Landing pages are tricky.

Get them right, and they become one major piece of a booming business online.

Get them wrong, and, well … *nothing* happens.

And that’s just the writing part.

If you’ve ever tried to *build* a landing page in WordPress, you know it can get very frustrating, very fast. The basic idea is to strip all the extras away — on that page only — so your reader focuses on the action or product you want them to focus on.

So, away you go…

Remove the sidebars. Change the header. But don’t change the header on all the other pages of your site!

PHP. HTML. Javascript. Track down the right images and graphics.

Play with color, add an opt-in form (one that actually looks good). Add video, add audio, and on and on and on.

Unless you’re a developer, this stuff can drive you crazy, and waste a lot of your time.

Here’s the thing, the Premise for WordPress landing page software was built to solve all these problems for you (and more).

Premise is a plugin for WordPress that takes all the hassle out of building effective landing pages that get results.

And it does it all, right from inside WordPress. Check it out here:

http://GetPremise.com

Beyond page building and design, you also get copywriting advice (right from inside WordPress), plus copywriting and conversion optimization seminars — all at no extra charge.

Premise for WordPress is the total package when it comes to getting people to take the action you’re looking for, without wasting hours trying to get your page just right.

Here’s a quick look at what you get when you buy Premise:

- Unlimited landing pages you can create
- Unlimited domains you can use Premise on
- Copywriting and conversion seminars
- Specific copywriting advice inside WordPress
- 1,100+ custom graphics library
- Technical support and updates

Anyway, if you want to take all the hassle out of building landing pages for your WordPress site, you should check out Premise right now:

http://GetPremise.com

If you’re not absolutely delighted with everything Premise for WordPress does for you and your bottom line, just use the clearly-marked contact form in the HELP section of the member area within the first 30 days and they’ll promptly refund your money.

In todау’ѕ businеѕs ѕcenarіo, іt іs а gіven thаt your company iѕ uѕing the internet to suppоrt its buѕinеѕѕ funсtіonѕ. A robuѕt websіtе gіveѕ cоmpaniеѕ an effеctіvе intеrnеt рreѕеncе. Cоmраnіes can орt tо build an in-hоuѕе webѕite dеsign tеаm оr simply oрt tо hаvе іt cuѕtom desіgned. Therе іs morе thаn one rеаѕon why сomраniеs prеfer tо hіre cuѕtom web dеsіgn servicеѕ. Herе аre sоme of them:

1. Outstanding Design. Hіring а сuѕtom wеb dеѕign ѕerviсe enѕurеs thаt your wеb lаyоut iѕ uniquе; and maintains а ѕophiѕtіcаtіоn thrоugh its соntеnt аnd deѕіgn. A сustom web dеsign ѕerviсe provіdеr wіll make sure thаt no сommоn temрlаtes are uѕed and thе laуоut translatеs grаphіcаllу the рhiloѕорhу and perѕonаlіty оf уоur brаnd and organizatіоn.

2.Hiring a professional is more cost effective then hiring an in-house team. Cоmpаniеѕ usuallу rіsk extravаgant exреnѕeѕ whеn thеу try to buіld an іn houѕe web dеvеlорmеnt team. When аnalyzеd – aррointіng а сustom wеb dеѕіgn sеrvісе providеr саn turn оut be a lоt more cost effective, mаіnlу bесauѕе of thе fасt thаt yоu are sіmрlу uѕing theіr prе-еxіsting reѕources. An іn-houѕe web desіgn team starts from ѕcratch and haѕ tо makе inveѕtments tоwаrds еmplоying thе ѕmallеѕt оf the wеb dеѕіgn tools. Thіѕ mаy lеаd to соmprоmiѕing the finаl quаlitу towardѕ thе web dеvelopment рrосеѕѕ.

3. Additional web marketing services. A custom web deѕіgn ѕеrviсe сan alѕo prоvіdе additiоnal ѕеrvicеѕ ѕuch аs sоcіal netwоrk markеtіng and seаrсh engіnе optimizatіоn. Theѕе ѕervіce provіderѕ allоw уоu tо build сrіsp соntеnt for SEO рurроѕes and рrоvidе rеlevant іnfоrmаtіon tо роtential cuѕtоmеrѕ аnd usеrs thuѕ drіving traffic towardѕ уour websіtе. An іn-hоuѕе team would probаblу laсk exреrіence in building strong Sосiаl Netwоrk Markеtіng аnd SEO ѕtrategiеs

4. Advice. Taking into consideratiоn the fаct that a сuѕtоm Wеb Devеloрment Cоmpanу hаѕ bеen in thе busіnеsѕ lоng еnough they can аdvice cоmраnіеs on dеѕіgnѕ and соntеnt trеndѕ keеping in mind the funсtional requirеmentѕ of thе future.

