In the digital landscape where first impressions matter, a logo stands as the ambassador of your brand, a visual manifestation of your identity that speaks volumes in a single glance. Crafting a compelling logo is not merely a design endeavor; it is a strategic process that involves a profound understanding of your brand’s core values and a keen awareness of the ever-evolving design trends.

In this guide, we embark on a journey to unravel the intricacies of designing a logo online that not only captures the essence of your brand but also leaves a lasting imprint on your audience’s mind. From getting into the depths of your brand identity to navigating the vast realm of online design tools, we will explore every facet to empower you in creating a logo that mirrors your identity and resonates with your audience. Let’s dive into the art and science of logo design, where pixels meet purpose and aesthetics merge seamlessly with strategy.

Use the tips to make a logo design.

Understanding Your Brand Identity

To embark on the journey of logo design, a thorough comprehension of your brand’s identity is paramount. Your brand identity is the soul of your business, encapsulating its values, mission, and unique personality. Start by identifying the core principles that drive your brand, whether it’s a commitment to innovation, a focus on sustainability, or a dedication to customer satisfaction. Examine your target audience – their preferences, aspirations, and the emotional responses you aim to evoke. This introspective phase serves as the compass for your design journey, guiding you towards visual elements that authentically represent your brand on a profound level. As you delve into this exploration, consider what sets your brand apart in a crowded digital landscape, and how your logo can communicate these differentiators effectively. The clearer your understanding of your brand’s identity, the more purposeful and resonant your logo will be.

Finding Inspiration

Once you’ve looked into the intricacies of your brand identity, it’s time to draw inspiration from various sources that will breathe life into your logo design. Start by revisiting your brand’s story – the journey that brought it to life, the challenges it overcame, and the milestones it celebrated. This introspection can unearth elements that are not only significant to your brand but also potent visual metaphors for your logo.

Beyond your own narrative, look to industry trends and successful logos that resonate with you. Analyze the visual language of brands that have successfully navigated the digital landscape. While it’s essential to be aware of trends, ensure that your inspiration transcends mere mimicry, aiming instead for a unique blend that captures the essence of your brand.

Embracing Responsive Logo Design

Embracing responsive logo design while avoiding common web design mistakes ensures a seamless and recognizable brand identity across all platforms. Here are key points to consider:

1. Simplicity is Key: A simple design ensures your logo remains legible and recognizable across different sizes and devices. Avoid overly complex elements that may become indiscernible on smaller screens.
2. Scalability: Your logo should be scalable, maintaining its integrity whether it’s on a billboard or a mobile app icon. Vector graphics are often recommended for their scalability without loss of quality.
3. Versatility: Create variations of your logo that can adapt to different backgrounds and contexts without losing its essence. This includes having different color schemes (e.g., monochrome versions) or layout adjustments for various applications.
4. Consistency Across Platforms: While your logo should be adaptable, maintaining consistency in its core elements ensures brand recognition. The variations of your logo should clearly belong to the same family.
5. Avoid Clutter: In line with simplicity, ensure your logo design doesn’t include unnecessary elements that could clutter the visual space, particularly important for small display areas.
6. Readable Typography: If your logo includes text, choose a font that is legible across sizes and devices. Avoid fonts that become unreadable when scaled down.
7. Test Across Devices: Regularly test your logo’s appearance across different devices and platforms to ensure it maintains its impact and readability. This might reveal adjustments needed that you hadn’t anticipated.
8. Mind the Space: Pay attention to the spacing around your logo (also known as ‘clear space’) to ensure it doesn’t get lost or overcrowded by other elements, especially in a mobile or condensed context.
9. Stay Updated: Digital platforms and devices evolve rapidly. Stay informed about new trends and technologies to ensure your responsive logo continues to perform well across future devices and platforms.
10. User Feedback: Collect and analyze feedback from your audience regarding your logo’s visibility and recognizability across different platforms. User insights can provide valuable information for adjustments.

By incorporating responsive logo design into your branding strategy, you ensure that your logo not only stands the test of time but also adapts to the evolving digital landscape, maintaining its impact and relevance in a multitude of settings while steering clear of common web design pitfalls.

Choosing the Right Design Elements

With inspiration as your guide, it’s time to navigate the vast landscape of design elements and make strategic choices that align with your brand’s identity. Consider the fundamental building blocks of design – shapes, colors, and fonts. Each element contributes to the visual language of your logo, conveying nuanced messages to your audience.

Shapes can evoke specific emotions and associations. Are you a brand that exudes strength and stability? Consider incorporating geometric shapes. If you want to convey friendliness and approachability, organic and rounded shapes might be more suitable. The interplay of positive and negative space within your chosen shapes can create a dynamic visual impact.

Color psychology plays a pivotal role in logo design. Different colors evoke different emotions – red may symbolize passion and energy, while blue conveys trust and reliability. Reflect on your brand’s personality and the emotions you want to trigger in your audience. Strive for a balanced color palette that not only resonates with your brand but also ensures readability and versatility across various platforms.

Typography is another crucial design element that carries its own set of connotations. The choice of fonts can convey modernity, tradition, playfulness, or seriousness. Ensure that the fonts used are legible and align with the overall tone of your brand. Experiment with custom fonts or unique lettering to add a distinctive touch that sets your logo apart.

Harmony among these elements is key. Strive for a cohesive design that encapsulates the essence of your brand identity. The right design elements, thoughtfully selected, will serve as the visual language through which your audience connects with your brand on a deeper, more visceral level.

Utilizing Online Logo Design Tools

In the dynamic realm of digital design, an array of online tools empowers individuals and businesses to bring their logo visions to life, irrespective of their design expertise. These tools serve as virtual canvases, offering templates, customization options, and user-friendly interfaces that simplify the design process.

Explore popular online logo design platforms that cater to varying skill levels. These platforms often provide a plethora of templates that can serve as a springboard for your creativity. Browse through categories that align with your industry or style preferences, allowing you to experiment with different visual concepts effortlessly.

Customization is the hallmark of these tools. Tweak color schemes, adjust shapes, and experiment with fonts until your logo begins to reflect the unique identity of your brand. Some platforms even offer AI-driven features that can suggest design elements based on your preferences, streamlining the creative process further.

Creating Your Logo

Once you’ve harnessed the inspiration and wielded the design elements with the aid of online tools, the time has come to breathe life into your logo. Utilize the features of the chosen platform to arrange and refine the components of your design. Experiment with different layouts, color combinations, and typography until you achieve a visual synergy that resonates with the identity of your brand.

Consider the versatility of your logo. It should be adaptable to various sizes and contexts without losing its impact. A logo that scales seamlessly from a favicon on a website to a billboard speaks volumes about its design efficacy. Pay attention to the details – the spacing between elements, the proportion of shapes, and the legibility of text. These subtleties contribute to the overall professionalism and aesthetic appeal of your logo.

The service Turbologo provides ready-made effects and filters for the logo.

The creation phase is also an opportunity to experiment with symbolism and metaphor. Infuse elements that subtly convey the values and aspirations of your brand. Whether it’s a hidden initial, an abstract motif, or a clever combination of shapes, these nuances can add depth to your logo, creating a visual narrative that invites your audience to dive deeper into the essence of your brand.

As you embark on the creative process, remember that simplicity often holds immense power. Strive for a design that is not only visually compelling but also easy to remember. A clutter-free and cohesive logo ensures that your brand is easily recognizable, making a lasting impression on your audience across various digital and physical touchpoints.

Getting Feedback and Revising

In the iterative world of design, seeking feedback is a crucial step to refine and elevate your logo to its fullest potential. Share your initial drafts with a diverse audience, including colleagues, friends, and, if possible, members of your target audience. Constructive criticism provides invaluable insights, offering perspectives that you might not have considered during the creative process.

Encourage feedback not only on the aesthetic aspects but also on the emotional resonance of your logo. Does it convey the intended message? Is it memorable? Does it align with the perceived personality of your brand? These questions can guide the feedback process, helping you pinpoint areas that may require adjustment.

Testing Your Logo

With the initial drafts refined through feedback, the next pivotal step in the logo design process is testing its adaptability and resonance across various platforms and contexts. Resize your logo to different dimensions, ensuring it maintains clarity and coherence whether displayed as a small icon on social media or as a prominent feature on your website.

Test the logo in both color and grayscale to guarantee its effectiveness across different mediums. A strong logo should be recognizable even in black and white, ensuring versatility in print materials or situations where color might be restricted. Assess its performance against different background colors to verify that it remains prominent and does not lose impact or legibility.

Legal Considerations and Copyright

Amidst the creative fervor of logo design, it’s imperative to pause and navigate the legal landscape to safeguard your creation. Before finalizing your logo, conduct a comprehensive search to ensure its uniqueness and originality. Check for existing trademarks and copyrights to mitigate the risk of unintentional infringement. This diligence is crucial for establishing the distinctiveness of your brand in the market and avoiding legal disputes down the road.

Consider consulting with a legal professional or trademark expert to guide you through the intricacies of intellectual property law. Securing the legal rights to your logo reinforces your ownership, granting you the exclusive right to use, reproduce, and license its use. This not only protects your brand from potential legal issues but also adds tangible value to your intellectual property portfolio.

In some cases, it might be necessary to register your logo with the relevant authorities to solidify its legal standing. While this step may involve additional paperwork and fees, the long-term benefits in terms of legal protection and brand integrity outweigh the initial investment.

Implementing Your Logo

With a polished and legally protected logo in hand, the next crucial step is the seamless implementation across your online presence and beyond. Consistency is paramount to establishing a strong brand identity. Begin by incorporating your logo across all digital platforms, including your website, social media profiles, and email signatures. Ensure that the logo is appropriately sized and positioned for optimal visibility.

Consistency extends beyond the digital realm. Implement your logo across various touchpoints, from business cards and letterheads to merchandise and packaging. This ubiquity reinforces brand recognition and fosters a cohesive brand image.

Consider creating brand guidelines that outline the proper usage, spacing, and color specifications for your logo. These guidelines serve as a reference for anyone involved in the application of your logo, maintaining a unified and professional appearance across diverse mediums.

Monitor the reception and impact of your logo as it integrates into your brand’s communication strategy. Gather data on its performance through analytics and user feedback. Adapt and refine its implementation based on evolving trends, audience preferences, and the changing landscape of your industry.

The post Crafting a Symbol that Resonates with Your Identity by Designing a Logo Online appeared first on DailyBlogTips.com.

Contrary to popular belief you don’t need Hollywood-esque production value to create great video content for your blog. Frankly speaking some of the best blog video content stems from fairly simple ideas that are properly executed to create compelling content.

If you would like to create great blog video content, here are a few simple ideas that should give you a good place to start:

How-to guides and tutorials

Creating a guide or tutorial that shows viewers how to perform a certain task that they may be interested in or helps them to solve a particular problem is inherently useful. As far as informative content goes it is hard to beat a good guide, and if you get a bit creative you could really make it stand out. At the heart of every good guide is a simple set of step-by-step instructions, and once you figure out what those are the only thing you really need to do is decide on the best way to show the audience how to perform each step. Check out these sites for examples: HowToGeek.com (focused on tech tutorials).

Interviews

Although often overlooked, interviews can be a great type of content. This guy built a whole website just with interviews! Bear in mind you don’t have to interview a ‘celebrity’ – anyone who can speak from a position of authority about the topic or has a unique perspective could make for a great interview. If it isn’t possible to record a face-to-face interview with a subject, you could even record footage from a video call instead.

Personal stories

Telling a story related to your blog’s niche can be a powerful way to foster an emotional response – particularly if the story is inspiring, humorous, touching, or something else of that nature. The video itself can either be a simple vlog, or it could incorporate other elements to help you to ‘show’ certain parts of the story.

Product reviews

Reviews have always been a popular form of blog content – video or otherwise. The advantage of recording product reviews as videos is that you can showcase the product better and pinpoint precise areas of interest to the viewer. As an added benefit product reviews are an excellent way to promote products that you feel are useful.

As you can see none of these ideas are particularly complicated, and most can be recorded with a simple video camera or a movavi.com. Not only can it record the footage that you need but it also has a built-in editor that will let you edit and improve the videos that you record.

