. These are not the only things you can do to get traffic to your Web site, but they are a good start.

• Keywords - Every page needs a keyword or keyword phrase. It's best to choose that keyword or keyword phrase before you start writing the page. Decide what your page is going to be about and write the page around that keyword or keyword phrase. If your page is going to be about cat collars, then make sure you use the phrase "cat collars" several times while writing the page, especially in the first couple paragraphs.

• Title & Meta Tags - When considering a title for your page make sure to use the keyword or key phrase of your page in the title. If you are using HTML, then you need to be concerned with meta tags. Make sure to use your keywords in the meta description several times, and the title tags at the top of your HTML at least twice, and put the keyword in the meta keyword area too. Meta tags for a page that is about cat collars would look something like this:
  
  <title>Cat Collars - Cat Collars for your Precious Kitty</title>
  
  <head>
  
  <meta name="keywords" content="cat collars, collars, cats">
  
  <meta name="description" content="Cat collars for your cat. Your cat will really love these cat collars. My cat tried these cat collars and really loved them.">
  
  </head>

• Good Content - If your page is about something important, is written well, and includes the right keywords it will probably do well in the search engines. On top of search engines, other sites will also link to your page if it is well written.

• Search Engines - Submit your pages to the most popular search engines. Go to each of the search engines and submit your pages to them individually.

• Similar Web Sites - Find Web sites that are similar to yours and offer to link to their site in exchange for a link back to your site. If they have a page for links they will probably do it.

• Forums & Message Boards - Go to forums and message boards that are about your site and answer questions or offer advice or even ask questions. Create a signature under your name for your message posts that links back to your site. If people like what you wrote on the forum, they may click on your link and visit your site.

• Update Regularly - If you don't add content to your site, then why should someone keep coming back. Update your site regularly with new content and watch your traffic grow.

add newsgroups

email

email provider

email server

internet service provider

isp

news

newsgroups

outlook express

read newsgroups

When you sign up for an email address with your local ISP (internet service provider) you usually also get access to newsgroups. Many of you may have access to newsgroups and not even know it. Some of you may know you have newsgroups but not know how to use them. Set up your newsgroups with Outlook Express and find some that interest you. Then you can join in discussions about your favorite topics and even give advice or ask questions of your own.



Set Up Newsgroups With Outlook Express

1. Open Outlook Express.
2. In the menu at the top of Outlook Express click on "Tools". Then scroll down to "Accounts" and click on that also.
3. A box will pop up. On the right side of the box you will see a button that says "Add", click on it. A short menu will pop up when you click on it. From this menu click on "News".
4. Another box will pop up. In this box you will see that it wants you to enter your name. You don't have to use your real name if you don't want to. Enter the name you want people to know you by in the newsgroups. Then click "Next".
5. The next window will want you to enter your email address. If you want people to be able to reply to you by email from the newsgroups then enter your email address here. If you don't want people in the newsgroups to know your email address then enter something else here. Then click "Next".
6. In the next window enter the newsgroup address that your internet service provider gave to you so that you can access the newsgroups. It will probably look something like news.isp.com. If you don't know what this is then look through the paperwork your ISP gave you when you signed up. It's probably listed next to or with the information you needed to use to set up your email. If you still can't find it you will need to call your ISP and ask them for it.
7. Click the button that says "My news server requires me to log on". After you enter your news server information click "Next".
8. Now you will need your username and password. You should have also received these from your ISP. They are most likely the same username and password you use to get your email. Enter your username and password in their respective places. If you want your computer to always remember your username and password click the button that says "Remember Password". Then click on "Next".
9. At the next window click "Finished".
10. When that pop up window goes away you will be brought back to the original pop up window. Click "Close" on this window.

