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What is HMTL?

That is a common question, but it is actually HTML standing for "HyperText Markup Language". It is often scrambled up by people because it has no meaning to them, just a bunch of letters.

It is often referred to as HotMetal which was actually an HTML editor used in the early internet years. But the term HotMetaL makes it slightly easier to remember.

HTML is the language used to assemble pages by web browsers. A series of tags represented by greater than and less than signs enclose terms that tell the browser how to format the page for viewing.

The language is very simple and covers only static page functions. To build more interactive pages you need a programing language like perl to process data.

HTML is for formatting text and images and creating a page using smaller pieces. This makes transferring pages more efficient by sending the parts to you in bunches and allowing your computer to do the assembly.

Today code editors will write the code for you. Using drop and drag page building the program converts what you see to HTML code that the computer can convert back into what you see. It seems like a big circle for nothing, but that is the way it works.

Just like your computer converts the actions you take into binary data and back into a GUI that you can use. Its just the way it works.

HTML has become less significant to learn than in the past, but it is still the driving tool for every web page on every website on the internet.

HTML5, a revolutionary upgrade to HTML, may become a big changer in Web application development.  In fact, HTML5 that might even make obsolete such plug-in-based rich Internet application (RIA) technologies as Adobe Flash, Microsoft Silverlight, and Sun JavaFX.

"HTML 5 features like Canvas, local storage, and Web Workers let us do more in the browser than ever before," says Ben Galbraith, also co-founder of the Ajaxian Web site and co-director of developer tools at Mozilla. Local storage enables users to work in a browser when a connection drops and Web Workers makes "next generation" applications incredibly responsive by pushing long-running tasks to the background, he says.

I wasn't a big fan of Flash anyways.  It seemed like a buggy system that tended to crash my browser often.  We won't miss you Flash.

If you were building a website in 1999, you would have needed and FTP utility, an HTML editor, a TELNET utility you would need to build the pages in html then upload all the pieces of the page to the website using the FTP program switching between ASC and Binary mode.

That is after you constructed the graphic elements in one of several graphics programs.

If you did not have the correct paths to the images, they would not appear in the page, so all the paths had to be manually adjusted using a text editor to keep the website complete as it differs from the pages built on your local pc.

If you are confused, don't worry. So was everyone else.

Today, companies like HostPapa or BlueHost offer online site builders which run directly on the website. You can build a page, save it and you are done.

At one time you needed an IT diploma from MIT to build a page. Now you can be an internet dummy and still build an incredible website. It has become that easy.

There are still a few hardcore webmasters doing it the old way, but business owners are tired of depending on webmasters and they need more functionality than most designers can offer.

Most web designers are just that. Fluffers. They make the site look good, but few have the programing background to make the website a true web 2.0 shopping system.

So most dummys just use a simple system like HostPapa or BlueHost offer online site builders which includes all the programing and tools to run a professional website for just a few dollars a month.

As with any technology, the market is so competitive that companies need to offer more and more for less.

Site builders offer ready made templates, shopping carts and other programs that are installed in every website. Any dummy can build a page that would stand up to any webmaster built page.

We often see webmasters charging $3,000.00 for a website and then telling the customer they don't know how to add a shopping cart so they need to have a programmer do that for another $2,000.00.

OK, maybe I am the dummy. But less than $10 a month for a complete website vs $5,000.00 for a basic website with only a shopping cart that the website owner can't modify.

Most of the dummys have gotten used to shopping carts that have extensive management functions, sales reports and invoicing. Websites that virtually build themselves and are easy to update and manage.

I am not sure who the actaul dummy is? The one that paid $5,000.00 for a "professional" website design or the one that pays less than $10 a month for a working business and has an active and dynamic changing website business.

Maybe HostPapa or BlueHost are the dummys for selling a software system that makes building pages simple for less than $10/mth.

Read our expert Website Hosting Reviews to find the best web hosting company to meet your website needs.

We have all been to websites that have nothing more then a message that says "Bandwidth Limit Exceeded". So what does this mean and why is the bandwidth exceeded message there instead of the website?

