Monday, 28 February 2011

Taking Exercise Classes To Get Into Shape

Taking Exercise Classes To Get Into Shape
Many people like to take fitness classes to get into shape. They are led by an instructor and you can exercise
with others in a more social environment. If taking classes to help you get into shape, or stay in shape
interests you, read the following article so you can learn more about the most popular fitness classes.
One very popular class is yoga. Yoga is not all about stretching and standing in odd poses, although that is
part of it. In yoga you learn to breath, stretch and meditate. Those who take yoga usually find it a relaxing
experience, but it is good for strength training as well.
Swimming is another great fitness class, it's especially fun if you like being in the water. In these classes
an instructor has you stretch and then has you swim laps in the different swimming styles. There are also
various strength training exercises and even some other cardio exercises that can be done in the water.
Kickboxing is a very fun and energizing class. Usually these classes are high impact, but you can always
modify the moves to fit your specific needs and restrictions. These classes involve different kicks and
punches that are choreographed to music. These classes are a great way to not only burn a lot of calories, but
also good for getting out any pent up frustrations.
Spinning is a class where you use a stationary bike. In spinning classes you do many different variations of
bike riding with different levels set on your bike. You may ride at a normal pace for a while and then switch
over to standing up and riding, or you may ride as fast as your legs will take you. Spinning is also a gret
way to burn a lot of calories.
If you like to dance, you will love Zumba. Zumba is a Latin based dance class. There are dances choreographed
to songs and you perform them with the instructor. These classes are a lot of fun and will get your heart
pumping and the sweat dripping.
Step aerobics is a great class for cardiovascular exercise. In step aerobic classes you use a step and do
moves that really work your legs and your glutes. Even though the main focus is on these areas, you still get
a great cardio workout.
Not all of these classes are offered in every gym. If one of the classes in particular interests you, check
with area gyms or do a search online so you can find exactly what classes are available near you.
If you aren't sure about a fitness class, sometimes you can take one free class to see if it is for you. If
you are on the fence about one of the classes, call the gym or the instructor and ask if they will allow you
to come in for a trial class.
Hopefully, you have seen a few of the different types of classes that are offered in many gyms. These classes
can be a lot of fun and a great way to stay physically fit.

Sunday, 27 February 2011

Taking Control Of Your Future By Way Of Your Personal Finances

Taking Control Of Your Future By Way Of Your Personal Finances
It is never too late to make improvements to your financial situation and better prepare yourself for the
future. If you want to straighten out your personal finances, then read on to find out helpful tips and advice
that can help you in your efforts.
It is always important to spend less than what you earn. If you do not live according to this rule of thumb,
then you will end up in major debt later on in life. Spending less than what you earn is the only way you are
going to stay within budget, stay out of debt, and take control of your personal finances.
You absolutely must create a good budget that is reasonable and stick with it. If you fail to stick to a
budget, then you are going to put money where money doesn't belong. You are also going to overspend, and you
will not be acting responsibly about your finances. Create a realistic budget that meets your needs, and that
you can see yourself following.
Make sure you pay off your credit card debt in a timely manner. The real way you should treat credit is to pay
off your balance at the end of each month. You should also never utilize more than 30 percent of your
available credit. If you have any high interest rate credit cards, pay those off first and fast.
An emergency savings accounts keeps the setbacks from actually being setbacks. Without an emergency fund,
unexpected events can consistently interrupt your personal financial situation. You do not want this happening
because you will never get ahead. Therefore, save for the unexpected, and have a solid emergency fund for this
purpose.
You should be contributing to at least one retirement plan for your future. If your employer offers a 401k
plan, you should definitely be taking advantage of this. Most employers offer matching contributions up to a
certain percentage. Also, 401ks and IRAs both have tax advantages. Take advantage of both of these
opportunities if you have a chance.
Historically, investing offers a much higher rate of return than other financial instruments. Therefore, if
you have the money, it is a good idea to look into investing. There are many different investing strategies,
and different things are recommended for people of different ages. Therefore, you might need to consult a
financial advisor about this.
You may need to reevaluate the different insurance policies you have. Situations change from time to time, and
you don't want to be paying for more insurance than you need. Research your options, and ask for assistance if
you need it. Make sure the insurance premiums you carry are appropriate and part of what you need. After you
have reevaluated your insurance premiums, make any necessary changes.
There are numerous things that you can do to give your personal finances a boost. Implement several of the
things mentioned in this article, and make sure you are controlling your finances rather than letting them
control you.

