Chihosters

It feels good to have all  the sites up and running after some server downtime due to a move to bigger and better servers.  Chihosters are back to normal with all sites running as  they were before.

Chihosters offer affordable fully managed hosting solutions to suit any business or personal hosting needs.  Chi Hosting is for everyone!

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Semiomantics XO Advertising

Have you ever heard of Semiomantics XO? Well, it’s one of the best blog scripts that I know and I have tried and tested a few over the past few years. Not only is it the best performing script but that it is so versatile, totally flexible and adaptable to any theme that’s why I have added it to my Small Business Shop.

I personally prefer  a clean, crisp site that is easily navigated and presents the blog post in clearly defined matter. Others I know prefer a much more ornate style with lots of graphics and flashes.  There’s a whole range of top performing and highly efficient Semiomantics XO scripts such as Business Blogs, Online Newspaper (Newscast theme) to name a few as well as the latest Semiomantics Evolution, media focused flash that can be customized and adapted to customer requirements.

Affordable Blog Design

If you are looking for affordable blog design with top performance then the Semiomantics XO is really worth investigating. Each script is custom made and totally unique and  designed to reach high visibility on search engines such as Google.  All sites can offer galleries, portfolio, shop depending on personal preferences and demand.

* The advertising banner for the Semiomantics XO was created during an Ycademy Workshop. Ycademy Trainings are open to all Ycademy paid members and cover various topics and themes throughout the year as well as monthly seminars dedicated to a specific subject.  For more details please use the contact form.

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Learning Basics of HTML

When you first start to do things on the internet you are quite happy to follow existing programs getting the feel of how it all operates and learning how to find your way around. Then comes the time when you want to start branching out a little on your own, doing things for yourself. This is the time when you need to learn some basics, like learning the ABC of the internet, learning some Basics of  HTML.

Some people are put of by this notion of learning something new thinking its really difficult, however HTML really isn’t that hard. Remember when you first  stared to do sums at school? well once you understood how it all worked it was all easy. HTML is pretty simple.

Basics of HTML

HTML stand for Hyper Text Markup Language. The language is easy, its plain english.The words we use everyday. To get these words to be visible in a browser we need to give the browser instructions to read them. The instructions are the HTML,  this is what the browser looks for to display correctly what you have written.

HTML Tags

Instructions come in the form of a series of  tags <tag>. Each tag gives an instruction. Each tag is a keyword surrounded by brackets <tag>. Its very much like the training soldiers receive to stand to attention and then to be at ease. You give the command, then you close or finish the command. So we have an opening <tag> and a closing </tag>. The / tells us its the closing tag instruction.
 
Just learning a few basic tag functions will help you with some very basics tasks online like inserting the html code for a banner for example. I remember myself the frustration I had when trying to do this when I first ventured out online without first learning some Basic HTML. Had I first learnt some of the basics I wouldn’t have wasted an hour or two in frustration.

Ycademy Basic HTML

Having a handy reference that you can refer to at anytime, like the ‘Ycademy Basic HTML’ is so useful, and you can return to it time and time again till you are more proficient in what you do. Printing out a copy and keeping it handy I personally found was easier. I was educated in the era when printed matter was all there was so old habits die hard.

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WP Best  NewsPaper Theme

Choosing a new theme  to use for a website is not a decision to be taken lightly. There are a few issues to consider carefully and it all really depends on the main purpose of the website. Once the purpose is agreed upon then choosing the correct theme is a more simplified process. One of the best themes around that I know  of  is the WP Best Newspaper Theme  – a theme that can be applied to most any purpose as it is so adaptable and can be used as a basic platform for most anything.

The WP Best Newspaper  Theme based on the Semiomantics NewsCast Script is an all time favourite with many online publishers. The Best WP Newspaper Theme is one of many themes developed and tuned by Semiomantics. The theme utilises an attractive layout, magazine or news, that introduces both text and graphics and is suitable for countless online applications such as gardening news, car sales, real estate, holidays just to name a few.

Best WP NewsPaper Features

Here are just a few of the features that make this newspaper theme administratively friendly: 

* Easy to admin area – navigate through various sections with ease
* Media Gallery for both images/photos and video
* Auto image resizer – easily display photos and images
* Easy to use category navigation
* Countless Widgets increasing flexibility of layout and composition.
* Banner Ad Management area
* Small Ad Management area
* Ideal for product integration
* Easily adapted for Social Network Marketing

As with any other newspaper, the ad management areas can be used to sell advertising space to clients or as an advertising space for personal products or affiliate marketing.

The Newspaper theme is also  very much a firm favourite with many marketers who use it as a platform  to display products with both images and detailed product information creating a very eye catching display. You can take any plain site and turn it into an attractive  feature-rich portal. With its ease of customisation its a quick and easy way to have a professional looking site.

Best WP NewsPaper by Semiomantics

Not everyone has the time  to take out from their busy schedule or  business to learn how to set up a site nor how to configure it to reach the highest performance levels on search engines  as is needed to successfully market products online. At Small Busines Consulting  we take the time to listen to your specific business requirements to provide you with the best possible solution.

