An Introduction to Scoop.it

Scoop.it Main Screen

Getting started with Scoop.it is a simple four-step process.

Step 1: Link Your Social Media
When you sign up for Scoop.it, use the simple authorization and authentication process to link your social media accounts to your Scoop.it profile. Available accounts include Twitter, Facebook (profile and page), LinkedIn, WordPress and Tumblr. Scoop.it will automatically pull in your Twitter profile details for your Scoop.it profile page.

Step 2: Set Up a Digest
The next step is to set up a digest, which is the online magazine where you will share links. Give it a title (depending on what you’re using it for, this may be the name of your site or the topic you are writing about), a description, set the language and identify some keywords that relate to the topic (good for SEO). You can also set comment moderation settings from this interface.

Step 3: Define Your Content Sources
Next, head to the ‘manage sources’ window so you can choose where your content will come from. You’ve got a lot of choices including RSS feeds, feeds from Twitter (users, lists or search), Google searches from their various sites, Facebook page content, Digg searches, OPML import and more.

Add the sources you want (such as your author feed on a site where you blog regularly) or your own blog feed. Content from these sources appears on the right side of the screen and you can then select which ones to scoop (add to your digest).

Step 4: Customize Your Profile
Customize. In the free version of Scoop.it, you can change the icon and background to make it match your site’s branding. Save all your changes and you’re ready to use Scoop.it.

Curating and Sharing

After the setup phase, the easiest way to curate content is via the browser bookmarklet though you can also go direct to the site and add a link. Whichever you choose, the site pulls in a photo and description, which you can edit. Ticking the boxes for your social sites gives you options to customize the message for Twitter or Facebook. You can share to all your networks at once, or just select the ones you want. And once you’ve scooped something you can also share to Google+ and Pinterest via popup buttons below your scoop.

People can comment on your content on-site, rescoop it to their own digests and of course share your link via their own social networks.

Three Ways to Use Scoop.it as a Traffic Driver

There are three ways in which Scoop.it can help drive traffic to your site.

First, using the tool enables you to share to a range of social networks with just a couple of clicks. When people click on the link, they come back to Scoop.it and then back to the original site. The best way to make sure the traffic always comes back to you is to share article excerpts rather than whole articles.

Second, if you blog on a number of different topics, you can create digests of your posts on each one and send these out periodically, either by sharing on social networks or embedding them in your newsletter. Again, eventually people end up back on your site.

Third, if you blog on other sites, Scoop.it is a great way to collect and share that content more widely. You have the option of creating a special guest posting digest or integrating that content into one of your other topic digests. Either way, it brings people back to your site.

Guest Post Digest on Scoop.it

Scoop.it is a PR 6 site (at the time of writing) and you get a backlink to the original site with each item you share. What’s more a trial of the tool by Search Engine Journal reports 200-400 hits a day to their site from Scoop.it and the traffic has a low bounce rate. Scoop.it Pro also comes with detailed analytics so you can see how people are interacting with your content.

Additional Benefits of Scoop.it

And there’s on more advantage of using Scoop.it. The site takes the hassle out of maintaining an active presence on a number of social sites by allowing you to share and comment to all of them from a single screen (for the main networks). It’s a great way to boost presence and engagement, both of which will send even more people to your site. See why using Scoop.it is a good idea?

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Curious? Read on to find out everything you ever wanted to know about colocation hosting.

If you’re not familiar with colocation hosting, it’s a little like renting retail space in a shopping mall: You own the cash register and the merchandise. You are in charge of marketing your store, getting customers to shop there, etc. You pay rent to the mall, and the mall provides security guards, canned music, air conditioning, and building maintenance.

That’s sort of how colocation hosting works: You own a server, and you pay a monthly/ yearly fee to keep that server in a colocation facility that takes care of room temperature, facility security, data backup, and Internet connections.

And, just like retail space, space in a colocation facility isn’t cheap. A typical colocation hosting plan can run anywhere between $100 and $10,000, depending on what services come with your plan.

So is colocation ever worth the price? Or is it better to stick with a less-expensive shared server? Let’s take a closer look to see if colocation is right for you.

You Call the Shots, They do the Work

Owning your own web server means that you can do whatever you want with it! You have control over all hardware and software decisions, and you can choose your own operating system. You won’t have to deal with restrictions on bandwidth, databases, and disk space that come with most types of web hosting plans. You’re still running the show – even though your server is housed somewhere else.