Thursday, 24 February 2011

Taking control of your finances


Many of us struggle with our relationship with money. We can often wonder where all our money is going, or
feel like we just simply do not have enough money. Developing a solid plan for dealing with your finances will
bring you much peace of mind.
Do you have a good idea of where exactly it is that your money is going? Most people do not. If you do not
have a solid grasp on what exactly it is that you are spending money on, you will have a hard time making long
lasting changes in your expenditures. For the next month, keep a written record of every single time you spend
money on something, even minor purchases. Debit cards and credit cards can be very convenient, but they can
make it easy to lose track of where your money is being spent. Once you have been tracking your expenses for
several weeks, create a spreadsheet or chart with various categories like "food," "utilities," and
"entertainment." Figure out how much money you are spending monthly in each category. Although it may be
somewhat shocking to see this all laid out in black and white - chances are very good you are currently
spending more in some categories than you think you are - this is a necessary first step towards coming up
with a solid plan of action for managing your finances.
Once you have your spreadsheet with all your monthly expenses, you will need to break the categories down even
further. There are some expenses that you have that are non-negotiable, like the cost of your health insurance
or your rent. There is likely not very much you can do about the cost of these necessary expenses. But other
expenses will fall into another category, those expenditures which are optional. If you regularly buy new
clothes or get cable, these are expenses which are not truly necessary.
Once you have your "not truly necessary" category, identify those items which you could do without. If you try
to cut out all optional expenses, you may be likely to stick with this frugality for a little while, but will
likely "relapse," so to speak. But there are probably things that you can cut back on or eliminate entirely.
Are you paying for a gym membership that you don't use? Could you watch TV on your laptop and cancel your
cable bill? If you regularly eat out with your friends, what about just getting appetizers, or just getting
dessert? You may identify some areas that you can eliminate entirely.
In order to truly take charge of your finances, you will need to take a clear look at what your financial
situation is right now. What are you spending money on? What items are truly necessary, and what items could
you skip entirely? Taking such a close look at how you spend your money can feel scary sometimes, but it is
absolutely necessary if you want to change how you manage your money.

Monday, 14 February 2011

The Basics of Internet Marketing

The Basics of Internet Marketing
Fundamentals are a big part to being successful in any subject. Anyone who is a pro at something will tell you
that understanding fundamentals is key. When you understand the fundamentals in a subject you know how to
apply advanced information even better. This is true for internet marketing as well, from the fundamentals up
you should be developing your skills.
Firstly you want to start advertising. The only way you are going to promote your site and business is by
doing some type of advertising. Look into sites and see how much they charge to advertise on their site, or
see if you can advertise on a friend's site for free. You are also going to want to check into social media
sites, because you can essentially advertise for free on sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
Remember that you do not always have to advertise in the same tone or manner. You can mix things up so that
people are always interested in you. One week you might make a serious and professional ad, another you could
do a funny and witty ad. People love to see that you are a diverse individual so make sure that you are always
mixing things up. If you need suggestions on what type of ads you should make ask your friends and family. Or
you could even ask your audience what type of ad they want to see next. One idea you can do is to hold a
contest and have someone create an ad for you, as a reward you can give them a product on your site. When you
think outside the box people love this and appreciate that you are really trying to please them.
As long as you are making the effort there should be no problem with your ads. One big problem a lot of people
are making when they advertise are small sentence errors. Make sure that you are correcting all spelling and
grammar errors that you see on your site or ads. When you fail to double check people notice this laziness and
it reflects on your public image.
At times it can be hard to know what keywords to add to your site. Just look at the products and think about
what are the words you would use to search for this product online. This can give you a good mindset on what
others are going to be searching for on the internet as well. So when you list a product make sure that you
are thinking about what others might search for and they could very well land on your product through
searching.
Success always comes for those who wait. Remain patient with your marketing efforts online and you should see
an increase in traffic. Just remember to always think about what the customer wants and you have a good
mindset already. Now start planning out your strategies and see where your internet marketing endeavors leave
you in a couple of weeks.

