Enhancing the Look and Readability of Your ShiftCode GPT Site Offer Listings Using Simple HTML Techniques

The ShiftCode GPT script often astounds me with its power and flexibility.  Today I simply got curious and decided to test and see what, if any, HTML elements I could add to a standard offer listing.  While I found out that there was nothing whatsoever I could do with the offer title, the offer ‘Requirements’ field is a whole different story.

Instead of piecing the instructions out for each tag used I thought it may be better to give you some credit for being able to figure it out from an example along with the code I used (below)  Please note that while we are entering HTML code into the requirements field then I am not using the actual ‘HTML’ box also available there (explaining that would be much more complicated since in that box you are also including the HTML code for the actual offer mechanics as well)  Yes, I added all of this (following) code into the one-line ‘Requirements’ field.

Enhancing Your ShiftCode GPT Site Offer Listings is Simple Using Standard HTML Techniques!<hr color="#000080" size="1" width="66%">For example, adding text in <b>bold</b>, <i>italics</i>, <u>underlined</u>, <strike>strikethrough</strike>, colors (<font color="#FF0000">Red</font>, <font color="#0000FF">Blue</font>, <font color="#00FF00">Green</font>) and _sub/^superscript is a nice way to add a little flavor to your plain Jane listings.&nbsp; Also, please note that ShiftCode also apparently allows you to add <a href="http://www.Disney.com/">hyperlinks</a> and images such as this smiley <img border="0" src="http://paidthebest.com/images/shout/emoticons/tongue.gif" width="20" height="20" hspace="2" vspace="2" alt="Smiley Face Description" title="Smiley Face Description"> face that I borrowed from my shoutbox.&nbsp; Another interesting thing is the use of bulleted lists such as this list below:<br><ul><li>List Item One</li><li>List Item Two</li></ul>

Please note that when I enter this text and HTML code into the ‘Requirements’ field that each and every actual line break will result in a line break in your listing so every time that you hit <return> in your code means that it’s dropping down a line.  Instead I avoid hitting return and simply edit the entire code block as a single line and I insert “<br>” to introduce any hard line breaks when I want them.  The above code example if I were to paste it into notepad with ‘wordwrap’ turned off then it would equal one extremely long line of code with no breaks though be aware that there IS a line length limit that I ran across eventually here.

Technorati Tags: html,code,shiftcode,gpt,offer

Afterthoughts:

1. Changing font faces (Times New Roman, Georgia, etc) doesn’t seem to work as well as anything using a “<span>” tag or “<p>” (paragraph) tag.
2. A long time ago I got used to using the now outdated severely Microsoft FrontPage 2003 HTML editor to easily produce WYSIWYG (like a word processor) HTML results.  If you are the creative type then yes, FrontPage is still available for download here and there online (though I actually purchased it back in the day – so I don’t feel bad)  Also, there are other very good HTML editors that are still supported and available for download available more legitimately today.  But remember folks, this is all oh so simple and the HTML tags are documented well all over the internet (just Google them)  Yes, if I had to figure this all out off the top of my head without an HTML editor then yes, that would be fine with me only it would take much longer.

Use Your ShiftCode GPT's Built In Banner Advertisement Features to Manage Ad Space on Your Other Sites and Blogs !

No, your banner rotation and side panel ads that are currently only displayed on your GPT site are not stuck being ONLY displayed on your GPT site - there are so many other possibilities if you just apply a bit of creativity and a bit of coding savvy to the situation.

Not only can you start selling ad space on other web sites (that you own or have coding access to) on your GPT site but you can also add much greater value to the ad space your are already selling on your GPT by also being able to promise the prospective ad space buyer that their ad(s) will also simultaneously be displayed on other popular sites as well.

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PROJECT COMPLEXITY – INTERMEDIATE
(Probably Not for Total Newbies or Complete Coding Beginners)

In this article I will focus on the 'Side Panel' ad function but these techniques can easily be adapted to the 'Banner Rotation' function as well.  In fact with the Banner Rotation function you have the added flexibility of multiple ad banner rotation 'Groups' with which you can even separate out for ad purchasers as being targeted to specific sites or groups of sites where their banners will be in rotation other than on your GPT!

