User Web Site FAQ
Read the sample user pages: (simple text only site and more complex site with graphics) for information and tips on how to construct your own web site.
Questions and Answers:
BASIC:
| What is the Username? | How do I edit my site? |
| What is the Category? | What is the Page Description? |
| What is the Title? | What are the rules? |
| What is the Page Text? | User Site Directory |
OPTIONAL:
| What is a Link? | What is a Placeholder? |
| Can I use HTML codes? | My image is missing? |
| My image is broken? | How do I upload a file? |
| What is a Text File? | What is an HTML file? |
What is the Username? Your username will identify you when you log in to edit your site. Your username is also part of your site's web address ("URL"). If your username was "PirellisPizza" your friends would type: http://free.seekon.com/PirellisPizza/ into their browser to visit your site for the first time. You can only use letters, digits and the minus sign (-) in your username and the username must be 25 characters or less. If your proposed username has already been taken by another SeekOn user, try another name. Capitalization can be used but must be matched exactly when your visitors type in your URL so don't use complicated or unusual capitalization (like "mICHaelroBerts").
What is the Category? The category describes the main purpose of your web site. If you select "unlisted", SeekOn will not put your site title and description in our User Web Site Directory. The possible categories are given in the Category List.
What it the Title? The title of your site goes in the large type heading at the top of your page and also goes in a hidden title area on your site. The hidden title is displayed by search services such as SeekOn and Google when people find your site through a search. It is also displayed at the top of the browser and on a bookmark list when people see your site. You should put keywords that people would use in a search in your title but don't just use lists of keywords. Titles should be about 3 to 7 words. (Eg. Pirelli's Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria). The title can be up to 80 characters. Avoid using ALL CAPS in titles because some search engines give lower rank to sites with all caps in titles or descriptions.
What is the Page Description? The page description is a longer (up to 200 characters) abstract or overview of your site and is used by SeekOn and other search engines to describe your site to prospective readers. The description should read well and contain keywords. The page description doesn't appear on your page when displayed in a browser.
What is the Page Text Area? The rest of the text on your page goes into the page text area and is typed or pasted into the page text area box in the web site editor. You should type this text without pressing "enter" except where you definitely want to end the line such as at the end of a paragraph (like using a word processor).
How do I edit my site? To edit your site go to the User Web Site Editor and enter your user name and password which were emailed to you when you signed up.
What are the rules? See the Terms and Conditions. SeekOn User Web Sites are intended to provide an easy, fast, and free way for small businesses and individuals to create their own web sites. They are not intended to provide a means for advertising a user's existing site.
- No pornography, illegal activities, hate, or offensive content
- SeekOn may place advertising or links to SeekOn on free user sites
- Combined size of all files less than 150,000 bytes (enough for about 25,000 words)
User Site Directory SeekOn maintains a Directory of User Web Sites. Other search services will eventually find and index your site from this public directory. The Directory lists sites in order of most recently modified. In order to be listed in the directory the following requirements must be met:
- Site must not be in "Unlisted" category.
- Site must contain user supplied information in title, description, and text areas.
- Site must not contain the words "Under Construction".
- Site must not contain "adult" words.
If you want to delay "going public" with your site while you complete it, simply put the words "Under Construction" anywhere in the text area until you are ready.
What is a Link? A link is a portion of specially marked text which allows readers to "click" to another web site or another page on your web site and generally appears on the reader's browser as a blue, underlined portion of text. You can put links on your web site. Each link has two parts: The link address, and the link text. The link text is the segment of text which will appear underlined and blue. The link address is either a complete web site URL such as http://www.seekon.com/faq.html or the file name of a file on your site such as myschedule.txt.
When entering links into the editor text area box you need to use the following format:
%%link address%%link text%%
For example:
Try %%http://www.seekon.com%%SeekOn Search%% service!
Would appear as:
Try SeekOn Search service!
