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What is XML?

April 4, 2009 By admin

By: Jim Pretin

When the internet first came to be, all websites were written in HTML. HTML was the only programming language used to describe and display data on the World Wide Web.

As time progressed, programmers started to realize that they were being stymied by HTML. Web designers wanted to be able to describe data more effectively. This need for a better way to deal with data resulted in the development of a new specification called XML.

What is XML? XML stands for Extensible Markup Language. So, just like HTML, XML is a markup language. A markup language is any language that is used to describe or define information and text. XML is not a substitute for HTML. It is to be used in conjunction with HTML.

HTML focuses on describing how data or text is supposed to be displayed. The XML language does something totally different. XML describes what the data is. So, XML is not something that is apparent on a web page, because it does not actually do anything. As information and data presented on the world wide web became more complex, XML was invented to effectively structure, store, and send this information.

What makes XML truly unique is that there are no predefined tags like we have with HTML. All of the tags used in HTML have already been defined, such as the paragraph tag, the header tag, and all the various style tags. XML is not defined. You can make your own tags!

So, the question is, why do we need XML? Why do we need a more versatile specification like XML to describe data? After all, HTML works fine if used properly, so why do we need XML? Well, the answer is simple. XML is a device independent, cross-platform language.

This is extremely important, because people are now using a wide variety of gadgets to connect to the internet, as almost every electronic device on the market now comes equipped with email and internet access. Cell phones, palm tops, computers installed in automobiles, they all have built-in web access. Each of these devices display text and graphics differently, and utilize different platforms and a variety of web browsers. As a result, someone using a cell phone to access a certain web site may not be able to view the data on that website properly because the browser running on that cell phone might not be able to properly display the HTML. The platforms that run on some of these newfangled products and devices are simply not 100% compatible with HTML.

XML solves this problem by making sure that the most important data on your website can be displayed across all of these different platforms. This is what makes XML so valuable. The other important features of XML is that it enables data to be exchanged between incompatible systems, and because XML files are plain text files, basically anyone using any system can view the contents of the text file.

So, all web designers and programmers should become familiar with and learn to use XML for describing, storing, and sending data. With so many different ways now available to connect to the internet, not using a totally flexible language like XML could be extremely costly for any e-commerce business.

Article Source: http://www.homebusinessresourcedirectory.com

About the Author: Jim Pretin is the owner of http://www.forms4free.com a service that helps programmers make email forms.

NOTE: You may use this article for reprint ONLY if you DO NOT change the article in ANY way, AND you keep the source and bio IN TACT with ALL links ACTIVE!

Filed Under: Web Design Tagged With:

What is XHTML?

April 4, 2009 By admin

By: Jim Pretin

We have all heard of HTML. HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language. What is a hypertext markup language, you ask? It is a language for specifying how certain text should appear. When you design a web page, you want certain content or text to be displayed in a specific way. You may want some text to appear in bold or italics, while other text you may want to display larger or in color.

HTML is not the only type of markup language. There are markup languages that apply to other types of applications, such as word processing or other software applications. However, HTML was by far the most important markup language ever created, as it became the standard for displaying information on what is now known as the world wide web, or internet.

However, HTML is not the only markup language being used on the internet today. Another, better version of HTML evolved as programmers began to realize that HTML was innately flawed in a variety of ways.

By 1999, a new specification was written in a language called XML, which forms the basis for XHTML. The World Wide Web Consortium says the following about XHTML:

The Extensible HyperText Markup Language (XHTML) is a family of current and future document types and modules that reproduce, subset, and extend HTML, reformulated in XML. XHTML family document types are all XML-based, and ultimately are designed to work in conjunction with XML-based user agents. XHTML is the successor of HTML, and a series of specifications has been developed for XHTML .

XHTML is what is known as a meta-language, which is a language for defining a markup language. To put it simply, SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) is the basis for HTML. XML is a more refined subset of SGML, and forms the basis for XHTML. On the whole, XHTML allows for more flexibility than HTML.

XHTML was developed for two reasons: (1) to try to create a language that could more effectively convey the meaning of a particular webpage to a computer, and (2) to create a layout for webpages that would be universally understood by browsers running on different platforms or on different types of screens, whether it be a PC platform with a standard 800 X 600 monitor, a laptop, a cell phone, or any other device.

