Step 1: Learn the (Source) Code: ABC’s of HTML

Ask a web designer about Da Vinci and his code and you’re apt to get a blank look in response. But ask a web designer about source codes and you’ll fill your notebook.

Why not? Knowing your source code can mean the difference between a polished, professional web site and one that that your audience might think a kindergarten student slapped together.

Seven Keys to Understanding HTML Code

HTML is the Universal Web Language

Knowing HTML gives you much more control over how your web site looks

How HTML works

Knowing HTML Files

Knowing HTML Tags

Knowing HTML Tools

Other key Web languages

What is HTML?

While there a several languages you can use to design a web site, far and away the most prominent, productive and popular code is HyperText Markup Language, or HTML. The building block of web site design, HTML code is the primary language on the World Wide Web – virtually all web sites are created using HTML. It’s the quintessential web language code, giving all you need to create and manage the text, images, sounds, and links that will make up your company web site. HTML’s uniformity and user-friendliness is its calling card. Its code is so easy to use that you can apply it to your web site on any kind of computer and any kind of operating system. Changing or adding colors, managing text size and inserting photos and images pictures on your Web site are at the top of the list of advantages gained from learn basic HTML.

A note: don’t confuse HTML with Uniform Resource Locator, or URL. While the former is the universal language used to create web site code, the latter is the standard address that leads you to a particular document or location on the World Wide Web. While you don’t need any advanced web design certification to use HTML, knowing how it works and how it’s composed gives you the foundation you need to build a stellar web site.

The HTML Process – At a Glance

HTML = Hyper Text Markup Language

An HTML file is a text file that is comprised of small markup tags

HTML markup instruct the Web browser how to display the page

Each HTML file should include either an htm or html file extension

HTML files can be generated using a simple text editor

How Does HTML Work?

In a word, HTML applies pre-set series of tags to manage and format text format text, establish hyperlinks to separate web sites, and create and place graphic images.

These tags exist in HTML files, which reside on a web server that are either managed by an Internet server provider (ISP) or by your own company. The Web server is plugged into the World Wide Web. When a web user calls up your web page by typing in your web site address (your URL), that opens the HTML file residing on the Web server.

Consequently, after a Web user asks for your HTML page, the Web server transmits a single, unbroken thread of ASCII text throughout the Internet where it is sent to the  Internet to the user’s computer. In turn, the web user’s browser transfers the thread of text into the web page the user sees on his or her computer.

HTML offers myriad technology tools to manage the web design process. 

Primary among those are:

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) -- Enables web users to create unique language presentation formats  for your web site.

JavaScript – A scripting language that enables you to build more interactive elements to your web site.

Dynamic HTML (DHTML) – Gives your audience, the web user, more control over how the web page is viewed the page dynamically

Another technology toolset that enables you to add more applications and functionality to your web sites are called “plug-ins”. Rich with graphics, voice, and video images, plug-ins can enliven text-laden web sites and give readers more incentive to bookmark your web site 
once they visit it.

Examples of plug-ins include:

Adobe's Acrobat

Macromedia's Shockware and Flash

Apple's QuickTime and QuickTime VR

Real Audio's streaming audio

Understanding HTML Tags

While HTML is often referred to as a computer “language” in actual truth HTML is more a series of “tags” that frame key elements like words, terms, paragraphs, and graphics. Each HTML document includes a  head and a body

The process for generating an HTML file is simple and  straightforward. In designing your web site, begin with a starting  HTML tag <html>, and finish with an ending HTML tag, </html>. The text that lies between your starting and ending HTML tags is your 
actual web content, i.e. what your readers see when they bring up your web page.

Remember that HTML tags aren’t case sensitive, so you don’t have to worry about turning your “CAPS” button  on or off when inserting HTML code. You will, however, have to leave a single space between your tag and your text.

Essentially, your web tags direct the browser and provides instructions on what it should do when creating your web site. Tags number well into the hundreds so there is no real point in learning the definition of each one. Most web design packages insert tags automatically, exactly where they belong, without your having to tell the software to do. Just know that tags are important  -- you need them to create and change text, insert graphics and images, or link to another web page. In short, web tags are the traffic cops of the World Wide Web.