Another advantage to colocation hosting is that your colocation hosting facility takes care of a lot of the technical stuff – from ensuring that the server room is kept at the optimal temperature, to providing lightning-fast Internet and armed guards to protect the facility.

Biggest Disadvantage of Colocation Hosting? Cost!

Owning your server gives you a lot of flexibility – but you pay for all of that freedom. A server can cost anywhere from $1,500 to $10,000, and then you’ll have to pay at least $100 per month (usually more!) for a colocation hosting plan. Someone has to pay for all the fancy equipment and armed guards!

Another downer: You have to maintain your own server. Some colocation plans come with technical support, but most of them charge extra for this service. You’ll also have to pay for upgrades and server maintenance – things that are automatically included in shared and dedicated hosting.

Is Colocation Hosting Worth it?

If you’re a business owner with a large, complicated website, or a team running multiple websites, colocation hosting might be right for you – even if you have to shell out extra cash for server maintenance. Colocation facilities provide security and speed that you just can’t get from a shared host.

But if you’ve got one or two very small sites, colocation probably isn’t worth the cost. Stick with a shared server!

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Try it, it’s addictive.

But Printerest isn’t just fun – it’s also a great way to drive traffic to your blog or website! Read on for a few tips on how to use it to your benefit!

Gorgeous Products? Show Them Off!

You can use Pinterest to show images of products that you sell, like clothing. Or, you can post an example of work you perform, like interior design or flower arranging. People who choose to follow you will see your posts and will likely follow the link to your website. Even better, they might repin your photo, and then their followers will see it too. Pinterest is a great way to show off your work and drive traffic to your website!

Pinterest’s rules state that you can’t use the site for “commercial purposes.” So you can’t just list a stream of your own products with descriptions about how awesome they are and how people should buy them. But you can still post photos of your own items; just don’t include marketing material or a price! And make sure to use Pinterest as social media – pin other photos that you like, follow people, and comment on their pins too. Besides, if you use it only for your own purposes, then you’ll miss out on the fun!

Which brings us to our next point…

Follow Me, Follow My Blog

Pinterest makes it easy to follow people with similar interests, and when you follow them, they might follow you back. And when they see you have a blog, they might follow that too!

Here’s how to get people to follow you: Pin objects and make sure you write a good description for each one telling them why you like it. Pinterest automatically posts the source link for you!

Most importantly, respond to any questions if someone asks about your photo in the comments. And don’t forget to interact with other people by leaving comments on their photos as well!

Pin It!

We’ve talked about social media buttons before, and now you have a new one to add to your website! Pinterest is new, but it already has two buttons that will help website owners. The Follow Me on Pinterest button allows your readers to follow you with one click. And, you can add the Pin It button to products or posts so that your readers can pin your photo directly to Pinterest ? just like the Like button or Tweet button!

Right now, Pinterest is invitation only, but you can request an invite. I got mine just one day after requesting it. And after using Printerest for just one day, I’m already sure that it’s going to catch on, so get on there and start building up your pin collection and followers!

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This list will take a look at WordPress sites that are using creative themes, eye-catching color schemes, and other unique features that many are not. We’ll be sure to point out the things that stand out most and let you know why that site has made it on the list.

Let’s begin!

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Behind the Websites

The unique header, creative sidebar and animated design is what stands out most about this site. You’ll also notice that the logo is actually backwards, which coincides with the title of the website (Behind the Websites). While the theme is light, it uses bright colors to make the graphics and important links and buttons stand out.
Visit Behind the Websites – http://ricardogimenes.com/

Kinetic Technology Group

Though not visible in the screenshot, the flash header is what makes this site stand out – complete with music, a moving bird, and clouds. It actually seems to tell a story. The main body of the theme has a nice wood background that looks almost natural.
Visit Kinetic Technology Group – http://www.kinetictg.com/

Komodo Media

The most creative aspect of this site cannot be shown in a screenshot. The site contains a “foliage-o-meter” which lets you dictate how much foliate you’d like to appear on the site. You can go from sparse (none) to dense (showing all). When you show all of the foliage, the header is absolutely gorgeous.
Visit Komodo Media – http://www.komodomedia.com/

