• Google – Manipulate Your Listings For More Traffic

    Date: 2011.02.22 | Category: Search Engine Optimization | Response: 0

    Google seems to be the Search Engine that everyone talks about almost on a daily basis however, far from being about search engine optimization and specifically about Google related SEO i wanted to touch on something new that, perhaps you would not have already thought about.

    Manipulating Google Traffic.

    So your site is already listed in Google but you want to increase the amount of traffic you receive, one way that we as a company have been successfully using for the last 18 months is that of manipulating the display of our clickable links in Google, how are we doing this? Simple, using ASCII character codes in your meta tags.

    ASCII In Your Meta Tags.

    ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) it has been proven, when used in your HTML page Meta Tags will actually display not only letters and numbers but, symbols as well, as a webmaster this can give you a great advantage over how much traffic you can pull from your Google listings and, not only Google, a few of the other search engines also read ASCII code when it is found in your Meta Tags.

    Putting This To Use Practically.

    A good method of putting this to use would be utilizing in your Meta Tags as follows.

    <title>Site Name <ascii code here> page title</title>
    <meta name=”Description” content=”normal page description”>
    <meta name=”Keywords” content=”normal keywords”>

    This will display a search engine listing that not only has your site name on it as well as a description but, in the position where the ASCII code will appear you will also have an attention grabbing symbol enuring that your site stands out from all the others listed on the same search engine results page as yours.

    ASCII Meta Tags – An Overview.

    Hopefully you have seen how adapting your current HTML page Meta Tags by placing an ASCII character code within them can benefit you for gleeming further search engine traffic to your sites and, with this new found knowledge you may well place both your sites traffic and your bottom line profits ahead of other webmasters.

    Article written by Lee

  • Adding Images To Your Web Pages

    Date: 2011.02.21 | Category: WebDesign | Response: 0

    The Basics

    Adding Images To Your Web Pages – The Basics.

    So you have just got into the online adult business but don’t know your ass from your elbow, you have the simplistic stuff relating to HTML down but, you want to find out how you can start adding banners and images to your pages here is a quick guide to help you on your way.

    What Is An Image?

    The answer, is, believe it or not simple, An image is a picture on a page of your website. There are however, many way to display images on your site from the size of it to the overall effect you want the image to have on your HTML page and from borders around the image and many other things.

    However, I don’t want to blind you with information at the moment considering you need to actually know the basics of adding images before you can start using fancy styles and the likes.

    Adding A Basic Image.

    The HTML code to add an image on any HTML based page is a straight forward one however, before you can use this HTML tag you need to know where on your page you want the image to appear.

    Now that you have decided where you want your image to display you need to use the image tag, the HTML coding to place an image on your page should be IMG. Also, you will need to tell your page where you want the image to come from or, in other words, you need to tell it the source of the image you want to use the HTML tag to do this is SRC.

    For example, lets say you have an image called porn.gif (you need to include the extension in your SRC coding) you would display this image on your page using the following code:

    <IMG SRC=”porn.gif”>

    Simple huh?

    Well, actually, maybe not, for example, what do you put if the images you are linking to is NOT in the same location as the page you want it to appear on? That’s not a problem, all you need to do is use the FULL location of the image in your IMG HTML tag like this:

    <IMG SRC=”http://www.domain.com/images/porn.gif”>

    You should now be able to include images on your pages without any problems.

    Image Sizes.

    Ok we can now include an image on our pages but, what if we want to make this image fit the feel of the rest of our page / site, how do you manipulate the graphic to ‘look’ right?

    There are a number of ways images can be manipulated for example, if you want the image to be 100 pixels wide by 100 pixels high you can add the WIDTH and the HEIGHT tag to your HTML coding like this:

    <IMG SRC=”http://www.domain.com/images/porn.gif” WIDTH=”100″ HEIGHT=”100″>

    That will now resize your image into a square that is 100 pixels wide and high.

    Now we have the image on our page in the right size we require what else can we do with it? Read on..

    Borders + Colors.

    In addition to placing the image and resizing the image on our pages we can also add a border and, a border color to the mage to make it stand out if needed for example:

    <IMG SRC=”http://www.domain.com/images/porn.gif” WIDTH=”100″ HEIGHT=”100″ BORDER=”2″ BORDERCOLOR=”FF0000″>

    As you can see we have now added the two tags ‘BORDER’ and ‘BORDERCOLOR’. The first ‘BORDER’ tag tells your HTML what size of border you want around your image and, this can be any size you want to make the image stand out on your page. The second ‘BORDERCOLOR’ tag tells your HTML code what color you want the border to be again, this can be any color you like to match the rest of your sites pages.

