Resources and further information for your website for artists and photographers

Resources and further information.

ohfolio empowers its users to control their own online presence and website content without paying a fortune to a design agency. The online world can be a bit daunting if you are not an expert, and at ohfolio we believe you shouldn’t have to be one to get the most out of being online.

To assist you we have put together a range of resources for website beginners and website owners.

When you become a member of the ohfolio family you will receive a monthly newsletter containing lots more useful info, tools, how-to’s, and special offers.

If you wish to, you can subscribe to our newsletter here:

...and don't worry - we hate spam too, and we won't inundate your inbox with unwanted emails, or pass your information to anyone else.

the basics - for website beginners

Getting online
Bear in mind that if you join ohfolio, we take care of all of these tasks, so you won’t need to do any of the work!

Your website address
The address that leads to your website is commonly referred to as a domain name or URL. You decide on the domain name that you wish to have, check availability, and register it.

The easiest way to find out if a web address is available is to look on a site such as www.whois.com

Hosting
You need to have hosting to have a website.

Hosting providers run internet servers which ‘serve’ your content to the world. Put simply they allow everyone to see your site. There are plenty of hosting providers out there and the one you decide to go with will depend on your needs. The easiest way to find a hosting provider is to do online research and compare prices and service.

Creating a site
There are many ways to create a website. They range from learning programming and coding, paying a design agency to design one for you through to getting a company such as ohfolio to look after all of it for you.

Sites can be built in many different ways in many types of coding languages.

The key is to have a site that looks professional if you are planning to raise your profile or gain business.

Considerations
When you decide to get online, have a think about how much work you wish to do and what your budget is.
What kind of image do you want to project of yourself or your company?

Do you want to spend time learning how to programme or code a website?

Do you want the power to update your own site, or pay someone to do it for you?

ohfolio websites cost £99pa which includes everything - hosting, domain name purchase, and the website design.

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Security – because we want you to stay safe out there!
While the web is an amazing resource it is also home to unscrupulous people and criminals who are willing to exploit those who don’t look after their information properly.

Treat the internet the same as being out in a crowded public space. You wouldn’t leave your valuables unattended so make sure you don’t allow this to happen online.

Here are ohfolio’s top 10 tips to keep you secure

Protect all your passwords! Either memorise them or store them somewhere very safe. Make your passwords impossible to guess. Using a mix of letters (upper and lower case) and numbers, is best.
Don’t use the same password for everything you do online. At the very least, ensure you use very secure passwords for websites that hold your sensitive information such as Date of Birth, Credit Card or Bank details, home address, etc.
If you are using a shared computer at home, at work, in an internet café or in a library, make sure you log out when you are finished.
When making purchases online make sure you are using a reputable website, and when you are inputting your Credit/Debit Card details or bank account information, ensure there is a padlock icon (usually located along the bottom of your browser). ohfolio uses PayPal, one of the most trusted payment gateways on the internet, to process our payments. We don't ask for any sensitive information on ohfolio.com.
Look for trusted secure payment services such as PayPal and Google Checkout.
Keep your pc’s security software up to date and follow any guidance from them, such as security alerts on certain websites.
Use anti-virus, adware scanners, and a firewall for maximum protection.
Don’t open email or text attachments from senders you don’t know, as they could contain a virus. The same applies for links and emails on social media sites.
If something looks to good to be true, it often is! Websites and advertising banners claiming to give you something for nothing or spouting over the top claims such as magic weight loss pills are often scams or viruses.
Be aware of how much information you are putting into websites such as social networks, dating sites etc… your profiles can show up in search engine results. Sensitive information such as your real date of birth, full name, place of birth, can all be used for identity theft.

Want to read up further on internet security, these are some useful links:
http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/tips/
http://www.auditmypc.com/internet-security.asp
http://www.learnthenet.com/english/html/79secure.htm
http://www.computerweekly.com/software/security-software/

Raising your profile online - now you have a website, how do you get visitors?

So, you have a lovely new website! Here are some simple and free ways to raise your online profile

Make sure your website is submitted to the major search engines so they know your site exists:
Submit a URL:
Google: http://www.google.co.uk/addurl/
Bing: http://www.bing.com/webmaster/SubmitSitePage.aspx

Use services such as Google Maps which will list your business when someone does a relevant local search.
List your website in relevant local business directories, many of these are free.
Request that your business affiliates, partners, customers anyone relevant include a link to your website. Search engines like this, they are termed ‘inbound’ links.
Tell people about it! If you have a brand new website then it’s news. Tell your friends, family, business partners, clients, media, fans, anyone you think is relevant, they will visit and the more visitors you have the better your results. Utilise the word or mouth you have at your fingertips - and for free.
Get your site verified by a security companies such as Norton – they will show people searching online that your site is safe and contains no threats.
Learn to utilise the power of social media – Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Linked In, are all international sites with millions of users and harnessing their power can mean lots of invaluable free promotion – want to know more about social media?
Get involved with websites that are relevant to you personally or on a business level – if you have expertise, post on their forums, keep them updated as to what’s happening with you. Build relations and you may well find that opportunities to promote yourself come along.

