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CH'I

UNIVERSAL ENERGY
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4 pages : last updated : 27.06.03
DON'T START COUNTING THE BLACK SPOTS BEFORE YOU BUILD YOUR WEB SITE !
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EASIBUILD
the small site builders' site
from doisaket

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INDEX OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Web Hosts

Site Building and Design

Add-ons / add-ins, and Examples

Optimization Tools

Publishing Submission

Feedback

Futher Reading, Tools, etc.

the other side

1. Introduction.

There are many excellent resources available free online to assist the small business and private webmaster

who is either unable or unwilling to purchase commercial tools or advice.

The downside is that, in most cases, some form of advertising must be accepted in exchange.

There may be a requirement to place banners, buttons, etc., or just a simple text link, to the provider.

In many cases these may be optional, and it is often possible to put such items in a place on

your site that is minimally intrusive to visitors.

For example, a special page linked from your main page could be used. It is usual to supply the address of

this page to your provider so that your link to him can be verified.

The range of available resources is large, and an attempt is made here to categorize some of these, with

comments and brief advice.

We hope that you will find this site useful, and wish you success and enjoyment in your endeavors to

join the web community.

2. Web Hosts.

http://freewebspace.net/ provides a list of 350 to choose from. Read the user comments and ratings

carefully, as many of these are third party and either don't work, are slow, or carry excessive advertising.

They also often provide long and unmemorable site addresses (url's).

http://www.webmask.net/webhosting/freehosts.shtml lists 8 popular sites, with comments and their

specifications. http://www.webspawner.com/free.webpages.goclick.html also provides automatic

page authoring. You may also like to to try :

http://www.ivillage.com/ivillage/memberwebsites/ - which is for ladies only !

http://www.fortunecity.com/cobrand/trellix/default.htm - with its assisted pagebuilder (templates), and

http://builder.cnet.com/webbuilding/0-4433184-7-4387864.html , which is similar.

The larger, more established, free hosts all carry advertising (the page placement over which you have no

control). But they are usually fast, and will be reliable into the foreseeable future. This latter point is

important because it is often a long process to migrate a large site from a dead host - a problem which is

best avoided from the start. Examples you might like to try are :

https://www.tripod.lycos.com/build/welcome/build.html ,

https://www.angelfire.lycos.com/doc/zones/build.html ,

http://geocities.yahoo.com/ . - these 3 feature auto or freeform site building.

In all evaluations of web hosts it is a good idea to make a simple test page with a bit of text, a .jpeg and a

.gif image (using something like MS FrontPage), upload it (using something like MS Publishing Wizard or

the tool provided by your test host) and check its display and loading speed over a day or so.

You should be aware that page display can vary from browser to browser and also between

(especially the free) hosts. In practice, most all people use Internet Explorer, then Netscape Navigator ;

so if you write for these you shouldn't be far wrong.

This article might be useful : http://www.netmechanic.com/news/vol4/beginner_no24.htm .

3. Site building and design.

This can be done using pre-formatted pages (templates) supplied by your host, but this limits your style.

The major sites above should be fine. Alternatively, more control is gained by writing in htm language.

A "dictionary" can be seen at : http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/reference/ together with other useful

freeform building resources. For many, the best answer is a "middle way" such as that provided by MS

FrontPage, bundled with Windows. These intuitive programs write the html for you in the background, are

flexible enough for most purposes, allowing image and add-on insertion and hyperlinking to pages and web

addresses (url's). As a general rule, .gif format images should be used for graphics with large color fields

(low color numbers) and .jpeg format images for photographs (high color numbers). Resolution should be no

more than 75 dpi. See more at : http://tripod.gifworks.com/ ,

http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/geektalk/97/30/index3a.html?tw=design ,

http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/98/23/index3a.html?tw=design and :

http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/96/35/index2a.html?tw=design .