    Linking An Image.

    In addition to resizing, adding borders and colors we can also link our image to a specific URL (the most common form of this is with banner advertising) and, if you want to link your image to a URL you would use the following coding:

    <A HREF=”http://www.sponsorsurl.com”><IMG SRC=”http://www.domain.com/images/porn.gif” BORDER=”2″ WIDTH=”100″ HEIGHT=”100″ BORDERCOLOR=”FF0000″>

    This will create an image that is 100×100 pixels in size, with a border size of 2 pixels in the color FF0000 that is linked to http://www.sponsorsurl.com

    Also, the order of the HTML tags we use is not important however, you should try to get used to arranging them in a certain way to make your work easier if it ever comes to editing your images.

    Hopefully this has been of use to you and you can now see that adding banners and images to your sites isn’t as daunting as you first thought.

    Article written by Lee.

  • Message Boards – Getting The Postings

    Date: 2011.02.23 | Category: General | Response: 0

    There are plenty of free scripts available on the web which will enable you to start your own online discussion forum.

    However, having the most sophisticated and advanced features in a forum does not mean it will be successful by any means. It is the people who post on the forums that make them good not the scripts used to maintain them. This article is dedicated to getting people posting on your forums.

    It can be really quiet on your forum especially at the beginning when there are no real discussions going on, this is because people don’t want to be the first to post. They want to see some topics that interest them already being discussed, they want to be able to read through some posts first before having to post themselves. With this in mind, you should also be aware that just because a forum doesn’t seem busy, it can in fact get thousands of hits a day. Lurkers make message boards what they are, and, for this reason alone you should act professionally and courteously when making posts on any forums, one day, you might have to do business with one of these so-called ‘lurkers’ and, if they have seen you in a bad light on a forum, the chances are they wont want to know you. So what do you do to get your message board off the ground? There are a number of things actually and, some of these are as follows.

    First of all, make sure the signup process is as simplistic as possible, even better, ensure if the user doesn’t want to register, they don’t have to! To attract people to post on your boards why not get a few of your friends together and start some discussions of your own, you could even register a couple of different usernames so that your forums look busier than they actually are thus cementing the thought that your forums are active and will have worthwhile discussions taking place.

    To find some current topics for your forums why not visit some of the other message boards and see what people are discussing, if a topic is receiving a lot of interest, post about it on your forums. This is especially a good idea if your forums are specific to one area after all, if your competitions forums posters are interested in this topic, your forums users will be too.

    Another great way to get people to start talking on your discussion forums is to use a contest. For example, currently on European Webmasters we have a content giveaway whereby for each post you make you gain a point and, once you have reached a certain level of points you will be able to download exclusive content sets. If you are going to start a competition then make sure people are aware of it, post some information about it online and get something to giveaway that everyone wants.

    One other method to get additional posts is to put up subject lines and links to the topic threads from your main website page. Again, if you publish articles on your site create a link to your discussion forums and invite people to openly discuss the articles in question, not only will you get people posting on your message board but, you will also gain invaluable information from your user as to what they look for and want in articles you write.

    If you publish a newsletter, again, this is another great way to build interest in your message board. Simply ask them to post, tell them you are building up a great resource and, you need their help as much as you need theirs to make this happen. If you have provided them with high quality information in your newsletter the chances are they will repay you by posting on your message board.

    In conclusion, you should basically try and plug your message board wherever you can by doing the above, create banners for it and display them on your website, place a note in your signature file encouraging people to visit and post if they require assistance with anything. Its hard work but, once you have a few regular posters it will take off.

    Article Written By Lee

  • How To Claim Back European V.A.T

    Date: 2011.02.22 | Category: Billing Solutions, General | Response: 0

    With the recent legislations requiring US businesses to charge Value Added Tax to EU Member state customers for purchases of digital product / image downloads there are many new questions going around enquiring how companies and small business owners can claim the VAT back this is what we will look at in this brief article – The basics of claiming back your VAT from Europe.

    What Is V.A.T?

    Value Added Tax (VAT) is a consumption tax levied on goods and services in many countries across the globe. Over the last decade, legislation in the tax systems of Europe, Canada, Japan and South Korea allow for a refund for the majority of non resident entities, worldwide to a refund of VAT in most instances however, especially in the business world, registration must be achieved prior to claiming back your VAT and, preferably before the purchase of Vat able goods takes place.

