This mornings discussion brought to mind the use of templates on your website. I know some web editors allow the use of Dynamic Web Templates - Dreamweaver, Expression Web, FrontPage 2003, and Sharepoint Designer 2007 (free). A Dynamic Web Template (DWT) allows you to create a template or multiple templates with regions both editable and non-editable. The non-editable regions would be those areas that remain the same throughout your site - the masthead, the navigation (possible) and the footer. Editable regions are those areas that change from page to page - the head section areas for the title, description and keywords for the site. The main content area would be an editable region as would your site navigation if it changes from page to page or section to section. If you want to make a change in the non-editable regions, you change the DWT and those changes are made on all pages the DWT is attached to. Likewise, if you are using an external style sheet, you change the look of your site by editing the style rules. Again, a change on the style sheet will be reflected on all pages the style sheet is attached to. Another advantage with these programs is the use of page includes - Design Time includes in all but Dreamweaver. Not sure what they are called there. So if you have a sectional menu and it is an include, one change to the menu is reflected in all pages the include is part of. Not sure how DW works but in the others, if you make a change in the include, you need to publish all pages the include is part of. If you are NOT using one of these programs, you can still use a template for your site, along with server side includes (ssi) to achieve the same thing. Develop the look of your site for the template to create your new pages. If you use ssi's for the footer, navigation and even the masthead, one change and the change is reflected throughout the site where the ssi is used. The only thing I don't like about using ssi's is you cannot view it from your computer. Barry has a work around for this which I have used successfully. So if you want a consistent look to your site that is easier to maintain, look into using a template and external style sheet. The templates here http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gearyfamily/templates.html can be used with any of the programs menmtioned above. The package also includes a template that does NOT require the use of one of those programs. Pat

At 10:16 PM 6/22/2011, Barb wrote: >Problem3: I tried to view my site from the rootsweb editor, and I >can't figure out how to even find out to get in to work with the >site "behind the scenes". I know things have changed, but I have no >clue what to do now and there was no help to answer that question. The mailing list is being contrary this morning and does not like my usual eamil addy. Grumble, grumble. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gearyfamily/rootsweb-file-manager.html Pat

At 10:16 PM 6/22/2011, Barb wrote: >Problem 2: I'm trying to have 3 family sites toggled on my freepages >site: I"ve got Jones Pages, Mitchell Pages, and Keller Pages >(different backgrounds and CSS and templates). It has worked fine >at one time, and Barry helped me to load the 3rd site. Now however >the others don't come up and though I can enter the Jones site if I >do a Jones search, I can't seem to enter that site to start >with. The Keller one doesn't come up at all. Am I trying for >something too complicated or impossible? I wanted a unique identity >for each family, that was my purpose. ============ Barb, You might want to try something like this setup http://www.family-genealogy-online.com/ The site is no longer hosted on the FreePages server but was for a long time. The entry to the site is a Table of Contents on what can be found on the site. It is then divided into sections, one for each of the four lines - two maternal, two paternal for both my husband and me. Each contains a brief explanation and what can be found in each section. The navigation at the top remains the same on all pages and links to the main sections. No matter where someone enters the site, they can still navigate to each of the main sections. Each of the subsections also uses a side navigation menu with the links to the pages within the section. The index page for each of the subsections contains a Table of Contents for that section plus a brief explanation. To me the main reason to use the misc section as the intro to the site, would be the shorter url you can give out. If as Judy does, you use more than one of the communities, it would help. If like me you use only the genealogy community, then I prefered to keep my pages all there and used that url in my signature line and anytime I sent the link. For ease of getting to each section, I have those pages plus the home page bookmarked under a heading in my browser so they are easy to find. Bookmarks in Firfefox and Favorites in IE. pat Working With Rootsweb FreePages Accounts EBook http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gearyfamily/rootsweb-freepages-ebook.html Planning a Genealogy Website EBook 2nd Edition http://www.genealogy-web-creations.com/genealogy-website-ebook.html