At the end of the day it doesn’t take dazzling special effects or a spectacular cinematic approach to create great blog video content. Initially you may want to experiment with different types of ideas, so that you can get a feel for what the audience on your blog responds to – and based on the ideas listed above you should already be able to come up with some topics worth pursuing.

The post 4 Simple Ideas for Great Blog Video Content appeared first on DailyBlogTips.com.

Yesterday I was listening to a talk show in the radio, and one guy was talking about Facebook Messages, their new email/messaging system. At one point the show host said something like this:

Let’s hope this new system will solve the spam problem. I believe that over 90% of the email messages people receive right now are spam, right?

And the “tech expert” went like this:

Oh yeah spam is a big problem, and yes filtering through all the spam we receive is one of the biggest challenges right now.

When I heard that I thought to myself: “You gotta be kidding!”.

I agree with the person with the fact that 90% of the email messages flowing around are spam, but filtering them is not a challenge anymore, as Gmail and other clients solved it years ago.

I am not sure about you, but I get almost zero spam on my inbox. If I was to count I guess it would come to 3 or 4 spam messages making it to my inbox every month, which I consider to be a negligible problem (especially because I receive around 3,000 emails per month, so the percentage of spam messages over the total would be 0.1%).

And I don’t use any fancy tactics or software (e.g., spamarrest). I just use a Gmail account, and sometimes I even use my email around the web (e.g., to sign-up for online services, newsletters and the like).

So I don’t get why people complain so much about spam. As long as you use Gmail or another decent client your inbox should be pretty clean. But hey, that is my opinion, and want to hear from you guys. That is why I created a poll, and you can also leave a comment below to expand your thoughts.

Remark: Keep in mind that the definition of spam is an unsolicited message. If you receive messages from services and newsletters you subscribed to (e.g., YouTube, an online store or the marketer who wanted your email address to show you a video), that is not spam. Sure those messages can be equally annoying, but they are not spam technically, so please don’t consider those when answering the poll.

The post Poll: Do You Have Email Spam Problems? appeared first on DailyBlogTips.com.

A web designer takes charge of performing all the designing tasks related to your business, like creating a website. The quality of your website will largely influence the growth of your business. And, quality is determined by the designer that you hire.

With so many options in the plate, choosing the right web designer can be a daunting experience. Here, we have found some tips to keep in mind while hiring.

DNA First and Experience Later

Long term experiences can be very appealing while hiring a web designer. However, we believe DNA is a much bigger factor for success. The cultural characteristics that make up your work environment should be sought for in the designer to fit in well.

Therefore, list your company’s DNA characteristics, like persistence, determination, curiosity, time management, deadlines, and so on. A great team player would be the one fitting into most of the DNA requirements.

References from Associates

Always go through the websites of other businesses to look out for their designs and presentations. This will help you visualize and evolve ideas for your own site. Also, the associates of those businesses can be a great source of finding a great web designer yourself.

You can study the quality of their work beforehand through their websites and ensure if they are the best suit for your company. As you keep narrowing down the list of designers, you can even meet their former clients for a background check.

Return on Investment

ROI or Return on Investment in a vital component for any business process. A keen eye needs to be kept on the ROI of the work done by the person, and regular impact assessment is mandatory. Be mindful of the money that you have invested and the quality of work that you are receiving. 

Professional web designers often offer higher value work and better ROI right from the beginning and at reasonable rates. An inexperienced or low-cost designer could appear inexpensive but end up being a heavy burden on your company’s financial resources in the long run.

Aptitude Over Skill Set

In the constantly growing and shifting tech world, skills become obsolete even before one knowing it. Thus, investing your money in a particular skill set might not be the best decision. It is advisable to hire professionals who are much more receptive and can easily adapt themselves with the advancements in technology.

The simplest way to find a designer who will be open to learning new technology is through their dedication and love for the profession.

Hire Slow, Fire Fast

Always invest a good amount of thought and time while hiring a new web designer. The hired person is going to be responsible for the media management and online visibility of your company. Therefore, quick and easy decisions might end up in misuse of your company’s resources.

However, never hesitate to fire an inefficient web designer immediately. Missed deadlines and unproductive work can prove highly detrimental to the growth of your company, especially if it is a new startup.

The post 5 Effective Tips For Hiring A Web Designer appeared first on DailyBlogTips.com.

A landing page is basically a point of entrance to your website (don’t forget to make it fast!). It is where visitors will “land.” As you can guess, the landing page is very important, as if you fail to engage those new visitors you might lose them forever. If you have an efficient landing page, on the other hand, you will capture the interest of those visitors and possibly turn them into loyal visitors, subscribers or customers.

A website can have several landing pages. For instance, it can create one landing page for each marketing campaign it runs. For most websites, however, the homepage is usually the most important landing page, as that is where most of the visitors end up.

Sometimes it’s easier to show things than to explain them, so below you’ll find 5 examples of websites that have a great landing page structure on their homepage.

Slack

Slack’s landing page is not just well-designed but also engaging. It provides a clear explanation of what the product is and its benefits. The use of animation and illustrations makes it visually appealing, and it’s packed with different CTAs to suit various user needs, from learning more to immediately starting with the product.

FreshBooks

In my opinion Freshbooks does an even better job at focusing the landing page on converting the first time visitor into a potential customer: instead of displaying just a button, it displays the whole signup form right there. The visitor just needs to put his name, email address and click on the ‘Try it Free for 30 Days’ button.

Motors.co.uk

This British website helps people find used and new cars. To serve this purpose it brings on top of the homepage a search form you can use to nail down the model you are looking for. In fact it presents two search forms, the ‘Find it Fast’ for those who are in a hurry, and ‘Smart Search’ for those who want to be more specific.

Dropbox

Dropbox’s landing page is a fantastic example of simplicity and clarity. The clear messaging, clean design, and straightforward CTA make it easy for visitors to understand what Dropbox is for and how to get started.

CrazyEgg.com

This is a good example of a minimalist yet efficient landing page.  They provides heat map technology to help website owners track user behavior. The landing page design is clean and straightforward, with clear messaging and a compelling call to action. The visitor is presented with two things: a form to input his website URL, and a list of companies already using the service. In other words, you pretty much don’t have an option other than to start testing the service. Quite clever.

Here is a table summary. Each category (Design, User Experience, Clarity of Message, Call-to-Action Effectiveness) was scored on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the best possible score. Here’s what each category represents:

1. Design: This factor takes into account the overall aesthetic of the landing page, including the layout, color scheme, typography, imagery, and any other visual elements. A score of 5 indicates an exceptionally well-designed, visually appealing landing page.

2. User Experience: This factor assesses the ease of navigation and user-friendliness of the landing page. A high score indicates that the landing page is intuitive and easy to navigate, without any confusing or frustrating elements that might prevent a user from understanding how to interact with the page.

3. Clarity of Message: This score evaluates how clearly the purpose and value of the product or service is communicated on the landing page. A landing page with a clear, concise, and compelling message about the value of the product or service would score highly in this category.

4. Call-to-Action Effectiveness: This factor assesses the visibility, clarity, and persuasiveness of the call to action (CTA) on the landing page. A high score suggests that the CTA is highly visible, compelling, and effectively encourages the user to take the desired action.

The post 5 Websites with Great Landing Pages appeared first on DailyBlogTips.com.

There are several lists of web design mistakes around the Internet. Most of them, however, are the “Most common” or “Top 10 mistakes.” Every time I crossed one of those lists I would think to myself: “Come on, there must be more than 10 mistakes…”. Then I decided to write down all the web design mistakes that would come into my head; within half an hour I had over thirty of them listed. Afterwards I did some research around the web and the list grew to 43 points.

The next step was to write a short description for each one, and the result is the collection of mistakes that you will find below. Some of the points are common sense, others are quite polemic. Most of them apply to any website though, whether we talk about a business entity or a blog. Enjoy!

1. The user must know what the site is about in seconds: attention is one the most valuable currencies on the Internet. If a visitor can not figure what your site is about in a couple of seconds, he will probably just go somewhere else. Your site must communicate why I should spend my time there, and FAST!

2. Make the content scannable: this is the Internet, not a book, so forget large blocks of text. Probably I will be visiting your site while I work on other stuff so make sure that I can scan through the entire content. Bullet points, headers, subheaders, lists. Anything that will help the reader filter what he is looking for.

3. Do not use fancy fonts that are unreadable: sure there are some fonts that will give a sophisticated look to your website. But are they readable? If your main objective is to deliver a message and get the visitors reading your stuff, then you should make the process comfortable for them.

4. Do not use tiny fonts: the previous point applies here, you want to make sure that readers are comfortable reading your content. My Firefox does have a zooming feature, but if I need to use on your website it will probably be the last time I visit it.

5. Do not open new browser windows: I used to do that on my first websites. The logic was simple, if I open new browser windows for external links the user will never leave my site. WRONG! Let the user control where he wants the links to open. There is a reason why browsers have a huge “Back” button. Do not worry about sending the visitor to another website, he will get back if he wants to (even porn sites are starting to get conscious regarding this point lately…).

6. Do not resize the user’s browser windows: the user should be in control of his browser. If you resize it you will risk to mess things up on his side, and what is worse you might lose your credibility in front of him.

7. Do not require a registration unless it is necessary: lets put this straight, when I browse around the Internet I want to get information, not the other way around. Do not force me to register up and leave my email address and other details unless it is absolutely necessary (i.e. unless what you offer is so good that I will bear with the registration).

8. Never subscribe the visitor for something without his consent: do not automatically subscribe a visitor to newsletters when he registers up on your site. Sending unsolicited emails around is not the best way to make friends.

9. Do not overuse Flash: apart from increasing the load time of your website, excessive usage of Flash might also annoy the visitors. Use it only if you must offer features that are not supported by static pages.

10. Do not play music: on the early years of the Internet web developers always tried to successfully integrate music into websites. Guess what, they failed miserably. Do not use music, period.

11. If you MUST play an audio file let the user start it: some situations might require an audio file. You might need to deliver a speech to the user or your guided tour might have an audio component. That is fine. Just make sure that the user is in control, let him push the “Play” button as opposed to jamming the music on his face right after he enters the website.

12. Do not clutter your website with badges: first of all, badges of networks and communities make a site look very unprofessional. Even if we are talking about awards and recognition badges you should place them on the “About Us” page.

13. Do not use a homepage that just launches the “real” website: the smaller the number of steps required for the user to access your content, the better.

14. Make sure to include contact details: there is nothing worse than a website that has no contact details. This is not bad only for the visitors, but also for yourself. You might lose important feedback along the way.

15. Do not break the “Back” button: this is a very basic principle of usability. Do not break the “Back” button under any circumstance. Opening new browser windows will break it, for instance, and some Javascript links might also break them.

16. Do not use blinking text: unless your visitors are coming straight from 1996, that is.

17. Avoid complex URL structures: a simple, keyword-based URL structure will not only improve your search engine rankings, but it will also make it easier for the reader to identify the content of your pages before visiting them.

18. Use CSS over HTML tables: HTML tables were used to create page layouts. With the advent of CSS, however, there is no reason to stick to them. CSS is faster, more reliable and it offers many more features.

19. Make sure users can search the whole website: there is a reason why search engines revolutionized the Internet. You probably guessed it, because they make it very easy to find the information we are looking for. Do not neglect this on your site.

20. Avoid “drop down” menus: the user should be able to see all the navigation options straight way. Using “drop down” menus might confuse things and hide the information the reader was actually looking for.

21. Use text navigation: text navigation is not only faster but it is also more reliable. Some users, for instance, browse the Internet with images turned off.

22. If you are linking to PDF files disclose it: ever clicked on a link only to see your browser freezing while Acrobat Reader launches to open that (unrequested) PDF file? That is pretty annoying so make sure to explicit links pointing to PDF files so that users can handle them properly.

23. Do not confuse the visitor with many versions: avoid confusing the visitor with too many versions of your website. What bandwidth do I prefer? 56Kbps? 128Kbps? Flash or HTML? Man, just give me the content!

