RootsWeb masthead banners are displayed on all free hosted websites. If you are using the HTML Transitional doctype and your pages already validate, you should experience no problems with the banner validating.

If on the other hand, your account is hosted on any of the Rootsweb servers and you are using the XHTML doctype, your pages will NOT validate because of the banners. Good News, there is a “fix.”To change the banner code so that it will validate if you are using the XHTML doctype create a file named “banner_select” containing only the text: XHTMLNeutral and nothing else. The file should be a plain text file and the file name must NOT include a file extension, i.e. do NOT name it banner_select.txt or banner_select.html

• Upload the file to your misc_html directory for FreePages server.
• Upload the file to the public_html directory for www, homepages and virts accounts.

If you are using the File Manager –

1. Sign in to your account with FileManager
2. Enter your username and password
3. Select the misc_html directory for FreePages sites
4. Click Enter File Manager
5. Scroll down to File Upload Utility
6. Browse to the banner_select file on your computer > Select It
7. Click Send Files

This will change the banner code for your entire Freepages account, e.g. family_html, genealogy_html, military_html, etc. as well as misc_html. If your system will not allow you to save or upload a file without a file extension, upload the file with the extension as required by your system, then rename the file on the server. File Manager can be used to rename the file without the file extension or your ftp program.

XHTMLNeutral is actually just one of four banners you can choose from; you can use any one of the four following words in your banner_select file to choose different banners.

• BasicNeutral [the default; it validates as HTML 4.01 Transitional]
• XHTMLNeutral [validates as XHTML 1.0]
• BasicGreen or XHTMLGreen [as above, but with green backgrounds]

If you are using one of the specialty banners (USGENWEB WORLDGENWEB CANADAGENWEB, or USGWCENSUS), these have not changed. You will have to decide between the specialty banners and XHTML validation.

The site does NOT contain any searchable databases but lists in an easy to use format databases that are available for searching. He also indicates which ones are free and which ones are subscriber based. The listings are arranged by state and the counties within that state. He has included death records, death certificate indexes, death notices & registers, obituaries, probate indexes, and cemetery & burial records. You can see a sample of the types of record listings available for the state of Vermont, one I use quite often in researching my mother’s family line.

Screenshot online death records for Vermont.

Visit Online Searchable Death Indexes & Records

There are some rules you should follow in actually naming your files whether they are graphic files of html files or any other file type for that matter.

Do NOT use special characters in naming your files and do NOT use spaces. File names with spaces are going to appear with a %20 in place of the space.

Example: sarah smiths will.html will appear when viewed in a browser as sarah%20smiths%20will.html.

You should use hyphens – or underscores _ to separate words in file names rather than spaces.

Example: sarah-smiths-will.html or sarah_smiths_will.html.

Do not make your files names excessively long. sarah-smiths-will.html is better than sarah-smiths-last-will-and-testament-march-1792.html

Most web servers are case sensitive so My-File-Name.html and my-file-name.html are two different names. If you get used to using all lowercase letters in naming your files then you have one less thing to worry about.

For most servers your Home Page is going to be named index.html but make sure and check with your particular host on what it should be for your server.

The State Library of North Carolina has created a four-part video tutorial which covers the following:

Part One: Why is file naming important.
Part Two: How to change a file name.
Part Three: What not to do when changing a file name.
Part Four: Best practices for file naming.

All four of the video tutorials can be found on YouTube on the State Library’s channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/statelibrarync. I took the opportunity to watch the entire series and think that it is very well done.

Important Note: If you are working with a web editor like Expression Web or Dreamweaver, do NOT change files names outside of the program or you may break you hyperlinks to those files. Changing file names within the program will keep any links to those files intact.

Pat Geary and Tina Clarke, the authors of this ebook, both of whom have worked with both FrontPage and Expression Web have brought you the tools and tutorials you need to start the migration process.

Migrating from FrontPage to Expression Web EBook has been revised and updated to cover Expression Web 4 and both Service Packs which have been released for EW4. Along with the EBook we have include a series of Expression Web Queries to help you in the cleanup process and three new DWT web packages which brings the total to fourteen.

The newly revised EBook is on sale for the incredibly low price of $20. until September 31st. After that the price will be $32. You can read more about the EBook and purchase your own copy of  Migrating from FrontPage to Expression EBook version 4.0.2

With the advent of Service Packs 1 and 2 for Expression Web 4.0 a major revision of our the EBook was called for. We are adding new material, as well as new templates and a selection of new Expression Web queries as part of the revision.