Add Newsgroups To Your Account

1. After you have finished setting up your Outlook Express newsgroup account you will be asked if you want to add newsgroups. Click "Yes". If you don't see this box pop up then click on the name of your newsgroups in the left hand column. If the box still doesn't pop up then click on the button at the top of the screen that says "Newsgroups".
2. You may be asked to verify your username and password or it may just log in for you. Log in if you need to.
3. All the newsgroups available will start to download. This may take awhile depending on your connection speed.
4. When the newsgroups are finished downloading you can start searching for newsgroups that you want to join. Lets say you are a cat lover and want to join a newsgroup about cats. Type in the word cats. Look through the newsgroups about cats and see if there are any you want to join, you can always unsubscribe from newsgroups later if you don't like them.
5. When you find a newsgroup you want to join click on the name of the newsgroup and then click on the button that says "Subscribe".
6. Search for and subscribe to more newsgroups.
7. When you are finished subscribing to newsgroups click the "OK" button at the bottom of the window.
8. All your newsgroups will now be showing in the left hand column.

Add News To Your Newsgroups

1. Click on the newsgroup you want to read first.
2. News for that newsgroup will now download.
3. When all the news is finished downloading just click on the title you want to read and you can read it in the right hand column.

Unsubscribe From Newsgroups

1. Click on the button at the top of the screen that says "Newsgroups".
2. There are three tabs in this window. Click on the one that says "Subscribed". This will show you all the newsgroups you are subscribed to.
3. Click on the title of the newsgroup you want to unsubscribe from.
4. Click on the "Unsubscribe" button.
5. When you are finished unsubscribing you can click on the "OK" button.
6. The newsgroups you unsubscribed from will be gone from your left column now. 

buy with paypal

buying

ebay

online

pay with paypal

paypal

paypal account

selling

PayPal.com is one of the main ways people pay for Ebay items and items bought at other online retailers. If you sell something from your own Web site you can even use PayPal to let your customers buy your items. By using PayPal to accept orders from your Web site you also have the ability to accept credit cards. By paying with PayPal you also have the ability to pay with a PayPal credit card.



Let's say you want to buy something from Ebay or another site that uses PayPal. You browse for the item you want and buy it. When you go to pay you plug in your PayPal username and password and follow the directions to pay for your item. If you have enough money in your PayPal account to pay for the item in full then the money will move from your PayPal account to the account of the person doing the selling. If you don't have enough in your PayPal account to pay for the item then PayPal will use whatever money is in your PayPal account and then take the rest from the alternate account you tell PayPal to take the money from, be it your checking account or a credit card.

You set up alternate accounts with PayPal ahead of time so you can do this quickly when buying something. Setting up an alternate account is easy too. Go to PayPal and enter the bank account number of your checking account of the number on your credit card. There is a verification process to make sure no one uses an account that doesn't belong to them. When you are finished with the verification process you are ready to go buying online.

If you buy from Web site's that don't take PayPal you can use the PayPal debit card. PayPal offers a debit card for free. Sign up for this debit card and you can use your PayPal account to purchase anything anywhere that takes credit cards. Best of all, when you make a purchase with this PayPal debit card PayPal pays you. You receive cash back every time you make a purchase. It may only be a few cents or it could be a few dollars but it all ads up.

PayPal also pays interest on the money you keep in your PayPal account. Every month you will earn interest for the money you keep in this account. Use your PayPal account as a savings account if you want to. Or, since you have the PayPal debit card you can use your PayPal account as a vacation or holiday fund. Let it earn interest all year and have more to spend when you're ready to use it.

add signature

create signature

email

email signature

outlook express

signature

Adding a signature to your emails says something about who you are. Whenever someone receives and email from you they will look at the signature to see who the email is from. They will notice if you have more there than just your name. 


If you have a Web site, and you don't mind sharing it with other people, link to it in your signature. If you have a favorite short poem or catchy phrase that you like, add it. This is how it's done.