At 09:18 AM 6/23/2011, lrlaskey wrote: >There may some confusion here, if I understand the discussion. One >refers to the sites title, which is typically the same as the domain >name and is show on every page to let viewers know where they are. The >second refers t the title of the page itself which describes the page's >contents. The <title> tag defines the title of the document. The title element is required in all HTML/XHTML documents. The title element: * defines a title in the browser toolbar (at the top of the browser window EXCEPT in IE9) * provides a title for the page when it is added to favorites * displays a title for the page in search-engine results The <h1> to <h6> tags are used to define HTML headings. <h1> defines the most important heading. <h6> defines the least important heading. Heading tags are used by search engines to identify words which are more important than the rest of the page text. The theory is that headings will sum up the topic of the page, so they are counted as important keywords. So if your page is about say the Boone Family Genealogy, that would be both the title of the page and the h1 tag for that page. I would not use the domain name for the title of the page. Example: My domain name is family-genealogy-online.com BUT I would NOT want that as the title of my page. I would choose the title and the h1 tag for what the page is actually about - Little Family Genealogy or Bayless Family History by Virginia Bayless O'Connell As for branding the site, I use the same masthead on all of my pages which is the site name. http://www.family-genealogy-online.com/images/leaves-logo2.jpg pat

At 10:16 PM 6/22/2011, Barb wrote: >I've not done any work on my freepages for several months, and when >I went back to do some work on them, I discovered that my main site >is not connecting to my CSS page and showing any of that >formatting. I'm using Dreamweaver and uploading with FTP. The CSS >shows up on Dreamweaver, but when I preview it on the web, NO. I >created a new page, used my template (which uses the CSS) and that >worked fine- preview in browser- no. Can you help me figure out >what has happened? ============= Barb you have this in the middle of the code rather than at the end. </body> <!-- InstanceEnd --></html> "</div> Fix that first and see what happens. Might want to check and make sure there are no more coding errors. pat

At 12:26 AM 6/23/2011, J.A. Florian wrote: >My suggestion is to FIRST decide on a WEBSITE NAME. HOW will your >website be "known" online? For example, everyone easily recognizes >"Ancestry" as www.ancestry.com On every page, and in the Meta/Head tags, >Ancestry developers use the word "Ancestry" to brand themselves. Your own >website needs a "branding"-- some text that will appear on every page. It's >harder for people like you and me to brand our websites, but it can be >done. For example, one of mine is "Washington County Genealogy PAGenWeb >Project" I have those words, in that order, on every page a visitor sees, >plus in the HEAD tags. ============== I disagree with Judy on this bit. Yes have a site name BUT use it as the masthead. The title of your page and the H1 tag should be the same or close to it and should be what THAT PARTICULAR page is about not your site name. From Google's SEO Guide A title tag tells both users and search engines what the topic of a particular page is. The <title> tag should be placed within the <head> tag of the HTML document (1). Ideally, you should create a unique title for each page on your site. If your document appears in a search results page, the contents of the title tag will usually appear in the first line of the results Accurately describe the page's content. Each of your pages should ideally have a unique title tag, which helps Google know how the page is distinct from the others on your site. Avoid using a single title tag across all of your site's pages or a large group of pages. In looking through their SEO Starter Guide, I see it has been updated again. The guide is in pdf format and is free so you can download it from <http://www.google.com/webmasters/docs/search-engine-optimization-starter-guide.pdf>Search Engine Optimization Pat Working With Rootsweb FreePages Accounts EBook http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gearyfamily/rootsweb-freepages-ebook.html Planning a Genealogy Website EBook 2nd Edition http://www.genealogy-web-creations.com/genealogy-website-ebook.html

