Help - How To Require Cookies On My Own Site?

Hi

I am a completely self-taught web designer - so technically - im verrrry "learn as i go " I have an affiliate mall for girl stuff - www.PrettyPrincess.US. I am currently redesigning/upgrading it. The homepage is already in the new design. I am working into the "Dress Up" section with the new design as well. I am majorly cleaning up my html, and now getting the new structure to validate throughout the whole site, as well as creating a more professional visual design.

...so here is my question, being that my site is an affiliate mall, the purpose is to make commission off of the sales i refer through links that track. 99% of the links track based on a cookie system only. This, as most people know, can be as poor as 70% accurate due to cookie blocking software, browsers deleting cookies, or the shopper not having their cookies enabled at all. I would like to lower my loss rate by implementing some way for my own site to require cookies. That way, before a shopper even clicks on any links, my site would have a system that requires them to enable their cookies - as in it would send them to a default "please enable cookies" page until they enabled them. This way, i could be sure that cookies are collected as the customer goes forward into the sites i promote.

...since i am self-taught and very amateur, i have no clue how to do this. I know that it is more than likely a javascript code, and probably a CSS process? I am also wondering, is there a way to do this by just dropping a script onto the entire domain so that it applies to every page included in the domain and its folders? ....or, is the only way to do this sort of thing by inserting a code in every single page?

...i have just begun the redesign, and am figuring i should check into it before i design the entire site and have to go back through each page ( the site is over 200 pages )...

if anyone has any advice on this it would be awesome ...and i also should mention that the easiest way to this sort of thing would be helpful lol - i do most of my design without actually understanding the technical language...oh, and i design in dreamweaver 8, if that helps...

once again...any help would be awesome!

thannnnk you!

hmmm....was i descriptive enough? ...or did that not make any sense...

i guess, to sum up what i was asking above... i am looking for a script that prompts my browsers to enable their cookies(if they have not already done so)

...one that sends them to a "bounce page" explaining the need to enable cookies...until they enable them, then they are free to browse normal...

i am wondering if it is something i can put at the top of my domain, and it will filter through every page, or is it something i need to enter page by page?

and is java the only way to do this?

anyone?...

there are plenty of scripts out there that will help you do what you want.

this is probably clos e to what you want, but change the line

alert("COOKIES need to be enabled!");

to something like

location.replace('http://www.example.com/enablecookies.html');

good luck

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CSS has nothing to do with this sort of thing. Think of CSS like the paint on your walls or the furniture in your house

You are talking about electricity and plumbing here

I would think the only way to achieve this would be by using PHP.

However, I think the cookie system for this is a bit weird!?? I would of thought that something like adding a referrer ID to the url would be much wiser? Maybe one of the PHP guys can enlighten us

I'll move this to the PHP section for you ... you might get more help in there

EDIT! Ah ... Stew beat me to it. I'll leave it here for now then.

ooh sorry let me read that first...

ohh...no, im not talking about the actual links...they are already built on a referrer id system...what im asking about is just a way to get the browser to be prompted to enable their cookies before they click on my referrer links...that way i can be sure that they are collecting the referral cookies as they proceed forward...

hmmm....yeah, i've kind of already gotten that far on my own, that is the google search i have already done :\ ...i have been searching through those, and i do not have enough technical background to be able to identify which script is going to do what i want :\

....i guess my question is looking for a more specific answer...

...like which specific script am i needing for what i want to do? I am to nervous to just begin trying random scripts...im afraid ill start jumbling my site structure that i have been working so hard to clean up...

...is java the most efficient route(maybe the only route)?

....can i put the script at the top of my domain and have it filter down? - or do i need to manually insert the script into each page

....and being that my site is htm 4.01 transitional, will my site still validate with script i will be implementing?

thank you!

this seems a more logical way of tracking things to me, rather than cookie based.

Ask your affiliate if you are able to do this, it would be much easier.

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WelshStew Site Admin
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tierney rides tboard - uk site | xtreme wales - extreme clothing
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ok stew, sorry again, let me follow your second link...

try the above, sorry was editing and got called away.

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WelshStew Site Admin
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thank you...yeah, i think that is what i am looking for...i only wish it wasn't greek to me :\

...i guess i could just try testing the code?....do i need the entire code? and will i be creating my "bounce" page the same why i do normal pages? and then inserting that url somewhere in the code?


i apologize for the zillion questions, and i do appreciate your help :\

hmmm....i truly appreciate the suggestion of the code...here's the problem - i don't understand it at all :\ - i don't know which parts i am supposed to use...and it mentions something about creating a cookie to test against? i have no clue how to go about this :\ i have not worked with java, and i don't know what parts of this are actual code and which are the explanation of the code?

once again...im very new to web design...so can anyone explain how to do this process?

thank you!