Web Hosting Types

Free Hosting

Some service providers offer free web hosting.

Free web hosting is best suited for small sites with low traffic, like family sites or sites about hobbies. It is not recommended for high traffic or for real business. Technical support is often limited, and technical options are few.

Very often you cannot use your own domain name at a free site. You have to use a name provided by your host like http://www.freesite/users/~yoursite.htm. This is hard to type, hard to remember, and not very professional.

Good:	Bad:
Low cost. It's free.	No domain names.
Good for family, hobby or personal sites.	Few, limited, or no software options.
Free email is often an option.	Limited security options.
	Limited or no database support.
	Limited technical support.

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Shared (Virtual) Hosting

Shared hosting is very common, and very cost effective.

With shared hosting, your web site is hosted on a powerful server along with maybe 100 other web sites. On a shared host it is common that each web site have their own domain name.

Shared solutions often offer multiple software solutions like email, database, and many different editing options. Technical support tends to be good.

Good:	Bad:
Low cost. Cost is shared with others.	Reduced security due to many sites on one server.
Good for small business and average traffic.	Restrictions on traffic volume.
Multiple software options.	Restricted database support.
Own domain name.	Restricted software support.
Good support

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Dedicated Hosting

With dedicated hosting your web site is hosted on a dedicated server.

Dedicated hosting is the most expensive form of hosting. The solution is best suited for large web sites with high traffic, and web sites that use special software.

You should expect dedicated hosting to be very powerful and secure, with almost unlimited software solutions.

Good:	Bad:
Good for large business.	Expensive.
Good for high traffic.	Requires higher skills.
Multiple domain names.
Powerful email solutions.
Powerful database support.
Strong (unlimited) software support.

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Collocated Hosting

Collocation means "co-location". It is a solution that lets you place (locate) your own web server on the premises (locations) of a service provider.

This is pretty much the same as running your own server in your own office, only that it is located at a place better designed for it.

Most likely a provider will have dedicated resources like high-security against fire and vandalism, regulated backup power, dedicated Internet connections and more.

Good:	Bad:
High bandwidth.	Expensive.
High up-time.	Requires higher skills.
High security.	Harder to configure and debug.
Unlimited software options.

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Your Checklist

Before you choose your web host, make sure that:

• The hosting type suits your current needs
• The hosting type is cost effective
• Upgrading to a better server is a possible solution
• If needed, upgrading to a dedicated server is possible

Before you sign up a contract with any hosting provider, surf some other web sites on their servers, and try to get a good feeling about their network speed. Also compare the other sites against yours, to see if it looks like you have the same needs. Contacting some of the other customers is also a valuable option.

Do You Know What Your Web Hosting SLA Is?

Also known as "Terms and Acceptable Usage Policy" your Service Level Agreement, SLA is probably the most important piece of text you will need to read. And read you will have to; the entire text. Once you have familiarized yourself with this SLA you can start to skim through and look out for the details you feel are most important to you as you search for other hosting companies.

An SLA basically tells you what services you will be paying for, what rights you do and do not have. You are agreeing to pay for your web hosting and for what is in the SLA and nothing else. In this document or text, the web host provider is letting you know in print, what you will have to agree to if you wish to use their services. But remember, that it also tells you, what rights you have. If the web host provider does not live up to the SLA, you now have a right to use this agreement to your advantage.

Web sites and web pages are very powerful marketing tools to appeal and encourage the client to act or buy the service that company is offering. Web pages can contain images, Flash, colors, even sounds and music. A web page can even be interpreted as one big advertisement to the buyer. This is why the SLA of a company, or in this case, a web host provider is so important. It is straight to the point and to quite a number of people simply find it boring. Many times the SLA is written in small text, is very long and to some people confusing or complicated. You may notice some SLA's are almost hidden or at the bottom of a page in small text or only available on the order form.

Is there a reason why this is so?
To have your SLA on the first page would look very odd and highly unusual. There are many reasons why some companies choose to have their SLA located where they are and written the way they are. Some do it simply so they do not confuse the buyer. Some are so they do not scare the buyer so he or she thinks that what they are "getting into", is way out of their league. Unfortunately, some companies "hide" these service agreements because it reveals too much about the company and what you are really purchasing. Remember the colorful and bedazzling web pages? Well these SLA's are just the opposite. They get straight to the point. It's like opening the hood of a car and looking at the engine to see exactly how it works.

If you do not find an SLA anywhere on the website and have looked on just about all the web pages, then simply move on to another provider. This must be present on all web host providers selling services, even if they are free. You can always ask for their SLA, but this is not advisable if it comes in the form of an email as there is no way for both parties to revert to a static SLA.

