Technically Easy

Category: Websites and Blogging

This category will contain any blogging-related posts, that includes platforms such as WordPress and Blogger.

  • Review: Tetsujin’s Blog

    I have read many personal blogs. These are the blogs that don’t have any true focus since the posts are what the author has felt like writing at a specific time.

    I enjoy reading some personal blogs as they can provide quite a break from reality. This week I review a personal blog, that is geared more towards the college crowd.

    Tetsujin's Blog

    Web Site: Tetsujin’s Blog

    Description: It is about college life, general life on the internet, and random technology, it is a lot of personal blogging fun.

    Design 3.5 stars

    When I read the e-mail requesting the review I never clued in that I have seen this blog before. When I viewed the blog I instantly recognized the image in the header of the blog. The header takes up quite a lot of real estate on the blog, but the image will be associated with this blog.

    Below the image is a menu consisting of links to a forum, suggestions, the “about me” and “contact me” pages, and a “One Buck Review” page. More on the “One Buck Review” later.

    The actual content portion of the blog is split into three columns. The left column contains the Entrecard card, the BlogCatalog and MyBlogLog widgets, and recent posts from other blogs. The content is in the middle with another navigation bar on the right.

    The right navigation bar contains the subscription link, sponsors and category links, favourites, archives, a calendar of post dates and other personal links.

    The columns should be switched, with the blog related links on the left so the visitors can easily navigate the blogs. The BlogCatalog and MyBlogLog widgets, as well as the advertising should be moved to the right navigation bar. The personal links could be placed below the links on the left to make the left navigation bar a one stop shop for the links.

    I’m not a fan of the green coloured text, especially against the light background. A darker colour would make it easier to read, especially if the text was also larger.

    The design could use a few modifications to make the blog better to allow visitors to easily navigate and read the blog.

    Focus 3 stars

    It is always difficult to rate the focus of a personal blog because there usually isn’t one. That is true in this case. There is no true focus of Tetsujin’s Blog but it seems to be more geared towards college life.

    Content 4 stars

    The content of Tetsujin’s Blog ranges from long posts to relatively short posts. The author doesn’t post on a regular basis and can sometimes leave large gaps of time between posts.

    The author does include some appropriate pictures to enhance the point of a post. Some images, however, can be quite large and take some time to download. For the most part the images are small and download quickly.

    In the top menu there is a link for “One Buck Reviews”, which I’m guessing means you buy a review from the author for one dollar. The reviews are small (about three paragraphs), but for one dollar it is a good investment if you want a backlink.

    I did enjoy reading some of the content, which has a college feel to it. If you do like reading these types of blogs, then you may like reading this one.

    Spelling and Grammar 4 stars

    There are a few spelling and grammar mistakes that did cause me to reread sentences a few times. All posts don’t contains sentences like this, but those that do definitely take away from the readability of the post. A spelling and grammar checker would help in such cases.

    Overall 3.5 stars

    Tetsujin’s Blog is a standard personal blog in which the author writes about anything they are thinking about at the time. There are several issues with the design of the blog that could make it difficult for visitors to navigate or read.

    The focus of the blog, like many personal blogs, is almost non-existent, but the content is interesting. It would be better if the author wrote on a more regular basis as large gaps between posts could stop people from subscribing to the blog.

    A spelling and grammar checker would help correct some of the errors that appear in some of the posts.

    Overall the blog is a good blog with a few minor flaws that could be easy to fix.

  • How to Create Static Pages in Blogger

    Note:
    Blogger now supports static pages. To learn how to create pages in Blogger, follow the instructions outlined in How to Create Pages in Blogger.

    With some coding, you can easily create static pages in Blogger. For many blog authors, WordPress is the management system of choice. It provides the most flexibility and options for managing blogs. For those that are not using WordPress, Blogger is a good, free option. Blogger, however, is not nearly as flexible to use as WordPress. There are fewer options and templates for that system. The one drawback of using Blogger is the inability of uploading, and using static HTML pages.

    There is a simple workaround that you can use to create pages in your Blogger blog that will mimic static pages. I will discuss how to create and use those pages in this post.