    Who Is Entitled To A VAT Refund?

    Most businesses will be entitled to receive a VAT refund however, as the laws vary from country to country, the best way for you as a business owner to find out the laws as they affect you is to contact your company accountant who, should be knowledgable enough to inform you of what you need to claim back from each of the EU member states where V.A.T has been charged.

    What Products Can I Claim V.A.T Refunds For?

    Most typically value added tax recoverable expenses can take form as one or more of the following items:

    Business Property Expenses.
    Transportation Costs.
    Inter-company Billing.
    Marketing + Promotional Services.
    Exhibitions, Conferences + Business Meetings.
    Importation V.A.T.
    Digital Downloads (Business Related).

    How Do I Register For V.A.T?

    When a company inside the domestic US conducts transactions in the EU countries where value added tax registrations may be required the registration for the VAT refund should be done prior to the transaction taking place however, on occasions which vary from individual EU member states this registration process may be done retroactively. By becoming registered to claim your VAT back the company is legally required to d the following:

    1) Register for the VAT in the EU country where the transaction takes place.
    2) Account for VAT on all invoices or receipts issued to your European customers.
    3) Deduct the V.A.T incurred from your European suppliers of goods or services.

    Value Added Tax – An Overview.

    When all is said and done, other than the obvious need to increase your pricing structure for certain global markets registering for and, charging value added tax actually has a great deal of benefits. You now get to claim addition refunds from any expenses that you incur from the day to day running of your business, your promotional activities become vat’able so you can now increase the level of global marketing you do and, claim full value back from the EU member states (where applicable). basically, registering in the EU member state will enable your business to grow on a global scale and, at the same time, afford you the luxury of being able to market your goods and services to a greater client base at virtually no cost to yourself this is a good thing especially when you take a look at the growth that international internet usage is making each month.

    Article written by Lee

  • SMS Marketing To MMS Marketing – WAP Billing Solutions

    Date: 2011.02.24 | Category: Billing Solutions | Response: 0

    MMS Billing (Multimedia Message Billing) is going to be one of the next huge leaps forward for the online industry’s, with more and more surfers firing up their cell phones to visit our sites and properties we need to start looking at the ways in which we can ultimately bill these types of customer and this is where MMS Billing comes into play.

    MMS Billing – What Is It?

    MMS Billing is a method of charging surfers using cell phones for access to your sites and services. Much like how the SMS Billing model works however, rather than solely billing for text or images, you can utilize MMS Billing on a wide range of rich media applications including movies, sound and, flash applications.

    MMS Billing – What Are The Costs?

    The costs for MMS Billing can vary greatly depending on your MMS Billing provider however, as a rough guideline, you can expect to pay anywhere between $0.10 and $0.50 per purchase through the MMS Billing method.

    MMS Billing – An Overview.

    MMS Billing is still in its infancy across the internet however, with more and more sites becoming WAP enabled and, more and more surfers turning their cell phones on to browse our websites this billing model will soon grow to what the current SMS Billing model is today.

    Article written by Lee

  • What Happens Your Current Processor Bails?

    Date: 2011.02.24 | Category: Billing Solutions | Response: 0

    Whilst this is perhaps one of the hardest challenges that a webmaster of a paysite can face in the industry it isn’t as bad as they may seem at first after all, there are literally hundreds of processors to choose from ranging from credit card processors, dialer option, micro-sms billing and a wide range of other systems.

    The first and foremost thing you should do however when confronted with this challenge is to try and contact your existing processor and find out what will happen to funds that you are owed, will you be paid (in most cases you will).

    The next thing you should do is to evaluate your business billing methods are you offering multiple processors already? If so, simply switch to your backup processor and find a new processor to use as a backup.

    However, what happens if you only have a single processor on your site what can you do then?

    First things first, you need to make sure you choose a reliable payment processor to start off with companies such as iBill, CCBill, CCBill EU, Netbilling and Jettis are all good processors used by a multitude of sponsors and content providers amongst the other companies.

    You will most likely find that these companies are more than happy to work with you in the integration of their system onto your site.

    Whilst you are awaiting your setup of your new processor to ensure you do not lose any sales it may be an idea to divert your join page off to a dialer or, perhaps have some form of ‘internal’ billing mechanism set up so that, when you do change over processors you can seamlessly transition your member base across.

    Now, presuming that you already have an existing member base what do you do then? How easy or hard is it going to be to transfer them across to your new processor? Well based on the situation some were confronted with when Visa introduced the new fees to process adult payments this can vary from webmaster to webmaster again, as before, the easiest solution for you would be to contact the company you will be using as your primary processor and see what they can suggest.

