Surf7.net Blog

Most people don’t realize it; WordPress, the most popular blog platform is actually a darn good CMS (Content Management System) for websites other than blog. To prove my point, our development team has developed an online travel portal based solely on WordPress. The final result is…

Penanginfo.com - The Unofficial Penang Travel Guide

What so impressive about WordPress is the way the developer seperate the core program from its design. That way, we can customize the design and functions to our heart content with almost no worry on future upgrade on the core program.

On top of that, WordPress has a very strong community base; a healthy sign of open source movement. Plugins are release frequently by any programmer who wish to contribute back to the community. Plugins are used to enhance or extend the core functions of WordPress to do almost anything you can imagine. There are plenty of plugins for you to choose from. Currently, more than 2,700 plugins are listed on WordPress Plugin Directory alone, excluding others that are scattered all over the web.

For our Linux web hosting clients, you can install WordPress via Cpanel’s Fantastico, the auto installer. It takes less than a minute and no technical knowledge is required. However, if you wish to customize your WordPress to become something like Penanginfo.com, you may need professional service if you have no experience in web development.

Oh! Did you know our Corporate Website Design Package is based on WordPress too?

Firefox 3 is here at last! If you haven’t already upgraded to Firefox 3, you can get it here.

Remember that Mozilla is trying to set a new Guinness World Record on Firefox 3 Download Day, so please do your bit.

Top New Features:

• Password Manager - Remember site passwords without ever seeing a pop-up.
• One-Click Bookmarking - Bookmark, search and organize Web sites quickly and easily.
• Improved Performance - View Web pages faster, using less of your computer’s memory.
• Smart Location Bar - Find the sites you love in seconds—enter a term for instant matches that make sense.
• Instant Web Site ID - Avoid online scams, unsafe transactions and forgeries with simple site identity.
• Full Zoom - See any part of a Web page, up close and readable, in seconds.
• Platform-Native Look & Feel - Browse with a Firefox that’s integrated into your computer’s operating system.

Read more about it here.

Remember that we have launched our brand new Corporate Website Design Package on 19 March? Well, now you can try out the demo before you buy so that you can expect what to get from the finish product.

If you are looking for a demo of the CMS, please contact our sales representatives and that can be arrange for you.

After months of research analyzing global Internet practices and corporate clients’ requirements, we are pleased to introduce our latest solution! The Corporate Website Design Package, specifically developed for corporate level companies and organisations. 80% of our clients are corporate companies.

With our sound understanding of the fundamentals of successful corporate Websites, our technicians and programmers have integrated all the features needed to groom your company’s Website into a more cost effective and successful corporate website. Bundled with the Surf7.net Package are these state-of-the-art features!

1. Search engine optimized.
2. A content management system (CMS) for easy & immediate Website updates.
3. Professionally designed web templates with customization services.
4. Advanced online contact form for enquiries & email messages directly from your website.
5. Google Analytics ready.
6. Surf7.net Biz 2 web hosting plan (first year free).
7. Create unlimited web pages.
8. Blog ready.
9. Site-wide search engine.
10. Create unlimited links.
11. RSS feed. (what is RSS?)
12. Create multiple interactive forms for your visitors.
13. Social bookmarking. (see 11 small icons below)
14. Auto generate site-map compatible with Google, Yahoo, MSN and other search engines.
15. Priority support on CMS usage issues.

LIMITED TIME OFFER!!
We are giving 50% discount if you purchase this package before 15 April 2008. After that, it will be at the regular selling price of RM1,998.

“Anyone can create a website!”, exclaim Kevin, my 12 years old nephew who just posted his first entry in his Blogger account. Like young Kevin, many people has this misconception. Even though what Kevin just did was something I can be proud of, but creating a successful corporate website is not a child play. It is a continuous journey that requires effort and lots of technical knowledge. Any experienced webmaster can tell you this. Without proper technical knowledge, your website will be just another pile of HTML files lying unnoticed in the vast cyberspace.

