Sometimes we learn something new and do not even realise it. It might be something small that could affect our future dramatically and we didn't notice. Or it may be something high that we cannot help but see it.
This blog is basically a journal of lessons I have learnt.
This blog is basically a journal of lessons I have learnt.
Using Free Templates For Joomla! or Wordpress
With so many free templates available for Joomla!, Wordpress and other popular CMS tools it makes sense to use them when developing web sites.
However, when using free templates you need to be careful otherwise your search engine optimisation, search engine rankings and web site traffic may suffer.
These are a couple of things that I must watch out for when using free templates on my web sites.
1. Check the links to the template designer's web site and other links embedded in the template:
I don't mind linking back to the designer whose template I am using, but I do not have to link back in more than one place, and with a simple: Original template by "designer's name and link".
The template designers often put in a more expanded version like: Web design and hosting by "designer's name and link" and such a link can cost you business if you are also in the web design and hosting services.
So, check all the links that are in the web site and limit them to the bottom of the page.
2. Check whether the links to the designer's web site and other links target a new page of not:
I have found that, most of the time, links to the template designer's web site and other links to HTML validation, etc. do not target a new page but will replace your web site when people click on those links.
Again, check the links and make sure to add target="_blank" to the link to ensure that your do not lose your visitors.
3. Check whether there are "foreign" keywords embedded in the code:
Image alt and title tags can play a large role in improving your web site's SEO .
Check the images of a free template as they often hav alt and title tags with the designer's web site name in them or serve as "comment" tags such as, alt="spacer pic".
The alt and title tags are important when Google and other search engines determine the keyword density of your web pages and web site, especially those near the top of your web page, i.e. logo and header images, and to have these tags full of unrelated keywords is detrimental to your search engine rankings.
Work through the template an make sure that the alt and title tags contain your keywords and phrases; keywords that are relevant to the content of your web page and web site.
A few minutes work on the free templates you use can have a substantial effect on the way you are ranked by search engines.
However, when using free templates you need to be careful otherwise your search engine optimisation, search engine rankings and web site traffic may suffer.
These are a couple of things that I must watch out for when using free templates on my web sites.
1. Check the links to the template designer's web site and other links embedded in the template:
I don't mind linking back to the designer whose template I am using, but I do not have to link back in more than one place, and with a simple: Original template by "designer's name and link".
The template designers often put in a more expanded version like: Web design and hosting by "designer's name and link" and such a link can cost you business if you are also in the web design and hosting services.
So, check all the links that are in the web site and limit them to the bottom of the page.
2. Check whether the links to the designer's web site and other links target a new page of not:
I have found that, most of the time, links to the template designer's web site and other links to HTML validation, etc. do not target a new page but will replace your web site when people click on those links.
Again, check the links and make sure to add target="_blank" to the link to ensure that your do not lose your visitors.
3. Check whether there are "foreign" keywords embedded in the code:
Image alt and title tags can play a large role in improving your web site's SEO .
Check the images of a free template as they often hav alt and title tags with the designer's web site name in them or serve as "comment" tags such as, alt="spacer pic".
The alt and title tags are important when Google and other search engines determine the keyword density of your web pages and web site, especially those near the top of your web page, i.e. logo and header images, and to have these tags full of unrelated keywords is detrimental to your search engine rankings.
Work through the template an make sure that the alt and title tags contain your keywords and phrases; keywords that are relevant to the content of your web page and web site.
A few minutes work on the free templates you use can have a substantial effect on the way you are ranked by search engines.
Total Comments 2
Comments
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yes,
i recently played around with a few themes that were converted from wp to blogger xml, and BOY was there a bunch of funny code in there.......
i also found that the fancy themes take longer to load, and it matters to dialup users. On one of my blogs the average time spent on site improved by about 30 % after i switched back to a simpler theme. (wp)Posted 08-09-2008 at 02:09 PM by grumpyjacksa
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Yes, not all themes are created equal.
Some are too graphics intensive and other have a lot of garbage code in them, especially if they were created with some of the HTML editors and then converted.
I am not a php programmer but I think that templates should have the css and js code seperate from the tempate index page rather than embedded in the page.Posted 08-09-2008 at 06:08 PM by jensrsa