This is also another important matter. The web host provider can always change their SLA if need be, but find out if you will be notified of the change and how much time you will have to adapt to these changes. It is not good agreeing to their terms and then having them change it later on to something you did not agree to. You may wish to make a copy of their SLA page and save it on to your computer's hard disk. You may also find it much easier to read their SLA by copying and pasting the text into Notepad and reading it from there. There is actually no need to read the small print on the web page itself, just copy and paste.

Another "tactic" for some web host providers is to provide their SLA on the order form. This is where you are just about to enter your credit card details and pay for your web hosting that they inform you of their SLA. A check mark is needed beside the agreement which usually has a link to the small text. 9 times out of 10, buyers can't be bothered to read this long complicated text and just get on with getting their web hosting. A mistake done all too often. Roughly 70% of all customers read their SLA after they have purchased a web hosting account.

Let's discuss what the SLA can contain. You can always "verify" if what the web pages say are true, as well as get the finer details in the SLA. For a while, a few years back, the most heated discussions involved unlimited bandwidth and web space. To cut a long story short, unlimited bandwidth or web space is simply and always will be an outright lie. There is no such thing; again, read the SLA.

30 day money back guarantee.
The phrase sounds simple enough but there are still just a few things to think about. Can you receive a refund on the 30th day? Or do you need to give them 7 days warning that you wish for a refund. Is it truly a "30 day guarantee"? Does it regard all types of payments, check, money order credit card etc. Is it mentioned in the SLA? Remember, you are basically buying the services within the SLA.

Uptime guarantee.
Another very important feature to look closer at is their uptime guarantee. Again, web pages can look wonderful, but the business takes place within the text of the SLA. You may even want to compare how these uptime guarantees are calculated by other web host providers. Do you need proof in order to tell the web host provider that your site was down more than x many hours a month so the web host provider can give you a refund? Or is it more complicated, where your site needs to be down for x many hours in a row? In other words, down 2 hours on Monday, 3 on Tuesday, and 1 hour on Sunday but not 6 hours in a row, therefore not receiving a refund? Or if their uptime guarantee does not involve third party software crashes, server maintenance, internet congestion etc. What does the uptime guarantee cover? Not, what does the uptime guarantee not cover. It is extremely unlikely for any web host provider to offer a 100% uptime guarantee, without some exceptions.

What files are permitted?
There are more than just .html, .gif and .jpg files on the Internet. Apart from those files, what other files are you allowed to upload? Do they include any multimedia files; mp3 or movie files? Are you allowed to upload software files? and etc.

How is the bandwidth and disk space quota handled?
If you go over your quota, how is it handled. Are you automatically charged the extra fee? And if so, how much? Is your account suspended until you pay the extra charges or pay for the next hosting account? Or, are you notified about the "problem" and asked to pay the extra charges or upgrade to the next hosting plan within a certain number of days?

Domain names.
If you have registered a domain name with a registrar you should not encounter any problems. If you are registering a domain name through your web host provider, make sure you retain all rights to the domain name. This is especially true if you are given a free or a very inexpensive domain name with your account. Some web host providers will register the domain name for you, but in their name, which means you do not own it. In some cases, if you wish to move to another web host provider you will have to purchase the domain from them at a much higher cost.

Miscellaneous categories.
A few other categories to study are server resources, background running programs, mass mailing and other technical areas like Cron Jobs, telnet or SSH etc. Some of these topics mentioned in the SLA may sound rather strict or stringent but it is actually very common to read these same restrictions on almost all web host providers. This is, as mentioned earlier, to inform you of your rights and most importantly in this case, to protect the customer from harming or congesting the server for the company's other clients. You do not want someone slowing down the server which you are using so your web pages load slowly or not at all. So you can actually be more reassured that if this happens, action will be taken, thus an advantage to you and not necessarily a hindrance. (This mainly refers to all virtual hosting accounts.)

If you are uncertain about a certain part of an SLA, you should always ask the web host provider. Never assume something is adequate unless you are sure and have checked. Always think ahead. Will I need this or that in the future? What happens if my website grows much bigger? What if I need to upload x type of files from now on? What if the third party company or software I work with needs this or that enabled? Should I have read the whole SLA? Never assume your web host provider will have or offer what you wish. Find out, and if you are not sure, ask!

Web Hosting Benefits Of A Dedicated Server

Hosting your web sites on your own dedicated server may seem a little expensive in comparison to shared web hosting, but the end result is more advantageous. Shared web hosting, no matter how well managed, cannot be 100% reliable and stable. However if you have your own dedicated server you can manage to avoid most of the variables affecting the reliability and stability of a server, commonly experienced by shared hosting accounts; variables such as: overload, bad codes and scripts from other users (especially beginners); and, too many applications and components uploaded, and so on.

On a dedicated server you will install only software and applications you want to use, while on a shared hosting server you will find a host of other software and applications installed for other users.