24. Do not blend advertising inside the content: blending advertising like Adsense units inside your content might increase your click-through rate on the short term. Over the long run, however, this will reduce your readership base. An annoyed visitor is a lost visitor.

25. Use a simple navigation structure: sometimes less is more. This rule usually applies to people and choices. Make sure that your website has a single, clear navigation structure. The last thing you want is to confuse the reader regarding where he should go to find the information he is looking for.

26. Avoid “intros”: do not force the user to watch or read something before he can access to the real content. This is plain annoying, and he will stay only if what you have to offer is really unique.

27. Do not use FrontPage: this point extends to other cheap HTML editors. While they appear to make web design easier, the output will be a poorly crafted code, incompatible with different browsers and with several bugs.

28. Make sure your website is cross-browser compatible: not all browsers are created equal, and not all of them interpret CSS and other languages on the same way. Like it or not, you will need to make your website compatible with the most used browsers on the market, else you will lose readers over the long term.

29. Make sure to include anchor text on links: I confess I used to do that mistake until some time ago. It is easier to tell people to “click here”. But this is not efficient. Make sure to include a relevant anchor text on your links. It will ensure that the reader knows where he is going to if he clicks the link, and it will also create SEO benefits for the external site where the link is pointing.

30. Do not cloak links: apart from having a clear anchor text, the user must also be able to see where the link is pointing on the status bar of his browser. If you cloak your links (either because they are affiliate ones or due to other reasons) your site will lose credibility.

31. Make links visible: the visitor should be able to recognize what is clickable and what is not, easily. Make sure that your links have a contrasting color (the standard blue color is the optimal most of the times). Possibly also make them underlined.

32. Do not underline or color normal text: do not underline normal text unless absolutely necessary. Just as users need to recognize links easily, they should not get the idea that something is clickable when in reality it is not.

33. Make clicked links change color: this point is very important for the usability of your website. Clicked links that change color help the user to locate himself more easily around your site, making sure that he will not end up visiting the same pages unintentionally.

34. Do not use animated GIFs: unless you have advertising banners that require animation, avoid animated GIFs. They make a site look unprofessional and detract the attention from the content.

35. Make sure to use the ALT and TITLE attributes for images: apart from having SEO benefits the ALT and TITLE attributes for images will play an important role for blind users.

36. Do not use harsh colors: if the user is getting a headache after visiting your site for 10 consecutive minutes, you probably should pick a better color scheme. Design the color palette around your objectives (i.e. deliver a mood, let the user focus on the content, etc.).

37. Do not use pop ups: this point refers to pop ups of any kind. Even user requested pop ups are a bad idea given the increasing amount of pop blockers out there.

38. Avoid JavaScript links: those links execute a small JavaScript when the user clicks on them. Stay away from them since they often create problems for the user.

39. Include functional links on your footer: people are used to scrolling down to the footer of a website if they are not finding a specific information. At the very least you want to include a link to the Homepage and possibly a link to the “Contact Us” page.

40. Avoid long pages: guess what, if the user needs to scroll down forever in order to read your content he will probably just skip it altogether. If that is the case with your website make it shorter and improve the navigation structure.

41. No horizontal scrolling: while some vertical scrolling is tolerable, the same can not be said about horizontal scrolling. The most used screen resolution nowadays is 1024 x 768 pixels, so make sure that your website fits inside it.

42. No spelling or grammatical mistakes: this is not a web design mistake, but it is one of the most important factors affecting the overall quality of a website. Make sure that your links and texts do not contain spelling or grammatical mistakes.

43. If you use CAPTCHA make sure the letters are readable: several sites use CAPTCHA filters as a method of reducing spam on comments or on registration forms. There is just one problem with it, most of the times the user needs to call his whole family to decipher the letters.

44. Incorrect use of background images. For example:

• Poor contrast with text.
• Overwhelming visuals that distract from the main content.
• Non-responsive images that don’t adapt to different devices.
• Low-quality or pixelated images.
• Slow loading times due to large or unoptimized images.
• Clashing background with foreground content.
• Lack of accessibility with no alt text for screen readers.
• Conflicting colors with the overall design.
• Poor placement of content over busy areas.
• Inconsistent with the website’s branding.
• Excessively long scroll length due to lengthy background images.

The post 43 Web Design Mistakes You Should Avoid appeared first on DailyBlogTips.com.

The load time of websites is one of the most important factors affecting its usability; most Internet users will just skip a site altogether if it fails to load within a couple of seconds. Below you will find the summary of the “Speed Up Your Site” series. Those are simple yet effective ways to make sure that your website is running fast. You can click on each point to read the article with comments from the readers.

1. Optimize Images: always use the “Save for the web” feature included on image editing software. Images represent the heavier load on virtually any website so make sure you are optimizing them. Alternatively you can also turn to an online image optimizer.
2. Image Formats: apart from optimizing images it is important that you choose the right format. JPEG format is suitable for photographs or true-color images. The GIF format should be used with flat-color images like logos or buttons. PNG works very similar to GIF but it supports more colors.
3. Optimize Your CSS: most websites are designed with CSS nowadays. Make sure to aggregate and clean your CSS. CleanCSS is an online tool that will merge similar selectors, remove useless properties and remove the whitespace from your code.
4. Use a Slash on Your Links: when a user opens a link on the form “http://www.domain.com/about” the server will need to figure what kind of file or page is contained on that address. If you include a slash (/) at the end of the link the server will already know that this is a directory page, reducing the load time of the site.
5. Use the Height and Width Tags: many people forget to add the Height and Width tags on image codes. Those tags will make sure that the browser knows the size of the image before loading it. The result is that it will reserve a spot for the images while loading the rest of the page, speeding up the whole process.
6. Reduce the HTTP Requests: when opening a web page every object (images, scripts and the line) will require a round trip to the server. This latency can add several seconds to the load time of your site. Make sure to reduce the number of objects and to combine CSS files and scripts together.

The post 6 Ways to Speed Up Your Site appeared first on DailyBlogTips.com.

What makes a great website? Is it the colours, the layout, or the information contained in the site itself? Every small business owner wants their site to attract as much traffic as possible while competing against rival businesses and some much larger companies.

The truth is, no matter how pretty your website is, if nobody’s viewing it, then it’s a waste of time. You might have heard words like Google ranking, SEO, keywords, backlinks and other technical terms which can be confusing. After all, you just want your website to do the work of attracting customers while you go about your work.

Here are 7 ways to make sure that your website gets the attention it deserves.

1. A Consistent and Professional Look

To be competitive you have to have a great website that looks professional, after all, it’s the “face of your company”. Everything must be laid out in a logical order and be easy to read because most people don’t have to look for things.

The layout of every page must follow a similar theme and should have a consistent colour scheme. Because your website is a reflection of your company, having an unprofessional-looking website will reflect badly on you.

2. Search Engine Optimizations (SEO)

So your site looks lovely but now you need to get traffic to flow through it. SEO are practices that get your site noticed and ranked by Google so that people looking for your product or service can easily find it. This means you need to use as many keywords and phrases that are specific to your product in your URL’s and descriptions.

Another way to increase SEO is the use of backlinks. Backlinks are links from your site to others, and from other sites to yours. These links create relationships between the sites through which traffic will flow. You can also have internal backlinks to other pages on your site so that if readers see something interesting they can instantly navigate to that page.

3. Quality Content

It may seem like a no-brainer, but having quality content that’s engaging for the reader is a must on any website. Not only should the quality be good, but the content should be regularly updated so that the readers that you’ve hooked keep coming back for fresh information.

Having good quality content also helps with SEO because Google looks at quality content that’s regularly updated as a way to determine ranking. Some of the ways in which Google ranks the quality of the content is by analyzing the number of keywords as well as the relevance of the information with regards to what you are selling. Google also looks at the length of the content as a factor that determines whether its quality is high or not.

4. Tell a story

Your site is about telling people who you are, what problem you can solve for them and why they should trust you. In order to sell your brand, you have to have an identity.

When the reader sees your website they should see how your company was started, who the founders are, what your core principles are and why your product or service is better than the countless others out there. One of the ways to do this is by having authenticity. Don’t over-do the sales pitch and try to force people into buying your message. Try to sound natural and talk about what you can do for the customer with a call to action at the end.

5. List building

Not all visitors to your site will be convinced into buying into your services, In fact, you’ll get a lot of visitors that will never return again…..unless you do something about it. This is why it’s important for visitors to your site to be greeted by a splash page that offers a subtle way to get their contact details.

The splash page can contain a free download, access to a promotional item or even a competition. The idea is that the visitor will want it in exchange for their email address. After gaining the address, you can send your newsletter or promotional material and build a relationship. Some websites even have a person on a live chat ready to answer questions and build an instant relationship with the reader.

6. Marketing

You may have a great site that’s getting traffic from searches and ranking but it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t look at other avenues of marketing. These days social media plays a huge role in promotions and your site should be linked to as many social media sites as possible.

You should have dedicated buttons linking to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any other social media sites that you use, as well as a share button. It’s also good to have a live feed from one of those sites directly linked to your website. Obviously, social media sites should be updated regularly if they are expected to work.

7. Mobile Friendly

Over the last few years, the number of users accessing sites from desktops has been in a steady decline, with more and more people accessing from their phones and tablets. It’s predicted that by the end of 2019, up to 79% of web traffic will be from mobiles with only 20% coming from desktops.

It’s therefore vitally important to ensure that your site is optimized for mobile access because visitors that don’t get a good experience on their mobiles are unlikely to return. Mobile friendliness is yet another factor linked to Google ranking. Since 2016, has taken ranking signals from the mobile version of the site and not the desktop version.

These 7 steps are some of the most important things to consider when designing your site. If you can get your web development team to implement these steps, you’ll be on your way to having a great website that will attract traffic and do justice to your brand.

The post 7 Website Design Essentials for Small Businesses appeared first on DailyBlogTips.com.

Would your blog benefit from removing the dates of the posts? That is the question I asked on the post “Should We Remove the Timestamp?”. The feedback from the readers was divided. Some people believe that the timestamp is necessary, while others think that removing the date from posts could have advantages, like increasing the number comments and linkbacks for the older content .

It is probably a subjective matter. Removing the date will work for some blogs, and not for others. Regardless of that choice, a lot of people are not comfortable with editing the WordPress theme files to remove the timestamp. Secondly, the raw editing of such files do not provide flexibility. You can either keep the dates on all the posts or removed them all, there is no in between.

With that problem in mind Stephen decided to code a plugin, called Date Exclusion.

Date Exclusion Plugin

This WordPress plugin gives the user complete control over where and when the timestamp will be displayed. You can exclude them from all posts by default or only on posts older than a few weeks or months. You can also exclude or include dates on a post-by-post level through WordPress’ custom field feature.

Installation

1. Download and unzip the plugin file
2. Upload the date-exclusion.php file to your /wp-content/plugins/ directory
3. Log into your WordPress control panel, click the “Plugins” tab, and click “Activate” next to the Date Exclusion plugin

Configuration

In order to configure the plugin for your needs you will have to open the plugin file (date-exclusion.php). You can do this on the Plugin Editor inside the WordPress control panel.

To exclude date information from all posts by default, set $exclude_date on line 30 equal to ‘yes’. This can be overridden on a post-by-post basis by setting “exclude_date” as a custom field with a value of “no”.

To set a default period of time for every post after which date information should no longer be displayed, set $date_expires on line 33 to the number of days to wait (e.g., 14 for two weeks). This can be overridden on a post-by-post basis by setting “date_expires” as a custom field with a different value (or 0 to deactivate).

To exclude date information from a specific post, set “exclude_date” as a custom field with a value of “yes”.

To make the date of a specific post no longer display after a certain period of time, set “date_expires” as a custom field with a value equal to the number of days you want the date to display.

Version History

Still on the initial release (1.0). Please leave a comment if you encounter any difficulties.

The post Date Exclusion WordPress Plugin appeared first on DailyBlogTips.com.

A couple of weeks ago I came across an interesting tool to measure the loading speed of your website. The tool was created by Pingdom, and it basically loads your website, tracking the time at each stage of the process. It’s called Pingdom Website Speed Test.