Expression Web MVP’s Tina Clarke and Pat Geary will give you instructions and tools to get you on the right track. Your purchase of the EBook also gives you access to the owners section of the site which contains additional tips and FREE templates you can use. Purchase of the EBook also gives you free updates for life. Every time the EBook is revised, we send you a mailing to access the updated version. No additional charges apply.

Obtain your Migrating from FrontPage to Expression Web EBook NOW and get the updated one when it is released.

You can obtain other free ebooks and free templates at the following sites:
http://any-expression.com/

http://expression-web-tutorials.com/

http://www.genealogy-web-creations.com/

BUY Migrating from FrontPage to Expression Web EBook for the lowest price ever $20.

The article basically discusses how to use the public folder of your Dropbox account to publish a genealogy website without having advertisements inserted into your pages as they are with RootsWeb hosted accounts and other free hosting services. Yes you can do this by obtaining your own hosting account but that will cost you a monthly or yearly fee.

If you are already using the free Dropbox program, you already have a free solution that does not insert any unwanted ads into your pages.

It seems that Dropbox has a PUBLIC folder. Anything placed in that folder will appear on the World Wide Web. The files you place in the Dropbox PUBLIC folder will be copied to Dropbox’s public web server. The files you place there will be exactly as you created them without any extra advertising or other unwanted additions. You should only place files in the PUBLIC folder that you wish to share. The files you place under PUBLIC will become visible to everyone on the web within seconds at no charge.

I already have my own server space on Bluehost so this is not an option I will probably use BUT it may be something you would like to try. First you will need to create your website pages. You can use your genealogy program to create a website or use your regular HTML editor.

Once you have created your pages and make sure they actually work, then you will need to move them to your public folder. This is a two step process.

Step 1:  Drop a file into the Public folder.
Step 2:  Right-click/control-click this file, then choose Dropbox > Copy Public Link. This copies the Internet link to your file so that you can paste it somewhere else. You are not going to “see” any kind of notice that this worked. Just paste the link which was just copied to an empty document or email. Click on the link below to see the one page site I created as a demonstration.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/33388407/dropbox-test/index.html

You can read Dick Eastman’s entire article Publish Your Genealogy Database on the Web with Dropbox with all of the details. You can also sign up for his Newsletter which contains many useful articles.

Search Engine Optimization is often a topic of discussion on the RootsWeb FreePages Help Mailing List. Since Google is the search engine everyone seems to target, you can download the free Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide for lots of helpful advice. The guide is in pdf format and includes the following topics:

• SEO Basics
  • Create unique, accurate page titles
  • Make use of the “description” meta tag
• Improving Site Structure
  • Improve the structure of your URLs
  • Make your site easier to navigate
• Optimizing Content
  • Offer quality content and services
  • Write better anchor text
  • Optimize your use of images
  • Use heading tags appropriately
• Dealing with Crawlers
  • Make effective use of robots.txt
  • Be aware of rel=”nofollow” for links
• SEO for Mobile Phones
  • Notify Google of mobile sites
  • Guide mobile users accurately
• Promotions and Analysis
  • Promote your website in the right ways
  • Make use of free webmaster tools

You will not be able to use all of the suggestions if your site is hosted on the free RootsWeb servers BUT many of the suggestions will help you with placement in the Google Search Results.

Additional Resources:

• Google Webmaster Guidelines
• Google Webmaster Tools

Working With RootsWeb FreePages Accounts

RootsWeb houses tens of thousands of websites for the genealogy community with FreePages hosting many personal genealogy sites. Once you have requested your free space and received your welcoming email, it is sometimes hard to know exactly where to start. Working With Rootsweb FreePages Accounts brings together some of the tutorials I have written on using your website space on the RootsWeb FreePages server. It explains not only how your account is set up but gives you tips on how to best use that space to create your site. The FREE EBook is available in pdf format for you to view and/or print.

Contents of the FREE EBook include:

• Introduction
• Getting Started with RootsWeb FreePages
  • Request Your Account
  • Username and Password
  • Getting Started On Your Site
    • Planning and Organizing your Site
    • HTML
    • FTP
    • Naming Your Pages
  • Summary and Resources
• Understanding YOUR FreePages Account Structure
  • Setting up Your site on YOUR Computer
  • Publishing Your Sites
• Using FileZilla
  • Configuring Site Manager
  • Publishing Using FileZilla
  • Additional Resources
• Using RootsWeb File Manager
  • File Upload Utility
  • Personal Observation
• Using Rootsweb Online Editor
  • Creating Your Web Page
  • Previewing Your Web Page

Download your copy of  Working With Rootsweb FreePages Accounts

Related Post:

Planning a Genealogy Website EBook 2nd Edition

Top Horizontal Bar Navigation

The top horizontal bar navigation is one of the two most popular kinds of site
navigation menu used. It is most often used as the primary navigation for a site
and is most commonly located either directly above or directly below the masthead
or banner of the site. The top navigation bar is sometimes paired with a drop-down
menu which reveals a second-level child navigation menu when an item is hovered
on.

