A Lesson in HTML

As the owner of a Country Mall and Top Site List, I have been asked several times about what to put in the sign up form when it asks for the URL or the HTML of a banner or other image. I have people that email me feeling totally lost and have no idea what they mean! Actually, it is very easy once you know WHAT they are talking about and HOW to do what they want you to do.

The URL (which stands for "Uniform Resource Locator") of your banner or any image on your site(or any image on the internet for that matter), is the "address" of the image itself. When someone views a page, each image on the page has its own unique URL or address. The URL of the image tells the page viewer's browser where to go to get the image and make it show up on the screen.

To find out the URL of an image, you can right-click it and choose "properties" from the drop down menu. You will get a pop up box that has all of the information about that image in it. You will see the URL of the banner there. It will start with http:// and end will end with .gif or .jpg depending on the image's file type(it might end in .bmp or .png). THAT is what the Top Sites list is asking for when they say "Banner URL".

When you use your banner's URL to make it show up on the Top Site List it is called "Hotlinking" or "Direct Linking". You might see a message on some sites where they ask you NOT to direct link to THEIR images; this is what that means. You can't right click and get the URL to someone else's images and use them that way. It uses up that site's Bandwidth, (which is information that is passed back and forth from your computer and that site). That is stealing. BUT you can do that for your own banners and images on your own site.

Some sites that you exchange links with will ask you to send your HTML code for your banner rather than the banner itself. The reason for this is because when you send them the HTML, it contains your banner's URL, and uses the Bandwidth on your own site, to make it show up. That keeps the site you are listing on from using up too much of their own space placing the banners for you and for others. So if someone wants to exchange banners with you and they ask for the HTML of your banner, you will give them the following code (be sure to change all () to brackets in order for the code to work correctly):

(a href="http://www.YOURSITE.com")("img src="http://www.YOURSITE.com/YOURIMAGENAME.gif")(/a) (**See note below.)

(You may have to change the .gif to .jpg or a different extension depending on the type of image file to which you are linking. This code with make your banner show up on their site and be linked back to you!

Beware though! There are a few pitfalls! If your site is hosted for free, then it may not allow direct linking. You will need to check your host's policies before attempting to direct link to your images.

You will also want to leave those images in your website's files at all times, because if you delete them, then your banner will not show up anywhere you have left your URL or HTML! It will result in broken images and that can get you removed from the Top Site or from the site with which you exchanged banners.

HTML and can an extremely useful tool. Learning the small "basics" can help you in many ways to improve and market your website more effectively!

Kandi Traxel is a WAHM and the owner of Homespun Village Crafter's Marketplace http://www.homespunvillage.com and Misty Valley Botanicals http://www.homespunvillage.com

high-end home cleaning Morton Grove ..

In The News:

Aigen's Element robot uses solar power and AI to provide farmers with a sustainable alternative to herbicides, working efficiently in cotton and soy fields.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Cybercriminals accessed Medicare data of more than 100,000 Americans by creating fraudulent accounts, prompting CMS to deactivate accounts and issue new Medicare cards.

China's battery swap technology from CATL lets electric vehicle owners exchange batteries in under two minutes, with plans to expand to 1,000 stations across 31 Chinese cities by 2025.

Analysts at Silent Push have uncovered a widespread scam that uses counterfeit retail websites to steal the credit card information of online shoppers.

Chrome users need to update their browsers immediately as Google addresses a critical vulnerability that hackers are actively exploiting. Additional security measures are recommended.

A study found teens glance at phones for dangerous two-second intervals while driving, using devices primarily for entertainment, texting and navigation despite crash risks.

Security researchers uncovered a flaw in Windows 11 that allows attackers to disable Secure Boot using Microsoft-signed tools, requiring manual updates to protect against bootkits.

Carnegie Mellon's noninvasive brain technology allows users to move robotic fingers by thinking about the motion, offering new possibilities for people with motor impairments.

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds an extra layer of protection to your accounts. Instead of relying only on a password, MFA requires you to verify your identity using two or more methods.

Scientists from Duke, Harvard, and the University of Otago have unveiled a game-changing tool called DunedinPACNI. It uses a single AI brain scan to reveal how fast a person is biologically aging.

A disturbing wave of fake agent phone scams is sweeping across the United States, catching people off guard and draining their savings.

Emojis aren't just playful add-ons; they're powerful tools for building stronger connections in our increasingly digital world.

Google has taken a major step toward the future of clean energy by partnering with Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), an MIT spin-out working to build one of the world’s first commercial fusion reactors.

If you create and share art online, you might have seen messages warning that Facebook's parent company, Meta, claims the right to use or even sell anything you post, whether it's pictures, poems, or artwork.

Cybercriminals hit Qantas in a major data breach that exposed information from up to six million customers.

Having reliable, loud, and timely emergency alerts on your phone or device is important because when severe weather strikes, every second counts.

Here's how your daily brew is becoming the foundation for greener buildings.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, are transforming how we learn. But what does this mean for AI and learning retention?

Modern AI data centers use much more electricity than traditional cloud servers. In many cases, the existing power grid cannot keep up. One innovative solution is gaining traction: repurposed EV batteries for AI data centers.

Microsoft 365 and Outlook users are being targeted by a tactic that injects fake billing alerts directly into their calendars.

Researchers are now showing us that old smartphones as data centers could be the next big thing in sustainable tech.

Scientists have created micro-robots for sinus infection treatment that can enter the nasal cavity, eliminate bacteria directly at the source, and exit without harming surrounding tissue.

Let's examine how your data is collected in everyday life, who is buying and selling it, what happens to it afterward, and, most importantly, what you can do to protect yourself.

Researchers at the University of Sheffield in the U.K. developed small robots called "Pipebots" that can travel inside water pipes to find and potentially repair leaks, all without any excavation.

A Lesson in HTML

Personal Technology