Latest Articles by SamGeorge

Lowest common denominator coding

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Although it may seem difficult to create pages that always SEO web design displays properly, it is not impossible. One way to approach provides the greatest acceptance across denominator approach. This approach provides the greatest acceptance across browsers because the authors choose to code their HTML using the next-to-last release of HTML. For example, when the browsers supporting HTML 4.0 were released, many continued coding to the HTML 3.2 standard, knowing that their HTML would render more consistently because the browsers understood all of the 3.2 specifications. This safer method of coding is widely supported among sites that are interested in the greatest accessibility. Maintaining coding specifications of a previous release of HTML does not mean that your site has to be visually uninteresting, although you may have to sacrifice using the latest enhancements.

Cutting-edge coding
Another strategy to adopt when designing your web site is stay at the cutting edge. Some designers insist that their users keep up with them by requiring the latest browser. This design strategy can result visually exciting and interactive sites that keep pace with the latest technology. Often the user must not only have the latest browser version, but plug-in enhancements that render certain media types such as Macromedia Flash animations.
Plug-ins are helper applications that assist a browser in rendering a special effect. Without the plug-in, your uses will not see the results of your work. Often when a new browser is released, this plug-ins are included for the most widely adopted enhancements. The risk these cutting-edge sites take is that many not be able to see the content as it was designed. Sites that use the latest enhancements also may require significant download times for the special effects to load on the user’s computer. Sites that adopt the latest technologies must make sure that their user is up to the browser challenge. Otherwise, their information may go unread.

SOLVING THE BROWSER DILEMMA
You must test your work in is many browsers as possible during and at the end of the development process to make sure that your pages will render properly. Knowing your audience helps you take a major step toward the correct implementation of your site you may be building a site that discusses the latest in technology trends. It is a good bet that your users are computer savvy, so you can code for the latest browsers. Many general web users access the web via America Online London web design, Inc. [AOL], so test your work using their browser as well. In an academic environment you may encounter readers that use Lynx, a text-only browser. For this type of audience, avoid using too many graphics, and make sure that all of the graphics

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George Webrepro specialist in London website design, web development, branding, E-marketing, E-commerce, and multimedia, web applications. and SEO London Webrepro operates in Blooms bury, London, Cape Town South Africa and Melbourne Australia.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com

HTML and the word wide web consortium

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0600

HTML has progressed significantly since it was first formalized in 1992.After the initial surge of interest in HTML and the SEO London web design, a need arose for a standards organization to set recommended practices to guarantee the open nature of the web. The word wide web Consortium [W3C] was funded in 1994 at the

Massachusetts Institute of technology to meet this need. The W3C, led by Tim Berners,sets standards for HTML and proprietary forum for industry and academic representatives to add to the evolution of this new medium. The unenviable goal of the W3C is stay ahead of the development curve in a fast-moving industry. Since item founding, the W3Chas set standards for a markup language that is being changed by the evolution of browsers from competing companies, each trying to claim its share of web users.

Browser Chaos
As different browsers tried to attach market share, a set of proprietary HTML elements evolved that centered around the use of each particular browser. Some examples of these elements are and , which were developed specifically for the Netscape browser. eventually became part of the HTML 3.2 specification, but it has been designated as a deprecated element in HTML 4.0. Deprecated elements are those that the W3C has identified as obsolete and will not be included in future releases of HTML. It is likely, however, that these elements and others like them will be supported browsers for some time. The browser developers would be doing users a disservice [and possibly time. The browser developers world be doing users a disservice [and possibly losing customer share] if they removed support for these elements.

Adding to this confusing compatibility issue are the elements that are strictly proprietary, such as [Internet Explorer Only], which creates scrolling text, and [Netscape Navigator only], which makes text blink on and off. These elements work only within the browser for which they were London web designed and are ignored by other browsers. Using proprietary elements like these defeats the open, portable nature of the web. They are not included in the sure that your audience is using only the browser, for which they were designed,

An alternative browser is opera from www.operasoftware.com Developed in Norway; opera is very popular in Europe. Opera is a fast, lean browser that does not include unnecessary add-ons- a refreshing alternative to the hard drive space demands of nets cape and Internet explorer. If you are developing a site that will have international exposure [it is the Word Wide web, after all], consider adding opera to your set of test browsers.