    Hopefully, you will have access to a database of your existing members email addresses this will also come in handy to ensure you can keep recurring those members. Send out an email stating that you will be changing your processor and, ask that, if they would like to remain a member of your site that they update their billing information, it might also be prudent to offer them some sort of recompense for having them change processors perhaps something along the lines of 2 weeks low cost or even free access tot he site, this is sure to mean that most of, if not all of your existing members will input their billing information again enabling you to rebill them until they cancel their membership at our new processor.

    Of course nothing is infallible so the best advice i can offer you is to work closely with your new found processor and make sure that the transition period happens as quickly and, as smoothly as possible.

    Hopefully this article will be of some use to those who do get affected by their processors going out of business and, will also serve as a warning to have multiple processors in place for those who have not or will not have the need to change your billing company.

    Article written by Lee

  • AVS Changes – Is The Proverbial Sky Falling?

    Date: 2011.02.24 | Category: General, Promotion | Response: 0

    With the announcement yesterday from several of the large AVS systems, Free Age Card, Sex Key and, Gay Passport (also speculation on and off the forums state that Mass Pass were aware of this happening) that they will no longer allow webmasters to use the terms; AVS, Adult Verification Service, AGE Verification Service and, Access to thousands of other sites what does this hold in store long term for AVS webmasters?

    Quite simply, it looks at first glance as if these changes have something to do with the speculation surrounding VISA and AVS systems from a few months ago.

    In fact, these changes have been on the horizon for some time now however, until yesterday webmasters seemed to be unsure as to what, if anything will be changing. Even though the speculation has been circulating for some time, one of the first AVS systems to envoke these new rules, Sex key, came out with the following statement; ‘While we knew changes were coming, we just now found out what we believe are the new requirements. With this new information, we are trying to comply as quickly as humanly possible.’ quickly followed by; ‘We felt it was better to give people a chance to modify their sites this weekend rather than to not be in compliance Monday.’- Craig Tant.

    One thing is certain, come Monday, there WILL be a lot of unhappy webmasters

    So apart from the added workload for webmasters what other issues is this likely to bring up in the immediate future, well, again, based on the rumors and, i should stress that is all they are up to this point in time, from a few months ago we could expect one or more of the following items to happen to the AVS model as we know it.

    1) Visa starts to charge the AVS companies the $750 fee just to process memberships.
    2) Visa starts to charge individual webmasters the $750 fee to use an AVS service.
    3) AVS Systems cease to exist.

    So, lets break each of the above items down and see how it will have a long term effect on both AVS webmasters and, the adult industry as a whole.

    AVS Companies Charged $750 Visa Fee’s.

    In itself this isn’t a big issue that we should be immediately worried about, after all the AVS company will be the one footing this bill and, with the amount of traffic and sales that these programs get $750 is a relatively small pebble at the foot of a mountain. That said however, some of the smaller AVS systems might end up having to close because they cant afford the fees in much the same way that some Amateur paysite owners had to close their aff programs.

    Webmasters Charged $750 Visa Fee’s.

    This is the option that i am most concerned with, after all, with thousands of AVS sites being built each day and being submitted to literally hundreds of AVS companies the potential cost of this could run into thousands for individual webmasters.

    Of course, with this expense there also comes some benefits. The immediate benefit that comes to mind is that a lot of the dishonest webmasters will refuse to or, be unable to pay this fee that in itself will lighten the strain for the rest of the industry.

    There is also the possibility that webmaster may need to pay this fee for each and every AVS that they submit to which, in itself will not only harm the individual webmasters but, it will also see the rise and, dare i say it, fall of some of the smaller or less profitable (from a webmasters point of view) AVS companies. No doubt if this did ever happen the likes of Cyberage, UGAS, Global Male Pass et al will be unaffected as, they have enough of a webmaster following and traffic base to ride this potential storm out.

    AVS Systems Cease To Exist.

    This is potentially the worst case scenario and, whilst i will be the first to admit that this is VERY unlikely to happen, the possibility needs to be looked at.

    What happens to all of your sites you have in the AVS systems? What happens to all of your potential rebills? What happens to all of that AVS traffic?

    Well i would say for the most part, changing your sites from AVS to the free model wont be such a big deal for webmasters however, the financial losses to individual webmasters and companies could run into hundreds of thousands a month. With these financial losses will more webmasters leave the industry or, will more of the AVS webmasters start running TGP’s and dilute the traffic quality even further?

