105 Posts Found

META Tags are HTML code tags inserted into the “head” area of your web pages that describe the content of a webpage and (sometimes) provide instructions to visiting search engine spiders and browsers. Essentially, META tag information is used to communicate information that a human visitor is likely not concerned with. Below I will discuss the most common and recommended META tags.

• META Name: Abstract

  … [ Read more ]

  Subjects: Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Site Design (Architecture, Coding, UI, etc.)

Talking about redirects could quickly become very technical and quite boring but I will limit myself to the basics – why you would want/need to use a redirect and what you need to consider once you do use a redirect.

There are many instances where you might like to use a redirect – refreshing a page, transferring from one domain to another (e.g. from mydomain.com to … [ Read more ]

Subjects: Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Site Design (Architecture, Coding, UI, etc.), Site Optimization

This is not an exhaustive list, nor is it in any particular order, but below are some basic things you should check before launching any site.

Website Launch Audit

Status

Validate your code (ref: W3C Validator, W3C CSS Validator, WDG HTML Validator, CSSCheck, Web Page Purifier, … [ Read more ]

Subject: Site Design (Architecture, Coding, UI, etc.)

Marc Andreessen has a blog post listing some useful HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP, and miscellaneous cheatsheets.

Subject: Useful Code, Tips & Tools

I am not knowledgeable enough about PHP security and SQL injection to write anything useful myself. However, I recently read a good three-part series of articles by Chris Snyder and Michael Southwell (an excerpt from Pro PHP Security! by Apress) which provides a nice introduction, overview and basic tips.

• Pro PHP Security / Preventing SQL Injection: Part 1
• Pro PHP Security / Preventing SQL Injection:

… [ Read more ]

Authors: Chris Snyder, Michael Southwell | Source: PHP Builder | Subjects: Security, Site Design (Architecture, Coding, UI, etc.)

A decent search function is a must for any serious site. There are countless ways to add search to your site, some very simple and some quite complicated. You can use a hosted service (like Google), a third-party script or you can design your own. If the latter interests you, I offer some sample code that I developed for this site, albeit in a slightly … [ Read more ]

Subject: Useful Code, Tips & Tools

The default configuration for PHP may very well suit all your coding needs just fine. Sometimes, however, it won’t. Generally speaking there are three ways to make changes to your PHP configuration:

1. Modify the php.ini file if you have access to it. Some hosting plans will allow you to access and modify this file and some won’t. Personally, I would recommend

… [ Read more ]

Subject: Configuring and Administering Your Server

• Make sure index.php is considered a default index page. If it isn’t, add a .htaccess file (or edit the existing file) in the root (e.g., htdocs) directory with the following line:
  DirectoryIndex index.php index.htm index.html
  or just modify the DirectoryIndex line in the httpd.conf file
• Make sure that visitors to your site can’t view directory contents. If your webhost uses cPanel choose the Index Manager

… [ Read more ]

Subject: Configuring and Administering Your Server

DNS stands for Domain Name System (or Service or Server). It is an Internet service that translates domain names into IP addresses. Because domain names are alphabetic, they’re easier to remember. The Internet however, is really based on IP addresses. Every time you use a domain name, therefore, a DNS service must translate the name into the corresponding IP address. For example, the domain name … [ Read more ]

Subject: Configuring and Administering Your Server

Most email is handled by the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP). Unfortunately, SMTP was designed in an era when nobody recognized a need for significant security measures. Today, spam and phishing has exposed the underlying security weaknesses of SMTP. As a result, various efforts are underway to add the necessary security to prevent future spam, phishing and other unsavory uses of email. The two primary … [ Read more ]

Subject: Configuring and Administering Your Server

The cron daemon (a program that runs continuously and exists for the purpose of handling periodic service requests that a computer system expects to receive) is where all timed events are handled. Cron commands are usually referred to as “jobs.” For me, cron jobs are a totally essential tool. I use them to run scripts at regularly scheduled intervals. For example, I send out email … [ Read more ]

Subject: Configuring and Administering Your Server

Sometimes you may wish to make a change to your server configuration without changing the configuration for the whole server. To do so you can add a small file called .htaccess (which stands for hypertext access). The dot is important in this file name and the name is ALWAYS the same regardless of the change you make.

Before deciding to make a .htaccess file, first check … [ Read more ]

Subject: Configuring and Administering Your Server

On Apache servers, the httpd.conf file is the main file of concern when modifying settings and functionality.

Depending on the hosting package and provider you chose, you may or may not have access to this file to modify. You may also have access to make limited changes via a graphical control panel. The default settings of your hosting package will dictate which, if any, changes might … [ Read more ]

Subjects: Configuring and Administering Your Server, Miscellaneous

Depending on the hosting provider you choose you may have very little or a fair amount of configuration to do before your website will be ready for debut.

Apache & IIS

Apache is the open source web server software that runs on *Nix platforms. It is currently the dominant software used across the Internet. Though there are other programs that could be used, most likely your hosting … [ Read more ]

Subject: Configuring and Administering Your Server

There are LOTS of different options which will have different levels of importance depending on your goals, budget, etc. Below I offer a basic table you can use as a starting point for a checklist as you investigate different hosting providers.

Option

Host #1

Host #2

Host #3

Pricing
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Subject: Choosing a Web Host Provider

As a do-it-yourself webmaster relying on shared hosting you will invariably have times where your website appears to be unreachable or suffering from latency or other performance problems. Here is a quick guide for troubleshooting.

Trouble reaching a website or performance issues with a reachable website can usually be attributed to one of the following:

• Your PC. To verify this, try accessing your site from another computer

… [ Read more ]

Subjects: Choosing a Web Host Provider, Miscellaneous

Practically all host providers will assure you they constantly monitor their networks and websites. While I won’t accuse them of lying exactly, I will say that my experience is that I often catch problems either (1) they were unaware of, or (2) before they were aware of them. Hopefully your webhost will offer some sort of network status site or hotline to consult before opening … [ Read more ]

Subject: Choosing a Web Host Provider

You should use my checklist when shopping for a web host, but below is a list of what I think are “essential” services to have in a hosting account.

• Secure shell access (putty, telnet, etc.). Most lower-level hosting plans don’t offer this, instead offering a control panel that can do many things you would use shell access to do. If you

… [ Read more ]

Subject: Choosing a Web Host Provider

This is probably obvious but…in order to have a website available for the world to see you must have a computer with webserver software and a good, always-on connection to the Internet. While you could (and some do) build and host your own server I really can’t think of a good reason for anyone who would be reading this to even consider that option. The … [ Read more ]

Subject: Choosing a Web Host Provider

For any serious web project, registering a domain is crucial. You can, of course, use a free or cheap shared hosting service (e.g., blogger, GeoCities, etc.) without having your own domain name. But, given the audience I will assume you plan to have a dedicated domain name.

Choosing a name

There are two primary considerations for registering a domain name – the choice of the name itself … [ Read more ]

Subject: Domain Registration