Ooops, sorry if I identified the wrong person. Everyone's helped me so much, it's hard to keep track through the years. I know Pat G. was who helped me with the "misc" site template and the css for it. It's really proved to be useful to use the misc area. Judy On Thu, Jun 23, 2011 at 7:39 AM, Pat Geary <pat@the-gearys.com> wrote: > At 12:26 AM 6/23/2011, J.A. Florian wrote: > > One of the best tips ~ever~ from Pat G. was to utilize the "misc" community > as a doorway to all the "communities" (the webs) I had going, and any > future > webs I made. I expanded later into "history" and "school-alumni" etc. > > =========== > > Wish I could take the credit but it was probably the other Pat (Asher) or > Barry. > > Pat G >

At 12:26 AM 6/23/2011, J.A. Florian wrote: >One of the best tips ~ever~ from Pat G. was to utilize the "misc" community >as a doorway to all the "communities" (the webs) I had going, and any future >webs I made. I expanded later into "history" and "school-alumni" etc. =========== Wish I could take the credit but it was probably the other Pat (Asher) or Barry. Pat G

There may some confusion here, if I understand the discussion. One refers to the sites title, which is typically the same as the domain name and is show on every page to let viewers know where they are. The second refers t the title of the page itself which describes the page's contents. Lorrie On 06/23/11 08:06, Patricia Geary wrote: > At 12:26 AM 6/23/2011, J.A. Florian wrote: >> My suggestion is to FIRST decide on a WEBSITE NAME. HOW will your >> website be "known" online? For example, everyone easily recognizes >> "Ancestry" as www.ancestry.com On every page, and in the Meta/Head tags, >> Ancestry developers use the word "Ancestry" to brand themselves. Your own >> website needs a "branding"-- some text that will appear on every page. It's >> harder for people like you and me to brand our websites, but it can be >> done. For example, one of mine is "Washington County Genealogy PAGenWeb >> Project" I have those words, in that order, on every page a visitor sees, >> plus in the HEAD tags. > ============== > I disagree with Judy on this bit. Yes have a site name BUT use it as > the masthead. The title of your page and the H1 tag should be the > same or close to it and should be what THAT PARTICULAR page is about > not your site name. > > From Google's SEO Guide > > A title tag tells both users and search engines what the topic of a > particular page is. The<title> tag should be placed within the > <head> tag of the HTML document (1). Ideally, you should create a > unique title for each page on your site. > If your document appears in a search results page, the contents of > the title tag will usually appear in the first line of the results > > Accurately describe the page's content. Each of your pages should > ideally have a unique title tag, which helps Google know how the page > is distinct from the others on your site. Avoid using a single title > tag across all of your site's pages or a large group of pages. > > In looking through their SEO Starter Guide, I see it has been updated > again. The guide is in pdf format and is free so you can download it > from > <http://www.google.com/webmasters/docs/search-engine-optimization-starter-guide.pdf>Search > Engine Optimization > > Pat > > > Working With Rootsweb FreePages Accounts EBook > > http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gearyfamily/rootsweb-freepages-ebook.html > Planning a Genealogy Website EBook 2nd Edition > http://www.genealogy-web-creations.com/genealogy-website-ebook.html > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to FREEPAGES-HELP-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Barb, I'm barely hanging in on learning CSS. So, I can't address what your CSS is doing-- I'll let someone else help you with that. I can give you some tips about ways to help Google find you. And ways to get to your own websites. At first, I had separate distinct webs in what rootsweb calls their "communities" --- "genealogy", "family" were my first. But I had to link the index of one to the index the other -- crosslinking the sites. That meant using absolute links-- so I had to know the URL. One of the best tips ~ever~ from Pat G. was to utilize the "misc" community as a doorway to all the "communities" (the webs) I had going, and any future webs I made. I expanded later into "history" and "school-alumni" etc. You could still use the "misc" web even if you have the appearance of separateness within "genealogy". What you'd do is link the first page for each family to the first page of the "misc" site. You'd make a navigation system on "misc" -- which can expand as you grow. I later decided to also use "misc" for postcards or county location pictures. Mine is at: http://freepages.misc.rootsweb.com/~florian/ You'll see there's navigation on the left. And in the center I listed each of my "websites" (freepages "communities"). Then I put my misc URL into my email signature--- mainly as a help for ME when I need to go to my sites. I just open a new mail screen, the link for misc is auto placed at the bottom of the email, I click the link, and "discard" the unused write email screen. So it's real easy for ME to go "find" my websites, and easy for visitors to find me through the misc site. A second tip to "finding" your web in Google (with or without high Google ranking) is to use ONE thing on ALL pages. I use my name in the footer section on all pages. Then, in Google, I can search for freepages+genealogy+florian and it will show me my pages. I don't know if Google Search still does this, but at one point Google Search Results allowed me to put a check-mark next to any Search Result (mine or other peoples' websites). Then, those checked results would come up first in MY results (regardless of my SEO ranking). As far as SEO ranking and finding "your pages" in results, that comes from what you type in on each page's HEAD section. The 3 SEO tags in the HEAD are: <title>....</title> <meta name="description" content="....."> <META name="keywords" content="..."