By the very nature of the account, a dedicated server: reduces your dependency on the web host; and bypasses time delays and possible expenses incurred from these. With dedicated server hosting you can provide instant support to your own clients whenever required, which is not possible if you are on a shared server. A reliable and fast support service is vital for your own business growth just like the stability and reliability you wish for your own website. In business, reliability is reflected through word-of-mouth as one of the most effective promotional activities.

For people with clients, such as Graphic Designers and Web Designers a dedicated server is invaluable. A dedicated server will bring extra income into the studio, not just as a hosting facility, but, as a designer knows only too well, for the extra ‘bread and butter’ income value. If you have 24hour access to your own dedicated server then you can adjust, correct or update a clients website in minutes, allowing you to keep the dollar back in your studio and not in someone else’s. Ready availability results in reduced labor costs for the client, but higher studio-income frequency for the designer. Hence you will see the return of all your regular offline clients, bringing their web work with them.

The need for a dedicated server to your average shared server user is realized when stats tell you: how quickly people left your site because it was taking too much time to download; or how many daily visitors you are down by, because your site was not up. The true negative is the worry of how many lost visitors could have been your future paying-customers. The loss could easily equal the value of the upgrade to a Dedicated Server!

For a business, a website that is quickly downloadable and up all the time gives the visitor encouragement that your service is just as reliable, hence you will be more likely to make a sale. It will also enhance the company’s image and encourage existing customers to refer your service to others. This will result in more sales for less promotion.

What Is Web Hosting?

If you want to take part in the internet as a business, information resource, directory, or as a hobbyist wanting to share data, information and knowledge with the many people and communities on the internet, you have to contain this in a central spot on the internet. You have to own a piece of space in cyberspace.

Web hosting empowers you and anyone with a computer and internet connection to own a piece of cyberspace. In your space, you can have news, bulletins, documents, data, files (your web site) and your own post office (mail server) to accept mail, all in the context of you or your business. This is your space and to get this space you either have to own a piece of the physical internet with a network connection to the internet backbone and computer(s) operating as server(s) offering access to your files and post office, for people on the internet to view your web site or send and receive email with you.

The cost of owning a direct connection to the backbone and a server dedicated to a web site and email is out of reach for the average business and especially general members of the internet. Even running a web site and mail server on your own computer when it is connected to the internet requires a lot of technical ability and knowledge. The internet itself has to be your business for either of these options to be viable.

In our modern society, for every person in business or with a career in most industries today, it is imperative to have a place in cyberspace, not just to be competitive but to survive. Web hosting companies were born out of this great need to provide an environment for the masses to own a piece of cyberspace, to offer an environment where people could have their piece of cyberspace on the internet 24/7 without the great cost. Web hosting companies developed a model where they could split up areas on the servers connected to the backbone and ?rent? this space, cutting the costs across many people sharing the server and backbone connection to the internet.

In a web-hosting environment, you are offered a web site to place your files, data, documents, and bulletins for people to access with their web browser and an email server for you to send and receive email messages. The web host will also provide you a means to get an address for people to get to your web site with a web browser and post email to you.

To obtain space in a web hosting environment you become a member and agree to terms and conditions of renting the space ? just as if you were to rent a house or commercial premises for your business. Once you agree and become a member, you are given an access code, a key, to your piece of cyberspace. This key, in the form of a login and password, allows you to connect to the web hosting server and up-load (transfer to) your web site so it can be accessed on the internet. Your login and password is also used to connect to a mail server to create and administer mailboxes to send and receive email for you, your staff, or family members.

Just like when you rent a house or commercial premises for your business, you have so many rooms, bathrooms, and floor space to use. In a web-hosting environment, your area is defined as disk space and network transfer.

Disk space is measured in Megabytes (MB) or Gigabytes (GB). Megabyte roughly means 1,024,000 characters and Gigabyte roughly means 1,024 Million characters. Imagine a character as one key on your key board. These amounts determine how many files, documents, or data you can have on your web site.

Network Transfer is also measured in Megabytes or gigabytes which determines how much data (how many of your files, documents or data) can be downloaded (transferred to) people accessing your web site. The more people, or the more data each person accesses on your web site the more data is transferred on the network.

The more disk space and network transfer you use the greater percentage of the web-hosting environment you are using ? therefore the higher the rent.

Just as no office building and home is the same, neither is every web-hosting environment. Some offices have stairs, others have lifts, some houses have ensuites, swimming pools, and gardens, ? and others do not. Web-hosting environments are much the same, some offer bare structures to do just the basics and others offer an array of features and facilities to help you do just about everything you could ever need or want. Some of the features and facilities likely to be offered are ranges of software to use, components, databases, and server side script processing.

The similarity of renting an office or home to renting space in a web-hosting environment is even more similar. With some buildings a gardener and/or a guard is available to look after the gardening or provide security. In a web-hosting environment, you have support people to help you do what you need to do on your web site to make it grow and there are server administrators to protect and secure your web-hosting space.

