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Webmaster Certification Newsletter June 2003
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Welcome
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Hello, and welcome to the June issue of the WebmasterCertification Online Newsletter. Here the kids are
looking forward to the end of school and the coming summer vacation, the parents are trying to figure out
how they will entertain the kids during the summer vacation, the beaches are getting crowded. But whether
you are counting the days until the end of school, or counting the days until it begins again, we hope June
brings you good times and fun.
This month's issue brings you information on the Links, Keywords/Search engines, Webmaster Resources, the
Instructor's Office Hours, and FAQs to help you find answers to your questions. We hope you find something
useful here.
In This Issue
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What's New
Webmaster Tip of the Month - Links
Keywords/Search Engines
Instructor Office Hours
FAQs
Webmaster Resources
Feedback
Spread the Word
Unsubscribe Instructions
What's New!
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We have had a great response to the offer announced last month concerning our partnership with WOW. The
deadline for the special is fast approaching, so if you want to take advantage of the offer, you need to act
soon. The offer expires June 15, 2003. Here is a recap of the details:
WOW has upgraded WebYoda to WOW authorized training center status. WebYoda is merging its Associate Webmaster
Professional (AWP) and Certified Webmaster Professional (CWP) certification initiatives with WOW's Certified
Associate Webmaster (CAW) and Certified Professional Webmaster (CPW) certifications. Under a grandfathering
policy with WOW, any WebYoda student who holds a non-expired WebYoda AWP certification on or before May 15,
2003, can receive WOW's CAW certification and a WOW shirt for the $49 WOW student membership fee. Mail a copy
of your non-expired AWP certification (you can print it out from our site), your shirt size, your address,
and a check or money order payable to WebYoda, Inc. for $49 to:
Attn: WOW Offer
WebYoda, Inc.
1859 Winery Way
Tallahassee, FL, 32317
The E-Commerce / Webcreations course is nearly ready for release. We are currently doing the final reviews
and adding some additional material. Rather than release it without the benefit of the additions, we decided
to delay the release until July so the improvement and additions can be completed and you can get the best
value for your money. Look for the release of that course next month.
Webmaster Tip of the Month - Links
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With the new languages that are now available for writing web pages, it is amazing what you can do to links -
you can completely remove the underline and change the color if you wish to. After all, why should your site
look like everyone else's with those boring underlined blue links? For a very good reason - so your visitors
know how to use your site. I visited a site recently in which the links looked exactly like the rest of the
text. The only way a visitor could find a link was to move their mouse over all of the text all over the page
and watch for something to change in appearance. BAD IDEA! I don't know about you, but I do not read by
tracing my mouse along the words, I read by moving my eyes over the words, and my eyes have been trained to
recognize a link immediately - it is normally blue and is underlined.
If you take the underline off of your links, you are forcing your visitors to figure out what your links look
like so they can find them. If they are still the default blue, it will be easier, but if you like to use a
variety of font colors, then how is someone to know that this colored-font word is a link, whereas that
colored-font word is just a pretty color? Your goal is not to retrain your visitors on what a link is, your
goal is to make your site easy to use and friendly. If you decide not to use the default blue, but leave the
underline, then you want to make sure that nothing else is underlined unless it is a link. There is no point
in confusing the issue by having some underlined words be links and other underlined words not be links. You
have other options to use when you want to emphasis something - make it bold, make it a larger font size,
make it italicized, underlining is not your only option.
From the beginning of the web, links have been blue and underlined. People are trained to look for links that
are blue and underlined. People actually will scan the web page looking for the links because they know the
links will take them some place they may want to go. The web is all about moving from one place to another
quickly and easily. I have watched people come to a site on which the links are not underlined and have been
made some other color (usually one that fits with the color scheme of the page), but don't stand out as links.
The visitors then have to spend a great deal of time figuring out what on the page is a link and what isn't.
They start randomly clicking here and there hunting for the links. The odds are you won't be providing a
guide to how to navigate your site, the site must be self-explanatory.
Granted, your cutting edge technological-savvy visitors may understand your non-conventional links, but those
people are not the majority of web users. The majority of web users are trained to look for blue, underlined
words - those are the links they know, the links they have been trained to recognize, and understand.
If the default blue will not work with your color scheme, you can certainly use a different color for your
links, but make sure your non-linked text never uses the link color, leave the underline in place, and make
sure nothing that is not a link is underlined. Your visitors will be delighted to find a site that they
understand (for a change) and can use without having to spend time trying to figure it out.
