May 2007

As it gets harder and harder to attract new customers and keep their interest. More and more designers and clients alike turn to Flash website templates in attempt to deal with the incursion of the short attention span generation. With bandwidth no longer an issue and armed with a powerful arsenal of rich media many say Flash is already perched and ready to become the industries weapon of choice.

Even so, those of us who may be closer to finding our inner geek (you know who your are) will be more familiar with the technical issues that surround Flash hence we may appear a little less (pardon the pun) “animated” by all that fancy schmancy. Granted, for every obstacle, and every shortcoming Flash may have had, still has, whatever the case may be, Flash still possess and promises to continue to bring some really amazing virtues to the table. But, there is no justifiable reason that dazzling special effect should ever take the place of good clean HTML content on a website, notwithstanding the majority of Flash antagonist become so, due to the many inaccuracies and misconceptions floating around all over the Net concerning Flash.

Misconception number one - ( The Flash SEO scandal )
The most widely spread misconception is search engine optimization (SEO) or search engine visibility as it pertains to Flash website templates. Sorry to burst your bubble but getting your site indexed on any search engine isn’t easy whatever the underlining technology; search engines are primarily design to index static pages while on the contrary Flash is inherently dynamic. The question then arises. Is the use of Flash website templates then present an insurmountable obstacles or irremediable technical issue to bar proper indexing of these pages. And, if so how is the use of other programming techniques such as dynamically driven database sites and complex URLs (a common practice also facing similar challenges) become such common place or differ when it all comes down to search engine ranking? The answer to these questions must necessarily come from the search engines themselves and the information they provide concerning dynamic Flash sites and complex URLs. See Google Webmaster Help Center answers to Does Google index sites that use Macromedia Flash? - Does Google index dynamic pages?

What are Complex URLs?
Generally complex URLs read as follows http://foamers.net/sample.php?type=flash&details=gallery. Pages or links used to access this kind of URLs are dynamic, meaning that the content of the page can vary based on the value of the data being passed to the script (script in this case refers to sample.php) creating the page. Notice the parameters (also called a query string) being passed as name=value pairs to this script beginning at the question mark (?) each pair is also separated by an ampersands (&). The script then parses these values to determined which content (or page) it should serve; if on the other hand the topic parameter were to change one could expect to see an entirely different page. As you might imagine these types of URLs could confuse or even momentarily trap the spider by looking as if there were an infinite number of pages within just the one site. Needless to say, me Google crawler no like.

Notwithstanding dynamic pages such as these are simply too useful to avoid. Moreover there are many simple ways to amend the dynamic URLs potential issue, such as through the use of https rewrites and the like… Likewise Flash interactivity is simply too functional to ignore, and any thing else you need to do to make your Flash website template more amicable for the search engine bots to traverse is well worth the extra effort. Why? Well, for starters Flash is capable of utilizing sever-side scripts, it can also be used to assure client-side data validation, make interactive games, embed movies, music and lots of other cool stuff… Listen, it’s perfectly natural to feel a little uncomfortable and even afraid around anything you may not easy get right away; but that’s no reason to call it evil. Case in point Google uses Flash to display users video search results, better still; the popular YouTube website which uses Flash to play movies uploaded by users.

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Websites in order to be engaging and interesting should be regularly updated. If you plan to build a website that caters to the needs of your clients, then a simple online bulletin board of your services just would not do. Depending on the nature of your services, you need to determine how often will you update your website and how.

In the competitive nature of business today, companies use their websites as a means to connect with their clients, making the public aware of their services, offering the best way to deliver these services and how clients can benefit from a relationship with the company. Hence, a company’s website should be updated and infused with up-to-date information with the integration of new technology.

But what should these updates contain?
But what should these updates contain? Surely, it should be more than just changes in the look of the website. Articles on relevant topics, special promos, and tips that catch the attention of visitors will make them want for more. As such, they will visit your website again. The technical proficiency of our staff in building and maintaining the content and functions of our customers’ website help our customers keep their competitive edge in their line of business. Our services also include providing support in integrating e-commerce capabilities to your website, as well as database capabilities and various programming functionalities.

Imagine a movie house that showed the same movie for a whole month. Moviegoers will definitely hate viewing the same movie for several times! Similarly, your website should always provide exciting updates and information in order for visitors to ask for more and view your website again. Otherwise the resources you dedicated to the development of your website will not be worth it. Websites can be updated daily, weekly and monthly depending on the nature of your services. With the dynamic nature of the internet, your site should continually hook and delight readers.

Are you comfortable with different web formats?
There are a lot of people out there who will claim that they can help you develop and maintain your website. Some people may claim that they learned web development and maintenance because of sweating it out by themselves. However, you should be careful in choosing who to entrust your website maintenance to.

There are now a myriad of platforms, applications and programs used in making your website dynamic and interesting in addition to HTML. Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and Server Side Includes (SSI) are two of the popular web formats used nowadays. Flash programs and various graphics also accentuate the aesthetic presentation of websites and increase their interactivity. In addition, the use of scripts is important in making programs and transitions work smoothly and seamlessly. Your chosen web developer should be able to use all of these with flair and ease.