When you rent a building there are key parts needed to work or live in the space, like rooms, offices, kitchens, toilets, and bathrooms. In your web-hosting environment, you will find equally important components that are required to make the space workable. The core components in a web-hosting environment are:

Web Server

The web server is a relatively simple piece of software that accepts requests over HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) and delivers HTML pages and Image files.

FTP Server

FTP is the means of which a web master can transfer files to and from the server. To put your HTML and image files on a server you will generally use FTP to upload (transfer to) your files to the server running the web server.

Mail Server

The mail server consists of two parts POP (Post Office Protocol) and SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol). POP is where email is received into your mailbox and SMTP is what is used to send and receive email between mail servers.

Database Server

If you are using server side scripting on your web server (you use something like Microsoft Internet Information Server) then instead of providing ?static? data only on web pages you can provide data from a database allowing your users to search and view the data in different and dynamic way. Also, a Database server is used to gather data from visitors to your site; orders, feedback, discussions and the like.

Each one of the above components are software programs running on servers in the web-hosting environment. You can interact with each of these with special software programs you use on your computer. The main ones being:

Web Browser

When viewing the web you use a web browser like Internet Explorer. Many web hosting companies provide a ?Control Panel? to administer your web host account, which you use with your web browser. Most allow you to configure most aspects of your account using a simple web browser.

Web site/page editor

Today many web servers allow editing of WebPages over HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol) based on Microsoft FrontPage technology. These special editors allow you to essentially look at your web site as if you were using a web browser and edit the pages directly as you see them using WYSWIG (What you see if what you get) technology. Most web hosting environments support this, and if you are starting out, make sure it is available. One tip: make sure the web host providing this really does understand this technology ? it is the main area of which many hacks and security intrusions occur.

FTP Client

This is a very simple piece of software that allows you to view the server folders and files in your web host account as if they were files and folders on your own computer. You can then drag and drop files between you computer and your web host account.

Email Client

If you are on the internet you would already be using an email client to send and receive your email. The most common are Outlook Express, Eudora and Web based mail clients like Hotmail.

Database Administration Client

The most common databases used with web servers are Microsoft SQL Server (available only on Windows) and MySQL (commonly found on Linux and UNIX but also available on Windows). SQL Server comes with it's own administration client where you can view your databases, edit them, backup data and do all the administration functions you need. MySQL has an active online community where there is a range of administration clients available.

Choosing a web host is, again, similar to choosing a house to live in or commercial premises to do business. You need to define what it is you require: how much space you need and what features and facilities you need.

If you have been reading this article because this is new to you, then it is likely at this stage you only need minimal space and basic facilities. Once you have worked with the basic facilities you will learn more and become aware of greater facilities and features and then you can simple move from one web ?hosting environment to another ? paying more or paying less. Moving in cyberspace is much easier, faster, and more seamless than physically moving house or commercial premises.

Initially you may use the web-hosting environment offered by your ISP (internet Service provider), the company you use to connect to the internet. But remember these companies main business is connecting many thousands of people to the internet ? not managing web hosting environments. You will generally find they offer less than basic facilities and minimal space.

If you are just starting out with your first web site the first major choice you will be faced with is ?Unix? or ?Windows?. For a person just starting out on the internet, both are equally capable and will offer the facilities you need to have your place in cyberspace.

If you have a web designer or technical person to help you, you only need to consider how much space you really need. With this simple idea in mind, when you are just starting out, owning your piece of cyberspace will not cost anymore than $8 per month. Many web-hosting companies will offer what you need for as little as $3 per month (usually paid yearly).

If you are going alone and doing it all yourself you may want to consider an account with a web hosting company that offers and prides itself on it's support and customer service, 24/7 support access and the experience, knowledge and skill of it's server administrators. Remember, these are the gardeners and the guards who take care of your environment.

Web hosting is very simple and straightforward an once you obtain your space in cyberspace you will never want to let it go and you can easily move it where you want as a turtle carries it's shell on it's back. Always remember you are not stuck in the first web-hoisting environment you choose.

Web hosting is your space in cyberspace and it is imperative to have a place in cyberspace in our modern society, just as it is to have an office to do business.

Choosing Keywords

A web site's content does not exist in a vacuum. You need to have the right content to interest your target audience, but you also need to have your site set up so that it's easy to find and very obvious as to what your site is all about. This means both the search engines and your visitors will find it easily. Keep reading to learn how to make this work.

The Site Message

Information architecture goes hand in hand with a solid graphic design. They are like peas in a pod. The information must be grafted carefully onto the graphics used on the site as one cannot exist without the other; it's the flesh on the bones so to speak. Some questions that need to be answered include who comprises the target audience, how much time needs to be spent planning the content and how the site will be structured.