Taking Care of Yourself To Treat Your Acne

Taking Care of Yourself To Treat Your Acne
When you are healthy mentally, you will have a healthy body; when your body is healthy, you will have skin
that healthy. Acne is just a manifestation of deeper issues that are just showing up on the surface of your
skin. Here are some tips to help your acne that you can do today.
1. Eat a healthy diet. Your body needs food to use as fuel, and when you put bad fuel in your body, you can't
be surprised when your body starts to react in the ways that are less than desirable. You have to concentrate
on a healthy diet comprised of lean meats, fruits, and vegetables in order to see a positive change in your
acne.
2. Exercise every day. When you exercise, you encourage circulation of oxygen, which is great for the skin on
your face, because oxygen brings nutrients to your skin cells. They can begin the work of repairing themselves
and reproducing new skin cells.
3. Wash your body regularly. You don't have to go overboard and shower every hour, but you have to make sure
you wash as often as you can. Washing your body will make sure that the bacteria that causes acne goes down
the drain. Make sure to use the proper cleanser and moisturizers, so that your skin isn't irritated and oily
when you are finished. Consider using hypo-allergenic products even if you don't think you are allergic. You
just might be!
4. Wash your laundry frequently. Dirty clothes can harbor bacteria inside them, and when you put them on your
body, the germs travel to your skin and incubate, which can encourage inflammations and acne. Do your laundry
often to make sure that you can create a clean environment for your body throughout the day.
5. Learn to cope with stress. Stress can be a difficult thing to deal with, but you may not realize how large
of an impact stress has on your acne. When you are stressed out, you are more likely to break out. That is
because stress causes your hormones to go haywire. So when you learn ways to reduce stress, such as yoga or
meditation, you encourage your skin to calm down as well as your mind.
6. Drink a lot of water. Water is essential to treating acne. Water is found in all of your cells, so it
important to make sure that you are always hydrated. The skin cells on your face or wherever your acne is need
that hydration. Your skin cells can function much better when they have enough water inside to do what they
are meant to do.
When you start taking care of your body and your mind, your skin will follow suit. After all, your skin is
your body's largest organ and needs to be taken care of from the inside out. Your appearance will start to
look better when you treat yourself better. Use the tips in this article to help you do that, so that acne can
be a thing of the past.

Friday, 11 February 2011

Taking Care of Aging Skin

The first thing people often see when they look at you is your skin. If your skin looks old then people will
think you are older than you seem. These tips can help you ensure that you have beautiful skin and look
younger.
If you want to prevent wrinkles, or at least slow them down, and are trying to stave off dark spots on the
skin, then you should use sunscreen. Sunscreens will help your skin stay supple by protecting it from the sun,
and you will be less likely to develop dark spots that are caused by the pigments in your skin gathering.
Make sure you use a daily moisturizer that is meant for your skin type. It is important to do this because
your skin will drink up the moisture and use it to keep your skin soft and wrinkle free. The more hydrated
your skin is, the younger it looks!
Get rid of any dead skin cells on a daily basis. This requires exfoliation; you should do this after you have
washed your face with a mild soap and then rinse the cells off. Your soap may also contain some type of
exfoliant; you do not want to go overboard so make sure that you double check! Getting rid of those skin cells
will help your skin glow!
Use your anti-aging skin care products at night. This will give your skin a chance to work with them when your
body is at rest. You will not be exposing the skin to any outside toxins either. This is why the products work
best when you are sleeping.
Eat healthy foods so that you have skin that is full of collagen and elastin, both of which are good for
making skin more stretchable and supple looking. This is very important to having clear skin as well. The diet
is the number one thing you should look into when trying to have clearer and younger looking skin.
If you are a smoker and are worried about looking older, you should. Smoking just ages your skin prematurely,
and it causes wrinkles in strange places around the eyes, mouth, and cheeks. Your lines will be deeper, and
often people say that smokers take on a yellow look after ages and ages of exposure to harmful cigarette and
tobacco smoke.
Get rid of the stress in your life; this can make your skin look dull and lifeless. You can produce extra oils
that can cause blemishes in the skin as well. Staying stress free is a great way to take care of the skin and
also take care of yourself so that you live a happy and healthy lifestyle.
Make sure you get enough sleep on a nightly basis. Do not over work yourself and go to bed and stay there! Get
at least six to nine hours of sleep a night. Everyone is different in what amount of sleep their body requires
to stay healthy.
Having healthy skin is one of the best ways to become more beautiful; follow these steps to stave off damage
and any aging of the skin before its time, and you will look and feel healthy and ready to live again!

