The Truth Behind Stock Market Trading

If you happen to watch a business show or business news on TV, you'd probably hear words or phrases like "stock market," 'trading," "stocks" or "stock market trading." What are these things and what is their significance? To answer your questions, here's an overview on what stock market trading is.

Definition

In simple terms, stock market trading is the voluntary buying and selling or exchange of company stocks and their derivatives. Stocks refer to the capital raised by a corporation by means of issuing and sharing shares. These are traded in a stock market just as commodities like coffee, sugar, wheat and rice are traded in a commodity market. The physical or virtual (as trading may take place online) marketplace for trading shares on the other hand is called stock exchange.

Trading Process

Stock market trading takes place as one sells his stocks and as the other buys them. Usually buyers and sellers of stocks meet in stock exchanges and there they agree on the price of the stocks. The actual stock market trading happens on a trading floor--the one usually shown on TV when news on stock market trading are reported. Here investors raise their arms, throwing signals to each other. That auction-like picture of a stock market trading is the traditional way stocks are traded. It's called "open outcry" since the traders cry out their bids.

Key Players in Stock Market Trading

Stock market trading participants vary from persons selling small individual stock investments to institutions trading collective investments, hedge funds, pension funds, mutual funds, etc. Big investors can be banks, insurance companies and other huge companies.

Importance of Stock Market Trading

Stock market trading is required to foster economic growth. It does this by helping companies raise capital or by helping them handle their financial problems. Stock market trading helps ensure that the capital is saved and is invested in most profitable business. Moreover, stock market facilitates the transfer of payments between traders.

Online Stock Market Trading

With the emergence and popularity of the Internet, almost everything can now be done conveniently online. You can go shopping online, join conferences online, read news online and communicate with business partners wherever you are. Even stock market trading can now be done virtually and this has made entering into a business much easier for anyone interested. Aside from conducting stock market trading over the Internet, you can also conveniently check status of your investments online.

The benefits of online stock market trading are just endless. Aside from the above mentioned, choosing where to invest is also much easier online. You can find virtually all kinds of stocks over the Internet; however, it would be best to invest in stocks with moving prices to ensure profitability in the long run.

Disadvantages of Stock Market Trading

One of the greatest drawbacks of stock market trading, whether online or not, is its lower leverage compared to other forms of trading like Forex trading. Also, you cannot easily short sell stocks as it takes time for stock prices to go up. This means that increasing your profit may also take time.

Dave Poon is an accomplished writer who specializes in the latest in business and finances. For more information regarding Stock Market Trading, please drop by at http://business.answerwisely.com

Learn the Truth about Your Web Design Company by Its Portfolio

When you start building your online business and search for a web design company that will implement all your needs for the web site you must understand that it is a very serious step because you are entrusting your business along with its reputation and future.

That's why it's very important to make the right choice.

There are several factors that must define your choice, and one of them is portfolio of previous web design works the company has done. It can tell you more than all words and promises, just be attentive and try to analyze. I will tell you what you must pay attention to:

1) Presence of portfolio

Yes, it seems to be obvious that web design company must have own web site with portfolio of previous works. But don't be astonished too much when you see one without it. There can be various reasons for this but I wouldn't recommend you to tempt fate. Portfolio is like a "face" and it's pride of web design company, it must be full, substantial, and routinely updated...and IT MUST BE!

2) Total number of works

This can tell you much however there is no standard number that will guarantee you are going to deal with web design guru. Yes, 50 successfully finished projects is better than 5, but their quality is also important. Compare the number with period of time during which the company operates in the market and calculate average number of projects per year, month, or week. Remember that average web site design takes 2-4 weeks to be finished.

What this information can give you? Firstly, you can see that the company has got enough expertise. Then this shows that it has stable flow of works, adjusted schedule of development process, and enough staff to perform it, so if you commit your web site design to the company you can be sure that the work won't be for them like a bolt from the blue or well-paid but not feasible overloading.

3) Type of works

Look attentively at each work in the portfolio. How many projects are similar to the one you need by type of site, technology used, industry, and look and feel?

At least 2-3? Good!

More than 5? Excellent!!

None? There can be a reason for this - owner didn't want to make it published, or web site is no more live - so if all other works show professionalism and expertise, you should ask the

company if they have ever done the task you need.

If you need any particular technology to be used for your web site implementation it's more than necessary to see examples how the web design company worked with it. However sometimes it happens if the technology is not common used and very popular that the web design company hasn't had chance to work with it for commercial purpose but it might be used for internal projects development, so you will loose nothing if ask the company to show you some examples if they exist.

If you need a web site for exact business, for example dating site or real estate site, it's also better to view such previous works in the portfolio because there are can be specific features and it's better to make sure that the web design company is experienced with them. Also some web design companies make demo packages that also can show you the abilities and experience.

4) Quality of works

Learn carefully each live site (or the ones which are similar to the site you need). How long does it take to load the site home page?

A few seconds? Great, the web designer knows how to optimize images.

A few minutes? It's normal if this is a Flash site because usually the whole site is loaded at one time, not only the home page; or it's a Flash intro which goes ahead entering the site

and also can load longer because of movie and sound.

But if a simple HTML web site loads more than 2-3 minutes and you can't see all images or they are shown partially, you must be watchful. Check another HTML sites from the portfolio - if they are also loading for ages, it's better to search for another web design company because this one is not professional.

All of the aforesaid is correct only if bandwidth of your Internet connection is normal and usually you don't have problems with loading web sites.

Test the site for user-friendly navigation, pay attention to colors combination, and estimate general impression from the site - all this must reflect professional work. But sometimes a web design company is forced to design a site strictly according to the customer's wishes, so if the customer lacks for good taste the site also looks tasteless. There can one or two such sites in the portfolio, but not all!

5) Happy owners

Web design business is a highly competitive area and as in any business there are honest and dishonest players. Sometimes it happens that you see the same site in portfolio of two different web design companies and it's difficult to find the truth to which of them the work really belongs. Some quirky companies place cheap templates in their portfolio with fake owners' contact info.

That's why it's very important to know real references of real owners of the web sites the web design company has made. Ideally this info must be accessible on the web design company site under Portfolio, Testimonials, or Clients sections. Try to contact ALL of the persons listed there and compare their opinions. You may get to know some interesting facts.

6) Own site of web design company

And finally compare the own site of the web design company to web sites presented in its portfolio. Are they similar by quality, technology used, and overall feeling? If the works from the portfolio look much poorer than the own site this can mean that the own site was ordered from another web design company, more professional. Yes, it happens sometimes in web design business that start-up amateur company commits its web site design to "older" professionals. In such case you better to continue searching for another web design company.

So these 6 rules can help you to make the right choice. Don't be afraid to spend longer time for search and analysis, finally you will only benefit by getting perfect web site that will give new prospects to your business and make it more successful.

Julia Ramyalg
Marketing Director of IT-Inventors - professional web design company

Services: Affordable custom web site design, E-commerce web site design, Content Management Software, Real estate web site design.

View Portfolio and References