Icon View Thread

The following is the text of the current message along with any replies.
Messages 1 to 8 of 8 total
Thread EWB and SEO
Tue, Jun 4 2013 4:04 PMPermanent Link

Dan

Fiscalsoft

Thanks for all of the updates in 1.02.  I only recently started using EWB (1.01 Build 5), and I loved it then, but 1.02 has proved to be a great release thus far.

Accolades aside, I did want to bring up a couple of things in regards to Search Engine Optimization (a.k.a. this week's Internet fad).

Firstly, regarding meta-tags:  Would it be very difficult to incorporate a meta-tag generator into the IDE so that the HTML file created during compilation would include all of that information?  I currently use a Firefox addon to quickly create meta-tags, you can find it here: http://tejji.com/apps/meta-tag-genetrator/

A generator similar to this one would be great as a tab in the project options window.  I mainly mention this because Google recommends that every page on a site have its own unique meta tag descriptions (and any other page specific tags).

The other issue is with Microdata, which relies on structured data in the HTML file.  However, any text that you add to the form is compiled into the JavaScript file, not the HTML.  As far as I know, the best practices to enhance your page for search engine results are reliant on the HTML code.

The only work-around I've come across is with the TPage/TPlugin.  The problem with that is any microdata included in the HTML files I use are scanned as separate pages.

I'm not complaining -and I'm still a big fan of EWB.  I would also greatly welcome anyone to reply and slap me with, "you're using the wrong component dummy!", I have no problem eating humble pie.  I'd appreciate any thoughts or suggestions that anyone else might have on the subject.  Thanks
Wed, Jun 5 2013 4:53 AMPermanent Link

Matthew Jones

Interesting thought. First, I think the meta tag addition is something that needs
addressing for other purposes, but this adds to the purposes. But mainly I think
that this is not something you should worry about with EWB applications. You don't
add SEO to a desktop application, and it seems an odd fit to think of EWB as a web
page builder, because it isn't one. It is an application builder tool, and as such
is not really aimed at being SEO'd a lot. I guess it could be incorporated in an
"ordinary" page though, that might be interesting. No idea how well it would work.
A quick check shows it probably takes over the whole "body" tag, which would wipe
out anything else.

/Matthew Jones/
Wed, Jun 5 2013 8:44 AMPermanent Link

Raul

Team Elevate Team Elevate

On 6/4/2013 4:04 PM, Dan wrote:
> Accolades aside, I did want to bring up a couple of things in regards to Search Engine Optimization (a.k.a. this week's Internet fad).

I'm just curious what the benefit would be !?

EWB (at least now) is meant for writing full web apps (and not
javascript snippets for existing web pages) hence i don't see a need to
SEO anything in it.

Assuming you incorporate the app on a website you can still SEO rest of
the site using the the tools you mentioned.

Raul
Wed, Jun 5 2013 9:44 AMPermanent Link

Dan

Fiscalsoft

Thanks for your opinions gentlemen.

And to be honest, I anticipated that someone would say that EWB is designed for powerful web applications -to which I completely agree.  Using EWB to build a static web page with no functionality is extreme overkill because of EWB's robust and advanced capabilities.

However, EWB was designed (to my assumption) for web applications big and small -not just power-users.  And from what I've seen, EWB can make some pretty nice websites with simple functionality.  I've been able to slap together better looking sites in minimal time than I ever could have with a word-press-like application.

Also, with all due respect, what happens when you build a beautiful web application and then it never shows up in a Google/Yahoo/Bing search?  The goal (for us at least) is to bring a product to a user.

Again, I think you guys bring up very good points, and I agree to an extent, but I also think that dismissing SEO entirely would be a mistake.
Wed, Jun 5 2013 9:48 AMPermanent Link

Dan

Fiscalsoft

(Matthew Jones) wrote:

No idea how well it would work.
A quick check shows it probably takes over the whole "body" tag, which would wipe
out anything else.

/Matthew Jones/

Good point, Matthew.  I actually have already tried to work around the microdata issue, and you are correct, it doesn't work.  However, (as I'm sure you already know) the meta-tags would have no adverse effect on the finished product.
Wed, Jun 5 2013 12:45 PMPermanent Link

Tim Young [Elevate Software]

Elevate Software, Inc.

Avatar

Email timyoung@elevatesoft.com

Dan,

<< And to be honest, I anticipated that someone would say that EWB is
designed for powerful web applications -to which I completely agree.  Using
EWB to build a static web page with no functionality is extreme overkill
because of EWB's robust and advanced capabilities.

However, EWB was designed (to my assumption) for web applications big and
small -not just power-users.  And from what I've seen, EWB can make some
pretty nice websites with simple functionality.  I've been able to slap
together better looking sites in minimal time than I ever could have with a
word-press-like application.

Also, with all due respect, what happens when you build a beautiful web
application and then it never shows up in a Google/Yahoo/Bing search?  The
goal (for us at least) is to bring a product to a user.

Again, I think you guys bring up very good points, and I agree to an extent,
but I also think that dismissing SEO entirely would be a mistake. >>

I agree.  I would like EWB to be usable for both full-blown web applications
and more static type of applications.  For example, with the TPage component
it can serve nicely as an outer container that serves up dynamic HTML from
the back-end using TServerRequest calls.  This gives the user a much more
responsive UI, without losing too much of the things that users like about
static web pages for document-style browsing.  It also makes it much easier
to do searching of content and other more application-like functionality.

We're getting a lot of requests for meta-tags, so it's definitely on the
list.

Thanks,

Tim Young
Elevate Software
www.elevatesoft.com


Wed, Jun 5 2013 12:48 PMPermanent Link

Tim Young [Elevate Software]

Elevate Software, Inc.

Avatar

Email timyoung@elevatesoft.com

Dan,

<< The other issue is with Microdata, which relies on structured data in the
HTML file.  However, any text that you add to the form is compiled into the
JavaScript file, not the HTML.  As far as I know, the best practices to
enhance your page for search engine results are reliant on the HTML code. >>

Microdata is going to be a tough issue with web applications, namely because
the HTML content is never going to be accessible in a way that could be
parsed by a search engine.  I really can't see any way around it, either.

Tim Young
Elevate Software
www.elevatesoft.com
Wed, Jun 5 2013 1:44 PMPermanent Link

Dan

Fiscalsoft

<< "Tim Young [Elevate Software]" wrote:

Dan,

<< The other issue is with Microdata, which relies on structured data in the
HTML file.  However, any text that you add to the form is compiled into the
JavaScript file, not the HTML.  As far as I know, the best practices to
enhance your page for search engine results are reliant on the HTML code. >>

Microdata is going to be a tough issue with web applications, namely because
the HTML content is never going to be accessible in a way that could be
parsed by a search engine.  I really can't see any way around it, either.

Tim Young
Elevate Software
www.elevatesoft.com >>

Tim,

Thanks so much for your thorough response.

I anticipated that you would say that about the microdata -I also couldn't imagine a way around it, but I was partly hoping that someone would make me look stupid and present a solution that I just didn't see!  However, based on the research I've done, that is by no means a deal-breaker.  SEO isn't a single tactic, it's a holistic approach, and EWB still leaves plenty of opportunities to optimize a site/app.
Image