The foremost plan should be for a site that is well-balanced between plain static consistency and a lavish design. It should feature clear navigation. When visitors come to a web site, how long they remain interested depends on:

• Their sense of place.
• Knowing where they are on the site.
• Knowing where they are going.

Good organizational structure creates this normalized standard. Creative visual design enables users to become familiar with how to navigate the site. For this article, I shall use a fictional YouTube style site as an example. I am not explaining how to create such a site, just using the site idea as a frame of reference at points in this article.

The intention is to create a site that allows filmmakers to host movies and also read information on the movie industry. For example, a site showcasing movies must inform users immediately that it is a movie hosting site with lots of content relating to the movie production industry. Also, the site would be aimed at filmmakers and those who just love watching movies.

This presents two target audiences and the content needs to interest both targets to succeed. The site could mix movie production tutorials with movie reviews as one example here. No matter what the site theme covers, however the content is planned, it should never stray away from the focus of the site. This needs to be clearly evident upon visiting the home page. This becomes the site message, which must be clear.

The first stage in getting the web site designed is to know what information will be designed into it. It is the very first plan, a blueprint from which all the design aspects emerge. This can be a very lengthy process for most web sites. The reason why people visit a site and then come back is due to the quality of the information and how that information is accessed. Good content planning and research at an early stage saves a lot of time and effort later.

Who Cares Anyway?

Who will be interested in the site, and why? Nine times out of ten, it is the content that makes the difference between a site worth revisiting, and one that can be forgotten very easily. Be clear on the site audience needs. Who will be viewing the site on a regular basis?

Research the Competitors

A very important step in designing any commercial web site is to analyze the competition. But then everyone has to start somewhere and although it may seem somewhat intimidating after viewing the competition, it is important to remember how they started. Many commercial web sites began in a bedroom with one PC and a single user. Getting to know the competition is an excellent way of learning how to design the site. Browse around competitor sites related to the site theme and make notes of how they designed the site, how they started, and analyze how their business model came to fruition. The initial salient design factors include:

• Easy menu navigation.
• A home page that presents the message clearly.
• A clear presentation of competitive advantages.

Information Design

It is time to design the most crucial parts of any web site -- the content. The site MUST present interesting and useful content. Start writing and developing ideas. It is time to put all this creative energy to work and build a production process that meets the goals of the site and keeps the audience coming back.

Begin gathering all the pieces of information that will fill the content. What content is needed? Write out a list of all the content and functional requirements that will comprise the content separating the areas into various groups. This task will present a good idea of the site structure.

Start crafting some design templates, maybe a few initial mock templates. Now write some content for those templates. This does not need to be the final content for the page, nor do the final web design touches need to be shown here; treat it as just a heads up on the initial feel of the site. Dreamweaver is quite useful for designing mock templates. Photoshop also allows complete visual flow and is therefore a good choice.

There are generally four types of content: static, dynamic, functional, and transactional. Static content tends to be privacy statements, terms and conditions, copyright information and help content. A page of the site where visitors may be required to log onto their accounts, upload files, or access a forum to chat with other visitors, forms the transactional content. Dynamic content refers to the information changing through each page. The functional parts are where each section leads to another as in the site navigation to member pages via a login button. Referring to the movie hosting site idea, members will need to be able to log into their own personalized page so a bio can be written or a movie uploaded.

By creating user walkthroughs, it is possible to bring the idea of the content design to life. An example user would be somebody interested in as many aspects of the site theme as possible. Later, when the site content is finished and the navigation created, the fictional walkthrough being conducted at this stage should match the live testing results of the site later. This will also help in producing the site network diagram displaying the flow of information across the site. The next page will explain how to create a network diagram.

Create a fictional character or visitor whom would be interested in the site content. Give that person a name. Which parts of the site would he or she wish to access initially and thereafter on a regular basis? For this exercise, try creating different characters mixing men and women as well as their reasons for visiting the site.

The example discussed here is centered on John, with reference to the movie hosting site idea. Here is an example of a fictional walkthrough to test a site aimed at attracting visitors to watch and host movies, much like YouTube, and those who like to read movie reviews and filming tutorials. This requires a fictional need and goal for John when visiting the site.

It could be said that the walkthrough is just that -- fictional, and not really carrying enough weight at this point. Wrong. This will help in deciding what content is pertinent to the site theme. For this example, John, a movie mogul, wants to see his movie hosted on his own web page without having to learn anything about web programming and perhaps pick up some tips on the way.

Example Walkthrough

Name: John
Occupation: film school graduate
Age: 24
Interests: movies, animation
Place of residence: UK

User Scenario:

While searching for a suitable movie hosting site, John discovers the site through a search engine. Upon visiting he realizes that he may have found a site which can host his movie and give him a web presence for it. He sees a visually appealing site that appears to be loaded with information on various aspects of the movie industry and most importantly the means to upload a movie.

