Best Search Engine Optimization SEO Tips

1 - Valid XHTML Code - Use Valid xhtml. Search engines prefer tidy houses. Use a markup validation service to ensure that your web pages comply with the latest W3C standards. Ideally, you should also consider using CSS style sheets to set up your web site design to cut down on the code vs. content ratio.

2 - Meta Tags - Two parts of the meta tag deserve particular attention – the description meta tag and the title. The description meta tag is the information that users will see in the search engine results. <meta name=“description” content=“Insert description here”>

Your main keyword should be the very first thing you put inside the title tag. Secondary keywords should follow. You should avoid using all capital letters. <title>Insert title content here</title>

3 - Keywords Throughout Page Content - After you have carefully selected your keywords and keyword phrases you should be using them throughout the text on your pages. It is important for your main keywords to have the correct keyword density to rank well in Search Engines. The recommended keyword density is from 3% - 7%, anything above 10% looks allot like keyword stuffing. You should check keyword density after each text change.

4 - Keywords in Image Alt Tags – It is important to include your keywords in these tags, however not just a spam type listing of all of all your keywords. Be as creative as possible here.

5 – Use Heading Tags and Bold Text – Instead of just making a-bit of text bold and bigger use the <H1> and <H2> tags which get special attention from the search engines. Keyword specific bold text and bulleted list items are also favored by the search engines.

6 – Use Internal Anchor Text Links - Search engine spiders still love links. Linking throughout your site with descriptive text allows search engines spiders to find and ultimately index your site easily.

7 - Use an XML Site Map - Search engines love site maps! Create an xml site map to help search engines crawl your web site. Make sure you don't have any broken links.

8 – Write Content for Humans, Not Just Search Engines - You will find that you do better with search engines if your text reads naturally and is written for human eyes.

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Maui Blog Spot

A Maui Blog From Maui, Hawaii

Just browsing around Maui, Hawaii or looking for something more specific, aloha and welcome to the Maui Blog. Here you will find a Maui blog on and about Maui, Hawaii, Web Design, Website Development, Computers and much more! This Maui Blog is updated regularly so be sure to check back often for related news, stories and articles on Maui. Maui Blog Spot From Maui, Hawaii

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Flash and Positioning XHTML Div Layers

Is there a way to have a flash movie play below another layer like an html text heading or div tag?

Answer: Yes, this is actually fairly simple but is a several part process depending on how may different items you would like to position above the flash element.

1. First you must add the wmode parameter transparent to the flash object that is going to be embedded.

Like so...  <param name="wmode" value="transparent" />

(note:) If you are using the swfobject.js method to embed your flash files (recommended) you can add the transparent parameter by simply using the example below to append to your current setup:

<script type="text/javascript">
   var so = new SWFObject("movie.swf", "movie", "700", "300", "#ffffff");
   so.addParam("wmode", "transparent");
   so.write("flashcontent");
</script>

2. Now we need to wrap our flash movie in its own div tag and and apply some css so that we can set the position to be below the header text and description div.
(See example below for xhtml and css code.)

<div id="header">

<div id="flash">flash file goes here.</div>

</div> 

And the accompanying css for the above is:
(note the z-index and absolute position for #flash div)

#flash {
    width: 700px;
    height: 300px;
    position: absolute;
    z-index: 0;
}

#header {
    height: 300px;
    margin-bottom: 30px;
    text-align: left;
}

3. Ok, now lets go ahead and set up the html layers that will be displayed displayed above our flash content. In this case it will be an h1 header and a description that is in its own div that is above the flash media.

(Two items to be positioned over the flash movie)

The h1 css is: (note: feel free to style it however you want or use a different tag, the important thing is the z-index and absolute position.

h1 {
    padding-top: 15px;
    padding-bottom: 15px;
    margin-left: 10px;
    font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
    font-size: 24px;
    color: #666666;
    font-weight: bold;
    position: absolute;
    z-index: 1;
}

 
Now for the description css which is going to be in its own div tag containing text and will be positioned above the flash element as well: (note the z-index and the absolute position again)

.description {
    font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
    font-size: 9px;
    color: #FFFFFF;
    margin-left: 15px;
    margin-top: 35px;
    padding: 5px;
    font-weight: bold;
    line-height: 14px;
    position: absolute;
    z-index: 1;
}

4. Thats it, the finished code in the body of a web page will look like this:
(note: Code is placed in the header div which has no z-index or absolute position necessary)

<div id="header">

<div id="flash">flash file goes here.</div>

<h1>Heading Text</h1>
<div class="description">Your description text</div>

</div>

And the final accompanying CSS is:

h1 {
    padding-top: 15px;
    padding-bottom: 15px;
    margin-left: 10px;
    font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
    font-size: 24px;
    color: #666666;
    font-weight: bold;
    position: absolute;
    z-index: 1;
}

.description {
    font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
    font-size: 9px;
    color: #FFFFFF;
    margin-left: 15px;
    margin-top: 35px;
    padding: 5px;
    font-weight: bold;
    line-height: 14px;
    position: absolute;
    z-index: 1;
}

#flash {
    width: 700px;
    height: 300px;
    position: absolute;
    z-index: 0;
}

#header {
    height: 300px;
    margin-bottom: 30px;
    text-align: left;
}


HTML Layers and Flash Position Summary:

How to layer a Flash movie below another html div tag or layer.

