Welcome on Ervael.com!
With the nickname Ervael on the web, here is the site dedicated to my activities, with both my resume and my achievements, but also the blog (only in french actually) in which I share my knowledge, my experiences and my thoughts.
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21/04/2025Web / Apps / Video gamesToday we are going to explore two basic terms: Front-End (or frontend) and Back-End (or backend).Each one of those terms is related to a web application or software side. Furthermore, behind each one there is different profiles and skills. We’ll see what are the Front-End and the Back-End, how there are working together and who is working on them.The Front-EndThe Font-End is the visible and public side. In all applications, it’s the part which the user has interactio, so all is displayed on the screen. We talk often about the client part, the user one.In web, the Front-End developer is the webdesigner and also theHTML integrator (as this one combine both). We can also add the web graphic designer. HTML, CSS, Javascript (with its libray as Jquery) are a part of their tools. For applications we are using more application designer.Le Back-EndAfter the Front-End definition, you must have an idea of what the Back-End is. Often we talk about the server side with the Back-End, everything you don’t see on the screen. If in the case of an application connected to a network or the web, the servers’ administration teams are among the Back-End teams, it is not just them. The Back-End also includes the entire hidden part of an application and therefore everything related to programming. This will include what is related to CMS engines (like WordPress nucleus code, a plugin, a computer graphics game engine like Unreal Engine, a game feature coding, …).The Back-End developer is a network and/or programming specialist for web or software application. He works with programming languages like PHP, C++, Java, MySQL (for databases)Front-End and Back-End togetherA combined workIt’s obviously now Front-End and Back-End are closely linked. One cannot work without the other. They work together, because the creation and operation of a website or the development of an application often requires the skills of the two.When the user performs actions via the interface, the Front-End sends requests to the Back-End which treats them. Once the treatment is completed, it sends the result to the Front-End which transmits them to the user.More important and ambitious are the projects, more they will ask specialists on each side. This is the case in video games, for a large number of studios, including some independents, given the complexity and skills necessary for each aspect of the project. This is also the case for software (Adobe suite for example) or platforms (Facebook, Twitter/X), which have specialists for each field.Two fields sometimes fusedIt happens sometimes a same person works on the Front-End and the Back-End. It’s not impossible to acquire skills in both areas and sometimes it can be requested.It’s often the case for CMS like WordPress or Joomla. With such tools, a Front-End developer may have less to deal with the technical and Back-End part of his project and conversely, a Back-End developer with the available themes and knowledge can modify them without a Front-End developer.The most advanced specialists both in the Front-End and in the Back-End will be able to draw the maximum from the potential of CMS. They’ll can modify themes or even create their own, and also their own extensions.To go furtherAWSIndeed [...]Read more...
20/03/2025WebSMM for Search Engine Marketing and its subcategories like SEO, SEA, as well as SMM for Social Media Marketing including, among other things like SMO and SMA, are terms for areas that are closed and often obscure for some.If some are linked to search engines, behind each one is a particular area and we sometimes tend to confuse it. Especially since with the rise of social networks, new terms have been added. But don’t worry, here is a quick explanation of each term, but also those related to them.SEM : Search Engine MarketingLet’s start with the most common term, because it includes the website visibility on search engine, but also on social networks. So, we often define this domain like that:SEM = SEO + SEA + SMOIn SEO we are often talking about SERP (Search Engine Results Page), the result page in search engines. SEO objective is to have the website displayed the highest possible, so in first results.However with social network evolution, it happens we are using it only for search engines and that becomes:SEM = SEO + SMOWhat are SEO, SEA and SMO? Don’t worry we’ll see them.SEO : Search Engine OptimizationSEO is the best known term, the one in which others are often included by mistake. The SEO is the referencing on search engines. That includes web page indexation and their optimization (by the layout, content quality,…) to have the best ranking in search engine natural results, those not related to auctions, so advertisment systems.SXO : Search eXperience OptimizationFusion between SEO and UX (User Experience), SXO is the search for an experience, fluid, fast, clear, in order to improve the SEO of a site (the algorithms of search engines taking more and more account of this aspect).SEA : Search Engine AdvertisingLe SEA concerne tout le référencement de manière payante, soit l’achat d’espace publicitaires. L’exemple le plus connu est les résultats sponsorisés des moteurs de recherche, via des programmes tels que Google Adwords ou Bing Adwords. Ce sont les résultats apparaissant dans les rubriques « liens commerciaux » dans les résultats de recherche. Le classement des résultats repose sur un système d’enchères et de pertinence des pages sponsorisées.The SEA concerns all referencing paidly, the purchase of advertising space. The best known example are sponsored results of search engines, by programs such as Google Adwords or Bing Adwords. These are the results appearing in the “commercial links” sections in the search results. The classification of results is based on a system of auction and relevance of sponsored pages.SMM : Social Media MarketingIt’s the term we are sometimes using for the social network visbility.SMM = SMO + SMASMO : Social Media OptimizationIt’s a term not related to search engines but to the social networks. SMO objective is to optimize a brand/site visibility on networks, on search results (like video search on Youtube) and ensure that publications have the most scope through their comments, likes, sharing, etc.,…. An area that also joins community managers work.VSEO : Video Search Engine OptimizationThis more recent term is a child of SEO and SMO. The VSEO is dedicated to optimization and positioning on video platforms. Thus, YouTube, Tik Tok are examples of the platforms on which he will, among other things, concentrate.SMA : Social Media AdvertisingThe SMA is the SEA equivalent for social networks. It consists of adverstisment space purchasing on those platforms. It is therefore all the publications mentioned sponsored that we can see in our Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram feeds… [...]Read more...