Bandwidth or data transfer time is measured like cell phone minutes. If your plan calls for 1000 minutes a month and you go over, your cell phone company has 2 options. Ignore all calls over the 1000 minutes or you pay a big charge for the time over your limit.

The same occurs with your website. In the past, and with some less competitive web hosts, you would get a certain amount of bandwidth for the price you paid per month. If you buy a website with a set amount of bandwidth and If you go over your bandwidth allotment, the site shuts down.

The biggest problem is, you have no control over how much bandwidth is used and as the site becomes more visible you will attract a certain amount of bot activity which could download the entire website many times a day.

If you have a 200 page website, heavy bot traffic can cost you hundreds of dollars a month in bandwidth. If your plan is $10, then the site could be closed most of the month.

When this happens, the searches can't read your website, you get excluded from the search engines and you cannot do any business.

Companies like HostPapa, BlueHost, and HostGator offer unlimited bandwidth plans so the website can never close. They manage use by content and keep the websites on the servers limited to low use e-commerce sites rather than high bandwidth hogs. As with any unlimited plan, there are limits. But there is never any extra charge for over use of bandwidth and websites never close.

Where the biggest mistake is made is when companies advertise sales and specials and the site closes in the middle of a big promotion. They lose all the traffic they paid so much to get!

All the advertising is wasted and all the customers they get at the website get a message that the site is closed.

It makes the company look bad and ends up costing more than just lost advertising as current customers lose confidence.

It is understandable for a company not wanting to be charged thousands of dollars for overages. But there are alternatives and smart companies buy dedicated bandwidth such as 10 T-1 lines.

Unfortunately that is way beyond the financial reach of most people and not an option for most small businesses. But there are a handful of companies that offer unlimited bandwidth options like HostPapa, BlueHost, and HostGator.

If you are not on an unlimited plan or your host employs bandwidth limiting you face the possibility of your site closing at any time without warning and likely at the worst times.

Many of the people that read this website have moved their websites to an unlimited host only after being told by customers that the site shut down half way through the payment process. Of that the site has been unreachable for several days.

Most people want to blame the hosting company, but its not their fault. they need to sell the bandwidth at a profit. If you pay $600 a month for a T-1 that will need to earn $1200 not to mention the cost of servers. So you break it up and sell off pieces. If people use up their piece, it closes.

It is really up to the business to realize what they have and look for a plan that will keep their website open.

Read our expert Website Hosting Reviews to find the best web hosting company to meet your website needs.

The tendency of any newbie web designer is over building a web page.  By that we mean add everything they can find to a web page. Have eyes popping out of the background, fish swimming behind the mouse cursor and 100 cartoon animations bobbing in every corner.

And although the carnival theme is popular at Disneyland, it does not make for a good website.

Using flash banners and having anything in motion is a total distraction and takes away from whatever product you may want to sell.

Graphics do not impress anyone. People say, so what! So you can do the same thing everyone else can do. So you had a pro make a barking dog at the top of the page which is just annoying me right now.

Most web surfers have seen it all before. They are not on your website to look at moving images, they are there to read about your business, learn about your company or product or buy something.

Simple text based forms are taking over the search engines. And the reason is simple. They have a unique exchange of ideas and have value to anyone interested in the topic.

So why does your website have a bucket full of flash and nothing valuable in the form of answers. No articles, no information.

The search engine could not care less about your barking dog. But they will care if you write an article on how to stop a dog from barking. Of how to care for your pet.

People want to know the answers to those questions, they search for them and they will find your website. They will be impressed with your expert knowledge and likely buy your product.

If you think I am pulling your leg, look at the site you are on. Low graphics, articles about website hosting and building pages. You are reading it.

So when you build your own site, take a lesson from yourself. How did you learn what you know? Reading? School?

You did not learn to care for dogs by watching an animated barking dog on a web page. And other people want answers not images. Solutions and not problems.

If you are too lazy to write out some pages and offer up your expertise in your field, don't expect too much search traffic. Because people are not searching for flashy graphics.

What's our suggestion?  Use a content management system (CMS) like WordPress as the backbone of your website.  And pick a web host that specializes in WordPress like BlueHost.  Read the WordPress web hosting BlueHost review here.