DapurPixel

This site has a beautiful sliding header, breath-taking color scheme and a nice, clean layout. Since it is a site showcasing themes, it definitely gives a great first impression that will make everyone want a theme from this site! The creator definitely has great attention to detail, which you can see in all of the graphics and buttons on the site.
Visit DapurPixel – http://dapurpixel.com/

WOW Toys

This is a very fun design and is sure to catch the eye of any child or adult! As you scroll over each graphic pictured on the green mountains below, a menu option will pop up. The is also an animated helicopter that flies though the site displaying important messages!
Visit WOW Toys – http://www.wowtoys.com/

Matt Mullenweg

The large, colorful header is what stands out most about this site. It almost looks as if sharpie markers were used to color in the graphics and sidebar. The unique URL, http://ma.tt/, is also a plus; it’s short and very easy to remember.
Visit Matt Mullenweg – http://ma.tt/

N.Design Studio

Here we have another creative and unique header that really jumps out to you as soon as you visit the site. You can definitely tell that it’s Asian inspired and it has such a warm, welcoming feel to it.
Visit N.Design Studio – http://ndesign-studio.com/

The Horizontal Way

At first you may think there’s nothing unique about this website, that is until you start to navigate the blog posts. Instead of scrolling vertically (like most blogs), this one actually scrolls horizontally!
Visit The Horizontal Way – http://www.thehorizontalway.com/

Natalia Devalle

What’s so creative about this website is how simple and clean it is. You can see the entire site on your screen without having to do any scrolling. The navigation menu is also unique and focuses on the site owner’s image. As you scroll over each navigation link, you’ll see a neat mouse-over effect.
Visit Natalia Devalle – http://nataliadevalle.com.ar/

Icon Icon

This site has a nice, clean layout with bright custom graphics to match. The sidebar really stands out and so do the rich colors. Again, here’s a site that doesn’t require much scrolling on the homepage, which helps you navigate faster.
Visit Icon Icon – http://iconicon.net/

Matt Brett

Though this site has a dark color scheme, it’s very eye-catching and aesthetically appealing. The header includes a navigation buttons and social media icons that brighten and change from brown to color as you scroll over them. There are many other subtle features that happen when you mouse-over other content on the page as well.
Visit Matt Brett – http://mattbrett.com/

Search Inside Video

From the screenshot you may think there’s nothing special about this site, but what’s so unique is that it requires no scrolling. Each number along the top header along with the “learn more” buttons that are slightly below the section pictured below, are all anchors that will automatically take you to that section of the page. So, you could scroll though this long site or you could just click and let the it do the scrolling for you!
Visit Search Inside Video – http://searchinsidevideo.com/#home

Egypt Sharm Trips

The screenshot really doesn’t do this site justice! The design is stunning and the large slider above the content displays gorgeous, high-definition images between smooth transitions. This site is definitely eye candy to those who love the Egyptian culture.
Visit Egypt Sharm Trips – http://www.egyptsharmtrips.com/

Ten18 Photography

This site has a neat feature which slides each image (in the top header) into focus as you scroll over them. The design is also clean with nice accents of foliage green that help the buttons stand out.
Visit Ten18 Photography – http://www.ten18photography.com/

Adam Baney

If you’re familiar with scrolling whitespace ads (the ones that move as you scroll up/down the page), then you’ll be reminded of that with this site. Instead of ads scrolling up/down the page, you have the site content scrolling up/down. Although there is a lot of whitespace on the site, it stands out because of the clean graphics and creative presentation of content.
Visit Adam Baney – http://adambaney.com/

Esse Community

This site is used in conjunction with BuddyPress in order to create a beautiful social community using WordPress. It looks more like a Ning community rather than a WordPress site. There is a nice featured slider on the homepage and bright accents to give the site a warm feel.
Visit Esse Community – http://esse-community.eu/

ShareMyPlaylists

Here we have another community site using BuddyPress. It’s a music community where you can share and discover Spotify playlists. Not only is this a creative use for WordPress, it’s also creatively designed with large buttons that make navigating easy.
Visit ShareMyPlaylists – http://sharemyplaylists.com/

Ancestry24

I bet you’d never expect to see an ancestry site built on WordPress! Here we have yet another site using BuddyPress to extend the functionality of WordPress.
Visit Ancestry24 – http://ancestry24.com/

Jay Hafling

This site seems to have mouse-over effects galore along with a beautiful design. From the navigation buttons to the recent works to the “get a free quote” bubble and more, you’ll be greeted with impressive creativity.
Visit Jay Hafling – http://www.jayhafling.com/