Ok, for starters, let me show some examples of how the side panel ad group will appear on multiple sites as I have them configured now: Below, first here is how the side panel ad group appears on my own GPT site (within the members only area only (you must be a registered PaidTheBest.com member in good standing and logged in to see the side panel ads) as I currently have it configured)  Then there are the additional places those very same side panel ads are automatically appearing since I've added them to these other sites (click on the images to actually go to the site at the position they appear):  

The Side Panel Ads As They Already Appear in Standard Manner on My Own PaidTheBest.com GPT

The Ads in the Right Side Panel of HomeCash.org

The Ads in the Left Side Panel of FreeCashOnlineTopSiteList.com

The Ads in the Left Side Panel of GetPaidTo.org (only with a different background – accomplished by simply making another new ‘ads page’ on your GPT that has the different colors and/or background and then referencing THAT page in the iframe statement on that specific site)

The technique we'll be using to make the side panel ads appear on the other web sites involves making one (or several - if needed) new pages on your GPT site that ONLY displays the side panel ads widget (only) and then we'll be creating code on your other web site(s) that will show only the portion of your new GPT site page containing the ads using the  HTML tag iframe A few things that I want to mention first here that are either things to keep in mind while constructing your 'flavor' of how you're doing this or are options to consider so that you can gear your roll-out in a certain direction:

• You can either stick with a single ads page in a generic 'vanilla' style (to reference on all the site(s) you’ll be adding the ads to) or make multiple new ads pages to accommodate the themes (colors and background, etc) on each site you'll be applying the ads to.  
• You have the option of making the ads purchasable outside of your GPTs member area (ad customers don't need to register or log in to your GPT site in order to just make the purchase and add the ad banner specifics) but I would NOT recommend this as if someone does make an ad purchase this way then they'll have no way of checking the ad's stats, editing the ad in the future, changing the ad to something completely different if they so choose in the future, or conveniently extending extending the ad just by paying for more time (rather than having to  re-enter the entire thing)
  
  The instructions I provide (further below) will be geared towards having the purchaser register as a GPT member before purchasing ads though if you would like to open up non-member purchases simply un-check the "Members Only: Yes members only can purchase ads" under  Admin Panel > Side Panel (lower left side menu) > Configure  
• While you are on that page (above) [Admin Panel > Side Panel (lower left side menu) > Configure] then take a look at those other options.  I'd' suggest setting "Members only" as checked (see above), "Ads" as "Images Only" (just to keep the amount of space the side panel widget takes up more constant and predictable), "Advertisement Link" to "Auto Fill" so that it shows the 'Advertise your banner here.' link ins unfilled spaces, "Force 120x60" DEFINITELY CHECKED, and "Randomize" I'll leave up to you as to what you prefer - Don't forget to hit "Update" to save your changes - all as follows:
  

The Actual Procedure:

1. In your GPT's Admin Panel in the lower portion of the right side menu then find and click on 'Pages'; and
2. In the top left of the page click ‘Add Page’; and
3. In the upper ‘General’ area generally do this (below) Note that the ‘Path’ and ‘Name’ entries are whatever you’d like for them to be though we want the ‘Template’ to be ‘None’, the ‘Edit Mode’ to be ‘Textarea’ (for entering code) and the ‘Access’ to be ‘Everyone’:
   
   
4. Ok, here is the code that I put into my page but you may want to edit a few things (like the URLs referring to my PaidTheBest.com GPT, the background image URL (don’t leach off of mine! …or I may just change that image to a porno pic if I notice people leaching from my server – lol) but seriously, here is my code for that new page that will show ONLY the side panel ads section on basically an otherwise blank page:
   

   <head>
       <base target="_blank">
   </head>

   <body topmargin="0" leftmargin="0" rightmargin="0" bottommargin="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" link="#CCCCCC" vlink="#999999" alink="#C0C0C0" text="#FFFFFF" bgcolor="#000000">