Once the test completes you’ll with a score (varies from 0 to 100), the number of requests performed (i.e., how many elements were loaded), the total load time and the total size of your page.

Here’s how DailyBlogTips scored:

On top of that you’ll also get access to a detailed break-down of all the elements that were loaded while opening your website, and the respective time that it took to load each of them. This information is quite valid to help you optimize your load time.

There are other tools that produce a similar report, but most work as browser extensions, so you need to install them forehand. As a web tool that you can use right away this is one of the best I’ve found, so check it out.

The post Tool to Measure the Speed of Your Website appeared first on DailyBlogTips.com.

Last year I started experimenting with online video. I focused mostly on screencasts, doing some blog reviews and how-to videos. I liked to work with video, and found that it has many benefits. After some time I also realized that it carries some drawbacks, though. Below you will find what I learned from it.

PROS

1. Video sets you apart from the crowd. Most people are able to setup a blog and start writing text posts. Current blogging and publishing platforms make it a no-brainer even for 5-year old children. Video, on the other hand, requires a special setup (e.g., a video camera, screen capturing and editing software). Using video can therefore set your blog or site apart from the crowd.

2. Video appeals to a different audience. There is a great number of online users that prefer to watch videos over reading text content. YouTube’s popularity is no coincidence. Adding video to your site could widen your potential audience and bring new visitors aboard.

3. Video enables you to show rather than tell. Demonstrating things and explaining some concepts can be easier with video. Sites that have a good amount of how-to articles and tutorials could therefore benefit from the format.

4. Video can be more personal. Video will bring out your voice and possibly your face. Needless to say that this is a much stronger way to interact with your visitors. Secondly, if you want to develop your personal brand, video could help with that.

5. Video reaches different online channels. Given the immense popularity of online video sites, YouTube above them all, video could be used to tap into different marketing channels and new traffic generation opportunities.

CONS

1. Video requires more preparation. Casual videos can be shot on the spot. If you want to produce something more professional, however, you will need to work on the setup, script and related activities. In other words, you will need to work even before you start shooting the video.

2. Video takes time to edit and upload. Apart from preparing the video before you shoot it, you will also need to dedicate a good amount of time to the editing and uploading processes. Choosing the right format, video platform and player are also areas that will need attention.

3. Video is not optimal for search engines. Google and other search engines are evolving fast regarding how they index videos. That being said, text is still king if you want to optimize your site for organic traffic. One solution for this is to offer video transcripts, but this will require some extra work on your side.

4. Video is not suitable for all topics. Depending on the topic or type of content that you want to create, video might not be suitable at all. Lists of resources, extensive articles and detailed researches, for example, are better presented in textual format.

5. Not everyone likes video. While there are many Internet users that swear by online video, there are just as many that can’t stand it. Those are mostly people that don’t have too much time to surf the web, and who prefer to access the information in textual format, because it allows them to scan through the content, and filter only the bit of information that they need.

Overall I think it is worth a try though. Video is certainly going to be a huge part of the web in the coming years, and the sooner you get used to it, the better.

What about you, have you experimented with producing online video? What did you learn from it?

The post The Pros and Cons of Using Video in Your Site or Blog appeared first on DailyBlogTips.com.

A primary goal of any website or blog should be to provide its visitors with a pleasant and fulfilling experience. Regardless of what market the website is targeting, the opinions of users will play a huge role in determining the site’s level of success. Visitors that have positive experiences will be much more likely to come back later, refer friends, sign up for a newsletter, purchase a product, submit an inquiry about a service, etc.

When developing a website, the user’s wants and needs should always be in the forefront of the decision making process. It doesn’t matter what type of website you run, it needs to be user-focused. Unfortunately, sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the design and development process and create a site that satisfies the designer or the owner but doesn’t really provide visitors with much value.

What makes a website user-friendly? There are probably an endless number of factors, but let’s look at five of the major ones.

1. Page Load Speed

Although high-speed internet connections are becoming more and more common, there is still a large number of internet users that are on slower dial-up connections. Even with high-speed connections some pages just don’t load very quickly. Most of your visitors will be fairly impatient and pages that load slowly could chase them away. At the very least, slow loading times will reduce the number of pages that they’ll visit on your site.

Knowing your site’s audience can really help to know how your pages should be designed. A program like Google Analytics will show you the percentage of your visitors that are using different internet connections. Based on the numbers you can get a good idea of what type of impact page load speed will have on your overall audience. If your site attracts a high percentage of users with dial-up connections, you should be sure to keep pages loading as quickly as possible. If a very high percentage of visitors are using high-speed connections, you may be able to add a few extra elements to your pages.

Factors that influence the load times of pages include the number and size of images, extra items like flash, the amount of excess code (example, designing with a table-based layout instead of CSS), and the size of your pages. (Read more about website optimization).

2. Accessibility

If someone can’t use or access your website it serves no purpose for that visitor. Accessibility of websites has become a bigger priority for designers and developers in recent years, but there is still a long way to go. Even major corporations have struggled to achieve complete accessibility. Target was even sued over the accessibility of its website for handicapped individuals.

Some of the easiest things that you can do to improve the accessibility of your site include using alt tags for all images, use valid HTML and CSS coding, avoid frames, and allow text to be re-sized by visitors. There is of course much more to accessibility, which was covered in detail by 456 Berea St.

3. Navigation

All users want to be able to move through the website to find what they want. A huge factor in being user-friendly is providing simple and intuitive navigation. Major areas of navigation should be located consistently on all pages. Using common elements that users expect to find, like About pages and Contact pages will help as most internet users have come to expect them and will look for them at times.

A general rule of thumb is that any page on your site should be reachable with 2 clicks from your home page. For larger sites this probably isn’t realistic, but offering a sitemap and/or a sitewide search can really help.

Another important factor with navigation is that user’s shouldn’t have to guess where they will end up if they click on a link. Regardless of whether the link is part of a navigation menu, or if it is simply in the body of the text, visitors should understand where the link will lead them.

4. Information

Visitors are coming to your site for a reason. Whatever that reason may be, you want to provide them with what they are seeking. Are they coming to find basic information on your business’ services? Are they coming to read in-depth articles on a particular subject? Whatever the case may be, the information that your website provides needs to sufficiently meet the expectations of visitors.

A blog like this one will need to provide its readers with great, insightful articles in order satisfy its visitors. The website of a restaurant may need to provide hours of operation and a menu in order satisfy its visitors. Obviously, each situation is different. In order to have a user-friendly website you need to anticipate what visitors will expect to find at your site, and then put it right in front of them.

I know this is just the tip of the iceberg on the subject of user-focused websites. What factors do you feel are important (either from the perspective of a visitor or a designer)?

The post 4 Characteristics of User-Friendly Websites appeared first on DailyBlogTips.com.

You don’t have to know or be a photographer to have a great web presence, but it certainly helps. Images have become the currency of social media and many forms of online news and communication. Images distill thoughts into a form that can be consumed in an instant, much faster than the thousand words or so it would take to get across the same information. While writing is still important, it’s increasingly images that get people to pay attention to the written word. If you still aren’t sure how to use images to increase your online presence, here are three of the very best methods.

1) Use Professional Quality Images.

If you don’t so much as own a camera, you can still use amazing images if you have the right source. There are countless ways to buy great images at affordable rates, with so much variety available that you can find pictures tailored to your exact needs and specifications. If you go the stock photo route, it pays to do your homework. By digging into places that present uncommon and affordable results, you will be able to avail yourself of images that don’t look commonplace or unnatural for your purpose.

2) Use Original Images Sometimes.

Content creation is the name of the game online, and this isn’t likely to change anytime soon. Platforms like Instagram are full of images created by people of interest, which can be incredibly successful even if they aren’t of the highest quality. If you have a customer or fan base, you may be surprised how many people have an appetite for images of you or your brand. All you need is a phone to make creative, candid, original images that your fans won’t be able to find anywhere else. This creates a sense of intimacy and activity that some brands are surprisingly without.

3) Invest in Images That Dazzle.

If you don’t want to go the stock photo route and you aren’t the type to throw up images on social media platforms willy nilly, you might be the type of internet personality who invests in dazzling images and video. These images are a production. Whether they are taken in a studio, in nature, or under the sea, images that amaze with their quality, subject matter, and unusual perspective help brands take a step beyond conventional branding. Drones, underwater robots, adventures photographers, and innovative video techniques – all of these are strong ways to create pictures that impress people for their originality.

4) Bonus Tip: Don’t Forget About GIFs!

GIFs, or “graphics interchange format”, is like a self-contained looping video that shows a short period of content or action, often measured in just a few seconds. GIFs and memes are two of the most popular ways to communicate information, ideas, and jokes anywhere on the internet. You’ve likely seen them or used them before. They’re a great way to distill an important bit of video from your business, a humorous concept, or a thought-provoking message that pertains to your brand. Once you get hooked on making GIFs, you’ll use them all the time.

There are many strategies that will produce an effective imaging strategy for your career, business, or brand. The most important thing is to do it, whichever one you choose! For people who have not always used the internet, the image-first nature of today’s web may seem unfamiliar. Even so, it’s here to stay and anyone who wants to make a place for themselves online, or to expand their current reach, needs to use images that are compelling, brand enhancing, and on the cutting edge of convention, taste, and trend.

The post 3 Ways to Use Photos to Improve Your Online Presence appeared first on DailyBlogTips.com.

Unless your blog is a secondary part of an existing website you should always install WordPress on the root directory. When I created my first blog I used an automatic WordPress installation that my web hosting company offered, but the standard installation was done on “www.domain.com/blog.

I was not sure how this would affect the blog therefore I decided to leave things as they were. A couple of months later when I started studying SEO I realized that this was a bad move. My blog could be accessed either through “www.domain.com” or “www.domain.com/blog”, meaning that the Homepage was duplicated. At the time, I didn’t know how to do proper 301 redirect. This is my contribution to the “Blogging Mistakes” project. We already have 21 people participating, if you have not submitted your entry make sure you do so. The deadline is the midnight of Sunday. I am looking forward to reading your blogging mistakes!

Understanding the WordPress File System

Firstly, it’s important to get to grips with the overall structure of WordPress. Just like how your computer has a file system that organizes and stores your data, WordPress has its own system too. At its core, WordPress uses a simple yet effective file system. When you install WordPress, it creates a set of files and directories on your server. Think of it like moving into a new house and organizing all your stuff in specific rooms for easy access. That’s essentially what WordPress does – it organizes its files in a similar manner.

Understanding this file system is crucial when you install WordPress. It not only helps you navigate and manage your site more effectively but also aids in troubleshooting. It’s like understanding the blueprint of a house – if something goes wrong, you know exactly where to look!

A Peek into the WordPress File Structure

Now, let’s unzip the WordPress installation file and see what’s inside. The main WordPress folders you’ll find are:

1. wp-admin: This is where all the magic happens! The wp-admin directory contains files for the WordPress administrative back end, basically everything that makes your WordPress dashboard function.
2. wp-content: Ever wondered where your themes, plugins, and media uploads reside? Yep, you guessed it! The wp-content directory is the one-stop destination for all these elements. It’s the most frequently accessed folder when you install WordPress because it houses your website’s personal touches.Whether you’re a seasoned developer or a WordPress newbie, familiarizing yourself with the WordPress file system will make your life easier. Let’s take a scenario: you need to install a custom theme. To do this, you’ll need to upload your theme to the wp-content/themes directory. Without understanding the file structure, this could seem like finding a needle in a haystack!Now, imagine you’re facing some unexpected issues after installing a plugin. The first place to check? The wp-content/plugins directory! Knowing where everything is stored allows you to diagnose and rectify issues with greater ease and speed.
3. wp-includes: This directory is like the engine room of the WordPress ship. It contains files that your site needs to function properly, like files for database operations, core functionalities, etc.

Then there are a handful of PHP files, like wp-config.php, which holds vital information about your site’s database, and .htaccess, which allows you to override certain server configuration settings.