Images can be obtained from online libraries such as :

http://build.tripod.com/imagebrowser/index.html , http://www.freestockphotos.com/ - from the U.S. gov.,

http://www.freeimages.co.uk/ -check out the "objects" section.. also : http://www.freefoto.com/ ,

or they can be scanned from photographs or other documents, or input from digital cameras directly.

To use multimedia see : http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/multimedia/ .

The following articles on Frontpage and html may be useful :

http://www.netmechanic.com/news/vol4/frontpage_no6.htm - get control of your html code.

http://www.netmechanic.com/news/vol4/beginner_no8.htm - wrapping text around images.

http://www.netmechanic.com/news/vol4/design_no8.htm - build printer-friendly pages.

http://www.netmechanic.com/news/vol4/design_no10.htm - writing for the web.

http://www.netmechanic.com/news/vol2/design_no4.htm - limit your line length, for browsers and humans!.

The following is sound, first task advice, and fun : http://www.netmechanic.com/news/vol3/usability_no2.htm

Finally, it is advisable to limit the size of your pages to avoid loading time-outs and /or visitor waiting frustration

(and premature departure). 50-70K total (including images) should be more than fine for commercial purposes,

maybe double for leisure purposes.

4. Add-ons / add-ins.

These include hit counters and online statistics, guestbooks, banners, buttons, search facilities (for engines,

and for your own site, if its big enough!), polls, pass-ons, event.news.link.rotation lists, etc. Suggested sites

to obtain these add ons are the major hosts (see above) - they are often provided with the site., And also at :

http://www.ukbanners.com/ - a banner exchange scheme.

http://www.send-a-link.com/ - "add to favorites, share with friend, make homepage" bar.

http://htmlgear.lycos.com/ - extensive range.

http://www.zcounter.com/ and
http://www.bcentral.com/products/fc/default.asp - good hit counters with statistics facilities.

http://www.beseen.com/hitcounter/index.html - another hit counter.

http://www.beseen.com/chat/index.html - add a chat room.

http://buyit.beseen.com/cgi-reg/GetButton - add a buy-it button, and sell online.

http://searchenginewatch.com/resources/software.html , http://www.freefind.com/ ,

http://services.google.com/cobrand/free_trial , http://www.searchtools.com/tools/tools.html .

http://www.spiderline.com/about/pricing.html - these are free search facilities, despite the url.

http://ixquick.com/uk/link_instructions.html - an excellent meta search engine for your site.

Add ins are also available, for example, in MS FrontPage under "insert - component". These may use support

files, which some web hosts do not accept.

A selection of example add-ins can be viewed at the bottom of this page.

5. Optimization tools.

These are used to try to ensure that your site is favored by search engines and ranked high on their listings.

Many engines require Meta Tags in your pages' html. These can be manually entered, but there are also

automatic generators available. Meta tags provide engines with information such as page title, description,

search keywords, content language, classification, etc.. An idea of what they look like can be obtained by

looking at the "source" of this site. (In IE, right click, then left click on "View Source"). It is recommended

that you use meta tags, but they are not essential to the correct display of your pages. Currently (Jan.2002)

only AltaVista and Inktomi give "top weight" to meta tags, but this is more than enough reason to use them.

Some meta tag generators can be found at : http://www.ineedhits.com/metatag/ ,

http://sitepromotionsoftware.com/ , and further advice at :

http://meta-tags.com/#search%20engine%20secrets , http://meta-tags.com ,

http://www.netmechanic.com/news/vol3/promo_no18.htm .

It should be born in mind that, if you want to be highly ranked on their user return pages, search engines like

to see lots of links from and to your pages, as well as internal links.

A possible problem with lots of external links is that a visitor might follow them, and lose sight of your site.

One way to avoid this is to make these links open in a second window in your own browser. When they

are closed, the wandering visitor is returned to your site's links page. You may like to try the following demo :

NEW WINDOW - TEST 1 NO NEW WINDOW - TEST 2

For more information see : http://www.netmechanic.com/news/vol4/beginner_no4.htm .

