Gawkwire: Web Hosting and Internet News Resource

Make Your Flash Website SEO Friendly

2010-06-14T08:40:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) - Flash makes possible to design 'jaw dropping' websites. You can infuse highly creative as well as interactive components through Flash. Various features are also possible with Flash.

For instance you can place video clips, stunning graphics, animations, games, tutorials and innovative presentations. You can show your portfolio. You can resize graphics without degradation in quality. Showcasing a product in three dimensions is possible with Papervision 3D flash. In short, Flash is an inevitable component in the website design industry.

Despite the views and uses, which seem great in case of Flash websites, its search factor by various search engines seems dim. Tis is because of obvious reasons that are as follows:

• First of all Flash sites are made up of a single SWF file, so there are no separate pages existing.
• No separate pages mean 'no' separate URLs for pages.
• Flash never changes pages in navigation. It just jumps from one frame to another, so no URL change ever takes place.
• No sitemap exist
• No Meta tags exist
• No Meta descriptions possible.
• Content and images are loaded in frames not in separate pages.
• Contents can not be optimized for different keywords and found in separate pages.
• Images can't be distinguished separately nor be optimized with alt tags.
• Load time is greater than HTML site.

However, Google has recently advised webmasters that Google is able to index SWF files when constructed in a particular way. This means that Google will read content and links etc in SWF files (the file format for Flash).

Information from the Google Webmaster Blog confirms what Google can do:

o Index textual content displayed as a user interacts with the file. We click buttons and enter input, just like a user would.
o Discover links within Flash files.
o Load external resources and associate the content with the parent file.
o Support common JavaScript techniques for embedding Flash, such as SWFObject and SWFObject2.
o Index sites scripted with AS1, AS2 & AS3, even if the Action Script is obscured.

Considering the above facts, you can do the following to create a Flash website that Google and other search engines can crawl.

Use SWFObject
Adobe supports SWFObject, therefore use it. With SWFObject you can serve both users, who have support for Flash and who have support for (X)HTML. Therefore, crawlers will look at XHTML and content will be indexed if you put in it.

Create HTML pages for each of your flash pages
Create separate SWF files for your optimized content for a particular keyword and put it into XHTML pages. By doing this you will pave the way for crawlers to index content of the SWF file and reduce the load time with small SWFs. Separate pages will make navigation easy to index and a sitemap will be possible. You will also give all Meta take attributes etc. to the XHTML pages.

Use SWFAddress
Like SWFObject SWFAddress is extremely helpful for crawlers. It allows you to read information from the URL and thereby using it within Flash or outside the Flash. It will give deep linking in Flash. Using SWFAddress, you can use #anchors to define where in your Flash you want to go.

Add a JavaScript call
At this point you've got multiple HTML pages and the ability to deep link in Flash. Now you need to direct users who come from a search engine to the right content within your Flash. All you need to do is call SWFAddress from JavaScript and update the page URL. Since your Flash is set up to use SWFAddress, it will read the update and take the user to the proper section.

Writer's Bio: Jessica Woodsona is web designer at IndiaNIC - a leading website redesign company present creative and cost effective website redesign, creative website design services and iphone application development services across the globe. For any queries related to website redesign please email us at joy.indianic@gmail.com

http://www.gawkwire.com/seo_sem/make_your_flash_website_seo_friendly.html

Tech Support: Rules to Live Revisited

2010-06-08T08:22:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) - It has been quite some time since the last time we poured through hundreds of technical manuals and support texts and interviewed dozens of senior support staff. We even managed to have a fairly lengthy if not somewhat dangerous conversation with the Bastard Operator from Hell. Consider these rules as an extension of the original found in Ping! Zine's issue 19. So sit back, get comfy, and try to keep your blood pressure under control. Support techs take notes, all else avert your gaze from the powerful words of wisdom contained herein.

Truth is relative. Best to Give Users Explanations they can Deal with.

Bad Way:

Tech: There is a way to do that, but I don't think you're literate enough to follow my instructions, nor do I have the patience required to walk you through.

Better:

Tech: Sorry, I don't know any way for you to do that.

If you give a list to a user, give "quick-out" options at the beginning and end

Tech: What type of account are you using Mini, Mano, Macho, Grande, or Beni?

User: Uhhhh... Beni

Tech: I'm sorry, Beni was discontinued you probably need to upgrade.