Comparing WordPress to Other CMS

Diving into the world of Content Management Systems (CMS), one cannot overlook the giant in the room: WordPress. However, it’s not the only player in the game. Let’s compare WordPress to other popular CMS platforms and see how they stack up.

WordPress vs Joomla

Starting with Joomla, another open-source CMS platform, there are some key differences to note. While WordPress shines in its user-friendliness and massive theme and plugin directories, Joomla offers more advanced user management features. If you need to manage multiple user permissions and have some technical skills, Joomla could be an interesting choice. However, WordPress, with its widespread community support and ease of use, often comes out on top for many users.

WordPress vs Drupal

Drupal, another contender in the open-source CMS arena, is known for its robust security and scalability. It’s a preferred choice for large, complex websites that require custom data organization. However, Drupal requires a higher learning curve compared to WordPress. So, while WordPress might not offer the advanced security features of Drupal out-of-the-box, its simplicity and flexibility make it a go-to for a wide range of website projects.

WordPress vs Wix

Shifting gears to a hosted platform, Wix is a popular choice for users looking for drag-and-drop website builders. It’s easy to use, no doubt, but its customization options can’t compete with WordPress. Also, with WordPress, you truly own your website, while with Wix, you’re essentially “renting” your web space. If you value ownership and extensive customization options, WordPress still wins the race.

WordPress vs Squarespace

Squarespace, another hosted platform, is known for its visually stunning templates, making it a favorite among creatives. However, Squarespace falls short when it comes to the level of flexibility and control offered by WordPress. With WordPress, you’re not tied down to a specific hosting provider and have the freedom to customize your site endlessly.

WordPress vs Blogger

Blogger, powered by Google, is a free blogging platform that’s been around for a while. It’s simple to use, but it’s limited in terms of design and functionality. WordPress, on the other hand, offers the versatility to create anything from a personal blog to a full-fledged eCommerce store.

While each CMS has its strengths, WordPress stands out due to its balance of user-friendliness, flexibility, and control. Regardless of your technical skill level, WordPress provides the tools and resources to create a website that meets your unique needs.

Remember, choosing a CMS should be based on your specific needs, skills, and long-term plans. WordPress is an all-rounder that has proven itself over the years, but the others have their niches where they excel. Make an informed decision, and you’ll have a strong foundation to build your website on.

Here is a quick comparison

Installing and Reinstalling WordPress

Are you ready to install WordPress? Let’s get started!

Delving into the practical aspect of WordPress management, let’s navigate through the process of how to install WordPress in the root directory. This is a common scenario that users come across, so if you’ve been wondering about this, you’re not alone.

Prepping for Installation

Before installing WordPress, ensure that your hosting environment meets the WordPress requirements, which include a MySQL database and PHP support. Typically, most hosting providers are equipped to handle WordPress installations. You’ll also need a domain name pointed towards your hosting account.

Installing in the root directory makes sense for a single website, while a subdirectory only makes sense if you’re running multiple sites from one domain.

Let’s break down the steps to install WordPress in the root directory. Here we go!

• Step 1: Download WordPress
  Head over to WordPress.org and download the latest version of WordPress. The downloaded file will be a .zip file.
• Step 2: Extract the WordPress .zip File
  Once the download is complete, you’ll need to extract the zip file. This should reveal a folder named ‘WordPress’ containing all the WordPress core files.
• Step 3: Connect to Your Hosting Account
  You’ll need to connect to your hosting account using an FTP client like FileZilla. You’ll need your FTP login credentials, which your hosting provider can provide.
• Step 4: Navigate to the Root Directory
  In your FTP client, navigate to the root directory of your site. The root directory is usually named ‘public_html’, but it could be different depending on your hosting provider.
• Step 5: Upload WordPress Files to the Root Directory
  Here’s the crux of the process. Take all the files you extracted from the WordPress zip file and upload them into your root directory.
• Step 6: Create a MySQL Database
  While the files are being uploaded, you can create a MySQL database for your WordPress site. Your hosting provider should offer a database creation tool like phpMyAdmin in your hosting control panel.
• Step 7: Run the WordPress Installation Script
  Once the files have been uploaded and your database is ready, open a new browser window and navigate to your domain name. You should be greeted by the WordPress installation script. Follow the prompts, input your database information, and proceed with the installation.
• Step 8: Complete the WordPress Installation
  As you finalize the installation, you’ll be asked to provide details like your site’s title, your desired username and password, and an email address. Fill these in, hit ‘Install WordPress’, and voila, you’ve successfully installed WordPress in the root directory!

Now that we’ve gone through the steps, it’s evident that installing WordPress in the root directory is not as intimidating as it might initially seem. With a bit of patience and some attention to detail, you’ll have your WordPress site up and running in no time. Remember, every great WordPress site starts with this fundamental process!

If you ever find yourself needing to reinstall WordPress – don’t panic! Whether it’s a tricky bug or a complete site overhaul, reinstallation can be done relatively painlessly. BlueHost, SiteGround and Hostinger have useful guides on how to do this.

Troubleshooting Common WordPress Issues

A dive into WordPress management would be incomplete without addressing some of the common directory issues that can emerge. Like any robust platform, WordPress has its quirks, and occasional issues with directories are part of the package. However, the beauty of WordPress lies in its solutions-oriented approach, and there are clear fixes to these problems.

WordPress Issue #1: .htaccess File Errors

The .htaccess file in your WordPress installation can sometimes be the culprit behind issues with permalinks and 404 errors. If you’re facing trouble with your URLs or are encountering frequent 404 errors, it’s wise to take a peek at the .htaccess file.

The simple fix here is to reset the permalinks in your WordPress dashboard. Go to ‘Settings’ -> ‘Permalinks’ and simply click ‘Save Changes’ without making any modifications. This action forces WordPress to generate a new .htaccess file, potentially resolving any issues.

WordPress Issue #2: WordPress Asking for FTP Credentials

Sometimes, when trying to install a theme or plugin, WordPress might prompt you for FTP credentials. This is typically due to WordPress not having the correct permissions to write to the wp-content directory.

To fix this, you may need to change the directory permissions. Using an FTP client, navigate to the wp-content directory and adjust the permissions to make it writable. You should consult with your hosting provider or a knowledgeable developer before changing permissions, as incorrect settings can pose security risks.

WordPress Issue #3: Unable to Create Directory

This error pops up when WordPress cannot upload images or create new folders within the wp-content/uploads directory. This issue is also usually tied to incorrect directory permissions.

You can rectify this by changing the permissions for the wp-content/uploads directory, similar to the solution for the previous issue. Again, always exercise caution and seek expert advice when adjusting directory permissions.

WordPress Issue #4: ‘Stylesheet is Missing’ Error

This problem occurs when WordPress cannot locate the style.css file in your theme’s directory, causing the theme to malfunction. This issue commonly happens when a theme has been incorrectly installed or uploaded.

To solve this, ensure that you’re uploading the correct .zip file for your theme, which should directly contain the style.css file. Sometimes, the downloaded theme package might contain additional folders or files, and the actual theme might be nested within. Always check the theme’s documentation for proper installation instructions.

Navigating WordPress directory issues may seem daunting, but as we’ve seen, they’re typically manageable with a bit of knowledge and patience. The vast WordPress community is always there to help, with numerous resources and tutorials available to guide you through any challenges you encounter. Remember, troubleshooting is a natural part of the WordPress journey and a valuable learning experience in managing your site.

Absolutely! Let’s add this to the list.

WordPress Issue #5: Error Establishing a Database Connection

This is a common issue in WordPress that arises when WordPress is unable to connect to the database. This error could be due to several reasons, such as incorrect database credentials in your wp-config.php file, a corrupted database, or issues with your hosting server.

To troubleshoot this, start by checking your wp-config.php file, which is located in your WordPress root directory. This file contains your database login information, so make sure that the database name, username, password, and host are all correct.

If the wp-config.php file looks correct, the issue might be a corrupted database. You can check this by navigating to yourdomain.com/wp-admin. If you see a different error saying the database needs repair, then you can use WordPress’s built-in database repair feature. Add the following line to your wp-config.php file: define('WP_ALLOW_REPAIR', true);. Then, visit yourdomain.com/wp-admin/maint/repair.php and follow the instructions for repairing and optimizing your database. Remember to remove the line from your wp-config.php file once you’re done.

If neither of these solutions work, it’s time to contact your hosting provider. There might be an issue on their end, or they might be able to help identify the problem.

With this addition, you can see that WordPress directory and database issues are numerous, but the solutions are within reach. It’s all about understanding the problem and knowing where to look for answers. And remember, the WordPress community and your hosting provider are invaluable resources when you’re troubleshooting issues.

Here is a quick summary of common WordPress problems, along with their potential causes and solutions. If you have more to suggest, then please add them in the comments section below.

Always remember that for each problem encountered with WordPress, there are efficient and effective solutions readily available. The key is in understanding the issue and the possible causes, then applying the appropriate fix.

You’re now equipped with a wealth of knowledge about the WordPress root directory, from understanding its purpose to learning how to navigate it. You’re all set to install WordPress and begin your journey in managing your own website. Good luck!

The post Always Install WordPress on The Root Directory – A Guide to Understanding and Managing WP appeared first on DailyBlogTips.com.

The Top 25 List of Blogs is becoming a trademark around here. We have already created the Top 25 Blogs About Blogging and the Top 25 SEO Blogs. Now it is time to cover the web design niche.

The Original 25

1	A List Apart	8	10	10	10	38
2	Smashing Magazine	6	10	10	10	36
3	456 Berea Street	7	8	10	8	33
4	Meyer Web	8	7	9	7	31
5	Simple Bits	7	7	10	6	30
6	Pearsonified	7	6	7	10	30
7	Tutorial Blog	5	8	7	8	28
8	CSS Beauty	7	8	7	5	27
9	Snook.ca	7	7	7	6	27
10	Bartelme Design	7	6	9	4	26
11	The Man in Blue	7	5	10	3	25
12	Andy Budd	8	3	10	4	25
13	Particle Tree	6	6	8	5	25
14	Warpspire	7	4	3	10	24
15	Brian Gardner	6	7	1	10	24
16	Sitepoint Design Blog	6	10	4	4	24
17	The Undersigned	7	3	3	10	23
18	Bitt Box	5	7	5	6	23
19	Fadtastic	5	3	5	10	23
20	Colour Lovers	0	9	5	8	14
21	David Airey	4	7	3	8	22
22	Design Meltdown	5	6	7	4	22
23	Clagnut	7	3	8	3	21
24	Dev Lounge	6	6	4	5	21
25	Smiley Cat	6	4	7	3	20

Other Notable Sites / Blogs

I have a lot of fun compiling these lists because it allows me to discover a bunch of new blogs, most of them with excellent content. It is also interesting to see how the different blogs on a specific niche perform under the parameters. Once again we based the analysis on Google’s Pagerank, Alexa rank, Bloglines subscribers and Technorati authority. The details about the algorithm can be found below the table.

Blogs considered: the list considers only blogs that have a high percentage of web design related content.

Google Pagerank (0 to 10): the actual Pagerank was used on the algorithm.

Alexa Rank (0 to 10): Ranges were determined based on the Alexa Rank (i.e., 150k and up, 150k-100k, 100k-75k, 75k-50k) and each range was assigned a number (1 to 10).

Bloglines Subscribers (0 to 10): Subscriber ranges were determined (i.e., 1-50, 50-100, 100-150, 150-200) and each range was assigned a number (1 to 10).

Technorati Authority (0 to 10): Ranges were determined based on Technorati’s Authority rank (i.e., 1-100, 100-200, 200-400,400-600) and each range was assigned a number (1 to 10).

The post Top Web Design Blogs appeared first on DailyBlogTips.com.

The robots.txt file is used to instruct search engine robots about what pages on your website should be crawled and consequently indexed. Most websites have files and folders that are not relevant for search engines (like images or admin files) therefore creating a robots.txt file can actually improve your website indexation.

A robots.txt is a simple text file that can be created with Notepad. If you are using WordPress a sample robots.txt file would be:

User-agent: *
Disallow: /wp-
Disallow: /feed/
Disallow: /trackback/

“User-agent: *” means that all the search bots (from Google, Yahoo, MSN and so on) should use those instructions to crawl your website. Unless your website is complex you will not need to set different instructions for different spiders.