Best WP Newspaper Theme Performance

WP Best Newspaper Theme is a finely tuned Semiomatics script with unequaled high performance on Google Top 10 ranking and stability. The Best WP Newspaper Theme by Semiomantics is only available at selected eShops online  – it comes, set up, configured, fully optimised and delivered to you upon completion of your order, ready to use.  All work on the site is carried out by a licenced Semiomantics Consultant to provide you with complete customer satisfaction.

Working From Home News adapted as a Home Business Online Newspaper with the latest home business news.  

Gardentalk News adapted as an online Home Garden news and tips newspaper and product advertising.

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Branding and Logo Design

Following up on my previous posts about Branding, this post concerns the next stage of the branding process that of creating a logo, a graphic representation of a business to promote brand recognition. Most companies today use this as a clearly visible and easily identifiable promotional trademark. Easily identifiable both on the web and offline.

Creating a Logo

When creating a logo one of the first steps is to decide which elements you would like to see in your design. What needs to be considered aswell is the fact that a logo will also be used on printed matter as well as on the web, therefore the end product must reproduce well in both formats. A complicated design is not always easy to reproduce succesfully. Simplicity well crafted is chic!

The Logo

Having recently changed the style, layout and the colour on my blog I decided that now was the time to create a logo, a simple representation of what I do. Having decided on the elements to use, in this case just good clear and distinctive fonts like Helvetica, which looks good both on the web and in print, and an initial decision on which text was to be used the creative process began in Photoshop.

Logo creators

There are various logo creators online, for free or to purchase, that can be used quite succesfully to create a perfectly acceptable logo, however for a really professional look one really needs to use a professional image editing software like Photoshop.

Logo Design Study

After some initial designs, here are a few of the results of a brainstorming session last nite with Yorgo. Bouncing ideas with another person is a great way to improve the upon the creativity process. There will be more to come soon.

1.

2. Adding some colour

3. Different interpretation

4. The glossy effect

5. The pastel look

6.  Bold and glossy

Which design so far is your favourite?

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Creative Book Covers for stories

There are many stories written, and yet many of these stories lie unprinted.
 
Today, the internet has opened up so many wonderful possibilities for authors, who’s books would otherwise lie unpublished. With the many easy to use programs that abound, like Microsoft Word, it’s much easier to get a book written, then published as an ebook and finally have a book cover made.

Stories Never Told

I remember way back as a child, my mother would tell us a story at bedtime. Each story would be different, capturing our imaginations and leaving us spellbound as we drifted of to sleep.  These stories were never told on paper, lost forever to outsiders but still vivid and alive in our memories.

Book Covers for Stories

Once you have your story and created the book as a pdf then you really need a book cover. ‘Don’t judge a book by it’s cover’ but then isn’t that the thing that attracts the eye and inspires you to look further, well I would say so! And then of course its the title and subtitle, and the editorial that helps to make up the readers mind to whether he will or will not purchase the book.

Book covers come at affordable prices if you don’t have the know how or patience to create your own. You can check the prices at the Small Business Shop. Covers are custom made to order at prices you can afford.

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Unique Personalised Gifts

Its never easy trying to find a special gift for a loved one. Shops are full of so many choices to be made,  and yet finding a truly unique personalised gift takes time to find, especially if you want to be a little different from the norm.

Personalised gift idea

Giving a gift that comes  truly just from you makes a gift really special. Remember when your  child or friend gave you that first picture or gift created especially for you, you remember that forever. Here in our Small Business Shop we have some very unique gift ideas, custom made for that someone very special in your life.

Personalised DVD or CD Covers

Most of us these days have a digital camera, or use our mobile to capture those special moments in our lives, of family, friends and get-togethers. We often end up collecting and storeing these captured moments and so often that is the end of that. Why not use these photos to create a special gift for that special occassion?

Collect and assemble some of those special photos on a CVD or DVD and we will create a unique personalised cover for you to give as gift to that special person in your life.

Just tell us what you would like to see on the cover and we will send you the printer ready cover to print and use. A very special gift that will be treasured forever.

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Branding Yourself Online

Following upon on my previous posts about branding and branding your business online it is also important to brand yourself, taking control of your own name, your image and your reputation, and your authority, if you don’t others will do it for you and maybe even not too kindly.

Personal Branding

Personal branding is all about ‘YOU’, who you are and what you stand for, and how you want others to see you, your personal identity. First impressions are still so important. This impression online is created by what you write about, how you write it and how you present yourself visually via a personal blog, website or these days on any of the interactive social media  sites like Facebook. Today online its about transparency, being visible, openness and accountability.

Developing your personal brand, your personal style comes with time but the ‘basic elements’ of who you are remain the same. Developing ‘YOU’ comes from a lot of soul searching and from digging deep in your own ‘Secret Garden’, which is certainly not an over night affair.

