Vote Forrest

Introduction to Web Design

Written By: admin - Dec• 16•10

As you can probably observe from the websites you have visited before, the site contents are structured and organized according to its importance and function. This is made possible thanks to website design. An effective web design can reinforce the importance of the site’s contents and purpose. The web design includes the layout of the website but may also differ from the main page to a more specific page. seletar park residence

The ones who create the site’s layout, appearance and overall design are called, obviously, web designers. Except otherwise required by a client, they decide on the size of the design, the color scheme, images and other components of the website. Some hosting companies offer pre-made web designs to their clients for free or for a fee. Many individuals and companies opt to pay for the services of a web design company possibly due to more credibility and more flexible designing skills.seletar park residence

History of Web Design

Websites look a lot different today than when the first web pages were published. The first web pages ever created consisted only of texts and links. The first HTML tags used were very basic ones to display text contents and make anchor links. As updates to HTML were made, the ability to embed images became possible. With the addition of more tags and as more scripting languages were integrated to be used with websites, web designs became more visually pleasing and their functionalities became more flexible.

If you look at a modern website design, it contains elements such as animations and dynamic content that were only achieved before by installing plugins and embedding files with large sizes. Due to the advancement of scripting and styling technologies, websites can look physically attractive using only codes and simple images. Today’s website designs are also made to be able to work with related technologies to be user-friendly.

Web designs that are optimized for search engines are preferred and even required as an unpronounced standard. This helps a customer’s website become more visible on the web through a higher ranking of the website and its contents on search engine page results. Web designs are also optimized for users, particularly the ones who are not very knowledgeable about the technicalities of the World Wide Web. Many of the people who access the Internet depend on the accessibility and user-friendliness of the site’s design to get to the information they seek. Additionally, modern web designs are also optimized to be compatible with most, if not all, browsers. Different web browsers have different ways of interpreting some of the styling options of a website. A web designer must be knowledgeable enough to make the website look perfectly fine in different browsers or resolutions or else it could ruin a possibly great website.

Factors That Influence Web Design

How a web design turns out is affected by the creativity and skills of the individual or the web design company. With the vast support of many technologies including designing software and scripting languages, designers are only limited by what they know and what they can think of. Aside from that, they should also consider the following factors when planning and creating the web design.

  • Purpose

The purpose of the site and how it will be used should be considered before creating the design. For example, blog sites are normally designed to display the latest posts on the front page. Commerce sites with an online store have to be simple and user-friendly to enable ordinary users to purchase products with ease. Informative sites such as online encyclopedia normally have lighter background and dark text while a photo portfolio page can be visually rich and stunning to add more credibility to the owner. It is important for the designer to know the purpose of the site so that it can be designed exactly as how it will be used. Templates that are made before a client’s specifications are designed to fit a particular purpose and may not fit with specific types of websites.seletar park residence

  • Content

The website’s contents should also be taken into account during design planning. When a client specifies what the site is all about and what it will contain, a designer considers it and bases the design on the client’s preferences. For example, a website that is going to showcase bands and artists may have a front page that displays the most recent artists, the popular ones, the latest songs and perhaps an audio or video player embedded within the page. Each individual can be designed with a section for a picture, biography, music and other related contents. Varying designs for personal blogs such as neat, grungy and sleek are very popular.

  • Audience

The site’s target audience is something to note when creating the design. Again, an ecommerce website should be very simple and easy to navigate that someone with limited knowledge on websites can still buy whatever is for sale on the site. A website that wants to attract fans of horror stories and other related content can add to the eerie experience by having a darker background and contrasting heading colors. Regardless, it should be in conformity with what the possible visitors are expecting.

  • Technology

As stated previously, a template’s design should work when viewed from different browsers. It is the designer’s job to make sure that the design can be viewed equally well in different browsers. Some designers do this by adding hacks to their codes or simply by loading a different style sheet depending on what browser is used by the viewer. Whatever trick they apply to achieve this, it will be an assurance that a possibly great website will not be ruined by an incompatible design.