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  • How To Track Outgoing Links with Google Analytics

    I use Google Analytics to monitor the traffic on Technically Easy. It is a popular, free tool that provides a wealth of information about the visitors to your web site. The problem that I find with Google Analytics is that it doesn’t track outgoing links to my blog. I would be interested to know how many of my visitors click on some of the provided outgoing links, such as my RSS subscription link.

    I recently found the answer to my problem, and how I can use Google Analytics to not only track links to other pages in Technically Easy, but also the outgoing links to other sites.

    (more…)

  • Review: F1-ToGo

    When viewing blogs I like original blogs. It seems most blogs today discuss the saturated topic of making money online, or SEO (Search Engine Optimization). When I see a blog that is not focused on one of those two topics, it is like a breath of fresh air.

    This week I look at a sports related blog, specifically F1 racing. I am not a F1 racing fan, but this is definitely one of the best blogs I have seen. Lots of content, a specific topic, with a great design.

    F1-ToGo

    Web Site: F1-ToGo

    Description: Dedicated to the fast paced world of F1 racing. Featured are original content news stories, opinions, and a bit of controversy along the way.

    Design 4.5 stars

    The design of F1-ToGo is well done. It is a standard design with the content on the left and two navigation sidebars on the right. There is also a menu bar at the top of the blog for easy access to important pages.

    First let’s have a look at the content section. The titles are nice and large and easy to read. The font and font size chosen for the content is also nice and large. Anyone should have no trouble reading the posts.

    The sidebars on the right are neatly organized, which is unusual considering the amount of information the author has provided. There are ads at the top, however, they don’t drown out the actual navigation links. There are a few ads on the right side of the sidebar, while the navigational links are on the left.

    There are many categories in the sidebars with each one having a well-defined header. The categories, recent posts, and favourite posts are near the top of the left side of the sidebars. This allows visitors to find the posts without having to scroll down the page.

    The only issue I found with the design was with IE7. When I viewed the sidebars in IE7 the “Recent Viewers” widget from BlogCatalog stretch from the left side to the right side.

    The overall design of the blog is well done, and shows how a great blog should look.

    Focus 5 stars

    The focus of F1-ToGo is simply F1. Every post is related to F1 racing, and includes discussions on tracks, results, drivers, teams, and rumours. The focus is clear and well-defined. No problems with the focus on this blog.

    Content 5 stars

    The design and and the focus are top-notch, and the content is also in that category. After reading some of the posts, I am amazed at how well each post is written.

    Most of the posts discuss drivers, teams and upcoming races. For race results, the author includes the placing of all drivers as well as the fastest laps. The content of F1-ToGo shows the author’s passion for the sport without a question.

    Spelling and Grammar 5 stars

    I found that the posts are well written and contain very few spelling and grammar mistakes. For those posts that do have a mistake, the mistake doesn’t reduce the readability, or distract from the point the author is trying to make.

    Overall 4.5 stars

    This is one of the best designed and written blogs that I have reviewed. I’m not a fan of F1 but I still read many of the posts on F1-ToGo mainly because they are very well-written. The sidebars are well organized, and the fonts and sizes chosen make the blog very easy to read.

    If you are a fan of F1, then you should definitely check out this blog. If you aren’t you should still check out this blog and see what a great blog looks like.

  • Using Google Alerts to Track Copies of Your Web Content

    In my last post I wrote about What to Avoid When Designing Web Sites. I mentioned various points that you should not do when designing a Web site. One of the points talked about copying the work of others and posting it on your site as your own. It was then mentioned in the comments about monitoring such copying of your own work.

    In this post I will look at one easy-to-use method of monitoring Google results for duplicate work of yours, which you can then use to take the appropriate action.

    What is Google Alerts?

    Google Alerts are simply e-mails sent to you when a specific set of criteria you setup is found. The search criteria are a set of search terms against the Google index, and when there are new items for those search terms an e-mail is sent to you.

    An alert can be setup for searches against News, Web, Blogs, Video and Groups.

    You can easily setup Google Alerts by visiting the Google Alerts home page and enter your search criteria on the form provided. You can then manage your alerts from your Google account.

    Using Google Alerts to Monitor Your Content

    Now that you have an idea of what Google Alerts actually is, let’s see how we can use that to monitor your Web content. Keep in mind that this isn’t 100% foolproof, but it can help you find those who duplicate your content.