When to Use Top Horizontal Bar Navigation

Top horizontal bar navigation is good for sites that only need to display a limited
number of items in the main navigation. It is the only option for single column
layouts. If the top horizontal bar navigation is combined with drop-down sub-navigation,
the the navigation bar can accommodate more links as in the site shown above.

Drawbacks of Top Horizontal Bar Navigation

The biggest drawback to top horizontal navigation is that it limits the number
of links you can include without resorting to sub-navigation. For a small site,
this will probably not cause a problem.

Vertical Bar or Sidebar Navigation

Vertical bar or sidebar navigation is when the navigation items are arranged
in a single column, one on top of another. It’s often found on the top-left column,
preceding the main content area. According to a usability study on navigation patterns
for those who read left-to-right, vertical navigation bars on the left side perform
better than vertical navigation bars located on the right side. Vertical navigation
is one of the most versatile patterns as it is able to accommodate a long list of
links. Vertical bar or sidebar navigation can be integrated into almost any kind
of multi-column layout used

When to Use Vertical Bar or Sidebar Navigation

Vertical navigation is suitable for almost any kind of site, but works well for
sites that have more than a handful of main navigation links.

Drawbacks of Vertical Bar or Sidebar Navigation

Vertical menus can sometimes be overwhelming to users when they are too lengthy.
If the menu gets to be too long, try and use fly-out sub-navigation menus. You might
also, consider dividing the links into intuitive categories to help users find links
of interest more quickly as was done in the site shown above.

Tabbed Navigation

According to Cameron, tabs have one distinct advantage over other types of navigation:
they have a positive psychological effect on visitors. Folks used to seeing tabbed
navigation in notebooks and binders and associate tabs with turning to a new section.
This makes tabbed navigation intuitive.

When to Use Tabs Navigation

Tabs are appropriate for almost any main navigation. Using them for main navigation
with a different style of sub-navigation for larger sites is a good option. Like
top navigation bars, tabbed navigation is limited in the number of links they can
display, especially when used horizontally.

Drawbacks of Tabbed Navigation

Tabbed navigation are more work to design than a simple top navigation bar as
they require more markup, image assets and CSS. It is also limited in the number
of links that can be displayed horizontally.

Breadcrumb Navigation

Breadcrumbs navigation gets its name from the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale. Hansel
and Gretel leave breadcrumbs along the way in their journey so they could find their
way back home. Breadcrumbs show you were you are on a website. They are NOT used
as primary site navigation but help support it.

When to Use Breadcrumb Navigation

Breadcrumbs are useful in sites with multiple levels of web page hierarchy.
They help orient visitors as to where they are relative to the entire site. If a
visitor wants to go back a level, they can just click on the appropriate
breadcrumb navigation item.

Drawbacks of Breadcrumb Navigation

Breadcrumbs don’t work well on sites with shallow navigation.

Tags Navigation

Tags are typically found on blogs and/or news sites. They are quite often
organized into a tag cloud, where the navigation items may be arranged
alphabetically. They also often use different-sized links to indicate how much
content is filed under a particular tag as seen in the example below.

When to Use Tags Navigation

Tagging content using your keywords is a good choice if you cover plenty of
topics. If you only have a few pages, then tagging content may not be needed.

Drawbacks of Tags Navigation

Tags are usually associated with blogs and news sites, so if your site is a
static website it might not be useful to you. Tags also require a certain amount
of work on the part of whomever is creating the contetn (YOU?), as each post
needs to be accurately tagged in order for the system to be effective.

Search Navigation

Site search has become a popular navigation method in recent years. It’s
well-suited to a site where there is lots of content. Search is useful if your
visitor knows exactly what they are looking for. Including a search option does
NOT mean you should ignore good information architecture. The two should
compliment each other.

The first two example sites shown, use both a site search as well as other
means of navigating the site.

When to Use Search Navigation

If your site has lots of pages and a huge amount of information, then a site
search feature would be important. Users are likely to get frustrated trying to
find their way around a large site with lots of navigation links and many levels
without being able to search for what they want. A site search would also be
important on an e-commerce site as well.