> (By the way, look at your description meta tag... I think you've got 2 tags merged together and they need separated.) My suggestion is to FIRST decide on a WEBSITE NAME. HOW will your website be "known" online? For example, everyone easily recognizes "Ancestry" as www.ancestry.com On every page, and in the Meta/Head tags, Ancestry developers use the word "Ancestry" to brand themselves. Your own website needs a "branding"-- some text that will appear on every page. It's harder for people like you and me to brand our websites, but it can be done. For example, one of mine is "Washington County Genealogy PAGenWeb Project" I have those words, in that order, on every page a visitor sees, plus in the HEAD tags. Your Mitchell page really has no "branding" -- no one specific "name" that all pages of your website will be known by. It should be as a top section or a banner (but it isn't necessary to make a banner and banners still need text that machines can read, so it is just easier to create a top section in an "include"). Your "branding name" needs to also be in your HEAD tags. But right now, even your TITLE tag only says <title>Mitchell Home</title> That isn't descriptive enough for Google's machinery. Think about ALL of your intended webpages and the main topics you plan to cover. For example, let's say your primary interest and your families mostly come from "Auld Country, Scotland". You'll help Google by adding that "Auld Country, Scotland Genealogy and Family History" to every webpage as a "site" name. Ok so that would be your "branding"-- your main topic area that connects all your pages, like a book title. (Your pages then are mini- "chapters" in the "book" but all pages carry the "masthead" or top section that states "Auld Country, Scotland Genealogy and History." Next, think hard about your new "branding" name of "Auld Country, Scotland Genealogy and Family History." Drop all words like "the", "of", "a", "an" ... and focus on precise words you'd use to describe your brand and topics that would be on ALL pages. We already have Auld Country, Genealogy, Family History. For example, searchers might google genealogical records and if you'll have "records" on each of your webpages, you could use that phrase in describing your brand. As another example, on my misc site, I include the word postcards because most all pages contain postcards. So now we have Auld Country, Genealogy, Family History, genealogical records Next, think of the 3 HEAD tags as having a Front End and a Back End. I tried this both ways (front or back) and found it was better to use the back end of a tag for the "brand name" and use the Front End to describe the UNIQUE content of THIS page. So my TITLE TAG is: <title>Unique words for this page here_Washington County Genealogy PAGenWeb Project</title> You do the same for the other 2 tags: <meta name="description" content="Unique sentence describing this page. Washington County Genealogy PAGenWeb Project"> <META name="keywords" content="Unique words, or short phrases, separated by commas, describing, this page, Washington County PA, Genealogy, PAGenWeb Project"> (note, instead of under_score, use a period on the sentence in Description, and use only commas in in the Keywords). So your one page could be <title>Mitchell Family from Scotland to America_Auld Country Scotland Genealogy and Family History</title> Repeat for the other 2 tags. In Description and Keywords, you can expand the unique part. If your page has heavy content on say, weavers, you could ADD the word weavers in the tags. When you write content paragraphs for your page, think not just about your research journey and discoveries, but also try to include unique bits of info that can easily transfer into the tags section. The page content and the tags, together, tell Google necessary info. So try not to be too generic on the unique portions or in your content writing. Rather than just Mitchell, just who is this Mitchell clan or Mitchell individual family? As an example, when I have a page about 1 person or 1 family, my Front End might include person's full name, dates, and residence like: John Lane 1780-1844 West Bethlehem Twp -- and the back end already has the county name and State. As soon as you have picked your Back End words, write your HEAD section and do a full page with the css, background, etc. and call it "template.htm" or html Then you won't need to re-write the head every time. You'd just need to enter the unique section of each tag. These tags will help Google move you up in the results for your unique content AND because your tags are descriptive AND match the content used on the page. But, often the best a webmaster can do is get their index page to show up in the first 3-5 pages of results. I'll stop here. I know I didn't answer your questions about the css and the Rootsweb editor, but someone else will help you on those. Judy On Wed, Jun 22, 2011 at 10:16 PM, Barb <lambsetots@fuse.net> wrote: > I've not done any work on my freepages for several months, and when I went > back to do some work on them, I discovered that my main site is not > connecting to my CSS page and showing any of that formatting. I'm using > Dreamweaver and uploading with FTP. The CSS shows up on Dreamweaver, but > when I preview it on the web, NO. I created a new page, used my template > (which uses the CSS) and that worked fine- preview in browser- no. Can you > help me figure out what has happened? > Problem 2: I'm trying to have 3 family sites toggled on my freepages site: > I"ve got Jones Pages, Mitchell Pages, and Keller Pages (different > backgrounds and CSS and templates). It has worked fine at one time, and > Barry helped me to load the 3rd site. Now however the others don't come up > and though I can enter the Jones site if I do a Jones search, I can't seem > to enter that site to start with. The Keller one doesn't come up at all. > Am I trying for something too complicated or impossible? I wanted a unique > identity for each family, that was my purpose. > Problem3: I tried to view my site from the rootsweb editor, and I can't > figure out how to even find out to get in to work with the site "behind the > scenes". I know things have changed, but I have no clue what to do now and > there was no help to answer that question. > Somehow today I feel like a stranger in a strange land!!! Show me how to > get home. My website: > http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mitchellfrenchgenes/ > Barb Lambert > >