Separating Style from Structure
Style elements such as were introduced by browser developers to help HTML authors bypass the design limitations of HTML. Designers and writers who are accustomed to working with today’s full-featured word processing programs want the same ability to manipulate and position objects precisely on a web page as they have on

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George Webrepro specialist in London website design, web development, branding, E-marketing, E-commerce, and multimedia, web applications. and SEO London Webrepro operates in Blooms bury, London, Cape Town South Africa and Melbourne Australia.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com

Greating usable navigation

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0600

The PC webopaedia defines hypertext as a system ‘’ in which objects[text, pictures, music, programs, and so on] can be creatively linked to each other…you can move from one object to another even though they might have different form.’’ The idea of hypertext was envisioned in the 1960 by Ted Nelson, who described it as non sequential writing in his book, Literary Machines. Nelson’s basic idea of connecting content through the use of hypertext linking influenced the creators of the web. With hypertext- linked content, users can traverse information in any order or method they choose, creating their own unique view.

Hypertext is rich environment, in which to write and structure SEO London information. In traditional paper- based media in which to write and structure information. In traditional paper- based media, users navigate by turning pages or referring to a table of contents or index separate from the information they are reading. In a hypertext document, users can connect instantly to related information. Hypertext form of traditional navigation devices, such as tables of contents and cross-references, can be consistently displayed alongside related content. The user can explore at will, jumping from one point of interest to another. Of course, this capability is dependent on the hypertext author adding enough links to facilitate navigation

In HTML, hyperlinks are easy to create and add no download overhead when they are text- based, yet many sites fail to provide even the most basi navigation options to the user. When you are planning yours site navigation, do not skimp on navigation cues, options, and contextual links. You can add graphics easily to create attractive navigation elements, as most web sites do. Remember that every graphic you add to your web site increases the download time for the user. Keep your navigation graphics simple, and reuse the same graphics throughout your web site once the navigation graphics are loaded in the user’s cache, the server does not have to download them again. Use an alternate set of text links in the event that the user cannot or will not view your graphics. You will learn more about this later in this chapter.

E-commerce, catalog and online shopping- the London web design has become a viable shopping medium that will continue to expand as more users improve their Internet access and learn to trust the security of online commerce. Web commerce already has begun to make inroads on traditional retailing, and it offers many advantages over mail- order shopping, such as letting the customer know immediately if an item is in stock. Other types of commerce on the web include stock trading, airline ticketing, and auctions. Many software vendors offer turnkey systems that can integrate with existing databases to speed the development of a commerce site. A good e- commerce site provides users with quick access to the item they want, detailed product des creations, and easy, secure ordering.

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George Webrepro specialist in London website design, web development, branding, E-marketing, E-commerce, and multimedia, web applications. and SEO London Webrepro operates in Blooms bury, London, Cape Town South Africa and Melbourne Australia.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com

Build a web site development team

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0600

Although one person can maintain small web sites, larger sites larger. Sites retire a group
Of personnel filling a variety of roles. The line can be blurred between the roles, and of course, many aspects of site design require more than one head to solve a problem. The following roles are examples of the types of talent necessary to build a larger, well- conceived site.

Server administrators – get to know and appreciate the technical people that run your web server. They take care of the sticky technical issues like Firewalls, modem parts, internal security, file administration, and back-up Procedures. Consult with them to determine your web site’s default file Name and directory structure. They also can generate reports that will tell you how many visitors your site is attracting, where the visitors are coming Form, and what pages they like best.

HTML coders- These are the people responsible for creating the HTML code and troubleshooting the site. Most HTML coders now are using HTML editors to create code, but any self- respecting HTML coder knows How to open the HTML file in a text editor and code by hand. The coders also are responsible for testing and evaluating the site across different Operating systems and web browsers.

