Website Analyst Newsletter
Meeting Your Needs With Excellence
Issue 2
January 2000
Editor: Lucian Millis, editor@website-analyst.co.il
Publisher: Website Analyst http://www.website-analyst.co.il/
Website Analyst offers free website evaluation, ratings,
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IN THIS ISSUE
1. Editor's Note
2. A Quicker Site: Multiple Tables! by Brian Farkas
3. LinkAlarm - Online Link Testing Service
4. Links of Interest
5. List Management
6. Contact Information
1. Editor's Note
Dear Friend,
If you enjoy our newsletter, please pass it on to your
associates and friends that might be interested. Thanks!
This publication may be freely redistributed if copied in
its entirety.
Welcome to the Year 2000!
2. A Quicker Site: Multiple Tables! by Brian Farkas
Have you ever come across a site that seemed to take forever
to load? Did it only display the background, and minutes
later, display the text all at once? By reading this article,
you will be able to prevent this common mistake from
happening to you.
Many people use tables to create an effective web site. Most
do not bother creating new tables, just dividing the cells
to place new content in. This may work for you if you have
few or no images, but if your site has too many, this is one
of the best ways to turn visitors away. If you have a
"graphically intense" web site, you should use separate
tables to split up your content. There are several reasons
for this.
First, you should understand how a browser reads a table.
In a regular HTML document, the browser will display text
and images as they load. However, in a table, the browser
waits for everything to load before the contents is displayed
to the browser and the visitor. One large graphic in a table
is all it takes to change your page load time from 15 seconds
to 1 minute and 15 seconds. Therefore, you should break up
your graphic if it is large and put it in separate tables
with the border, cell spacing, and cell padding set to 0.
One way to break up your data is to create two tables- one
at the top with the logo and any header information, and one
at the bottom with the actual content. This will work well,
as the visitor can see your logo and some options while
waiting for your page to load. Another way is to actually
make tables inside tables. The main table will load,
displaying its contents while the tables inside it load.
This will make your page load considerably faster and give
the viewer something to read while the sub-tables are
loading.
That is basically it- I strongly recommend using this
technique to decrease page load time while increasing
visitors. Before I let you on your own, though, let me remind
you of one last thing: Do everything possible to avoid having
to put a Java, Shockwave, or ActiveX program in a table.
Use JavaScript instead, where possible, because it is much
faster to load and execute. It's up to you now to build an
effective web site. I hope the knowledge you just learned
will help you through your journey. Good luck.
About the Author
This article was written by B.Farkas of InfoStar Web Design.
Click here - http://www.infostardesign.com to visit the site.
InfoStar Web Design provides complete Internet solutions for
businesses and individuals including web design, web hosting,
web site promotion, and CGI programming.
Brian Farkas - mailto:brian27@pacbell.net
Note: Before you may use "A Quicker Site: Multiple Tables!"
you must first obtain permission from the Author.
3. LinkAlarm - Online Link Testing Service
"Be the first to find out about problems on your website!
LinkAlarm checks every link on every page and the results
are instantly sent by email." No software to install.
Great service dedicated to site quality! Fast loading and
user friendly site. Good flow of content and product
information. Surely worth a visit!
http://join.linkalarm.com/?161659952
4. Links of Interest
Top Ten Mistakes in Web Design, by Dr. Jakob Nielsen
Dr. Jakob Nielsen has been called:
"the guru of Web page usability" (The New York Times)
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9605.html
Professional Web Design and HTML Tutorials
http://junior.apk.net/~jbarta/
CGI City - one of the biggest WWW resources for Perl and CGI
materials. A novice as well as the seasoned CGI programmer
and even the non-programmers will find CGI City a useful
site worth bookmarking.
http://icthus.net/CGI-City/
Autoresponders on Your Web Site
You can use your Autoresponders to offer free informational
reports, price sheets, special offers, additional sales
documentation, and frequently asked questions (FAQ).
Your business looks more professional when you respond to
requests immediately!
http://www.sendfree.com/web.htm
Search Engine Position Analysis Report
The did-it detective report summarizes the position your
website was found in the search results for each of the
popular engines using the "search terms" you provided.
http://www.did-it.com/detective.htm
TIP: You should always use the HTML META tag to highlight
specific keywords you want search engines to index.
Your keywords should reflect what you imagine someone might
type as a query when searching to find your site.