Do it yourself?
On the other hand, you may say to yourself that you have the necessary skills to do your own website maintenance. Not a problem! You do not have to browse through thick volumes of web maintenance books. We can help you by providing the tools needed in doing this through comprehensive template editing tutorials and Content Maintenance Tool. You can also ask for one of our consultants to arrange a one-on-one session with you to help you gain web maintenance knowledge and skills.

This kind of service is available from us, yet we are aware that running your organization is foremost in your mind. We can help you focus on that. Our staff do have excellent skills in all aspects of developing and maintaining your website. We plan and consult with you to determine what your website needs. Deliver the updates on time and make sure that your website features the latest promotion and information about your company. This way, you don’t have to worry about maintaining your website and keeping your competitive edge.

Just take care of your services. We take care of the website maintenance. To sign up now, get a quote or to learn more about our website updates package click here

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Intro: - This articles covers four major questions associated content management systems first we learn what actually is a content management system or (CMS), then we outline the differences between traditional web designs and content management system, finally we consider the major benefits of using and content management system and help you make the correct choice between going with a conventional web design or content management system based upon your site’s purpose, plans for growth, functionality etc..

Note: - We provide a number of professionally designed CMS web design templates that you can use for your web site. In addition we offer affordable CMS template customization packages to aid you through the entire process of transforming your old static web site and make it more dynamic and functional. We have hundreds of templates to choose from so you can be sure to find a template that you like that matches the category of your business. Among them you’ll find the following items of interest:

PHP-Nuke Templates - Type (CMS)
WordPress Templates - Type (CMS)
PHPBB Templates - Type (CMS)
Zen-Cart Templates - Type (CMS)
CRE-Loaded Templates - Type (CMS)
osCommerce Templates - Type (CMS)

Articles: - Web site design is not a one-size-fits-all practice. As web sites can serve a number of different purposes - supply information, attract new sales, create a community, etc - it only makes sense that web design possibilities be just as varied. One of the first considerations in creating a web design is whether a content management system, or CMS, makes sense. There are some situations when a CMS is clearly the best choice, while it may be an unnecessary collection of bells and whistles at other times.

What is a content management system?

In a nutshell, a CMS is software that organizes, powers and monitors a web site. It includes a “front end” viewable by any web user and a password-protected “back end” the general public does not see. Management of the site is centralized from this back end. Depending upon how the site is built, a content management system could include features for archiving older content, entering new content, accessing traffic metrics, managing navigation, banner rotation, polls, streaming media uploads and shopping carts, for example. The possibilities are limited only by the content management system’s configuration and capabilities.

How are traditional web designs and content management systems different?

Unlike a CMS, “traditional” or basic HTML-based web design does not include a front and back end. Effective management of these sites requires knowledge of good coding practice, the ability to create new or integrate pre-written scripts to add functionality as needed and the creation of an efficient file/directory structure to accommodate growth.

A content management system, on the other hand, does not require specialized technical skill to use. Managing or expanding the web site is a centralized process. More advanced coding knowledge would only be required should installation of additional functionality be desired.

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Service gallery settings you should set in xxxxx_main.html file.

It is recommended to change the default settings only while changing settings through the /admin part (sizes of small or large images). There is some incorrect representation of photos on the page (the photos themselves do not fit in properly). This happens seldom enough that’s why you won’t need to change the default settings in most cases.

The negative value which is responsible for positioning in X-direction moves the object to the left, positive one - to the right.

The value which is responsible for correction in Y-direction moves the object up and down respectively.

&stage_width - flash dimensions width (do not change)
&stage_height - flash dimensions height (do not change)

&gallery_width - gallery area width (do not change)
&gallery_height - gallery area height (do not change)

&preview_x_correction - big photos correction in X-direction
&preview_y_correction - big photos correction in Y-direction
&preview_height_correction - big photos height correction
&preview_width_correction - big photos width correction

&zoom_x=20 - position of zoom button on big photos in X-direction
&zoom_y=20 - position of zoom button on big photos in Y-direction

&menu_position=horizontal& - menu position - horizontal or vertical (do not change)

&gallery_button__correction - correction of the button with gallery names in X-direction
&page_back_correction - button back correction in X-direction

&comment_x_correction - big photos area with comments correction in X-direction
&comment_y_correction - big photos area with comments correction in Y-direction

&comment_left - left indent of big photos area with comments
&comment_right - right indent of big photos area with comments

&menu_offset - menu button width correction

&small_picture_x_correction - small photos correction in X-direction
&small_picture_y_correction - small photos correction in Y-direction
&small_picture_height_correction - small photos height correction
&small_picture_width_correction - small photos width correction

&file_option=php - parameter, responsible for the following: from which file to upload data for the gallery - PHP or html
&template_help_preview=false& - do not change!

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