The FlashPalette editors accept only the file format of MP3, so if you music is downloaded in another format you will need to convert it to a MP3 file.

The use of music is a personal choise. Some use it for the whole website, others use it in just their galleries.  However, one thing you need to be aware of is that you can not use just any music on your website .  Music, just like images, is copyrighted.  Even though you may purchase a song from I-Tunes that does not give you the right to use the music on a website or in a slideshow.   You need to have permission from the song’s creator to do this.  The best bet is to use royalty free music on your website.

Here are some of our favorite places to get Royaly Free Music:

1. Find up and coming artists and email them, often for credit they will let you use their songs.

2. Use A royalty free music site.

Music Bakery offers a great selection of Royalty free music

Triple Scoop Is where we have purchased all our royalty free music for our demo sites.

Stock  20 - Offers a great selection and has lyrical music through it’s partner Red Beard Music

Take Care!

The meta description tag is where you should write a few sentences about what your company does.  This is very important to keep consise, short, but also convey what you are and what you do.  It is recommened that you keep it to roughly 2-3 sentences.  Longer descriptions could penalize your ranking by search engines as they might view it as keyword stuffing.

This is the sentence that clients will see after your name on a Google Search.  This should contain the key information you want to give them and motivate them to click on your site.  If you have what amounts to a long list of key words they are less likely to click on your link then if you say “James Doe photographer captures your wedding day with a mix of XX and XX” then if you have “Jame Doe wedding photographer town a, area b, city c, city d, county x, county w, etc.

Until next time!
Shannon

To find out what version you have open your editor up. On the upper left hand side is the name and version number of the editor.  This is important to send to use when you have a question about your site, as sometimes all that you need to do to correct the problem is update your editor.

To find out if you are using the latest version of your editor:

• Go to FlashPalette’s website  
• Click on the editor you have purchased
• Then click on the try button.
• You will see the vesrion number listed the third line down.
• If your version is a lower number then the one on our site you need to update your site.

To update your editor:

What you need to do so that your site reflects the changes we have made:

1. Download the new editor.

2. Install the new version — when you open your editor it should say Tristan version 3.0.XX

3. Open the editor – You will need to in put your license code

4. Click Save in your editor — this will update your site files.

5. Reload the site files on your server.  Best practice is to delete the old files first, to make sure the changes take!

6. Update these files on your server.

• xml folder
• .swf files
• mail.php
• .fpc file
• flashobject.js

You do not need to reload your images, unless you have made changes to them, and then you would need to load the folders with changes.

As always, let us know if you have any questions.

We detailed what files to update in this post.  However, sometimes even though you have updated the files you will find you can not view the changes.  Frequently this is because your Internet Browser is not pulling the new site files you just put on your server, but instead going into it’s history and pulling the last data retrieved.

If you have updated your files on your server, and still do not see your changes we recommend that you clear your cache.

Below we show you how to do this with many of the most common web browsers:

 IE — Tools, Delete browsing history, delete temporary internet files
Firefox, Flock, – Tools, Clear Private Data, check only the clear cache box
Safari – Safari menu, empty cache

 The key words should be 8-10 key words you think potential clients might use to find your business.  While search engines rely less upon keywords now then they did previously, they are still important to include.

Example: Widget, Widgetor, widget provider, companies that sell widgets, online widget company

The description, is just that two or three sentence that describe your business.  This is important as it is this tag that will come up as a short descriptor on searches.  You should use as many keywords as you can, but do not simply create long sentences that have as many words as you can think to list.  You want to keep is short and to the point.

For today I made up a widget company that sells widgets at their store/plant and online.

Example: Widget company services all models of Widgetors.  They sell widget adaptors and widgest at both their store in Central Michigan and online. 

Notice in the second example the list of key words are incorporated into the sentences giving the words relevance and importance.

Next week: More on how to improve your SEO.

Shannon

Debra

Gavin

Tristan

What you need to do so that your site reflects the changes we have made:

1. Download the new editor.

2. Install the new version — when you open your editor it should say Tristan version 3.0.43 or Gavin 3.0.14 Debra version 3.0.5

3. Open your site. You will need to in put your license code

4. Save your site — this will update your site files.

5. Reload the site files on your server.  Best practice is to delete the old files first, to make sure the changes take!

6. Files to update:

• xml folder
• .swf files
• mail.php
• .fpc file
• flashobject.js

You do not need to reload your images, unless you have made changes to them, and then you would need to load the folders with changes.

As always, let us know if you have any questions.

Today’s tech Tuesday is about editing your site on a new computer.  I know that many of you may have gotten or will be surprised with a nice new computer over the weekend, and I wanted to remind you of a couple of things.

1. If you create your site on a PC you have to continue to edit on a PC (or vice versa) the files will become corrupt and the site will not function properly. 

2. If you have questions about how to transfer your site to a new computer view this post here:

Happy Holidays!
Shannon

The first is that I will announce on the blog when updates are available for download for existing templates. I will also let you know what has been changed in the update, so you can decide if you need to run out and download it right now, or if it can wait.

The second has to do with backing up your site files. This is very important!  Your site files should be treated just like you would any critical documents.  I have to admit that I am not the best about backing up my latest changes, but I am trying to get better.  Here are a couple of tips to help you if you have a crisis occur and need to recover your files:

• You should be able to transfer the files from your server to your local drive and at least have that as a starting point to begin working on your site.
• If  you need a new licence code — you just have to email support@flashpalette.com and we can get one out to you right away.
• Finally, if your PC crash was enough to make you go out to buy a MAC, we have good news and bad news. The good is that you do not need to purchase new software for your editor to work on the MAC (unless you have one of our three non MAC compatible sites — hey not everything can be perfect!).  The bad news is, even if you recover your site files off of your server, you will need to recreate your site again.  You cannot edit the same site using both a MAC and a PC.  Until the two systems learn to communicate better, the system files will be corrupted, your site not work and you will be even more frustrated than when you started.

We now have a dedicated area for you to search and find answers to your questions about FlashPalette websites, any time of the day or night.  If you still can not find the answer to your question or have thought of something we haven’t listed,  you can login in and create a support ticket. 

Our new Support Center features live chats with our staff and will enable us to desktop share with you to resolve any issues you have more efficiently.

 So hop on over and check it out! 

Shannon

“This application requires a version of Adobe Integrated Runtime which is no longer supported, please contact the application author for an updated version” then you need to install the current editor from our website. Here are the steps:

1. Find your editor from our website

Go to our website and find the editor you are using (such as Mini01A or 10E). 

2. Install the latest editor

Click ‘Try it’ and then the download link to install the current editor.

The new editor from our website should replace your current editor. If it does not open your current website design automatically, please manually open it. By default, your website is under the folder “My Documents – FlashPalette”.

If you have problems downloadng the .air file, please send an email to support@flashpalette.com and tell us which template you want and we will email you the .air file.

3. Re-apply the license if needed

If there is a ‘trial version’ stamp on your website preview, you need to apply the license. If you cannot find the license, please send an email to info@flashpalette.com with the following info:

First Name, Last Name, Email (you used to register at FP), Account Number (optional).

If you need more help, please use our contact page to get quick email or phone support.

Thanks!

FlashPalette Customer Support Team