Free graphics for your web site

If you have time to design your own graphics and have the software to use, that's great! Adobe PhotoShop are ones of the most popular graphic programs. However, if you were not blessed with an artist's hand (I wasn't!), you will appreciate thousands of free graphics created by professionals. Here are the web sites where you can get free images and use on your web site completely free:

• www.graphicsByDezign.com - templates, clipart, backgrounds
• www.arttoday.com - clipart and photography
• www.pambytes.com - templates, clipart, backgrounds
• www.clip-art.com - huge database of various clipart and web graphics
• www.addesigner.com - design your own animated banner. The best tool of this kind I have found!
• http://home.netscape.com/assist/net_sites/bg/backgrounds.html - backgrounds for your pages
• http://www.free-backgrounds.com - backgrounds for your pages, including some with professional looking borders
• http://www.windyweb.com/design/gallery.htm - a wonderful collection of web graphics and clipart. Very easy to use, too.
• http://www.pixelfoundry.com/bgs.html - find some light textured backgrounds here
• http://backgrounds.hypermart.net - very colorful, bright and wild backgrounds
• http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Gallery/6467 - 100 mostly light textured backgrounds
• http://www.bigbeautifulbackgrounds.com/page1.htm - abstract, cosmos-like backgrounds
• http://www.buttonland.com - all kinds of buttons to use on your web site
• http://www.topicons.com/indexenglish.htm - professional collection of icons (small pictures) categorized by subject
• http://www.angelfire.com/ut/Thunderhead - very professional buttons, I might use some for my own site :-)

To save an image you like, simply right-click on it and choose "Save Picture As". Then use it on your web site to make it more user-appealing.

How to sell on your web site

If you are already able to accept credit cards from your walk-in customers, the costs of adding a store front to your web site are $0. All you need in this case is a good and reliable shopping cart (same as a store front). I have tried several for my customers and I especially liked these:

• http://www.bravenet.com
• http://www.freetailer.com
• http://www.freemerchant.com

If you are only starting out and don't have any way of accepting credit cards at this time, you have two options. You can contact your local bank and tell them you would like to open a merchant account. There are several fees involved in it anywhere between $100 and $500, just like in registering your business name or purchasing a business license. If you decide to go with this option, you will still need to purchase expensive software to process your credit card payments.

Your other option is to find a company online that will give you a merchant account, a store front and will process credit card payments for you. This is my way to go! And the best way for you if you are just starting doing business online and don't want to invest a lot of your hard-earned dollars. Here are the companies that many people are using (including myself) to accept payments online:

• http://www.instabill.com
• http://www.ibill.com
• http://www.verza.com
• http://www.clickbank.com
• http://www.propay.com
• http://www.clickbank.com
• http://www.ccnow.com

Whether you are selling multiple items (a shopping cart can be easily set up in this case), or one item or a service, the above list of companies is a good place to start.

Where to go from here

If you decided you want to start your own web site, you need a good guide to take you through this process. Coming to America with a music background and learning how to use computers was one of the scariest experience in my life. After all, I had to learn a skill that could guarantee me a good job in years to come. And to be completely honest with you, I wish a book like the one I wrote was available to me then, so I could actually see how things are done in real time.

My web site states: "If you can type, you can make a web page!" and that is absolutely true. Making a web site is very simple, but only if you are WILLING TO DO IT.

If you think that the first page I designed was extremely simple - YOU ARE RIGHT. IT WAS! But if you think that your business page should not be simple, and has to use some fancy technology and tricks - YOU ARE VERY WRONG!

The best selling pages are those that

• are very easy to use and navigate
• do not confuse their visitors by adding hi-tech tools that crash their computers
• offer useful and current information to come back to

So, unless you are trying to demonstrate to your visitors how good you are at designing web sites, you should focus on how informational and easy to use your site is. And Netscape Composer is doing just that for you. It helps you create a simple and straight forward web site. No confusion whatsoever. It is a simple web page editor that allows you to insert text and pictures as if you were creating any document.