Understanding HTML Tools

When working with HTML, you really don’t need any special software or programs – plenty of web designers use MS Word, for example, to create HTML content.

Basically, the only real technology tool is a basic text editor that can save your web file as an ASCII text – an acronym for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. The most popular standard for encoding text documents on computers, ASCII documents are text  documents that are easily viewed and managed for content use both on basic computer word files and on Internet web pages.

Since HTML is platform independent, saving your HTML files in ASCII text format is the easiest and most effective method of doing just that.

Common text editor tools that work easily with ASCII files are Simpletext and Notepad. But even Microsoft Word or Word Perfect files can be easily saved as ASCII files and used to create web-based HTML files. In MS Word, for example, you are given the option when saving a file to save it as “Text” or “Text Only”. By saving your file in either format, you’re converting that file to ASCII text.

For More Information

If you have a yen to learn more about HTML code and web design, there is no shortage of web sites that cater to the topic.

Some of the best include:

EchoeEchoe.com

PageResource.com

WebSiteTips.com

In these blogs, I talk off and on about the importance of not having all of your investment eggs in one basket. Too many investors, unfortunately, put all of their money into last year’s highest performer and cross their fingers. That's a losing strategy, and if you don't believe me, ask an Enron investor.

What such investors really need is a tried and true technique for investing successfully—diversification. Doing so is one of the best ways to protect your investment portfolio from the pendulum swings of the economy and the markets. Simply defined, diversification has you divide your investments across different types of assets. Since a separate account portfolio may invest in different securities, a decline in the value of one security may be offset by the rise in the value of another.

While there have been hundreds of books written on the right way to diversify a portfolio, no one of them can possibly provide you with a perfect understanding of what it takes. What I can try to do here is educate you on the basics, including how diversification works and  why it’s important.

Some background first. Wall Street pundits say they divide the history of investing in the United States into two periods: before and after 1952. In that year, University of Chicago economic student Harry Markowitz published his doctoral thesis – a thesis that would make up the foundation for his breakthrough treatise on investing called Modern Portfolio Theory. Markowtiz’ paper caused such a stir and impacted so many investors that he won a Nobel Prize in economics in 1990.

What is modern portfolio theory? In Markowitz’ view, ground zero for investors is avoiding risk at all costs.  Markowitz defines risk as a "standard deviation" of expected returns.

Loosely translated, instead of considering risk on a single security level, Markowitz emphasizes measuring the risk of an entire portfolio. When considering a security for your portfolio, don't base your decision on the amount of risk that carries with it. Instead, consider how that security contributes to the overall risk of your portfolio.

Markowitz then considers how all the investments in a portfolio can be expected to move together in price under the same circumstances. This is called "correlation," and it measures how much you can expect different securities or asset classes to change in price relative to each other.

For instance, high fuel prices might be good for oil companies, but bad for airlines that need to buy the fuel. As a result, you might expect that the stocks of companies in these two industries would often move in opposite directions. These two industries have a negative (or low) correlation. You'll get better diversification in your portfolio if you own one airline and one oil company, rather than two oil companies.

When you put all this together, it's entirely possible to build a portfolio that has much higher average return than the level of risk it contains. So when you build a diversified portfolio and spread out your investments by asset class, you're really just managing risk and return.

Markowitz has a good point about risk, and its implicit partnership with diversification. After all, everybody’s heard the stories. How the guy at the gym or the lady at the hair salon made a fast killing on last year’s stock picks—or a friend tripled his “investment” one 
morning at the horse track. These are all well and good, but they’re stories about gambling, not investing—risky business that’s fine for entertainment if you can afford it, but not for financial planning. That’s because basing your financial decisions on guesswork not only 
prevents you from growing your money, but also increases your risk for losing it.

Which is one of the many reasons why I like diversification: it’s a technique that, combined with rebalancing, removes the guesswork and emotion from investing.

So you're a small business owner with a large appetite for life - but no time to live it?

