The power of 301 – moved permanently

When using a web-browser to visit a website your browser uses HTTP headers to request information from a server by using http REQUEST headers.

Upon REQUEST a server responds to the request with a http RESPONSE.

The definition of HTTP header fields is: HTTP header fields are components of the header section of request and response messages in the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). They define the operating parameters of an HTTP transaction. This basically means that a browser requests information from a server (Request headers) and gets a response upon that request (Response headers).

Your browser can make a wide variety of requests to a server. As you are able to see on this Wikipedia page about HTTP header fields. There are a lot of REQUESTS a browser can make from a server, it is important (in order to know the internet) to memorise all possible requests a browser can make. (nah.. just take a look at them once and you will be ok.)

Server RESPONSES on the other hand, can tell you much more about what is going on in the background when you open up a page. There are only 5 types of server responses and they are easily remembered. The server responses use values in the 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 range as follows:

  • 1xx Informational
  • 2xx Successful
  • 3xx Redirection
  • 4xx Client Error
  • 5xx Server Error

The response header 301 Moved Permanently is pretty powerful. I will show you one basic – yet powerful – application of it.

Sending targeted e-mails to your site users containing third party tracking links

Email servers do not like it when you add links to your emails that are referring to third party sites or affiliate marketing tracking system in order for you to measure the effectiveness and reach of your outgoing e-mails. In order to avoid your emails to get rejected by the recipients mail-server you are able to host a click-out file on your server. This allows you to add third-party measurement logic to the file and link to that location, instead of linking directly to a statistics system (with the risk of your emails not being received).

Markdown HTML tool for writers

If you are familiar with formatting HTML pages and articles and sometimes have the feeling a general notepad editor just doesn’t meet your formatting needs, Markdown might be for you. Markdown is a markup language with plain text formatting syntax designed so that it can be converted to HTML and many other formats using a tool by the same name, it is a text-to-HTML conversion tool for web writers. Markdown allows you to write using an easy-to-read, easy-to-write plain text format, then convert it to structurally valid XHTML (or HTML). The goal for Markdown’s formatting syntax is to be as readable as possible. A Markdown-formatted document should be publishable as-is, as plain text, without looking like it’s been marked up with tags or formatting instructions. In short, you can create beautiful HTML documents without knowing any HTML because of the simplified syntax (I know. Little contradicting statement there, but just use it and you’re on you way to be an HTML master in no time). For example the Markdown syntax allows you to do thing like:

**Strong**Strong

*Emphasis*Emphasis

[Link to this article](http://www.mauricebakker.nl/all/markdown/)Link to this article

Here is the full syntax reference provided and maintained by packetlife.net

Markdown Cheatsheet
Markdown Cheatsheet

For more information about the Markdown initiative see Daring Fireball

Markdown software programs

MarkdownPad for Windows

Remarkable for Linux

Codecademy

Codecademy

“Codecademy is an education company. But not one in the way you might think. They are committed to building the best learning experience inside and out, making Codecademy the best place for you to learn, online learning experience of the future. Education is old. The current public school system in the US dates back to the 19th century and wasn’t designed to scale the way it has. Lots of companies are working to “disrupt” education by changing the way things work in the classroom and by bringing the classroom online.”  

Go here to sign up at Codecademy if you want to learn to code. This is a pretty good way to start. Very nice interfaces and training programs. Really, really solid.

Mozilla webmaker

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Webmaker is a Mozilla project dedicated to helping you create something amazing on the web. Our tools, events and teaching guides allow webmakers to not only create the content that makes the web great, but — perhaps more importantly — understand how the web works. With this knowledge, we can make a web without limits. That’s the philosophy behind webmaker.org. We’ve built everything so you can see how it works, take it apart and remix it. Enjoy!