Designers- design errs are that graphic artists responsible for the look of the site. They will use design software. Such as adobe photo shop, the Industry standard graphic design program. Designers contribute to the page template design, London web design, navigation icons, color scheme, and logos. If your site uses photographic content, the designers will be called upon to prepare the photos for online display.

Writers and information designers- writers prepare content for online display, which includes designing hypertext information and navigation paths? Additionally, writer should be responsible for creating a site style guide and Typographic convention. The writers are responsible for consistency, Grammar, spelling, and tone. They also work closely with the designers to develop the page template SEO London.

Software Programmers- programmers write the programs you need to build interaction into your site. They may write a variety of applications. Including common Gateway Interface [CGI] scripts, Java scripts, and back- end applications that interact with a database. Commerce sites will especially need the talents of a programming staff.

Database administrators-the people who are responsible for maintaining the database administrators- the people who are responsible for maintaining the databases play an important role in commercial web sites they make sure that your data is accessible and safe Marketing –The marketing department can generate content and provide Exposure for the site

Filenames and urls

Before you set your hands on the keyword and mouse, plan your file fornamingconvention for your site, talk to your system administrator and fine what type of operating system your web server uses.

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George Webrepro specialist in London website design, web development, branding, E-marketing, E-commerce, and multimedia, web applications. and SEO London Webrepro operates in Blooms bury, London, Cape Town South Africa and Melbourne Australia.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com

Adding Contextual Linking

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0600

Many web sites fail to one of the most powerful hypertext capabilities-the contextual link. Contextextual links allow users to jump to related ideas or cross references by clicking the word or item that interests them. These are links that you can embed directly in the flow of your content by choosing the key terms and concepts that you anticipate your users will want to follow. Figure 4-17 shows a page from the World Wide Web consortium HTML specification that contains contextual linking.

Note the links within the lines of text, which let the user view related information in context. For example, as users read the fist bulleted item,’’ May leave white space intact,’’ can click the white space links to see a definition of that term. Including the link within a line of text is more effective than including a list of keywords because users can see related information within the context of the sentence they are reading. Users also can see that repeated words are linked no matter how many times they appear within the browser window, offering users the opportunity to access additional information at any time and SEO London. You can choose from a variety of navigation options to links a collection of pages together. The sample web page in this section demonstrated the following text- based linking actions;

To main pages [home, table of contents, index]
To the top of each chapter
Within the Table of contents page to chapter descriptions
From the table of contents page to specific topics within each chapter descriptions
Between previous and next chapters
To related information by using contextual links

Use as many of these options as necessary, but remember to view your content form the from user’s perspective. Anticipate and use enough navigation options to allow easy, but not confusing, access to your content.

USING GRAPHICS- BASED NAVIGATION

Similar to most web site designers, you probably want to use graphics for some of your navigating cues. The ability to use graphics is one of the most appealing aspects of the web, but too many graphics used inconsistently will confuse the users. To make sure your navigation graphics help rather than hinder your users, use them consistently throughout your web site and London web design. Standardize your navigation graphics for the following reasons;

To provide predictable navigation cues for the user- Once users learn where to fine navigation icons and how to use them, they anticipate them on every page. Consistent placement and design also build trust in your users and help them feel confident that they
Can fine the information they want.

To minimize download time- once the graphic is downloaded, the browser will retrieve it form the cache for subsequent pages rather than downloading it every time it appears.

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George Webrepro specialist in London website design, web development, branding, E-marketing, E-commerce, and multimedia, web applications. and SEO London Webrepro operates in Blooms bury, London, Cape Town South Africa and Melbourne Australia.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com

an 0pen standard for structuring data

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0600

With the Extensible Markup Language [XML], the W3Chas a chance to start from scratch in defining a standard markup language, instead of playing catch-up as it had to do with HTML. XML is also a subset of SGKL.Unlike HTML, XML is a Meta- language, not a anguage itself, but a language that lets you describes other languages. As a meta-language, XML allows you to create your own elements to meet your information needs, which significantly distinguishes it from the prude fined elements of HTML. XML provides a format for describing structured data that can be shared by multiple applications across multiple platforms.

