A few months ago I had performance issues with my blog. To reduce the performance issue, I quickly redesigned the template of my blog by creating a more simple, basic design. This new design, while not the best looking template, loads quickly and contains all the links I had on my previous template.
While my new template isn’t the best looking, it does serve its purpose. I have been wondering if I should be changing the template to something more professional looking but have decided against it for the time being. I have been wondering if the look of a blog really matters to the visitors?
Nothing personifies the internet like a blog. A blog of course being an online journal, organized by date and containing frequently updated information pertaining to the the blogs content. Because of their ability to broadcast information, blogs are quickly becoming a way of communication. A way to share your information with the masses. Thus the need to know how to create a blog has become pertinent.
With so many blogging options out there how do you know which option is the right one for you and your windows computer?
There are many popular blog posting software available for anyone to use. The best part about them is that many of them are free to use. Some may require a monthly fee, while the more professional software requires you to purchase a hosting plan.
Regardless of which you choose, it is important to ensure that you always write good, quality, and unique content to make your blog standout from the crowd. If you do that, then you may be on your way to becoming a successful blogger. Let’s look at some of the more popular blog posting software options.
GIMP is a popular image editor, but to require some knowledge if you want to properly resize a CSS sprite image in GIMP. In my previous post I provided instructions on resizing a CSS sprite in Photoshop, but I realize that Photoshop is expensive to buy, and many people may not be using that photo editor. For those that are looking for a free alternative to Photoshop, I suggest you download GIMP which is also powerful photo editor. For more information about GIMP, you can read this GIMP review.
If you are used to Photoshop, GIMP can take some getting used to, but once you understand the basics, it is easy to use. In this tutorial I will show you how you can easily resize a CSS sprite in GIMP much like I did in Photoshop.
Once you have created a CSS sprite image for your website, it is important to learn how to properly resize a CSS sprite image in Photoshop if you wish to add additional images. The reason for this is that when you resize the canvas of an image in Photoshop, the additional pixels added to the image will be applied to all sides of the image equally. This will have the undesired effect of centering the previous image in the current image, and throwing off your CSS sprite positioning.
To avoid such an issue, it is important to ensure that you only resize either the bottom or the left side of the CSS sprite image. In this post I’ll show you how to properly resize a CSS sprite image in Photoshop.
I have been using the GrowMap Anti-Spambot Plugin (GASP) plugin for a few weeks now, so I decided to write a review about the plugin. Most blog owners have issues with spam comments on their posts. It is a fact of life when owning a blog – you will eventually start receiving spam comments. While it is annoying to receive the spam, there are many plugins available that can help rid your blog of this nuisance.
I have tried many plugins to reduce, and eliminate the spam I get on Technically Easy, and a few weeks ago I switched to GASP. The process GASP uses to stop spam seems like such a simple concept, but then again, sometimes the simple concepts tend to work the best.
I installed the plugin and then disabled both Akismet and the Conditional Captcha plugin. The fact that I am able to disable two plugins is great, since having too many plugins loaded can slow down a blog.
After testing out the GASP plugin for a few weeks, I can honestly say that it works, and I do mean works. I have had zero, zilch, nada, nothing, not a single spam comment within those few weeks. The best part is that without Akismet running, I haven’t had valid comments moved to my spam folder automatically.
How does GASP work? Let’s take a look.
GrowMap Anti-Spambot Plugin – The Simple Way to Stop Spam
Andy Bailey from CommentLuv fame is the one who wrote the GrowMap Anti-Spambot plugin. GASP works by requiring those that wish to leave a comment, to check a checkbox before submitting the comment. Just a simple checkbox and no hard-to-read captcha required. If the checkbox isn’t checked, the comment isn’t saved.
Growmap Anti-Spambot Plugin – Comment Checkbox (Click to enlarge)
There is also another trick to help stop spam. Since many of the spam comments are created by bots, the bots are usually programmed to fill in all the fields on a form with specific information. The GASP plugin creates a hidden field that can’t be seen by normal visitors. A bot, however can see the hidden field. The bot will then fill in the hidden field, which indicates that a bot is writing the comment. Since the field is filled in, the comment is flagged as spam and discarded.
The only downside is that the visitor needs to have Javascript enabled in their browser. Since many websites use Javascript, most visitors tend to have Javascript enabled by default.
I highly recommend you install this plugin. While the GrowMap Anti-Spambot plugin uses such simple ideas to stop spam, it has been very effective at completely preventing spam comments from my blog.
You can manually add AdSense in a WordPress post above or below the content without any issue. You can simply place the necessary code above, or below, the the_content(); function call. Now if you want to place it within the content, it is a bit more complex.
Most people would install a plugin that will automatically insert your AdSense code into the content of any post. I have used them in the past, but found that it would break the post readability if the code was inserted into the wrong location. Also, some people wish to reduce the number of plugins that are activated in the blog, so a manual method may be better. Once the code is added manually, you can easily monitor your AdSense coverage.
One of the problems that I have been facing recently is that of how to monitor server availability for my blog. There has been an increase in downtime for my blog, and I wanted to find a way to measure how much downtime I have experienced over the last little while.
The good news is that there are many options that are available that can help monitor server availability for my blog to keep track of the downtime of the web server, some require payment, while others are free. I have recently started using a service that is free, and has helped to determine how many outages I have experienced over the last little while.