You know your website is successful when…

1. Your website rank higher than your competitors’ website in Google on your targeted keywords.
2. You begin to form a new department dedicated to handle sales lead from your website.
3. Your returning visitors is more than 50% every month and stays for more than 30 minutes.

So what makes a successful corporate website?

1. Search engine friendly - The common problem I have seen with most corporate website is they are not optimized properly for search engines. Even though there are many factors in determining your website ranking in search engine result, having a website which in “not ready” for search engines will simply throw away all your efforts, no matter how many incoming links you have or how great your contents are. FYI, 90% of our sales begin in Google. So search engine is important! Don’t neglect it.
2. Regular content updates - Another problem faced by most website owners is they find it too troublesome to update their content. Most of the cases are due to lack of proper tools. In the end, they gave up and left the content unchanged for years. Regularly updated content is one of the “secret” to a successful corporate website because other than your visitors, search engine also love fresh content. Editing your web pages or even add new web pages should be as easy as writing an email.
3. Attractive Design - Your website design is very important after you manage to generate huge traffic to your website via search engines. A good impression stays forever and it will persuade them to stay longer so that you will have more opportunity to convince them to buy from you. A good design should project your corporate image the moment your visitors look at it. It must not be too confusing and easy to navigate.
4. Easy Contacts - You know your website campaign is successful when you are overwhelm by phone calls and emails from your website visitors. That time, you might want to set up a new department dedicated to handle your website sales. That is why your visitors should be able to reach you conveniently online and via telephone or email.
5. Know your visitors - Are your visitors leaving your website after 1 minute and never come back again? How do they find your website? If it is from search engines, what keywords do they use to find you? These are some of the information you should know if you want your website to be successful. The more you understand your visitors and their preferences the easier it is to convince them to do business with your company.
6. Reliable facilities - A successful Website must be supported by a solid IT foundation with minimal downtime and a proficient technical team.

Search engine optimization is one of the hottest inquiries I received from my clients. I personally believe that…

1. SEO is the most important aspect of web development. The success of your website depend largely on the result of your SEO.
2. Anyone can do SEO as long as he/she has the time, passion and a pinch of web development knowledge. That’s right, SEO is a long journey and it is fueled by passion. Like everything else, you will probably throw in the towel when you don’t see any desirable result after a while if you jump into it without any passion.
3. If you don’t have the time, passion and any knowledge of web development, you can always hire the professional to get their hands dirty for you.

There are plenty of resources on SEO you can find in the Internet. Here are some articles that I think might help you in your SEO quest.

1. Bulletproff 10 Step SEO Guide - This article is designed to simply touch on the cycle of event required to raise your current website’s ranking in the search engines and then maintain those levels for the long haul.
2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Terms Glossary - Now you can speak like an SEO/SEM guru.
3. Google webmaster guidelines list - Must read if you are serious about SEO. After all, Google owns more than 60% of global search traffic.
4. Why Google Sinks Your Site - Learn how not to penalized by Google.
5. Website Grader - Useful tool to grade your website SEO against all other websites that have used this service.
6. Search Engine Optimization and PPC… Which One Is Better? - Pros and cons of SEO and PPC
7. Top 10 SEO Myths V2 - Latest myth on SEO.
8. Easy SEO Tips - Here is another basic SEO tips for beginner.
9. 10 Steps to build a Niche SEO Empire - Part I - What is SEO Empire? It is simply a huge group of websites, linking to each other in some way, with the purpose of improve the overall ranking by leveraging.
10. 10 Steps to build a Niche SEO Empire - Part II - Continue from part 1.
11. 8 Useful SEO Techniques Every Webmaster Should Know - Every webmaster should have some basic understanding of these simple SEO techniques if they want to achieve Top Rankings for their site.

I will try to add more links to above from time to time if I do come across any quality articles on SEO.