Goodtree & Co.

HTML Redirects

Hal — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:24:51 +0000

Cary, NC – Today, we’re going to nerd-out with a post about how to redirect an html page.

WHY REDIRECT

Sometimes, you need to change the home page address (url) of a domain.

For example, we built a new site for our client Julie Roland. Previously, her home page had been http://julierolandrealtor.com/index.html.

For her new site, we went with an all-WordPress installation. That changed her home page address to index.php.

The problem is with legacy links – people who have the old address (index.html) end up at a 404 (page not found).

THE SOLUTION

Fortunately, the solution is simple.

Create a new page called index.html
Add this code between and :
Upload to the root (top level) on your server

Bear in mind, if you already have a file called index.html, this will over-write it, so be careful.

ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF A REDIRECT

We also used the redirect trick to send traffic from Julie’s old blog to her new site.

Old blog address: http://julierolandrealtor.com/wordpress/
New blog address: http://julierolandrealtor.com/

For this instance, we created a directory called ‘wordpress’ and upload our index.html redirect file into it. So, when people go to the old address, they get instantly redirected to the current home page.

Click on the old blog address up above and see for yourself.

SUMMARY

Html Redirects can help your existing audience find you if you have changed the address of your website.

Colonel Hal Shook

Hal — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:27:36 +0000

Col. Hal Shook (Retired) at a USVC event in Cary. Shook, 90, flew fighters in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. From a story for CaryCitizen.

New Website: Live Oak Homes

Hal — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 21:30:50 +0000

Cary, NC – We’ve just finished a new site for Live Oak Homes, a developer quickly becoming one of North Carolina’s largest builders.

LOH has a long history of environmental reclamation and brown field restoration. Now they’re completing existing developments like Olive Chapel Park in Apex.

The challenge was to organize lots of homes, neighborhoods, regions and associated info into a cohesive site. We employed custom code throughout with liberal use of Flickr, YouTube, Tour Factory, Google Maps and WordPress.

Michael Kimsal was the lead programmer. Eric Revels was the art director. Mathias Linden managed the project for LiveOak.

Are Your Links Naked?

Hal — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 03:55:37 +0000

A properly formed link is an important component of an effective post. It’s easy to dress up your text so your links aren’t hanging out there naked.

NAKED LINKS

Let’s strip away all the confusion and get right to the point: a naked link is a raw web address (also know as an url).

Here’s an example of a naked link:

http://goodtreecompany.com/2009/03/02/the-best-mall-website/

Ugly.

A PROPER LINK

Words are the agent of proper linking within a post. The raw url is seldom used.

The proper way to link the above story would be like this:

See the best mall website on the planet.

Note how the subject of the linked page becomes the words that are linked. Another way of looking at it is to imagine your readers scanning the page. Links pop out of the text. Your reader should be able to identify where the link will take them from the highlighted text.

Read more about the language of linking.

MAKING LINKS IN WORDPRESS

Making a proper link in WordPress is easy:

Highlight the text you want to link and click on the link icon in the toolbar.

When you click on the icon, a little window will pop up. You’ll see a bunch of field to populate:

URL
TARGET
TITLE

The url field is the raw web address. Make sure you include http://

The Target field lets you decide whether you want the link to replace your post n the current browser window or open a new browser window (or tab). Enter one of these phrases:

_self (replaces your page with the linked page in the current window)
_blank (opens a new window for the linked address)

Use _self if you are redirecting to your own content (i.e. another page on your site). Use _blank if you are sending traffic to an external site.

Title (also called Alt Text) are the words that pop up when you hover over a link. They are important for theree reasons:

Handicapped access
Add information
Helps in search

Alt text shouldn’t be a restatement of the linked text. Viewers will often decide whether or not to click based on the alt text. So give them more info or encouragement to click. Pay attention to alt text as you cruise the web and you’ll quickly see what works and what’s lame.

Click on Insert and your proper link is made.

MAKING LINKS ON THE WEB

Here’s a handy trick for making links on many sites that don’t have a link tool. It involves a teeny bit of html, but it’s probably the most useful bit of code you’ll ever learn. It looks like this:

Click Here

Let’s break it down:

This is saying “hey, make a link with the following web address.”

“http://yoururl.com”>
Note that the url is enclosed in quotations and a > closes the phrase.

The next part is the text you want linked:
Click Here

Finally, closed out the instruction:
</a>

While we’re here, this nomenclature of brackets <> is pretty universal for web instructions. Here are some other common examples of html tags:

Makes text bold
Makes text italic

Em stands for emphasis, btw.

This method of making links works on Flickr and MySpace and certain places on Facebook as well.

THE END

So there you have it. Drop a comment or email me if you have questions about making proper links.

