You want to run an article directory and can’t decide which script to use. In this article I compare 2 of the more popular article directory scripts and try to decide which I prefer and will tell you why.

Setting A Directory Up

Article Dashboard: I launched my first directory using the free Article Dashboard script on July 3rd 2007. It took about 3 weeks and many visits to the Article Dashboard forum asking for advice to get it up and running.

Article Friendly: I set my paid for Article Friendly script directory up on November 3rd 2008. It took 1 hour to get it up and running with no help.

Why the difference? First time round I was new to php and absolutely hopeless with understanding scripts and learned more over time. Even so I believe that the AF script is easier to install.

Although the really useful AD forum has been down for a while there are still several forums run by directory owners where you can get help. AF has it’s own forum where you can get help with your article directory and also advice about other scripts including AD.

Design

My fear of messing with php scripts has stopped me from doing major redesigns but there are a couple of sites offering very good free tutorials for AD directories and the AF forum offers lots of advice. There are also some great designers out there who own directories and offer design services especially for article directories. Good because they understand the functionality better than a general designer.

I personally have found it a little easier to redesign around the AD script, but as I’ve been using it longer I have more basic understanding of it.

Running Your Directory

Authors submit articles, you check them and either approve or decline them it’s simple - or is it? With both scripts you can set articles to auto approve. The function is inbuilt in the AF script alongside mass keyword approval - or disapproval but with the AD script you need to mess with the coding or get an add on. Personally I would never auto approve articles, there are too many people out there who want to submit adverts, plagiarised articles and basic crap rather than the quality articles that any website owner would want on their site.

There are quite a lot of add ons available for the Article Dashboard script, some free and some paid for and some of which I use. A duplicate title checker is a must and that I got free. Whenever somebody submits an article with the same title it is flagged. Sometimes it’s the same article, sometimes it’s just an author being unlucky and I can let them know that they need to change their title. Article friendly has a duplicate checker built in.

Article Friendly also has an automatic decline function if an article’s word count is lower than the amount that you choose to set up in the dashboard. I got a short article deleter free for AD and with that I can set the minimum wordage of articles that I want on the site, but as I could never get it to work it’s a mute point. I’m sure that there are more such scripts available if I really wanted one.

Blocking Undesirables!

Another feature that AF has that I like is being able to block unwanted authors with one click. It’s not something I like doing but if somebody constantly submits plagiarised articles, adverts etc. banning them saves my time and theirs.

You can also block email addresses with the AF script. I chose to block free email addresses as most of the problem submitters come from free email addresses. I have no problem with free email addresses personally, blimey I use them myself, but as that particular directory is in the travel niche and most genuine travel writers use their website email addresses the block saves me time.

Another good feature on AF is being able to delete authors with no articles with one click. Some of those authors may genuinely set accounts up intending to submit articles but never get around to it, but I suspect otherwise with some new authors who join up and fill in their profile with a link to anything but a travel site.

Those features are only available on AF, but as I said earlier in this article there are all sorts of add on scripts available for AD and more turn up occasionally.

Keeping Things Clean

With AF there is a bad word block area in the dashboard where you can input words that you don’t want appearing on your site. If an author uses any of those words the article is automatically declined.

I did buy an AD add on that scans resource boxes for words that you input into the script and you can delete offending articles in one go. That has proved invaluable as a time saver against masses of plagiarised articles.

More Article Friendly Goodies

AFs dashboard also lets you clean up, repair or optimise your database with one click, very handy for those of us who haven’t got a clue how to do it themselves. You can also keyword optimise all of the categories very easily, add extra admin access, find articles or authors and mass move articles from one category to another. You can also link up to 4 different mass submission companies from your dashboard if you want to.

Article Dashboard Goodies

I seem to be favouring AF over AD scripts, but the main reason that I haven’t converted my AD directory over to the AF script is that when I am checking articles I can also click on and check the authors links before approval. You would be surprised just how many authors submit articles with broken links, or links pointing to unacceptable sites. With Article Friendly I have to paste links in my browser to check them, or scrutinise the html and that takes time.

Another thing that I like better about the Article Dashboard script is that authors can use html within the article body whereas the Article Friendly script automatically rejects articles using html. Personally I prefer to use html where I can as long as it follows the directories guidelines. Html helps to make an article stand out and become more readable. However you can add html to articles in the admin area of Article Friendly.