Hey, I'm in the same category. But I recently ran into entrepreneurial expert Ty Freyvogel who warns all business owners that not only is your personal life suffering, your business may be at risk.

"No one can immerse himself in work nonstop, without a break, and  maintain a healthy sense of perspective," says Freyvogel, former entrepreneur, current angel investor, and founder of  makingsenseofyourbusiness.com. "Try it and you'll surely start to exhibit bad judgment in your business decisions. You'll start feeling the effects of constant stress. You may even eventually burn out, or worse, start experiencing health problems. At that point, your company will certainly feel the effects of your lack of balance. "Factor in the inevitable relationship problems you'll experience in your personal life, and you may end up unhappy and unfulfilled—at which point it won't matter if you have the most successful new company in the world," he adds.

The good news is, entrepreneurs can balance their "work" and "personal" calendars so that the pursuit of success doesn't overshadow other important aspects of life. It just takes a little strategy and forethought. And summer, when the natural tendency is to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather, is a great time to start.

Here's how:

Factor your family into your life. Hopefully, your family is  already one of the main reasons you work as hard as you do, but they still need your attention and affection and you need theirs in return. True, your business supports your livelihood, but without the things that really matter, your professional life will be empty and unfulfilling.

"The summer is the perfect time to make a new commitment to spending time with your family," says Freyvogel. "You don't necessarily have to work less. All you need to do is integrate your family into your world. Maybe you can coordinate this year's family vacation with one of your business trips, or while the kids are out of school, they could come to your business every now and then to interact and see how you run things. Let them see how much fun you are having. Even small children respond to a parent's genuine excitement about his or her work. As a bonus, you're teaching kids—by example—the importance of pursuing their passion in life."

Make a plan and stick to it. You know that business plan you've been following in order to build a profitable company? Well, now is a great time to create a plan for your personal life. Grab a calendar for the summer months and get to work! If you've got kids who will be playing on sports teams this summer, go ahead and decide now on the number of games you think you will be able to attend. Figure out which games on their schedules work the best with yours, then mark these dates on the calendar. Doing so ensures you'll give these family events the same weight you would a critical client meeting.

"Keep the calendar in front of you and when the dates are nearing, organize your schedule in a way that will allow you to meet the commitment you made to your child," says Freyvogel. "If you don't have kids, the calendar should still come into play. Mark some dates to take in a couple of sporting events and/or movies with friends or set aside at least one night each week that you can spend some one-on one time with your spouse. At the end of the summer, you'll be glad you did."

Don't overestimate how well your business is doing. If you have recently started a business and the money is flowing in faster than you ever imagined, spend with caution . . . whether the "currency" is time or money or both! Just because it seems like the money is there doesn't mean it will always be, so don't book an expensive or too lengthy vacation.

"I have seen it too many times," says Freyvogel. "A person reaches the million-dollar mark and suddenly becomes 'invincible.' This mistake can have a disastrous effect on a young business. You just can't run a fledgling company from a cruise ship. A start-up usually isn't mature enough to withstand the protracted absences of its founder, and cash flow may be too shaky to justify big, unnecessary purchases. So take the family on a weekend getaway to a local spot this summer or figure out some fun things to do in your hometown. You can enjoy time with them in a way that won't endanger your business."

If you do go on a vacation, make it a real one. What's the definition of a real vacation, you ask? A real vacation doesn't involve having a cell phone attached to your ear, a laptop that is constantly alerting you about new email, or a BlackBerry that can be carried every place you go so that you don't lose touch with the business for even a second. If you're going to do any of these things while you're on vacation, you might as well not even go, because you won't be able to really relax or give your family the attention they deserve.

"To avoid these activities, leave detailed instructions about what constitutes an emergency with whoever will be looking after the business while you are gone, and tell them to contact you only if such an emergency happens," says Freyvogel. "You'll be surprised at how much you will benefit from the time away. When you return from vacation, you'll be able to look at the business from a rejuvenated perspective."