To position a flash movie under another html element basically you just need to give the flash move a parameter of wmode transparent and position it absolutely with a z-index of 0. Do this by putting the flash object in its own div and using css. (see examples above)

For the items that you would like positioned above the flash movie set their z-index to 1 and position them absolutely as well. After that it's just a matter of putting it all in the div or container that you would like applying the css and adjusting the margin and padding to your specific needs.  

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Streaming Movies, Music and Pictures to an XBox 360

Using Microsoft Windows Media Player, you can stream music, pictures, and videos from your personal computer to your Xbox 360. The really great thing is you don't need to download and install any additional software. Use the following steps below to connect your Xbox 360 to your home computer. Vista Media Center Connection Guide

Use your XBox 360 to Listen to your Music & Watch Streaming Videos from your PC.

 
Step 1: Open Windows Media Player

• Launch Windows Media Player. Select Start, then Windows Media Player.

 
Step 2: Now Turn on media sharing.

• Click the arrow below the Library tab, and then click Media Sharing.
• In the Media Sharing dialog box, select the Share my media to check box.
• In the list of devices below the Share my media to check box, select your Xbox 360.
• click Allow
• click OK

 
Step 3: Configure your Xbox 360

Xbox 360 Settings

• In the Media section, select Music, Picture or Photos.
• Select Computer, and then press the A button.
• Select YES, Continue, and then press the A button.
• Select your Windows Vista-based PC, and then press the A button.
• Find the music, pictures, or video you want to play, and select an item to play it.

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Yahoo PHP Web Email Form Script 

What is PHP based web site form mail? PHP Mail is a communication tool used by Yahoo Hosting that allows you to send email from a form on your website through a PHP script. A site visitor will fill out your email form, click send and then you recieve the message in your email. PHP Mail is available as part of all Yahoo Web Hosting plans.

PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) is a widely used, general purpose scripting code  language that is especially great for web development design due to the fact that it can be easily embedded into an XHTML document to create dynamic web pages and web mail forms.

Yahoo PHP Web Form Mail 

Web site php form email for Yahoo hosted websites. The Yahoo PHP Web Mail Form will use the Post method for the action of the form. To find out the unique required post field url that you need to input in order to make your Yahoo website form mail work properly, simply follow these simple steps below.

Setup Yahoo PHP Form Email On Your Website:

1. Login to your Yahoo Hosting or Small Business account.

2. Select your "Web Hosting Control Panel." Now select the "Create and Update" tab then scroll down and find "Add-Ons."

3.Now click on "Email Forms." Here you will find Yahoo PHP website email form examples, as well as the necessary code for your own forms Post field action.

4.You can use the form examples found here, or if you have your own website email form already, simply copy and paste the provided form post action code into your Yahoo hosted website form. The Yahoo hosted PHP form mail will be sent to the alternate email address you have listed in your Yahoo account information area.

Yahoo PHP Email Form Actions.

Form Subject:
<input type="hidden" name="subject" value="Your Custom Subject">

Required Fields:
<input type="hidden" name="required_fields" value="Name,URL,Email">

Redirect URL:
<input type="hidden" name="next_url" value="http://yourwebsite.com/">

To see the Yahoo PHP website email form in action, visit Website Design Maui.

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Essential Windows Vista Tips & Tricks

(1)  For Windows Vista Virus Protection I highly recommended the software application by Grisoft AVG Free Edition, which is a free anti virus program that works well on the new Windows Vista Operating System. Another user recommended option for complete Windows Vista virus protection is Avast Home Edition, which is also free for personal use. Both are definitely worth checking out if your looking around for a Free Windows Vista Compatible Anti-Virus Solution.

(2)  Scroll open windows with Windows Flip 3D. By pressing WINDOW+TAB on your keyboard you activate the Windows Flip 3D feature. Once the flip 3D window is open you can use the arrow keys on your keyboard or the scroll button on your mouse to easily scroll the 3D windows display.

(3)  Increase your hard drive performance with Windows Vista. First right click on the My Computer, then properties and find Device Manager. Now look for and expand the Disk Drives option form the list. Right click on your hard drive that is listed there and then select Properties. Find the Policies tab and Enable Advanced Performance. Finally select OK and close Device Manager. (note: A Battery Backup is recommended due to increased risk of data loss.)

(4)  With Windows Vista, you can add different system clocks to your desktop tray. First click the clock, and then on Date and Time Settings. Click the Additional Clocks tab menu. Here you can add one or two additional clocks to the desktop tray as well as select their custom time zone settings.

(5) Speed up Windows Vista start up time. First open your Start Menu and now find and open Windows Defender. Click on the Tools option menu found on the top menu bar and find and select Software Explorer. Now click on Show for All Users. From here you can select any application to either Remove or Disable it from starting with Windows Vista. By decreasing the load on windows vista you will see a noticeable difference in performance.

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