Web Hosting Show » Web Hosting Tutorials http://www.webhostingshow.com podcast about web hosts and web hosting topics Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:22:50 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 More HTML Formatting Help http://www.webhostingshow.com/2012/01/17/more-html-formatting-help/ http://www.webhostingshow.com/2012/01/17/more-html-formatting-help/#comments Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:22:50 +0000 Mitch http://www.webhostingshow.com/?p=3960 We have already covered some basic HTML tags you will use when writing your web page code. Here are a few more that you might find come in handy, when designing your own web page.

Image Tags

In HTML, when you want to call upon an image to be displayed on your web page, you need to use the img tag. This tag tells the browser and web server that you are going to put an image here, and then what follows src= is the direct path to the image in question.

Code: <img src=”http://www.yourdomain.com/yourimage.jpg” />

Horizontal Rule Tags

The horizontal rule is for making a nice separator between sections of your web page. It acts as a single solid line that can be placed anywhere on your web page. It looks like this:

Code: <hr />

List Tags

If you want to format a list of topics on a single page, then the list tags will come in handy. You would start a list with the <ul> tag and end it with the </ul> tag. For each item on the list, you will want to wrap it in the <li> and </li> tags.

Code: <ul> <li>item #1</li> <li>item #2</li> </ul>

Ordered List Tags

If you want to format a list of topics on a single page, and have them numbered, the ordered list tags should be used. You would start a list with the <ol> tag and end it with the </ol> tag. For each item on the list, you will want to wrap it in the <li> and </li> tags.

Code: <ol> <li>item #1</li> <li>item #2</li> </ol>

Link Tags

Links are used to help users go from one page to the next page. The basic link is started with the <a href=”"> tag with the page’s path you want to link to inside the quotation marks. Then you type in the text of the link, and close it out with the </a> tag.

Code: <a href=”http://www.somedomain.com/pageiamlinkingto.html”>This Text is a Link</a>

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  ]]> http://www.webhostingshow.com/2012/01/17/more-html-formatting-help/feed/ 1 Basic HTML Formatting Help http://www.webhostingshow.com/2012/01/09/basic-html-formatting-help/ http://www.webhostingshow.com/2012/01/09/basic-html-formatting-help/#comments Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:34:43 +0000 Mitch http://www.webhostingshow.com/?p=3957 When it comes to formatting a web page using HTML code, you can think of it (kind of) in the same way you would look at formatting a document formatted by a word processor. You have your headlines to show you where one section starts and stops. You have your paragraphs to break up blocks of text, and you have line breaks to show where there should be a new line started. Now I am going to show you how to get some of these things done using HTML.

Headline Tags

The main purpose of the headline tags are make the titles stand out on the page, and also tell the browser and visitors where the titles are. You can use <h1></h1> for the main title, then (if needed) <h2></h2> for a secondary title. The bigger the number gets, the smaller or less important the title becomes. Remember to use the headline tags for headings only. It is not a good idea to use them to make text bigger or bolder. Also, search engines look at how your headline tags are used to help index the structure of the content on your web pages.

Code: <h1>This Is My Title</h1>

Paragraph Tags

The paragraph tags are important because they show the start (

) and then end

of where a paragraph should be on your web page. Having a long page with nothing but unformatted text is going to be very hard for the reader to navigate through. You want to break up the web page with the paragraph tags to make the web page your working on more scan-able for the end user.

Code: <p>This will be shown as it’s own paragraph on my web page.</p>

Line Break Tags

What if you don’t want to go to a new paragraph, and instead only want to break of one line and move to the line right under it? That is what the
or
tags are for. You might see either used, however it might be best to start using
to future-proof your web page for browsers in the future (just in case support for
was ever dropped.

Code: I can put this at the end of a line to show where I want it to stop. <br />

Blockquote Tags

When text has been blockquoted, it is often indented a little – in comparison with the other paragraphs around it. So you get white space to the left, and the margins around the text are enlarged a little ‘bit to seperate it from the rest of the text.

Code: <blockquote>This text will be shown as indented on my web page.</blockquote>

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  ]]> http://www.webhostingshow.com/2012/01/09/basic-html-formatting-help/feed/ 0 Modify the HTML Body Tag http://www.webhostingshow.com/2011/12/12/modify-the-html-body-tag/ http://www.webhostingshow.com/2011/12/12/modify-the-html-body-tag/#comments Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:32:38 +0000 Mitch http://www.webhostingshow.com/2011/12/12/modify-the-html-body-tag/ There are several HTML tags that can act as modifiers to how the web page looks visually.

