Web Designing Tutorials

Legal concerns are the primary reasons that organizations are paying attention to accessibility issues.  Many governments have issued guidelines for accessibility including the U.S., Canada, Australia and Ireland.  The general public are beginning to consider accessibility as a civil right no different than the laws for construction that are in place to provide accessibility for the disabled in public and private areas.  In Australia, a person filed and won a complaint of Web Inaccessibility against the Sydney Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games under the Disability Discrimination Act.  In the U.S., America Online lost a lawsuit with the National Federation of the Blind.  Accessibility is a true concern and should be considered by  Designers and businesses who develop Websites.

In the U.S., Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and its Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards directly address Web accessibility.  For details on Web Accessibility and the many legal issues please refer to the Resources on uiAccess website.  Even when the motivation for creating Accessible websites is legal, organizations will also benefit through the increasing number of people who can use their sites.

For Section 508 guidelines as written for the U.S. standards, please refer to the www.section508.gov website.

With this post I am beginning a new series that will address the importance of creating Web Accessible Websites and the things to consider when doing so.  The main reasons Web designers should consider Web Accessibility in their projects are as follows:

• Compliance with regulatory and legal requirements
• Exposure to more people: people with disabilities and seniors
• Exposure to more situations: new places, new devices
• Better design and implementation
• Cost savings
• It makes you look good
• Enlightened self interest.

Interest in Accessibility is not a new concept as the W3C established the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) with guidelines being finalized in 1999.  For more information you can check out the WAI Website.

Back in October of last year, I made my first post with the concept of “Do-It-Yourself” tips for Web Design.  This is the last post in that series that is titled “Keep Your Site Updated And Monitor The Traffic” and happens to be the very thing that many new Website owners fail to consider in their Website management.  Here are a few things to consider for why and how you should be keeping your site updated:

1. The Search Engines put an extreme amount of value to new content which will show up in the Google Page Rank as one of the many factors Google considers in assigning importance to a particular Web page. For competitive Keyword Phrases, those pages with a higher Google Page Rank of at least a 5 or better will generally hold their positions in the top listings over time.
2. Update or add new text content at least monthly to any page that you expect to be competitive in the search results.  If you have an e-commerce site, you can simply have a monthly text ad that you change each month.  Use keyword rich text in that ad (keyword phrases that would be used in a search for your site).
3. Develop a Sitemap page that list all the pages in your Website, their priority of importance to you and when they were last updated.  Submit this Sitemap page to the Search Engines for indexing when it is initially developed.  The important thing here is to make sure you keep your Sitemap updated with the current dates that each page was changed.  I will make a “How To Develop A Sitemap” post in the future as this topic is one in itself and beyond the scope for this article.
4. Create a Blog for your Website and post articles with links back to your main site.
5. Use RSS feeds written in PHP or HTML on a page that you want to keep competitive in the search results.
6. Make a post with a link to the page with new content to your site in Twitter and Facebook or any other Social Media network you may use.
7. Use  Google Analytics to track your Website traffic which will tell you how many visitors have come to your site, which pages have been viewed, which keywords they have used, which sites referred them to yours and other important information.  You can also use a Professional Search Engine Marketing specialist like myself to provide you with this information as well as many others things to assist you in your Marketing efforts.

The easiest way for the average person to “Do-It-Yourself” in keeping your site updated is to use items 2 and 6 above.  I would also consider having a professional develop a Site Map, a Blog, and integrate an RSS feed into your site as they are additional ways to provide and promote new content.  I cannot say enough how important new content is your Google ranking and to search engines as a whole in the results that they return to a user.  Don’t let your site go stagnant, work with it periodically to keep it in the running.

