Website technologies on the Go!

In your web browser, Client Side technologies use HTML, XHTML and CSS in order to create web sites. HTML is short for Hyper Text Markup Language. This is a manner of labeling text so that the computer can understand what it means and what it wants.

If we are to trace its humble beginning, HTML was created by Tim-Berners-Lee in the year 1990. This creation was acknowledged by the W3C or the World Wide Web Consortium. The use of a series of ‘tags’ is the function of HTML. To emphasize a word, say to make the word ‘mike’ bold, here is the right tag - mike. The result of which is this - mike. In order to come up with a whole site, series of appropriate tags is indispensable.

After HTML came XHTML. This technology means eXtended Hyper Text Markup Language. It is foretold to constitute a big part of the world wide web’s future. The project of the W3C called “The Semantic Web” will be utilizing more of XHTML as well as other latest technologies. This will bring about a modern change that we never expected since 1990.

Another worth-knowing technology is called CSS. Cascading Style Sheets or CSS was created by W3C. It is a user-friendly way of showing what the text is and how it should be displayed in the page. It guides designers to have the ability to control how the documents are presented visually in different mediums. This is an example of how to use it - font-family:Verdana, sans-serif. This is used to make the web browser use Verdana font. If Verdana is unavailable, then the default will be sans-serif font.

CSS allows a single file, style sheet to be utilized for the whole site. It is also downloaded once, thus saves time and effort.

To learn more about HTML, XTML and CSS, there are lots of tutorials available in the net.

Make your website catchy, functional and dynamic. Make it happen, use the best technologies available!

Foretell what’s in 2006 E-Commerce Web Development

Will it be a better year or worst than the exiting year? It remains to be seen. Nonetheless, let me present my predictions as well…

1. The giant among the search engines will purchase additional technology start-ups. It will also contemplate on purchasing an older company and let go of its product for free.

2. Another is that web-wide video search will be developed into something big. It can now be found both in user-uploaded files and web videos.

3. A major revamp will happen on major search engines indices. As a result of this, numerous sites will be kicked out of the engines.

4. Internet Explorer 7 is soon to be released. This version includes several features.

5. Google will release Google Talk. This new feature can be used by chatters in their browsers.

6. Consequently, Microsoft Windows will suffer a little because of the E-commerce latest web developments.

7. Yahoo will again release a new email client. This can trigger the change of heart among Gmail users. The change will be by reason of the formers look and feel.

8. New translation tools will be introduced to the web. This way, just anybody can search in any language they prefer.

9. Bloggers will still be given attention. In fact, additional search engine features will be made for their enjoyment and easy access to other blogs.

10. Google will increase the frequency of their updates. Those who rank high in its PageRank will be made more accessible.

11. Google will also introduce graphic ads and do away with old features. This can trigger the user’s angst.

12. Yahoo and MSN will contemplate on focusing on its search and do away with their so-so features.

These are the foreseen future of E-commerce web development. Other predictions may mark a good leap while others may mark a horrible downfall. Let the future clear the clouds of ambiguities and make certain out anticipations. Let the days of the year 2006 be our guiding torch…

How do you master web design?

1. Do not center everything. Doing so will just give your web design a scattered and disorganized look. When it comes to layout, centering tends to waste so much space. Try to maximize space. It is there for a purpose. Do not overlook that purpose.

In a nutshell, use space with cautiousness so as not to appear scattered at the same time not crowded. Use columns for better organization. That way, the contents are easy to read and the images will not appear as an eyesore.

2. To make your page more attractive, apply an efficient contrast. Contrast can be applied to color, size, value and weight of an image. Contrast has something to do with the clearness, brightness and volume of an image, logo or graphics. It can also be applied to texts and other objects of the web design. If you get it right, your web design will look organized and easy to scan. Be assured that the viewers will not find it hard to glance and search your site’s contents.

3. Be sure that sections are well separated. It must be easy to trace and the contents are easy to read. To distinguish one section from the other, you can use different colors or a thin line will do. Using borders is also a good remedy. Another option is to use blank ‘buffer zones’. This is somewhat similar to the concept of borders and dividing lines the only difference is that you are creating invisible lines to separate the parts of a page.

4. If web design is the queen, the king must be the content. Thus, to make your site functional, make sure that the information is tight and full. So not waste the space. Put something in it to make it productive.

Bear in mind that your site is not mainly to entertain their eyes. It is there to cater to their needs, answer their queries and tickle their fancies.

How to Effectively Promote Your Website

1. Take advantage of the search engines. Submit your site to search engines. There are those that offer services free of charge. You can submit to Google, Yahoo, Altavista, Infoseek, Lycos and other trusted search engines. You can submit with an interval of 3 to four months. Try a redirection, if you cannot submit the real URL.

2. Do some reciprocal linking. This is one of the best ways to lead viewers towards your website. In this method, you exchange link with other websites. That way no site is disadvantaged. To find sites, you can again use the search engines.

3. Exchange banners. This is also one of the most productive ways to promote your website. However, they do not bring much traffic. Choose wisely when deciding banner ratios. Some sites are also offering paid banner submission. Decide on the matter cleverly. Select the ones with good traffic to influence your traffic as well.

4. Write articles and press releases. People wants to read news and tips more than reading ads. Moreover, a good number of articles and news releases with your website as footer is a promotional tool. Submit them to high-ranking sites in order to market your site.

5. Use meta tags. Always use the same on your site especially on the index page. The essence is that when search engines add up your homepage to their database, what they will look for is a special tag with keywords and description of the page. Give your title, description and keywords to make it easier for the search engines to locate you.

6. Patronize online classifieds. Millions of online ads programs are available in the net. Choose a category where your site belongs and add your site. Resubmit every 2 months to update them.

7. Make signatures. Use signatures which are linked to your websites. You can use these signatures when posting a reply in forums, chat rooms and guest books.

8. Maximize webrings. This is also a productive way of promoting. All you have to do is to find and join webrings which are similar to the topics in your site. They will bring in slow but stable traffic.

9. Do some promos. Promotions like discounts can be a tempting strategy that can boost both your traffic as well as sales.

Promote your site and be productive like you never been before.