    Speaking of traffic, we all know by now that AVS traffic is qualified potent traffic but, what will happen when this traffic, should the AVS be closed down, hit the adult web again? Quite simply long term the effects of such a force could have positive and negative effects ranging from paysite memberships sales rising to the onslaught and proliferation of free porn being searched for again – good news for TGP owners.

    As you can see from the above, all of the speculation, rumors and, facts speak for themselves in so much as, if you are an AVS webmaster, you NEED to start diversifying your business model to ensure that even if the worst doesn’t happen, you are still able to be profitable online.

    Article written by Lee

  • The Gay Opinion – Obscenity Laws and the Gay Market

    Date: 2011.02.23 | Category: General | Response: 0

    Let me begin by saying this is not a legal dissertation, but a collection of opinions on the recent comments and events inside the industry.

    Obscenity Laws have always been the “fly in the ointment” for adult. Not knowing when, if or how the government will act toward webmasters or companies.

    So what do I think? Every indicator out there says something or someone is coming. Big Brother is on the prowl. But, how will webmasters in the gay market act to ward off the evil?

    While discussing this with a number of webmasters, I found that the gay opinion is spread as wide as a gigolo’s legs on payday. The thoughts that have been shared vary from ultra conservative to down right militant. And once again, I find myself stuck dead in the middle.

    Here is a sampling of the opinions at large:

    I’ve heard from some webmasters who have a “come and get me attitude”. Their approach is the government has done enough damage to the gay community over time.

    Their attempts to sanction the gay adult industry will be simply another shot at taking us down – and that attempt will garner a public/media fight of the government acting as a bully. Now does this have anything to do with adult? No matter how I look at it, the one subject isn’t related to the other. Personally, the government’s reaction/treatment to the gay community has little to do with the government’s action towards adult. Yes, I can totally see how they got there, but it’s not enough for me.

    There is the “what else is new” set. This is a group of webmasters who own pay and/or free sites, have been doing this for a long time and they have adapted their companies and their marketing to sell memberships to the surfers. They use softcore and stories already on their feeder sites, have webmaster programs and they are happy with the results and will not change a thing. Their methods work – methods are not blatantly sexual but more sensual and the conversions are a testament to that. By the way, this is where I stand (right in the middle). The general thought is nothing has happened yet. Work smart and don’t panic.

    The other side of this is the “oh shit’ers”. These webmasters are re working their entire networks of gay porn to follow a well-established method of softcore only. Make them Pay for the Meat! They are reacting by taking down all hardcore images from their sites in order NOT to stir up any government dirt. Well as far as I’m concerned, they should have been doing this to begin with… sell the hardcore to members don’t give it away on a free site. For this, group the panic is on.

    Finally I spoke with the “fuck ’ems”. Now their idea isn’t that the government is suppressing the gay community. They look at this totally as a first amendment issue of freedom speech and expression. They use both hardcore and softcore to resell for webmaster programs and frankly, they feel that they will prevail over any government attack simply by way of Bill of Rights. They’re making money and they don’t care who knows about it.

    What does this all mean? Well here’s my take…

    First, it’s apparent that the opinions are just as varied as webmasters working the straight market.

    There is a general feel of, don’t panic – more than I have seen with straight market webmasters. I honestly, think this comes from our years of battle against the government on many other issues. Until the rumors become fact we will move as we always have – then deal with what is concrete rather than the abstract.

    Overall, the most resolute business people I have heard from, all said the same thing. If you use common sense, use methods that work and that do not go overboard there will be no need to panic. The hobbyist who is trying to make a million will leave out of fear, the “over the top” websites will be the target and those businesses run with common sense will continue with no major issues. I think my favorite statement to come out of these conversations is, “The government will bite, if you give them the bone. Don’t feed them and they go hungry.”

    I see the same “proceed as usual” attitude out there, as I have always seen in the gay community. Deal with the facts and only and not rumors.

    Once again, this is totally based on opinion and by no means a legal stance. If you have any doubts, concerns or questions about obscenity laws in your area or in general, please consult your attorney.

    Article written by Gary-Alan

  • Obscenity – Put It To The Test

    Date: 2011.02.23 | Category: Writing | Response: 0

    Regardless of how long any of us have been an adult webmaster we all need to be
    aware of obscenity laws and, in particular how they affect our businesses
    whether we think a hardcore photoset is ‘obscene’ or not ultimately, if you get
    taken to court on obscenity charges the one thing you should be aware of is how
    the courts will decide whether the images you are using will be classified as
    obscene or not.