Don't make every lunch a business lunch. Entrepreneurs tend to "do lunch," not have lunch. That's understandable. The mid-day meal is the perfect time to woo new clients, shore up relationships with existing ones, or just sit alone in a pub with a legal pad scribbling down new ideas. (And that's assuming you even take a lunch at all; many entrepreneurs wolf down a bag of chips at their desk.) But do this every day of the week and you'll start wondering if there is life outside the business sphere.

"Make at least one lunch a week this summer one that you spend with your family or friends," advises Freyvogel. "Take the kids to the park for a bag lunch or meet a friend at his or her favorite restaurant. Spending time with the kids, your spouse, or a friend will be a nice break from all of the mid-day business talk that fills your lunch break the rest of the week."

You don't have to have a family to take a little break this summer. If you've started a business but haven't yet started a family, you may think none of these rules apply to you. Well, you're wrong. Entrepreneurs are known for their inclination to work at breakneck speeds without ever coming up for air. The summer is a great time to take a break from the business even if it is just for one day to do something you enjoy, spend time with friends, or just sleep in.

"Even a little time away will help you gain a new perspective on where the business is in your plan and which goals you think it's time to tackle," adds Freyvogel. "Don't underestimate the power of a 'mental health day'!"

Finally, says Frevogel, don't assume it's okay to scrap your newfound sense of balance when the mercury begins to drop a few short months from now. These "summer suggestions" are actually meant to be followed all year long.

"Common sense is really the best barometer for balancing your life with your work, no matter what the season," says Freyvogel. "Always ask yourself with each decision you make, 'How will this affect my business?' and 'Can I personally live with this decision?' There is a healthy balance for you, and you can find it. In the end, wise business and life choices will make your profits higher, your blood pressure lower, your family closer, and everyone happier . . . and maybe even a bit more tan!"

On Wall Street, you often hear the big money guys talking about "bullet-proofing" their portfolios.

In other words, designing your investment portfolio in such a way that even if your portfolio takes a body blow, it's easily absorbed with minimal damage to your investment assets. No investment plan is immune to losses – the idea is to limit those losses so they don't destroy your financial future.

Make no mistake, protecting your portfolio should be job one for investors, if only for good peace of mind. Research indicates that a loss causes about twice as much pain as a gain causes pleasure. During periods of market volatility, investors experience the sense of loss more acutely. For anyone with short memories, the bear market of 2000-2002 is a vivid example of that.

One example of bulletproofing your portfolio comes in the form of "Hurricane-Resistant" investment portfolios.

Remember Katrina? We all do. It wreaked billions of dollars of damage along the U.S. Gulf Coast in August, 2005. But some saw opportunity in tragedy. Writes Adam Shell, in a USA Today piece shortly after
hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit, "ever since Hurricane Katrina crashed into the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, nimble traders and money managers have been reshaping their portfolios in an attempt to sidestep — and profit from — the potentially devastating one-two punch packed by Katrina and Rita."

In this case it's the notion that some industries and companies will profit handsomely from the damage inflicted by Mother Nature. Andrew Corn, CEO of Clear Asset Management told USA Today in the same story: "Like most tragedies, there is a silver, or in this case, a golden
lining."

This year the U.S. Weather Service is forecasting a big uptick in hurricane activity in the Western Atlantic, with the possibility of a whopping five "major" hurricanes reaching U.S. shores. Of course, I hope that doesn't happen. Lives will be lost, as will homes and livelihoods. But if it does, and you care to profit from it, there is a plan.

The key in building hurricane-proof portfolios is to pick the sectors - and the companies within those sectors – that are poised to profit from natural disasters. Obviously, construction and home repair providers - -think Lowes or Home Depot - -might be a natural for a disaster-proof stock portfolio. Energy and utility companies can fill a niche, too.

Even clothing retailers tend to do well in natural disasters. Companies like Abercrombie & Fitch and The Gap are often the first places shoppers go to replace - -what else? - - their clothing lost to a hurricane or other natural disaster.

While no actual hurricane mutual fund exists today, it's highly possible to cherry pick the companies you think will grow and prosper even as most others wither on the vine after a natural disaster like Katrina or Rita.