       <div align="left">
           <table border="1" width="180" height="800" bgcolor="#000000" background="http://paidthebest.com/images/BlackGrillebg.gif">
               <tr>
                   <td align="center">
                       <div class="header">
                           <font color="#FFFF00">
                               <u>
                                   <b>
                                       <font size="1">
                                           SPONSORS<br>
                                       </font>
                                   </b>
                               </u>
                               &nbsp;
                           </font>
                       </div>
                       <div class="box">
                          {~include file="_side_display"~}
                       </div>
                       <font size="1" color="#FFFFFF">
                           <br>
                       </font>
                       <font color="#FFFFFF" style="font-size: 7pt">
                           This Box Displays Ads
                           That Were<br>
                           Purchased at
                       </font>
                       <font color="#FFCCCC">
                           <a href="http://www.PaidTheBest.com/">
                               <font color="#FFFFFF" style="font-size: 7pt">
                                   PaidTheBest.com GPT
                               </font>
                           </a>
                           <font color="#FFFFFF" style="font-size: 7pt">
                           </font>
                       </font>
                       <font color="#FFFF00" style="font-size: 7pt">
                           &nbsp;
                       </font>
                       <font color="#FFFFFF" style="font-size: 7pt">
                           If&nbsp; You<br>
                           Are Interested In
                           Advertising Here Very<br>
                           Cheaply
                           Then Please Feel Free to<br>
                           Purchase
                           a Side Panel Banner Ad
                           at
                       </font>
                       <font color="#FFCCCC">
                           <a target="_blank" href="http://www.PaidTheBest.com/">
                               <font color="#FFFFFF" style="font-size: 7pt">
                                   PaidTheBest.com GPT
                               </font>
                           </a>
                       </font>
                       <font color="#FFFF00" style="font-size: 7pt">
                           <br>
                           <br>
                       </font>
                       <font color="#FFFFFF" style="font-size: 6pt">
                           Prices Start as Low As
                       </font>
                       <b>
                           <font color="#FFFF00" style="font-size: 6pt">
                               $1.49 Per Month
                           </font>
                       </b>
                       <font color="#FFFFFF" style="font-size: 6pt">
                           <b>
                               <br>
                           </b>and Are Shown Both On
                           PaidTheBest.com and Here!
                       </font>
                   </td>
               </tr>
           </table>
       </div>

   </body>

5. Note: Yes, there is a lot more code than is absolutely necessary above but I thought that some may want to customize the extra code and ‘make it theirs’ so I left it in.  The extra text statements in there may be entirely omitted but whatever you do don’t get rid of the  <head> section (shich makes the ad links open in a new window by default for the whole page – instead of the links opening up within that little iframe window (oops)) and the <body> statement (which zeros the margins, etc.)  Also, the ‘include’ code line in black font color and bolded is the meat and potatoes (absolutely necessary) statement of this whole code (that is where the actual side panel widget is called up.)
   
   Now the main gist of the above page code is to display the side panel ads in the upper leftmost area of the page (with zero margins) and NOT USING your GPT site’s template (unless your GPT site’s template is the same as the scheme on the page on the other web site that will be displaying your ads – fat chance)  You want to adjust the background color or image on this new ad page to blend in with the theme of the page you will be displaying the ads on.  You also want the zero margins so that when you code the iframe window on the other site that will in effect be peeking through to this ad page that the dimensions and location of these ads are predictable and basically remain the same – get it?  So here is the resulting page from the above code (adjust things as YOU need them for your needs – this is what I needed (if you need help with adjusting this stuff then feel free to contact me and I’ll help as I can):
   

6. Another thing is that you should be able to view your new page while not being logged in as a member on your GPT now.  For example the above page for my GPT can be viewed by anyone (even you – now) at:  http://paidthebest.com/adpage  (try mine and then try yours)

7. Ok, with that one part of creating the new page done then let’s switch gears over to the site where you want the ads to appear (most likely in the side panel of that site)  I’m going to start with a new heading and a new list of steps for this new part of the project (though know that the harder parts of this project are over if you’ve reached this point) – congrats!

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ADDING YOUR ADS TO THE NON-GPT SECONDARY SITE

Ok, since all of the steps above led towards my adding my GPTs side panel ads onto the side panel of my GPT referral blog HomeCash.org then it only seems logical to me to continue with the demonstrations pointed there.  Ok, please take a look generally at my site at http://www.HomeCash.org then take a look specifically at the place in the right sidebar where the GPT sidebar ads start (which conveniently will be here):  http://www.homecash.org/#ptbads (no big trick, I just inserted a HTML ‘bookmark’ tag just before the ad code there.

