Tips for Navigating the Net Quickly

Surf's Up: Tips for Navigating the Net Quickly

by Kelly Cullison

Did I say "quickly?" Well, what I meant was "efficiently." If anyone has found a way to navigate the 'net quickly, please share it! Until then, here are some useful tips to help you get what you need without too much aggravation. For illustrative purposes, I've used Internet Explorer commands here. A lot of the IE features have corresponding commands, though, in Netscape, AOL and other popular browsers so you should be able to execute many of the suggestions listed here.

Getting Connected

If you spend a lot of time on the internet, consider upgrading your modem to a digital subscriber line (DSL) or cable connection.

Forego "free" internet service in favor of reliable service. If I had a nickel for all the times my "connection has been terminated..."

Set your browser's default home page to a blank page - this will save you download time when you first log on. Or, if there is a page you always visit, make that your default page. This will save you a surfing step.

Searching

Skip the search and guess at what may be an obvious URL. *gasp!* You can do that?! Yes. For example, if you are looking for the web site for JC Penney, you might reasonably assume it would be something like "www.jcpenney.com." Many webmasters anticipate users' misspellings, typos and presumptions, and automatically redirect you to the correct site. Typing www.jcpenney.com will bring you to the correct address (www1.jcpenney.com/jcp/default.asp). Note: in IE, you do not have to type the "http://" prefix before each address.

Use the right search tool. There is a difference between search engines and directories, although that difference gets murkier every day. Basically, a search engine finds Web sites containing one or more particular words or phrases. Search engines are good when you're looking for specific information, and specialized engines are even better (e.g., www.aqueous.com specializes in water-related links). A directory, however, groups web pages by categories and subcategories and is best for general searches. See the August 2000 issue of Short Cuts for more information www.atlasvs.com/newsletters/aug2000.htm

Surfing

Have a purpose! Unless you have a couple hours to kill and don't mind surfing aimlessly, make sure you know why you are logging on. Write down your goals (i.e., "research inkjet printer features") and stick to them. If you come across an interesting link that has nothing to do with your goals, save it to your hard drive for later reading, or bookmark it to visit later. In Internet Explorer, simply right-click the link and select "save target as" or "add to favorites."

Do you really NEED graphics, sound, and animation options? If not, turn them off. You will save time as you browse from site to site. In IE, go to Tools, Internet Options, Advanced, Multimedia.

Adjust your cache settings if you have space to spare on your hard disk. Whenever you download a Web page, your browser saves a copy of it in the cache folder on your hard disk. You can increase the amount of space allocated to your cache. This will enable you to surf the files on your hard drive rather than downloading the files each time you visit them. (Fewer downloads = less time) In IE, go to Tools, Internet Options, General, Temporary Internet Files Settings. Move the scale slider to the right to increase the amount of hard disk space used for your cache. (This principle works in reverse if you feel your cache is taking up too much space on your hard disk.)

Keep your bookmarks / favorites organized. File them in folders much like you would hard copy documents. Purge items you don't use frequently.

If you want to keep the current site open, open links in a new window. In IE, right-click the link and select "open in new window." This will preserve the original window and enable you to toggle back and forth if you need to. Opening to a new window also works great if you are downloading something in window #1 and want to continue working in window #2. (Do Alt-Tab to toggle between windows.)

Learn your browser's keyboard shortcuts for commands you use frequently.

This will keep you from switching back and forth between the keyboard and mouse. Some useful IE shortcuts:

Shortcut / Will Do This...

F1 / Display the IE Help, or when in a dialog box, display context help on an item

ALT+HOME / Go to your Home Page

HOME / Move to the beginning of a document

END / Move to the end of a document

F5 OR CTRL+R / Refresh the current page

ESC / Stop downloading a page

CTRL+O / Go to a new location

CTRL+N / Open a new window

CTRL+P / Print the current page or active frame

CTRL+E / Open Search in Explorer bar

CTRL+I / Open Favorites in Explorer bar

CTRL+H / Open History in Explorer bar F4 / Display the address bar history

CTRL+ENTER / Add "www." and ".com" to the end of the text typed in the address bar

CTRL+D / Add the current page to your favorites

CTRL+X / Remove the selected items and copy them to the clipboard

CTRL+C / Copy the selected items to the clipboard

CTRL+V / Insert the contents of the clipboard at the selected location

CTRL+A / Select all items on the current web page

Downloading

Check the file size prior to downloading. Be sure you need the file.

Download during off-peak times to avoid high traffic periods.

That wasn't too painful, was it? Keep these tips in mind for more efficient surfing. Who knows, maybe you won't have to go to that Surfaholics Anonymous meeting after all.

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Kelly Cullison is a Birmingham, AL-based virtual assistant and the founder of Atlas Virtual Services.

Atlas provides a wide range of administrative support for small businesses so entrepreneurs can focus on the core functions of running their businesses. Visit Atlas at http://www.atlasvs.com, or email kelly@atlasvs.com

This article provided by the Marketing-Seek Archives at: http://www.Marketing-Seek.com