Editing my Site ?????

[Tim B]

Man I have read and reread almost every post about editing and I am still lost. I hate to admit it but I feel like I need someone to hold my hand...
I,ve got my site submitted to several search engines and running in Google Adwords but I don't seem to be getting very many hits.
SOMEBODY HELP ME PLEASE...I CAN'T EVEN FIND MY HTML EDITOR,DO I EVEN HAVE ONE?

[Lori G.]

Hi TIm,

Welcome! I assume you are referring to your TOPS site and would now like to start Phase 1.

I use NVU as my HTML editor. You can download it for free at www.nvu.com. Once you do that, click on file, then open web location. Type in your URL then click on create. This will download a copy of your site so you can start working on it. This is assuming you already have your iPower account set up. That would be step #1.

Hope this helped.

Lori

[Tim B]

Lori, Thanx for your reply...after several frustrating trips to NVU I finally got the editor downloaded and added what I think is a copy of my site. Now what? If I work on it and screw it up is that how it will appear to others? I still have no clue about HTML it makes me feel really stupid and I want to quit even though I don't want to

[Erich]

zilaflyer said:

Lori, Thanx for your reply...after several frustrating trips to NVU I finally got the editor downloaded and added what I think is a copy of my site. Now what? If I work on it and screw it up is that how it will appear to others? I still have no clue about HTML it makes me feel really stupid and I want to quit even though I don't want to

You are experiencing what I call "newbie growing pains". The first couple of weeks in Phase one are the toughest... you will have setbacks and barriers to overcome but just remember this isn't rocket science. Most all of us started pretty much with ZERO knowledge. We grow and learn one day at a time.

You will get very much satisfaction learning and overcoming some of the problems which will give you confidence in yourself and your abilities. That is the biggest obsticle for many of us... thinking it is too hard to learn. It isn't! I promise you that. I kept the following 4 words in my mind at all times during my start-up


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I CAN DO THIS!!!

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If NVU doesn't make sense to you consider something else.

I never used a software program. My cousin showed me how to transfer file [webpages] online using ws_ftp and I was off an running.

I would look at a page and click on the "View" tab at the top of you browser and then clik on "source" and there was that pages HTML code.

I would then copy and paste the entire page code onto one of my file and ftp it online and then start playing with the codes and watching what happens when I made changes.

Copy and paste is a wonderful tool for us to use to lean html code and how it works... That is the route I took... but many people find that NVU or Front Page is the best way to learn to make changes... It is mostly a matter of individual choice...

Keep pushing and you will ge there.

Erich

[Lori G.]

In NVU, save a copy of your index page. Call it backup or whatever. This way if you really make a mess out of your page, you'll have something to fall back on. As you edit your page, if you do something and then don't like it, under edit click on undo. This will undo the last thing you did. If you make a change and like it, click on save. Remember, you have your "backup" copy, just in case.

I found the best way to get around NVU is "hands on". Just try different things. You'll get a feel for it.

Lori

[Tim B]

Erich thanx for your response to my post. But I do not understand what FTP is but what you suggest sounds like that's for me...can you elaborate?

[Skyrocket]

Hi Tim,

sounds like you're having a tough time getting your head around all this web development stuff. I don't blame you, it can be confusing at first and the main reason for this is that it isn't the very intuitive.

The good news is that Erich is absolutely right, it's not difficult, it just seems like it at the beginning. Once you get your head around the logic of web design it's like being enlightened, in a similar way to finding out how a magician saws someone in half.

Lets take this one step at a time and once you get into the swing of it you'll feel great, the sense of achievement is wonderful.

Now you say you've read all the posts on this subject, I just want to be sure you've discovered the Web Creation Toolkit. If not then take a look and see if it helps.

Now the way I suggest you start is to play around either with a copy of your site or with the template I created ( www.theworkathomeindex.com/template ). For instructions on how to save the template to your computer, go to the Getting Started thread in the Toolkit and you'll see the link and instructions in there.

So, once you have decided what you want to play with, all I want you to do is experiment and see what happens with the webpage when you change things. Print off the Toolkit posts and follow the instructions to make changes to table heights and widths, add any random images anywhere you like. Change the properties of things in the page or even the page itself.

