The new extension will feature:

• Site themes for download
• Training classes to get you up and running quickly
• Site design advice and how to choose one that works best for you
• Tips to avoid expensive mistakes
• How-to blog posts
• Podcasts with design experts and advanced users
• And so much more!

Be sure to check back in often for announcements on the launch. Or, you can subscribe to the RSS feed for immediate notification.

You can also follow Just the FAQs on Twitter.

Your site, computer, and browser need regular updates to keep them protected too.

Following is a simple checklist of routine maintenance that you can do in just a few minutes. While most folks put these tasks off because it disrupts their workflow, the time you invest here will save you countless hours of rebuilding a system that has been hacked.

Backup Your Site Files

If your site is on either a Blogger or WordPress.org platform, there are easy-to-use backup utility widgets and plugins that will do all of the work for you. Be sure to backup your site and content files. The site files are held in the theme. The content files are held in the database. Even if you have FTP access to your site, use the apps. They’re faster.

Backup Your Backup

Once you have stored the backup files from your site onto your computer, make another backup copy of them on another disk. This could be either an external hard drive, removable USB thumb drive, or a CD.

The rule of thumb is that if the data is not saved in three places, it’s not safe. One place is online. The second is on your computer’s hard drive. The third is on the removable drive. When it comes to data storage, redundancy rules.

Update Your Anti-Virus and Firewall Protection

The easiest, as safest way to do this is have your software auto-update and scan your system on a regular schedule. Yes, it slows down your computer’s performance time when it’s running. But that’s a small sacrifice to make compared to rebuilding all of the info on your hard drive. Most programs allow you to select the time when it’s best for the app to run. Perhaps you could run it during dinner, when you’re not likely to be working your computer. Be sure to have it scan any external drives regularly too.

Backup Your Computer’s Hard Drive

Because backing up an entire hard drive takes so much time, folks are reluctant to do this task on a regular basis. One trick you can use to get around this situation is to have it backup overnight while you sleep.

Backing up to an external hard drive is the fastest method to store your data. But, if you don’t have an external drive, there are several online storage services that charge a nominal monthly fee around five dollars. So, the yearly total would be less than the cost of an external hard drive, which usually has a two year lifespan. The speed at which the data runs will depend entirely on your Internet connection speed. But, if you perform the backup overnight, there is less Internet traffic, and that will improve performance.

Update Your Browser

Sneaking in through a security crack in your browser is the easiest way for a hacker to infect your system. Most browsers now come with auto-update reminders. Unfortunately, too many people just turn them off because they don’t want the look or features of their interface to change.

Bite the bullet and do the update. Learning the slight changes to the interface is a small annoyance compared to rebuilding your system.

While many consider it a painful chore to update their online security features, just consider how devastating it would be to your business to loose your entire site and all of its content. Consider how much time it would take you to rebuild if you lost all of the information on your computer. And, think of how long it would take you to get caught up on the backlog of work that accumulated while you were rebuilding.

There’s a lot of wisdom in that old adage, “A stitch in time saves nine.” Do your backups and updates soon.

The reason that I would never recommend such a service to one of my clients is because these templates are based on a proprietary format. Following are three reasons why using these services may be a bad idea.

1) No matter how much you customize the template, it still belongs to the hosting company. If you want to change hosting companies in the future, you can’t simply take the design with you. This means that you’ll have to pay a designer to re-create it for you or use a different design. Keep in mind that the look of a site is part of your branding.

2) You will not be able to back up any part of your site onto your computer. The hosting company may offer backups that will reside on their site, but will not allow you to back up the data on your computer. That means that the template theme and all of the content, which is stored in a database, cannot be moved to another host.

3) You can only use the widgets, gadgets, and plugins offered by the host. Those created by third-party are not usually allowed. This means that if you find a cool plugin for your sidebar to advertise something, or one that makes your site administration easier, you may not be able to install it.

The whole point of a host providing templates and build-your-own site services is to lock in repeat business for their hosting product. Once you are heavily invested in the site, you are not likely to move it because you would have to start all over again from scratch.