“Disallow: /wp-” will make sure that the search engines will not crawl the WordPress files. This line will exclude all files and foldes starting with “wp-“ÂÂ from the indexation, avoiding duplicated content and admin files.

If you are not using WordPress just substitute the Disallow lines with files or folders on your website that should not be crawled, for instance:

User-agent: *
Disallow: /images/
Disallow: /cgi-bin/
Disallow: /any other folder to be excluded/

After you created the robots.txt file just upload it to your root directory and you are done!

The post Create a robots.txt file appeared first on DailyBlogTips.com.

This post is part of the Friday Q&A section. If you want to ask a question, just write a comment below.

Joel asks:

Currently I am using a shared hosting account, but I see a lot of talk about VPS hosting and dedicated servers. When should I consider those solutions?

My short answer would be: as soon as you start making some money with your blog or website.

Shared hosting is fine when you are starting out. If I remember well I stayed for around one year on shared hosting, and my sites were already getting a decent amount of traffic at the time.

The problem with this type of hosting, however, is that your website will be in a server with dozens, if not hundreds of other sites. As a result, if any of these site owners screws up, you are likely to have problems, too.

For example, if one clueless site owner runs a script that crashes the server, your site will go down too, even if you had nothing to do with it. Secondly, if one site owner leaves some security holes open, your site might get hacked too.

These are the two main reasons for moving up to a VPS or, preferably, to a dedicated server whenever you become able to.

I don’t recommend that you start right away on a dedicated server, because you could end up wasting money for a website that won’t go far anyway. But as soon as you start making some money with your site it would be idea to make the switch, as this would protect your site and its income.

How much should you be making? I would say that when you reach $200 monthly or so you should consider getting a VPS (which costs around $40 monthly), and when you reach $500 monthly you should consider getting a dedicated server (which costs around $200 monthly).

Apart from the benefits mentioned, having a VPS or a dedicated server should also make your sites more responsive, as you’ll not be sharing the server resources with dozens of other websites.

Finally, if you want a recommendation for a VPS or dedicated server check out HostGator. I rent a dedicated server from them, and I am very happy with it.

The post When Should I Move to a VPS or a Dedicated Server? appeared first on DailyBlogTips.com.

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but have you ever stopped to think what your Ecommerce images are saying about the products you’re trying to sell online?

Are your photos helping your products to jump off the screen and convince shoppers to buy them?

Or, are your product images quite simply terrible to look at and a real turn-off for buyers?

With the average shopper spending less than 10 seconds on your product page, and as many as 24 million ecommerce stores out there for people to choose from, it’s more important than ever to make sure your product images are telling the right story about your product.

To help you improve your product images, we’ve come up with 5 product image tips that cover everything from how to take perfect photos, through to presenting them in the best light with some quick and easy editing.

1. Make sure product images are the right size

There’s a lot of Ecommerce platforms to choose from.

But regardless of which Ecommerce platform you use, the main thing to remember is to start with a large high-resolution file and reduce the size of the photos if you need to. And don’t forget to optimize your logo image too.

To help you make sure you’re preparing your product images to look their best on your platform of choice, we’ve done the hard work for you and researched everything you need to know about photo sizes for 5 of the leading Ecommerce platforms on the market.

• Amazon – Any images submitted to Amazon should be at least 1280px but really, they prefer the images to be at least 2560px for best results.
• eBay – Auction site juggernaut eBay suggests that your product images should measure in at between 800px and 1600px in order to make the most of their zoom-in features.
• Shopify – The sky is pretty much the limit with image sizes on Shopify (well, 4472x4472px and 20mb to be exact), but the market-leading Ecommerce platform recommends maximum dimensions of 2048x2048px for best results.
• Etsy – If you’re selling craft-inspired items on the world’s number one handmade marketplace, then you need to make sure that your product images are at least 2000px wide so that shoppers can use Etsy’s built-in zoom button.
• Magento – Another platform that automatically resizes photos for you, Magento recommend that you start with an image at least 1100x1100px in size.

If you have a small image you need to enlarge, but you don’t want to get a blurry result, you can resize your image without losing quality with ImageUpscaler.

2. Create high-quality photos of your products

Although it’s important to make sure that your images are the optimum size and aspect ratio for your Ecommerce platform of choice – it means nothing if your photos are terrible to look at.

Now, no one is expecting you to be able to shoot the next cover of Vogue magazine, but there are a number of things you should do to make sure that your photos are the best they can be – and the good news is they’re all pretty easy to do.

• Lights – One of the most effective things you can do to take great photos is to simply make sure your subject (in this case your product) is well lit. Natural light is a great start, but simple led lighting rigs like these can really take your images to a whole new level.
• Camera – Once your lighting is sorted, you’re going to want to make sure you have a decent camera to take your photos with. These days an up to date smartphone should do the trick, but if you want to splash the cash on a proper Digital Camera, then this Canon EOS 4000D is a best seller on Amazon.
• Action – When it comes to taking a photo of your product, make sure you take all photos against a plain background. You should also use a tripod to keep the camera level and balanced, take photos from a wide variety of angles, and fill as much of the frame as possible with your product.

3. Edit your product images to make them pop

Once you’ve taken professional looking photos that are a big enough size for your Ecommerce platform of choice, it’s time to think about adding a little bit of visual magic to really help your product images come to life.

Until recently, in order to edit and improve your Ecommerce images, you would have had to invest in some heavy duty (and expensive) software like Photoshop.

However, thanks to handy tools like AutoClipping.com, you can now make your images pop with just a few clicks of your mouse and next to no skill required.

AutoClipping is an easy to use background removal tool.  Simply select the background of the image that you want to delete, and the foreground of the image that you want to keep – and the software does the rest for you.

Once you have removed the background, you can then save your updated product image and upload it to your Ecommerce store. It’s as easy as that!

4. Optimize product images and increase page speed

So, by this stage you’ve taken and edited some fantastic looking product photos – and you might have even added some snappy descriptive text to help showcase all your product’s features.

You might think you’re now ready just to upload your photos and start driving traffic to your Ecommerce store – but before you get too carried away, there’s another step you seriously need to consider first: image optimization.

According to a recent report by HTTP Archive, images make up a whopping 21% of a website’s page weight – which can have a massive impact on load speed. This is important because the longer your webpage takes to load, the more likely a shopper is to hit the back button and try somewhere else.

This means that in order to make the pages of your website load more quickly, you need to reduce the size of your image files. To do this you can use one of a number of image optimization websites, including:

• Compressor.io
• Tinypng
• Kraken.io

Using a dedicated tool like the ones we’ve suggested should help you reduce your file size by as much as 66% – which can dramatically improve your page load times.

5. Help your images get discovered through search

Your professional looking Ecommerce product images aren’t just a great way to encourage website visitors to buy from your store, they can also be used to help you drive traffic to your site.

Don’t believe us? Well, google images accounts for a whopping 10% of all the traffic google receives and gets more than 1 billion page views every day from people searching for images…just like yours.

This means that if you take the time to properly optimize your images for SEO, then not only will they become ‘readable’ by search engines and rank in places like Google Images, but they’ll also increase the discoverability of your Ecommerce store and drive more traffic as a result.

With the average Ecommerce store converting just 2.03% of their traffic into revenue, you could probably do with all the free traffic you can get, right?

Optimizing images for SEO is a whole other blog topic in its own right, but to get you started – and help you land some of that all-important free traffic – here are a few golden rules you should always follow:

• File Names: Make sure you give your photos a sensible and appropriate name to maximize their discoverability. This means that instead of calling your product photo something random and meaningless like 13549ax12.jpg you should call it product-name-descriptive-feature.jpg (making sure to use hyphens to separate out words).
• Onsite optimization: Depending on which Ecommerce platform you use; you should have options to add an on-page title and description for each of your images – and in some cases you may even be able to edit the alt-text too.
• Keywords: Whatever you do to optimize your images for SEO, try not to be too spammy or inauthentic with your file names, titles, descriptions, meta data and alt text. Intelligent search engines like Google can spot keyword stuffing and “black hat” SEO techniques and could punish your website with a poor search engine ranking as a result.

On the face of it, it sounds like there is a lot to consider when creating killer product images for your Ecommerce website.

Really though, with a little practice it comes down to a few simple rules:

• Make sure your photo looks good and represents your product properly
• Make sure your photo is an appropriate size for your Ecommerce platform of choice
• Make sure you edit your photos to help make them pop on screen
• Make sure you optimize them to help with load speed and discoverability.

We’ve included links to a number of tools and resources in this article to help you get started on your quest towards higher converting landing pages, but if there’s anything we missed, let us know in the comment section below.

The post 5 Product Image Tips For High Converting Landing Pages appeared first on DailyBlogTips.com.

Whether you are planning to sell a product, promote a service or simply get people to subscribe to your email newsletter one of the best tools you have available is a landing page.

Creating an effective landing page is not always easy, though, and if you have been struggling with it I recommend you to read an article that was published on Copyblogger last week, titled The 10 Commandments of Landing Pages That Work.

Here’s a quote from the first commandment:

1. Thy landing page shalt have but one goal

Thy landing page shalt have but one goal, and the number of the goals shall be one. Not two, not zero, but one.

If thy landing page hath zero goals, it is a “branding” page, and such vanities shall bear no fruit.

If thy landing page hath more than one goal, thou shalt confuse thy visitor, who shall leave thy site in disgust and anger.

Thy copy shalt not be divided amongst more than one goal, for such shall surely drive thy visitor to lamentation and thy copywriter to madness.

Make sure to check the article for the other 9 points.

The post 10 Tips for Building Great Landing Pages appeared first on DailyBlogTips.com.

Changing themes is very common for bloggers. In addition to the option of changing from one free theme to another, many bloggers develop their own theme, make some customizations to an existing theme, or pay someone else to design one for them. Even if you are paying someone else to do this for you, you should still be very involved in the process to insure that you get the best possible end result. Regardless of whether you are doing the work yourself of having someone else do it, here are 11 factors that you should consider to create the perfect theme for your blog.

11 Factors to Consider:

1. Complexity of the Re-Design

Do you want to completely change the look of the blog, or would you like to keep some elements of the design so that the blog is still recognizable to visitors? There is no right or wrong decision here, it just depends on your situation and what you need to accomplish with the re-design. Some bloggers are happy with the current look and just interested in freshening things up a bit and making some improvements in certain areas. Other bloggers are willing to completely strip down the current look and go for something totally new.

When Chris Garret had his blog re-designed several months ago, he kept the look very much intact and just came up with a more modern-looking theme. On the other hand, when Darren Rowse had ProBlogger redesigned, the result was a vastly different look. While there is no right or wrong method, you’ll need to decide this at the start of the design process to get things headed in the direction that you want.

2. Brand Establishment

Does your blog already have an established branded image? If so, you may want to keep enough elements of your current design to retain that image. You don’t necessarily have to be an A-list blogger to have an image that is established in the minds of your visitors. If your blog is growing and your audience has become familiar with the brand that you have established, you should at least consider how a change in design could affect this.

3. Colors

Some bloggers choose to keep the same color scheme when developing a new blog theme, and others opt for something totally different. This also goes back to a decision of staying consistent with the image that you have been building, or going for a complete overhaul of the design. If you’re not happy with your current color scheme, it’s probably a good idea to make some changes. To make this process a bit easy, you can take advantage of resources that are available like the palettes at COLOURlovers or the sample schemes at ColorSchemer.

4. Featuring of Best Content

Most bloggers like to promote their best work by making it easy for visitors to find. This helps the blogger by showcasing the most popular posts that will help to increase pageviews and subscribers, and it helps visitors by making it easy for them to find the most useful information on the blog. There are any number of different ways to feature your best work. Here at Daily Blog Tips Daniel has a list of popular articles in the right sidebar, and many other bloggers also use this approach. Others like Courtney Tuttle and Caroline Middlebrook effectively use the area above blog posts for this purpose. Which method you use is up to you, but this is something that you should think about before you start to work on the layout of your blog so that you have adequate space.