XMLDescribes data
The power of data representation in XML comes from separating display and not from the structure of data. XML elements describe data and structure only and not presentation. Where HTML conation elements that describe a word as bold or italic XML declares an element to be a book title, item price, or product measurement. Once the data is structured in XML, it can be displayed across a variety of media, such as a computer display, television screen, or handheld device, using an associated style sheet that conations the appropriate display information. Currently, cascading style sheet is the only complete style language for XML, though the W3C is working on the Extensible style Language [XSL], which is derived from XML.

XML Allows Better Access to data
Xml is valuable because it allow access to more to more meaningful searches for information, development of flexible application, multiple views of data, and is based on a non – proprietary standard that supports the open nature of the web

The HTML elements have no inherent meaning or connection to the data. They simply describe text types and display information. If customer wants to search for a particular recording, the search program must read each line of code to fine the title or artist based on the content. In contrast, the XML code has meaningful element names, which could match the field names in a database and seo London. The search program could look for a particular element quickly those matchers the user’s request. An invoicing program could extract the price easily and list it on the customer’s invoice. The possibilities are endless because the element names match and describe the data they contain.

People as well as machines can read XML code some years from now, someone could open your XML file and understand what you meant by using and as markup elements. The crossreplatforms, independent nature of XML markup supports a variety of data application migrating to the London webdesign. XML lets you display data on many devices without changing the essential data descriptions

XML Lends itself to customized Information
Xml is ideal for distributing complex, esoteric information among many users sharing the same types of knowledge. With the customized elements of XML, standards organizations for various industries and information types can enforce the users.

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George Webrepro specialist in London website design, web development, branding, E-marketing, E-commerce, and multimedia, web applications. and SEO London Webrepro operates in Blooms bury, London, Cape Town South Africa and Melbourne Australia.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com

Adding Contextual Linking

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0600

Many web sites fail to one of the most powerful hypertext capabilities-the contextual link. Contextextual links allow users to jump to related ideas or cross references by clicking the word or item that interests them. These are links that you can embed directly in the flow of your content by choosing the key terms and concepts that you anticipate your users will want to follow. Figure 4-17 shows a page from the World Wide Web consortium HTML specification that contains contextual linking.

Note the links within the lines of text, which let the user view related information in context. For example, as users read the fist bulleted item,’’ May leave white space intact,’’ can click the white space links to see a definition of that term. Including the link within a line of text is more effective than including a list of keywords because users can see related information within the context of the
sentence they are reading. Users also can see that repeated words are linked no matter how many times they appear within the browser window, offering users the opportunity to access additional information at any time and SEO London. You can choose from a variety of navigation options to links a collection of pages together. The sample web page in this section demonstrated the following text- based linking actions.

To main pages [home, table of contents, index]

To the top of each chapter

Within the Table of contents page to chapter descriptions

From the table of contents page to specific topics within each chapter
descriptions

Between previous and next chapters

To related information by using contextual links

Use as many of these options as necessary, but remember to view your content form the from user’s perspective. Anticipate and use enough navigation options to allow easy, but not confusing, access to your content.

USING GRAPHICS- BASED NAVIGATION.
Similar to most web site designers, you probably want to use graphics for some of your navigating cues. The ability to use graphics is one of the most appealing aspects of the web, but too many graphics used inconsistently will confuse the users. To make sure your navigation graphics help rather than hinder your users, use them consistently throughout your web site and London web design. Standardize your navigation graphics for the following reasons.

To provide predictable navigation cues for the user- Once users learn where to fine navigation icons and how to use them, they anticipate them on every page. Consistent placement and design also build trust in your users and help them feel confident that they Can fine the information they want.

To minimize download time- once the graphic is downloaded, the browser will retrieve it form the cache for subsequent pages rather than downloading it every time it appears.