Kyle Kramer

This site uses stunning colors and typography, plus adds in some creative texture to make specific areas stand out from the rest. What a great way to showcase your work and creativity.
Visit Kyle Kramer – http://www.kylemkramer.com/

Michael Tempest

This is one that you definitely must see for yourself. The main slider on the site has such an interesting transition: the top left image scrolls to the right, the large right image scrolls to the bottom, and the bottom left image scrolls to the left. The images move in a clockwise motion, which create a mesmerizing effect.
Visit Michael Tempest – http://www.michaeltempest.com/

Colin Grist

This extremely clean site may not seem like anything special, but what’s truly unique is the realistically smoking gun! When you visit the site, you’ll see actual smoke coming from the gun pictured below and it looks so natural.
Visit Colin Grist – http://www.colingrist.com/

What’s missing? Are there any WordPress sites that you feel are missing from this list?

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Building a website can get really messy, which is why Google recently rolled out its new programming language for the Web: Google Dart. Because Dart is for web programming, you can actually build a website as you write in code.

According to the Google Code blog, Google Dart will:

• Provide a “structured, yet flexible,” language for web programming
• Make the language feel “familiar and natural” to programmers. (Basically, it looks kinda like JavaScript.)
• Make a language that works on all modern web browsers and hand-held devices. JavaScript was invented way before these items arrived on the market.
• Provide a language that runs quickly on all major web browsers, like Mozilla, Firefox, etc.

Sounds great, right? But many coders think that Dart will have a hard time catching on. Personally, I hope Dart works out. JavaScript isn’t so bad, but it would be nice to have a coding language specifically for the Web.

But I see one, big problem:

Dart is from Google

Don’t get me wrong, I love Google! I use Gmail, Google Maps, and Chrome, and I’ve written two blog posts singing the praises of Google Analytics!

But you know who probably doesn’t like Google? Their competitors. You know, the companies that have web browsers trying to compete with Chrome, like Mozilla, Microsoft, Apple, Opera, etc.

Do you think these companies will support Google and make Dart compatible with their browsers? I have my doubts. And apparently, so does Google.

Google’s Solution…Maybe

You can use Dart to write code for Chrome, but that’s only one of many web browsers. Here are Google’s solutions for the others:

• Dart is compiled into JavaScript for other browsers. But what’s the point of learning Dart if you’re still just using JavaScript?
• Google is making Dart open source. This might just work.

Making Dart an open source product is a good idea because a community of fans might develop around the coding language, improve it, and increase its demand to the point that other web browser companies start to allow the language. But this might take awhile to happen, if it happens at all.

Here’s what I think: Give Dart a try. If you don’t like it, go back to your old coding language. But if you love it, tell your friends and encourage them to use it too. Google Dart won’t fix any of our coding problems if it never catches on.

What do you think? Will Google Dart fix our coding problems?

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How do you make jump on the social bookmarking bandwagon? No worries – here are three easy steps to get started!

Tip #1: Flood the Internet with Your Content

The phrase “less is more” doesn’t apply to social bookmarking – send your blog posts to as many social bookmarking sites as possible! There are over 150 social bookmarking sites (here’s a good list!), but for most of them, all you have to do is create an account and add your link with a good headline and brief description. Reminder, though the more is the better, you should NEVER spam the social bookmarking site. Quality of the content is always the top notch priority as it directly affects the reputation of your site.

You can always use Google Analytics to keep track of which social bookmarking websites send you the most traffic. If you know that your content is doing really well on one site, you can give that site a little more attention than the others by making sure it’s in the right categories (more on that soon) and writing good headlines to make your content stand out.

Speaking of headlines…

Tip #2: Write Eye-Catching Headlines

When you submit a post to a social bookmarking site, it shows up on a page with just a headline, a link to the rest of the content, and maybe a photo. So, the headline is one of the most important parts of your content – it’s what makes someone click on your blog post in the first place!

So, what makes a good headline? Most importantly, it needs to tell the reader what your post is about. For example, which title do you think would bring in traffic for this blog post?

1. Three Ways to Increase Your Blog Traffic with Social Bookmarking
2. Social Bookmarking

While Social Bookmarking gives you a vague idea about the blog post, readers won’t realize what you’re offering unless they click on the link. Three Ways to Increase Your Blog Traffic with Social Bookmarking, on the other hand, actually gives readers a reason to click – they want to increase their blog traffic!