Remember, there's really no avoiding the ebbs and flows of stock market performance. Hits are inevitable and typically occur because of a bear market, a recession, inflation fears, or a currency problem. That's why the goal is to build-in protection for your capital, maybe even make a profit even when traditional portfolios are spiraling downward and still be able to beat or keep up with the markets when they are rallying.

That's why bulletproofing your portfolio is so critical – it protects you and your money and creates more opportunities to grow your investment portfolio.

Even after a hurricane.

Good businesses are always measuring progress - - sometimes in the unlikeliest instances.

Years ago, retail magnate Marshall Field was walking through the original store that bears his name in Chicago. In doing so, he overheard a clerk arguing with a customer.

He stopped and asked: "What are you doing?"

The clerk answered: "I'm settling a complaint."

Field shot back: "No, you're not. Give the lady what she wants."

Marshall Field, a notorious "floorwalker" at his landmark store, was way ahead of his time. He knew that giving customers "what they want" is the heart and soul of any commercial enterprise.

He also knew that the key to boosting both his company brand and his bottom line was by constantly measuring progress, not just as a customer service barometer, although that's obviously critical to any company's success. Like most successful business owners, he also measured the overall quality and effectiveness of the entire shopping experience.

That's what separates the contenders from the pretenders in business today – the ability to know exactly what makes customers enter your doors and come back again and again – knowing they can rely on receiving the same quality, service and product each time they do.

Fast forward to the first decade of the 21st century, where companies like Starbucks are taking a similar page out of the Marshall Field playbook.

No matter which store or city a Starbucks customer is in, each one knows exactly what to expect – not just in terms of service, but in terms of overall experience. Each store's product, design, atmosphere, décor and service is so predictable that it becomes intuitive; as a result, consumer behavior and response becomes accurately predictable – making it even easier to design promotions, incentives and products that will immediately boost sales.

Small businesses can learn a lot from such customer-centric themes. It's also profitable. For example, what's the difference between a store that offers customers an in-store charge card at  checkout every time and one that makes the same offer just 20% of the time? An annual
sales spike of $90,000 per store, according to one retailing industry study.

So clarifying employee expectations and creating reward and incentive schemes go hand in hand with increased sales. That's what measuring company progress can do for you. But it's "how" companies are deploying performance measurement programs that is changing the business landscape today.

Historically, gauging consumer "experiences" has been the primary responsibility of the customer service department.

But in reality, customer service departments have become little more complaint departments. Or even worse, a place to go for customers to go and replace unwanted merchandise. Let's face it, you can't use the current customer service department model as a way to gauge the health and vibrancy of your company's customer relationships – it's an outmoded model that is spread too thin in terms of responsibilities and is not advanced enough to handle all the measurements that need addressing across the company.

Enter the mystery shopper.

Sometimes stereotyped as a subjective and slightly campy approach to evaluating customer service (think trench coats, wigs and dark sunglasses) mystery shoppers actually embody the complete customer satisfaction program.

How so? By measuring both the tangibles and intangibles of a company's customer experience program. Mystery shopping is a the answer to the question "How can managers seek to understand their company – and its product, service, or idea – from the customer's perspective?"

Let's face it, the level and quality of service you deliver to your customers is critical to your company's success. In fact, it may just be the ultimate barometer of your success. Many company's don't realize it, but their customers' total experience with the business and its employees dictate whether the company will succeed or fail...whether you will be profitable or not. Simply having expectations about what sort of experience your customers will have is not enough...you have to measure, you have to inspect. In the form of good, solid, effective mystery shopping programs, objective, anonymous, third-party assessments of the customer experience will provide the information you need to ensure that your expectations for customer experience are carried out in reality.

I'll have a lot more to say about mystery shopping programs in the next few blogs. In the mean time, I'll leave you with the following keys to mystery shopping -- and whether it might help your business.

Three Reasons You Need a Mystery Shopping Program

• Most customers who have unsatisfactory experiences will not complain...they will just never come back.
• Shopping programs can identify areas of training that need improvement and can identify areas of training that are working particularly well
• If 20 customers are dissatisfied with your service, 19 won't tell you. Fourteen of the 20 will take their business elsewhere.