Tuesday, 8 February 2011

The basics of social network marketing

The basics of social network marketing
Many businesses are using social media to reach out to their customers. You could easily attract more
customers if you follow these simple tips.
Millions of people use social networks every day, sometimes for hours. If you can get someone to 'like' your
page or subscribe to your updates, everything you post will appear in their newsfeed. This is an easy way to
let people know about your new products, your special offers or simply remind them about your brand. If you
post quality content, people will share it with their friends, which means you could get new customers.
Using social media allows you to learn a lot about your target audience, to get feedback and pictures or
videos of customers using your products and to generate more sales. Since using social networks is free, you
cannot afford to neglect this aspect of internet marketing.
Keep in mind that you are using social networks for a professional purpose. You are not here to make friends
but to sell products. Avoid engaging in personal conversations with people or posting personal updates. All
your content should be related to your products, your industry or to topics your audience enjoys reading
about. Create different social network profiles in your name if you want to share more personal content with
your friends. You should also do your best to moderate posts and comments on your page.
Using social media marketing is a good way to complement your Search Engine Optimization strategy since you
can include back-links on your profiles and updates. Make sure you use strong keywords in your profiles and
updates. Think of social networks as a way of bringing more traffic to the important pages of your site and to
your latest updates.
Add links to your social media profiles on your site: you can easily add a Facebook or a Twitter button for
instance. Add a 'share' button on your latest updates: your readers can click this link and instantly share
your content with your friends. Do the same things with your pictures and videos. You can also encourage
people to connect with you on social networks by mentioning discounts and limited offers you are going to
advertise on social media. Make references to your social media updates in your content: your readers will
want to connect with you on social networks so they do not miss any of your updates.
Keep track of how many people follow the links you post on social networks with a traffic counter and use the
tools provided by social networks to find out who your audience is and how many people your posts reach. This
is a good way to find out what kind of content your audience is interested in and whether or not they are
paying attention to your updates. Use these tools to create content that corresponds to your audience's
interests.
If you develop a good social media marketing strategy, you should be able to get a lot of attention on these
sites. Make sure you focus your efforts on getting people to buy from you, not merely be your friends.

Take Your Website To The Next Level

Take Your Website To The Next Level
When you run a website, whether it is big or little, new or old, it is important that you get the site out to
the world to see and effectively market your business. There are many things that you can do to effectively
market your business and this article will give you the information that your need to bring your website up to
the next level.
One thing you can do is ask your customers to refer you to their friends. You can do this by sending out
emails and asking customers to forward it. You can also offer incentives to your customers if they refer
others to your site. Customers will appreciate incentives like free shipping or a percent off their next
purchase.
Place your website information everywhere you can. You can put your URL on business cards and hand them out.
You can also put information on flyers and post them. Anywhere you can think of, put your information out
there for any and everyone to see.
Offer incentives. Everyone loves discounts and free products. You can offer many different things to entice
people to visit your site and make purchases. People love free samples, offer them a free sample of their
choice with a purchase. Free shipping is another discount that consumers love. Another option is an amount off
of a purchase or a certain percent off. You can entice many with freebies or discounts.
Another thing you will find consumers love is giveaways. You can get visits to your site by holding a giveaway
and giving away one of your products or services. A lot of people will sign up for a giveaway and may even
make a purchase from your site while they are there signing up.
Use social media. Millions of people are now using social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. If you put
your company on there and share your information, you will potentially be reaching so many people that use
these sites. If you do decide to use social media, make your pages very professional looking. If someone
visits your social media page and it does not look good, chances are they will not visit your website. You can
also use these social media sites to have conversations with customers and potential customers. They can ask
questions or make comments and you can quickly respond. The more friendly and personal you are with your
visitors, the more likely they will be to make purchases from your site.
Send out personalized newsletters. You can do this by tracking purchases and then send out information based
on what you think these customers may like. You can also use newsletters to send out special offers, share
sale information, tell your readers about new products and share any other information that is relevant to
your business.
Customers are out there, you just have to find them and bring them to your site. Use the information in this
passage to grow your audience and grow your business.