Drawbacks of Search Navigation

Not all search engines are created equal and may not return the desired
results. Search navigation, for a majority of the sites, should be a secondary
form of navigation.

Fly-Out Menu and Drop-Down Menu Navigation

Fly-out menus would normally be used with vertical or sidebar navigation
while drop-down menus would be used with top horizontal bar navigation. The
first example site shows a drop-down menu in use. Your site looks uncluttered
but allows your visitor easily go deeper.

When to Use Fly-Out Menu and Drop-Down Menu Navigation

If you have a large or complex menu but want a simple, uncluttered look,
dropdowns and fly-outs let your visitor decide what they might want to see and
when they want to see it.

Drawbacks of Fly-Out Menu and Drop-Down Menu Navigation

It’s important to make it obvious that there is a drop-down or fly-out menu
with sub-navigation items by using an arrow icon or some other means to indicate
such. If not, your visitor might miss there is more to your navigation system.

Footer Navigation

Footer navigation is pretty much used as secondary navigation, and may
contain links that don’t fit within the main navigation.

When to Use Footer Navigation

Many sites have some kind of footer navigation, even if it is just a
repetition of what might appear elsewhere.

Drawbacks of Footer Navigation

If your pages are long, no one is going to scroll to the bottom of the page
to get to your footer just to navigate your site. Footer navigations should NOT
be your sites primary means of navigation.

You can read the entire article by Cameron Chapman titled
Guide to Website Navigation Design Patterns on the Six Revisions site. It
contains much more in the way of details and one other site navigation design.
Great article in my opinion.

Planning a Genealogy Website EBook 2nd Edition

Just released, Planning a Genealogy Website 2nd Edition by Pat Geary Microsoft MVP Expression Web is a FREE 42 page EBook. The EBook is a great resource for anyone who is interested in creating a genealogy website especially if you are using RootsWeb hosting. It has been revised and updated with several entirely new sections. The Table of Contents is listed below. This Ebbok is FREE and my gift to the genealogy community.

Table of Contents

• About the Author – Pat Geary
• Planning a genealogy website?
  • Phase One: Gathering Information
    • Purpose of Your Web Site
    • Audience for your Web Site
    • Content of a Genealogy Web Site
  • Phase Two: Planning
    • Organizing Your Genealogy Web Site
    • Phase Three: Design
  • Phase Four: Development
    • Choose Your Web Editor
  • Phase Five: Testing and Publishing
    • Testing Your Site
    • Hosting your site
    • Publishing Your Site
  • Phase Six: Maintenance
  • Additional Articles
  • FreePages Resources
• Organize your genealogy website
• Creating a New Website
  • A few things to remember before we get started
  • Genealogy Templates and Graphics
  • Create a new website
  • Before publishing your site
• Customizing Your Web Site
  • Using custom 404 pages
  • Use include files for repeating content
  • Create a site map
  • Include a consistent footer
  • Use a consistent navigation system
  • Add a Search Box
  • Link to your Genealogy Database at WorldConnect
• Publishing your Genealogy Website
  • Publishing to RootsWeb or FreePages servers
  • Using FileZilla to Publish to RootsWeb Servers
    • Configuring Site Manager
      • General Tab
      • Advanced Tab
      • Transfer Settings
      • Charset Tab
    • Publishing Using FileZilla
    • Additional Resources
• Maintaining Your Genealogy Website
  • Keeping Your Site Up-to-Date
  • Helpful Links
• RootsWeb WorldConnect Project
  • Searchable Databases
  • What is a GEDCOM file?
  • Creating a GEDCOM file
  • Submitting Your Family Tree
    • Standard Setup Form Options
    • Advanced Setup Form Options
  • Accessing WorldConnect for Editing
  • Adding some style to your Family Tree
    • Header Code
    • Footer Code
  • Displaying Images and Hyperlinks within WorldConnect Databases
  • Configure Your WorldConnect Settings
    • Adding Photographs and Hyperlinks to GEDCOM Files
  • Resources
• Getting Started with RootsWeb FreePages
  • Request Your Account
  • Getting Started On Your Site
• Using RootsWeb File Manager
  • Using the File Upload Utility

The tutorials are based on those first published on my website Genealogy Web Creations website design for the genealogist. The take you through planning your site, designing it, publishing it, maintaining it and adding some extras to the pages. Many of the tutorials are geared towards those hosting their sites on any of the RootsWeb server BUT they will work with any hosting account.

Download your FREE copy of Planning a Genealogy Website 2nd Edition in format and zipped for easier download. You will need the free Adobe Reader to view the EBook.