Also note that engines do not rate images, so plenty of text body (reflected by your meta tag keywords)

is also important. The best solution to the "blind image" problem is to use "alt" tags (see article below).

Further optimization can be achieved by requesting reciprocal linkage from sites you choose to link to.

Useful articles can be read at : http://www.zdnet.com/searchiq/onlinemarketing/wtse.html ,

http://www.netmechanic.com/news/vol1/search_no2.htm - improve your "title" tags.

http://www.netmechanic.com/news/vol4/html_no9.htm - using "header" tags.

http://www.netmechanic.com/news/vol4/promo_no7.htm - using "alt" tags.

http://www.netmechanic.com/news/vol3/promo_no9.htm - how to pick your "keywords".

It is worthwhile adding popular misspelled keywords in your keywords list also (provided, of course, they

are relevant to your site content). For some insight, take a look at : http://www.searchspell.com/typo/

and http://www.wordtracker.com/

6. Publishing.

Once your site is built, its pages must be uploaded to your host server. This is either done through a

facility provided by them (server side) or through a program such as MS Publishing Wizard (client side)

which is provided with Windows. Both are simple processes. Remember also to upload image files

associated with your html files to ensure correct display.

The author uses SendToFTP most of the time. Its fast and simple with a right mouse click on the file

you want to upload. Check out www.pclightning.com

7. Submission.

The final (and ongoing) task is to get search engines and directories to list you. This can be done manually

by visiting each site and clicking on their "add/submit url/site" links, usually to be found on their home pages.

Indeed, manual submission is essential for Directories and Lists, with their human reviewers. For these, always

research the correct category for your site (which also should be presentable).

If you opt for the manual route, it is worthwhile setting up a folder (containing all the url's) from which to work.

Alternatively, submission in bulk is possible through various online sites. For example 3 of the best are :

http://www.submitcorner.com/ , http://www.ineedhits.com/add-it/free/ ,

http://www.addme.com/submission.htm .

You may also like to try :

http://online-biz.com/promote/freesubmission1.htm , http://www.all4one.com/all4submit/ ,

http://www.search.com/submit?tag=ex.se.fd.col.submit , http://searchenginewatch.com/links/ ,

http://searchenginebase.com/sbsubmissions.html , http://www.37.com/ ,

http://www.addpro.com/submit30.htm , http://www.submitplus.bc.ca/spn/ , .

Some free bulk-submission services are, however, more interested in your e-mail address than helping

you get listings. This is so that they can spam you with advertisements !

So, be wary - set up a special e-mail address first, and use it only for submission purposes.

There are about 20 major Search Engines and Directories that should always be targeted. These

include : http://search.aol.com/ , http://uk.altavista.com/s?r=1 , http://www.ask.co.uk/ ,

http://www.askjeeves.com/index.asp?intl=0 , http://www.directhit.com/ , http://www.excite.com/ ,

http://www.alltheweb.com/ , http://www.google.com/ , http://www.hotbot.lycos.co.uk/?redirect=true ,

http://home.iwon.com/ , http://www.inktomi.com/ , http://www.looksmart.com/ ,

http://www.lycos.co.uk/?redirect=true , http://search.msn.com/ , http://search.netscape.com/ ,

http://www.northernlight.com/ , http://dmoz.org/ , http://www.yahoo.com/ , http://www.zeal.com/ ,

http://www.realnames.com/Eng/Eng_Corporate_RealNamesHomepage.asp .

Further details on the above can be found at : http://searchenginewatch.com/links/major.html .

There are also thousands of minor and specialized engines and directories that are available if you really

want full web coverage. These can be found in such listing sites as :

http://searchenginewatch.com/links/otherglobal.html , http://searchenginewatch.com/links/community.html

http://www.searchenginebase.com/ .

