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Page Tips FAQ

  1. How often should you update a site?

    This is a toughie. The best answer is as frequently as possible. Ideally any site should be updated at least once a month. However, if your site is mainly info based, and you think you have exhausted just about every possibility for info, then you shouldn't have to update too often, maybe every few months. If your site has a news section, an article/fanfic archive, or something similar, it should be updated at least every second month.

    Keep in mind, a frequently updated site will usually attract more repeat visitors than a site that does not update.

  2. Why should I use both Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape to test my site?

    Simple, they are different browsers, and they treat HTML differently.

    Netscape and IE tend to use different spacing for things like lists in <UL> tags, tables, frames and so on. So you need to check it out in both browsers to ensure your site looks nice in both. Also Netscape tends to treat HTML code much more strictly than IE. A site written and tested for IE often can be totally screwed up in Netscape simply because you either left out a closing tag (</>) somewhere or nested some tags wrong.

    If you already think this is a headache, there's not one, but two versions of Netscape to consider when testing. Netscape 6 has been out for quite some time now, but a lot of users are sticking to the older Netscape 4 series of browsers. Some sites will look slightly different in Netscape 6 than they did in Netscape 4. The good news is usually there isn't as big of a difference between how a site looks in IE and Netscape 6 as there was between Netscape 4 and IE. However, it's still worth testing for both Netscape 4 and 6, especially if you plan to keep using the same site design for a while.

    Some people say, "Well, I'll just make my site for IE or Netscape". Sure, go ahead, but you're cutting off a ton of potential visitors that way. If you want to do something with your site that will only work in one browser, fine. But come up with an alternate version for other browsers. That way you won't cut anyone off from your site.

  3. What's wrong with using a "Splash Page"?

    We believe if you don't need a Splash Page, you shouldn't have one. When do you need one? Either when you have alternate versions of the same site or have certain requirements for properly viewing your site. (Note: If you have requirements, then you should have an alternate, no requirement version.) Examples:

    • Frames / No Frames
    • Javascript / No Javascript
    • Flash / No Flash
    • Different Languages

    Some people believe you always need a Splash Page because it acts as a cover like on a book or assignment. However, the web is different than a book. Most people using the Internet want everything as quickly and easily as they can get it. By using a Splash Page, you only slow them down while they wait for whatever is on the Splash Page to load up. Besides, it's not called index.html for nothing… it's meant to be an index to your site, not a simple cover page.

    Another thing, if you do use a splash page, and are making a Sailor Moon site, you should have a Sailor Moon picture on the front, not one from another anime/manga. Why have a Card Captor Sakura picture on your Splash Page when there is nothing in the site about Sakura?! It's misleading to vistors, as they will either believe the picture is of someone in Sailor Moon, or will think your site is no longer a Sailor Moon site.

  4. What are "Thumbnails"?

    Thumbnail has to be the most misunderstood term on the Internet. The best way to define it is to tell you what a Thumbnail is and what a Thumbnail is not.

    What Thumbnails are:
    A thumbnail is a collection of pictures all put into one picture, sort of an index of a picture set. However, on the web, this definition has been extended a bit. Because a large thumbnail picture often takes a while to load up on the web, most websites think of thumbnails as smaller versions of the full size pictures. These smaller versions are used in a web gallery page as a preview to the full size pictures. The Thumbnails are used as links to the full-sized, original picture. This allows visitors to browse through the picture gallery faster and save whatever pictures they like without having to wait for all the full-sized versions of the pictures to download.

    What Thumbnails are not:
    Thumbnails are not full-size pictures resized on the gallery page by using the width and height properties in the IMG tag. Pictures resized this way will take just as long to load as if you didn't resize them. The file size is what counts, not the dimensions of the picture. Real thumbnails are resized using an image editor, then saved as a new file. Then that file is used as a link on the gallery page to the full size picture.

  5. What is "direct-linking"?

    Direct-linking is another term for what we and others use for Bandwidth stealing. It happens when someone includes a link to a file or includes a file in an IMG or EMBED tag that does not belong to them. The file is actually stored in someone else's web space. This makes "direct-linking" one of the lowest forms of activity on the web. Not only do offenders steal files but also web space and bandwidth that does not belong to them.

    What is bandwidth you ask? Keep reading…

  6. What is "Bandwidth"?

    Bandwidth is basically a measurement of a server's transmission capacity. The higher the bandwidth, the higher the transmission capacity. So when a direct-linked file is viewed on one site, it uses up part of a server's transmission capacity for the other site where it is actually stored. Direct-linking potentially slows down the rate at which a file is downloaded. Thus, when someone direct-links they are not just using the file without permission, but are also slowing the server where the site is stored without permission.

    Bandwidth levels happen to be one of the most expensive things for web hosts (ones who store web sites) to maintain. Because of this, many hosts keep track of a site's bandwidth usage. People who pay for their web hosting (storage) are sometimes charged extra if they use over a certain level of bandwidth. It's also why free web hosts often include direct-linking as a violation of their Terms of Service, so they can cut back on the amount of Bandwidth soaked up by sites which are not on their servers.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to email us at, aquartet@yahoo.com, or visit The Help Desk forums. We'll try our best to answer them.


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