Keywords/Search Engines
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I got a call from one of my clients this past week about the sites I maintain for him. He was very excited
because, using one specific string of search terms, one of his sites came back in the very top spot in the
search results. He was delighted, and wanted me to make it such that his site would also come in the top spot
using a very different (but still on the same topic) string of search words. He even offered me a nice little
bonus for doing it. I had to explain to him that I could not guarantee top placement using two different
search strings, and I would not lie to him and tell him that I could. His sites are all single page sites,
they just give the basics of his business and some general information. I selected a few select keywords and
search terms and focused my efforts on them. I used them in the meta tags, in the alt tags for the images,
in the headings, and in the text for the page itself. I then submitted the sites regularly. I also routinely
went in to the pages and made minor modifications and resaved the files so the pages always appeared fresh.
It worked, he is in the top spot. But to re-optimize the pages for this other set of terms would obviously
mean that his ranking would fall in the original terms because I would have to rewrite things using the new
terms. He didn't want that - he wanted top spot in both.
If his sites had multiple pages, I could take another page within the site and optimize that page to use the
other keywords and submit that page (at a different time than the main submission) in the hopes of snagging
those terms with that page, but on a one-page site, that is isn't an option. So he is now considering the
value of the current keywords versus the ones he is now considering and I will optimize the page for whichever
words on which he decides to focus. There is also the reality that we did not attain the top spot overnight,
it took time. To redo the page for the new terms we will basically be starting the climb again, and we may or
may not get to the top. It is always best to select the keywords you want to focus on and then work on them.
The thinner you spread yourself over many keywords, the worse it will be for you.
There are no guarantees when it comes to search engines, unless you have very deep pockets and are willing to
buy your way to the top spot. But there are things you can do to improve your chances. None of these are hard
to do or are particularly time consuming, but they are all important.
First, look at the title of the page, are you using any of your keywords in the title? Is the title relevant
to the content on the page? Given that the page title is frequently what is displayed in the search results,
this is an opportunity for you to use the best words. Does the content of the page relevant to the title? You
will get a higher ranking if they relate to each other. It is good practice to put the company name in the
title, but you can precede it with some keywords. For example - Glass and Driftwood Wind Chimes - RobinsWindsongs.com
Next look at your meta tags in your head tag. The meta tags were originally intended to tell the search
engine spiders the information it needed to know about your site. But many people used them to spam the spiders
and filled them with non-relevant keywords in the hopes of driving traffic to the site. Not only is this pointless,
because if someone comes to your site expecting to find one thing and instead finds something they weren't
looking for they will just leave, it has also resulted in reducing the importance of the meta tag. The spiders
still look at them, but they are no longer the deciding item, they are only one of many items that will be
considered. A good set of meta tags will include the description of the site and the keywords. The description
tag is frequently the information that appears on a site's home page that tells what the site is and its
purpose. It is usually about 25-30 words, and should contain the keywords you are highlighting. The keyword
tag should list the keywords in order of importance, with the most important keywords (the ones you are
highlighting) coming first and then going on to the least important ones. Case does not matter, so you can
make them upper or lower case and achieve the same result.
Then look at the text in the body of the page. This part is vital because this is where it all has to tie
together. Is the text relevant to the page's title? Do you use the keywords from your keyword tag in the body
text of the page? Would a first time visitor easily be able to know what you site is about and what you do?
Is the text interesting to read? Do the keywords fit naturally in the content of the writing? It is a very
good idea to use your top keywords within the first 25-30 words of the text in the body. That shows the spider
that these words are highly relevant to the topic of your site. Just make sure the sentences make sense and
are understandable because some search engines use these first few lines as the description of your site
(others use the description tag).
Look at the links on your page, do you have affiliate links for companies that have nothing to do with the
topic of your site? That can confuse the spider. If you are selling Manx cats, why do you have a link to a
place to buy small appliances? Of course if the link to the small appliances reads - Get the best Manx cat
hair clipper on the market here! - then you have a relevant affiliate link, as opposed to - Shop Dan's Small
Appliances - which waters down the focus of your site and may lower you in the search results.