Tip #3: Be Specific with Categories

Most social bookmarking sites ask you to categorize your content by subject. For example, depending on which social bookmarking site you’re using, this blog post might fit in a category like “Technology” or “Internet.” Why is it important to categorize your content? Because some people browse through social bookmarking sites using the categories to guide them to their interests. So, spend a few minutes browsing the available categories to find the best fit for your content. And try to avoid the “Miscellaneous” category whenever possible – most readers don’t want to spend the time wading through random uncategorized content.

There are tons of social bookmarking sites out there, but submitting a post only takes a few minutes if you use a tool to help you. And social bookmarking is well worth the effort for more traffic!

We’d love to know more about your favorite social bookmarking sites! Let us know in the comments.

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Well, there are a couple different navigation styles that benefit almost all medium and large websites. And you can combine styles to match the needs of your site! Let’s look at a couple examples of big websites with complex – but effective – navigation systems.

Drop-Downs and Fly-and-Outs: Your Secret to an Uncluttered Homepage

Drop-down menus look like a simple horizontal navigation header, but when you scroll over a menu option, a list of more options “drops down”. A drop-down menu makes it easy to add menu options to your homepage, without junking it up with a bunch of ugly links. The White House website is a good example:

See? Your visitors can access a bunch of sub-pages without having to wade through a cluttered, ugly, and confusing homepage. Notice how the White House website shows additional hierarchy by bolding some of the links, and keeping their sub-pages unbolded. If you’ve got vertical navigation headers on your homepage, try “fly-and-out” navigation. Fly-and-out navigation is similar to the drop-down style, but instead of dropping down, the added content appears to be “flying out” into the homepage. Amazon.com has one of the best fly-and-out examples:

Amazon.com has a huge amount of stuff to organize, but they want to show off their products, too. Notice how small the navigation is compared to the pictures of the Kindle. Just like the White House drop-downs, Amazon’s fly-and-out system gives you menu options without stealing the show on the homepage.

Leave a Trail with Breadcrumbing

This navigation style gets its name from Hansel and Gretel, the fairy tale in which the children leave breadcrumbs through the woods so that they can follow them back home. The system didn’t work out very well for Hansel and Gretel, but it’s great for your website! Breadcrumbing is often used as a secondary form of navigation, appearing on sub-pages to show you how to navigate back to the homepage. For example, check out Overstock.com:

The area in the rectangle is the breadcrumbing: I went to Overstock.com and chose Online Shopping from the navigation system, then clicked on Electronics, then Computers, Hardware & Services, and Apple. To go back one or two pages, all I have to do is click on one of the breadcrumbs.

Breadcrumbs are great for websites with clearly defined sections and lots of levels of pages because the user can click a bunch of different menu options and still know exactly where they are on the site.

Search for Specific Content

Most websites, even simple ones, have a search bar at the top of the homepage. But some websites – websites that have a ton of content and no set hierarchy — rely on search bars for the majority of their navigation. For example, Wikipedia has a jumbled mass of articles that link all over the site, so its primary navigation mode is the Search:

Wikipedia has a vertical menu on the left (Arrow #1), but it doesn’t help you browse through the main content, which is the collection of articles. Arrow #2 points to Wikipedia’s portals, which allow you to browse a little, but not much. The best way to find what you’re looking for on Wiki is the Search bar.

Putting Them All Together

Now that you’ve got several options for helping people navigate through your website, don’t limit yourself to just one! For big websites with a lot of pages and a lot of inventory, more navigation is better! Check out Zappos:

Zappos uses both horizontal and vertical navigation, breadcrumbing, search, and a drop-down! And all of them have their own uses: horizontal navigation to bring you to the main departments, the drop-down to list sub-departments, the vertical navigation to browse through choices dependant on department, breadcrumbing to show you where you are on the site, and the Search bar to help you find something specific.

Do you need as many navigation options as Zappos? Maybe! You should be able to reach each piece of content on your website with just a few mouse clicks. So play around with the different navigation options until you find your best solution!

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Crevado

Crevado is an easy-to-use Web app where you can create and manage an online portfolio. You won’t need any programming or web design knowledge when using this tool. The portfolio sites are setup like photo albums: you have the currently viewed image front and center, while the others show as thumbnails below. You’ll also get an About page where you can give a little information about yourself. Other features include: Google Analytics reporting, Facebook “Like” integration, Twitter support, iPhone/Android optimization, and custom domains (at an additional cost).