John decides to watch some films already hosted first so he sees the 'movies' Button and clicks. He has now navigated to a list of movies categorized by genre and immediately sees the most popular and latest additions to the site. John chooses a movie to watch and likes how fast the page loads and also how smoothly the video streams to the PC and plays in his favorite media player.

John likes the quality of the site and so decides to see about getting the movie hosted. John clicks on the register button where he has just learned that this allows him to create a member account and upload his movie. John is impressed by the easy navigation through the site; he finds the information readily accessible. On the register screen, John sees a form where he fills in his details and his account is created. The form tells John that an email containing his member information has been sent to his mailbox so he immediately checks his mail. A mail has already arrived and contains his member name and password so he returns to the home page where for ease of access, John can also log in without going back to the login button on the previous page.

John logs into his account for the first time and starts to learn to use the web site builder. To ensure that he's not going to be hitting any brick walls here, John goes back to the main site and as the member screen has opened in a new window, the login screen is left open while doing this. John then clicks on the tutorials button and finds some easy tutorials teaching users quickly how to use the site builder. Within minutes John has returned to the site builder screen and begins planning his web page. He intends for the web page to show his name, contact details and of course his movie. He also decides to place links to his own personal web site where he has information on his movie production history documented, which he summarizes into a couple of paragraphs and places on his movie hosting page right here.

John then uploads his movie and takes a look at the completed page. He is satisfied that he has just used a quick and easy editor and uploaded his movie with no issues. He previews the web page and is able now to watch his movie online. As he has a web site address that points to his movie, he sends the link to his friends so they can see his college work. John logs out and intends to return to the site to make additions to his bio page and keep checking for any further updates on the site content.

One last thing he does before leaving the site is check the forum to chat with any other budding enthusiasts about their movie making exploits. According to the register screen, submitted bio pages and movies will be accessible from the 'Movies' section within 24 hours. This is great; John also decides to make his movie known in the forum by placing the link in the appropriate forum category where filmmakers are discussing their latest movies and movie making skills. John makes new contacts among movie making enthusiasts and is happy with the service.

This now allows a visual appearance to form, purely imaginatively, but that is where great ideas begin. Now it is time to draw the network diagram showing the flow of information and how visitors will navigate.

Following on from the scenario represented above, the next step is to create a visual representation of the site pages. A network diagram shows how each site element would link to each other and how each page may be sub-linked. Earlier it was mentioned that there are various types of content -- static, dynamic, transactional and functional text. At this point it is important to have an overview of the site's structure and also a more complex breakdown of each part of the content.

First we need a basic flow diagram showing the generic sections possible but not finalized. Word 2007 has great tools for creating these diagrams but there are plenty of other software titles available to do the job such as Smartdraw, EDraw, and Visio.

This provides a blueprint from which to plan out the pages. Don't worry about not having a completed web design template. That is the next stage from this article. A lot of designers may decide to work on the fly and skip the diagram. This is not a recommended course of action as the design will change later in ways that will cause a lot of unnecessary work if the network diagram has not been used to chart the flow of information.

This blueprint is a good starting point and helps use the imagination to develop some creativity for the look and feel of the site. With a general idea of the information architecture, it now feels like possessing all the parts to create a model airplane and just needing to glue it all together.

Now, go back to the second page of this article and continue researching and writing various types of content for the site as explained on that page. Know the salient points. What information is necessary and interesting? Then move on to stage two of the network diagram.

The Network Diagram: Stage 2

For the movie hosting site, there were two target audiences highlighted - filmmakers and enthusiasts. The diagram below is a demonstration of what may be required to grab the interests of filmmakers.

Since the site allows filmmakers to create a member account to upload movies, the home page should allow this immediately. The diagram shows several possible site sections of interest to filmmakers. From the home page, they can 'Register' and create a personalized bio page. The filmmaker will have personal login details like a username and password. The 'Login' menu option allows access to the film maker's personal member page. Filmmakers will be interested in film festivals to market their movie. It would be useful to place information on careers in the film industry. Also, why not create a page listing accredited academic and industry courses?

No matter what the site theme entails, there should always be the following menu options on commercial sites: Contact, About the Site, relevant article links and FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions). Contact information is vital for feedback. A quick outline of the history of the site will be a good page for 'About the Site.' A shop is a good place to attract vendors to the site. Later, when traffic to the site is high, advertising revenue can become a lucrative means to finance the site and provide an income. The marketing is a huge subject and will not be covered here. Suffice it to say that there is a great deal of information on the web covering how to make money with a web site using SEO (Search Engine Optimized) content inside articles like this one. I shall cover this in future articles.