First, let us re-visit the body tags. The body tags are there to tell the browser what part of the document is going to be visible to the end user when viewing the web page. This is marked up in your HTML code by putting a <body> where your web page’s content begins and a </body> tags where it ends.

How to Modify the Body Tag

So, any time you modify the body tags, you will be changing the way the web site is seen. There are several body tag modifiers you can use.

Change the Web Page’s Background Color

You can add bgcolor=”VALUE” (replacing VALUE with the name of the color or the HEX number) to change the background color for a web page.

Code: <body bgcolor=”white”> (this would make the background all white)

Change the Web Page’s Text Color

You can add text=”VALUE” (replacing VALUE with the name of the color or the HEX number) to change the background color for a web page.

Code: <body text=”black”> (this would make the text all black)

Change the Web Page’s Link Color

You can add link=”VALUE” (replacing VALUE with the name of the color or the HEX number) to change the color of links on a web page.

Code: <body link=”blue”> (this would make the links all blue)

Change the Web Page’s Visited Link Color

You can add vlink=”VALUE” (replacing VALUE with the name of the color or the HEX number) to change the color of link that have already been visited on a web page.

Code: <body vlink=”red”> (this would make the visited links red)

Change the Web Page’s Active Link Color

You can add alink=”VALUE” (replacing VALUE with the name of the color or the HEX number) to change the color of an active link.

Code: <body alink=”purple”> (this would make the active link purple)

More Helpful Body Tag Tips

You can use more than one of these at a time. If you wanted to, you could use more than one of these body modifiers at a time. you would just need to remember to put a space in between each body modifier. For example: 

<body bgcolor="black" color="white">

This is how you would link more than one together, this would tell the browser to make the background of the web page black and the text on the web page white. There is no limit to the number of these modifiers you can use on the body tag, as long as everything is formatted correctly, the web page should come out the way you want it to.

Only add these modifiers to the opening body tag. It is important to note that you only add these modifiers to the opening tag <body> and not the closing tag </body>.

Where can I find the HTML color or HEX values? You can find these many places. One of the best examples, is on w3school.com’s HTML colors page here:

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  ]]> http://www.webhostingshow.com/2011/12/12/modify-the-html-body-tag/feed/ 2 How to Create the Best Website Navigation http://www.webhostingshow.com/2011/12/08/how-to-create-the-best-website-navigation/ http://www.webhostingshow.com/2011/12/08/how-to-create-the-best-website-navigation/#comments Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:40:44 +0000 Mitch http://www.webhostingshow.com/2011/12/08/how-to-create-the-best-website-navigation/ The navigation section of your web site is one of the most important factors to a web site.

Why? The navigation is what allows you to move from one section of the web site to the next, linking web pages to web pages, and in all making a web site work. Here I hope to explain why web site navigation is important, along with a few other key factors you should remember when creating your web site.

Organize Your Web Pages

You should have a good idea of what your web site is going to be about, and how you are going to create it before you start with any HTML coding. One tool that comes in extremely handy when deciding navigation and how each page links to each idea is mind mapping. You can learn more about that process here:

As an example let us say you are working on a web site about you, so you have these basic web pages designed and ready to go:

  • The Home Page (the first thing people see)
  • An About Page (which gives more information about you, like your resume)
  • Your Contact Page (might have your e-mail address, or various means of contacting you)
  • Projects and Work (examples of the work you have done, or the projects you have worked on)

Now somewhere, you will need to have your web site navigation on each of the pages. This can be done in a number of different ways, but the most popular seems to be across the top. This way people can go to and from different parts of the web site, just by clicking the links you see on the top. I would suggest having them formatted this way:

Home | About Me | Contact Me | My Projects

Each one should link to the related pages above. A clean-cut and uniform navigation system is really a must.

Web Site Navigation Tips

Here are some more tips you should watch out for when it comes to web site navigation:

  • Create a site map to help people find exactly what they are looking for quickly.
  • There is no problem with highlighting certain pages you think deserve more attention, just make sure they don’t take away from your main web site navigation.
  • Be sure to use short and precise words in your links, so people will know exactly what they are getting.

This is no doubt that navigation plays a huge roll in how successful your web site is and how long they stick around it. If people can not navigate from web page to web page easily, they might grow frustrated and leave the web site all together. So, having a good navigation system means you can keep more visitors both on and returning to your hosted web site.

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  ]]> http://www.webhostingshow.com/2011/12/08/how-to-create-the-best-website-navigation/feed/ 2 Basic Parts of a Website Layout http://www.webhostingshow.com/2011/12/07/basic-parts-of-a-website-layout/ http://www.webhostingshow.com/2011/12/07/basic-parts-of-a-website-layout/#comments Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:21:19 +0000 Mitch http://www.webhostingshow.com/2011/12/07/basic-parts-of-a-website-layout/ When it comes to very basic website design, every website layout has four basic elements that you should learn. These are the HTML tags, the head tags, the title tags and the body tags.  Each one plays an important part in presenting your website data to the public.