An idea of the importance of an engine or directory (their own rankings) can be found at such sites as :

http://www.searchenginewatch.com/reports/netratings.html This may influence to whom you submit .

Besides your home page, other site pages should be submitted (all with their /full filename address).

Submissions should be continuously followed up with new ones about every 4 weeks, and when new

pages are added to your site. Too frequent submission may be interpreted a spamming, and it could be a

good strategy to always follow up your failures first.

Some engines unfortunately require payment for submissions. This sadly is a continuing trend in 2002 ,

as free web services continue to shrink in general.

Web Rings such as : http://dir.webring.yahoo.com/rw and http://www.ringsurf.com/ should not be

forgotten either. You can join them, and also search them for sites to link to your own.

The following articles may be useful :

http://www.searchenginewatch.com/reports/alliances.html - see which engines hold hands -

an eye opener. and http://searchenginewatch.com/ - submission tips.

8. Feedback.

Your listings progress can be followed by querying engines and directories with your own site title or keywords.

A useful facility can be found at : http://www.mike-levin.com/ .

Once your page achieves a satisfactory ranking, it is probably best to discontinue submission.

Your click-through popularity and link popularity are also good indicators - tools for which

can be found at : http://www.ineedhits.com/free/popularity/ , http://www.linkpopularitycheck.com/ ,

http://www.marketleap.com/publinkpop/ and http://www.marketposition.com/linkpopularity.htm

Links to you can also be searched. See : http://siteowner.bcentral.com/linkfinder.cfm .

Visitor activities can be tracked with : http://free.realtracker.com/ .

Your host server's activity can be analysed with : http://www.netstore.de/Supply/http-analyze/index.html ,

and with : http://www.analog.cx/ .

9. Further reading, tools, resources, etc..

http://www.internettrafficreport.com/ , http://fantomaster.com/fafree0.html - free tools.

http://www.searchengineshowdown.com - news and tips.

http://searchengineforums.com/bin/Ultimate.cgi - useful submission tips, discussion, news..

http://www.trafficzap.com/searchsubmit.asp?pcount=engine - 20 engine submission, and other free tools.

http://fantomaster.com/faarticles0.html - engine optimization articles.

http://www.spider-food.net/ - similar.

http://www.netmechanic.com/ - improve and promote your site.

http://searchenginewatch.com/webmasters/index.html - submission and optimization tips.

http://www.netmechanic.com/news/webmaster - resources, html tips, and tutorials about nearly everything.

http://reallybig.com/default_netmechanic.shtml - 5000 resources !

http://www.delorie.com/web/ - a wide selection of useful tools for http, html, engine analysis, etc..

http://www.startingpage.com/html/search.html - another list of standard and specialized engines.

http://www.searchking.com/add_new.htm - tools, submission, stats., free ads..

http://www.searchenginebase.com/sbfreeportal0.html - tool to boost link popularity and engine rankings.

http://www.privacy.net/track/ - how companies can track your movements on the internet. interesting !

http://www.netmechanic.com/news/vol1/search_no2.htm - get a monthly site tune up report (dead links,

slow pages, errors, etc.).

http://www.netmechanic.com/news/vol3/promo_no16.htm - link popularity article.

http://www.netmechanic.com/news/vol3/design_no9.htm - writing in web T.V.

http://www.netmechanic.com/news/vol2/server_no6.htm - create and display a custom error page.

http://www.bruceclay.com/searchenginechart.pdf - chart of search engine interelationships.

http://www.redir.net/ - get a simpler site address (free url redirection).

http://www.g33.net/ - free web space, url redirection,web hosting, counter, message board, and support.

http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/stories/story/0,10738,2845887,00.html - get to know your pc.

It is hoped that you found EASIBUILD useful. Your comments, suggestions, criticisms and contributions
would be appreciated : doisaket@yahoo.com

You may like to view the artistic and philosophical work of the author at

http://www.harbinson.fslife.co.uk/index.htm

Add-on examples for you to try out.

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