This is a continuation from my October 31, 2009 blog post.  Next on the agenda is to optimize your site for the Search Engines and natural search results.  Here are a few steps you can take to assure your Website will make the best presentation in the Search Engine query results:

1. Keyword Selection - Keywords or Keyword Phrases are what is used in a Search Engine query to find items of interest.  If I were going to find information concerning “shoes”,  I could use that word or narrow the results I expect to receive by using “mens shoes”.  Using Keyword Phrases rather than single words will reduce the number of competitors and increase your opportunity of appearing in the top 30 search results.  You can use Google AdWords External Keyword tool to assist you in selecting quality keywords and phrases.  Use Keywords or Keyword Phrases with the fewest number of competitors and the most search volume.
2. Keyword Placement - Place the Keywords you identified in the Title tag,  Header tag, Alt tag and 2 to 3 times in your Body text.  Use 1 to 3 keywords per Website page and no more, as you do not want the text to appear like “spam”.  The Search Engines will treat “Spam” text negatively in the search results.   Make sure the Keyword placement is natural and the text still reads well.
3. Develop a Sitemap - Develop a Sitemap for your Website which list all of its pages.  Sitemaps help the Search Engines to Index all of the pages of your Website.  The best format is to use XML.  Use this example for what to include and the format for your Sitemap.
4. Submit to Search Engines - Submit your Website and Sitemap to Google,  Bing, and Yahoo.  You will need to sign-up for accounts with each to have access to their Webmaster Tools and the ability to submit your Sitemap to them.  You can submit your Website to the other minor Search Engines, but often times, that will only help to increase your email spam.  In reality, about 85% of of all Searches are performed through Google, so I would put most my optimization efforts there.
5. Build Quality Backlinks - Build quality Backlinks from other Websites to yours.  Quality means Websites that have a Google Page Rank of 4 or above.  The Google Toolbar for Firefox has a Page Rank tool which displays the Google Page Rank for the Website that appears in your browser window.  Including your Keywords as the Link Text is best.  Obtain Links from different sources, not just from all the same Website.
6. Update With New Content - Keep your site updated with new content at least monthly, but weekly is preferred.  Develop a Blog to assist in this effort.  Many Web Hosting companies will have WordPress available for you to use or can install it for you.  WordPress is one of the most popular Open Source Blog software programs available so it has many resouces on the Internet for you to learn how to use it.  You may also use other tools like Quick Blogcast® to develop your Blog which could be a little easier to use and manage.  Search Engines look for new and relevant content in their periodic indexing of your Website.  Updated and New content will provide you with a better Ranking and bring them back more often to re-index your site.

In summary,  Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process where you optimize your Website to compete for top placement in Keyword search results.  You can use many Search Engine Marketing (SEM) tools, but you must also use SEO if you expect to have long-term success in your efforts.  Keywords, Backlinks and New Content are the keys to that success!

This is a more detailed continuation from my October 31, 2009 post.  Tip #3 is to make sure you use a quality and reputable Web Hosting company for your Website.  Below is a list of things you should take into consideration before selecting your Web Hosting company:

1. Select a reputable company or reseller company.  Is this company known on the Web and have stood the test of time like Yahoo or GoDaddy.  Hosting companies and Internet businesses for that matter can come and go so make sure they have been around awhile.  Length of time in business does not guarantee they will always be there, but you will be more likely to find reviews of the company.  If they are a reseller, find out if the Hosting Company is a known company.  Google the business name and look for reviews about them.  Check out the CNET reviews as one of your sources.
2. Compare the Bandwidth and Storage space you are allowed for the price by each Hosting company you are considering and the Plans they offer.  If you have a lot of photographic content, video content or animation within your site, you may require more bandwidth and storage.
3. If you are developing an E-commerce Website, make sure you select a Hosting Plan which includes PHP and MySQL so that your Shopping Cart will be able to function.  I would consult with your Website developer before you make any decisions in this area unless you are using a “Do-It-Yourself” tool like Quick Shopping Cart ® to develop your product catalog.
4. If you are developing an E-commerce Website, make sure you have an SSL Certificate so your customer transactions will be processed securely.  You will most likely have to consult with your Web Developer or Hosting company concerning this item to make sure it is activated properly within your site.
5. Does the potential Hosting company offer annual payment plans so you will have the opportunity to save money in the long-term.

In summary, the most important things about Web Hosting is that they are reputable, have the Bandwidth and Storage you require for your Website at the right price and provide decent enough customer service so if you do have issues, you can get it resolved easily.