That little bookmark code (above) only amounts to this <a name="ptbads"></a>) though it’s NOT a necessary part of this project – but it COULD BE handy if you want to direct your prospective ad buyers on your GPT to the site(s) at the position where their ads will appear (wink)) …more about this little HTML URL bookmark trick later.

Notice where the ads are placed on the sidebar.  Decide where you want to place your similar sidebar ads from your GPT.  Ok, now were down to editing code on the new target site.  Now not being psychic (at least with YOUR source code, script, or site) I cannot tell you where to place the code for the ads when you are likely staring at all that gibberish ‘Greek to me’ code (depending on what coding level you’ve reached) but I can tell you that if your target site is a popular free script based site such as Blogger.com, or a WordPress site (or the like) then this may be a whole lot easier on you.  With those types of script based sites then all you have to look for what’s called a ‘gadget’ (that’s named “HTML/JavaScript” in Blogger.com) or a ‘widget’ (that’s simply named “Text” in WordPress) ad add them to your sidebar in your layout and then add the code into the gadget or widget after that.

Ok, getting down to the code (which is actually really simple) and short but is does a lot!  Ok, are you ready – here’s the code:

<center>
<iframe src="http://www.paidthebest.com/adpage" width="180" height="800" scrolling="no"></iframe>
</center>

Yes, that’s right, you would need to replace the URL of my site “paidthebest.com” with the URL of your site (and page name if it’s different than ‘adpage’) but basically that’s all that’s to it !

Also, if you want to be able to have a URL bookmark reference the exact position where these ads start on the site you are adding the ads to then add this bookmark code just above the code up there (on top of the <center> statement): <a name="ptbads"></a>    (oh, and you can rename “ptbads” to anything you want)   Then to call that bookmark (like from where you are telling your ad buyers about where their ads will show by posting a link)  simply call it like this:     http://www.yourssitecontainingtheads.com/#ptbads  …and it will take them right to the start (top) of the ads and all you have to do is to tell them to look left or look right.

All done!  Now go and test it out and if you have any problems that seem insurmountable then don’t worry!   Simple, non-site specific questions?  - Please feel free to either post a question in the form of a post below the facebook post where I mentioned this modification (whatever / wherever brought you here)  OR post a question in a comment to this blog post here on GPTTweaks.com…

Ok, feel free to either consult your own favorite local coder or (as a last resort please) you can email me at gpttweaks@freecashpro.com (telling me your GPT site name & URL, your own name, and all the details (including any error messages or places where you’re confused – and I need specifics here before I even begin to think about what your issue may be or even contact you back!)

If you feel like more than ‘saying’ thank you then yes, PayPal is much appreciated and graciously accepted in any amount large or small (all is appreciated) at admin@paidthebest.com – Thank You !

 Enjoy !

Technorati Tags: ShiftCode,Advertisement,Side Pane,New Tecnique,Purchase,Manage,Banner

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_{P.S.; (about contacting me) DO NOT make the mistake of getting mad at me because you are somehow feeling entitled to my free help!  I’m a busy guy and I help as I can and feel good about.  You play nice and I play nice.  You piss me off then you can just forget it all and go out and hire and pay for a programmer (and I can care less – you have a nice life!)  Take a flying leap…}

PLEASE Don’t get me wrong here - I just LOVE helping equally nice people with subjects such as improving their GPT site… _{But if you turn into an asshole on me then don’t expect me to coward down to you – expect a big door leading to a huge room full of all types of FREE help (so to speak) to SLAM SHUT in your face! Permanently!  (I’m only saying this now after being subjected to several horrendous situations (unbelievable) from people demanding my free help while also being offensive idiots – some using demands as their opening contact move with me)}

The GPTTweaks.com Easy One Click Facebook Promotion Mod - Version 1.2 has officially been released !

The GPTTweaks.com Easy One Click Facebook Promotion Mod - Version 1.2 has officially been released !

The mod is located here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1v_aX7EQTn8i3wuADBhijoxiM-u0VONuG-zlqly2bHuM/edit

The mod is supported on www.GPTTweaks.com

THIS MOD IS PROVIDED TOTALLY FREE OF CHARGE TO ANY SHIFTCODE ADMIN THAT WANTS IT :-) Again.