Following are six of the top reasons why I recommend using a WordPress based site instead.

• WordPress is open-source code, meaning that there is nothing proprietary about it.
• You can go with almost any host provider.
• Themes, or templates, are available from multiple designers and you can change them at will without disturbing your content.
• You can back up your theme and your database (all the content info) on your computer and move it to any other host at any time.
• There are hundreds of thousands of free widgets and plugins written for WordPress and more are being created every day.
• WordPress integrates seamlessly with other products, such as an online calendar and with RSS feeds providers, email campaigns, and more.

Most of my Web design clients come to me for their second site. Almost all of them got ripped off or trapped in a bad deal on their first site. The rest created a site that looked pretty, but didn’t function well. Each one has either told me that whatever money they saved doing it themselves was not worth it in the end, or they tell me that whatever money a consultant costs is far less than having to start over from scratch or paying to have a site built twice, not to mention the time needed to restore their content.

Normally I would advise you to read the fine print before you sign up for one of these services, but there is none. The companies that offer such services are selling ease, and that’s exactly what they deliver. There is no problem as long as you stay with that host for as long as you own the site, or if you never need anything for your site beyond their restrictions.

Related posts:
How Site Owners Get Ripped Off

Every component of marketing hinges on knowing your target audience. With site design, that means choosing a theme along the continuum between fashion and function that best suits your content and engages your readers.

At one end of the continuum is fashion. These themes are visually stunning but usually contain very little content. If your audience responds well to style, you want a theme designed to capture their interest visually with very little text.

At the other end of the continuum is function. These themes are heavy on content with splashes of small graphics to move the eye through the page and draw interest to certain areas.

Sites that are all content usually don’t get read much these days. Even news sites that should be heavy on content, like msnbc.com, have struck a balance between fashion and function that both entertains and informs their audience.

There are a few other important factors in choosing your theme that fall more toward function. The number one complaint among surfers about poorly designed sites is hard-to-find navigation. They want to click through the site but get frustrated trying to find the links.

Another factor is SEO, or Search Engine Optimization. While a splashy flash animation is visually captivating, if it’s the first or only thing on your front page, your SEO is compromised. Lack of keywords in your content will also negatively impact your SEO.

Before choosing a new design theme, do your homework. Search for other sites that cater to your target audience. Look for how they balance fashion and function and then consider how you emulate that technique with your own design.

Click here for more info on creating a site that works.

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Most website designers are honest people; however, they have to compete with thousands of other designers for business. When a potential client surfs online for a designer they are looking for two things, which are price and ease.

The ease comes from hiring someone who will take care of all the technical details by offering all-in-one packages that include purchase and setup of the domain and hosting along with the site design. Designers turn a profit on this setup by purchasing a large space on a host server and then reselling it to clients. They make enough profit on design and hosting to offer the domain name for free, which they usually obtain at a volume discount in the first place.

Why is all of this bad for the client? In short, the client pays for something they don’t actually own. Because of the way the package is set up, the designer cannot disclose the security information for the hosting or the domain name.

To protect themselves, designers usually retain the copyright to a site they design as well. That also includes all of the custom graphics and may include the content.

If the client ever has a falling out with the designer, or wants to change designers or hosts, they may suddenly find that they have no site at all. Because the designer is listed as the owner of the site, the hosting, and the domain, they can remove the site from public view at will and the client has no way to retrieve it.

The bottom line is that you can take some steps to protect yourself.

If you plan to hire a designer, consult with them to specify the host and server type that will work best with your site.

- Look for a host that includes a free domain.
- Obtain your own domain name and hosting even if doing so costs more.
- List yourself as the owner and your designer as the technical contact.
- Back up your site. If you’re on WordPress, use the Backup Plugin to download your site to your computer. If you have a static site, get a free FTP program and make a backup of your site on your own computer or ask your designer to provide you with a hard copy on CD.

More info on protecting your site.

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