Crevado’s plan pricing:

• Free – 30 images, 5 galleries, 0 videos
• Plus – $3/month, 120 images, 10 galleries, 0 videos
• Premium – $7/month, 700 images, 50 galleries, 10 videos

Visit Crevado – http://crevado.com

Behance Network

The setup of Behance Network is kind of like a social networking for designers and is totally free to use. It’s a great place to showcase your work, but it’s also great for discovering and connecting with other creative professionals. The large amount of traffic that the site receives, allows you to build a decent following. You can add an unlimited number of images, text, audio, and video and build unlimited multimedia projects. There is also social integration so that you can share your profile on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

If you’re looking to build more of a personal and professional portfolio site, you may enjoy Behance ProSite. It syncs with the Behance Network and includes unlimited hosting, unlimited projects, and no programming knowledge is required. While it’s free to build your site, you’ll need to pay $11/month in order to “go live.”

Visit Behance Network – http://www.behance.net

Host My Portfolio

Host My Portfolio is a free online portfolio service that also has social integration so that you can share your work across the Web on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and more. You can watch and keep up with portfolios and projects that you like; likewise, others can keep up with your portfolio and projects as well. There are numerous file types supported such as jpg, gif, png, pdf, doc, txt, html and more. All files that you upload are safely stored in your “Locker” until you’re ready to add them to one or more projects.

Visit Host My Portfolio – http://www.hostmyportfolio.com

Paspartout

Paspartout is setup a lot like Crevado (mentioned above) and is in the form of photo albums as opposed to a profile. It includes an image editor, web shop (included in the Biz plan), social integration, statistics (via Google Analytics, Mint, or GoSquared), mobile optimization (for smartphones and tablets), and code editing (for those who want more control). You can easily customize the colors and fonts of your theme to suit your needs. You’ll also feel comfort in knowing that you’re helping the planet by using a “green” company. With Paspartout, their servers in Germany run on the energy created by flowing water, which is considered ecologically to be the best form of power generation.

Paspartout pricing:

• Free – 5 projects, 35 images, 1 video
• Plus – $46/year, 10 projects, 200 images, 10 videos
• Pro – $93/year, 20 projects, 600 images, 20 videos
• Biz – $156/year, unlimited projects, unlimited images, 50 videos, unlimited pages

Visit Paspartout – http://paspartout.com

Carbonmade

Carbonmade is a fun, easy-to-use tool that is also much like Crevado (mentioned above), which lets you show off your work and create projects. You’ll be able to personalize the overall look and logo of your portfolio, plus there is no HTML knowledge necessary. You can also customize the display options, like the number of thumbnails that appear in each row and the location of the text that goes with your thumbnails. You’ll also get an About page so that you can give others a little information about yourself and let them know whether or not you’re available for freelance work.

Carbonmade pricing:

• Meh. – free, 5 projects, 35 images
• Whoo! – $12/month, 50 projects, 500 images, 10 videos

Visit Carbonmade – http://carbonmade.com

Bleidu

Bleidu lets you create a free portfolio website and choose from a variety of website themes along with Flash and JavaScript image galleries. Each portfolio website has 5 parts: a home page, about page, gallery, contact page, and resume page. You get an unlimited number of file uploads and also an unlimited number of galleries. With the contact page, anyone can send you an email directly through your site. So not only is Bleidu a great way to showcase your work, it also serves as an online resume in order to help you get freelance work.

Visit Bleidu – http://www.bleidu.com

Electrofolio

“Electrofolio is a flexible, personalized free portfolio CMS tool for artists, designers, photographers and small businesses.” Electrofolio is customizable with templates, special characters, and copyright watermarks. It’s also easy-to-use, has no bandwidth limit, unlimited slides, and no advertising. There are even video tutorials that you can use to learn how to enhance your photos and images. Other features include full screen mode, slide-shows, Google Analytics, and PayPal integration so that you can sell your work.