This is a continuation from my October 31, 2009 blog post. You should take some time in selecting a Domain Name for a couple of reasons:

1. The Domain Name is a representation of your business and could provide a potential client/customer with a look at your professionalism. For example, a domain like lovedtoys.com might be better than usedtoys.com.
2. While Domain Names with your business name are good for Branding, it would be better to select a Domain with a quality keyword or phrase. If your business is not already a well known entity in the Market for your products or services, selecting a Domain Name with quality keywords could provide you with a better listing result in searches using those keywords. I recommend consulting with an SEO/SEM for the best keyword selection for your Domain Name.
3. Select a Domain Name with as few letters as possible and easy to remember as many of your clients/customers will hopefully return to your site. They may not have Bookmarked or added your site to their Favorites, so they will need to remember your Domain Name or use a search engine.
4. Try to avoid using other derivatives of successful Domain Names. For example, if addidas.net was available, don’t use it in hopes a getting some of the traffic from users who type in the incorrect information. For one thing, Addidas would probably sue you for Trademark infringement, but most importantly, people using that Domain are most likely not looking for your site. There has been a lot of discussion in the industry over Domain Names and Keywords, some winners and some losers in legal battles. I would suggest just not making yourself the subject of one.

You can find a variety of tools available out there for selecting Keywords to use in your Domain Name selection such as Google Adwords and software that performs that function, but I would recommend seeing a professional SEO/SEM. If you were going to fight a legal battle you would most likely find an attorney. If you were going to have surgery, you would find a Medical Doctor.  Selecting a Domain Name is an important process as well,  so consult with a professional who will assist you to enjoy a successful business presence on the Web!

This post is a continuation from my October 31, 2009 post.  Tip #1 is about using WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get) HTML editors.  They include those that you can purchase such Dreamweaver, Contribute, FrontPage and Coffee Cup or many FREE editors such as Dynamic HTML Editor or Eclipse.  You can Google Visual HTML Editor and cruise around to see what you can find.  No matter which editor you choose, realize that they are not perfect in their code creation.  HTML or Hypertext Markup Language is just that, a Markup language that for the most part just provides the style and location of text and images on a page for a Website.  The more sophisticated editors such as Dreamweaver can create a site that incorporates other scripting such as Javascript, CSS and even FLASH along with the HTML.  As the editors get more sophisticated, the more training in the use of the software that is required.

No matter which editor you select, you should take the time to pick up some basic books on HTML, CSS, and Javascript.  Not so much to become an expert, but to learn some basics so you can understand a little about the code that is being created by the editor.  In this way, if something goes astray, you can take a look at the underlying coding the editor has created, and just maybe find what might be causing your issue.

Even though I am formerly trained with all the coding, I will work in a split view, both visual and code so I can take advantage of both worlds while making sure I am in the correct locations for editing and placement of certain things.  Let’s face it, in many respects it is faster to let the editor do the work rather than typing in a long string of code manually, but I do keep an eye on it and can place things or correct things as I go along.

A basic series of books you can use are the SAMS “Teach Yourself…..” that all relate to Web Design.  They will not make you an expert by all means, but they are pretty straight forward and provide you with a good foundation for learning some HTML, CSS, and  JavaScript which are the most used languages in the HTML Visual Editors you will find.

In this economy, it does not surprise me that there are many people who try to build a Website on their own, without the assistance of a trained professional.  If you are one of those people and want to try to save some money, here are a few tips and things to consider before going off on your own.