Let’s look at this example of some very basic website code and then I’ll tell you about each part: 

<html>
<head>
<title>My First Web Site</title>
</head>
<body>
This is my first web site.  I hope you enjoy it!
</body>
</html>

The HTML Tags

The <html> and </html> tags wrapped around the text tells you this is an HTML document. They signify the start of the web page and the end of the web page.

The Head Tags

The <head> and </head> tags wrapped around the title tags tell the web browser this is where you can get specific information about this page, and how it is displayed. The head tags must be at the top of the page, after the first HTML tag.

The Title Tag

The <title> and </title> tags tells the browser that what is in between here is the title for the web page. It will be shown (in most browser) at the top of the menu and on the tab you are browsing from.

The Body Tags

The <body> and </body> tags wrapped around the text tells you this is the “body” of the web page, where the content you want displayed in the browser goes.

Remember to Close Your Tags

You might have noticed that these tags come in pair. One of these tags is used to start the command to the web browser, and the other is used to end or close it. For example, when you use the <title> tag, you are telling the web browser, “Hey, this is the web page’s title here, pay attention!”. Now, you need to tell the web browser that you are done telling it the title of your page page. You use the </title> tag to say, “Ok, done telling you what the title is – move along!”

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  ]]> http://www.webhostingshow.com/2011/12/07/basic-parts-of-a-website-layout/feed/ 0 HTML Basics http://www.webhostingshow.com/2011/12/06/html-basics/ http://www.webhostingshow.com/2011/12/06/html-basics/#comments Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:21:29 +0000 Mitch http://www.webhostingshow.com/2011/12/06/html-basics/ Hyper Text Markup Language, or as you know it HTML, is the markup language for most web pages on the Internet.

Now, it is not exactly a language like English or Spanish, which we communicate with verbally. A markup language is a system for editing text in a way that changes how the text looks or how you interact with it. Where you use funny looking code to make one section of text look different than the other, the code in question is not seen by the end user. The server the web page is coming from, and the user’s browser come together to help mesh it together as something that is seen as visually appealing to the end user.

A Simple HTML Example

Here is an example of a web site written in HTML code: 

<html>
<body>
<p>This is my first web site.  I hope you enjoy it!</p>
</body>
</html>

Breaking Down the HTML Code

As you can see from the text above, this is a pretty simple example. You have the basic text of the web site, “This is my first web site. I hope you enjoy it!” with several HTML tags wrapped around it. The HTML tags are what give the text commands on how it should be interpreted by the browser.

  • The <html> and </html> tags wrapped around the text tells you this is an HTML document.
  • The <body> and </body> tags wrapped around the text tells you this is the “body” of the web page, where the content you want displayed in the browser goes.
  • The <p> and </p> tags wrapped around the text tells you this should be formatted as a paragraph.

Here are some frequently asked questions somebody might have at this point.

How do you create an HTML file like this one? Best thing to use would be a plain text editor, such as Notepad. The reason for this, is you want the files in question to be saved with no extra markup information included.

How do I save the file as a HTML web page? You will want to save the file with a .html extension at the end. This will tell the web browser that this page is an HTML coded page, and should be read like one. As an example, I saved this file as “test.html”. The “test” name does not matter at this point, it could be anything. We will dive deeper into how to name your HTML files in a later tutorial.

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  ]]> http://www.webhostingshow.com/2011/12/06/html-basics/feed/ 0 Give Me Your Podcast Ideas! http://www.webhostingshow.com/2011/07/11/give-me-your-podcast-ideas/ http://www.webhostingshow.com/2011/07/11/give-me-your-podcast-ideas/#comments Mon, 11 Jul 2011 12:24:20 +0000 Mitch http://www.webhostingshow.com/2011/07/11/give-me-your-podcast-ideas/ Web Hosting Show IdeasDear Loyal Listeners,

HELP!

It is your good friend, the web hosting industry’s media rock star, here with a ‘bit of a problem that I hope you can help me with.  You see, the podcast has been on a ‘bit of a hiatus as of late – and I am sorry for that.  However, I have just about run out of ideas and topics.  To me, it seems like I have covered just about everything there is – so I need your help.

Let me know, what new topics would you like to hear talked about on the Web Hosting Show? You suggest it – and I will do it.  It is as simple as that.  This podcast isn’t for me, it isn’t for them, it is for you – so if there is a topic you would like to learn more about, and it has something to do with the web hosting industry, please send it my way.

