How do the search engines, Yahoo, Google etc view iframes? I have a need to use them for one part of my site but I worry that they are considered bad for some reason. Are they ok? Thanks, Jon
Don't use them. You can achieve exactly the same effect with either SSI or styling a layer using css so there is no reason to use them.
Are you saying I could use css to draw in a form from another host, so that it looks like it is on the current url but is actually from a different url?
No. You use css to create a layer within your page with scrollbars at the side and a border. You use SSI to pull in content from another website to make it look like its on your site. Its called screen scraping.
You don't need the css. There are 2 reasons to use an iframe: 1) to show content from another site on your site 2) to put content in a scrolling window in the middle of your page use css for number 2 and ssi for number 1
If I am using SSI, is it possible for someone to know I am pulling content from another site? Are there any visible links or IP addresses that are revealed in some way? How do I know if my host has enabled SSI? Anything in Cpanel to show this?
Try this and see what happens, if it fails you need to configure the server firewall to allow outgoing connections. include('http://www.google.com'); PHP: For more advanced options for example to open a remote page as a string to allow you to edit it you would need file_get_contents or fopen Sites can check their logs to see the user agent and IP address of whoever it requesting the files. You can change the user agent to be MSIE6 to be more discreet and use an anonymous IP if you really want.
I won't be taking the data off anyone elses site. Just my own on my server. Is that php code you are suggesting?
Thanks. I will try that. Is that how people generally do screen scraping then, without having to create their own content? They just use a php include?
A php include is the simplest way to do it but this would not allow you to manipulate the content you are including, for example changing links and image locations so the page works within your site. To alter the content you need to use file_get_content or fopen as this allows you to manipluate the page in the same way as any string variable using regular expressions and substitution functions.
Frames are just asking for complications down the track. I have just tried explaining this to somebody I was working with the other day. They couldnt get it. But stay away from them unless you absolutely have too. I have seen a good article on highrankings.com about frames and how to seo around them. But simplest method is to not use them. Brad
Hello everyone! I am looking for a programmer who can give me advice on how to proceed. Once accepted, I'd like to hire you to do the job. Here's my situation: I have a template that uses CSS tabs. The tabs, when clicked by the user, needs to load content within that same page. See it here: http://www.wargameshq.com/games/call-of-duty-2.php A good example of this effect can be seen here: http://www.vgpro.com/ Look at their TOP GUIDES, HOT VIDEOS, FRESH DEMOS, FEATURED FILES section in the middle of the page. I already have the CSS done, I just need someone to give me advice on the best way to proceed to get a similar effect done for my template. I think I want to use iframes to do this. But, I'm not sure if that's the best way to go. How will it affect search engines? Again, this is a paid job. So, if anyone is interested in helping me complete this, please email me at: skunker@gmail.com Thanks for your time!