Sunday, 6 February 2011

Take Your Eatery Online: Building a Great Website for Your Restaurant

Take Your Eatery Online: Building a Great Website for Your Restaurant
With so many new eateries popping up overnight, restaurateurs are constantly on the lookout for bold and
exciting ways to attract diners. Fortunately, a great website can be an invaluable tool for getting the word
out about your juice bar, cafe, pizza parlor or bistro. This article is packed with tips for taking your
restaurant online with an attractive and well-designed website.
You can post the most enticing menu, rave reviews or colorful photographs of signature dishes, but all of it
would be for naught if you forget to include contact information for your restaurant. Include the name of your
eatery, the address (or addresses for multiple locations), email address if desired and the company phone
number. This ensures that prospective diners always know where to find you and how to get in touch.
Posting your breakfast, lunch, dinner and drink menus online is a great way to show hungry foodies what your
restaurant has to offer. However, you must take care to ensure that the menus are always up-to-date and
reflect your most current offerings. This is especially important if you offer seasonal or specialty dishes.
Otherwise, you risk disappointing diners who choose your restaurant based on the menu.
A detailed, descriptive account of your signature dishes will have mouths watering, but it certainly helps to
support your text with a colorful, clear image of a steaming entree or a tantalizing dessert. The same is true
of your location and dining facilities. This is especially true if your restaurant is not located in a
well-known area of town or is isolated from your city's dining and cultural district. Including photographs of
the dining room and front facade also conveys the quality and ambiance that diners can expect during their
meal.
Your restaurant's website should also include updated hours of operation, as well as information about
upcoming events and special deals. If your dining room closes for a few hours before dinner or is only open on
certain days of the week, it should be clearly communicated on the website; this also applies to holiday and
weekend hours.
If your eatery serves up a specific type of cuisine, it should coordinate neatly with the design of your
website. The site will have a greater impact in the eyes of visitors if it is styled in a way that complements
the look and feel of your dining room and cuisine. For example, bold colors and graphics are well-suited to a
family restaurant or retro diner. On the other hand, the website of an exclusive and critically acclaimed
steakhouse or French bistro should convey sophistication with a palette of dark, subdued colors and refined
images.
If you provide an email address on your restaurant's website, you must ensure that someone is monitoring the
inbox and responding in a timely manner. Email can be a valuable tool for communicating with customers
(prospective and long-established), as well as with local businesses, food critics and even the media. If you
do not attend to these emails personally, you should appoint someone who can respond in a professional, polite
manner; otherwise, you run the risk of jeopardizing relations with the public.
Whether your eatery is universally hailed by critics or has just set up shop in the neighborhood, taking your
business online can be a blessing. An attractive, helpful website is more about getting your name out there;
it also helps to give prospective diners an idea of the quality and cuisine of what could be their next
favorite hot spot. Make the most of your site with helpful information, appealing imagery and great design.

Saturday, 5 February 2011

Take The Stress Out Of Home Improvement Projects

Take The Stress Out Of Home Improvement Projects
Everyone wants to improve their home to make it more beautiful. However, renovation projects can take a lot of
work. At times, they can seem stressful and overwhelming. This article will provide you with some advice on
how to take the stress out of your renovation projects.
Looking at the entire project all at once can make the project seem daunting, and the end result may seem too
difficult to reach. However, if you divide the project into steps and phases, the project will not seem so
impossible. Write down the steps that you need to accomplish. Not only will this keep you on track and
organized, but it will give you a quicker sense of satisfaction every time you complete at step.
Make a list of all of the supplies that you need ahead of time. Finding out that you are missing some supplies
when you are right in the middle of a project can interrupt your momentum and impede your progress. Your plan
should have the steps laid out, as mentioned in the previous paragraph, and you should have a tentative
timeline for each so that you can stay focused.
There are times when it is advisable to hire a reputable contractor for the larger and more complex jobs.
Tasks that require electrical wiring and plumbing skills are best left to the professionals. They have the
tools and expertise to handle this type of work, and it is better to pay them to have the job done correctly
than risk making major mistakes while doing it yourself.
Do not overlook help from your friends. Many people enjoy doing home projects with others because this gives
them an opportunity to socialize. Your friends may have some skills that you lack, and an extra pair of hands
is always helpful. Turn on some music or listen to sports while you are on the job, and have some fun.
Do not forget to get your work permits as soon as you know what you need to do. Permits for certain types of
renovation projects cannot be overlooked because they are required by your local building authorities. This is
to ensure that you are building to code for safety reasons. Keep in mind, that if you do not obtain permits
for any projects that require one, you will need to disclose that if you ever sell your home. That can be a
negative mark on your sale.
If your project is major and will cause a lot of disruption to your family's routines, you may want to
consider moving out for a while. During construction  you may not have access to your bathrooms or kitchen.
Construction materials lying around may cause hazards for your children. It those cases, it is best if you
stay somewhere else to avoid the inconveniences.
Do not tie yourself to a rigid schedule. Things often come up during construction that are unexpected,
preventing you from moving ahead to the next step. At those times, do not stress out. They are a normal part
of renovation projects. Deal with the obstacles and get them resolved. Make scheduling adjustments if other
contractors are involved.
To keep things organized, complete one project before you begin the next. Leaving projects unfinished will not
give you the satisfaction that you seek, and they will only cause you frustration every time you look at them.
So, make sure that you finish what you started.
These suggestions will help you tackle your home improvement projects in a stress-free manner. Start with a
good plan and the right attitude, and you will be in good shape.