A good place to start is to write content for the site and use 'keywords' -- words related to the site theme -- to link to web vendors. Clickbank is a good place to find vendors relevant to the site theme. Also, Google AdWords allow for some revenue generation if keyword marketing is chosen as a means to generate an income. For this article, I simply want to cover the information design that will bring life to any web site.

Now, move on to the final stage.

Movie enthusiasts will want to mainly watch movies online. Their interests must be catered to from the menu. It should include links to the various genres and flow from the home page in the same way so the contact information is still visible.

Of course there is scope for more than is shown here but the general idea is being conveyed. Filmmakers will also want to watch movies, so the menus for both parties should always be visible. There is a correlation between the two target audiences becoming evident. This can occur on many sites that attract visitors for differing reasons.

It is important that site visitors are not spending time wondering where to find the information they seek. For this example, the two diagrams for Filmmakers and Enthusiasts should be joined into one A4 sized network diagram. Then, the next step is to start thinking about the remaining pages that can be added. For the video hosting site, a forum would be useful to allow interaction between the site filmmakers. Also, links to articles on the subject of movie making and movie reviews with links via keywords to other similar sites would be helpful. It's a big process and ensuring accuracy now saves editing pain later.

Search engine optimized content is the best way to use article writing to market the web site and I shall be writing articles on this subject. As far as the information architecture is concerned, as long as the rule of 'Content is King' is obeyed, any site can transform into a fascinating ride for the site's enthusiasts.

DISCLAIMER: The content provided in this article is not warranted or guaranteed by Developer Shed, Inc. The content provided is intended for entertainment and/or educational purposes in order to introduce to the reader key ideas, concepts, and/or product reviews. As such it is incumbent upon the reader to employ real-world tactics for security and implementation of best practices. We are not liable for any negative consequences that may result from implementing any information covered in our articles or tutorials. If this is a hardware review, it is not recommended to open and/or modify your hardware.

As a marketing strategy

Eye tracking studies have shown that searchers scan a search results page from top to bottom and left to right, looking for a relevant result. Placement at or near the top of the rankings therefore increases the number of searchers who will visit a site. more search engine referrals does not guarantee more sales. SEO is not necessarily an appropriate strategy for every website, and other Internet marketing strategies can be much more effective, depending on the site operator's goals.^[36]A successful Internet marketing campaign may drive organic search results to pages, but it also may involve the use of paid advertising on search engines and other pages, building high quality web pages to engage and persuade, addressing technical issues that may keep search engines from crawling and indexing those sites, setting up analytics programs to enable site owners to measure their successes, and improving a site's conversion rate.

SEO may generate a return on investment. However, search engines are not paid for organic search traffic, their algorithms change, and there are no guarantees of continued referrals. Due to this lack of guarantees and certainty, a business that relies heavily on search engine traffic can suffer major losses if the search engines stop sending visitors. According to notable technologist Jakob Nielsen, website operators should liberate themselves from dependence on search engine traffic. A top ranked SEO blog Seomoz.org has reported, "Search marketers, in a twist of irony, receive a very small share of their traffic from search engines." Instead, their main sources of traffic are links from other websites.

Getting listings

The leading search engines, Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft, use crawlers to find pages for their algorithmic search results. Pages that are linked from other search engine indexed pages do not need to be submitted because they are found automatically. Some search engines, notably Yahoo!, operate a paid submission service that guarantee crawling for either a set fee or cost per click. Such programs usually guarantee inclusion in the database, but do not guarantee specific ranking within the search results. Yahoo's paid inclusion program has drawn criticism from advertisers and competitors. Two major directories, the Yahoo Directory and the Open Directory Project both require manual submission and human editorial review. Google offers Google Sitemaps, for which an XML type feed can be created and submitted for free to ensure that all pages are found, especially pages that aren't discoverable by automatically following links.

Search engine crawlers may look at a number of different factors when crawling a site. Not every page is indexed by the search engines. Distance of pages from the root directory of a site may also be a factor in whether or not pages get crawled.

Seo History

Webmasters and content providers began optimizing sites for search engines in the mid-1990s, as the first search engines were cataloguing the early Web. Initially, all a webmaster needed to do was submit a page, or URL, to the various engines which would send a spider to "crawl" that page, extract links to other pages from it, and return information found on the page to be indexed.^[1] The process involves a search engine spider downloading a page and storing it on the search engine's own server, where a second program, known as an indexer, extracts various information about the page, such as the words it contains and where these are located, as well as any weight for specific words, as well as any and all links the page contains, which are then placed into a scheduler for crawling at a later date.

