Webmaster Utilities

PLEASE BOOKMARK THIS PAGE - AS IT CONTAINS MANY USEFUL UTILITIES YOU MAY WANT TO COME BACK TO.

IMPORTANT: Please note that the products and services listed may be provided by external third parties, and as such are not necessarily endorsed by and cannot be guaranteed by Eagle Intermedia Publishing Ltd. Please see the copyright and disclaimer details for further information.

Domain Name Registration and Web Hosting Services:

The following are listed in approxmate alphabetical order:

Exa Networks
Award winning UK ISP based in Cottingley, West Yorkshire.

Website Design Information (General):

Websites can either be created using "off the shelf" WYSIWG ("what you see is what you get") web design packages (see below), or written "raw" using HTML code. Some useful books about HTML can be obtained from Amazon UK via the website design page of the Eagle Intermedia Online Bookstore.

Click here for books about HTML and website design

Website Design Packages:

If you prefer to use a WYSIWG ("what you see is what you get") approach you will need software in order to create your website. Some popular packages (which also let you edit the "raw" HTML code) include the following:

Dreamweaver MX Namo Web Editor 5.0

Once set up, a "content managment system" should allow a website owner to edit content easily and conveniently. Suitably configured, a "user friendly" package such as Contribute can be used to give this level of control.

A wide range of computer software products (including graphics packages) are also available from Amazon.co.uk.

Graphics Preparation Tools:

A wide range of computer software products (including graphics packages) are available from Amazon.co.uk.

You can also create a "favicon" version of your logo using this online Favicon Generator.

Design Tuning and Link Checking Tools:

Before opening up your business site to the world, it is imperative that the site is checked for link integrity, ease of use, speed of loading, and all the other things which will create a good impression. This can be done manually, though design tools and HTML validators are available which can be used as an automatic first check on various aspects of site design.

Generally speaking, design tuning tools may not necessarily optimise your site to make it more "search engine friendly", and as such we would strongly recommend that you seek professional advice on how to do this before proceeding further. If required, Eagle Intermedia could advise you on this and other aspects of your site development: Remember, if your entry doesn't make it on to the first few pages of your required keyword search, then it is unlikely to be found by your selected target audience !

Universality and Cross Browser Compliance:

Just because a website works well and as intended on one computer doesn't necessarily mean that it will work well on another. For this reason web pages should be designed to meet design standards as laid out by the World Wide Web Consortium (otherwise known as the W3C):

Elements of cross browser compatibility can also be checked at AnyBrowser.com

Usability and Accessibility:

Another very important (though often neglected) consideration in the design of any website is making sure that it is easy to use and navigate, and also meets requirements for disabled accessibility. Software tools are available which can help assess aspects of technical compliance, though "real world" testing should also be considered.

Please see the separate page on usability and accessibility services for more information.

Search Engine Optimisation:

Once you've decided on a suitable set of keywords, you'll need to incorporate them in to your site that the search engine spiders will easily be able to identify. This is a process known as "Search Engine Optimisation" (or SEO as it is known in the trade):

Search Engine and Directory Registration and Monitoring Tools:

Once you're satisfied that your site meets the requirements of good design criteria (including search engine optimisation), then it's time to submit the address of the site to all of the major search engines and directories. Although there are literally hundreds of such engines and directories to choose from, only a relatively small number have the most significant share of the market, and it is far more important to make sure that you rank highly with these mainstream names than spending time on little known (and little used) minority engines and directories.

You can visit each of the mainstream search engines and directories to register your site separately, but this is a time consuming task and in some cases it can help to use a submission agent which makes the registrations automatically.

Of course, search engine and directory submissions (whether made automatically or "by hand") may not always be effective, and very often repeat submissions may be necessary to get a result. Besides checking that registration has actually taken place you will need to monitor your "visibility" by checking current positions on keyword search phrases over a wide variety of important search engines and directories. Again, you can do this manually, though there are some very useful search engine and directory monitoring tools available which can enable you to automate what would otherwise be an extremely time-consuming task.

Even with suitable software tools being available, search engine and directory monitoring and resubmission is often frustrating and laborious work, so if you would prefer to have a promotional campaign managed on your behalf instead please see the separate page on web promotion services, or feel free to contact Eagle Intermedia for further details.

e-Commerce and Online Payment Solutions:

Once you have set up your site, you may wish to provide facilities for visitors to be able to order your goods or services online.

For further information about e-commerce solutions (including shopping cart catalogue software and online payment services), please visit the separate e-commerce page on this website.

Logfiles, Statistics and Visitor Analysis Software:

Amongst others Google Analytics and Site Meter provide free visitor tracking systems which are suitable for use on most websites.

Miscellaneous - Affiliate Schemes:

Once your site is set up you can consider joining affiliate schemes (which allow you to earn commission on sales made from customer referrals from your site). Suitably chosen, such schemes can provide an extra source of revenue, besides "adding value" in the range of products and services which are made available to your own visitors.

Of course, if your site is already e-commerce enabled, you might also consider setting up an affiliate scheme of your own, thus enabling you to set up a network of external affiliate members who will promote your site using commission earning links from their own independent sites.