    Within my posts I try to link to other posts within my blog. This helps to provide more information to my visitors, but it can also help to monitor my pages with Google Alerts. Here is how I do that:

    1. I navigate to the Google Alerts home page. This is where I will create a new alert.
    2. Since my posts usually contain a link to another post on Technically Easy, I will use that as a search term. Beside Search Items I will enter link:technicallyeasy.net. This will alert me when another site contains a link to my blog.
    3. Beside Type I select Comprehensive.
    4. For How often, I select once a day as I don’t need more alerts than that.
    5. I then enter my e-mail address to receive the alerts, and then click Create Alert.
    6. You should now receive a confirmation e-mail. You will need to click the link in the e-mail to activate your alert.

    You can use any search terms you would like to use to monitor the Google search results. The search criteria above won’t work if someone were to change the location of the links, or if a post doesn’t contain another link to your blog or Web site. You can always come up with your own method of keeping track of your hard work.

    As a side note, the above alert will also inform you of who has linked to your blog or Web site.

    Summary

    This post provided a brief overview of Google Alerts as well as step-by-step instructions for creating an alert. A simple example was provided that can allow you to track other sites that may copy your content and post it on their site. I have been able to catch a few sites that have copied my content.

    If you have other ideas of finding those that duplicate your content, I would like to hear them. Just post your ideas in the comments section.

  • What to Avoid When Designing Web Sites

    I enjoy using Entrecard on a daily basis. It allows me to find new blogs that I would have never have visited without going through Entrecard. At the same time I also find blogs that I would never visit again, not because of the content, but because of how they are designed.

    In this post I will list several points that I consider to be a bad for Web sites and blogs, and items that should be avoided if you want to keep your visitors coming back for more.

    What You Should Avoid When Managing a Web Site

    I have written many posts regarding designing a good Web site, at least in my opinion. These are outlined in Blog Designing Tips for New Bloggers and Web Site Design Tips.

    Now let’s look at some bad points that you should avoid when designing Web sites.

    1. Creating a complex design.

      Avoid adding too many links, objects, and ads to the sidebars and focus more on providing an easy to find and read navigational links. Your visitors won’t stay around hunting for a specific link. Keep the navigation simple.

    2. Popup Ads.

      These windows that open when you visit a site are really annoying, and in reality serve no real purpose as most users would just close them anyway. Making money with ads is okay by me, just as long as they are incorporated in the Web pages and don’t display in a new window.

    3. Background Music.

      I have visited many Web sites that include some music that loads and then plays in the background. If you would like music on your site, provide the play option to the user and don’t play it automatically.

    4. Flash animation – no real content.

      I usually visit sites looking for specific information. When a site’s navigation and content are all contained in flash animation, I usually close the window. Although flash can look great, I prefer the standard text to Flash on a Web site. Besides, search engines can’t index content properly if it is built in Flash animation.

    5. Copied content – no original ideas.

      Don’t copy the hard work of others and post it on your site. You will probably be punished by the search engines for having duplicate content, and won’t get many visitors in the end. You could write a brief summary of the Web page and then link back to the original site.

    6. Many Large Images.

      Many times I have visited a personal Web site and had to wait for several minutes for some images to download. If you would like to use photos on your site, make them smaller in an image editor first, and then upload them. Don’t let the browser do the resizing since they will still be large, and just look smaller.

    Summary

    This post has provided several items that you should avoid on your Web site if you want your visitors to keep returning for more. The items listed above are the most common annoyances on Web sites today, and they are the reasons I refuse to re-visit a Web site.

    Now the question to you is: what would you add to the list to make it more complete?

  • Review: Life is Colourful

    One of the most popular niche many people choose when creating a blog is the “money making” niche. I am not a fan of this niche, in fact I think it is too saturated with blogs.

    The blog this week, title Life is Colourful, is a blog that is partially in the “money making” niche. There is more to this blog, which is a good thing, as they author also ventures into the world of the Internet and SEO to provide even more tips to help you get started in blogging.

    Life is Colourful

    Web Site: Life is Colourful – Making 2 cents per minute

    Description: It’s all about Blogging, Internet, SEO, Technology, Reviews and Life.

    Design 3.5 stars

    On of the weakest points of Life is Colourful is the design. While one of the main topics discussed is how to make money online, the blog isn’t overwhelmed by ads. The design of the blog contains three sidebars, which is a little unusual. There is a left sidebar, and two right sidebars. The content is between the left and right sidebars.