Check the over site for what the search engine would consider spam. Are you using hidden text (text that is
the same color as the background) thinking it will improve your standing in the search engine? It won't. It
will very likely have the opposite effect. If you use a WYSIWYG editor and are uncertain if you have hidden
text or not, look at the page in your browser, then highlight the entire page from top to bottom (starting
at the top, hold your mouse button down and drag the mouse all the way to the bottom). Any hidden text will
now be visible because of the highlighting and you can remove it. Look at your use of your keywords, are you
slamming too many into one sentence? For example: Our reclining couches are the best reclining couches known
to reclining couch-sitting man, and the favorite reclining couch since reclining couches were invented. This
will not help your placement, and it reads terribly. This holds true for the alt tags in the images too. They
are a prime place to include your keywords, but you don't want to overload them with endless repetitions of
the keywords.
If you are using graphics for your navigation, make sure you are using the alt tags to further the focus of
your site. For example, for the graphic that links to your customer support page, use a keyword or two in the
alt tag. Instead of just saying "Support Center", "Need help with your reclining couch? Click here!" conveys
more information for the screen readers to help them with the navigation and also gets the focus of your site
highlighted again. If your site's navigation were all done with Flash, I would recommend including text links
at the bottom of your pages. This is another opportunity to get some keywords in use on the page. For example:
"Manx Cat Grooming | Manx Cat Sales | History of the Manx Cat" is a far more powerful group of text links is
"Grooming | Sales | History".
Once you are happy with your text, spell check your site. Is the grammar correct? Is the punctuation right?
If you don't have an eye for spotting mistakes like that, get someone else to read it for you. Even if you
have to pay them a little money for their editing, it is better for you to find your own spelling errors than
for your visitors to find them.
And finally, test the entire site for functionality. Are all of the links working? You don't want the spider
to hit the main link to the best part of your site and the link is dead. Are your images visible? Does the
whole thing look pleasing to the eye?
Once you have done the above, you are ready to submit the site and watch your progress. If you pay for
submissions you may see the results in a matter of days. If you go the free submission route it may take a
few weeks. Make sure you read the rules on submission at each site. Some restrict the number of times a site
can be submitted within a certain time frame before it is considered spamming the search engine. If the
engine thinks you are spamming, you may get dropped from the engine completely. Remember, there are no
guarantees, but if you do all of these optimization steps above and you may see some amazing results.
Instructor Office Hours
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The Instructor Office Hours are chat sessions are available to both online
and training center students. They give you the chance to talk with fellow
students and instructors via AOL Instant Messenger (AIM). To enroll in a
session, log on to
www.webmastercertification.com
and select Instructor Office Hours (Chat Rooms) from the Student Help section of
the Student Main Menu, then select Access the Instructor office hours,
and select the course you wish.
Mastering The Internet (WCO Mastering 030601) Instructor: Barry McConnell
Session: 01 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Mastering The Internet (WCO Mastering 030604) Instructor: Kimberley Ramcharran
Session: 04 Jun 2003 08:00 PM - 08:55 PM EST
Mastering The Internet (WCO Mastering 030608) Instructor: Barry McConnell
Session: 08 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Mastering The Internet (WCO Mastering 030611) Instructor: Kimberley Ramcharran
Session: 11 Jun 2003 08:00 PM - 08:55 PM EST
Mastering The Internet (WCO Mastering 030615) Instructor: Barry McConnell
Session: 15 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Mastering The Internet (WCO Mastering 030618) Instructor: Kimberley Ramcharran
Session: 18 Jun 2003 08:00 PM - 08:55 PM EST
Mastering The Internet (WCO Mastering 030622) Instructor: Barry McConnell
Session: 22 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Mastering The Internet (WCO Mastering 030625) Instructor: Kimberley Ramcharran
Session: 25 Jun 2003 08:00 PM - 08:55 PM EST
Mastering The Internet (WCO Mastering 030629) Instructor: Barry McConnell
Session: 29 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Beginning HTML/XHTML (WCO Beginning 030603) Instructor: Colin Colehour
