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  • 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.

  • Blog Designing Tips for New Bloggers

    I have been busy writing free blog reviews each week for those that have requested a review. When I review a blog one of the criteria I use to rate a blog is how well the blog is designed. There are many different designs that you can use for a blog, but I think for many new bloggers what to include in the design can seem confusing.

    I have decided to compile a list of the items I look for in a blog. Others will have their opinion, but here are mine.

    The Layout of a Blog

    Before I talk about the elements, or widgets, to include it is important to have a well defined layout. The layout sets the tone on how your blog will look and feel to a visitor.

    There are a few layout standards that you can see throughout the many blogs online. Some blogs incorporate one navigational sidebar and the content, while others include two sidebars. Some layouts place the sidebar on the left side of the page, while others place it on the right side. For those with two sidebars, you may see them split on the left and right side with the content in the middle, or both sidebars on one side only.

    Some will argue that putting your sidebars on the right side is better for SEO (Search Engine Optimization), but I haven’t really seen any proof of this. I have my sidebars on the right side so the content is read first.

    The layout you choose should include at least one sidebar for navigation, and a location for the content. Above both of these elements, you should include a header that includes an image of your blog and links back to your home page. Some may include the blog name in text in the header, but I like images as you can do more with them.

    What to Include on Your Blog

    This is where many new bloggers may have difficulty. There are so many widgets on the Internet that you can include in your blog, which may be confusing as to what yours should actually use. I’ll try to make it easier for you.

    The first thing you should include is a way to subscribe to the RSS feed of your blog. This can be either through a button/image, a form to subscribe via e-mail, or both. This should be located at the top of your navigational sidebar.

    It is important to introduce yourself to your visitors by writing an “About Me” page. Many visitors that like reading blogs, especially those that provide information or advice, like to know that the author of the blog has some experience on the topic they are writing about. This should be near the top if you can put it there.

    The next is a listing of the categories of your posts. This helps visitors read posts for a specific topic without having to perform a search. For blogs created in Blogger, the labels function performs the same thing. Each post should be assigned a category, and then the categories listed in the sidebar below the subscription buttons, or the “About Me” information.

    You should also include a list of archives to allow visitors to look through your past posts. This isn’t as important, so it can be included further down your sidebar.

    Including Advertising on Your Blog

    It seems most people that start blogs always include advertising. Why not try and make some money with your blog? The problem is many new bloggers get carried away with the ads.

    Making money online takes time and effort, and doesn’t happen overnight. You need to first build a visitor base before making money off your blog.

    When placing ads on your blog, ensure that you keep things organized, meaning don’t just place ads everywhere on the post pages. The ads should blend in nicely with the blog, to make the content stand out and not the ads.

    When you first start out, don’t worry about placing ads, in fact forget about them until you have over 100 visitors a day. You won’t make much money from them anyway, and you should be concentrating on your content in the beginning. Then as the number of visitors grows, you can place the ads on your blog. Remember to blend in the ads so they don’t standout.

    Summary

    For many new bloggers creating a well designed site can be a daunting task. When starting a blog, it is important to add several elements, such as RSS subscription, categories, and an “About Me” page. Next concentrate on writing good unique content, and not worry about such things as advertising. Once your visitor count gets above 100, then you can start looking into advertising. Remember, however, not to bombard your visitors with ads, but instead blend them into the blog.

    I would like your opinion on what elements you think should be included in a blog.

  • Review: Blog with Ric

    When creating a blog there are two things that separate a good blog from a great blog: a focus and a good design. A blog needs to be focused on a specific subject, unless it is a personal diary, and it also needs to have an easy to follow navigational design.

    For this week’s review I will look at a blog that contains a long description, but short posts, and all the elements of a good design. The author has chosen to talk about many subjects, but can they all be tied together under a single focus? Let’s have a look at Blog with Ric.

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  • Running Old DOS Programs in Windows XP or Vista

    The first PC my family ever had had an 8088 4.77MHz processor, 640KB of RAM, 20MB hard drive and a CGA (4colors) graphics adapter. This was back in the early to mid-80s, but I remember how much fun I had playing many games on that system. Back then, of course, all games and applications ran in DOS, the operating system at the time.

    I still enjoy some of the old games, however, computers have change much since that time and many of those DOS games are either difficult to get working in Windows, or don’t run at all. In this post I will introduce you to a free application that you can download that allows you to still run those old DOS applications in Windows XP or Vista.

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  • What is a UPS?

    I have discussed topics such as backing up your data and securing your computer to protect your personal information on your computer. The one topic I have not discussed is protecting your actual computer hardware. This is just as important as backing up your data as leaving your physical computer unprotected can cause you to not only lose data, but also replace your system.

    In this post I will talk about an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), what it is and how it can protect your computer from harm.

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  • Review: iMod – Thought Promotion

    There are many types of blogs on the Internet, but the two most common, at least from what I have noticed, are blogs that provide money making tips and personal blogs. The money making type blogs usually provide the same posts as other blogs, and don’t really have much of anything new to say. The personal blogs, on the other hand, contain posts on anything and everything in the life of the author. This can lead to some very entertaining posts.

    This week’s review is a personal blog from an individual in South Africa, and like most personal blogs this one tends to lost its focus at times.

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