In Conclusion

There are more features that I haven’t mentioned but I’m sure that you get the picture. Although the Article Friendly script is easier to install and use I still slightly favour the Article Dashboard script because of the last 2 features mentioned, but as there are regular updates to the AF script that could change.

Which article directory script is best is really up to personal choice and you can see working examples of both scripts at my general subject Article Directory BB Articles and the top travel article directory Articles AbroadArticle Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/internet-articles/a-comparison-between-2-popular-article-directory-scripts-842754.html

Is it really possible for you to run your own website? After all, the most you can do with a computer is send email. It may surprise you to find out that the answer to that question is “Yes”.

It used to be that you needed a full-time computer geek to maintain your site and do all the work for you. Now, running your own site is almost as easy as sending an email. If you can send and receive email, you can do most of what it takes to run a website.

It used to take a lot of behind the scenes work to get things done. Now, once the basic site is set up, you just need to know how to update the content on the pages. For most people, it’s not that hard to learn. The big thing is to get the site put in place initially. You can let your hosting company do that, and then you’re off and rolling.

Have you ever purchased something over the web? Have you ever filled out a form on a site with your name and address? Then you click the Submit button to send the information to the site? That’s exactly the kind of thing you’d be doing to add information to your site.

You basically fill out a form with information you want on a page. You usually have to give the page a name, and tell where you want the page to show up on your site. Then you fill in the information you want to show up on the page. Click the Submit button and you’re done.

Hard to believe how far it’s come. All this isn’t to say you won’t need some help now and again. You do want to make sure that you put your site with a host that offers to help you when you need it. In fact, there are now hosts that offer instructions and tutorials to help you along the way.

Now you might be thinking that all this sounds good, but what about ithe design and layout of the site. If you’re not a graphics designer, no problem. Most of the sites allow you to use what’s called a template. You can purchase a template or have a designer make one for you. There are free templates out there too.

The template has all the pictures and colors for the site. The program that runs your site knows how to use the template and add your information to it so it looks the way you want. The information you add just gets inserted into the template when someone goes to a page on yours site. Just like the main site, once the template is in place, you don’t have to do anything else with it.

If running your own site is something you’ve wished you could do but have been afraid to try, stop worrying and give it a shot. For as easy as things have become, most anyone can do it.

Shawn Vincent is the author of Do It Yourself Ecommerce, a site devoted to helping you learn how to run a website. Check out the site today.Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/internet-articles/running-your-own-website-842839.html

Some people just want to start an online business and make money as easy as possible. If this sounds like you then read this article because I will give you a few quick and easy ways for starting an online business.

1. Become an affiliate marketer and get paid to sell other people’s products. It doesn’t get any easier than this because everything is provided for you. The affiliate merchant will give you your own website you can send traffic to. This website is coded with your affiliate ID number so you’re credited for any sales that are made. The merchant will also give you marketing materials to promote your website with. Good affiliate programs give you for example banners, text ads, auto responder messages, promotional articles, and much more different tools to market their products.

The most difficult part is to generate enough targeted traffic to your online business website. The easy part is everything is given to you and many of them also offer training on how to do this.

2. Sell private label right products that are already created and make money doing it. Because private label right products are easy to customize many online business entrepreneurs concentrate mainly to this opportunity. One good thing in private label right products is also that you can keep all the money you get selling these products. Unlike affiliate marketing where you share in a commission rate with the merchant, selling private label rights allows you to sell the product to whatever price you want and keep all of the profits as your own.

The trick to making money with this online business opportunity is to make the products unique and different from other people who are promoting them as is. The changes do not have to be large. Even in small differences compared to original may have a huge impact to your future income online.

3. The last idea to start an online business fast and easy is getting into the network marketing business model. Network marketing is a good online business opportunity to be in especially for them who like being involved with people, because the money you make in this business model comes by recruiting and training distributors. Everything you need to be successful is provided for you by the network marketing company represent. The key to making money in this industry is generating new fresh leads in converting those prospects into the online distributors.

In summary, these are three quick and easy ways to starting an online business that might appeal to you. Anyone can make money utilizing one of these three methods I have just written about.

Pasi Kaarakainen is an affiliate marketer and online business owner. Visit his website to find great ideas and opportunities for starting an online business of your own.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/internet-articles/how-to-start-an-online-business-easy-way-843514.html