surefire

Schmuck, I can answer your question with specifics, but first, you are attempting a rather large project for a self-described newbie. I have a rather large membership site that starts off with login through phpBB. I integrated the code so that phpBB inserts user data into the tables that the other php scripts on the site use. It's really very possible for you to modify scripts so that they all run off the same database table. Not that hard if you know what you're doing. That's the way I would go if I were you. Absolutely do NOT require login when homepage loads... just my opinion. I would stay away from Nuke and postNuke for two reasons: 1-complicated to change and modify versus phpBB 2-dynamic urls make it harder for some (not all) search engines to index your pages To sum up... what you're looking to do is possible and I've done similar projects before... but if you're new to coding... you're in for a lot of learning and work. Best of luck.

I was hoping you'd confirm my conclusions. Thanks for your input.

Dsdemmin is the guy to talk to on SEO topics... but I think that there is an aspect to this question that needs clarification. I've researched this issue extensively. If you re-read the comments from Inktomi, I think you'll find that they don't have problems with dynamic content... whether js, asp, php, cf, shtml, etc. The problem is with dynamic links containing '&' '?' '=' and the like. You'll commonly see this with database driven sites such as catalogs and also Nuke and postNuke. Example: Inktomi and others search engines are very reluctant to index pages with dynamic links because they are concerned that the links are temporary and don't really point to a real page. There also is an apparent risk that the search engine spider gets caught in an infinite loop of dynamically generated links. So, if you have a catalog or postNuke website or pages with dynamic link characters, then there is good evidence that many of the search engines won't index these pages. I know that some of my pages with dynamic urls have been seen and indexed by Google... but every search engine is different. There are a variety of methods you can use to turn dynamic urls into static looking urls such as The method I have used involves mod rewrite combined with a script that parses the page url and pulls the variables out of the url. The mod rewrite instruction tells the server "If 'catalog' folder is referenced, then parse catalog as a php file... not a folder... and everything that comes after /catalog/ is to be ignored.... they're just variables for the script." In other words... there's not a catalog folder but rather a catalog.php page that gets called and parsed by the server. (Mod rewrite can be tricky and should be done by someone who knows what they are doing. Serious website chaos can result if you goof it.) There is plenty of info on the subject online. Basically, if you are good at coding PHP, and you have the time and patience, you can rewrite your catalog, bulletin board, or postNuke site to have static looking URLs... even though they're dynamically generated. But Andy, you need not worry that search engines discriminate against php or asp pages... they don't... or I haven't found any evidence to the contrary. It's dynamic urls that are the issue with Inktomi.

However, it's probably much better to have a remote .js file and then have the script file accessed in the head of the html document: Defer apparently will tell the browser to defer loading the javascript until the rest of the html loads. So if you want the js to load at the start, leave the defer part out. The line above that gives the location of the external .js file can be brought into your page with PHP include(). This is probably the most effective manner of accomplishing this... but not the only way.

Schmuck: You've phrased your questions in a way that's a little difficult to answer. Strictly speaking, PHP and frames are nowhere close to the same thing. However, my interpretation of what you're trying to do is something that PHP include() function will do very well. It will help you 'include' snippets of html that are totally repetitive across the entire site. You have to realize that setting up your headers and footers with PHP include functions will create static html (as stated by dsdemmin) and will not create the frame effect that keeps a portion of your page fixed on the screen. Dsdemmin is correct in that you should stay away from frames for a wide variety of reasons (especially SEO). If any of this is confusing... here's a way to understand exactly what PHP can and can't do.... Try it. The examples laid out here are short and simple. Try them out and most of your questions will be answered.

Thank you for the clarification. I assure you I looked for the answer before posting the question.

Okay... now that's what I call useful information. I can use that. Thanks so much. Your first hand experience is very valuable. That sounds like what I will eventually move towards. Maybe I'll set up a semi just to see what it's like... set up a few of my client accounts there and give it a shot. You brought up a concern that I alluded to in another recent post. If one account on a shared IP gets in trouble with a search engine... I assume that it would be bad news for the rest of the accounts too. But that could happen anywhere, so no real solution. This is one of those cases where too many options has my head spinning. But I've already started migrating from the other hosting company to regular TCH accounts... so that's how it will be for now. One thing you said that doesn't jive... You said you don't get any dedicated IP's by default... But I got this email: Strange... Anyhow... That info you shared is great. Thanks.

I think I may have answered my own question. I should know better than posting without doing better homework or actually using the grey matter between my ears. 1- I surfed a couple of chatrooms solely dedicated to SEO stuff. It seems that others have asked this question before... as it is a common misconception. 2- Others on these chatrooms have indicated that they have several dozen accounts on shared IP's without any negative consequences. 3- Obviously if this were a problem, then most of the sites at TCH would have SEO problems big time... as is not the case. Okay... now I am officially taking a hiatus from the chatroom and getting back to business. Sorry for the brain fart.

