Why did you make CellarWebAds?
We'd been looking for an easy and inexpensive way to display advertising on our web sites. We found some candidates, and we tried them out. But they were too complex, too expensive, hard to integrate into our web sites, or just didn't work easily.
After cogitating a bit about the problem, and the lack of acceptable solutions, we decided to make our own. Our design guidelines were to make it easy to install, easy to use, and easy to integrate into a web site.
Easy to Install?
The CellarWebAds program package contains just the essential files. Even though there are several tables in the database, we didn't want to have a separate PHP program file for each table. So, by using some clever techniques that we found on the Interwebs, we combined all of the table maintenance functions into one include file. The main file starts the program, and calls the appropriate function needed. There's one CSS style file, and a couple of graphic images files.
The advantage to this process is that there are a minimum of files that need to be installed to run the CellarWebAds program.
Easy to Use?
Even though there are several tables used by CellarWebAds, it's easy to display, edit, or add information to those tables. There is a menu on the right side of all screens, and the left side is used to display table or record data. Even the reports are simple to use.
Easy to Integrate?
Since the whole point of CellarWebAds is to display your advertising on your web page, we have a simple way to do that. You only need to insert two PHP commands in your web page. One at the beginning of each web page, and one at the point where you want to display the ads. Simple CSS styles are used to display the ads.
Easy to Customize?
CellarWebAds is built to display the ads in a column on the right side of your web page. The width of the display area is 280px, which allows for two 125px-wide ads side-by-side, or one 250px ad. We think these are good sizes for advertisements. Not too big to overwhelm your web pages, but not too small to see or contain the needed information.
But if you want the ads to be displayed differently, we let you use your own CSS file to redefine the styles used to display the ads. It's all explained in the technical documentation.
What if I Have Problems?
We've done some extensive testing of the program. In fact, we use the program here at CellarWebAds.com, along with a few other web sites we own or manage. You can see those sites on the Live Sites page. Our programming philosophy is to write code that anticipates the wrong answer. For example, lf we ask for an email address, we make sure that the email address is valid.
But if you have a problem or concern, use our Comment form to let us know. We'll respond as quickly as we can. And when you use CellarWebAds on your site, let us know and we'll add you to our Live Sites page.
What About Updates?
We anticipate adding additional features to the CellarWebAds program. So we've built the program to allow you to customize certain aspects of the operation of the program, while leaving the base source code alone.
That means that if you install an updated version of CellarWebAds, your customizations (as long as you follow the customization rules) will not be affected by the updated version.
What Are the Technical Requirements?
Your web site must be have PHP version 5 installed. You should have access to the database area of your web site, as you will need to create a database and tables used by CellarWebAds. (The process to create the database and tables is part of the CellarWebAds package.) You'll need to know the database user name and password to access your database so the CellarWeb database/tables can be created. And you'll need to modify your web pages to add the two PHP commands used to display your advertising.
What about the Ads?
You'll have to go out and find some advertisers, and get their ad graphics. We've included a couple of ads to get you started (as a bit of our own self-promotion). It's your choice whether to use our sample ads on your web site -- if you don't want to use them, just delete their entries in the tables.
Why is CellarWebAds So Green?
Because green is the color of money around here. We didn't think that red would be a good choice.
How Do I Get Started?
We suggest that you look at the Screen Shots page to become familiar with the tables we use in CellarWebAds. Then download the CellarWebAds distribution files, extract them, then carefully read and understand the technical instructions. Don't rush into installation; take the time to read and understand things. That will allow you to become a successful user of CellarWebAds.
What About the CellarWebAds Name?
Our little web design and implementation business is called "CellarWeb". That's because our office is down in the basement. (You can find our site at CellarWeb.com; there are examples of what we do, and links to some or our client's web sites.)
So "CellarWebAds" is our advertising display program. Use the Contact form if you need programming help with your web site. We're pretty fast in getting things done -- and doing them right.
Any Other Questions?
Thanks for reading this far. If you have any other questions or concerns, please use our Contact form.