5. Monetization

Banner ads are obviously very common on blogs today, and paid text links are also pretty common. Before you develop the layout of your theme, be sure to consider where these ads will be located. In order for the theme to maintain an attractive appearance, the ads will need to fit nicely into the design. You’ll need to take into consideration the size and dimensions of the banner ads that you want to sell (125 x 125 is the most common right now) so that the design will work accordingly.

6. Readability

One of the most important factors of blog design is readability. The whole purpose of a blog is to provide content for visitors and subscribers to read, so naturally you will want to make this as easy as possible. Readability can be affected by elements like background color, text color, contrast, fonts and typography, spacing/whitespace, etc. The elements that you are adding to your blog should not detract from the visitors’ ability to read the content.

7. Subscription Options

In order to maximize the number of subscribers that you receive you will probably want to include links to your RSS feed and to your email subscription in a prominent place on the page. This is important to consider before the layout is developed. Where do you want these links and icons to be placed? Be sure there is an appropriate space allocated for them in the layout.

8. Ease of Navigation

Visitors will enter your blog from numerous different pages, and most of the time they will not come through your front page. They may find one of your posts through a search engine, through a link, or through social media.

9. Full Posts or Excerpts?

At some point you’ll need to decide if you want your front page to display full posts or excerpts (Daniel wrote an article on the advantages and disadvantages last year). While this doesn’t need to be the first decision you make, it can have a dramatic effect on the look and design of your front page. Many blogs that display excerpts use custom excerpts to really improve the look of the home page. See PSDTuts for an example of a blog that has a great-looking front page using excerpts.

10. Social Media Integration

Most bloggers really on social media to send a portion of their visitors, and many attempt to optimize their pages and posts for social media traffic by adding buttons, widgets, or links to specific social media sites. Again, this is something that you will need to consider when deciding on a page layout so that the social media elements look like they belong on the page and so they attract the attention of visitors. First, you’ll need to decide which social media sites you want to target, and then you’ll need to find the buttons or widgets that you want to use. Another option is to use a general widget like Share This .

11. Load Speed

Many of your visitors will have a short attention span, and if your pages load too slowly they may leave before ever seeing your blog. Adding too many widgets, plugins, large images, video, etc. to your blog can slow your pages to a crawl. You’ll need to find the optimal point where your blog includes everything necessary but not anything excessive that will slow down the page loads too far. Self SEO has a free page speed test that you can use.

The post 11 Factors to Consider When Designing Your Blog Theme appeared first on DailyBlogTips.com.

C.R.A.P stands for contrast, repeitition, alignment and proximity and these are the four principles of design that a blog design should adhere to. As a matter of fact this principle applies to all types of design: logo designs, product design, e-book design and soul.

The Joshua Tree

To get your head around the c.ra.p. principles let me tell you a true story aptly named The Joshua Tree from Robin Williams book, the Non Designers Type Book.

Once upon a time, Robin received a tree identifying book where you could match a tree up with its name by looking at its picture. Robin decided to go out and identify the trees in the neighborhood. Before she went out, she read through part of the book.The first tree in the book was the Joshua tree because it only took two clues to identify it.

Now the Joshua tree is a really weird-looking tree and she looked at that picture and said to herself “Oh, we don’t have that kind of tree in Northern California. That is a weird-looking tree. I would know if I saw that tree, and I’ve never seen one before.

So she took the book and went outside. Her parents lived in a cul-de-sac of six homes. Four of those homes had Joshua trees in the front yard. She had lived in that house for thirteen years, and she had never seen a Joshua tree.

She took a walk around the block – at least 80 percent of the homes had Joshua trees in the front yards. And she had sworn she had never seen one before!

The moral of the story? Once Robin was conscious of the tree, once she could name it, she saw could see it everywhere. Which is exactly my point. Once you can name something, you’re conscious of it. You have power over it. You own it. You’re in control.

The four basic principles

So now you’re going to learn the names of four of the main design principles that can be applied to any design piece at all. You are going to be in control of your pages and website as a whole.

The following is a brief overview of the principles. Although these are discussed separately, keep in mind they are really interconnected, rarely will you apply only one principle.

1. Contrast
The idea behind contrast is to avoid elements on the page that are merely similar. If the elements (type, color, size, line thickness, shape, space, etc.) are not the same, then make them very different. Contrast is often the most important visual attraction on a page.

• Can you see the difference between your content, ads, headings, body copy and comments?

2. Repetition
Repeat visual elements of the design throughout the piece. You can repeat color, shape, texture, spatial relationships, line thicknesses, sizes, etc. This helps develop the organization and strengthens the unity.

• Do you have a consistent theme or brand throughout your site? Do you reuse the same colour, shapes, blockquotes, formatting for all of your articles?

3. Alignment
Nothing should be placed on the page arbitrarily. Every element should have some visual connection with another element on the page. This creates a clean, sophisticated, fresh took,

• Does everything line up or have you got things centred, left aligned or out of place?

4. Proximity
Items relating to each other should be grouped close together. When several items are in close proximity to each other, they become one visual unit rather than several separate units. This helps organize information and reduces clutter.

• Can you find everything you need on your page easily? What is it that your visitors are looking for?

Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, Proximity = CRAP

When you gather these four principles of design theory, the appropriate and memorable acronym is CRAP. Sorry about that.

How can you use these 4 design principles?

Look at your website’s design and try to identify each singular principle. If you can’t seem to identify a part, this is an area that you need to fix up. ie. If your page has no contrast, you must make contrast. If you need some inspiration check up on the many design galleries out there. You should also be aware of the 40 Practical Blog Setup tips.

The post C.R.A.P.:The Four Principles of Sound Design appeared first on DailyBlogTips.com.

I am glad to finally release Homepage Excerpts, a WordPress plugin that I have been developing with a friend for some time already. The plugin has two main objectives. The first one is to make blogs that use full posts on the homepage more search engine friendly. The second one is to give flexibility to people that want to use both full posts and excerpts on the homepage.

Homepage Excerpts for SEO

We are all aware that Google and other search engines penalize websites that contain duplicate content. Ideally, therefore, the content of your posts should be displayed fully in one location only, and that is the single post page.

Most blogs, however, display full posts on the homepage as well, and the posts remain being displayed in full even when they slip out of the homepage into page two, three and so on.

The Homepage Excerpts plugin can be used to reduce this duplicate content while keeping full posts on the homepage. Suppose you have 8 full posts on the homepage. Once you activate the plugin you will have the option to select how many posts to display fully in the homepage. The options will go from 1 up to 8. If you select 8, all your posts on the homepage will keep being displayed fully while all the other posts (the ones on page two, three, four and so on) will turn into excerpts.

Remember that new pages usually take one week or more to get indexed by search engines, so that by the time your single post page gets indexed the post will already be out of the homepage, and it will be displayed as an excerpt, removing the duplicate content issue.

Apart from SEO benefits this change might also improve the user experience. Displaying only post excerpts on the subsequent pages will make it easier for readers to scan them quickly while searching for the post that they are looking for.

Homepage Excerpts for Layout

The plugin can also be used if you want to use an hybrid layout on your homepage, displaying the most recent posts in full and the older ones with an excerpt. On this blog usually I display the most recent post in full while making the others show excerpts, so that the reader can scan quickly through all of them. Some other people might want to display half of the posts on the homepage fully and the other half with excerpts. With the plugin you have complete control over this.

Notice that you can also select if the plugin should extract the custom excerpt from WordPress (the one that you insert manually when writing an entry) or if it should automatically grab the first X words of each post, where X is a number that can be specified on the options panel.

Installation

1. Download and unzip the plugin
2. Uploade the file homepage-excerpts.php to your plugin directory. (Usually
   located in wp-content/plugins/)
3. Log into the WordPress control panel, then go into “Plugins” and activate the
   plugin
4. Still inside the WordPress control panel go into “options” and then “Homepage Excerpts”
5. Update the plugin options as appropriate

The post Homepage Excerpts WordPress Plugin appeared first on DailyBlogTips.com.

Even if you are just slightly interested in programming you probably know Jeff Atwood or his blog Coding Horror. The blog is attracting over 500,000 unique visitors every month, and it also counts 60,000 RSS readers, meaning that Jeff probably knows what he is talking about.

I have always been intrigued by his success, hence why I decided to throw some questions on his way. He was kind enough to answer them promptly. There are some interesting points, check it out!

1. How long have you been blogging?

Since mid-2004.

2. How many hours do you dedicate to your blog daily?

About two hours per day on average.

3. Do you make money with it?

I reluctantly started accepting advertising in June. I negotiate directly with the advertisers. I only allow three advertising slots because I don’t want to turn my blog into Times Square. Also, I try to choose advertisers that are appropriate for my audience. I also donate a percentage of my advertising income back to the community in the form of monetary contributions to public, open-source programming projects in the Microsoft .NET ecosystem.

4. What is your favorite blogging platform and why?

I use an ancient version of Movable Type, but my view towards blogging platforms is the smaller, the better. It’s about the content, not the tool you use to write that content. I find meta-blogging — blogging about blogging — incredibly boring.

5. What is the biggest mistake you did on your blog?

Everything I’ve done with my blog has been tremendously successful far, far beyond any expectations I had. I’m not sure it’s fair to characterize anything I’ve done on my blog as a mistake. If anything, my mistake was not to start blogging sooner!

6. Do you think RSS is the future of content distribution?

RSS is a technology; it should be completely invisible to the average user. When it isn’t, you get stuff like Oprah redefining RSS as “Ready for Some Stories”. We should no sooner have RSS icons than we have HTTP icons.

7. Digg, Delicious, StumbleUpon or Reddit?

I’ll occasionally browse http://programming.reddit.com , but that’s about it. I tend to focus on links from my “social circle”, that is, the blogs I put in my aggregator. It’s a more reliable indicator of things I’ll like, things that tend to be outside the mainstream Digg circle. If everyone knows about it, what value does it provide? You have to go deeper.

8. What is the best marketing technique you have used?

The best marketing is no marketing– it’s doing what you love and sharing it with the public in a meaningful, easy to consume way. If you do that, and do it consistently and long enough, they’ll come to you. Whether you want them to or not!

9. Should everyone blog?

I’d love it if everyone blogged. The more the merrier. It’s a brave new world of infinite micro-content, and we have Google to filter out the best of the best. Unfortunately, not everyone has the time or inclination to blog, but I think the business case for blogs is fairly clear now, which is a big change from 2004 when I started.

10. Do you think Alexa is reliable?

Alexa is horribly flawed, but it’s eminently linkable and immediately available in a few clicks, so it has a perceived credibility. There’s a lesson there for web businesses, I think. Make it brainlessly easy, even if it isn’t perfect, and you’ll get traction.

11. If you could read only one blog, which one would you pick?

Metafilter, but that’s sort of cheating.

12. What is the secret of your success, expressed in one word?

Reading.

The post Interview with Jeff Atwood from Coding Horror appeared first on DailyBlogTips.com.

The implementation of a suitable robots.txt file is very important for search engine optimization. There is plenty of advice around the Internet for the creation of such files (if you are looking for an introduction on this topic read “Creat a robots.txt file“), but what if instead of looking at what people say we could look at what people do?

That is what I did, collecting the robots.txt files from a wide range of blogs and websites. Below you will find them.