Reading instructions to the user works. When their reading them it doesn't.

Tech: <After spending 10 minutes reading straight from the manual> And what's it doing now?

User: It's working!!! I wonder why it didn't work when I did it.

Tech: No idea.

Pregnant pauses or holding can be useful and give added credence

User: When will you change/add unlimited bandwidth to your plans?

Tech: Let me check on that for you. <Places caller on hold and finishes a few chapters of their book.>

Tech: It's tentatively scheduled to be coming out in the future, but it's rather low on the list of priorities so it might be a while.

Don't try to force your knowledge on someone

Tech: Which control panel are you using?

User: Internet Explorer.

Tech: Hmm, are you using cPanel or Plesk.

User: I just told you I use Internet Explorer to access my site admin.

Tech: Internet Explorer is a browser not a control panel.

User: Well, I am using it. Can I talk to your supervisor; it’s obvious you don’t know your job.

Always annunciate properly:

Tech: ok you are going to want to access the Windows Error Reporting screen.

Customer: Air reporting? How is that going to help me?

Tech: Er-ror reporting.

Customer: Arrow reporting? I think I am really confused.

Tech: I think I am too.

There are some words, perfectly normal words, that should be avoided... like type:

Tech: Ok I want you to type A colon then press enter.

Customer: A c-o-l-o-n t-h...

Tech: Sir just press the A key on your keyboard then press and hold the shift key while pressing the key left of the L and then press the Enter key.

Customer: Well why didn't you say press A: and hit enter in the first place!

Writer’s Bio: David Dunlap is celebrating his 10th year as both a Web host industry analyst and commentator. Prior to his active writing career, David was a network and communications technician for four years for the U.S. government. He currently is the Editor-in-Chief for www.WebHostMagazine.com.

http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/tech_support_rules_to_live_revisited.html

Domain Prices Rising July 1, 2010

2010-06-02T08:43:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) - Domain name registry, Verisign had recently announced to its registrars (the companies that sell domains) that domain wholesale prices of .com and .net domains will be increasing as of July 1, 2010.

All .com domains will raise by 7% and .net domains by 10%. The price increase should cause registrars to raise their prices by a similar percentage.

Although the increase doesn't seem that bad, Verisign now has the right to continue to raise domain prices by 7% a year. With roughly 65 million .com domain names registered worldwide, Verisign just added $27 million dollars per year to their bottom line.

http://www.gawkwire.com/domains/domain_prices_rising_july_1_2010.html

Top 8 Online Applications for Designers

2010-06-01T08:48:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) - Being a designer, running my own design studio, I find that I am increasingly turning to the web to help me run my business. There are, it seems, eleventy billion web based applications out that do just about everything. From billing, to banking, to collaboration on projects, to even online office productivity.

I’ve made a list of the top online applications I use on a daily basis. Which ones do you use? I know with the multitude of applications out there, I must be missing some. If so, what are they, and what are their pros and cons?

1. Basecamp - Basecamp is a web-based tool that lets you manage and track projects (or simply ideas) and quickly create client/project extranets. www.basecamphq.com

2. Concept Share - ConceptShare allows you to easily share designs inside Workspaces that contain designs related to a certain topic or project. It’s easy to invite people into a workspace. Invite team members, managers, clients, and consultants to add and reply to comments, chat and markup designs. www.conceptshare.com

3. DropSend - Email large files easily and securely. This comes in handy for sending large print designs over the web. Have you ever tried to send a 300mb file to someone? www.dropsend.com

4. Picnik - online photo editor. Edit photos online from your browser. I tend to use this if I am away from my office to edit photos. My wife uses it quite often and loves it. www.picnik.com

5. Kuler - Adobe’s online color scheme generator www.kuler.adobe.com

6. BlinkSale - The easiest way to send invoices online. I do send invoices straight from PayPal from time to time, for certain clients. www.blinksale.com

7. CrazyEgg - Crazyegg is a site tool which tracks what your visitors click on. It gives you an inside look at where you visitors click and where they click the most. Lucky LP peeps get this software free! www.crazyegg.com

8. Google Apps - Google’s “powerful communication and collaboration tools for your organization”. I use gmail and Google Docs the most out of their suite of applications. www.google.com/a/

http://www.gawkwire.com/web_design/top_8_online_applications_for_designers.html