This link refers to a page that is located on YOUR web site, and not someone else's. Now, here is an example of an absolute link:

Notice that this link will take you to exact same page that first one will. This is just a different way to build your links. You can also link to someone else's web site using absolute links: Can you use relative links to refer to an outside web site? No. Only absolute links can do that. And don't forget to use "http://" in each absolute link tag. PROBLEM 5: TEXT IS MISSING ON THE PAGE SOLUTION: This can happen for different reasons, but all of them have to do with closing tags:

1) When a closing table tag is missing, entire table content might be missing, too. So don't forget to close all your TABLE, TR and TD tags.

2) You forgot to close a comment and browser "thinks" that rest of text has also been commented out. Make sure you close every comment that you open.

3) You forgot to close a quotation mark in a tag. For example, if you use quotes in a IMG SRC or A HREF tags, you must close them:

page to display incorrectly. Fix it by adding a closing quotation after graphic name.

4) If you using in forms, make sure you close it with a tag. PROBLEM 6: VISITORS CAN'T SEE YOUR FANCY FONTS SOLUTION: Do not use your fancy fonts. There are only a handful of fonts that every computer user has installed. They are: Verdana, Arial, Courier, & Times New Roman. If you try to use some other font such as Impact or FreeStyle Script, and your visitors don't have them installed, they will see your text in whatever font their browser is set to.

If you REALLY want your visitors to see your handsome fonts, then turn some of your text into graphics. Your graphics will be displayed same on every computer, and your visitors will be able to see fonts you meant for them to see. PROBLEM 7: TOO MUCH HORIZONTAL SCROLLING REQUIRED SOLUTION: Put your text into a table and make it no more than 85% in width and centered. This way, regardless of how large or small their monitors are, your visitors will always see your text centered with no horizontal scrolling necessary. PROBLEM 8: THE TABLE IS WIDER THAN SPECIFIED SOLUTION: Sometimes even you specify table width as 500 pixels, it might still stretch to all 700. There are two reasons for that.

1) You have a graphic in that table that is wider than table itself. Reduce its size and table will shrink as well.

2) You are using a long URL somewhere in table text. Shorten it or remove it and you will see table shrink to its specified size. PROBLEM 9: WEB PAGE DISPLAYS OLD LINKS AND IMAGES SOLUTION: Refresh (or reload) page by clicking button on toolbar of your browser. Sometimes graphics are still not being refreshed in which case you need to do this: right-click on graphic choose "view image" or "open image" click "Refresh" when graphic is displayed by itself

Now come back to your web page and press "refresh" button one more time. You should now see updated images. Also, if you are using an FTP program to upload your files, don't forget to click "Refresh" in FTP window before uploading new files. Otherwise, you will simply upload old versions. PROBLEM 10: BACKGROUND DOESN'T SHOW SOLUTION: Make sure to upload your background image along with other files. Also, make sure you upload it into right directory (see "missing image on page" above for more information) PROBLEM 11: CAN'T ACCESS YOUR HOME PAGE SOLUTION: if you get an "access denied" error or a list of files when you are trying to access your web site, make sure you named your home page correctly. Every hosting company has it set up so that very first page of your site must be named "index.html". Sometimes, though, they will require your first file to be called "welcome.html", "default.html", "home.html", or "default.htm".

There is only one way to find out: ask them! Or visit their web site to see if they specify default file name in their tech support section. Notice that "default.html" and "default.htm" are two different files. You can name your files either way, but only one of them will be accepted as a default one.

The idea was that if people needed Internet Explorer to see certain web pages, then surfers would decide to give up their Netscape browsers for Internet Explorer browser.

Today, Netscape exists as red-headed step child subsidiary of AOL. Netscape exists only as a bargaining chip in AOL's pocket when negotiating deals with rival Microsoft.

So, here we come to point of this story. Prior to 1996, Netscape was loved world over. Today, Microsoft's Internet Explorer basically owns market and has done so since about 1998.

Folks who have come to web since 1998 generally use Microsoft's Internet Explorer as their browser of choice. Folks who have been on web since before 1996 generally stay with Netscape browsers.

Remember how Microsoft began to create their own set of HTML codes that would not be easily compatible with other browsers? Ah, we are to meat of this deal.

Web designers and their web page creating software focuses on being compatible dominant browser in marketplace. What this means is that a great many web pages cannot be read or seen in Netscape browsers.

In a recent month, one of my domains had 6604 page views. Only 5285 of those page views were seen by Internet Explorer users. The remaining 20% were seen through another browser!

No matter domain visited or month viewed, these numbers seem to hold up to test of time.

If your website is not viewable in non Internet Explorer browsers, then 20% of your current traffic may not be able to view your site and must move on to another site to find what they are seeking. They were at your site --- you have already successfully attracted their attention --- but they could only see a blank page when they arrived.

It is like taking a $100 bill and breaking it into twenties and then flushing one of your twenties straight down toilet! Getting that $20 bill back is same as increasing your income by 25%.

So how can we fix this quickly and easily? I have fixed many such pages in times past and in nearly every case, problem can be quickly identified in table HTML code. Yes, Microsoft does in essence use exact same HTML as does Netscape, with a few extras thrown in.

Where Internet Explorer differs from Netscape is actually pretty clever. Netscape browsers require that all tables are presented with accurate opening and closing HTML table element brackets. Internet Explorer differs from Netscape by not requiring perfection in HTML code. Leave off a closing table bracket and Internet Explorer will show table perfectly. Leave off closing table bracket in Netscape and Netscape will deliver a blank page!

Nearly every web designer on planet utilizes table elements in their design. Remember point about Dirty HTML? Now you know why web designers get very frustrated when you tell them that your web page must be cross-browser compatible. If a web designer wants my money, he had better be prepared to give me a cross-browser compatible web page so I do not have to lose access to 20% of my market because of incompatibility issues.

Do yourself a favor. Get a copy of a Netscape 4.x browser and make certain that your website presents its contents to Netscape users. If you cannot see your website in Netscape 4.x browser, time has come to fix your website so that it will.

If you do not believe that 20% of us who use Netscape browsers are worth much to your bottom line, I have a suggestion. Fix you website because I asked you to and then start sending me $20 bills that you have been flushing down toilet.