25/09/2015WebOften mentioned in referencing, the sitemap is an useful element for search engines.The sitemap is important in the SEO working. However some people are often doing a mistake about its role. this tutorial wil, explain what is the sitemap and how to create it.What is the sitemap?The sitemap is a file which list all site urls. It should not be confused with a site plan, which is a page that displays all site url.It’s a xml file structured and codified to give some informations to the search engines. It helps them by telling them what they have to crawl and index. That avoids them to search what they have to look.Referencing and indexingTell it immediatly, the sitemap doesn’t improve the referencing and the page ranking!As said previously, the sitemap helps search engine bots to crawl site pages. It helps the page indexing by making it faster. However in the theory a site doesn’t need a sitemap to have its pages indexed. Search engine bots are fast so they shouldn’t have any issue to navbigate in the site and list all urls.Sitemap usefulnessSo if we shouldn’t need a sitemap, why it’s useful? The first reason is for a site with a complicated structure with a lot’s of sub-menus. It’s more difficult for bots and a sitemap guides them.The second reason is for big sites with a high page number like online stores. The indexing takes more time and the sitemap can make it faster.The last reason is similar to the last one. If the site has daily new content and a high activity with news publications, the pages need to be indexed fast.Sitemap structureAs xml file, the sitemap has this following structure, with this ecample from Wikipédia:loc : the urlchangefreq : this attribute can have different values (hourly,daily, weekly, monthly,yearly). It defines how often the page is modified.priority : it defines the page importance compared to others and indicates to the bot page order. That often follows the site hierarchy. More that descend in menus, more the priority decreases.The value is going from 1.0 to 0.5. It’s often the following values: 1.0, 0.85, 0.69, 0.5.lastmod : optional attribute that able to indicates the last page edit. The date have to be in the AAAA-MM-JJ format.Sitemap numberIt all depends on your project, but if it is substantial, often we make three sitemaps: one for links, one for images and one for videos. But it can change, also depending on how you generate it.In the case of forums, we generally carry out a sitemap by forum category see by forum and sub-form.How to generate a sitemap?If you only have a few pages on the site, you can do your sitemap manually. However, as soon as the number begins to be high it becomes tedious not to say colossal. When the sitemap must be updated regularly, the site having a strong activity, it becomes impossible. Fortunately, solutions exist.If you are unsing a CMS, all of them have some extensions to generate and update sitemaps automatically. When there are installed, you have no longer thing to do. For WordPress, it’s included in plugins like Yoast SEO and Rank Math SEO.If it’s a homemade website, there is two solutions: create your sitemap generator or you can also use an online sitemap generator (but a lot’s have a limit at 400 url) or a software (free or not). There isn’t any better solution, the best is one that fits for you.For those who are using a website, forum, blog hosting service, the sitemap is generated by the platform. Ask it to find out his address.Upload the sitemapNow the sitemap is generated, you need maybe to host it. The sitemap can be hosted anywhere, it haven’t to be at the site root. The most important thing is to know where they are, to indicate to the search engines correctly their location later. And especially that the location is accessible (not a file with limited access).Submit the sitemapNow you have to indicate to search engines your sitemap(s) and their location.For Google you have to use the Search Console (you need to have a Google account).After have entered your site informations, go in Index and Sitemaps and enter your sitemap url(s) and it’s done. No need to submit them again after, excepted if you are doing a important change (change their name or their location), Google will update them when the bot will read them.Une le site rentré et les informations demandées remplies, aller dans Exploration puis Sitemap et rentrer les adresses des sitemaps et le tour est joué. Nul besoin de soumettre à nouveau les sitemaps une fois entrés, à moins d’un changement important sur votre site, Google l’actualisera tout seul.it’s possible Google ask a process to validate the site. It’s a meta tag to add in the site header. I won’t talk more about it, you’ll have all informations indicated. If you are already using google Analytics you won’t have to do it.For Bing, it’s a similar process by Bing Webmaster ToolsConfigure the site, carry out the validation procedure (also via a meta tag or a file to place in the site root).Then go to the site’s dashboard, configure my site, sitemaps, enter the address of your sitemaps and validate.And afterThere is no longer anything to do. Now search engine bots will update their datas each time the sitemap is modified. You have just to use the webmaster tools features to fix some potential issues that have been detected during the bot crawling (like broken links). But this another subject… [...]Read more...
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