So, to all you web designers out there, it is probably time to start designing your most important web pages in XHTML. As almost every electronic device on the market is now equipped with internet access, it is important to use a versatile programming language like XHTML so that your web pages can be viewed and properly formatted across a wide variety of platforms.

Article Source: http://www.homebusinessresourcedirectory.com

About the Author: Jim Pretin is the owner of http://www.forms4free.com a service that helps programmers make email forms.

NOTE: You may use this article for reprint ONLY if you DO NOT change the article in ANY way, AND you keep the source and bio IN TACT with ALL links ACTIVE!

Filed Under: Web Design Tagged With:

Are you Chasing your Visitors Away?

April 3, 2009 By admin

By: Terri Seymour

To keep your visitors coming back, the main goals of your website are for visitor participation and benefits. Provide an interesting, beneficial and useful website and they will come back!

If your site is annoying you can be sure they will find another site to visit, never to come back to yours.

Here are some ways you can be sure to annoy your visitors:

(they might not annoy all, but probably the majority)

Frames - Chopping up a site with frames is a great way to get your visitors frustrated. These frames are very obtrusive and make navigation and reading your site much harder. They are also disliked by the search engine spiders.

Overbearing Graphics - Not only are these blinking and flashing graphics distracting and unnecessary, they can also cause your site to download very slowly. Most people do not have the time to sit and wait for an extremely slow site, and will leave before even knowing what your site has to offer.

No Contact Information – I cannot stress enough how important it is to have your email address and other contact info on every page. This will add credibility to your site and always give your visitors a reason to be assured that you can be reached when needed.

Hard To Navigate -You want your visitors to be able to get around your site without trouble. Have your links all together in a place that is easily seen. Have them in the same place on every page.

Inconsistent Page Design – I have been on some sites where after clicking on a link, I didn’t even know if I was at the same site. The page was totally different and did not have any of the same information or links as the previous page.  After trying to find what I was looking for and not finding it, I left. Please keep your site design uniform and consistent. This will make it much easier on your visitors.

Spelling and Grammar – Always proofread your web pages. Designing and building a professional website is a waste of time if it reads like a five year old wrote it. With spell checker, grammar checker, dictionaries, etc. there is no excuse for poorly written web pages!

Too Many Banners – If you want banners on your site, set up a banner exchange page for this purpose only. Do not have your homepage or other pages so loaded with banners that there isn’t room for anything else.

Hard To Read Text - Do not use fancy text or pale text on a pale background. The easiest to read is a dark text on a light background. Also, if you use a textured or print background, be sure that it is not hard on the eyes.  One site I visited had a weave look background that made the text so hard to read, after a few minutes of looking around I had to leave because I was getting a headache. If you think it is easy to see get a few  more opinions just to be sure!

Music - Music used to be very common on the web. Practically every site you went to had music. More and more people started realizing that this was a major distraction and annoyance to a lot of people. If you really want music, have a choice for your visitors. Let them decide if they want the music.

Lack of Content – You’ve got to have content. People visit a website to see what the site has that will benefit them. Useful, helpful, practical content can’t be beat! This would include resources, freebies, tips, ideas, information, interaction, contests, etc.

One thing you can do is visit several sites that pertain to your business. Study these sites and write down what you find annoying. Write down any reasons you have for leaving the site. Take note of what you like about these sites. Incorporate all these findings into  creating a sharp, clean, useful website with nothing that will chase away your visitors!

Article Source: http://www.homebusinessresourcedirectory.com

Authors Bio: Find lots more tips, articles, and resources and a chance to own your own profitable ebook store with unlimited support at http://www.SeymourProducts.com Seymour Products offers a huge selection of ebooks and software only $1.00 each with resell rights. Business Marketing Bulletin loaded with resources, tips, fun and more! mailto:subscribe@seymourproducts.com

Note: You may use this article for reprint ONLY if you DO NOT change the article in ANY way, AND you keep the source and bio IN TACT with ALL links ACTIVE!

