Reference library

The wits that dived most deep and soared most high,

Seeking man's powers, have found his weakness such;

Skill comes so slow and life so fast doth fly,

We learn so little and forget so much.

 

from Nosce Teipsum by Sir John Davies (1569 - 1626)

I've made some notes:

	Free Vacation Rental Website Template

Here is some basic documentaion for the Free Vacation Rental Website Template. Learn more

	Basic Web Site Principals and Questions

Building a website is a wild, bumpy, fun, and satisfying job that requires focus. So, I concentrate on some basic questions and an overriding principal. First the principal: The purpose of your site is to provide a service to vacation surfers and to your guests. It’s not about you, it’s about them. Learn more

	Attending Christine Karpinski / Rent One Online Seminar 2-26-05

It's free and better than before! Learn more

	Operation "Winter Renter": Eleven Tips For Attracting Off-Season Guests To Your Vacation Home by Rent-by-owner guru Christine Hrib Karpinski

Thanks to Christine Hrib Karpinski author of How to Rent Vacation Properties by Owner: The Complete Guide to Buy, Manage, Furnish, Rent, Maintain and Advertise Your Vacation Rental Investment for allowing me to publish this article. Learn more

	Your site is about Human-Human interaction and needs a "Social Interface"

My goal is to discuss the next level of software design issues, after you've got the user interface right: you must consider the social interface. Learn more

	Do a stand-alone web site yourself - cheap! (Or not)

You can do it yourself. If you already use a rental portal site like VRBO.com, you know how to do it. The out of pocket savings are significant. Of course, I'd prefer you hired me and I'm not sure I should be telling you this. But you'll find out anyway. It may be the right thing for you. Learn more

	Guide to rental web services

There is too much on the web and yet not enough. Use this page to narrow your surfing for online forums, calendars, advice, and services. Many are free but many are not. Learn more

	Attending Christine Karpinski's By-Owner Class

I attended Christine Karpinski's "The Essential of Owning and Renting Vacation Properties" class on August 28, 2004. She didn't require a written report but I wrote one anyway. Learn more

	Proximity, alignment, repitition, contrast, white space, color, advertising, Jakob's Law, and validation

Most visual web design principals were well established long before the Internet. Here are a few important ideas into a few paragraphs. Learn more

	Read this first (or second)

Your into E-Commerce now and believe it or not you are competing with Amazon.com, eBay, and Home Depot! Learn more

	Objections to having your own web site

You may be wary of having your own site. Let's go through some of your objections. Learn more

	Comparing the "Big 4" rental ad sites

They are competitively priced but you need to list in several of them. It runs into money. It also takes time. What if you change your rates? How many ads will you have to change. Do you remember all your passwords? This is a (work in progress). Learn more

	One property - 32 web ads!

How many Internet ads is enough? How many is too many? Can you keep track of them? Learn more

	Rental listing sites

Your own web site is not enough. You have to advertise your property on ad sites. But there are hundreds of them. I became exhausted just trying to list them. You can make it easier on yourself. Learn more

	Sites I've done

The best rental sites haven't been done yet. Let's make yours number one. Learn more

	The "truth" about web search engines

Want to be found in Google? So does everyone else. The tricks used to work but the search engines wised up long ago. Learn more

	Can search engines find your place?

Even the best stand-alone rental web site is lost on the web. But surfers can find you, if we do the right things. Learn more

	Actual rental sites

There are thousands of stand-along web sites for vacation rentals. Here some examples. Can a by-owner site look too professional? Learn more

	How to make your site unique and useful to your guests

Should a rental website look like a real estate site? Well, yes and no. A real estate ad sells major life investments. A vacation ad sells lifetime family memories. Two different things, I think. Learn more

	Better pictures of your property

Pictures are essential but I tire multiple pictures of standard bedroom furniture. You are selling family fun and relaxation, not bed linens. If fact, the best picture on your site might not be a photograph! Learn more

	Include a floor plan

Draw it on a napkin or hire a professional but do it. Learn more

	Who advertises vacation rentals in Atlanta and how your site both complements and competes with newpaper classifieds

You website will make your print advertisement much more effective. Most print ads don't have them but yours should. Here is a spot check of rental web sites in a newspaper's classifieds. Learn more

	Here is my hardware and software inventory, if you are interested in being a web publisher

Want to be a web publisher? You can be but you'll need some stuff. Here is a list of the hardware and software I use. Learn more

	The amenities checklist

I think I've found the most elegant and readable amenity checklist yet. I'd almost given up hope. The information is important but presenting it is hard. Learn more