Thursday, 3 February 2011

Take Control Of Your Finances

Take Control Of Your Finances
It can be challenging to regain control of your personal finances once you have lost control. This is
especially difficult during the times of a bad economy. The suggestions that follow can help you regain
control of your financial situation before completely losing it.
Sit down and spend some time figuring where you are spending all of your money. This can be done by looking at
receipts, credit card statements and bank statements. Once you figure out where all of your money is being
spent, you can find the areas in which you can reduce spending.
Open a savings account to use as an emergency fund. If you take a small portion of each paycheck and deposit
into this account, you will accumulate a decent amount of money that you can use for the many emergencies that
can occur throughout the year.
There is no reason to pay for a checking account these days. So many banks offer free checking account, and
some will even pay you to open an account with them. Be sure to read into the fine print to be sure that you
are not agreeing to an account that carries high overdraft fees and a minimum monthly balance.
Pay more on your credit cards than just the minimum payment each month. If you pay more than the minimum, you
will pay the balance down much sooner than you would otherwise. You want to do your best to reduce or
eliminate credit card debt to avoid paying interest on the money you owe them.
Once you get the credit card debt paid down, avoid using the credit card as much as possible. Of course there
are going to be times that you need it, but make every attempt to pay it off at the end of the month if you do
use it.
Learning the areas that you can cut costs is going to go a long way in having a budget system work for you. If
you set a budget and things are not working out as well as you had hoped, you must sit down and carefully
scrutinize the things that you purchased and find the items that you did not need. You can also get auto
insurance quotes to see if you can find it for less. The same can be done with your household utilities and
cell phone bills.
Find something that will motivate you to save some money. If it is a vacation or a car, get a picture of the
thing that you want the most and keep it in your wallet next to your credit cards. You want to have to look at
the thing that you desire most when it comes time to spend money. This just might be the trick to keeping you
from spending money on the things that you really do not need.
It may seem to be impossible to accomplish at first, but it is completely possible to regain control over your
personal finances. Keep these tips in mind as you rethink your household budget and you will be well on your
way to a well balanced and structured financial situation.

Wednesday, 2 February 2011

Take Control Of Your Acne

Acne is a common skin disease that is very common during puberty, but it can at any time. If you are looking
for ways to control your acne and get rid of it, you have come to the right place. Read this article for tips
on preventing and getting rid of acne.
One major thing you can do to heal and prevent acne is wash your face twice a day. You should wash your face
twice a day with a cleanser made specifically for acne sufferers. Be sure not to wash your face too much,
though, as over- washing can irritate your face and cause more acne. Unless your face gets extremely dirty,
washing it twice a day should suffice. Look for other products for your face that are made for acne. You can
find moisturizers and acne spot treatments that will really help.
As hard as it may seem, don't pop your pimples. When you pop your pimples, you are pushing the pimple causing
bacteria or debris back down into the pores. You are also touching your face and introducing whatever dirt,
debris and bacteria are on your hands to your face. Popping pimples can also cause scarring, especially if you
are rough with it.
Try your best to keep your hands off your face. Anytime you touch your face, you add whatever is on your hands
to your face. Hands can contain dirt, debris and bacteria. If any of this gets on your face, it can seep down
into your pores, clogging them and causing pimples or blackheads. Try not to let anything else touch your
face, including clothing.
Keep your cell phone clean. Your cell phone can hold a lot of germs and debris and this can cause breakouts.
Always keep your glasses or sunglasses clean. Glasses can contain a lot if bacteria and debris. You don't want
this getting into your pores.
Keeping your hair clean and off your face is helpful in preventing acne. When your hair touches your face, it
deposits whatever dirt and debris that are on your hair onto your face. This can clog the pores and lead to
acne.
One excellent treatment for acne is tea tree oil. If you have any annoying pimples, you can put the oil
directly on it and the oil will help it heal.
Change your pillowcase often. Your pillowcase can harbor some pore clogging debris that you don't want on your
face. Changing the case every couple days can be very helpful in preventing acne.
If you have been consistent in treating and preventing your acne and you're not seeing positive changes, it
might be best to consult a dermatologist. They can offer even more solutions or prescribe helpful medication.
Hopefully, now you know of some things you can do to both treat and prevent acne. Try them out and see if the
work for you. Be patient, though, as it will take some time of you being consistent and persistent to see a
major change.