5. Experience. Thе mоѕt ѕіgnificаnt rеаѕоn thаt motіvаteѕ cоmрanieѕ tо opt for cuѕtоm web dеvеlоpmеnt оptіоns іѕ theіr exреrience. It іs аn exеrcіѕе thаt the service рrovidеrѕ’ dеal іn daу in аnd dау оut. A new іn-hоusе team wоuld most likеlу be learnіng on the јob, makіng іt а timе соnѕumіng аnd еxреnѕive affair.

Evеntuallу it is the соmрany that bеаrs the fruіtѕ of an intеractive, attraсtіve аnd user-frіendly website. Thіs аreа of internet mаrkеting must nоt bе tаkеn lightlу аnd cоrrect buѕineѕs dеcіsіons must bе taken kеeріng іn mіnd the lоng-term rеturn оn іnvеstmеnt.

Making a web site can seem intimidating.  Even if you have software to help you, you may find yourself faced with confusing code or difficult procedures to upload your site to your web server.  Luckily there are a handful of decent options out there for people who want a web site, for personal reasons or for business, and do not want to opt for a generic, pre-designed site.

Here are the best of these programs.

NetObjects Fusion is one of the better drag-and-drop website builders available.  It costs less than $200.  This product has stood the test of time; it has been around since the mid-1990s.  There is no need to know any code with NetObjects.  For most basic and intermediate sites, NetObjects is a powerful-enough design tool.  It even has built-in ecommerce and traffic tracking tools.

Freeway Express, a Mac-centered design program, is another powerful design tool for novices.  It offers a what-you-see-is-what-you-get environment similar to desktop publishing software.  The nice thing about Freeway is that you can upgrade to Freeway Pro, which allows more complete control of coding and advanced design elements.  If you are looking to grow your site or launch a freelance web design career, Freeway might be a good and practical place to start.

And then there is WordPress.  For very basic information sites, WordPress blogs might be a decent option.  These blogs are highly customizable because there are thousands of plug-ins and unique designs available.  There is a large community of developers, so if you need to troubleshoot, you can find help on the program’s forums.  There are numerous designs to choose from, though customizing often requires a bit of coding knowledge.  The best part about WordPress is that it is free to download, so you only have to pay for web hosting.

Joomla – If you are a little more ambitious, Joomla, a content management system, can integrate different parts of a web site together so that it is easier to control.  Using this program requires overcoming a bit more of a learning curve, but it is easy enough, even for novices, to build a site with, say, a blog, a chat forum, and photo gallery, without too much effort.  Like WordPress, it is free to download.

Realmac RapidWeaver is another Mac-oriented web design program.  It has themes and built-in layout designs that users simply have to fill in with their content.  Other programs might offer a bit more control, but if you are in search of a basic site building program and aren’t overly concerned about the small details, then this might be a good, low-learning-curve option that is even easier to use than the other design programs listed above.  If you want to eventually get into advanced site building, Freeway might be a better option, but for most designers, RapidWeaver is more than enough.

Microsoft Expressions – With all those Mac-centered web design programs out there, Windows users seem to have few viable options.  Microsoft Expressions is a good choice for designers.  The price is competitive with the other basic software out there, and the program is part of a suite with a code editor (for advanced users) and a preview tool.  There is also a souped-up version for pros that retails for over $500.

Coffee Cup Visual Site Designer is a cheap option for creating basic sites.  The good thing about CoffeeCup is that is produces lots of web design and development software, so you can upgrade or purchase different products that will work seamlessly with the sub-$50 WYSIWYG web site design tool.

SiteGrinder is a very interesting tool, especially for people who are already familiar with Photoshop.  The program allows you to design your page in Photoshop and then convert it to a web page with clickable content and automatic HTML coding.  This sounds great, but after a free trial, the software costs over $300, so it is only for people who really want to build a high quality site (or perhaps even sites) and are already very Photoshop-savvy.

Nicole Rodgers has been blogging about the tech industry for 3 years.  She currently helps people figure out how to do online faxing and enjoys wearing funny t shirts.

