Part I - How to add content to your web site to attract visitors

Part 11 - How to add content to your web site to attract search engines

14 ways to add content to your web site and attract visitors

1. Get into mind of your visitor. Brainstorm all ways your visitor would think of your product. Write your content as if you are sitting next to him/her explaining your product. Don't write in 3rd person ie we, they, but use I, you, or your. This makes it more personal.

2. Keep it simple - write as if explaining your web site material to a 7th grader (12-13 year old). Don't use complicated words that people would have to look up in dictionary. You want them to understand clearly what your site is about.

3. Convey emotion - people on Web are often in a great hurry, so you need to appeal to their emotions to stop them clicking away to next site. Use stories, convey your experiences or include testimonies from others. This adds to your credibility and trust, 2 essential factors for doing business online.

4. Communicate quickly and efficiently - people online tend to scan rather than read everything on page. Therefore use single lines of text for your headings and sub headings. Catch your visitor's eye with lists, bullet points and use short, snappy, active (not passive) words in your sentences. Your paragraphs should only consist of 2-5 sentences. Long paragraphs make it hard to read (scan) your page quickly.

5. Create white space - layout of your web page should include plenty of white space. Don't lean text hard up against your graphics. Include white space between headings, sub headings and paragraphs.

6. Use graphics sparingly - you have heard it said, "a picture is worth a 1000 words." That's true but only if picture supports your content. Don't overdo graphics. You may impress your visitors initially, however to keep them interested in your site, you need high quality content.

Beginner? That's OK!

While much has been written about Server Side Includes (SSIs -also known as Virtual Includes) much of this information is designed for intermediate to advanced webmasters. This article is aimed at beginners. It is assumed that reader has no prior knowledge of scripting languages, servers, or any other advanced computer skills. This article will introduce reader to SSIs and explain how they are used in web site development. SSIs are guaranteed to save you time as your web site develops and changes over time.

Servers: just a place for your stuff?

It is important to understand that all code for your website is stored remotely on a computer called a server. On a very basic level, server (remote computer) is just a place where you can store files on "net." These files would typically contain your web site's HTML code and possibly some files containing pictures or graphics. For example, a very simple web site might consist of 5 web pages with five corresponding files that are stored on server. One file is named index.html and we will have four additional files. These files might be named about-me.html , education.html , resume.html , and portfolio.html. We'll say that this simple 5 page web site is run by a freelancer who uses this site as a kind of virtual advertisement.

Servers Part 2: more than storage?

We have established that server functions as a storage place for our files, but it is important to recognize servers can also do things. Similar to operating systems software on our personal computers, servers have software that allows them to access and organize files. Servers can also carry out more advanced functions. Take, for example, what server does when someone visits root directory of your site; server automatically loads your index page (e.g., index.html, index.php, index.asp). This is a very simple example of something that happens on "server side."

Why do I need includes?