Goodies to Go ™
August 26, 2002–Newsletter #195
This newsletter is part of the internet.com network.
http://www.internet.com
Goodies Announcement
Just in case you missed it before, the new Beyond HTML Goodies book has just been released!
Go beyond the basics and learn how the pros add and use dynamic HTML features
and advanced JavaScript techniques. Beyond HTML Goodies demonstrates dozens of
new and different features readers can add to their existing Web pages using
HTML and JavaScript. The book starts with simple text and image tips, such as
adding a clock to a Web page or causing text to appear when the mouse moves over
an image. It gradually builds to more complex tricks, including manipulating
forms or working with cookies behind the scenes. Throughout the book, readers
enjoy Joe’s snappy style and "to the point" discussion of each "goody" in the
book.
http://books.internet.com/books/0789727803
Goodies Thoughts – Why do I need a website?
If you’re reading this there’s a good
chance that you already have a website or that you want a website and you
probably know all the reasons. Many of you, however, would like to either
obtain or at least supplement their income by creating web pages for others.
There is not often too much money to be made in producing web sites for
individuals to show off their family portraits, which means the targets will
probably be businesses. Most large businesses either develop their websites
in-house or outsource the job to one of the many businesses that have been
providing web site development services for some time. This leaves the smaller
businesses. For every small business that has its own site, there must be
hundreds within a short distance that dont have one, but could definitely use
one. With the idea of providing some food for sales thought, we take a look here
at some of the reasons small business use websites.
The first reason might seem to be the most obvious; on
looking closer we might revise our thought. Businesses want to sell something.
This results in first thought being that the businesss website should sell
something. This would suggest E-commerce. Such a site might well be the
answer for the business but is it really where they should start? The process
of selling something has several stages to it. You have to have a product. You
let people know about your product, persuading them of its virtues. Once they
are considering purchasing, you have to close the deal. Finally you fulfill.
E-commerce can be involved all of these steps, except the first.
In order to build an effective e-commerce site, you will
need to be able to obtain a security certificate to set up and use a secure
site. You will need scripts or software to provide shopping cart capability.
You will need to provide methods of receiving payment by either incorporating
credit card processing into your pages or by providing hooks into processing
services like paypall. Finally you will need to provide the product
information, which might well be contained in a database of items. All of these
things are very doable, and there are tutorials in our collection to provide you
with assistance, should you need it. The question is, if you are going to sell
a business on getting a new website, are you going to be able to persuade them
of the virtues of all these things, as well as of your ability to effectively
provide them? I hope so; but in case there is any doubt, you might consider
starting with a simpler approach.
There is another, very compelling reason for a business to
use a website. Image this situation. You are driving along a highway and you
pass a billboard for Joes Autos. The billboard indicates they specialize in
classic Chevrolets. Underneath that, you spot their address at fourteen
twenty-seven North Thirteenth Street, and their phone number is 373-555-9385.
You also see their website address at www.JoesAutos.com. As you are driving
along you remember your old buddy Bill is looking for a classic Chevy to rebuild
and you think he might not have heard of these people. You decide to tell him
about them. Can you remember their phone number? (Dont look back now!) How
about their address? Now what about their website? I know you remember that!
In fact, website addresses tend to be much easier to remember than either phone
numbers or addresses. In this way, the website becomes a back-up to the other
forms of advertising the business is doing a sort of extension to their
business card. If you tell this story to a potential client, there is a strong
likelihood they will see the virtue of what you are saying right away. If they
decide on a site, you will have the advantage of only needing to build a
relatively simple one to get them started. Once they have experienced what the
web can do for them (and what you can do) you will find it easier to come back
and sell them enhancements to their site.
I feel that every business should have a website. I think
of it as being as important as their phone number being listed in the phone
book. Every business owner knows how important that is. No I revise that I
think the website is more important in todays world than the phone number in
the book because I use the website to look up the phone number or email
address! This world is changing!
If you are hoping to sell web development services to
small business, I wish you all the best. We are going to need a lot of people
like you in the near future!
Thanks for reading!
Q & A Goodies
Questions are taken from
submissions to our Community Mentors. You can ask a Mentor a question by going
to
https://www.htmlgoodies.com/mentors/.
