Site Map Question

Team Lupe · Share | #1 (**permalink**) 10-14-2010, 10:20 AM

Ok, so i am almost done with the 1st site i have to make. Im just worring about the IDX problem but that is a whole diffrent issuie.
Im looking at my site map, and im kinda worried about somthing. We will be uploading the site to go daddy to have it hosted. There are probably about 12 main pages. BUT.... on my rentals page i have created a folder to store all of the rental properties, so when one becomes avaialble i dont have to make a whole new page i can just grab it from the folder and place a link to it from the rentals page (Each property has its own page) We probably have about 100 properties that we are managing, so that means 100 diffrent pages inside of this folder, along with another folder that has 100 diffrent images in it holding the images for the listings. My question is, will all of this make my site slow, and hard to upload to the server with all of these pictures and other files? is there possibly a better way to do this?
Thanks

OrangeDevDesign · #2 (**permalink**) 10-14-2010, 12:17 PM

As far as i know, you should be fine. There will be no problems, as long as you link your pages right.

And it wont slow down, not all pages will load at once, only 1 at the time.

**HTMLBasicTutor** · #3 (**permalink**) 10-14-2010, 01:11 PM

Are the images sized properly for their use? i.e. exact size needed where placed in the page.

If not, and you are using coding to manipulate the size for the instant it is shown, then the load time will be slowed down as the browser has to download the large image, resize it and then present it. x the number of images on the page could be a substantial problem.

Team Lupe · #4 (**permalink**) 10-14-2010, 01:15 PM

well their will only be one image on a page, im just worried because of the mass ammounts of pictures in the subfolder. The viewer wont see all of the pictures at the same time, just the one on the page that they click on

**HTMLBasicTutor** · #5 (**permalink**) 10-14-2010, 01:23 PM

The number of images in the images folder will not affect the load time of the particular page but as I already noted, if you are not resizing the image for it's purpose (i.e. straight from the camera and uploading and not resizing before upload) then the page is going to load slowly.

Your title for this thread is Site Map Question.
a) Are you talking about a traditional site map (HTML site map)?
or
b) The Sitemap protocol that some search engines use?

The number of images you have isn't going to affect your site map or Sitemap for the visitor as long as the site map doesn't have images on it.

Team Lupe · #6 (**permalink**) 10-14-2010, 01:57 PM

i probably didnt say it right. When i said site map it was because i was referring to the visual sitemap i was looking at, and all the pictures that where in the image folder..... Thanks man this was helpful. I havent resized the pictures, i didnt even think about it. This is my 1st web site. But all i have to do is go down the line, resize them and save them as the same name in the same folder and everything should be fine right?

**HTMLBasicTutor** · #7 (**permalink**) 10-14-2010, 03:18 PM

As long as the size matches the size coding in the pages, everything should be ok.

mintdesignnz · #8 (**permalink**) 10-14-2010, 11:40 PM

Right. make sure that the image sizes are the actual size as displayed and don't use the length and width attributes of the <IMG> tag... and while you're at it, how about naming your images based on your target keywords.

For example:
Filename: img000012345.jpg

How about using:

Filename: real-estate-logo.jpg

That would optimize your filenames for SE spiders easier indexing of images.

**HTMLBasicTutor** · #9 (**permalink**) 10-14-2010, 11:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mintdesignnz

don't use the length and width attributes of the <IMG> tag...

Including the width and height attributes plus the alt attribute in your HTML coding have benefits:

The width and height attributes let the browser "save space" for your image and continue to load the page. = page appears to load faster
Including the alt attribute has a number of benefits and purposes:
1. The purpose of the alt attribute is to show text when the image cannot be displayed. It might be missing, the user has images turned off to save bandwidth or their browser of choice is not a graphical browser therefore does not show images.
2. Another purpose of the alt attribute is to provide alternative text for those using assistive technology to surf the web. e.g. the text is read out to the user if they are blind and using a piece of software to read the page to them.
3. The text in your alt attribute is meant to describe the image to the people who can't see it. It is not a place to stuff keywords but keywords can be used in the description and provide a SEO benefit.

HTML <img> Tag
Image Alt Attribute

Quote:

Image-related information can be provided for by using the "alt" attribute
Images may seem like a straightforward component of your site, but you can optimize your use of them. All images can have a distinct filename and "alt" attribute, both of which you should takeadvantage of. The "alt" attribute allows you to specify alternative text for the image if it cannot be displayed for some reason (1).

Why use this attribute? If a user is viewing your site on a browser that doesn't support images, or is using alternative technologies, such as a screen reader, the contents of the alt attribute provide information about the picture.

Another reason is that if you're using an image as a link, the alt text for that image will be treated similarly to the anchor text of a text link. However, we don't recommend using too many images for links in your site's navigation when text links could serve the same purpose. Lastly, optimizing your image filenames and alt text makes it easier for image search projects like Google Image Search to better understand your images.

Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide - Google page 18 (opens in PDF)