Electrofolio pricing:

• Standard – free, 3 pages, quarter memory block
• Pro – $71/year, unlimited pages, 2 – 10 memory blocks
• (Note: 1 memory block holds about 250-400 images)

Visit Electrofolio – http://www.electrofolio.com

Shown’d

With Shown’d you can not only create an online portfolio and customize them with themes, but you can also add your resume and view creative job listings. This tool gives you the ability to embed your personal showcase into any external Web page. Additionally, you can import your Flickr photo sets and upload up to 20 images from your computer at the same time. There is an integrated watermark tool that lets you add a copyright to your hi-res images. Google Analytics is also included so that you can measure your portfolio’s performance.

Visit Shown’d – http://shownd.com

6D Portfolio

6D Portfolio is a free tool that lets you create a portfolio profile to showcase your work and increase your chances of getting hired. Each profile has a limit of 5 videos and 50 images. While it is totally free to use, you can donate via a PayPal button on the site. It includes sections for tutorials on creating 2D and 3D images, along with game and movie trailers. Each profile has an About page, images page and videos page. Other 6D Portfolio users can contact you via the internal messaging system and can also add you as a friend. This is a great way to grow your network and fan base.

Visit 6D Portfolio – http://www.6dportfolio.com

Ahead

Ahead has a unique design and very creative portfolio layouts; “it works like an online version of InDesign that instantly transforms your layout into a zooming presentation, personal scrapblog.” The application is Web based and runs in any browser that supports flash. Navigating an Ahead portfolio is quite different from any other tool. You can zoom in and out with the mouse wheel, pan in and out by dragging your mouse, double click objects to navigate to them, and much more. Ahead is definitely the most impressive tool in its league.

Ahead’s pricing:

• Free – 300MB storage, 600MB monthly traffic, only public spaces, unlimited spaces
• Pro – $35/month, use your own URL, no Ahead branding, private spaces, Google Analytics, 3GB storage, 15GB monthly traffic, unlimited spaces.

Visit Ahead – http://ahead.com

Coroflot

Coroflot is known as the “fast, easy way to get your creative projects online and in front of the right people.” It also includes design job boards so that you can find creative work. The service is totally free and includes traffic reports, unlimited file uploads, job alerts, a drag and drop interface for organizing your projects, and more. Each portfolio has an overview page, portfolio page, profile page, and activity page. So as you can see, Coroflot doesn’t just focus on showcasing your work, it’s also a great place to connect with others and finding design jobs.

Visit Coroflot – http://www.coroflot.com

Viewbook

Viewbook does not only let you create stunning portfolios on your computer, but you can also create them on your iPad via free Viewbook Portfolio app. Uploading and organizing your images is a breeze thanks to the Viewbook manager; organizing your images can be done via drag and drop. It also includes a visual design editor that can be used to design your portfolio – much like a website editor, except there is no HTML knowledge needed. You can change the layout, album design, fonts, colors, backgrounds, and even the logo of your portfolio site. There are many other features like hi-res HD images, password protection for privacy, mobile optimization for viewing galleries on the iPhone and iPad, plus social integration for sharing on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and more. Lastly, you can even set up shop and sell your work right from your Viewbook site – complete with a shopping cart interface and worldwide shipping. Viewbook comes with a 30-day free trial.

Viewbook pricing:

• Basic – $4/month, $48/year, unlimited galleries, unlimited albums, 1000 images
• Standard – $9/month, $90/year, single page portfolios, unlimited portfolio pages, unlimited albums, 2500 images
• Pro – $19/month, $190/year, complete portfolio websites, unlimited websites, unlimited pages, unlimited albums, 5000 images

Visit Viewbook – http://www.viewbook.com

Design:related

Finally we have design:related. Although an invite is needed for this site, I wanted to include it since it definitely looks promising. Design:related is described as “your creative hub and community.” It supports high-res images for your projects and works of art. It’s also a great place for networking and building your fan base. Each user gets an influence score, which represents the number of people that refer to you as an influence. You can also search through creative job listings and share your inspirations with the rest of the community.

Visit Design:related – http://designrelated.com

So there goes the 13 online portfolio tools. Albeit they are all great tools up there, some designers that I know still love to showcase their own work on their website. They claim to have better flexibility and customizations with their own webhosting services. What say you? A public services like the tools mentioned above? or your own website? Please feel free to comment. Also, are there any great tools that you would like to add in? Let us know!

The post brought to you by Web Hosting Deals. For more information on the subject, please visit Hosting Reviews: Review & Compare The Best Web Hosting.

Don’t Panic!