I've not done any work on my freepages for several months, and when I went back to do some work on them, I discovered that my main site is not connecting to my CSS page and showing any of that formatting. I'm using Dreamweaver and uploading with FTP. The CSS shows up on Dreamweaver, but when I preview it on the web, NO. I created a new page, used my template (which uses the CSS) and that worked fine- preview in browser- no. Can you help me figure out what has happened? Problem 2: I'm trying to have 3 family sites toggled on my freepages site: I"ve got Jones Pages, Mitchell Pages, and Keller Pages (different backgrounds and CSS and templates). It has worked fine at one time, and Barry helped me to load the 3rd site. Now however the others don't come up and though I can enter the Jones site if I do a Jones search, I can't seem to enter that site to start with. The Keller one doesn't come up at all. Am I trying for something too complicated or impossible? I wanted a unique identity for each family, that was my purpose. Problem3: I tried to view my site from the rootsweb editor, and I can't figure out how to even find out to get in to work with the site "behind the scenes". I know things have changed, but I have no clue what to do now and there was no help to answer that question. Somehow today I feel like a stranger in a strange land!!! Show me how to get home. My website: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mitchellfrenchgenes/ Barb Lambert

At 06:03 AM 6/19/2011, justiceedwards@qx.net wrote: >Hello Pat Asher: Is it possible to post another Fannin story to >your website? Lydia in Kentucky ================== http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~justiceedwards/ If this is the site you are talking about, send it to me Pat Geary not Pat Asher. pat ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to FREEPAGES-HELP-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

At 06:03 AM 6/19/2011, justiceedwards@qx.net wrote: >Hello Pat Asher: Is it possible to post another Fannin story to >your website? Lydia in Kentucky ================== If this is the site you are talking about, send it to me Pat Geary not Pat Asher. pat

