No matter how simple your website you will probably have at least one or two colors in it. There’s no reason for it to be ugly even if there is proof that ugly still sells.

COLOURlovers is a website I found that produces lots of color palettes for you to choose from. It also has a lot of patterns for you to review as well.

So start here if you need some ideas or just something to get the creative juices flowing.

COLOURlovers™ is a resource that monitors and influences color
trends. COLOURlovers gives the people who use color - whether for
ad campaigns, product design, or in architectural specification -
a place to check out a world of color, compare color palettes, submit
news and comments, and read color related articles and interviews.

::ToddS
DW Kickstart - Learn to build and market your own website

If you have ever wanted to build your own widgets (web gadgets) for use in your website or blog, you might want to consider Sprout Builder.

If you are unfamiliar with what a “widget” is, just check out a few of their kewl demos for ideas.

They have built a free tool that allows you to create and publish your very own widget in as little as 5 minutes. It’s designed to be powerful enough for both beginners and advanced users as well.

Sprout Builder makes it simple for anyone to add their own live content into a personalized widget whether that be a blog, a web page, an RSS feed, or a video. They even have a calendar component.

::ToddS
DW Kickstart - Learn to build and market your own website

This is an article I wrote on important information you should know about your domain name. Not keeping track of this could cost you one of the most important pieces of your online business… your domain name.

Read this article

::ToddS
DW Kickstart - Learn to build and market your own website

Web 2.0 is all about interacting with your visitors.

As part of that I believe it’s important to allow people to post comments in your blog section. Of course there are some caveats. You should decide up front what you will and won’t allow on your website.

Here’s a list of my personal blog rules.

1. I don’t allow people to just randomly post on my blog. Everyone must have been approved at least one time previously. Yes, it’s a pain in the tucus, but it’s something I want to do for now. You can also use ‘moderators’ to help you with this.
2. I don’t allow people to put “adult” rated links, resources, or content on my blog. It’s not the impression I want to make with my website.
3. If someone is constantly rude or obnoxious I will ban them from my site. I won’t even necessarily warn them, especially if it’s their first comment. You can state your own opinion but you don’t get to be rude about it.
4. If their blog post has nothing to do with my site I will delete it. For example the same stuff you delete as spam.

Overall my rules are keep it clean, play nice, or go someplace else.

Yes, rules like this are going to require more work on your part. But it will be worth it when you attract the type of visitors that you enjoy sharing with, and that are also good for your website.

::ToddS
DW Kickstart - Learn to build and market your own website