Q. I was wondering how to do more advanced stuff with the scrollbar. I
can change the shadow the arrow and the main part. I wanted to learn
how to make the background a different color.
A. There are eight properties you can change for the scrollbars;
they are pretty self-explanatory…
Scrollbar-Face-Color
Scrollbar-Arrow-Color
Scrollbar-Base-Color
Scrollbar-Shadow-Color
Scrollbar-Darkshadow-Color
Scrollbar-Highlight-Color
Scrollbar-3Dlight-Color
Scrollbar-Track-Color
If you were looking to change the "background" then you would probably look into
changing the colors for Scrollbar-Track-Color.
Most people set these declarations in the body, but you can use them anywhere a
scrollbar would appear. Example (placed between <head></head>):
<style type="text/css">
body { Scrollbar-Track-Color: red; }
</style>
Q. How do I make a hyperlink with no underline or color changing?
A. Its done using the CSS command "text decoration:none" add the
following style sheet command in between the heading commands:
<STYLE TYPE="text/css">
<!–
a {text-decoration: none;}
–>
</STYLE>
This makes all the links not have underlining.
If you just want one link on the page to not be underlined just add it to the
link itself:
<A HREF=http://www.somewhere.com style="text-decoration:none">The Web Design
Resource</A>
Q. How do Imake a navigation bar down the side of my page?
A. You can set it up using tables that are nested into each other.
I have an example set up with the code since it is a little complicated to
explain without seeing the code. It’s set up with 3 tables and I have each table
color coded so it’s a little easier to follow the code. You can check it out
here:
http://www.southerntwilight.com/tutorials/nesttable.html
Q. Recently we have discovered that someone has taken pictures from
several of our web sites and is using them on his site to advertise. I know
there are JAVA scripts to disable right clicks and make this sort of piracy more
difficult with Explorer.
Is there ANY way to stop this if the person uses Netscape?
A. Keep in mind that the images on your site cannot be 100% protected from
people taking them. There is a way around the "no right click" script. But
it might slow them down if they don’t want to go through the extra effort. I
have tested this script in Netscape Navigator 4.7 and it works. I think it
should work in most of the browsers but I am not sure as to which ones.
Place the folowing code between the <HEAD></HEAD> tags of your HTML code.
<script language="JavaScript">
<!–
/*
No rightclick script v.2.5
(c) 1998 barts1000
barts1000@aol.com
Don’t delete this header!
*/
var message="Sorry, that function is disabled.n
This Page Copyrighted andn
Images and Text protected!n
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED";
// Don’t edit below!
function click(e) {
if (document.all) {
if (event.button == 2) {
alert(message);
return false;
}
}
if (document.layers) {
if (e.which == 3) {
alert(message);
return false;
}
}
}
if (document.layers) {
document.captureEvents(Event.MOUSEDOWN);
}
document.onmousedown=click;
// –>
</script>
News Goodies
A Kinder, Gentler Microsoft?
As the four-year-old case draws to its conclusion, the software giant puts on a
kinder face in hopes to ease the punishment for its antitrust violations.
Click here to read the article
ICANN Approves Waiting List
Service.
[August 25, 2002] Over the objections of its supporting organization, the board
of directors gave VeriSign the go-ahead to test its expiring domain name
service.
Click here to read the article
BT Loses Hyperlink Case
[August 23, 2002] It seems the U.K.’s largest telecom and — a certain former
vice president — have something in common: taking credit for pioneering
Internet technology. Prodigy expects the summary judgment will cease further
‘frivolous’ lawsuits.
Click here to read the article
And Remember This . . .
On this day in…
1998, a Federal Judge ruled that the export restrictions the government
had been enforcing on encryption technology were unconstitutional. The battle
continued though, because the government appealed her decision.
1996, the Chinese government started blocking access in China to websites
it deemed unsuitable.
1970, Guitarist Jimi Hendrix opened the Electric Lady recording studio in
New York City.
1957, Ford Motor Company rolled out its first Edsel, considered by many
to be the Ugly Duckling of the automotive world
Thanks for reading Goodies to Go!