Hello Pat Asher: Is it possible to post another Fannin story to your website? Lydia in Kentucky ------- Original Message ------- >From : freepages-help-request@rootsweb.com[mailto:freepages-help-request@rootsweb.com] Sent : 6/19/2011 3:00:24 AM To : freepages-help@rootsweb.com Cc : Subject : RE: FREEPAGES-HELP Digest, Vol 6, Issue 115 When replying to a digest message, quote only the specific message to which you are replying, removing the rest of the digest from your reply. Remember to change the subject of your reply so that it coincides with the message subject to which you are replying. ***FREEPAGES HELP & FAQ*** < http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/FAQ/fpindex.html> Today's Topics: 1. Re: CAPCHA Feature with MailMerge? (Pat Asher) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Sat, 18 Jun 2011 06:51:30 -0400 At 05:13 PM 6/17/2011, Ralph Taylor wrote: >I explained to her that this was not something within the control of >webmasters using Freepages, but it might be worth brining some notice to. Ralph, I am not sure I am correctly understanding the "problem" as your visitor described it, but the capcha entry is only valid one time. If she does not submit her form entry, but instead returns to the form to edit the submission, she will then have to request and enter a new capcha word/entry. Pat ------------------------------ To contact the FREEPAGES-HELP list administrator, send an email to FREEPAGES-HELP-admin@rootsweb.com. To post a message to the FREEPAGES-HELP mailing list, send an email to FREEPAGES-HELP@rootsweb.com. __________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to FREEPAGES-HELP-request@rootsweb.com with the word "unsubscribe" without the quotes in the subject and the body of the email with no additional text. End of FREEPAGES-HELP Digest, Vol 6, Issue 115 **********************************************

At 05:13 PM 6/17/2011, Ralph Taylor wrote: >I explained to her that this was not something within the control of >webmasters using Freepages, but it might be worth brining some notice to. Ralph, I am not sure I am correctly understanding the "problem" as your visitor described it, but the capcha entry is only valid one time. If she does not submit her form entry, but instead returns to the form to edit the submission, she will then have to request and enter a new capcha word/entry. Pat

On our DNA project website, http://freepages.misc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~taylorydna/, we have an online form which e-mails a pre-formatted message to me. URI for the form is http://freepages.misc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~taylorydna/fam-trees/!tree_inpu t-form.shtml. Apparently, Freepages has now implemented a CAPCHA feature for security purposes. There may be a problem with it, as reported by a viewer: 'I went to the online form and filled in the blanks. When I submitted it, I saw some minor changes that should be made and clicked on "Return to form." Instead of being returned to the form, I was returned to a reCAPCHA page. Although I am certain of at least 20 pairs of entries, reCAPCHA kept saying that I had not recaptured the words correctly. That is really a major error in the webpage.' I explained to her that this was not something within the control of webmasters using Freepages, but it might be worth brining some notice to. -rt_/)

At 05:12 PM 6/14/2011, Heidi Utley wrote: >Hi, > >Does anybody remember the web authoring program that is similar to >Expression Web. It was a free download. Due to senior moments I forgot >the name. Would appreciate some help. =============== Sharepoint Designer 2007 which is equal to EW version 1. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=BAA3AD86-BFC1-4BD4-9812-D9E710D44F42&displaylang=en pat

Hi, Does anybody remember the web authoring program that is similar to Expression Web. It was a free download. Due to senior moments I forgot the name. Would appreciate some help. Thank you, Mail to:_hutley@greenhills.net _ URL:_http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~heidisfamily _

Hi, Does anybody remember the web authoring program that is similar to Expression Web. It was a free download. Due to senior moments I forgot the name. Would appreciate some help. Thank you,

Chris asked "Recently I have started getting warnings about Active Content for any web page that I have created (both recent ones, and those made sometime ago) when viewing them off line on my computer using Internet Explorer. Any suggestions as to why this might be happening?" You might have recently updated your Internet Explorer or changed your security settings to ask permission before running ActiveX controls. It is not strictly a FrontPage issue. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ActiveX. -rt_/)