Enable your members to easily post your site description, image, and their referral link to a facebook post in one click !

New features on this new version include:

- Seamless integration into the Refer a Member page (it looks like it belongs there and is presented just like the banners are displayed) It will take on your theme characteristics defined in your site's CSS.

- You can now edit your text simply in regular words not worrying about adding weird codes instead of spaces

- The member gets to see the text you have predefined for the post before he hits the post button.

- Much more user (member) friendly interface.

- Code is fully commented where needed.

- Code is much more intelligently organized and formatted.

etc etc

This version replaces the former more crude "MaxP Easy One Click Facebook Story Post Mod V1.0" which must be removed before installation of this new version.

Avoid Unintended Unnecessary Member Re-logins by Always Coding Templates Using Relative Links

In addition to being a GPT site admin, and a script coder, I'm also a site member at most all of the popular ShiftCode GPTs out there.  Occasionally I've run across a few GPTs where I've noticed an annoying problem based in the way the site admin or designer has coded links.

The symptom of this issue is where I've already logged into the site once for the session and then I click on a link on the site and it prompts me to re-login to the site.

ShiftCode sites usually have at least three ways of accessing the site.  One would be the standard (usually thought of) primary domain name (http://www.mygpt.com), the second would be the domain name without the www. (http://mygpt.com), and the third would be the ShiftCode subdomain (mygpt.shiftcode.com)  That's all fine and good but can cause problems if your links are not all standardized on your template and script coding throughout your entire site.

The re-login issue I speak of is based in the way browser cookies handle all these instances.  With cookies, www.mygpt.com  and mygpt.shiftcode.com are essentially entirely different domains thereby requiring a new cookie for each.  If a member has logged in at www.mygpt.com and then clicks on a link on your site that has been coded to go to a page at mygpt.shiftcode.com then the member will be prompted to re-login in order to see the target page.

This problem may be present on your site right now without you knowing it (and members are not likely to report this particular problem -usually  Though it does tend to reflect negatively on their overall site experience)

To check whether your site has this issue I would suggest taking the time to check each link on your site.  Simply log on to your site as a member and hover over each of the links on your site.  Your browser will show you each link's target somewhere depending upon what browser you are using.  In FireFox it will show where the link goes to in the lower left corner.  ALL of your links should be pointing to your own domain name.  If your see any links pointing to your version of mysite.shiftcode.com then those links are problem links and should be edited.

The best solution to this problem is to get in the habit of always using relative links (/members/promo.php) in code rather that what are called hard coded "fully qualified" links (http://www.mygpt.com/members/promo.php)

A good example in code would be:

<a href="/members/promo.php">Promo Codes</a>

Rather than hard coded links (bad) like:

<a href="http://www.mygpt.com/members/promo.php">Promo Codes</a>

or

<a href="http://mygpt.com/members/promo.php">Promo Codes</a>

or

<a href="mygpt.shiftcode.com/members/promo.php">Promo Codes</a>

The first (good) example will always use the same login cookie no matter how the member enters the site (as long as all your links are relative rather than fully qualified and/or hard coded.)  And the member will remain logged in for their entire visit to your site.   Simple!

Get Rid of the Duplicate Entries on your Last Credited List

This simple change will make it so that your Last Credited Offers only displays each offer completion only once on the list. This is extremely useful for sites that have many members attracted mostly to certain offers (such as easy site "vote" offers, etc.)

{~include file="_pts_lastCredited" limit=100 unique=1~}

Notice the "unique=1" part - that's what does it.

Also, the  "limit=100" sets how many last credited offers you want to show (in my case I have it set to 100 because I have it showing in a scrolling box (which is defined in your template's CSS file.  If you don't know how to make your box a scrolling list then simply contact me and I'll be glad to guide you Though I do have plans on adding the scrolling technique here shortly (probably within a few days or so.)

Easily Display an Automated Message Informing Your Members Whether or Not They are Considered 'Verified'

Simple Customizable Code Snippet:

{~if $user.verified>=1~}Your member account is in VERIFIED status.
{~else~}Your member account is currently in UNVERIFIED status.
{~/if~}