Web designing can be difficult and technical but is also very rewarding. However, it can also be a wise decision to let experts handle the visual and functional side of a website. Many web design companies are very affordable but with services that can equal or even surpass those that ask for more. Make sure to scout first before letting a company do the job to make sure that you are hiring the most competent one that fits right in your budget and is available to extend help with the design whenever you need.

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The Basics of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Written By: admin - Dec• 16•10

Whenever you want certain information from the Internet, you use search engines to look for it. You probably go as far as the third or fifth page of the search engine result page (SERP) and if you think none of the results are relevant, you search using a new keyword. The top 10 search results, which are usually on the first page, link to websites or web pages that are optimized for that particular keyword. They are the ones that get most of the traffic from users that depend on search engines like Google or Yahoo to find information on the Internet.

Search engine optimization (SEO) refers to the process implemented on websites and web pages to make them rank higher on search results. The higher the website is on the rank, the higher the traffic is more likely to go. This does not only include the text content but also the images and videos. An SEO company can optimize websites by making some changes to the content and the HTML code. Relevant keywords are used in the article content, descriptive text for images and videos, and meta tags are added to the HTML code. Search engines use spiders to crawl the site, index pages and rank them using a unique algorithm.

Background of SEO

During the mid to late 1990s, web owners had to manually submit the link or URL of their site to search engines for crawling and indexing. The algorithm of the first search engines considered the meta tags, keyword density and popularity of the site in terms of how many other sites link to it. However, this was not very helpful because of some inaccuracies and inadequacies of the meta tags which affected the page ranking. Some webmasters went as far as to abuse the algorithm by stuffing the page with keywords and placing text that is invisible to common users but is indexed by search engine crawlers.

Over time, search engines have adapted to the techniques used by the webmasters and to improve the user experience. The algorithms kept changing, making it stricter against the unfriendly techniques and ranking manipulations. Nowadays, the relevance and natural build up of popularity is implemented when indexing websites. Google now holds the most control over the search engine market with 60% while Yahoo holds 20% and Microsoft 10%. Companies now start to offer SEO services to websites.

Black hat and White hat Techniques

Even with the stricter rules by search engines, many webmasters still use illegal SEO techniques called black hat techniques, also called spamdexing. These may in fact increase the page ranking of a certain site but its owners can expect it to be penalized by decreasing the page ranking or eventually banning the site from the search database. Some of these techniques include:

  • Keyword Stuffing

This technique refers to stuffing the web page with keywords that are often unrelated to the actual contents of the site. The site may not even have any useful information but because of the high density of certain keywords, some search engines initially interpret it as relevant and the page may even rank high on the search result but modern algorithms can also detect if the web page is using this illegal technique.

  • Invisible Text

With this technique, the webmaster places a usually unrelated text within the webpage and makes it the same color as the background to make it invisible, place it off the screen or hide it within HTML tags. Although unseen by the common user, search engines can still read these texts.

  • Scraper sites

Using different programs, these sites “steal” content from search engine results and post it as their own. The sites are usually filled with pay-per-click ads or may forcedly redirect the user to other sites. Some scraper sites may even rank higher than the original author sites of their content.

  • Link Spam

This refers to several techniques some of which include link farming, where community websites link to each other through automated means; comment spamming, where anchor texts that redirect to other sites are placed within blogs as comments, usually unrelated to the post; and Wiki spam, where Wiki pages are edited and some words added or replaced and linked to other websites.

While black hat techniques of SEO assure penalties, there are effective, acceptable and long-lasting techniques, called white hat techniques that an SEO company can use to optimize websites. These techniques include the following:

  • Relevant content

White hat SEO takes into consideration not just the search engine spiders but the common users as well. Effective SEO services can make high quality site content for users pass the guidelines of search engines. Through relevant articles, descriptive titles and properly named images, a website’s page rank can increase.

  • Link building

One of the considerations for a higher place in SERP is based on how many sites or pages link back to the website being optimized. If the content is informative, many bloggers or other web owners refer to a website as a reference. Article directories can also be used to increase the back link to a website. The anchor text through which the website is linked from is also important. If your content is about computer monitors and another article from another site has an anchor text of computer monitors linking to your site, it helps increase your site popularity.

