Web Tricks

Today's website is more than pictures and text. Sometimes simple HTML just isn't enough. Developers look for ways to maximize traffic and minimize development time. And the point of the exercise is always the same – do more with less: better performance, higher click through, more pages, fewer dollars. We rise to the challenge with this month's Web Tricks cover story.

We start with a look at how to configure trackbacks. A trackback is a tool for bloggers to provide notice of their conversations with other bloggers on themes of common interest. Alert use of trackbacks can lead to increased traffic, higher search ratings, and a richer experience for viewers.

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a tool for defining a website's style, but you can use CSS for so much more. The second article in this month's set explores some tricks with CSS. You'll learn how to use CSS as a fast and flexible tool for tasks that once required scripting or hard-coded HTML.

The next article examines Apache Jackrabbit, an implementation of the Java Content Repository specification. A content repository combines features of a filesystem and a database. You'll learn how Jackrabbit can save you programming time and add convenient features to your web service applications.

We finish this month's set with a look at how to set up web server load balancing using features of the Apache web server. If you are a web developer, a blogger, web admin, or even an interested web user who likes to learn about the latest development techniques, you'll find something useful in this month's Web Tricks cover story.