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GeorgeWebrepro specialise in website design, web development, branding-marketing,e-commerce, multimedia and web applications. Based out of Bloomsbury, London, Cape Town South Africa and Melbourne Australia.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com

Improve Your "Click Through Rate" by Writing Effective Google AD Copy

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0600

Making the most of your Google Advertising opportunities requires a good look at your advertising text from an internet marketer’s point of view. By incorporating some fundamental marketing logic to your Google PPC (Pay Per Click) Ads, you can increase your CTR (Click through Rate) without having to exponentially increase your CPC (Cost per Click) campaign budget.

Having the highest CTR possible is essential in getting your Google Adwords Advertisement ahead of your competition. Why? Before your advertisement is shown on Google or any of their partner sites, a quick alculation is performed to asses the ranking or position of each advertisement.
There are many other factors that govern your PPC ad’s ranking (such as landing page quality) but this is the basic formula.

‘CTR x CPC = Rank’

Just buy looking at the formula it is easy to see that an advertisement with the higher CTR will gain a better rank than an advert with a similar CPC. This is why it is important to make users ‘want’ to click on your ad. The more clicks your advertisement has in contrast to every time it is displayed (impressions), the higher your CTR.

Writing effective advertising copy for a Google advertisement can be tricky considering the restrictions your advert text is under.

•25 characters for the headline
•35 characters for text line 1
•35 characters for text line 2
•35 characters for your URL

Considering that you are not allowed to personalize your advert through colours or pictures, a greater emphasis is placed on the quality of the copy you need to write. By adding a few techniques used by internet marketing professionals, you’ll be able to maximize your adverts appeal.

Grab their attention!
Make a clear, strong statement in your advertisement. Use words and phrases that entice a feeling of action amongst your users. Google does not allow the use of phrases such as “Click Here” or “Visit this Link”, but this doesn’t stop you finding other actionable phrases like “Get your …” or “Order now”.

The most important element of these actionable phrases is the immediacy of the tone. By making the user feel that they have to click on the advert ‘NOW’, will increase your adverts response rate.

A good example of this would be …

“Order now, Sale ends in 2 days”

The example tells the user to take action immediately and sets a time limit in which they have to act within.

Target your customers!

Your advert performs 2 roles for you, funneling the right users to your website and diverting the wrong ones away. Your advert needs to qualify your customers right away, helping to convert advertisement clicks into sales on your website.

For example, if your website is selling a documentary DVD about World War 2 called “Toy Soldiers”, you wouldn’t want parents looking to buy toys clicking on the advertisement. Your advert needs to catch a user searching for your product at the time that they are looking for it, increasing your chances of a sale. Refining this advert to target history buffs or war enthusiasts in this case, would yield a higher click-to-sale ratio.

Don’t be afraid to get personal!

Using words like “You” or “Your” can be very provocative. Words like these address the user on a one-on-one basis. Using these words in conjunction with phrases that evoke basic human emotions can also be very engaging. Creating emotions like pleasure, fear, hope or even greed within your user can increase the impact of your advertisement.

For example a security company could write a Google Adwords advert that says

Ultra-Sound Security
Don’t delay, protect your family
Free security quote within 24 hours
www.SoundSecurity.com

In a few lines this advert says quite a lot. It makes a statement quickly and engages a user’s sense of fear for the security of their loved ones. The advert also makes a quick play on the greed emotion, by offering a free security quote heightening the adverts appeal. It also makes a confident statement about the company’s ability to respond to your needs quickly and efficiently with reference to their quotation time.

Remember that the tone of your advertisement will help create that vital first mpression of your business. In the case of the security company, they present themselves as strong and efficient while offering a professional service at a reasonable price.

The most important thing to remember while writing a good Google Advertisement is confidence in your service capabilities. If you don’t sound confident in your own abilities, the user reading your advertisement won’t either.

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George Webrepro specialist in London website design, web development, branding, E-marketing, E-commerce, and multimedia, web applications. and SEO London Webrepro operates in Blooms bury, London, Cape Town South Africa and Melbourne Australia.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com