I know it’s super-stressful when your site crashes during business hours or when you get a monthly statement filled with mysterious charges. Trust me, I know. But if you call your host’s customer service line just to vent, you’re wasting everyone’s time. So first, take a deep breath. Count to ten. Close your eyes and go to your happy place. Whatever you need to do to calm down, do it.

When you’re ready to handle things calmly, start gathering information: If you’re having computer issues, take screenshots of any error messages. Then, make sure the problem isn’t your Internet connection. Try rebooting your computer. If the problem is a billing or hosting plan issue, go back and re-read your statement. Grab your calculator and double check the math. Review your contract. Once you’ve calmed down and once you’re reasonably sure that the problem is on their end, then – and ONLY then – you should contact customer support.

But wait! Should you call the 1-800 number? Is it better to send an email? Should you try the live chat? What happens now?

Let’s take a look at some of the ins and outs of tech support.

Got a Minor Problem? Open a Ticket

A service ticket is a good option for non-emergencies or issues that can wait for a couple hours. All you have to do is go to your web host’s website and fill out a short service ticket form. It only takes a couple seconds, and you don’t have to stay on hold for 45 minutes.

The drawback? A service ticket is basically just an email, so you don’t know when it will be answered. Also, if your web host doesn’t have 24/7 support for tickets and they’re in another time zone, it could be an entire day before your problem is fixed!

Bottom line: If you’ve got a non-emergency (and you don’t mind waiting), a service ticket might be a good option for you.

Is Phoning the Fastest?

Time is money, as the saying goes. And that’s definitely true if your business’ website is down during peak hours. What if you don’t have the time to just sit and wait for someone to reply to a service ticket? Get on the phone! And don’t forget to grab a piece of paper and a pen — you’ll need to write down information such as the technician’s name, instructions, and any confirmation numbers you receive.

Calling customer service is usually faster than opening a service ticket – but keep in mind there are exceptions. In some cases – for example, if your web host’s server is down and many websites are affected — you might end up on hold indefinitely while tech support deals with hundreds of other frantic customers.

So what do you do if you can’t get through by phone? Stay on hold, but open a service ticket at the same time. If the phone lines are flooded, you might actually get through by email first!

My Favorite: The Live Chat

Live chat is, hands down, my favorite way to contact tech support. Unfortunately, not all web hosts have this great feature (this is something to look for if you’re thinking about switching hosts!). But if your web host does have live chat, I highly recommend it.

What’s so great about live chat? First of all, if something goes wrong with the server, most customers will reach for the phone before going to the host’s website to log on to live chat. That means long hold times for the phone, so contacting customer service will be faster online. Second, when the chat is over, you’ll have the entire conversation there in written form. No pen and paper required for notes!

Make Your Web Host Accountable

You should expect customer service to fix your problem right away. Of course, this isn’t always possible if there’s something wrong with the server, and customer service might have to “look into” your problem and contact you at a later date. But don’t get off the phone just yet – if tech support tells you that they can’t fix the problem right away, make sure you get a confirmation number. That way you’ll have proof that you called in case they don’t fix your problem within a day. And if you’re inconvenienced for that long, you might be able to get a discount on future service, or even a refund. And this is when reading the Term of Service is necessary!

Remember, your web host is required to provide you with the service in your contract. So they must fix your problem! But you can help speed the process along by providing them with important information and contacting them in the most efficient way possible.

Here’s a quick reference table for when you need help in a hurry!

The post brought to you by Web Hosting Deals. For more information on the subject, please visit Hosting Reviews: Review & Compare The Best Web Hosting.

Hostgator 30% Discount Coupon Code

Hostgator has recently come out with a special coupon code and all sign-ups with the code will get a 30% discount. This is by far the highest discount Hostgator offer except for their record-breaking-80%-Black-Friday-Sale! So, do grab the chance!

I have to emphasize again the 30% discount does have an expiry date, it’s 23rd January 2012! If you don’t want to be disappointed, you know what to do. Here you go:-

Coupon Code: jan30
Descriptions: 30% off from the Hostgator hosting purchase.
Instructions: Follow these steps to use the coupon.
Expiry: 23rd January 2012

New Gator Price After 30% Discount

This is the latest price of Baby Plan after the 30% discount!

The post brought to you by Web Hosting Deals. For more information on the subject, please visit Hosting Reviews: Review & Compare The Best Web Hosting.