Get a Better Tag Cloud

Hal — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 21:24:53 +0000

Tags and tag clouds are important elements for helping people and (search ‘bots) find your content. A Better Tag Cloud by Nicholas Kuttler is one of our favorite plugins. Here’s what you need to know and why it’s so useful.

WHAT’S A TAG?

Tags are like keywords – they are relevant words or phrases you attach to a post. Here are some tags I might use for this post:

tag, tags, tag cloud, wordpress, plugins, blog, blogs, blogging

Ideally, keywords should match words or phrases in your blog. Think about it this way: if someone searched for one of your keywords, would you want them to view your post?

WHAT’S A TAG CLOUD?

We set up tags for each post when we write the entry. Your viewers, however, use tag clouds to navigate and aggregate your content.

A tag cloud shows your most popular tags in a linear format (one next to the other as opposed to a list). A common convention is for tags with more posts to appear in a larger font than tags with fewer entries.

A BETTER TAG CLOUD

The default WordPress tag cloud offers the basic functionality. But, often, you need more styling options or greater control for the best presentation.

A Better Tag Cloud is a plug-in that gives you lots of extra options for how your tag cloud is displayed. A handy admin panel lets you fine tune the sizes displayed, total number of tags shown in the cloud, even include a count of posts to help viewers understand how to use the info.

HOW TO INCLUDE A TAG CLOUD

Tag clouds are usually deployed from the Widgets page in the WordPress admin area.

In case you are unfamiliar with widgets, WordPress gives you an option to totally control the content of one of the sidebars. You can add a weather map, a google map, a youtube video or ad space. Or a tag cloud. Widgets exist for almost every desirable functionality.

This guidance is for installing Better Tag Cloud on self-hosted WP blogs:

Download the plug-in from the developer site, unzip if necessary and upload it to your blog (wp-content/plugins/).

Login to your blog in a browser.

Go to Plugins –> activate Better Tag Cloud.

Go to widgets –> drag Better Tag Cloud to the sidebar

Set the Options –> when you drag the widget to the sidebar, it will open a small window and you’ll see the link for the settings page.

Try some different options and see what looks good in your theme. You can always change the options under Settings –> Better Tag Cloud.

WHY TAG CLOUDS ARE IMPORTANT

Tag clouds have been around for a while. But their usage and importance is definitely on the rise.

The reason may be the maturation of blogs. As we all create more content and become more adept at blogging, we all have bigger and bigger blogs. Categories and menu navigation becomes a less efficient or even inclusive way to organize content.

Tags allow us to create new keywords on the fly, one post at a time. Who knows how many posts you’ll do under a new tag – maybe one, maybe dozens. Tags allow you’re meta-information to grow organically.

Tag clouds present a compact way to display your topics. Tag clouds don’t replace categories or top navigation. You should use them all.

But as our blog streams become more rich and complex, tag clouds offer readers a new way to navigate to the content that interests them most.

GET BETTER TAG CLOUD

Try it for yourself. Donate if you like it.

A Better Tag Cloud

Brevity

Hal — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 23:00:28 +0000

One of the virtues of good writing is brevity.

That’s it.

New Site: Sterling Realty

Hal — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:14:39 +0000

Cary, NC – We’re very happy to announce the completion of a new website for Sterling Realty Carolinas.

YEP, WORDPRESS

Continuing on the trend of using WordPress as a CMS, we built this site using the cubit theme. Sterling has integrated IDX home search (can’t say MLS, not sure why) and lots of other goodies including all our favorite plug-ins:

SEO-All-In-One-Pack

Akismet

XML Site Map Generator

Google Analytics for WP

Find Category Number

Sterling Realty is run my the capable team of Rick Polley and Chris Nesbitt. Drop them a note if you are looking at real estate in Chapel Hill. Tell them what a great site they have.

Email: Always Use a Subject Line

Hal — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 17:42:00 +0000

Cary, NC – Part of our shtick is to advise clients on best practices when it comes to Web 2010. The value of email subject lines continues, surprisingly, to come up.

“RE:” IS NOT A SUBJECT LINE

You do a service to your clients, associates, friends and family when you use a descriptive subject line in all your emails. I’m not talking about email marketing blasts. For those, subject lines are, of course, crucial to success. Read more about crafting good subject lines.

For everyday email correspondence, using a subject line is still important. The main benefit is that it allows your readers to find important messages by scanning their inbox. Without a subject line, your readers must open multiple emails just to find the desired message.

So don’t leave the subject line blank. Ever.

MORE ADVICE ABOUT EMAIL CORRESPONDENCE

Once again, I’m talking about personal or business email correspondence, not email marketing blasts.

1. Included a Signature Line in Plain Text

A good signature line should include two things:

Your Full Name

Phone Number

Depending upon your situation, it might also include a street address or a link to your website.

