Website Designers and Webmasters

Regular Expressions (or Regex for short) is a language that I’ve been learning a lot about recently. I don’t have any useful tidbits for you as of yet, but I do have a couple very nice and useful links that can help you learn about regex:

Extensive Regex Tutorial

(Note: Regex is used a lot in htaccess.)

When I have more for you on this subject, I’ll put it in the sidebar
-Ashton Sanders

This is more of a Question and Answer with me, Ashton Sanders. Enjoy.

Q: What caused you to end up working on the Internet?

Ashton Sanders: Computers have always been my forte, and I greatly enjoy working and creating on the Internet. There is no other industry like it, and it will be one that I know I will always be learning new things about. There is no ceiling to how much I can learn and do.

Q: Why did you buy www.AshtonSanders.com?

Ashton Sanders: Ha! I bought www.AshtonSanders.com because I thought it would be a lot of fun to have and create with. I am the only Ashton Sanders who works on the Internet, (from what I could tell from the Google search) and I knew I would never forgive myself if some other Ashton Sanders bought it… or even worse, someone bought it just to spite me.

Q: What do you feel is your greatest strength in regards to Website Design and Development on the Internet?

Ashton Sanders: There are many aspects of the Internet that I am very proficient at: Website Design, PHP programming, ActionScript, Flash Animation, CSS, HTML, XHTML, etc. If I must choose one part of the Internet that I am the most proficient at, I would have to say it is Search Engine Optimization (SEO). For the last couple years, I have been under the tutelage of Jere Matlock of www.WordsinaRow.com. He is the greatest SEO resource anyone could ask for, and the things that he has accomplished with his client’s websites is truly amazing. With his help, I have begun to create some equally amazing products in the field of Search Engine Optimization. I look forward to all the SEO accomplishments that I will achieve in the near future.

Q: What is your favorite aspect of Website Design and Development?

Ashton Sanders: I love it all! I love taking a blank page, and creating a place that is pleasing to look at, and entertaining to use. I love using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) to simplify a website’s infrastructure and HTML Coding. I love the accomplishment of programming an elaborate PHP website that does all sorts of fun things. I love putting together an extensive Flash Movie that is entertaining, but most of all I love having fun, and giving my visitors something they can enjoy.

Q: Do you have any company policies that are different from other Website Design Companies?

Ashton Sanders: Yes, definitely! First and foremost, I always answer my cell phone. I am probably the easiest-to-reach web master on the planet. Even if I am behind on a project (not likely), I am not afraid to tell my client. I will never avoid a client for any reason. That brings up another company policy: “If you ever do anything, do it ‘In a Flash!’”

Q: Any Closing Thoughts?

Ashton Sanders: The mind can never be full. No matter how much you learn, there will always be space for more. It my personal policy to never stop learning. It doesn’t matter if I’ve never heard about the subject before, I know what everyone has to start somewhere. Why not here and now? I love expand my information on any subject!

-”Never Stop Learning… Ever!”
-Ashton Sanders”

It has been said that Search Engine Optimization “is not yet a science — it’s still an artform.”

I totally agree with that quote. Search Engine Optimization is hundreds of little things that you with your site to make it more search engine friendly. The table trick is one of those SEO things you can do to improve your rankings (however slightly) in the search engines.

Theory

Search Engines don’t usually index your entire page. They usually have a KB limit of how much it will index from each page, and it will probably value the information near the top of a page more than it does the information at the bottom.

Unfortunately, it is the style of the internet to have menu/navigation bars on the left side of the screen. Usually this means that the menu/navigation bar shows up in your code before the content of your web page. So the search engines have to sift through a bunch of formating code in your navigation before it gets to the meat of your site.

Here is where the table trick comes in:

Using this code, you will be able to have a left navigation bar that shows up below the content of your code. Here is the code:

<html>
<head>
</head>
<body>
<table>
<tr valign=”top”>
<td><!– leave this TD empty – it will disappear –></td>
<td rowspan=2>Put the text for the page here. </td>
</tr>
<tr valign=”top”>
<td>Put the Navigation Bar Here</td>
</tr>
</table>
</body>
</html>

That’s it! If you want to see a website that is currently using this trick, go to Front Sight.com.

The above quote and this table trick supplied courtesy of Jere Matlock of Words in a Row. Jere is the best SEO resource anyone could ask for. His site is full of useful Search Engine Optimization tactics and ideas. You can also check out his blog: JMblog.

Another fun quote he has on is blog is:

“If you can’t annoy somebody, there’s little point in writing.”
-Kingsley Amis

-Ashton Sanders

Why do people have to be jerks? Why do people feel it is okay to rip of their neighbors? Why do people have to be so stupid?

Those are some philosophic questions that won’t necessarily be answered in this blog post… but I might get around to it. =)

About a week ago, I started working with a new client. (Lets say her name was Jan.) We got together, and talked about pricing and domain names, etc. We found and bought a domain name, but my client decided that it would be best to wait 1 week before we actually would start putting together her website design.

(NOTE: There was nothing on her website. Nothing, Zilch, Nada, ABSO-FREAKING-LUTELY NOTHING!)

Before the week is up, Jan calls to tell me that she received an offer from “Google” to place her site on the top of the search engines for a cheap monthly fee. She had agreed and “Google” faxed her a contract to sign and send back. Luckily for her, she called me. Here is what the contract said:

Terms & Conditions

Guarantees
Your site will be found as promised (on the first page for: real estate agent polson, properties for sale polson, real estate for sale polson, home for sale polson, mls listings polson) within 3-5 business days upon account verification. In the event that you are not found on the first page, we will correct the placement within 2 business days and provide a pro-rated credit to compensate you for the time your site was not found as promised. *Company Name* reserves the right to modify search terms at any time to enhance overall campaign performances.

Credit Card / Checking Authorization
I understand that this contract is for a minimum period of 12 months and that *Company Name* is authorized to debit my credit card or checking account monthly during the term for the price of $119.00. After 12 months, the authorization will continue on a month by month basis, unless the customer noted above sends a cancellation by fax to *Company Name* International at 1-866-***-****.

Cancellation Policy
All fees paid prior to cancellation are non-refundable.

If you wish to discuss your account with a *Company Name* Representative, peease contact *Company Name* at 1-866-***-****. the event of default of this contract (10 days past due), I will be responsible for the full amount of this agreement.

Wow! They can get my site so good that it will appear on the first page? No… It’s called Google Adwords, and the price per click for those keywords are like 5 cents! And NOBODY searches those keywords.

If you type in “real estate agent polson” (the first keyword they mentioned) into the Overture Keyword Selector Tool it will tell you that it “doesn’t have any suggestions for those keywords.” In other words, so few people search that term, it doesn’t have statistics on it.

ARE YOU SERIOUS?

You pay $120 bucks a month to hire a company to start a Google Adwords campaign at 5 cents a click on keywords that nobody searches…

There is only one word for businesses like that: Assholes.

You are not providing any sort of service; you’re just pretending to provide a service. You are a teenage prick who thinks that taking advantage of ignorant people is an honest means of making a living…

-Grow Up
-Ashton Sanders

Yes! This blog Signifies my longest blog ever!

(The last one I did was for Camp Cherry Valley, Boy Scout Summer Camp. I got 25 posts before the summer ended, and I had to close the blog.)

This is my 26th blog post. Here’s to the future of this blog!

-Cheers
-Ashton Sanders