Smart Theme and CGI. I'm Confused!

[garry]

Dear All
We have been gradually constructing and developing our site with very promisimg results. We are not particularly skilled in this area but have overcome many obstacles so far. We are however very confused about whether or not we should allow our CGI bin to be visible to Google in robot text. We are using Smart Theme V8. Please keep your responses as simplistic as possible because we are a bit "website for dummies" material.
Also any site reviews would be most appreciated.
www.jaytrade.co.uk
Many thanks in advance.
Garry

[Rich Brady]

Garry search "Smart theme" in the forum and you'll find plenty of info on the topic

[grantglendinnin]

If I remember correctly when this came up before, your logo and graphics still need adjusting, they are still stretched and very pixellated.

Your flash intro is causing the entire page below the menu to download very slowly.

You've done well to remove the CGI-Bin link structure, SEO-wise the linking structure is now sound.

One gripe I did have is finding everything on the Extended Info button but an Add to Cart button - get one on the extended info layout and IMO you'll be good to go after fixing the initial issues.

Is there something W3 Counter is offering which Google Analytics/server stats aren't giving you?

[garry]

Dear WebD
We have searched the forum and there is a lot of conflicting and confusing advice.

[garry]

Dear Grant
Thanks for your comments. We're pleased to hear that you think the linking structure is ok. Does this mean then that we should leave the CGI bin dissallowed in robot txt.
RE: W3 Counter- We find it far easier to understand and instal, ie one peice of html text and your up and running.
As a side issue, someone in the office used to buy and retail Desser furniture 15 or 20 yrs ago. Small world! Were you involved that long ago?

[grantglendinnin]

Does this mean then that we should leave the CGI bin dissallowed in robot txt.

Yes, robots crawling CGI-bin url's is never a good idea. With the Best Sellers/New Products feature, it cannot be helped.

RE: W3 Counter- We find it far easier to understand and instal, ie one peice of html text and your up and running.

Fair enough, if it's a 'free' service I'd be sceptic on what they are doing with the data they collect.

As a side issue, someone in the office used to buy and retail Desser furniture 15 or 20 yrs ago. Small world! Were you involved that long ago?

Thankfully not - I was only learning to read and write back then...Desser is a new addition to our range for this year, it's my personal choice so here's hoping it goes well!

[pinbrook]

for those peeps who like to run McAffee scans on webspace - robots files with disallows come up as "Risk"

this is because a robots file can easily be read, and a disallow can often tell nosey people where the hidden files are on webspace.

[garry]

thanks jo never looked at it that way

[Duncan Rounding]

for those peeps who like to run McAffee scans on webspace...(

I wonder how many people do?

[pinbrook]

I wonder how many people do?

we get alot of clients wanting to run this type of scan either so they can put "security" logos on their site, or more recently they are being confused with pci scans.