Your pc is sluggish.

Let me guess, you don’t have any extra cash to get a new machine but you want to squeeze whatever life you can out of your current rig. If your still rockin’ an aging Windows XP or Windows 7 machine read on because I’ve put together some useful tips that may help your old computer feel a bit newer without having to spend any money. The following tips are ALL FREE & and easy to implement on your own:

1) Defragmentation
When was the last time you defraged your computer? Have you ever? Its super easy and something you should be doing every couple of months. Picture it like an oil change on your car. It helps maintain your system so it runs optimally. So what is defragmentation? The act of defragmenting your computer physically organizes the actual contents (files) on your hard drive into the smallest number of contiguous regions (fragments).

Please translate that for me, I am not a cyborg!  OK well picture a messy filing cabinet full of printed documents and random pieces of paper literally just thrown together in no particular order. You soon realize its hard to find anything cause its such a mess. Defragmenting is like the act of taking all of those documents and ORGANIZING them real nice and neat. So later when you go to find a document its real easy to QUICKLY find. File access on your computer works in pretty much the same manner. You attempt to access a file….your computer “finds” it, then loads it. The quicker the better.

 Click here to learn how to defragment your hard drive

2) Microsoft Security Essentials
Install and run a FULL scan with Microsoft Security Essentials. Its completely FREE and removes the need to pay for anti-virus programs like Norton & McAfee. MSE is considered to be one of the best anti-virus programs on the market today. Did I mention its free?

 Download Microsoft Security Essentials Here

3) Check & Repair Your Hard Drive for Errors
You can also improve the performance of your computer by making sure that your hard drive has no errors on it. Over time, your hard drive WILL get surface errors. The good news is that you can easily run a scan in Windows to remedy these errors. Depending on the size of your hard drive the scan can take anywhere from 1-4 hours….so be ready!  The scan doesn’t actually run until the next you restart your computer.

 How to perform hard drive error checking in Windows

4) Uninstall Unused Programs & Applications
Thru the years you install TONS of programs, only to realize you never even use them. So they just sit on your computer taking up valuable system resources and unnecessarily using  up hard drive space. It happens to us all. Spend some time getting rid of the unwanted programs in your system and it will be worth it. Especially tool bar related programs. Those are the worst!

 How to uninstall programs in Windows

5) Free Up Space…Delete Some Files!
If your computer space is running out of space we got a problem. Delete unneeded files. Move them to the cloud, burn cds, back them up on an external hard drive or thumb drive, etc. Do what you gotta do but if your running out of space you better do something. Your system will run smoother.

6) Clean the Inside of your Computer
Your computer & processor may be overheating and you don’t even know it. Excessive heat can cause a significant decrease in your computer’s  overall performance. Some processors will even lower their speed automatically to help compensate for the heat related issues you are causing.

How are you causing these issues? Dust, dirt, and hair. Gross! These things build up over time and constrict proper air flow on your computer, which causes it to overheat. So make sure the inside of your computer case is clean and fans are not obstructed with build up!

7) The Final Frontier, Formatting your Machine
If none of #1-6 gives you an added boost you may want to consider formatting your computer. You will need the necessary means to back up your important files and you will need the original Windows Operating system as well as all of the drivers for your computer. This procedure is highly recommended and well worth the effort. If you can manage it, Its actually the BEST thing you can do to an aging machine. It will run just like the day you brought it home.

 In summary…your pc is sluggish
1) Defragment your computer | Learn How
2) Install and run Microsoft Security Essentials
3) Check your hard drive for errors | Learn How
4) Uninstall unused programs | Learn How
5) Delete (or backup) files to free up space
6) Clean out the inside of your computer
7) If all else fails….format & re-install Windows

Enjoy and Goodluck!

Trying to come up with a name for your business? Pretty important huh? Well maybe you should start with what is available for a domain name first and foremost. After all…whether you like it or not  your domain name automatically becomes your branding. With the sea of business name possibilities sometimes its best to narrow things down and go with a name that is AVAILABLE. It will really help narrow things down when determining your new business or website name.

We now present you our 10 tips for choosing an effective domain name:

1. Keep it short and simple
Your allowed up to 63 characters but keep in mind people have to remember it! It will also be plastered all over your marketing so if its too long it will look a little funny. Will you remember a domain name that is 4 words long? Probably not. Try for 1-2 words if you can.