Tuesday, 1 February 2011

A Beginner’s Guide To Web Design

Web design is a huge subject and books have been written on this topic that could probably sink a small boat. However while this is the case, you certainly don’t need to know all of this in order to get started. Here we will look at some of the basics of web design to help you to get started and to help you avoid the big mistakes. Take this on board and get started, and you can learn the rest as you go.
Step into...
Image credit: Jaganatha

Anatomy of a Website

A website is made up of a few different things, and most fundamentally it is a collection of HTML, CSS and image files that are held on a server. When someone navigates to the URL that points at your server it loads up your ‘Index.html’ page and that’s where you are going to point the browser toward everything else.
This HTML is a very basic formatting code that tells browsers where to place text and images and how to display them. It is made up of tags like ‘p, h1 (header one) and your content and it includes links to other pages (HTML tag a) and references to images (HTML tag img). Most HTML websites these days will also need to have a CSS.

How to Design Your Website

If you want to design your website you have a few options. Option one is to simply code it from scratch in notepad for which you will need to learn HTML and CSS. You can also do this by picking apart other websites – saving their source and editing the text and images to suit your purposes (check the owner doesn’t mind first) which is perhaps the easiest way to learn your way around the code.
Alternatively you can use some web design software which you can find either as part of your web hosting package, or as a software download such as Dreamweaver. These allow you to drag and drop items and to enter text as you like, and then to view the code and edit that manually if you wish. A third option is to use WordPress which will simply involve choosing a template and some images after you’ve installed it on your server.

Some Rules for Web Design

Now here’s what you should consider when designing your site at the forefront of your mind. Some ‘golden rules’ if you like to observe when creating pages:
  • Make it easy to read – In other words make sure that your pages aren’t blue with red text because that will drive people away and give them headaches (which tends to prevent them from coming back).
  • Make it easy to navigate, and play to your visitors’ expectations – Menus go either along the top of your pages or down the left or right hand side
  • Keep it un-cluttered – The more stuff you cram onto your website the more difficult it will be for visitors to know where to look. The blank space is your best friend when used well.
  • Make it easy to edit – When you design your site, build it in such a way that you can make site wide changes easily. That means CSS style pages and it means include files so that your pages all refer to one central source for their style and layout.
  • Images face in – This is an old tip used in magazines too, make sure that all your images have their subjects facing in toward the text so that the eye is drawn in and not out and away.
  • Leave space for ads – If you want to make money from advertising then you need to leave some space for ads in your design. Hot spots are near the menus, or near the center of the page.
  • Be Consistent – Good web design is consistent across the board, so make sure you don’t deviate from your font or color scheme on each page
  • Brand well – Include a title/logo at the top of the page and make it present on every single other page too.
  • Include a site map – They’re great for helping people around your page and search engines love them too.
  • Know where you want people to look – Thing about where you want people to look when they see your site and what you want them to do and design the pages around this accordingly.
  • Make it cross compatible – Your site should have a relative layout, or should have a layout that puts all the important content in the top left. These two design choices will fit the maximum number of computer and phone screens so that all users can enjoy your content.
  • Keep it light – Make your file sizes as small as possible and don’t load hundreds of unnecessary images – this way you can make sure that your site loads quickly and doesn’t cost people a fortune when they’re browsing on their mobiles.