Dispel the Glory Hunter In You!
“They will rarely link to other websites (and when they do they will make sure the link will open a new browser window…)…I fear there are some people that will even joy if they see the site of some “competitor†hacked.” Daniel - DBT
This morning I read a sad reality addressed with power and authority by Daniel, as he looked at “The Abundance vs. Scarcity Mentality“. If you haven’t read the article, go and do so now. In fact, if you’re not subscribed to his blog, (as they say in Northern Ireland) ‘you need yer heed looked’. Now I understand that we’re all only human, and sometimes we make mistakes. We might forget where we read something, and not be able to find the source when we write about it ourselves. In fact, Daniel did this very thing with me, when he wrote about In-Text Advertsing (you need to read the comments). [Read more →]
Contrast and Readability
It’s a fact, our eyes prefer to follow that which is familar. Familiar fonts, sizes, weights, and contrasts. Now I don’t want to get into typography, as I don’t have much of clue. In fact, I recently discovered how little I know about it, when I read some typography advice. However, we’ve been brought up all our lives to read dark text on a light background; I’ve never read a novel that wasn’t.
Content driven sites
For the most part (except for photography, art, and video blogs), blogs are full of written material. So why then are so many designing light text on dark sites? [Read more →]
One Blog Layout Aspect You Should Never Change
“…the implications of changing your main content column width could be disasterous…”
Unless you’ve splashed out decent money for a professional blog design, the chances are you have, or you will change your theme at some stage or another, and as long as it doesn’t happen too frequently (a trap I can easily fall into), a design change can have a positive impact upon current, and new visitors.
As most of you know, I’ve just recently changed the design here, but I really hope to keep it like this for some time, except for very minor tweaks that may be necessary now and again. Changing your design too frequently can frustrate visitors very quickly. At the end of the day, 99.9% aren’t visiting to drool over your design, but to benefit from your content (which should therefore make content our #1 priority).
Allow me to cut to the chase though, as I want to warn you all that there is one aspect of your layout/design that you should never change. In fact, as soon as you begin to blog, you should make your choice and stick to it. [Read more →]
The Links iFFECT - 22/6/07
Here are five posts that have caught my eye recently, posts that make a difference.
Blue Print for a Brilliant Blog Launch - The fastest way to being the best, is to learn from the best. You may have launched your blog long ago, but this is worth the read.
Define: Blog - About the the best definition, and practical insight into what a blog (and blogging) is all about, that I have ever read. Nate’s testimony may make some jealous or frustrated, but I’m just trying to learn from him.
Web Typography: Line Spacing - SP Guest blogger Dan, takes a good introductory look at the importance of getting the line-spacing right on your web pages. I know personally, if your ‘leading’ is too small, I’ll leave before I get through the article, it’s just too painful, especially when mixed with high contrast between text and background.
8 Brick And Mortar Ideas That Make Great Blogs - If you’re mechanical in your approach to blogging, then you’ll either i) ignore this advice and go on to experience ‘blog-rot’, or ii) you’ll take heed to the master of the personal touch, and take steps towards achieving some level of blogging success.
Better Blog Branding: Is Your Brand Breaking Promises? - I love the way Chris introduces this article by getting into our minds, and seeing the various ways many people view some internationally known brands. For those who are taking blogging seriously, Chris gives solid advice on the importance of creating a positive brand; but remember, it takes a lot of patience.
Give Your WordPress Blogroll A Beneficial Purpose
As my regular readers will be aware by now, I love WordPress and it’s array of features that help to make it one of the best CMS (Content Management Systems) available. However, some of the features can be put to better use than initially intended, and one such feature is that of the blogroll.
In the WordPress admin panel, there is a tab dedicated to managing your blogroll, and it’s purpose is to,
“…link to the blogs you read frequently - a friendly way of acknowledging the good blogs out there. WordPress’ built-in Links Manager allows you to add and manage links effortlessly”
But lets be realistic, the main benefit of being on someone’s blogroll, isn’t down to the amount of visitors you’ll get from it, but to the increase in pagerank it will help to give, and a greater authority in the search engines. But what about your own blogroll? [Read more →]