Session: 03 Jun 2003 08:00 PM - 08:55 PM EST
Beginning HTML/XHTML (WCO Beginning 030604) Instructor: Kimberley Ramcharran
Session: 04 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Beginning HTML/XHTML (WCO Beginning 030610) Instructor: Colin Colehour
Session: 10 Jun 2003 08:00 PM - 08:55 PM EST
Beginning HTML/XHTML (WCO Beginning 030611) Instructor: Kimberley Ramcharran
Session: 11 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Beginning HTML/XHTML (WCO Beginning 030617) Instructor: Colin Colehour
Session: 17 Jun 2003 08:00 PM - 08:55 PM EST
Beginning HTML/XHTML (WCO Beginning 030618) Instructor: Kimberley Ramcharran
Session: 18 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Beginning HTML/XHTML (WCO Beginning 030624) Instructor: Colin Colehour
Session: 24 Jun 2003 08:00 PM - 08:55 PM EST
Beginning HTML/XHTML (WCO Beginning 030625) Instructor: Kimberley Ramcharran
Session: 25 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Advanced HTML/XHTML (WCO AdvancedH 030603) Instructor: Colin Colehour
Session: 03 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Advanced HTML/XHTML (WCO AdvancedH 030603) Instructor: Michael Bunton
Session: 03 Jun 2003 10:00 PM - 10:55 PM EST
Advanced HTML/XHTML (WCO AdvancedH 030610) Instructor: Colin Colehour
Session: 10 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Advanced HTML/XHTML (WCO AdvancedH 030610) Instructor: Michael Bunton
Session: 10 Jun 2003 10:00 PM - 10:55 PM EST
Advanced HTML/XHTML (WCO AdvancedH 030617) Instructor: Colin Colehour
Session: 17 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Advanced HTML/XHTML (WCO AdvancedH 030617) Instructor: Michael Bunton
Session: 17 Jun 2003 10:00 PM - 10:55 PM EST
Advanced HTML/XHTML (WCO AdvancedH 030624) Instructor: Colin Colehour
Session: 24 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Advanced HTML/XHTML (WCO AdvancedH 030624) Instructor: Michael Bunton
Session: 24 Jun 2003 10:00 PM - 10:55 PM EST
Web Design & Graphics (WCO WebDesign 030603) Instructor: Colin Colehour
Session: 03 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Web Design & Graphics (WCO WebDesign 030604) Instructor: Kimberley Ramcharran
Session: 04 Jun 2003 08:00 PM - 08:55 PM EST
Web Design & Graphics (WCO WebDesign 030610) Instructor: Colin Colehour
Session: 10 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Web Design & Graphics (WCO WebDesign 030611) Instructor: Kimberley Ramcharran
Session: 11 Jun 2003 08:00 PM - 08:55 PM EST
Web Design & Graphics (WCO WebDesign 030617) Instructor: Colin Colehour
Session: 17 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Web Design & Graphics (WCO WebDesign 030618) Instructor: Kimberley Ramcharran
Session: 18 Jun 2003 08:00 PM - 08:55 PM EST
Web Design & Graphics (WCO WebDesign 030624) Instructor: Colin Colehour
Session: 24 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Web Design & Graphics (WCO WebDesign 030625) Instructor: Kimberley Ramcharran
Session: 25 Jun 2003 08:00 PM - 08:55 PM EST
ColdFusion 101 (WCO ColdFusio 030602) Instructor: Chris Nowicki
Session: 02 Jun 2003 07:00 PM - 07:55 PM EST
ColdFusion 101 (WCO ColdFusio 030609) Instructor: Chris Nowicki
Session: 09 Jun 2003 07:00 PM - 07:55 PM EST
ColdFusion 101 (WCO ColdFusio 030616) Instructor: Chris Nowicki
Session: 16 Jun 2003 07:00 PM - 07:55 PM EST
ColdFusion 101 (WCO ColdFusio 030623) Instructor: Chris Nowicki
Session: 23 Jun 2003 07:00 PM - 07:55 PM EST
ColdFusion 101 (WCO ColdFusio 030630) Instructor: Chris Nowicki
Session: 30 Jun 2003 07:00 PM - 07:55 PM EST
E-Business (WCO EBusiness 030604) Instructor: Eric Ramcharran
Session: 04 Jun 2003 08:00 PM - 08:55 PM EST
E-Business (WCO EBusiness 030605) Instructor: Elvia Helmes
Session: 05 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
E-Business (WCO EBusiness 030611) Instructor: Eric Ramcharran
Session: 11 Jun 2003 08:00 PM - 08:55 PM EST
E-Business (WCO EBusiness 030612) Instructor: Elvia Helmes
Session: 12 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
E-Business (WCO EBusiness 030618) Instructor: Eric Ramcharran
Session: 18 Jun 2003 08:00 PM - 08:55 PM EST
E-Business (WCO EBusiness 030619) Instructor: Elvia Helmes
Session: 19 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
E-Business (WCO EBusiness 030625) Instructor: Eric Ramcharran
Session: 25 Jun 2003 08:00 PM - 08:55 PM EST
E-Business (WCO EBusiness 030626) Instructor: Elvia Helmes
Session: 26 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Java Survival Skills (WCO JavaSurvi 030604) Instructor: Eric Ramcharran
Session: 04 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Java Survival Skills (WCO JavaSurvi 030605) Instructor: Elvia Helmes
Session: 05 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Java Survival Skills (WCO JavaSurvi 030611) Instructor: Eric Ramcharran
