websites

Create Your Own Website (4th Edition)
$24.99
Didn't like this book very much. It's clearly just a cover with a title to sell books. The last half of the book was completely useless to me. The seamonkey web designed software it comes with is very basic. You can download almost identical programs for free online. You can do without this book. It sucked.

Best Website: Simple Steps to Successful Websites
$14.99
This book is a "how to" make a business plan for a web business. It does provides some very good information, but I guess I was expecting something more. Perhaps more examples of the different types of web businesses and how to make each one sucessful, and more SEO tactics in the creation of the web site. I feel like it answered some questions and opened the door to a lot more new questions.

How to Use the Internet to Advertise, Promote and Market Your Business or Website with Little or No Money
$24.95
"How to use the Internet to Advertise, Promote, and Market your Business or Web Site with Little or No Money" by Bruce Brown was a pleasant surprise. Before reading this book I was a little worried that Bruce would be just like every other entrepreneur who thinks they know what they are talking about, but he is much more than. Bruce sets out easy steps to follow when first using the Internet for your business. Each chapter is broken down as follows:
* E-Commerce and Web Sites
* Starting Your Business
* The Importance of Internet Advertising
* Generating More Traffic to your Web Site
* Branding
* Automation of your Web Site
* E-Zines and Newsletters
* Using a Successful Auto-Responder
* Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
* Banner Advertising
* Business Directions
* B2B Web Communities and Portals
* Google, Yahoo!, Overture, and Froogle Advertising
* Affiliate Programs
* Promoting Your Business Offline
* Unlocking the Secrets of eBay
All of these chapters are important to follow when starting a business or web site for your current business or starting a new one. I followed this book while creating the web site for my family business and it is still a work in progress, but it is definitely coming together with the use of this book. Each chapter is broken down into steps to encourage the success of your website. Learning the ins and outs of how to use the Internet properly greatly improves visibility to current customers and increases ability to generate new customers. The in-depth explanations of banner ads, online auctions, search engine optimization and affiliate programs can and will take your business to the next level. Not only does it explain the secrets of Internet advertising it discusses online business concepts and how to apply them to your online business.
Throughout this book Bruce talks about potential customers very frequently. Being able to reach new customers is what will grow your business. Going into an Internet business blindly is basically setting you up for failure. Understanding all of the Internet lingo and what to focus on will dramatically help you out. Even if you currently have a Web site for your business, this book will help you connect the missing link within your concept or how you place your ads. Connecting this link can be the difference of a tremendous amount of revenue from potential customers out there on the Internet.
Simply having a Web site for your business is not enough these days. It seems like every business has a Web site with the new push towards Internet marketing. You have to be able to set yourself apart from every other Web site out there. You have to remember that your competitors also have Web sites and are taking customers away from you. You can steal those customers away from your competitors by having a well thought out marketing plan by using this book. Placing your ads across the Internet is not going to be the quick simple fix to increasing revenue. It is about placement of these ads and how often they appear. Making sure to connect your marketing strategy and your business objectives are very important to the success of your business. Bruce Brown tells you where to place your ads and what to put in them to attract customers. All customers are different and need to be attracted to your company in different ways. Having multiple techniques shown in Bruce's steps will help you reach these customers.
On the negative side of things, this book did have a few down sides. I did notice grammatical errors throughout the book. I was able to understand what was being said, but it was still very annoying for a published book with great reviews to have grammatical errors. Also, I felt like there was a lot of repitition on several things, which was a bit unnecessary. In addition, when discussing the use of keywords they simply suggest that you "guess at the words or word combinations for which your potential customers are searching when they look or services using a search engine on the Internet." I did not like this at all because there is a tool on Google called Wonder-wheel which helps you find the most popular words searched for your business type. Lastly, the book mentioned e-zines earlier in the book before actually discussing what they were until chapter 7. This was a bit confusing since I didn't have a full understanding of what an "e-zine" was until later in the book.
In conclusion, I felt that this book could unquestionably turn your business into a thriving moneymaker. At times it is very repetitive, but if you think about it Bruce may just be trying to drive home his main points by repeating them throughout the book. Simply being able to see the potential within your business is not enough. You need to take action into making it a reality. I believe that this book is the difference between seeing possibilities and making them come to fruition.

Build Your Own Website the Right Way Using HTML & CSS
$29.95
Written in plain english so even I could understand and use this technology. I didn't know I could create my own html, css, and code and use it effectively. I have more than one book on this subject, but this one is on top of the stack. Written for novices and veterans alike I suppose. I'm up and running now.