Computer Tips & Tutorials

Smashing Magazine’s latest article 10 Ways To Make Your Site Accessible Using Web Standards

Without argument, one of the most important things to consider when creating a website is that it be accessible to everyone who wants to view it. Does your website play nice with screen readers? Can a user override your style sheet with a more accessible one and still see everything your website has to offer? Would another Web developer be embarrassed if they saw your code? If your website is standards-compliant, you could more confidently answer these questions.

The article lists 10 ways to improve the accessibility of your XHTML website by making it standards-compliant. They include:

1. Specify the correct DOCTYPE
2. Define The Namespace And Default Language
3. Supply Proper Meta Tags
4. Use Accessible Navigation
5. Properly Escape JavaScript
6. Properly Escape HTML Entities
7. Use Only Lowercase Tags And Attributes
8. Label All Form Input Elements
9. Supply Alternative Content For Images
10. Use The "id" And "class" CSS Attributes Correctly

You can read the entire article 10 Ways To Make Your Site Accessible Using Web Standards

ON SALE though June 30th 2009 Eric Meyer’s CSS Sculptor for Expression Web for $39.99 which is ten dollars off the regular price.

Create standards compliant CSS-based website layouts with ease. You can see some examples of templates created and availabkle for free download at Expression Web Tutorials and Templates.

Overview of Eric Meyer’s CSS Sculptor for Expression Web.

• Total Customization – The included wizard gives you total control over all aspects of your layout so that you can design unique one-of-a-kind layouts.
• Efficient and Intuitive -  Now you can develop CSS-based layouts faster than ever before with our powerful easy-to-use wizard.
• Cross Browser Compatibility – Create CSS-based layouts that are compatible with all modern browsers.
• CSS Expertise -We have partnered with Eric Meyer, renowned CSS master, so that you too can create professional looking CSS-based layouts without CSS knowledge or experience.

Get it now as the sale lasts ONLY though June 30th 2009 Eric Meyer’s CSS Sculptor for Expression Web for $39.99 which is ten dollars off the regular price.

You best watch out, because the HTML police are about. They scour your code and pick out the most unspeakable crimes against HTML markup.

The writer lists ten of the most common coding mistakes and how to correct them. They include:

1. Placing Block Elements Inside Inline Element
2. Not Including an ALT Attribute on Images
3. Not Using Lists When Necessary
4. Using <b> and <i> for Bolding and Italicizing
5. Using Too Many Line Breaks
6. Using The Wrong Strikethrough Tags
7. Using Inline Styling
8. Adding or Removing Borders in HTML
9. Not Using Header Tags
10. The Unspeakable Use of <blink> or <marquee>

How does your code measure up? With Spring here, is it time to do some “Spring cleaning” of your code? You can read 10 HTML Crimes You Really Shouldn’t Commit for the solutions.

For many years now I have used and highly recommended James Huggins email form script. I use it on each of my sites for the Contact Form and the Family Group Sheet. Examples include:

• Expression Web Tutorials Contact Form
• Family Group Sheet
• Family Genealogy Contact Form

Huggins’ Email Form Script is a free PHP script to process Web Forms, specifically those forms which accept information and send an email with that information. It is ideal for people who don’t know how to write a script, don’t want to use a script that exposes their email to spambots, want more features than their current script offers or who are using FrontPage Server Extensions which are going away.

James script is and always has been FREE. It comes complete with documentation and a sample form. You can install and modify it yourself at no cost. If you are not comfortable installing the script and getting the form to work, James is now offering a service to do a simple basic install of the script on your site for a fee. You can read more on Huggins’ Email Form Script as well as download all of the files needed. If you want James to install the script for you, please contact him.

Launching a WordPress Blog EBook Edition 2.0 by Tina Clarke Microsoft MVP – Expression Web and Pat Geary Microsoft MVP – Expression Web

Revised and Updated for WordPress Version 2.7.1  and available for FREE download NOW. There is a pdf version for MAC Users thanks to Scott Glasgow.

Learn to install and setup your own WordPress Blog with this easy to follow tutorial.

This Launching a WordPress Blog EBook is focused on giving a guideline for installing WordPress on your own host with your own domain or a sub-domain. It is intended as a beginner’s ebook and covers the basics. There are some advanced techniques included as well. It is essential that you start with Getting started with a WP Blog and follow step by step each page. Tick off each step as you go so you know you are following along. Having been through this process we have found this is truly the best way forward.

This checklist can be printed from the book and will give you an idea of the topics Covered Include:

• Getting started with a WordPress Blog
  • Check List – Print This
  • Requirements for Installing WordPress
  • Installing Database
  • Download WordPress
  • Configure wp-config-sample file
  • Configure a FTP Client
  • Installing WordPress
  • Setting up WordPress
  • Options Permalinks
  • Configure WordPress Categories
  • Setting WordPress Preferences
  • Installing WordPress Themes
  • Creating SEO Titles in WordPress
  • Disable NoFollow Attribute in WordPress
• Desktop Blogging Clients
  • Windows Live Writer
    • Setting Up Windows Live Writer
    • Creating Posts
    • Inserting Images
    • Options
    • Publishing
  • BlogDesk
    • Installing BlogDesk
    • BlogDesk Configuration
    • Creating Posts in BlogDesk
    • Inserting Images in Posts
    • Publishing with BlogDesk
    • BlogDesk Options
    • BlogDesk Extras
• WordPress Essentials
  • WordPress Plugins
    • Akismet Plugin
    • Sitemap Plugin
    • WordPress Database Backup
    • WordPress Ready Contact Form
  • How Trackback and Pingback works in WordPress
  • Moving a WordPress Blog
  • Moving Servers
  • Upgrading WordPress Program
  • WordPress API
  • WordPress Tips

Download your FREE Launching a WordPress Blog EBook NOW.