The toolkit should give you all the basic knowledge you need to get started. You can also follow some step by step tutorials at websites like www.webmonkey.com and www.w3schools.com/ .

I started learning web design in exactly this way. Reading tutorials, playing with sites that I had no intention of uploading. It wont take you long to learn a few basics. Here's a few pointers for you:

• Websites are just computer files, structured like folders and files are on your computer.
  
• A webpage is just HTML code that a web browser interprets and then "paints" on to the computer screen.
  
• Images in a webpage aren't actually in the page. They are saved either in the same folder as your webpage file or in a seperate folder, or even on another website. All the code is doing is telling the web browser to show that image in that space on the webpage.
  
• A webpage has two main sections. <head> section at the top of the code, which isn't displayed on the webpage but holds important information. <body> section which is everything you want to display on the webpage.
  
• A third important element is the <title> tag which lives in the <head> section. The text inbetween the <title> and </title> tags is what is displayed in the top window bar of the browser and tells visitors what webpage they are visiting and search engines what the page is called.
  
• Webpage code follows a logical sequence and once you know and understand that logic and sequence, you'll find it a lot easier and learn a lot faster.
  

Don't give up. There are many here that didn't and still don't have much web design knowledge. You don't need to be a master web designer to do this business. You will make a lot more money by keeping a positive attitude, learning only what you need to in the web design and spending more of your time getting the marketing right.

A professional looking site is important and the template you get when you joined TOPS is neat and professional enough to make you some good money. You can and will want to make the site design your own style but don't make that your priority. Learn how to add to and update the site so you can make sure it's offering the best and most profitable WAH opportunities, however once you have that in the bag make marketing your priority. I've seen very basic sites do really well and some stunning sites do poorly. A combination of a stunning site and great marketing will really see your profits soar, but as Erich said, take it one step at a time and you will eventually have that combination.

Okay, feel like I'm starting to rant on again so I'll leave it there for now. I'll keep an eye out for your questions as you continue to learn and do what I can to help you get your head around this.

Regards,

Jim

[joansphillips]

Hi Jim

I have downloaded your template to my desktop (Mac). Now I want to work on it in Nvu. How do I get it downloaded onto Nvu. That is my problem and until I resolve it I can't even get started. Please help me.

Joan

[Skyrocket]

Hi Joan,

Shawna gave me a heads up on your request so I'm here, ready to help. However, your timing is great as I have a brand new website that I'm about to make live which is all about how to get started, with explanations and instructions on how to go about editing your site in NVU, plus a whole section on learning the basics when it comes to website code (HTML), which isn't as scary as it might sound.

I'm just completing the final page now, hopefully tonight, then I'm going to get it approved by Erich and then it'll be ready for you to test it out and hopefully it will teach you the basics to getting started on your website development.

If you can wait a couple of days then I'd be grateful for your help in testing the site out, if you cannot wait then by all means email me at [e-mail] or post here again and I'll check back soon.

Regards,

Jim

[shing]

Again, Jim. I want to publicly thank you for all you do to make this process less painful for all of us! You are so giving and so talented. That is a really good combination. We are so lucky to have you here!

Shawna

[Lori G.]

Jim,

I second what Shawna said.

You have been very busy! In case we haven't told you lately, we all truly (and I believe I can speak for all) appreciate what you do here for all of us.

I am very excited to see this new website.

Lori

[Skyrocket]

Hi ladies,

thanks for the kind words, you both give so much here too. There is so much support in all areas of this forum any new and not so new members who decide to take advantage of it cannot fail to succeed.

The new site is ready to publish and I've currently go Erich and Tom looking at it as I want to make sure I'm not pointing members in the wrong direction and that it's all in line with any plans they may have in store for TOPS. We all know how they continue to build and improve TOPS.

As soon as I get the thumbs up I'll publish it and post in the forum.

Regards,

Jim

[Skyrocket]

Hi,

just thought I'd mention that the new TOPS Website Help Tutorials site is now up and running, in case anyone had missed my previous post.

See this thread:
erichw33.proboards53.com/index.cgi?board=web&action=display&thread=1172258485

Hope you find it useful, please feel free to leave feedback in the thread.

Regards,

Jim