What is a Placeholder? If you want to use images such as pictures or logos on your site you will need to enter a placeholder in the text area box at the approximate location on the page where you want the image. The image will be placed to the left of the page at the point indicated by the placeholder. The placeholder itself does not appear to the reader. Since you might have several images on your page, the placeholders tell which image you want to be in particular places.
The format of the placeholder is (examples): !!mypicture.jpg!! or !!mylogo.gif!!
You need to upload image files with the corresponding names (example: mypicture.jpg) for this to work.
See the sample page and sample page editor example
Can I use HTML codes? You can enter HTML codes in the Text Area Box. The codes (<something>) shown below don't actually appear on your page when it is being viewed by a browser but they cause the indicated text effect. Popular simple codes are:
<b>Bold</b> <i>Italic</i> <b><i>Bold and Italic</b></i>
<u>Underline</u> <small>smaller type</small>
Horizontal rule: <hr>
Obviously, if you make a mistake entering HTML codes, your page may take on a bizarre appearance. Your browser may have a "view source" feature which can help you find HTML errors. SeekOn cannot provide technical support regarding HTML problems.
My Image is missing? If you uploaded a picture or graphic like mypicture.jpg and it doesn't show up on your page you probably need to add the placeholder to your text. Put a placeholder like !!mypicture.jpg!! in your text. The picture will then appear to the left of the placeholder. The placeholder itself will not appear on the page. Make sure the spelling and capitalization are the same on the uploaded file and the placeholder.
My Image is broken? If a picture or graphic shows up on your web site as a blank box with an X in it (or similar) then either you haven't uploaded the graphic file or the name on the placeholder doesn't exactly match the name on the file you specified in the "name on your site" box. File names for images must have one ".", end in .jpg or .gif, and otherwise consist of only letters and numbers.
How do I upload a file? Go to the User Web Site Editor, login, and click on the "Optional Files, Links, and Pictures" link at the bottom of the editor page. If you are using Internet Explorer, push the "Browse" button next to the box labeled "File name on your computer" and find the file you want to upload. Select the file and push "open". The file name and path will appear in the box. Next, enter a file name (can be different) in the box labeled "File name on your site". Use only letters or digits. The file name must end in .jpg or .gif if it is an image file. You can also upload text files (end in .txt) or HTML files (end in .html).
If you are using some versions of Netscape the browse button will not appear. You will then need to enter the full path and file name manually into the "File name on your computer" box (eg. c:\images\mylogo.gif).
What is a Text File? A text file contains only common characters (sometimes known as "plain ASCII") such as letters and numbers, punctuation, and some other characters such as carriage return (enter) and tab. Names of text files end in .txt such as myschedule.txt. There is no capability for even simple formatting such as bold or italic. The only benefits to text files are:
- They work on any kind of computer and software
- They can be produced by any text editor program including the "freebee" editors that come with operating systems
- They work with "courier" fonts like a typewriter so each character is the same width. This way columns of numbers line up and "what you see is what you get".
- They are easy
Sample of a text file display:
Schedule for Tuesday:
0900 Meet with Joe
1000 Staff Meeting
1200 Lunch
What is an HTML file? HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) is a standard, open (license free, non-proprietary), method for displaying information in approximately the same way on a large number of otherwise incompatible computer systems and other devices such as Web TV, providing for advanced display techniques similar to a print magazine such as different fonts, proportional type, embedded pictures, etc., and, providing for embedded "hypertext" links whereby the reader can jump to a different part of the same document, a different document, or an entirely different web site. All the formatting and link features are controlled by "tags" embedded in the text. HTML files can be produced by using a simple text editor and manually entering the tags (see HTML Codes) or by using an HTML editor such as Microsoft FrontPage. The appearance of an HTML document can vary considerably depending on the browser software, computer, monitor, and settings of the reader's system. Producing elaborate HTML documents can be difficult.
Copyright 2002 SeekOn Search Systems