    Since there are three sidebars, each column is not very wide. This has caused the author to choose a rather small font for the sidebars and the content. This can make it difficult for some to read easily. I rather prefer a larger font, at least for the content.

    The left sidebar contains only ads, and not many as only three are displayed at the top. The right sidebars contain the navigation links. The links are organized into sections, however, there seem to be too many. This clutters the right sidebar to the point where it is a little difficult to easily navigate around the blog. There are many comment links and other Web site links included in the sidebar. I’d much rather see more links related to the content of the blog.

    A few minor tweaks to the design of the blog will make it a much more appealing blog for all visitors.

    Focus 3.5stars

    The focus of the blog is rather difficult to find as many topics are discussed on the blog. If I had to choose the main focus I will probably put it in the Internet category. Unfortunately, the Internet category is very broad and not very focused.

    In this case, however, the author has chosen many topics on the Internet, including making money, SEO and Web site reviews. Many of the topics discussed can be a separate blog in itself. There are also a few technology reviews as well.

    The author does indicate other Web sites and blogs that they manage, but maybe a few more with the topics discussed on this blog can narrow down the focus of Life is Colourful.

    Content 4.5 stars

    I enjoyed the content of this blog, as I found the posts well written and not too long. The addition of images within each post provides some nice colour without distracting from the point of the post.

    The author takes time to update the blog on a regular basis. It seems on almost a daily basis the blog is updated, which indicates the devotion the author has to the blog.

    The content of Life is Colourful is definitely the strongest, and with good reason, aspect of the blog.

    Spelling and Grammar 4.5 stars

    I found that the posts are well written and contain very few spelling and grammar mistakes. For those posts that do have a mistake, the mistake doesn’t reduce the readability, or distract from the point the author is trying to make.

    Overall 4 stars

    The design of Life is Colourful can be a little cleaner to make navigating around the blog easier for visitors. Reducing the number of links in the two right sidebars can go a long way to the usability of the blog. Increasing the font size will also help with the readability of the blog.

    While the focus seems to be a little broad, the actual content of Life is Colourful is the strongest point of the blog. The author updates the blog on a regular basis which is always good to have on a blog.

    Overall, Life is Colourful is definitely a great blog to visit.

  • Grouping Posts by Categories in Blogger

    Grouping Posts by Categories in Blogger

    I recently had questions regarding adding categories to a Blogger blog. Although it doesn’t appear like Blogger supports categories, it in fact does and they can be added easily. In one of my recent posts titled Blog Designing Tips for New Bloggers, made mention of categories and that all new blogs should include a listing of them in their sidebar.

    In this post I will explain what categories are, and how to incorporate them into your Blogger blog.

    About Categories

    Blogger Logo

    Each post on a blog is usually about a specific topic, and a blog may have several topics overall. When you create many posts about a topic it would be nice to allow the visitor to view all posts that are related to that topic. This is where categories come into play.

    A category is simply a tag, or label for a post. When you add a post to a category you simply begin to organize your blog in a meaningful manner. You then list you categories on your blog and when a visitor clicks the category link, a new page displaying all posts in that category is shown to the visitor.

    It is important, however, not to create too many categories. I believe roughly 15 categories is a good number to have on your blog. Too many and your listing would be too large to read easily.

    In the next section I will show you how to implement categories in a Blogger blog.

    Labels = Categories

    In the Blogger world you can attach labels to each post that you publish. These labels can then be listed in your blog’s sidebar as links. When a visitor then clicks one of these links, it will take them to a Web page that displays all posts that are assigned that label.

    To add labels to your blog, use the following steps:

    1. Log in to your Blogger account, and then click the Layout link to the blog you want to change.
    2. Click the Add a Page Element where you want the categories to appear.
    3. From the list of page elements, click the Add to Blog button under Labels.

      4. Add Label Element

    4. Enter a title, and then click Save Changes. This should add the new Labels element to your blog.

      5. Label Element Properties

    5. Now when you create or edit a post, enter some labels in the text box labelled Labels for this post. Each label should be separated by a comma.
    6. When you publish the post, a label will show up on your blog with the number of posts associated with it.