 Pro tip: If you can keep it under 8 characters your golden!

2. Branding. Make it Memorable
If you want people to remember your domain name you’re going to have to go that extra mile. It takes a lot of effort and determination to nail down that perfect, clever, and more importantly, AVAILABLE domain name. From a branding perspective your domain name automatically becomes your brand-name whether you intend it or not. So make it memorable!

 Pro tip: Know your target audience!

3. Top Keyword(s) IN the domain name!
HUGE bonus points if you can include at least 1 keyword in your domain name. Several of the major search engines rank web sites much higher if the main keyword is contained in the domain name. From an SEO perspective its pretty HUGE. A lot of our clients overlook this too. Very unfortunate.

 Pro Tip: Register an additional, longer domain name containing your top 2-3 keywords then set it to automatically redirect visitors to the real domain name / website. BOOM.

4. Avoid Confusion, Make it easy to spell
Keep it short, keep is EASY. Is it a difficult word to spell? Maybe not a good idea. Does it look funky when you look at it? Yeah…..also probly not a good idea. Words can be visualized so keep that in mind. Vision is the strongest of human senses you know.

 Pro tip: Does it look good in print? It should.

5. Which Extensions Matter?
#1 rule of thumb is always go with the .com. That should be your primary goal. It is the first extension people think to try when searching. If you absolutely cannot get the .com then your next best bet is the .net.

 Pro tip: .com is the oldest and most established of all extensions.

6. Brainstorm & Thesaurus
Struggling to come up with something? Don’t be afraid to use a thesaurus. Brainstorm all your ideas and take it to pen and paper. Just seeing something in print can help. Make a list of all your unique keywords and go from there. You might surprise yourself by stumbling upon a word combination that works.

 Pro tip: Thesaurus. Use it.

7. Don’t be shy….Order them all!
One domain name may not be enough. Its never a bad idea to register many similar domain names. If you have “yourname.com” why not purchase “yourname.net” as well? This will make sure no one else takes it!

 Pro tip: You can easily point several domain names to the same website.

8. Register your domain name NOW
Good domain names are being snatched up at an alarming rate. Its become big business after all. If the idea strikes and the domain name is available I would strongly suggest buying it RIGHT NOW. For less then $10 a year you can just “park it” until you figure out your proper website approach. Most clients, including myself, tend to have many domain names just waiting for the right idea. Sometimes you might have an awesome idea…..but no name. Other times you might have a GREAT name but no idea what you are going to do with it…..yet.

 Pro tip: Is it available? Don’t hesitate. Get it NOW.

9. Trademarks
You might want to check that you are not infringing on an existing trademark. Years ago this wasn’t really enforced and people bought up everything they could in hopes of selling it to a major corporation. That has all changed in today’s climate unfortunately. An available domain name does not necessarily give you the right to register and use it. Companies now sue people who do this. Whoa.

 Pro tip: Don’t get sued

10. Maybe just stick with Letters in the domain name…
Domain names can only use letters, numbers, and hyphens. Spaces, special characters, and symbols are not allowed. Domain names are also not case sensitive.

 Pro tip: Use hyphens ONLY if you REALLY need to. But we normally advise against it.

In summary
Keep it simple, memorable, use your top keyword, get the .com, and use a thesaurus for ideas if you have to. When you find the right one BUY it up right away! Happy domain name hunting!

To view our items selling on Etsy click here!

1) Who are you?
2) What do you do?
3) When did you start? Your history…
4) Where are you? Areas you cover, surrounding cities
5) hoW are you accomplishing what you claim to?

Answer the 5 W’s as a 1-2 paragraph summary. Give your audience a quick overview of your website without giving them the burden of reading through a lot of text.

Effective About Page | IDEAS
Consider using a good photo of you or your team
Clients & Companies you’ve worked with or currently work with
Biographies of employees
Other companies, Partners, Related websites
Professional links to other websites
Links to social media accounts (idea: put these on your homepage & contact page)
Structure your content with the inverted triangle method. Graphic below:

Writing Tips for an Effective About Page
Write with personality. How you write is very important!
Your site isn’t run by robots. There are people behind it.
Whose your audience? Focus on your target market
Whats the nature of the company? Stay specific!