Key Takeaways

• Only 2 out of 30 websites that I checked were not using a robots.txt file
• Even if you don’t have any specific requirements for the search bots, therefore, you probably should use a simple robots.txt file
• Most people stick to the “User-agent: *” attribute to cover all agents
• The most common “Disallowed” factor is the RSS Feed
• Google itself is using a combination of closed folders (e.g., /searchhistory/) and open ones (e.g., /search), which probably means they are treated differently
• A minority of the sites included the sitemap URL on the robots.txt file

The Minimalistic Guys

Problogger.net

User-agent: *
Disallow:

Marketing Pilgrim

User-agent: *
Disallow:

Search Engine Journal

User-agent: *
Disallow:

Matt Cutts

User-agent: *
Allow:
User-agent: *
Disallow: /files/

Pronet Advertising

User-agent: *
Disallow: /mt
Disallow: /*.cgi$

TechCrunch

User-agent: *
Disallow: /*/feed/
Disallow: /*/trackback/

The Structured Ones

Online Marketing Blog

User-agent: Googlebot
Disallow: */feed/

User-agent: *
Disallow: /Blogger/
Disallow: /wp-admin/
Disallow: /stats/
Disallow: /cgi-bin/
Disallow: /2005x/

Shoemoney

User-Agent: Googlebot
Disallow: /link.php
Disallow: /gallery2
Disallow: /gallery2/
Disallow: /category/
Disallow: /page/
Disallow: /pages/
Disallow: /feed/
Disallow: /feed

Scoreboard Media

User-agent: *
Disallow: /cgi-bin/

User-agent: Googlebot
Disallow: /category/
Disallow: /page/
Disallow: */feed/
Disallow: /2007/
Disallow: /2006/
Disallow: /wp-*

SEOMoz.org

User-agent: *
Disallow: /blogdetail.php?ID=537
Disallow: /blog?page
Disallow: /blog/author/
Disallow: /blog/category/
Disallow: /tracker
Disallow: /ugc?page
Disallow: /ugc/author/
Disallow: /ugc/category/

Wolf-Howl

User-agent: *
Disallow: /cgi-bin/
Disallow: /images/
Disallow: /noindex/
Disallow: /privacy-policy/
Disallow: /about/
Disallow: /company-biographies/
Disallow: /press-media-room/
Disallow: /newsletter/
Disallow: /contact-us/
Disallow: /terms-of-service/
Disallow: /terms-of-service/
Disallow: /information/comment-policy/
Disallow: /faq/
Disallow: /contact-form/
Disallow: /advertising/
Disallow: /information/licensing-information/
Disallow: /2005/
Disallow: /2006/
Disallow: /2007/
Disallow: /2008/
Disallow: /2009/
Disallow: /2004/
Disallow: /*?*
Disallow: /page/
Disallow: /iframes/

John Chow

sitemap: http://www.johnchow.com/sitemap.xml

User-agent: *
Disallow: /cgi-bin/
Disallow: /go/
Disallow: /wp-admin/
Disallow: /wp-includes/
Disallow: /author/
Disallow: /page/
Disallow: /category/
Disallow: /wp-images/
Disallow: /images/
Disallow: /backup/
Disallow: /banners/
Disallow: /archives/
Disallow: /trackback/
Disallow: /feed/

User-agent: Googlebot-Image
Allow: /wp-content/uploads/

User-agent: Mediapartners-Google
Allow: /

User-agent: duggmirror
Disallow: /

Smashing Magazine

Sitemap: http://www.smashingmagazine.com/sitemap.xml

User-agent: Mediapartners-Google*
Disallow:

User-agent: *
Disallow: /styles/
Disallow: /inc/
Disallow: /tag/
Disallow: /cc/
Disallow: /category/

User-agent: MSIECrawler
Disallow: /

User-agent: psbot
Disallow: /

User-agent: Fasterfox
Disallow: /

User-agent: Slurp
Crawl-delay: 200

Gizmodo

User-Agent: Googlebot
Disallow: /index.xml$
Disallow: /excerpts.xml$
Allow: /sitemap.xml$
Disallow: /*view=rss$
Disallow: /*?view=rss$
Disallow: /*format=rss$
Disallow: /*?format=rss$
Sitemap: http://gizmodo.com/sitemap.xml

Lifehacker

User-Agent: Googlebot
Disallow: /index.xml$
Disallow: /excerpts.xml$
Allow: /sitemap.xml$
Disallow: /*view=rss$
Disallow: /*?view=rss$
Disallow: /*format=rss$
Disallow: /*?format=rss$
Sitemap: http://lifehacker.com/sitemap.xml

The Mainstream Media

Wall Street Journal

User-agent: *
Disallow: /article_email/
Disallow: /article_print/
Disallow: /PA2VJBNA4R/
Sitemap: http://online.wsj.com/sitemap.xml

ZDNet

User-agent: *
Disallow: /Ads/
Disallow: /redir/
# Disallow: /i/ is removed per 190723
Disallow: /av/
Disallow: /css/
Disallow: /error/
Disallow: /clear/
Disallow: /mac-ad
Disallow: /adlog/
# URS per bug 239819, these were expanded
Disallow: /1300-
Disallow: /1301-
Disallow: /1302-
Disallow: /1303-
Disallow: /1304-
Disallow: /1305-
Disallow: /1306-
Disallow: /1307-
Disallow: /1308-
Disallow: /1309-
Disallow: /1310-
Disallow: /1311-
Disallow: /1312-
Disallow: /1313-
Disallow: /1314-
Disallow: /1315-
Disallow: /1316-
Disallow: /1317-

NY Times

# robots.txt, www.nytimes.com 6/29/2006
#
User-agent: *
Disallow: /pages/college/
Disallow: /college/
Disallow: /library/
Disallow: /learning/
Disallow: /aponline/
Disallow: /reuters/
Disallow: /cnet/
Disallow: /partners/
Disallow: /archives/
Disallow: /indexes/
Disallow: /thestreet/
Disallow: /nytimes-partners/
Disallow: /financialtimes/
Allow: /pages/
Allow: /2003/
Allow: /2004/
Allow: /2005/
Allow: /top/
Allow: /ref/
Allow: /services/xml/

User-agent: Mediapartners-Google*
Disallow:

YouTube

# robots.txt file for YouTube

User-agent: Mediapartners-Google*
Disallow:

User-agent: *
Disallow: /profile
Disallow: /results
Disallow: /browse
Disallow: /t/terms
Disallow: /t/privacy
Disallow: /login
Disallow: /watch_ajax
Disallow: /watch_queue_ajax

Bonus

Google

User-agent: *
Allow: /searchhistory/
Disallow: /news?output=xhtml&
Allow: /news?output=xhtml
Disallow: /search
Disallow: /groups
Disallow: /images
Disallow: /catalogs
Disallow: /catalogues
Disallow: /news
Disallow: /nwshp
Disallow: /?
Disallow: /addurl/image?
Disallow: /pagead/
Disallow: /relpage/
Disallow: /relcontent
Disallow: /sorry/
Disallow: /imgres
Disallow: /keyword/
Disallow: /u/
Disallow: /univ/
Disallow: /cobrand
Disallow: /custom
Disallow: /advanced_group_search
Disallow: /advanced_search
Disallow: /googlesite
Disallow: /preferences
Disallow: /setprefs
Disallow: /swr
Disallow: /url
Disallow: /default
Disallow: /m?
Disallow: /m/search?
Disallow: /wml?
Disallow: /wml/search?
Disallow: /xhtml?
Disallow: /xhtml/search?
Disallow: /xml?
Disallow: /imode?
Disallow: /imode/search?
Disallow: /jsky?
Disallow: /jsky/search?
Disallow: /pda?
Disallow: /pda/search?

The post Collection of Robots.txt Files appeared first on DailyBlogTips.com.

The “301 Permanent Redirect” is the most efficient and search engine friendly method for redirecting websites. You can use it in several situations, including:

• to redirect an old website to a new address
• to setup several domains pointing to one website
• to enforce only one version of your website (www. or no-www)
• to harmonize a URL structure change

There are several ways to setup a 301 Redirect, below I will cover the most used ones:

PHP Single Page Redirect

In order to redirect a static page to a new address simply enter the code below inside the index.php file.

<?php
header("HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently");
header("Location: http://www.newdomain.com/page.html");
exit();
?>

PHP Canonical Redirect

The Canonical 301 Redirect will add (or remove) the www. prefixes to all the pages inside your domain. The code below redirects the visitors of the http://domain.com version to http://www.domain.com.

<?php
if (substr($_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'],0,3) != 'www') {
header('HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently');
header('Location: http://www.'.$_SERVER['HTTP_HOST']
.$_SERVER['REQUEST_URI']);
}
?>

Apache .htaccess Singe Page Redirect

In order to use this method you will need to create a file named .htaccess (not supported by Windows-based hosting) and place it on the root directory of your website, then just add the code below to the file.

Redirect 301 /old/oldpage.htm /new/http://www.domain.com/newpage.htm

Apache .htaccess Canonical Redirect

Follow the same steps as before but insert the code below instead (it will redirect all the visitors accessing http://domain.com to http://www.domain.com)

Options +FollowSymlinks
RewriteEngine on
rewritecond %{http_host} ^domain.com [nc]
rewriterule ^(.*)$ http://www.domain.com/$1 [r=301,nc]

ASP Single Page Redirect

This redirect method is used with the Active Server Pages platform.

<%
Response.Status="301 Moved Permanently"
Response.AddHeader='Location','http://www.new-url.com/'
%>

ASP Canonical Redirect

The Canonical Redirect with ASP must be located in a script that is executed in every page on the server before the page content starts.

<%
If InStr(Request.ServerVariables("SERVER_NAME"),"www") = 0 Then
Response.Status="301 Moved Permanently"
Response.AddHeader "Location","http://www."
& Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_HOST")
& Request.ServerVariables("SCRIPT_NAME")
End if
%>

The post How to setup a 301 Redirect appeared first on DailyBlogTips.com.

A favicon (short for “favorite icon”) is that small icon displayed on the browser URL bar, on the bookmark lists and, for certain browsers, on the navigation tabs. While a favicon will not drastically change your traffic it will certainly improve the look of your blog, adding a unique icon and making sure that readers are able to individuate your site inside bookmark lists easily.

Below you will find a step by step guide to create a favicon.

1) General Guidelines

A favicon is nothing more than a 16 pixels by 16 pixels icon, and the file has a .ico extension. As you can imagine it is pretty difficult to put complex graphics in such a small frame. When designing your favicon, therefore, you should concentrate on simple images or letters. Make sure that the color of the favicon reflects the color of your website, so that readers will be able to associate the icon with the site.

2) Using Online Generators.

Online generator Logaster is very convenient service. The functionality of the site is simple and intuitive, there is no need to have any skills to work with graphic editors. Before creating a favicon, you need to create a logo. But this extra step is justified by the fact that you get not only the opportunity to choose from a variety of service-generated images, but also get a favicon in the same style with the logo.
When the items are created, you can easily download files from your account on Logaster and upload it to your site.

3) Using Photoshop (skip this point if you are not using Photoshop)

Adobe Photoshop is probably the best alternative for a well-designed favicon. The standard Photoshop can not handle .ico, so the first thing to do is to download a Windows Icon Photoshop Plugin (you can download it here).

Once you have it, you need to create a folder ( if its not there already ) called “File Formats” inside of your

C:\Program Files\Adobe\...\Plug-Ins\File Formats <—– drop the plug-in inside this folder

Just go the site – Telegraphics – Free plugins for Photoshop & Illustrator…and other software scroll down to download the plugin for your operating system. Once you’ve got the Plugin installed you should create a 64 x 64 pixels canvas and start playing with it. After you are done designing the favicon you will need to resize the image. Go to the Image Size menu and click Resample Image. This process will make sure that the image will not blur as you scale it down. Finally just save the 16 x 16 image as “favicon.ico”.

4) Using MS Paint and web tools

Favicons are very simple image icons, meaning that even Microsoft Paint should be enough to create a good looking one. The easiest way is to create a 32 x 32 pixels JPEG image with Paint and then use the online service “Favicon from Pics” to convert the JPEG image into a favicon.ico file.

5) Uploading the favicon.ico file

Once you are done with the favicon.ico file you should upload it to your site. Just make sure you place it in the root directory, which is the directory where the index file is located.

6) Changing your header

The final step is to change your header, which is the code that goes between the <head> and </head> tags. All you need to do is to add the following line:

<link rel="shortcut icon" href="/favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon" />

Notice that this code will only work if the favicon.ico is located in the root directory.

7) Testing

Everything should be in place now, just open your browser and point to your site to check whether the favicon is appearing or not. Bookmark the site and open a couple of tabs to see how the icon is looking, if you do not like it just go back to the drawing board.

The post How to create a favicon appeared first on DailyBlogTips.com.