Even if you have never commented here or left a message on any website before, I want your opinions, your ideas.  Let me know how I can make this resource better for you and I will do it. So how can you send me these ideas? You can either leave them as a comment on this post or use my nifty contact page to send your message along.

Thank you for your support and for your ideas for future episodes of the Web Hosting Show podcast.

- Mitch

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  ]]> http://www.webhostingshow.com/2011/07/11/give-me-your-podcast-ideas/feed/ 1 Will Dedicated Hosting Die? http://www.webhostingshow.com/2011/06/28/will-dedicated-hosting-die/ http://www.webhostingshow.com/2011/06/28/will-dedicated-hosting-die/#comments Tue, 28 Jun 2011 11:31:16 +0000 Mitch http://www.webhostingshow.com/2011/06/28/will-dedicated-hosting-die/ Dedicated HostingIf you look across the board at some of the biggest and brightest web hosting companies out there, you will see the trend is the same.  A lot of companies out there are looking to get rid of the dedicated servers and start offering alternatives like virtual server hosting. 

So, why is this happening?  I do think that costs have a big part to play in it.  Dedicated servers cost more to run than some of the alternatives out there.  They are bulky and hard to maintain once they get so old.  It would be like you buying a pair of shoes and the company that makes the shoes has to guarantee they still work, so every couple of years they send you an update pair.  In the long run, dedicated hosting has reached its peak of usefulness. 

VPS hosting has also grown by leaps and bounds as the eventual successor to the dedicated server hosting setup.  It is much easier to scale, setup and maintain. The only drawback for some would be the fact that it doesn’t exactly offer the customizability you might have with a dedicated server.

Some people might call me crazy for saying dedicated hosting is on the way out.  However, those same people might have never noticed the free hosting providers of the world going out of business left and right either. 

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  ]]> http://www.webhostingshow.com/2011/06/28/will-dedicated-hosting-die/feed/ 0 Google +1 for WordPress http://www.webhostingshow.com/2011/06/27/google-1-for-wordpress/ http://www.webhostingshow.com/2011/06/27/google-1-for-wordpress/#comments Mon, 27 Jun 2011 12:26:21 +0000 Mitch http://www.webhostingshow.com/2011/06/27/google-1-for-wordpress/ Google +1 WordPressSince the release of Google +1, webmasters from all around the world have been racing to find the easiest way to get this button added to their websites.  Everybody wants to keep the Google overlords happy and will give their left arm to get a higher ranking in the search engine.  So, how can people using WordPress get in on the action?  Install the new Google +1 Button plugin for WordPress.

Installation is pretty simple.  You simply download the add-on and add it to your /wp-content/plugins/ directory.  Then, activate the plugin from the Plugins menu inside of WordPress.  You have the option to insert the code automatically or via a shortcode.  The choice is up to you.

You can pick up the Google +1 plugin for WordPress from the WordPress Plugin Directory.

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  ]]> http://www.webhostingshow.com/2011/06/27/google-1-for-wordpress/feed/ 0 Google Analytics Gets a Facelift http://www.webhostingshow.com/2011/04/06/google-analytics-gets-a-facelift/ http://www.webhostingshow.com/2011/04/06/google-analytics-gets-a-facelift/#comments Wed, 06 Apr 2011 12:38:10 +0000 Mitch http://www.webhostingshow.com/2011/04/06/google-analytics-gets-a-facelift/ I don’t know many webmasters these days that don’t use Google Analytics in one way or another.  It is simply one of the best third party website statistic tools out there.  Here recently, it also got a ‘bit of a facelift as far as how the content is organized.  Everything is much more focused on getting you the information you need, faster.

For example, here is the new dashboard for another website of mine Firefox Facts:

Google Analytics Dashboard

If you need to quickly view basic statistics, this is the best place to go.  You can also customize it with more widgets – to give you access to more data.

As you browse through the rest of the interface – you will se much of the same information is there – things are just organized in a much better way.  The use of drop down menus on the sidebar also helps to better focur yourself on seeing the data you need to see on and about your website too:

New Google Analytics Sidebar

The last new feature that really impressed me was the drop down menu at the top that lets you switch between websites you run very quickly.  It includes a search option too – for those of us managing multiple domains this is even better.  Simply type the first few letters of the domain and you can quickly pull up a Google Anyaltics profile for it. Search/Accounts Box in Google Analytics

If you want to play around with this new version of Google Analytics yourself, simple log into your Google Analytics account and click on the red "New Version" link at the top.   Overall, I would say a great tool just got even greater.

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