1. You will need a WYSIWYG (”What you see is what you get”), Visual Editor or some online Web Hosting tool.
   • You will not have to know any HTML coding is what the publishers of these Visual Editor software packages will tell you.  Well, you should at least pick up a book and teach yourself a little as working only visually can wash out your code in some cases.  You should work both in a Visual View and a Code View so you know where your cursor is ALL times before inserting or making any edits as visually it may look correct, but in reality you could be replacing or deleting needed code that presents a page correctly in a browser.  The two best known editors out there are Dreamweaver and Frontpage.  There are many others, one in particular that I used when I was getting my start and that is Coffee Cup.  Coffee Cup sells for about $50.00 and for those new to Web Design it will be all you need.
   • Many of the Web Hosting companies including myself, offer Website Builder tools with their Hosting.  These tools can be quick and easy to use, but with that usually comes a big limit to what you can do visually for your site and you are restricted to using only the templates they have available.  They can produce a decent looking Website, but it may not truly be what you want for your business.  The big advantage to these, if money is your only consideration, they will save you a ton as you don’t have to pay a Web Designer or buy Visual Editor software.  My Website Builder tool is called Website Tonight so feel free to check it out.  I can also help you with this tool if you get into trouble or you can call my 24/7 technical support.
2. You will need your Domain Name/URL which you can purchase from any Domain Registrar (including myself).
   • Pricing can vary annually for a Domain from about $10.00 to $35.00 per year. Make sure you know when your Domain expires and who you purchased it from as there are some companies that will attempt to transfer your Domain by sending you an invoice before your Domain expires. Please read them carefully before paying anything, as they will look like an invoice, but in small print will have a disclaimer that says it is not an invoice and only an offer. If you know who you purchased your Domain from, you will know it is not an invoice from your provider and to not pay it.
   • The more years you purchase, the less expensive it will get per year in general. Buy more years if you can afford to as it will prevent you from inadvertently allowing your Domain to expire.
   • Check out our Full Service Domain Registration for quality service and pricing.
3. You will need quality Web Hosting.
   • Web Hosting is where your Website will reside out in the world. You will need to consider how much storage space you need and how much potential traffic will be coming to your site and viewing your pages(bandwidth). If you have a lot of photos, video or are selling on the Internet you will need more storage and bandwidth. If you have just an informational site, I would stick with the cheapest package which you can always trade up or change providers.
   • I offer a variety of Web Hosting Plans that will meet your needs. Our plans are very competitive so check them out.
4. Optimize your site for the Search Engines and natural search results.
   • Select Keywords for your site that have the fewest competitors and the most searches. You can use Google Webmaster tools for this process as well as Google AdWords has a tool for selecting keywords. Place those keywords in the TITLE (seen at the top of the browser window) of your page as well as it least 2 or 3 times in your body text. Make sure it looks natural and still reads well. Place Keywords in the “alt” tags for your images. Use those keywords in at least a couple of paragraphs of text.
   • Submit your site and a site map to Google, Bing and Yahoo (I will address this process in future post or you can search it out in Google, Bing and Yahoo)
   • Build quality back links to your Website
   • You can use my Search Engine Visibility tool to do some of it yourself
5. Keep your site updated and monitor the traffic
   • Update your text on your site monthly and/or use a Blog( I addressed this in an earlier post) as part of your site. The Search Engines prefer that a site have new information and look like it is being kept up.
   • Review the traffic to your site like what keywords are being used, which search engines is traffic coming from, which pages are they viewing, how long are they staying. Many of your Hosting companies offer this as a service or you can find an SEO like myself to track this for you.

There is a lot there, but if you do all these things, your site can be successful on your own, but I would recommend using someone at least on a limited basis to assist you as it is easier to keep it maintained and working well for you than it is to pick it up out of the muck later.

In another Blog Post I came accross recently, it referred to ways to optimize a Website both “on page” and “off page” which off course I am familiar with them both being trained in SEO/SEM.  “On page” are bascially those things that you do to a page itself like keyword placement and relevant text.  “Off page” are thinks like Link Building.  In the article he speaks of Blogging to increase traffic and I cannot agree more!  Create a blog for your Website and read this article in the Net Gazette to see why!  I probably should have just Tweeted about it, but this article says so many things that I tell my clients, and I just did not want to let it go unread or infringe on the authors content.   It is worth the read!

So many Web Designers work in the visual area with an HTML editor such as Dreamweaver rather than hand code.  You can get into trouble with the code that the editor uses if you restrict yourself only to that method.  It is best to work in the “Split View” and find what you need in the “Visual” view then work in the “Code” view.  Understanding the CSS that an editor uses is important to be able to find and make tweaks to it through the process.  I would also make sure you take all your CSS off page, so many times I see it created on-page and then you end up with a mountain of code to go through when making edits.  In addition, the CSS an editor can create may use naming conventions that it knows, but are illogical to you as a designer making it difficult to actually find a piece of CSS that is effecting your document unless you understand HTML and CSS. At any rate, I found a little article that discusses CSS formatting and I found it to really provide some good tips for those new to using CSS. It basically sets Five Rules to Writing More Readable CSS Files. The rules are as follows and please check out the article for more details:

1. Order CSS properties alphabetically

2. Indent child elements

3. Use comments to separate logical sections of code

4. Use extra spaces and tabulations to separate single properties from their values

5. Group elements with the same properties

Enjoy the article, it is a nice little read!