Picture text, for example a gif or jpg with your logo or picture and the contact info, will not be automatically loaded in most email programs. The reader must press a button to “load images.” It’s okay to include a picture or logo. Just put your key contact info in plain text.

Think to yourself, “if this person wanted to get hold of me and opened my last email, would they find the necessary contact info?”

2. The Protocol of Greetings

If you are corresponding with a close buddy, you can omit the greeting and signature. In the course of a active project, this may also be the case.

But in most situations, a greeting is required. “Dear_____” has given way to “Hi _____.” Use the recipients name, not just “Hello!”

Using the appropriate greeting strikes the right tone in any phase of a relationship.

3. Including a “Recent Content” Link

If you are a content creator (blogger, photographer, videographer, musician), including a link to new work in the signature link will boost viewership.

4. Example

So here’s what a good email to a colleague might look like:

SUBJECT: Meeting with Hal on Tuesday Feb 2

Hi Bob,

Just confirming our meeting on Tuesday Feb 2, 10 o’clock, at O’Keefe’s Coffee Shop. Call me if you need to reschedule.

Hal
———–
Hal Goodtree
Goodtree & Co.
919-389-0129

Take a look at our new photo portfolio.

Web Trend for 2010: Blog Sites

Hal — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 23:43:52 +0000

Cary, NC – We try to overhaul our website once a year. Wipe the slate clean a tell our story without any preconceptions. This year, we decided to go with a blog site, a CMS powered by WordPress.

The advantages are easy to enumerate:

Low cost set-up

Easy to maintain

Professional look out of the box

Well-connected to search

Here’s a little more detail in case your business is thinking about a new site in 2010.

WHAT’S A CMS?

CMS stands for Content Management System. It allows users to add content with little or no programming skills. Need to change a page? No problem if your website is built around a CMS. Enter the info and hit publish.

WHAT’S WORDPRESS

WordPress is the Number One blogging platform in the world. It’s open source (that means free) and has a large population of developers supporting it with upgrades to the code and special add-ons to accommodate almost any functionality.

THE GROWTH OF WORDPRESS

Over the last couple of years, more and more developers have been seeing the possibilities of WordPress as a CMS. Around the world, programmers have been extending the uses of WP to include video content, maps, e-commerce, real estate, social networking and portfolio sites.

For the end user, most of this activity is visible in the growth of themes. Themes are skins over the WordPress installation that create an instant look and functionality for your site.

THEMES GO PREMIUM

A couple of years ago, most themes were free. They were an improvement over the standard WP theme (called Kubrick) but support was sketchy. As WordPress grew, free themers had a difficult time keeping current with the code. What looked pretty cool last year barely worked twelve months later.

In the last six months, the development community has switched over to Premium themes. In short, you now have to pay for the best themes. But competition has undercut the pricing – just last summer, we bought and installed one of the first really robust premium themes (called TV Elements). It cost about $100.

Now, great themes have fallen to about half that price. The theme powering this site (called Display) cost less than $50.

$50 doesn’t seem like a lot for a top notch theme with about 90% of the coding baked in.

SAVE THOUSANDS

The bottom line for business is that the growth of WordPress as a CMS and the development of premium themes has lowered the cost to business for a truly modern website. Development time is quicker and many businesses can now afford a slick look that would have previously been out of reach.

Can you do this yourself? Probably not. Not unless you’re a closet hacker. But the important point is that you’ll pay a lot less for development and get a world class site.

SOME EXAMPLES

This is not your Daddy’s blog. WordPress can now be easily configured to powered the most complicated websites. The New York Times runs on WordPress.

We predict strong growth for WordPress sites in 2010. Even compared to CMS stalwarts like Joomla and Drupal, WP offers a compelling value.

Here are some examples of our recent work with blog sites:

CaryCitizen – BlogNews theme

Sterling Realty Carolinas – Cubit theme

Streetstyle TV – TV Elements theme

CONTACT US

If you have more questions about blog sites, WordPress or content management systems, feel free to contact us.

Technical Services

Hal — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 16:42:02 +0000

Along with solid creative work and strategic thinking, success on the web demands a broad range of technical expertise.

From a pure programming standpoint, we hand code some of our sites and adapt open source platforms for others. We make extensive use of APIs to tie together content from all over the web. Our languages include HTML, PHP, CSS, JQuery, MySQL, XML, XHTML, JScript, ActionScript, CentOS, Ubuntu and many others. Most of our work is on open source Linux platforms.

From an applications standpoint, we create databases, manage analytics, run our own ad server, supply hosting, set-up and install WordPress and create widgets for maps, calendars, video and all kinds of content.

Contact us with questions about our technical services.