I thought I was going to stay off this forum for a few days... but I had to ask this question. Here's a quote I found at http://www.axandra.com/news/search-engine-...e-ranking-2.htm I really like the bells and whistles at TCH... but it seems that shared IP addresses is the norm. So is the info in this article legit??? PS - This particular site doens't offer hosting services so I don't see how this could be self-serving. They sell software to optimize websites for search engines. I have no idea if their software is any good. PPS - This isn't the first time that I've read this about the IP's... doesn't make it true, but thought I'd mention it. Maybe it's a common misconception. I'd love to hear from dsdemmin or anyone else on this.

Yes... I've seen that and will take that into consideration.

No doorways. I have my webdesign site pointing at it as a portfolio example. The question about dmoz is another frustration... I'm in their category Health, Nursing, Employment... but the site doesn't come up under any search terms. And of course, the one email I sent to the editor was ignored... just asking for clarification. I was curious why a site name "Travel Nurse Depot" wouldn't pop up at all under their listing of "travel nurse". I'm beginning to think that if your site wasn't listed pre-2001 then you're just S.O.L. Hey, thanks for taking a look. I'll probably hire someone to do it for me if this continues.

Yep. I think you're right about the spoiled thing. Gonna lay low from the chat for a few days. Thanks so much for your response. I actually had put in my purchase order for the semi-dedicated and then backed out. For my own personal sites, I'd have to have ten sites on a semi for it to make money sense, (as opposed to individual deluxe hosting plans) and it appeared that the sum total of bandwidth and disc space didn't really add up to the same as ten deluxe accounts. I may be wrong to be using simple math to try to figure this out... but I have no experience with a semi dedicated and so I don't know how it works. The clincher was the IP address question. I have a hard time understanding how many sites can reside on one ip without any detrimental effects. If I get five IP's with the semi dedicated... and I need to host ten sites, then I have to buy 5 more ip's right? Others have tried answering this question for me but I seem to be missing something. Thanks.

Read the following tutorial: http://www.devshed.com/Server_Side/PHP/DB_...sics/page1.html I'm telling you... if you're going to get heavy into PHP and MySQL... you're going to want to buy a book. I recommend PHP 4 Bible

For what it's worth... I have read a lot about various ways to get dynamic links using ? & = and so forth into static looking links. Uses mod rewrite. But you might want to wait and see how successful my ideas are before you start implementing them. I'll let you know when I get the first google deepcrawl.

Thanks. If I can help you out with server side scripting... let me know.

So does that mean that a navbar that appears on every page of a site is a bad idea...? If so, I have some rethinking to do.

One other thing... I'm in the Yahoo index too (Ponied up the $299 and not feeling like I'm getting my money's worth so far.)

DS Demmin: I truly wasn't expecting a review... But since you asked: Travel Nurse Depot Site launched approx late March, early April. Approx 2,500 pages indexed by Alta Vista... so I expect that there is at least the ability to follow the links. I know that some of the pages use dynamic urls... several thousand of my pages do not. Looking foward to your input.

Jim, That wasn't the site that I was referring to... but yes, that would be an example. That particular site doesn't match all of the criteria I listed in my question. If you don't mind, I'd prefer it if you removed that link from your post.

Thank you for the info. I have a very specific question... first the info: Website with 500 pages Site map linking to all major folders Link to site map on main index page No redirects No java All text links Several (5 or 6) inbound links from PR 5+ pages. Site is in dmoz Now the question... Can you think of any reason why this site hasn't been deep crawled in three months?

I signed up a week ago and didn't have a problem. I too had a url that I was transferring. If memory serves... you have the option of selecting "I own this domain and will transfer it" or something like that. Hope that helps.

And I second Jim's comment about getting a PHP book. I'd love to say that you can learn all you need to know about PHP from free internet tutorials... but it's not completely true. Having a book on hand saves time and is well worth the $45.

My understanding: Let's look at two options on a website with 100 pages. I want to update the layout of my site. Dreamweaver templates option Update the template file Hit 'Update' on Dreamweaver FTP every single file to the server End result... static html. Dreamweaver templates is basically a search and replace feature for software that sits on your personal computer's hard drive. (my understanding of it) PHP Includes Update header.php and foorter.php FTP those two files to my server Done. And.... You can do neat stuff like print out title tags automaticallly or show a date... or randomly choose different logos. Basically... dynamic website. Final analysis... Dreamweaver does neat stuff on your computer but you still have to ftp the stuff to the server. It makes the job of 'search and replace' faster and easier. PHP includes makes the substitution when the page is 'served' to your visitor. Dreamweaver sits on your computer, PHP tells server to do stuff. The latter gives you more options. PHP includes is superior, IMHO, but whatever works best for you is best for you.

Hmmmm.... I'm getting the cold shoulder. Was my question posted in the wrong place???

I'm considering a semi-dedicated server for my sites... 1- Does it come with WMH control panel that you see with reseller accounts? 2- Can I use it as a reseller account? 3- Anyone at TCH using semidedicated for several of their sites who can tell me their experiences? 4- Any drawbacks to hosting several of my sites on a semi-dedicated server? Thanks y'all.