One of the things Cricket Walker teaches in her SEO Training Class, is to add a robots.txt file to your website. Web site owners use the robots.txt file to give instructions to the web bots about their site. A basic file might consist of the following lines of code which tells on web bots NOT to index this site.

User-agent: *
Disallow: /

Why would you NOT want your site indexed? Perhaps it is a site you are working on and it is not yet ready for indexing.

To allow access to your entire site, the file would contain the following lines of code:

User-agent: *
Disallow:

The robots.txt file is located in the top level of your site, the root directory.  Additional resources on creating and understanding the robots.txt file:

• Creating robots.txt file
• The Web Robots Pages
• Google Creating a robots.txt file

10 Common Mistakes using robots.txt on your website include:

1. Adding robots.txt NOT under the root directory
2. Wrong syntax in robots.tx
3. Adding comment at the end of the sentence instead of at the beginning
4. Empty robots.txt file almost like not having one
5. Blocking the pages which you need to get indexed
6. URL’s Paths are case sensitive
7. Misspelled robots/user agent names
8. Don’t add all the files in one single line
9. No allow command in robots.txt
10. Missing the colon

Read 10 common mistakes using robots.txt on your website. Do you have a robots.txt file as part of your website?

Unlike it said last week on FOX news:

“Programs like Microsoft Frontpage, Adobe Dreamweaver, and Microsoft Expression let you edit HTML without actually knowing it.” http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/morning_news/ 090304_my_tech_guy_learn_make_webpage

Cheryl Wise, of  By Expression states: “You can’t create a website, at least not a functioning, attractive website with any of the programs listed above without actually learning some of the basics of HTML and even more importantly the completely omitted CSS.” After working with many folks to help them update their websites to meet today’s web standards, I agree completely. You can read Bad Website Advice from FOX News on her blog.

Have you been using FrontPage as your web editor? Have you recently made the move to the more standards compliant Expression Web? Maybe you have only thought about making the move.

Start to Web will be offering two classes on Expression Web for the April 5th session.

Migrating from FrontPage to Expression Web will give you the tools you need and teach you how to use them for cleaning up the code created by FrontPage so that it is standards compliant and you can move to using Expression Web. The EBook is included in the cost of the class so it is not necessary to purchase it separately. You will have two Microsoft MVP’s to hold your hand as you go through the process. Free templates are also included as part of the class. You can read more about the class and EBook at Migrating from FrontPage to Expression Web and register for the class.

Introduction to Expression Web will  not make you an expert on Expression Web or a professional web designer BUT you will be able to create and manage small websites and with practice be able to expand on the skills you learn to create more complex websites using Expression Web. This book, Foundations of Expression Web: The Basics and Beyond is required for this class and is available at Amazon or a bookseller near you.

Classes will begin on April 5, 2009 and will last four weeks.

Readers of this blog may obtain a 10% discount on the cost of either class by using the code PGfriends when you register. REGISTER NOW so you can start at the beginning.

Dmitry Fadeyev states:

By now, all good designers and developers realize the importance of usability for their work. Usable websites offer great user experiences, and great user experiences lead to happy customers. Delight and satisfy your visitors, rather than frustrate and annoy them, with smart design decisions. Here are 9 usability problems that websites commonly face, and some recommended solutions for each of them.

He lists the following items:

1. Tiny clickable areas – links so small you can barely see them much less click on them.
2. Pagination used for the wrong purpose – pagination should be used to split a long article into easier to manage chunks rather than to increase page views on a site.
3. Duplicate page titles – using the same title on every page of your site rather than giving each page its own title reflecting the content of THAT page.
4. Content that is difficult to scan
5. No way to get in touch – give your viewers an easy way to get in touch with you.
6. No way to search – provide a way for your viewer to search your site.
7. Too much functionality that requires registration – do you require your viewers to register BEFORE they can use your site?
8. Old permalinks pointing nowhere – do your permalinks still work or do they go to nowhere?
9. Long registration forms -  make your forms as short as possible

Read 9 Common Usability Mistakes In Web Design
with suggestions on how to fix them.

Registration opened today for the April session of classes offered by Start to Web . The instructor led classes offered this session which starts April 5, 2009 are:

• Introduction to CSS – Cheryl D Wise, Instructor & Pat Geary, Teaching Assistant
• Introduction to Expression Web – Cheryl D Wise, Instructor & Pat Geary, Teaching Assistant
• Migrating From FrontPage to Expression Web- Tina Clarke and Pat Geary, Instructors

Also offered are the F REE  self paced classes:

• Language of wee Design
• Fonts for the Web
• Accessibility

Readers of this blog may obtain a discount on the cost of the class by using the coupon code PGfriends.

Read more about the Migrating from FrontPage to Expression Web. The EBook is included as part of the class.