Site owners started to recognize the value of having their sites highly ranked and visible in search engine results, creating an opportunity for both white hat and black hat SEO practitioners. According to industry analyst Danny Sullivan, the earliest known use of the phrase "search engine optimization" was a spam message posted on Usenet on July 26, 1997.^[2]

Early versions of search algorithms relied on webmaster-provided information such as the keyword meta tag, or index files in engines like ALIWEB. Meta-tags provided a guide to each page's content. But using meta data to index pages was found to be less than reliable, because some webmasters abused meta tags by including irrelevant keywords to artificially increase page impressions for their website and to increase their ad revenue. Cost per thousand impressions was at the time the common means of monetizing content websites. Inaccurate, incomplete, and inconsistent meta data in meta tags caused pages to rank for irrelevant searches, and fail to rank for relevant searches.^[3] Web content providers also manipulated a number of attributes within the HTML source of a page in an attempt to rank well in search engines.^[4]

By relying so much on factors exclusively within a webmaster's control, early search engines suffered from abuse and ranking manipulation. To provide better results to their users, search engines had to adapt to ensure their results pages showed the most relevant search results, rather than unrelated pages stuffed with numerous keywords by unscrupulous webmasters. Search engines responded by developing more complex ranking algorithms, taking into account additional factors that were more difficult for webmasters to manipulate.

While graduate students at Stanford University, Larry Page and Sergey Brin developed "backrub", a search engine that relied on a mathematical algorithm to rate the prominence of web pages. The number calculated by the algorithm, PageRank, is a function of the quantity and strength of inbound links.^[5] PageRank estimates the likelihood that a given page will be reached by a web user who randomly surfs the web, and follows links from one page to another. In effect, this means that some links are stronger than others, as a higher PageRank page is more likely to be reached by the random surfer.

Google opens headquarters in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Page and Brin founded Google in 1998. Google attracted a loyal following among the growing number of Internet users, who liked its simple design.^[6] Off-page factors such as PageRank and hyperlink analysis were considered, as well as on-page factors, to enable Google to avoid the kind of manipulation seen in search engines that only considered on-page factors for their rankings. Although PageRank was more difficult to game, webmasters had already developed link building tools and schemes to influence the Inktomi search engine, and these methods proved similarly applicable to gaining PageRank. Many sites focused on exchanging, buying, and selling links, often on a massive scale. Some of these schemes, or link farms, involved the creation of thousands of sites for the sole purpose of link spamming.^[7]

To reduce the impact of link schemes, as of 2007, search engines consider a wide range of undisclosed factors for their ranking algorithms. Google says it ranks sites using more than 200 different signals.^[8] The three leading search engines, Google, Yahoo and Microsoft's Live Search, do not disclose the algorithms they use to rank pages. Notable SEOs, such as Rand Fishkin, Barry Schwartz, Aaron Wall and Jill Whalen, have studied different approaches to search engine optimization, and have published their opinions in online forums and blogs.^[9][10] SEO practitioners may also study patents held by various search engines to gain insight into the algorithms.^[11]

[edit] Webmasters and search engines

By 1997 search engines recognized that some webmasters were making efforts to rank well in their search engines, and even manipulating the page rankings in search results. Early search engines, such as Infoseek, adjusted their algorithms to prevent webmasters from manipulating rankings by stuffing pages with excessive or irrelevant keywords.^[12]

Due to the high marketing value of targeted search results, there is potential for an adversarial relationship between search engines and SEOs. In 2005, an annual conference, AIRWeb, Adversarial Information Retrieval on the Web,^[13] was created to discuss and minimize the damaging effects of aggressive web content providers.

SEO companies that employ overly aggressive techniques can get their client websites banned from the search results. In 2005, the Wall Street Journal profiled a company, Traffic Power, that allegedly used high-risk techniques and failed to disclose those risks to its clients.^[14] Wired reported the same company sued blogger Aaron Wall for writing about the ban.^[15] Google's Matt Cutts later confirmed that Google did in fact ban Traffic Power and some of its clients.^[16]

Some search engines have also reached out to the SEO industry, and are frequent sponsors and guests at SEO conferences and seminars. In fact, with the advent of paid inclusion, some search engines now have a vested interest in the health of the optimization community. Major search engines provide information and guidelines to help with site optimization.^[17][18][19] Google has a Sitemaps program^[20] to help webmasters learn if Google is having any problems indexing their website and also provides data on Google traffic to the website. Yahoo! Site Explorer provides a way for webmasters to submit URLs, determine how many pages are in the Yahoo! index and view link information.[

what is seo

Short for search engine optimization, the process of increasing the amount of visitors to a Web site by ranking high in the search results of a search engine. The higher a Web site ranks in the results of a search, the greater the chance that that site will be visited by a user. It is common practice for Internet users to not click through pages and pages of search results, so where a site ranks in a search is essential for directing more traffic toward the site.

SEO helps to ensure that a site is accessible to a search engine and improves the chances that the site will be found by the search engine.

Also see How Web Search Engines Work in the Did You Know . . . ? section of Webopedia.