  • Meta tags

Meta tags are included in the HTML code of a website that is only visible to search robots. Although not as necessary as they used to be, meta tags still contribute to the overall ranking of a website. Robots that crawl the site may or may not read the meta tags but it is important to keep them relevant to the main contents of the site. Some meta tags include site description, keywords and search robot actions.

Implementing SEO on your own site may have its advantages such as reducing your expenses but hiring an affordable SEO company also has its plus. Search engine algorithms are dynamic and constantly changing to adapt to current search and optimization trends. Experts can worry about keeping your website up to date while you focus on the more important aspects of your site or your business.

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Kagan Is A Lesbian – What?

Written By: admin - Jul• 01•10

http://gawker.com/5535425/is-supreme-court-nominee-elena-kagan-really-a-lesbian (source)

I wonder if I should find this offensive or insulting, hmm wait maybe these two are the same.

The article above gives a good detailed explanation but  I will summarize for you here. She is a lesbian because:

  1. She’s got a boy’s haircut
  2. Never been married
  3. Was opposed to “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”
  4. Played college Softball
  5. Dresses in plaid clothing
  6. Was endorsed by the mayor of Gaytown (Ok lol I admit this is really funny but it doesn’t make her a lesbo!)
  7. Obama loves lesbian judges – you’re kidding me right?
  8. Never denied lesbian allegations/rumors
  9. Reputable news sites like CBS first broke this “story”.

Honestly I can’t believe her sexual orientation is coming into play here. She is here to judge laws, not be harassed for whether she digs women or not. It just goes to show the kind of stuff people put out there to discredit someone. Truly is sad.

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Kagan Gets Grilled But Survives

Written By: admin - Jul• 01•10

Constitution to her own will, mostly to interpret the Constitution as loosely as possible. They warn that Kagan, if appointed to the Supreme Court, would unfairly tip the Court too far to the left. What they and many others do not understand is that the current Supreme Court, led by John G. Roberts Jr., is a far right wing conservative, and is a mostly 5-4 right leaning court. This is why in recent weeks we have seen looser gun control laws and greater power granted to the the Corporations to finance campaigns (a big, undemocratic mistake to say the least) of which 80% of all Americans were angrily opposed to according to Gallup.

At any rate, since we have a Democratic majority in both the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, alongside with a far left leaning president, Kagan is sure to be appointed to the supreme bench of this nation and maintain the 5-4 ideological ratio we currently have (Kagan will be replacing a liberal).

The full story and nitty details can be found here.

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New Owner, New Look

Written By: admin - Jul• 01•10

It took us a lot of money but we were able to buy this domain back from the godaddy marketplace.

This site will be adding new content and restoring old content as we work to fix this site. We are NOT AFFILIATED with Dr. Forrest Hill but we believe in the ideals he fought for and we hope that by restoring this site the entire world, and America, can shift their beliefs in a practical, logical way. Unfortunately due to the amount of time that has passed and the decay of records online, the dates for the content may be a little off. Please email me if you happen to find a more up to date or accurate version of the specific post and I will try to correct it in time (email is below).

If you find bugs or issues with our site as we restore it, please contact us at admin (@] voteforrest.org thank you.

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Increasing Voter Turnout

Written By: admin - Apr• 14•09

Voter turnout is at an all time low and here is how to fix it:

1. We must allow election day voter registration. [Deprecated?] Only 6 states in the U.S. allow this New Hampshire, Maine, Minnesota, Idaho, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Since most people are busy with their own lives, taking the time out to register and then wait on documents and information to vote is a huge hassle to the average American and a significant time waster. People are just simply too tired or too busy to vote for someone who “won’t even listen” to them. People need to feel empowered and encouraged, not powerless and discouraged from showing up at the booth.

2. Bring voter education and registration to high school students, especially before they turn 18. Schools, both private and public, are perfect times to teach our young children the merits of our Democracy and voting system. Since children also tend to scientifically be more “idealistic” than their older counterparts, they will gladly go through the hassle of registering to vote instead of playing say baseball. The younger people learn of our democratic voting system, the sooner they will use and participate in it, just as the founding fathers had wanted for all of us.

