Frames and Search EnginesWritten by Sumantra Roy
When it comes to framed sites and effect that use of frames by a site has on its search engine ranking, there are two schools of thought. Some people say that framed sites, if done properly, have no problems in getting good rankings in search engines. Others claim that if search engine optimization is important to you, never use frames. In my opinion, truth lies somewhere in between. Yes, use of frames does throw up a few issues when it comes to getting good rankings in search engines which don't understand frames. Hence, when you are designing a new site, I would recommend that you avoid using frames, unless you have a specific reason for doing so. However, if you already have a site which uses frames, all is not lost. You can still get good rankings in search engines even though you have used frames. Furthermore, using frames also has its own advantages when it comes to search engine placement, as we shall later on. This article assumes that you have a working knowledge of frames. For more information on frames, go to http://www.webreference.com/dev/frames/ In case your site uses frames, key to getting good rankings lies in using NOFRAMES tag. The NOFRAMES tag is intended to help framed web sites display some content for those people who are using browsers which don't understand frames. The search engines which don't understand frames also look at NOFRAMES tag. Hence, if you are using frames, you need to add content to NOFRAMES tag. What you should do is to add a complete web page within NOFRAMES tag. Ensure that this page repeats important keywords for your site a number of times. Also, in order to ensure that content within NOFRAMES tag is as prominent as possible to search engines, you should put NOFRAMES tag right after FRAMESET tag. However, don't put NOFRAMES before FRAMESET tag. If you do that, Internet Explorer will display your site correctly but Netscape will display content present in NOFRAMES tag, rather than content present within frames.
| | WYSIWYG Versus Coding: HTML With A PurposeWritten by Jim D. Ray
After years of working with entrepreneurs who developed their first web site using an image-based editor, new world of internet marketing has placed a stronger emphasis on web development that conforms to technical concerns such as search engine optimization and multi-browser compatibility. Wigging Out WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get, pronounced “whizzy wig”) web site editing programs can allow anyone to develop rich, full-feature web sites without a working knowledge of HTML (Hypertext Markup Language). Many of these programs feature a “drag and drop” user interface, accomplishing eye-catching web site development in much same way one might perform desktop publishing. However, many, if not most of these programs generate HTML files that oftentimes results in compatibility issues. A few key concerns in developing web sites using WYSIWYG editors include: * Text content may not be positioned at top of HTML file, which search engines like Google use to determine search engine ranking; * Font sizes may not be fixed, displaying garbled or overlapping text; * Content placement may not appear uniformly in less popular, yet fully functional browsers; * Future expandability of your web site may be limited to program’s design interface. Although many WYSIWYG programs are capable of developing visually appealing web design, HTML automatically generated by program for upload to World Wide Web may limit your web site’s compatibility and expandability, long-term. Coding by Hand Coding HTML by hand can be a challenging, yet worthwhile endeavor, as flexibility of hand-coded HTML measurably outweighs time required to become familiar with language. Although a relatively simple programming language, HTML is a diverse subject with many facets that can be used to create a dynamic, rich web presence. There are a number of on-line tutorials offering basic and advanced HTML guidance, as well as HTML’s secondary offshoot languages, such as DHTML and XML. A search on Google (http://www.google.com) using terms such as “HTML how to” or “HTML tutorial” will produce a myriad of results for new and advanced programmers.
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