I would very much like to hear what exactly is wrong with the quoted information of leuce.com. What would you have suggested I should put in its place?
Rule 2: Choose a semantically significant address, naming your essential services
I disagree. There is no proof that a keyword loaded domain name will serve you better than a non-keyword loaded one. In fact, I would say that it is often better to have a name or a nickname as your domain name, because it is more memorable.
It is easier for a client to recall that "marinavar.com" did an excellent job last time than to remember that "german-translations.com" did such a good job last time. It is also easier to confuse german-translations.com with german-translators.com, germantranslators.com, germantranslations.com, german-translate.com, and don't forget all the .nets, .orgs, .bizes, .infos and other country-specific TLDs that further confuse the matter.
I believe that your domain name should be distinct, and that you should promote that identity in various ways (eg have a domain name that is similar to your username in places like Proz.com).
What should I avoid mentioning on my website? Your detailed hardware information: ... Nobody is interested on how many MHz and RAM your computer has, or your Hard Disk model and size, or your printer brand and specifications.
I have seen on translation jobs portals or on the contact pages of agencies that translators are requested to mention their hardware. Some clients want to know.
Trivial software: ... Why should a translator mention that he can translate .txt, Word or Excel documents? Mention all your DTP and CAT tools though.
If the translator only mentions that he can translate the OpenDocument formats, the client may think that he *cannot* translate Word and Excel documents because they are not mentioned. Your list above does not include PowerPoint, for example... should I then conclude that you regard PowerPoint as a non-common format?
No, I think it's best to give your client a complete description of your services.
Personal interest information: Unless you are a hobby translator wishing to make new friends on the net, avoid including your personal information...
I do believe having a personal section on your processional web site can be a good thing. It shows people who you are. However, I agree that it must be a separate section clearly separate from your professional pages. Having a page called "Personal" helps keep non-professional information where it belongs.
A final word about your article: very informative, very well approached!
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Yet I'd add one suggestion for those not so wary on how the e-world spins.
Of course you'll publicize an e-mail address on your site, otherwise how will distant prospects contact you?
My advice is don't publish your main e-mail address there! Hard-working robots will be eagerly scanning the web for it, to send you tons of spam there.
Most likely your web site hosting service will bundle a few, say, 5-10 e-mail accounts in your package. Hopefully you may have webmail access to it, i.e. you may see online all the messages one such address gets before downloading them.
So, set up one account, e.g. mail @ yoursite or contact @ yoursite, whatever. Check its inbox on webmail often, bulk-delete all spam, and forward the 'interesting' messages from there to your main e-mail address. When you reply from your main e-mail, the prospect will have that address for the ensuing communication.
Again, as recommended, don't use a free, untraceable e-mail domain there. Though many respectable professionals nowadays use Gmail as their main e-mail server, this first contact e-mail address using your web URL gives it more credibility.
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Ambrose Li Canada Local time: 01:14 Member (2011) Chinese to English + ...
An IT specialist mentioning knowledge of Windows
Jan 23
Actually, it is quite conceivable that an IT specialist will mention “a good knowledge of Windows”. The thing is this will mean something else than what you might expect, and people who read it will interpret it differently than what you might think.
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