SEO – Search engine optimisation

Description of search engines
A Search Engine is a deceptively complex website service that scans the internet database for domain names, and then for what information is held at those domain names.

Contrary to popular belief, search engines are not the internet itself. It is not correct practice or advisable to visit a website you know by typing the website URL into a Search Engine's search box. If that website hasn't been indexed, or if that website (or your PC) has been compromised by a virus, you probably will be taken somewhere entirely different. Instead, type the URL into the address bar at the top of your browser window.

Search Engines market share, worldwide:
85% - Google
6% - Yahoo
3.5% - Bing

SEO in your ohfolio website
Here are some simple but very effective tips for making your ohfolio website a favourite with search engines.

If you are using an ohfolio site, we suggest resizing your images to fit exactly the space allowed for. This ensures not only that loading time of your website is optimal but also that images aren't scaled up or down, which can pixellate, blur, or otherwise ruin a beautiful image. Google also recently announced that SPEED is of the essence with their new Page Rank algorithms.

Keywords and well written copy are the key to SEO. On your homepage, ensure relevant keywords and phrases are repeated once or twice throughout, and ensure that they are indeed relevant to what you are about.

Domain name is also important, for very obvious reasons - for instance, LondonFishPhotographer.com would rank highly in searches for a London fish photographer!

Finally, inbound links from relevant websites will help increase your ranking. If you are a photographer, ensure that as many photography related websites as possible have links to your website. Search Engines notice this and rank you well for it.

Social media is a big subject so we have tried to cover the basics, however once you get started its not so scary!

Twitter
Twitter can be very valuable if you are prepared to take some time to get to know how it works. Far from being complicated it is very simple, so don’t be put off by the ‘terms’ that are used.

Harnessed correctly, Twitter can create a domino effect of publicity for you and your company. If you post something worth knowing, not only will your followers hear about it but also they will be able to pass this on to their followers, and those to theirs, and so on!

To start, choose a name that is relevant - it could be your exact name, or company name, but bear in mind these could already be taken so be prepared to pick something similar but memorable.

Find Twitterers to follow – they can be interesting to you, interesting to your career, or your business. There are services online that can help you find Twitterers that are relevant to you such as Whoshouldifollow.com. Twitter also has a list of suggestions that can help you start out.

Tell people that you are on there and hopefully they will sign up to follow you. Next time you are reading your favourite newsletter, watching your favourite show etc you will see they may well have a Twitter page, so add them.

Now to the fun part, start Twittering to the world!

The messages you write on Twitter are called ‘Tweets’ and they are limited to 140 characters.

Bear in mind is that if you are Twittering as a company anything you say will reflect on your company and once its out there, its out there. Be aware that many people have been tripped up by this in the past.

Twitter news about your company or yourself, what are you working on, what did you read today that was interesting. Ideas for getting your followers involved:

Twitter can be a great way to get feedback on ideas, new products, etc.
Reward followers with early news.
You could run a competition or direct followers to your website to see some interesting content.

Ask questions, reply to followers messages and generally show yourself to be an authority, great opportunities can arise and, hopefully, more website traffic.

Retweeting – this term means you can repost a tweet from someone else. If you see something interesting you can hit the retweet button and this will repost to your followers.

Other tips
If you put an @ sign in front of a Twitter name it can be clicked on.

Sometimes long internet links take up too much space in your tweet so use a service such as bit.ly which will create you a small link to use instead.

Twitter like many other social sites does attract spammers and viruses and you should be wary of clicking on links if they are not from a reputable source.

Some users will follow everyone, and these may be spammers. If they do spam you, simply hit the unfollow button to get rid of them.

Keep your passwords safe, and don’t let mischievous friends, kids or colleagues get on your Twitter when you aren’t watching! Who knows what they will write!

Trends – on the right hand side of twitter you will see a list of trends. Clicking on ‘change’ will allow you to see the trends for different locations, i.e. the world, uk etc… If you tweet something relating to these trends using a # (hashtag) it will be shown to anyone searching this trend, so this can be a very useful feature to getting yourself seen. If ohfolio is trending and you wanted to write about us you would write #ohfolio and this would be seen by anyone following this trend.

Adding twitter ‘Follow me’ buttons on your ohfolio site's hompage or contact page is very straightforward. http://twitter.com/goodies. Copy and past the HTML you want into the text box of your ohfolio website where you wish for it to show and hit SAVE. Refresh your site and you will see your brand new button!

ohfolio are on Twitter!: ohfolio

Facebook
Facebook allows you to set up a group for you and your company. If you choose to set up a group for your company you will be the administrator.
The benefits of a Facebook group are that not only is it so widely used - with millions of members - but it is very easy for your contacts, already on Facebook, to join up.

Displaying images and videos is another great benefit so it provides an even more interactive platform than Twitter. Like Twitter you can post changes to your ‘status’ and these will update all your friends and members of your group

Use the same guidelines as Twitter, remember what you put out there into the public domain is out there.

Make sure to keep tabs on comments written on your page and check that there aren’t people posting spam and adult/inappropriate content.
The main thing to remember with all social media is to stay active and keep networking. If people see that your social media sites haven’t been updated for months they aren’t going to follow you.