    Testing Obscenity – The Miller Test.

    The Miller test was developed in the 1973 court case of Miller vs. California
    and in comprises of three parts ALL of which MUST be satisfied on order for
    something to be deemed obscene by the courts. The Miller test is the ‘official’
    method used by the United States Supreme Court for determining whether an
    expression or a speech can be determined as obscene and, if deemed obscene, it
    is not protected under the First Amendment and is therefore prohibited by law.

    The Miller Test – Part One.

    Part one of The Miller Test states something may be obscene if ‘the average
    person, applying contemporary adult community standards, would find that the
    work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest’ In essence, this
    means that if the ‘average’ person on a jury or on the bench finds the work to
    be deemed obscene then, it is. However for the court to rule something as
    obscene it also has to be deemed obscene by the standards set in part two and
    part three below.

    The Miller Test – Part Two.

    Part two of The Miller Test states that something is potentially obscene is
    ‘the average person, applying contemporary adult community standards, would
    find that the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual
    conduct’. Basically this is saying that if the images or speech is something
    which is not practiced in a manner befitting your local community standards
    then again, it may be obscene. However, as with part one of The Miller Test for
    a court to find something obscene it needs to fall below the standards in part
    three below.

    The Miller Test – Part Three.

    Part three of The Miller Test states that something is potentially obscene if,
    ‘a reasonable person would find that the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious
    literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.’ This is pretty much where
    you could potentially come unstuck after all, everyone has different sexual
    tastes and because of this, just because something that may be widespread such
    as ‘bare backing’ (to use as an example) could potentially be considered as
    obscene if you happen to have a jury who are devout practicers of safe sex.

    The Miller Test – Overview.

    In essence The Miller Test is a useful guideline for webmasters when it comes
    to operating our sites and specifically, when it comes to choosing the types of
    content we utilize on them however, for the most part The Miller Test itself is
    outdated. Since the early 70’s when this test was devised there have been many
    sexual practices that were once deemed obscene that have become more a part of
    everyday life and accepted in to society as whole thus, what once would (or
    could) have been deemed obscene would no longer be in the same sense as
    something that may be deemed obscene today could be found not to be in 5 years
    time.

    Article written by Lee

  • Typography Know How

    Date: 2011.02.24 | Category: Writing | Response: 0

    Our web sites are nothing without content, and most content is comprised of simple text. Many web designers neglect to pay attention to their typography, and it shows. Proper typography varies based on where the text is and what purpose it serves. Although there are no rules etched in stone, there are a few general techniques that should be followed. Although some of these tips may seem elementary, many of them are not followed.

    Headings.

    Clearly, headings should be larger, by 1 or 2 font sizes, than your body text. You may consider bold, but be cognizant of the letter width. Arial Black, for example, may create letters too fat for your taste. When using colors, be sure the colors contrast well with the background color of your site. Black and dark gray do not contrast well, while black and white (or light gray) work quite well. Sometimes, even a simple color change can create useful headings.

    Also be sure to cascade your headings. A main heading, for example, would be larger than subheadings. This effect creates a sense of emphasis and flow to the information.

    Do not italicize your headings. Italics are meant to underscore particular content, but since the text is a heading and of larger size anyway, italics are redundant and often make the text difficult to read.

    Fonts.

    The default is Times New Roman, which works fine, but many think it is boring. I have experimented with Arial, Georgia and Verdana, and have found Verdana the most readable font face available. This is a personal preference, but fonts should be restricted to the above four to ensure compatibility between all users of your web site. If your user’s browser does not support your font choice, their browser will revert to its default. Since browsers have increased support for CSS, or Cascading Style Sheets, whenever possible, use CSS to define your fonts, rather than HTML’s <font> tag. Also, be sure to keep your font sizes large enough for visitors of all ages and eyesight’s.

    Stress Styles.

    Avoid using all capital letters within your text, as it makes it difficult to read and implies you are shouting at the reader.

    To stress words within your body text, decide on a format and stick with it. Some choose bold, while others choose italics or underline. My personal favorite is italics, but any of these can work well. Be careful when using underline, however, as it can be mistaken for a link. In addition, do not overuse these stress styles.

    Entire body text should not be bold. Bold, like italics, is used to emphasis words, and usually an entire body of copy should speak for itself in regularly styled text. I like to use CSS to space my body text out a little to increase readability.

    Article written by Lee

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