Filed Under: Web Design Tagged With: ,

Designing a Blog for Maximum Effect and Potential

April 3, 2009 By admin

By: David Mclauchlan

Blog is short for the word weblog. A weblog is a journal (or newsletter) that is frequently updated and intended for the consumption of the general public. Blogs generally represent the personality of the author or the Web site. Blogs can be used in the business world as well. Blogs started in the late 90s and have increased in popularity over the past months. Many people have started to create their personal blogs to express their thoughts and feelings. Internet companies have also started their blogs to inform consumers on the latest product news and reviews.

Blogs are now being used in internet marketing media field. Previously, Internet marketing was done by placing banners and links on popular websites, such as news and information sites. Links were also included on newsletters and marketing letters sent to the members of their mailing lists. Lots of people spend time reading blogs. People read their friend’s blogs, their favorite author’s blogs, blogs on topics that they are interested in, and blogs on product reviews. With the increasing popularity of blogging, it is even feared that people rely on blogs to get the latest news.

Although news reports from blogs may not be reliable, some people look for product reviews through blogs which in some cases is more dependable. While it is true that some media persons are being paid to write good reviews about a certain product, blog writers write about their actual experiences with products and services from a company. Since there are many people who read and start their own blogs, blogs are a good medium to market a product. Increasing blog traffic means an increase in product sales.

Joining affiliate programs and sites which will list your blog under a certain search category or name can increase your blog traffic. You can also have your blog advertised in popular websites. This, however, will cost some money and is not advisable if you have just started blogging. A writer who has just launched his/her blog will want as much traffic as possible to increase advertisements on the site. Also, some advertisers pay every time their link is clicked or the page that has their link is viewed.

When you have increased traffic on your blog, you should try to keep your visitors coming back and recommending your blog to friends and colleagues. This can be done by having informative or amusing content and good blog layout and design. You may develop your blog’s content or you can also acquire the services of a web content writer to provide you with the blog articles.

A blog’s layout and design also plays a big role. While most of the companies offering free blog hosting offer pre-selected templates, there are also some that allows customization that if you utilize this feature correctly can increase your blog’s traffic.

Make your blog stand out from the millions of blogs out by following the guidelines below:

Customize the banner. The banner usually has the most generic designs that are common to the blogs from a blogging company or service. You can personalize this banner by having a graphic with the dimensions of the banner. You can also edit the graphic so that it will also include the title of your blog. In this case, you can create your own graphic or you can purchase professional looking graphics online for less than $10.

Personalize photos. Of course, most of the photos that you will be posting will be your own. However, if you don’t customize the photos before posting them, you may miss maximizing the enhancing benefits graphics can add to the page. Adding photo borders can help the photo stand out from the page. It can also add to the design of your blog. You can choose a standard border or you can also create your own border which can be associated with your blog’s templates.

Add a favicon. Don’t you think sites with icons on the address bar before the website’s URL are cool? Many people do. These favicons add a professional look to the URL. These easy to do using photo or graphic editing softwares.

Include RSS feeds. This is a cool way to inform people with newsreaders about your blog headlines. Tutorials on RSS feeds are available on the internet.

Advertisements. If you have signed-up with Google Ad-Sense, which I am sure you would like to do, make sure that the ads are conveniently placed that these will not hinder your readers’ ease in accessing the information on your blog.

Check out blog templates, layouts, backgrounds, textures and skins from sites.There are sites that offer free blog templates, layouts, backgrounds, textures and skins. You can make use of these so your blog will not look generic like most of the blogs hosted by the service provider.

Audio makes your blog more personal.Not only does audio personalizes the blog; it can also keep your visitors coming back. You can try having streaming radio stations, mp3 file or playlists loading with your blog.

A well designed and run blog is a great internet marketing tool that can increase your product and service exposure and ultimately your sales. Following the ideas above will provide you with a great blog design.

Article Source: http://www.homebusinessresourcedirectory.com

About the Author: For more articles by this author on this subject and the most effective methods of using blogs for profit, visit his site at http://www.Blog-Cash.com

NOTE: You may use this article for reprint ONLY if you DO NOT change the article in ANY way, AND you keep the source and bio IN TACT with ALL links ACTIVE!

Filed Under: Blogging, Web Design Tagged With: ,
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