posted on September 18, 2000 06:10:43 AM
I know just enough HTML to be dangerous (about the same can be said for my knowledge of eBay).
Anyway, I have my own template that I tweak and add to from time to time. Added some stuff last week and it looked GREAT on Internet Explorer.
Loaded a few auctions and everything was fine, or so I thought. A couple of days later I got a call from my sister telling me that my auctions weren't loading. She uses NETSCSAPE.
I tried Newscape and, sure enough, NOTHING.
I'd missed a </table> tag. No problem for IE but disaster with Netscape.
Once that was fixed I noticed that the colors didn't look the same on Netscape. A couple of missed </font> tags.
The moral of the story, check your listings and HTML coding on both IE and Netscape.
posted on September 18, 2000 06:16:15 AM
Excellent point, Bill. Another HTML problem on eBay is background colors and images. When you use backgrounds on eBay, the tags are not in the "proper" location (at the beginning of the document). This can cause all kinds of problems, and, in the worst case, make all text on the page completely invisible on some browsers.
posted on September 18, 2000 06:46:37 AM
A problem that I've encountered:
A potential bidder emailed me & said I would like to bid on your item, but there is no bid information on your auction! I was appreciative she alerted me.
Somehow (I don't remember exactly) I messed up my html so that the bidding part was actually there but to the right, a person had to scroll to the right to get to it. I think it had something to do with the alignment commands. Well, pretty inconvenient for bidders, huh?
So a tip, after messing with HTML, click on the new auction link to make sure the bidding info is in the proper place.
Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift. That's why it's called the present.
posted on September 18, 2000 07:35:00 AM
which program where you using to design your auction or you just placed in html codes in the auction description?
I use the Netscape composer program or Microsoft FrontPage 2000 for designing, checked the page source/html source, copied it, and pasted it in the description. they showed up fine at IE.
posted on September 18, 2000 08:39:32 AM
Yep I had the same problem once--the auction was very successful but I was very embarassed. It's often very hard to find what's missing. Best bet is to change the whole thing. and paste in the essential info.
posted on September 18, 2000 08:45:02 AM
Another one to watch for is spaces in the file names of images you embed in your auction. IE doesn't mind spaces in the file name, Netscape will refuse to load them.
posted on September 18, 2000 11:49:50 AM
I use MS Front Page to write the code and Netscape to browse it. Never a problem, so long as you aren't using the IE-specific functions. Netscape will work on any properly designed web page that conforms to agree upon HTML standards.
posted on September 18, 2000 01:31:34 PM
....unfortunately we don't all know exactly what constitutes "any properly designed web page that conforms to agree upon HTML standards."
A little like that old economics joke, "first you assume that you have a can opener......"
posted on September 18, 2000 02:20:16 PM
Just a couple more simple rules....I think this is where the KISS comes in
Number 1 rule of HTML ... If you open a tag, close the tag.
Close tags in descending order: (ie: < b > < i > text < /i > < /b > ) *I think descending is the right word.. lol*
When doing tables, keep your tr and td tags on the same line as your /td /tr tags. Any "space" between tags is interrpeted as a space and can mess up alignments etc.
If your page already a body tag in it, than don't put a second body tag in it. This applies to Ebay pages and/or other auction pages. Netscape 3.x can not read the second body tag and will render the page 'invisible'. Don't scoff, there are still surfers (re: bidders) who surf with Netcape 3.x.
For the same reasons, if you're using a background w/in your table, be sure to use the backup of the bgcolor w/in the table too, otherwise, those few and far between surfers will most likely not be able to see the background in your table, thus being unable to read your text .. unless it stands out against a white background.. *Ebay's default)
I'm sure there's a lot more in here, but the final one is just as important as the first one:
Never "create" your webpage/auction page for anything larger than a 640 width, otherwise you've got the scrollies. Typically, if someone has to scroll to the right, they leave. If your total width content is larger than this, please downsize your images.. by either using a graphics program......... or using the height/width tags in the img scr coding.
please note: monitor size does not matter If a 15' monitor is capable of adjusting to a 1024x768 resolution, a webpage/auction page will look the same as a 17', 19', 21' monitor that supports a 1024x768.
posted on September 18, 2000 02:42:38 PM
Rosie has some very good advice. I'd like to add that it's better to keep your page at less than 640 pixels wide because eBay will put your listing description within <blockquote></blockquote> tags, which means it's indented by a few pixels. 600 is safer, or better yet don't specify a width at all. (I learned the hard way, thinking I could line up two 300+ wide images next to each other... nope!)
cdnbooks -- I look at the HTML specs as being a bit like the dictionary... good when you want to look something up, but not exactly bedtime reading.
posted on September 18, 2000 03:28:22 PM
Actually neither browser, or any of their respective versions, are in complete compliance with the HTML 4.01 specification. In the long run it is best to view your HTML pages with both browsers to be certain that what you wrote is what you get.
As far as eBay's annoying little <blockquote> and the right screen shift it causes, simply place an HTML </blockquote> at the beginning of your auction. This will keep your auction pages aligned with the left margin.
posted on September 18, 2000 04:08:09 PMNever "create" your webpage/auction page for anything larger than a 640 width, otherwise you've got the scrollies.
I think I'd rephrase that: Use a percentage-of-the-screen specification for any tables (and ensure that the content won't force the table to be wider than 640). This ensures that your web page is readable without scrollies for this people with the lowest screen resolution (640x480), as well as by all other resolutions (if you hard-code a page to 640x480, it would take up only a tiny corner of the screen if the person had a screen resolution of 1260x1024).
posted on September 18, 2000 04:40:40 PM
Glenda, I was thinking more along the line of images rather than tables in that post.. but thank you for taking it one step further