1. Open Outlook Express.
2. Click on "Tools" in the menu at the top of the page and then on "Options".
3. Click on the "Signatures" tab in the box that pops up.
4. Click on the button that says "New".
5. Type your signature into the "Text" box. You can put your name, your Web page address, your email address, a favorite poem or saying, something else, or all if these things.
6. Click on the "Rename" button and give your signature a name. This can be anything you want, like "Linda's Signature".
7. At the top of the window is a checkbox that says "Add signature to outgoing emails". If you want your signature on all your emails, click this. If you want to choose which emails you want your signature on, don't click this. If you do click this you will also have the option to choose if you want your signature on emails you reply to or forward to other people.
8. If you have more than one email address on Outlook Express click on the "Advanced" button. Choose which emails you want to use this signature with.
9. Click "OK" and you're finished. Now when you click on "Create Mail" at the top of Outlook Express you will see your signature show up. You can then add your message to your email and send emails with your signature on them.

email

gmail

gmail email

gmail installer

gmail notifier

notifier

notify

online email

Gmail notifier will let you know when you have email on your Gmail account. When ever you get a new email to your Gmail account Gmail notifier will give you a small little pop up on your computer down in the bottom right hand corner so it doesn't interrupt your work or what you're doing. The pop up tells you who sent the email and also gives you a little preview of the email itself.



When the Gmail notifier pops up you can see what the email is so you can decide whether it's important enough to read now or not. If it is you can click on Gmail notifier and you will be taken to the email you want to read.

You can't delete emails from Gmail notifier but you can go to your Gmail and delete them from there. With Gmail notifier you can also set Gmail as your default email program so when you click on email links in a Web page a Gmail window will pop up for you to send mail with.

Setting Up Gmail Notifier

First thing you need to do if you want to set up Gmail notifier is to sign up for a Gmail email account. Once you have a Gmail email account you can move on to this lesson. Open Gmail in your browser and we can get started.

1. From your Gmail page click on the link at the top of the page that says "Settings".
2. Scroll down the page until you see "Get the Gmail Notifier" and click on it.
3. A new window will pop up or a new tab will open with the download information. Choose either Windows or Mac depending on what operating system you are using. Then click the button that says "Download Gmail Notifier".
4. Choose "Save To Disk" and click "OK". If you are given a choice where to save the program then save it to your desktop so you can find it easier.
5. Find the icon on your desktop that says "GmailInstaller". Double click on the icon to start downloading.
6. Read the license agreement. Click "I agree".
7. Choose "Standard" install and then decide if you want Gmail notifier to run on startup and also if you want to use Gmail notifier for outgoing email. Then click "Next".
8. The next screen asks where to download Gmail notifier to. Leave this alone unless you really want to download it to a particular place. Click "Next".
9. On the next window click "Install".
10. When it Gmail notifier is finished installing click the "Close" button.
11. You will now see a little envelope in the bottom right hand corner of your page. Gmail notifier is now installed and running.

emoticons

gmail

google

google emoticons

google smileys

smileys

An emoticon is a smiley face that you can make using the keys on your keyboard. They don't all smile and they're not all faces but they are cute and they add emotion and character to your messages and email. People on the Internet use them in emails, on message board and in chat rooms.

Google Gmail lets you use certain emoticons in your emails. They don't have emoticons added to their "Rich Formatting" yet but they still let you use emoticons in your email. As long as you know how to create the emoticons, and you are sending the email to someone who has an email program that lets them see emoticons, they will look great.

When you type these emoticons into Gmail and mail the email the emoticons will not just look like keyboard characters, they will take on a much better look. Try them out and see how they look in Gmail. Here are the emoticons you can use in Gmail:

< 3 This one looks like a heart. Turn your head to the right and use your imagination. It'll look better in Gmail.
: ( | ) It's a monkey. This one takes a little more imagination, even when used in Gmail.
\ m / Rock out. OK, I don't get it.
*The rest of these are faces:
: - o
: D
: (
X - (
B - )
: ' (
= D
; )
: - |
= )
: - D
; ^ )
; - )
: - )
: - /: P

audio

free

games

movies

music

pictures

software

torrents

video

Download music, pictures, videos and games for free. Do this at your own risk though. Some songs and other things may have a copyright, and that means you can't download or allow people to download them from you for free. You can find movies, music, software, games, pictures and more. Some are of an adult nature, but there's stuff for kids too if you look for it.

• FileList.org
• FileMP3.org
• The Pirate Bay
• Seedler.org
• TorrentReactor.to
• Torrent Portal
• Torrents
• Torrentz
• Yotoshi Bittorrent Search Engine