[thelist] search engines, and text for non-standard browsers

Thu Feb 12 05:02:36 CST 2004

Hi all.

I recently re-did my site in xhtml/css and focused a lot on standards. 
It has already spanwed onto google, among others.  The problem is that I 
coded in a display message for non-standards browsers (as they will get 
a text-only version) like so:

<body>
	<!-- [[Start]] Web Standards Info -->
	<h1 class="hide">Welcome to HondaSwap.com</h1>
	<p class="hide">You are viewing an unstyled version of our website 
because your browser doesn't support certain web standards.  We at 
HondaSwap.com recommend <a href="http://www.mozilla.org/releases/" 
title="mozilla">Mozilla</a> 1.6 browser or higher for viewing our site 
on a PC computer and <a href="http://www.apple.com/safari/">Safari</a> 
for the Macintosh.  We support the <a 
href="http://www.webstandards.org/upgrade/">Web Standards Project</a> 
mission- Encouraging users to upgrade their browsers.  For handhelds, 
pda's, cellphones, and other media, this text-only version of our site 
ensures accessibility to most areas of our website.  Interactive 
portions, such as our forums and gallery, are best viewed with a browser 
on a computer.</p>
	<!-- [[END]] Web Standards Info -->
<hr class="hide" />
<div id="header">
.
.
.
</body>

In search engines, it is pulling this in queries.
A simple "enter my domain in google" yeilds the following results:

http://www.google.com/search?&q=hondaswap.com

Notably so, it's the first bit of text, and thus, the first details that 
are shown.

What can I do about this?

I want the message to stay up top- so that style-deprived devices and 
browsers see this message *before* the rest of the website.  If I move 
it anywhere else, or give it a div with a position, it won't show 
correctly on non-styled browsers/etc.

Am I stuck with these results from google?