In this economy, jobs in web design are hard to find and harder to get. Large and mid-sized web design companies are closing their doors or downsizing, laying off web designers in the process. If you are lucky enough to be one of the employed, here are a few tips that will help you stay employed as a web designer.

Be a great employee

Do the job you were hired to do.
If you were hired to do web design, do the web design. Let the graphic designers do the graphic design, let the SEOers do the SEO, let the writers do the writing, let the web marketers set up the social media accounts. Make sure you are working on work related projects when you are on company time and equipment. Freelancing on the clock is a sure fire way to find yourself unemployed. Additionally, you could be handing over the rights of your freelance work to your employer.

Communicate.
There is nothing more simple than asking a question or giving a report. Daily to do lists and accomplished lists only take a few minutes out of each day. Daily meetings can update the whole shop on what is being worked on, what stage it is in and what the next priority is on each item is a really great way to keep everyone in the loop. Lack of communication is the biggest reason for project failure.

Don’t argue.
I understand you think that because you have been trained in web design, you think you have the ultimate opinion on all things web design related. Offer your opinion and try not to take it personally if your opinion isn’t acted upon. It’s not often that the web designer is also the expert in SEO, marketing, branding, company culture or any other factor that goes into the web design. Sometimes it’s better to take the advice of the marketer, client or owner who has done years of research.

If you have a question, ask.
If there is someone sitting nearby that can answer a question, ask! Check with the people in the office before you go online searching for an answer. If you are a new employee, your coworkers might be more familiar with the client or website you have a question on.

Keep a do to list.
If one job stalls for any reason, like waiting for customer feedback or the hosting to be set up, have something else lined up to work on. Do not sit idle while waiting for feedback. If you are using Basecamp or some other project management software, stay on top of it.

Be a tenacious problem solver.
Half hearted efforts will come back to haunt you. Always doing your best work is a good habit to get into. Doing it right the first time is the fastest way to get something done. Become the linchpin.

Keep learning.
Many employers provide on the job training and resources to keep your skills up-to-date. If they don’t, it will be your responsibility to continue learning. Think of each website as an opportunity to learn something new. Push your skills further each time. Challenge yourself to learn new technologies as they come out.

Everyone messes up sometimes. Deal with it and move on.
Mistakes are part of the learning process. Try to deal with it as gracefully as possible. The website is not out to get you. Neither are your coworkers, most likely. Or those browsers you hate. Well, IE6 might be. If you did something wrong, admit it, apologize, figure out a way to make sure it doesn’t happen again and move on. Keep your attitude in check.

Be presentable at all times.
You never know when you might get invited into a meeting with a client. If you were a freelancer with a home office, it was probably okay to skip showering or ignore the comb for days at a time. That is not the case in an office where there are other employees and customers. The same goes for your desk and work area. Keep it clean and free of food. Keyboards are not fond of crumbs. Take your garbage out before the whole office can smell it.

Design great websites.

Keep your code clean.

• Delete extra styles in the CSS.
• Remove unused PHP from the functions file.
• Remove old analytics code if it is no longer needed.
• Delete unused or unnecessary plugins.
• Consolidate your javascript and CSS whenever possible.
• Clean up files while you are working and make sure all files are organized and clean before the site goes live.
• Comment your code clearly.

Do cross browser checks as you work.
It’s far better to frequently check as many browsers as possible as you work than to try to fix many things at the end. All too often, fixing one thing means breaking something else.

Validate code. Validate code. Validate code.

Pay attention to the details.
As Ludwig Mies van der Rohe said: “God is in the details.” The details will make or break a design. It’s okay to be a perfectionist.

Test everything.
Never publish anything without testing it first. All forms must be tested. Test in multiple browsers and platforms. Have your friends test it. Have others in the shop test it. Make sure it works as it should before publishing live content.

Take care of the company, the company will take care of you.

Be mindful of billable time.
Be as accurate as possible on time estimates. If you think something will take five hours, it will probably take ten. An estimate of 8-10 hours would be accurate. If you spend 12 hours on something you said would take one hour, who takes the loss? Likely the company you work for. If you as the web designer cannot bring in enough billable hours to cover your own pay, you will not stay employed.

Be mindful of proprietary information.
If a project has not been launched yet or your company is working on a new product or service, keep it under your hat. Do not post links to websites that are under construction or contain proprietary or sensitive information. Not only is this a bad idea for your company, it can get you fired and sued.