Your Personal Brand

Your Personal Brand is all about communication, letting others communicate with you, creating trust and  empathy. Every visual aspect of you, your business, your personal information portrays you. Always be true to you!
 

“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.”  Judy Garland

Personal Blog

To have a Personal blog or website is a real ‘MUST HAVE’, in order to be in total control of your name, your image and what you stand for. A place where you can portray yourself in who you are and what you do, your like and dislikes, building your authority. A complete package that can be identified as you in  your writing, your style and your images. 

AND….. it is all very much tied up in the wrapping, the presentation. It  all counts. Your site communicates, builds empathy, builds relationships. Blogs are very much an asset these days as they increase your visibility ranking higher on search engines.

You may not be the worlds best but demonstrating your authenticity, integrity, honesty goes a long way to creating a positive image online.

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Branding your Business online

The next step to Branding your Business online after purchasing and registering your domain is purchasing a hosting package to suit your business needs. Hosting is the step between your business and publishing it to the worldwide web. Offline a business takes its marketing materials to a publisher to be published and then distributed, online its to a hosting provider where your marketing material is made public online.

Hosting

There are any companies online that offer hosting packages, with varying features and prices. Most anyone can afford to buy basic hosting pack as prices have fallen over the past few years. However, one should not only be dictated by the price alone but also by the services that the hosting company provides.

Best Affordable Hosting

Identifying your business needs goes a long way to selecting the hosting package that will suit your budget and your specifications. At Small Business Consulting  we can help you assess your hosting needs and suggest  the best possible solution, however simple or complex it may be. If you are an internet marketer your needs will go way beyond a simple fun site that often you can get for free.

Hosting Features

Here are some hosting features in order of priority that I consider to be of paramount importance when considering and selecting a web hosting provider.  As a user of various hosting companies I realise these to be important:  

Customer Support

I remember when I first started how important this service was:  good, reliable customer support, providing technical assistance  and solutions as and when needed. Even today when something goes amiss it is important to have assistance from customer support.

Backups

It is important to know that the hosting provider can provide backup and has a regular backup routine in place. This however should not stop you from setting up your own backup and maintenance routine.

Web Space

Your account will require a certain amount of web space, and as you grow you need reassurance that you can also expand according to your needs.

Reliability and Access

No hosting company can really guarantee 100% uptime, those really unforeseen downtime’s do happen as well occasional short downtime for major maintenance. A good hosting company will deal with emergencies immediately and there should be very little disruption to the running of your online business. Speedy access to a website is also an important feature to considered in order that visitors are not lost by slow working websites.

At ChiHosters we provide an excellent service with hosting plans starting at:

* No Limit Shared Hosting: U$35 per year.

*Semiomantics Pro Hosting for Advanced Semiomantics Publishing: U$ 29.95 per month

* Hosting Reseller Plan (WHM): U$99.99 per month

* VSM 20GB Allocated Virtual Managed Server: U$150.00 per month
Sell WHM Reseller Packs

•Increased configuration and flexibility
•Increased uptime and security
•Full Root access
•100% Management and Monitoring – This means we worry about your server, and you worry about your sales!
•The ability to sell reseller accounts
•Based on a Dual AMD Opteron 275, 8GB ram and 20GB HD space dedicated to you.

Other options are also available on demand. Discussing your specific needs with a Consultant or hosting providing can result in a unique and satisfactory hosting solution designed especially for you.

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Branding your business online.

There are many businesses out there online these days, each business promoting its own specific product/s. To be noticed each business has its own image of the product it sells in the market. Branding your business online is one of the most important elements of advertising.
One of the first steps to branding your business is the name you choose for that business.

Brand Name

The name you choose becomes your “brand name” a type of trademark, used to identify you on any marketing material you use, from letterheads to T-shirts and identifies you as the brand owner of the products or services you provide.

Domain Registration

Register the Brand Name

Online we register the brand name by registering a domain name. Offline the owner of a business can do this through trademark registration, protecting his rights to the brand. Whether you run a small home business or  any project online registering your domain on the internet is a must , and the first investment into your business online.

Domain Registration

Domain registration is a very simple process of selecting a name, filling out a form and making a payment.

At Cashbizzhost we sell internet domain name registrations with a premium service. You will find our domain names to be one of the best values around.

Domain Registration Prices

Top Level Domain name (TLD) a .com is offered at:

* U$12.95 per domain for 1 year
* U$25.00 per domain for 2 years

Other domains such as country-code top-level domains and generic top level domains are offered at varying prices.

Cashbizzhost also offers many FREE SERVICES with domain registration:

* 100 personalized email addresses -
Create up to 100 personalized email addresses and forward them to other email addresses.

* Web/URL forwarding -
Forward/redirect/frame your domain name to any other URL/website on the web.

* Name-my-phone -
Give your phone a memorable, meaningful, identity.

* Name-my-map -
Ever want to give someone directions to your home or business, with an easy to remember name?

With every registered user we offer full customer support.

For more information feel free to contact me to discuss your requirements.

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