Session: 11 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Java Survival Skills (WCO JavaSurvi 030612) Instructor: Elvia Helmes
Session: 12 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Java Survival Skills (WCO JavaSurvi 030618) Instructor: Eric Ramcharran
Session: 18 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Java Survival Skills (WCO JavaSurvi 030619) Instructor: Elvia Helmes
Session: 19 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Java Survival Skills (WCO JavaSurvi 030625) Instructor: Eric Ramcharran
Session: 25 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Java Survival Skills (WCO JavaSurvi 030626) Instructor: Elvia Helmes
Session: 26 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Intro To Flash 5 (WCO IntroToFl 030604) Instructor: Eric Ramcharran
Session: 04 Jun 2003 08:00 PM - 08:55 PM EST
Intro To Flash 5 (WCO IntroToFl 030611) Instructor: Eric Ramcharran
Session: 11 Jun 2003 08:00 PM - 08:55 PM EST
Intro To Flash 5 (WCO IntroToFl 030618) Instructor: Eric Ramcharran
Session: 18 Jun 2003 08:00 PM - 08:55 PM EST
Intro To Flash 5 (WCO IntroToFl 030625) Instructor: Eric Ramcharran
Session: 25 Jun 2003 08:00 PM - 08:55 PM EST
Paint Shop Pro 7 (WCO PaintShop 030603) Instructor: Michael Bunton
Session: 03 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Paint Shop Pro 7 (WCO PaintShop 030610) Instructor: Michael Bunton
Session: 10 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Paint Shop Pro 7 (WCO PaintShop 030617) Instructor: Michael Bunton
Session: 17 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Paint Shop Pro 7 (WCO PaintShop 030624) Instructor: Michael Bunton
Session: 24 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
E-Marketing (WCO EMarketin 030603) Instructor: Colin Colehour
Session: 03 Jun 2003 08:00 PM - 08:55 PM EST
E-Marketing (WCO EMarketin 030604) Instructor: Eric Ramcharran
Session: 04 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
E-Marketing (WCO EMarketin 030610) Instructor: Colin Colehour
Session: 10 Jun 2003 08:00 PM - 08:55 PM EST
E-Marketing (WCO EMarketin 030611) Instructor: Eric Ramcharran
Session: 11 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
E-Marketing (WCO EMarketin 030617) Instructor: Colin Colehour
Session: 17 Jun 2003 08:00 PM - 08:55 PM EST
E-Marketing (WCO EMarketin 030618) Instructor: Eric Ramcharran
Session: 18 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
E-Marketing (WCO EMarketin 030624) Instructor: Colin Colehour
Session: 24 Jun 2003 08:00 PM - 08:55 PM EST
E-Marketing (WCO EMarketin 030625) Instructor: Eric Ramcharran
Session: 25 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
HomeSite 5.0 (WCO HomeSite5 030603) Instructor: Michael Bunton
Session: 03 Jun 2003 10:00 PM - 10:55 PM EST
HomeSite 5.0 (WCO HomeSite5 030610) Instructor: Michael Bunton
Session: 10 Jun 2003 10:00 PM - 10:55 PM EST
HomeSite 5.0 (WCO HomeSite5 030617) Instructor: Michael Bunton
Session: 17 Jun 2003 10:00 PM - 10:55 PM EST
HomeSite 5.0 (WCO HomeSite5 030624) Instructor: Michael Bunton
Session: 24 Jun 2003 10:00 PM - 10:55 PM EST
Cascading Style Sheets (WCO Cascading 030602) Instructor: Chris Nowicki
Session: 02 Jun 2003 07:00 PM - 07:55 PM EST
Cascading Style Sheets (WCO Cascading 030605) Instructor: Elvia Helmes
Session: 05 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Cascading Style Sheets (WCO Cascading 030609) Instructor: Chris Nowicki
Session: 09 Jun 2003 07:00 PM - 07:55 PM EST
Cascading Style Sheets (WCO Cascading 030612) Instructor: Elvia Helmes
Session: 12 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Cascading Style Sheets (WCO Cascading 030616) Instructor: Chris Nowicki
Session: 16 Jun 2003 07:00 PM - 07:55 PM EST
Cascading Style Sheets (WCO Cascading 030619) Instructor: Elvia Helmes
Session: 19 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Cascading Style Sheets (WCO Cascading 030623) Instructor: Chris Nowicki
Session: 23 Jun 2003 07:00 PM - 07:55 PM EST
Cascading Style Sheets (WCO Cascading 030626) Instructor: Elvia Helmes
Session: 26 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Cascading Style Sheets (WCO Cascading 030630) Instructor: Chris Nowicki
Session: 30 Jun 2003 07:00 PM - 07:55 PM EST
Photoshop 7 (WCO Photoshop 030603) Instructor: Michael Bunton
Session: 03 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Photoshop 7 (WCO Photoshop 030610) Instructor: Michael Bunton
Session: 10 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Photoshop 7 (WCO Photoshop 030617) Instructor: Michael Bunton
Session: 17 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
Photoshop 7 (WCO Photoshop 030624) Instructor: Michael Bunton
Session: 24 Jun 2003 09:00 PM - 09:55 PM EST
FAQ's
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This month's FAQs will focus on issues that have been raised due to the recent expanded partnership with WOW.