Have fun!

Social Bookmarking websites
These sites allow you to store, tag and share links across the internet. You can share these links both with friends and people with similar interests. You can also access your links from any computer you happen to be using.

So, if you come across say a BBC story that you find interesting, and want to save for future reference or share it with other people, simply click on one of these links to add to your list. All of these sites are free to use but do require you to register. Once you have registered you can begin bookmarking. Each of the sites works slightly differently so use the links below to find out which service best suits your needs.

You can find out more about social bookmarking on Wikipedia: Wikipedia article on social bookmarking.

Protecting your online identity - Copyright and Intellectual Property

Protecting your name, business and materials online
Just as it is key to keep your personal details safe online you should also be prepared if you think someone is misusing your copyrighted materials, or Intellectual Property.

Intellectual Property or, as it is often shortened to, IP, refers to creations of your mind for either artistic or commercial reasons. It covers your Trade Marks, Patents and Copyrights.

The laws in each country are different but the following links should help you read up on your rights.

UK
http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/p05_copyright_infringement

US
http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap5.html#501

Aus
http://www.copyright.org.au/information

Cyber Squatting (also known as domain squatting)
Cyber Squatting is where an individual or a company registers a domain name in the hope of either selling it to the “true” owner or using it to confuse potential clients. The term ‘bad faith’ is often used in this situation and describes the actions of someone who is acting in an underhand or unscrupulous fashion. There is also a practice known as ‘reverse domain hijacking’ where an individual or company makes a complaint in ‘bad faith’ against a domain name owner who has legitimate interests in owning it.

If this has happened to you there are ways to solve these problems and people that will help you.

For .co.uk
http://www.nominet.org.uk/disputes/drs/

For .com
http://www.icann.org/en/udrp/udrp.htm

For other countries (including .aus, .ca, .cn, .eu, .de, .us)
http://www.website-law.co.uk/resources/domain-name-disputes/specific-cctld.html#c

This website is very useful and contains legal information from around the world
http://www.website-law.co.uk/index.html

Useful Links & Further Information
These sites are often UK based so please do suggest other sites in your country if you think they are relevant.

Business
A free resource to help you start and grow your business at home http://www.enterprisenation.com/
Doug Richards School for Startups: http://www.schoolforstartups.co.uk/
Small Business site with loads of info and tips: http://www.smallbusiness.co.uk/

Creative
http://www.creativereview.co.uk/

Photographers
http://www.photoradar.com/
http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/
http://www.dphotographer.co.uk/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/photography

Students
http://www.studentbeans.com/

If we haven’t covered something you think we should have, contact us.

Glossary
‘Bad faith’ - term used to describe the actions of an individual or company with an unscrupulous or underhand motive
Browser (web browser) - a software application used to navigate the internet, common browsers include Internet Explorer or Firefox
Bookmarking – a way of storing and sharing online content you like or need
Cache - a way for a computer to store infomation making future requests faster. It can store unwanted old infomation too, so it needs to be cleared when using CMS.
CMS – content management system enabling the website owner to edit the content themselves.
Code/coding - Code is a programming language used to create software solutions such as databases or websites.
Cookies - information stored by a computers web browser that allows a website to store information such as settings, preferences, items you have added to a shoopping cart etc..
Copyright - exclusive rights granted to a creator of orginal work.
Cyberjacking - process of buying a domain name in 'bad faith'
Domain name - online address of a website
Ecommerce – buying and selling online in a virtual enviroment rather than in a store.
Facebook – popular social network site
Flash - multimedia software distributed by Adobe, allowing for movies, animations, image transitions, games etc...
Hosting - service required by all websites to allow their information to be served to the world wide web
HTML - Stands for HyperText Markup Language and is a standard language for web pages
HTML 5 - This is the next major revision of HTML and expected to become more common in the next few years
Inbound links (backlinks)-Incoming links from another website which may direct traffic to your site, these are considered by search engines and can help SEO.
Linked In – popular social networking site used primarily for business
Links - clickable domain address allowing user to travel directly to a website or webpage online
Outbound links - links you place on a website which allow visitors to travel to another location online, unlike inboud links they have no real value for SEO.
PayPal – trusted website used as a secure way to purchase or sell items online
Refresh – act of reloading a website to make sure the content you are seeing is the most up to date
Reverse hijacking - the process of disputing ownership of a domain name in 'bad faith'
Search engine - an online directory which matches relevant websites to your chosen search terms
SEO – shortened version of Search engine optimisation, a way of increasing a websites profile in relevant online searches
Smartphones – mobile phones which contain a large amount of additional functionality including internet, downloadable applications (apps) video, cameras and
Social media – a way of coming together online to exchange information, photos, videos, news opinion and more…
Trojan - malicious software which enters computers under the cover of a useful service for the user. The malware then gains unauthorised access to the users computer system and information
Twitter - Popular global microblogging website
Tweeting - term used for posting a 140 character message on Twitter
URL - See domain name
Virus - malicious software that travels from computer to computer through an executable code
Wikipedia - a free online encyclopedia
Worm - see virus
XML- stands for Extensible Markup Language which is used to provide simple useable functions

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