3. Repeal or reform abusive and restrictive voting laws in states. Here in California, we have by far the highest signature requirement for independent candidates of any state in the US. That is why you never see independents running for Governor or even Assembly. This seems almost criminal given that almost 20 percent of the voters are not registered with any political party – what a travesty! A democracy doesn’t function if such a large minority or majority of people are not given a vote or voice in the government. It’s tyrannical to say the least.

4. Remove forever the “Winner take all” system because candidates can win with less than 50 percent of the of vote, winner-take-all elections often discourage citizens from voting for the candidate of their choice for fear that they will split the vote, and feel compelled to vote for the “lesser of two evils”. A famous south park episode explored this notion when the school children had to choose between a “Giant Douche” and a “Turd Sandwich”. Funny but so true.

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Thank You All My Supporters

Written By: admin - Dec• 17•08

Editor’s note: this took place earlier than the date I posted but the logs say it happened around this time. Since I’m not sure where this goes in terms of time I will just leave it marked as this. If you have information please email me at admin (@] voteforrest.org. Thank you. This was a little known farewell rally somewhere in California and was thrown by Dr. Forrest Hill’s staunchest fans. End editor’s note.

I would like to thank all my supporters for all their support these past few years. Even though I didn’t take the easy way out and picked the standard Democratic party, I still hold firm my belief in a more proportional representation system, which is why I joined the Green Party to begin with. I would like to thank Mary, Sue, Steven, Al, and John especially for holding this party. Remember everyone, I may be bowing out (for now) keep fighting and keep working to restore our once great nation to its original democratic values. Always keep your citizens, no matter their beliefs or religions, firmly in your heart and ensure that you and your children and our children’s children grow in a more open, free, and fair society than we live in today. Thank you.

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Democratize The Nation – Proportional Representation For All

Written By: admin - Mar• 27•08

A democracy is suppose to represent the people, all of them. The “winner takes all” system we have ensures that this ideal is a lie, to put it cynically. This always ensures conflicts between people as the reward for “winning” leaves nothing else for everyone who is a “loser.” This leads up to the creation and sustaining of the 2 party system in America (today it’s Democrats versus Republicans) which always ensures enmity and lack of compromises. This fractures everyone involves and leads to serious quarrels over allocations of resources and services. This also encourages gaming the political system, where gerrymandering occurs and deceptive and borderline fraudulent campaigns are run all the time.

Not all is lost however, as we can change the system for the better.

If we reform to a more proportional democratic system, we can create more diverse groups of people that each have their own ideas and meld and compromise them all into a common set of policies or goals. This will ensure that nobody feels like the “loser” in politics and that everyone walks away with something rather than most people getting nothing and a few getting everything.

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Immigrants Deserve Voting Rights And Citizenship, Here’s Why

Written By: admin - Feb• 13•08

Immigrants work at jobs, which are taxed at normal marginal rates, provide labor and services for the local community, and send their children to schools. They also sometimes serve in the Armed Forces of America. As such these immigrants have a vested interest in what happens in this country. They do all the things a normal citizen does.

From 1776 to 1926, immigrants were allowed to vote though after 1926, each state in the country individually repealed this “right’.

As a voter, it would help assimilate and accelerate all immigrants who are on the path to citizenship. After the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City, naturalization costs have increased 10 fold and the backlog for visas and visiting permits has grown exponentially. Allowing immigrants to vote may help alleviate these problems.

America was originally founded on immigration. To flee or leave a “lousier” country for greener pastures here. This helped the U.S. become a mighty powerhouse today. Why turn our backs on that?

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SR 36 – Call For Green Democracy And Indepence

Written By: admin - Jan• 01•08

need to make voting more democratic, meaning 1 person should equal 1 vote instead of 1 “group” or “powerful” people getting an exorbitant amount of voting power. This would ensure fairer representation of the majority at the time voting takes place. Next is some definitions and clarifications of the Green Party, such as better representation of the people via more “common sense” apportionments of a district.

There isn’t much mentioned about the environment here as it is more focused on representation and voting rights and clarifications.

You can read the full article here. It was authored by Dr. Forrest Hill.

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