Just what is a 301 Redirect?

There seems to be a lot of confusion as to what to do when you move, delete, or want to redirect incoming web traffic from an 'old' web page to a 'new' web page. A 301 redirect is the most efficient method for web page redirection from an old web page to a new web page location. There is also some confusion as to how to handle the complete move or redirection from one web domain to another web domain. According to Google, "If you need to change the URL of a page as it is shown in search engine results, we recommended that you use a server-side 301 redirect instead."

How to Set Up a 301 Redirect

Depending on your web environment, there are several methods to set up a 301 redirect. A 301 redirect is not that hard to implement and it should preserve your search engine rankings for that particular page or web domain.

.htaccess 301 Redirection

The .htaccess file needs to be placed in the root directory of your old website. In this example, we are redirecting incoming web traffic from an old domain to a new domain.

Options +FollowSymLinks

RewriteEngine on

RewriteRule (.*) http://www.newdomain.com/$1 [R=301,L]

The .htaccess file is the most common method used for 301 web site redirection.

PHP 301 Redirection

You would place this code in a file at the old location.

Header( "HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently" );

Header( "Location: http://www.new_location.com" );?>

IIS 301 Redirection

• In Internet Services Manager, you need to right click on the file or folder you wish to redirect
• Select the radio button titled "a redirection to a URL".
• Enter the redirection web page
• Check "The exact URL entered above" and the "A permanent redirection for this resource"
• Click on 'Apply'

That is all there is to it.

There are other methods in addition to set up a 301 redirection which include coding for ASP, ASP.NET, Java, CGI, Cold Fusion and Ruby on Rails. The above are the most common that I've encountered. When set up correctly, a 301 redirect will preserve your search engine rankings when it is necessary to move files around or switch, or consolidate, domain names.

I think the biggest mistake many of us make when we set out to build a website to make money is not to think out clearly how we are going to achieve this under our given set of circumstances.

We immediately jump on whatever bad wagon promises the best opportunity and hope to be able to achieve the same results. While hope is always nice it is action that will bring results. This is why it is imperative at the outset for you to figure out what you are prepared to do and how you are going to go about doing it.

For example list your strengths and what you are comfortable doing. Then you are going to look for ways and opportunities that will compliment your strengths.

If I had done this years ago I would have been a lot more successful. What I did instead was jump on the latest greatest opportunity, then when I would get the material I would be disappointed because many of the techniques listed where not in my field of expertise.

For example it would involve me having to cold call people to make sales and this is something I hate to do. So your first objective when setting out to build a website is to build it around a subject that you have some relationship with. Basically something that interests you.

Start out broad and be prepared to be taken down different paths that may yield more positive results in other words do not be too ridged.

Research is critical the more time spent researching the better your chances of success. Visit forums relative to your topics of choice and see what people are looking for - then with this information start to structure your site.

There are many site builders out there that can help. The one I used took care of the hosting and also helped me to market the site. This was very helpful especially starting out.

To conclude figure out what you want to do then be prepared to be adaptable based upon what the market demands. Then build a site that addresses their needs and provides solutions and you will make money.

Website Accessibility means the website accessible to all the users in the web including visitors with disability. Many website owners know that their website is available in the internet for visitors to access information but possibly may not know whether their website is easily accessible and even be unaware about Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).

According to Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), all the business should make their services accessible to disabled users. There is also a section in DDA which addresses that if a business offers an online service, even the information is on a single page, then the business is responsible for making an effort to make this information accessible to disabled users.

All new websites that are designed and developed should now follow the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) against which the accessibility of the website is measured. But when the website is found isn't complaint, then anybody can sue you legally, if they want to.

By following these guidelines, you enhance the professional look of your website, provide access to visitors who previously had not no choice, thus increasing your business prospects and finally not to forget, your business is legal.

Some basic Guidelines to increase the accessibility of the visitors

Validate HTML and CSS: To check if the HTML and CSS used is valid, W3C validator can be used. It is necessary that websites are checked as the validator automatically tells you about any errors and accessibility issues in the web pages.

Image and alternative text: For browsers which don't support images, alternative text can be used to explain what the image is about as the user will only see the text.

Resize font text: Most of the internet browsers use Internet explorer to search for information. If the size of the text can be increased by choosing the font size to the largest then it means that your website is accessible to visitors.

Use of Java script: Websites are not easily accessible when java script is disabled. Mostly people have the java script support switched off, if that's the case then make sure that you use the Java script sensibly and unnoticeably.

Check for the following,

1. Website is accessible without the use of a mouse

2. Website has a Sitemap

3. Website has link text relevant to the content (blind users use tabbing while browsing websites from one link to the other)