Closing thoughts: Pretend you’re having a conversation with your audience in person. Read your current About page out loud: Is it how you’d address your audience if you were, say, in front of them speaking at a conference. Keep it straight forward, professional, and most importantly to the point.

In Summary: Ask yourself the x5 W’s and answer them using the inverted triangle. Good luck!

We’ve gathered our ideas and thoughts, did a bit of some research, and have some helpful ideas to consider for your website’s ALL important contact page:

Provide Every Method of Contact. Complete mailing address, phone(s), fax, email, etc
At least 1 Email Link. A general correspondence email works well.
Embedded Google Map. Or at least a link to a map of your location.
Hours of Operation. Super important to your clients looking to get in touch.
Photo(s). Ideas: pics of your staff,  pic of your building, pic of your outside signage, artsy logo pic.
Employees & Titles. You can list these complete with phones numbers and email address links.
Social Media. Links to the usuals. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.
Links to other Websites. Get them to link back to you for SEO benefits.
Call to Action. aka. Online Contact Form. Very important. More on that…

A simple call to action contact form provides an opportunity to make it easy for a visitor to contact you. It will also provide an opportunity for you to gather important data about your visitors with their permission. This information, which usually includes email addresses, areas of interest, and how they were referred, is invaluable for sales, marketing, and product development. Overall form should be short, succinct, and only ask the essentials. Once the user clicks the “Submit” button its best to send them to a “thank you for your submission” page.

EXAMPLE: Our Stoltz Design Contact Page

Setting up your email w/ Outlook, iPhone or Android Phone.
Accessing your email web based w/ our Cpanel
Help with you Stoltz Design hosted WordPress blog
You need help uploading files to your server via an ftp progam

Click HERE to view our Stoltz Design Video Tutorials

We have scoured the net and consolidated a list of tips you need. We’re going to start with a very strong password and then give you a list of reasons why:

Our password EXAMPLE: W0rdPr355(p@55w0rd!) Why is it so good? Here we go:

 Complex passwords are best (8-12 characters or more). Our example has 20.
 Creatively “convert” letters to numbers. Instead of a “o” use “0″ as in the number zero instead of an “o”. Or perhaps an “e” instead of a “3″. or an “s” to a “5″. Use whatever scheme you can remember.
 Use Special characters. For example, put a word into a nice pair of parentheses. Our example has (p@55w0rd!). Also notice the “@”. That additional special character replaces an “a” in our example. The use of the “!” is intentional as well.
 Use a combination of lower case letters and upper case letters. We use WordPr355 in our example. We went with uppercase letters to start each word.
 Is it complex? Does it look like a mess? GOOD, that’s what you want. It should only make sense to you using your desired methodology!

Summary: A good password: Long and complex, replace letters with numbers, use a combination of lower and upper case letters, use special characters, remember your desired methodology and keep it to yourself!

ONLY use letters, numbers, and dashes (dashes have proven to be better for SEO than underscores!)
DO NOT use spaces or special characters

Naming of HTML’s & URL’s must be as logical, clear, and to the point as possible. Easy to remember and easy to spell. Shorter is always better but try and include an applicable keyword in the name.

Good Examples: about-company-name. html, company-name-services.html
Bad Examples: Abt_our-business.html, our-general_Work&stuff.html, 411_our-branch.html

Naming of images and other documents (Pictures and PDFs) Just like your URLs: logical, clear, easy to remember and easy to spell. Make sure ALL file names clearly denote their content!

Good Examples: washington-state-green-apple.jpg, mike-smith-headshot.gif, company-name-press-release.pdf
Bad Examples: Wash_st-app.jpg, headshot.gif, PR_071511.pdf

Bottom line: Its better to be organized and you should always be trying to improve your site’s SEO performance anyway! Don’t over stuff with keywords but always include them for SEO benefits. If you are a Stoltz Design Web Editor User then take note!

Founded in 2004, COLOURlovers is a social network service and blog that focuses on color inspiration and color trends for both personal and professional creative projects. According to Wikipedia as of September 2008, members of the site have created and shared more than 555,000 color palettes and named over 1,450,000 colors.