Q: I currently have a pending renewal exam for AWP which I plan to complete shortly. How will this transition
affect my renewal?
A: So long as you hold a valid AWP on the date this offer began (May 15, 2003), or you obtain one (or renew
your expired one) by the offer's deadline (June 15, 2003) you can get the WOW deal.
Q: Will I need to retake the AWP exam under the WOW guidelines as well?
A: No, your valid AWP (now WAW) is sufficient for the special deal we are offering until June 15.
Q: Is the WOW CAW certificate an Apprentice or an Associate certificate?
A: The WebYoda/WOW partnership gets you a Webmaster Associate certificate since you had to score 80% or better
to passed the WebYoda Associate exams, and WOW requires a score of 70% or higher for their Associate level.
Q: If I decide not to pay the WOW fee, am I still certified by WebYoda?
A: Absolutely! So long as you continue to renew your WebYoda certification(s) every two years you remain
certified by us. This partnership with WOW does nothing to change that.
Q: I'm already a member of WOW, what do I need to pay to take advantage of this offer?
A: The $49 fee would still apply since it is a package deal and WebYoda does not have the ability to alter
the deal. For $49 you get a WOW membership, WOW T-Shirt, and WOW CAW certification. Whether you need all
three of these items is not something we can control. The deal is still better than taking the CAW exam since
the CAW exam cost $125 to take it in the first place. With this agreement, you don't pay for or take the exam.
Webmaster Resources
-----------------------
MP3s are great on a site, assuming you have the copyright to load them, of course. If you have a need to take
your music that is on a CD and convert it to an MP3, check out CDex at
http//www.cdex.n3.net The program is
free, although they will happily take donations as a way of saying thanks. If you are a musician and have
recorded your own work, this can be a quick and easy way to take your music from the CD and load clips for
your visitors to hear.
Last month I provided a resource for making long links shorter. If you are someone who routinely needs this,
you may want to investigate http://MicroURL.com. The service is not free, they charge $30 per year, but they
have a couple of nice little perks - you can specify a token at the end of the URL string and you can get
statistics on how many people have clicked through on it, from where, etc. The token at the end is ideal if
you use auctions like eBay, because you can specify at the end of the URL what the item is that you are
providing the link for, http://MicroURL.com/antiquetable, for
example. They currently only accept Kagi as payment, but I am told they are looking into PayPal as well.
One of our instructors has told me about a program you can download that will check all the links (both
internal and external) in a website. He has it checking a site he maintains that has about 2,500 external
links. He says it works great, and the best part is that it is free! Check it out at:
http://home.snafu.de/tilman/xenulink.html
And as long as we are taking recommendations, a student has recommended a program called CoffeeCup Direct.
It allows him to edit the files right in the FTP software, then save it back to the site host server and
download it to his own computer - a guarantee of a latest version back-up! He has found one little quirk when
using it on Windows XP Pro that requires he end the session and close the program in between connections, but
he says the application opens and closes quickly, so it is a minor inconvenience. The cost is only $30 and
you can check it out at:
http://www.coffeecup.com/direct-ftp/ Our thanks to Bob for the recommendation.
If you have a resource you like a lot, feel free to send it in for the newsletter, we welcome your participation.
Reader Feedback
------------------
At WebYoda, we constantly strive to improve our service. Please drop us a
line and let us know what you like, what you dislike, what you would like
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Robin Preston Wright
editor@webyoda.com
Team Web Yoda
http://www.webyoda.com
http://www.webmastercertification.com
Phone: 850-524-9632
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