Entries Tagged 'Net News' ↓

My mom recently discovered the joys of Facebook games. Specifically, Farmville. It’s what she uses her Macbook (which has better specs than mine) for. Once in a rare while, however, she’ll decide she wants to do some web browsing. And that’s when she calls me.

Mom: I’m at this website… and I don’t know what to do next!
Me: What links can you click on?
Mom: Links? How do I search?
Me: Is there a search box? A search button?
Mom: Um, no… oh, wait… not here… or there…
Me: Try scrolling down? Look in the upper right area?
Mom: Okay. Oh! There it is! I found it! Thank you. Why are you so good with computers?

This scenario is more common than you think. Sometimes I feel like my mother is almost oblivious to most site navigation designs- like she just doesn’t see them.

If my mom falls at all into your target audience (and she loves online shopping), here are some tips for site navigation design that might make everyone’s lives easier (especially mine):

Make Buttons Look Like Buttons

They don’t have to be all 90’s-style over-beveled buttons, but they should look like buttons. Thin borders are good, “tab” styles are good, and if they change- even slightly in color- on mouseover, even better.

Be Clear

Mom loves buttons that say “Click Here!” Of course, they aren’t recommended. What you should do is be as clear as possible that if you click here, you will be brought here. The w3 explains this well, and basically you want to:

• Provide information when read out of context.
• Explain what the link offers.
• Don’t talk about mechanics.
• Don’t use verb phrases (e.g. “Tell me more”)

Make Search Prominent

When faced with a confusing-looking site, the first thing Mom does is look for the search box- so make it obvious. On the same subject, make your search results easy to understand as well. I wrote more about search about a year ago.

Don’t Hide Things

I love Google, but the way they hide their top navigation bar unless you mouseover it is not cool with Mom- she doesn’t browse like I do, with one hand on the mouse, moving the cursor around constantly. She sits back and says, “What now?” So, if Mom is your target audience, go easy on the hiding.

How do you simplify your site navigation style?

This week on Friday Focus: excellent websites that happen to have fixed elements in them.

Designs of the Week

Not only do we have a light on dark design here, but a glowing light on dark design. It’s colorful too, because of the thick demarcations color-coded by content type. My only wish is for the search bar to be part of the fixed area; I think that’s just as important a navigation element as pagination.

Interesting choice of content in the fixed area: name and contact info (very important), quick links to portfolio items grouped by year, and quick links to additional info about the designer. Overall, neat and nicely organized.

Another split, one page site. Cool hover effect on the brain graphic, and interesting combination of background patterns (one ornate, one techie).

Brilliant effect on the blue markers, telling you exactly where you are on the page and keeping things dynamic.

A custom font makes a big difference. Big, bold, boxy, but not overwhelming.

Not so exciting fixed area (they’re more for utility anyway) but does well in presenting the portfolio.

More than half of the page is fixed—narrow content areas isn’t quite dead yet!

I like how you start with a practically blank screen when you load the site. Then you get a simple yet dramatic transition animation to load each section’s content.

Another thing that isn’t dead: left-aligned layouts. No skimping on the amount of whitespace either.

The thing about changing backgrounds is the foreground has to match, and amazingly enough, this site pulls it off. Other than that, graceful details everywhere.

I like the three different shades of blue in three different columns. Not too thrilled about the use of the drop shadows and inner shadows here though.

I love endless scrolling. I’m on the fence about the stark black icons, although they give a quirky feel to a text-filled site.

What really sets this design apart is the carefully chosen and crafted custom photos for each post, everything blends well. Not to mention custom type everywhere.

Social Media Weekly

Usability – Why Not a User

CSS – CSS gradients for all web browsers, without using images

CMS – 10 Simple and Light Weight CMS Solutions

I’m a thief. Not in the Robin Hood philanthropic way, but in the robbing Peter to pay Paul kind of way. Let me explain. I recently started a blog about my puppy just for the fun of it. Unlike my other blogging endeavors, I have no real goal or agenda. I simply want to chronicle the experience of raising my first Shiba Inu.

Other dog owners have been stumbling across my work and writing me with their stories. In turn, I’ve begun very lengthy e-mail exchanges with other Shiba owners. We laugh about the breed’s inherent traits that drive us batty. We swap stories on how to train the stubborn pups. Overall, I think the e-mail trails are fun to read; valuable to any dog owner.

But that’s the problem. To put it bluntly, I’ve been blowing my blog load behind closed doors – sharing my thoughts with a single person rather than the world. These are conversations that should be taking place on my blog…especially since they are being generated by the blog.

I realize this observation is not groundbreaking. You’re already aware that content is all around us. Today’s conversation spawns tomorrow’s post. However, it couldn’t hurt to take a few minutes today and evaluate your inbox. Go back and look at your e-mail communications with friends, colleagues and readers. I’m willing to bet you’ll find a few ‘lost’ blog posts. Perhaps you’ll even be able to take a few and tweak them for publishing. The inbox that you dip in and out of everyday is really a lost & found for ideas.

Let us know what you turn up!

One of the blogging tips that I hear a lot is be different. Be unique. Stand out from the crowd. This is a great advice for typical businesses and it’s also helpful for probloggers especially with all the competitors on the internet.

But how can you apply it practically to your blog?

I’ve been thinking about this advice for the last couple of years and from my experience, I think I’ve realized the best way to differentiate your blog. The answer is pretty simple so it might surprise you.

Narrow your topic.

That’s it. Nothing too complicated or revolutionary, but this suggestion will make your blog different from 99% of the other blogs.

Copycat Blogs

I wrote last week that copying A-list blogs is not a good idea for the average problogger. Yet, most blogs look to the A-listers as examples. I said that reaching the success of the most popular blogs is very unlikely. It’s much better to implement the strategies of successful mid-level blogs. These blogs may not earn the millions that the A-listers earn but they still make a decent wage and their success is much easier to achieve.

But there’s another reason why A-list blogs should not be your example. A-listers are all about getting a lot of raw traffic, so they cover a very wide range of topics. This lets them reach the most amount of people.

But if you try this tactic, you’ll end up fighting a losing battle. See the A-list blogs have much more resources than you. They have more money, more staff, and better partnerships. They will cover your niche much better than you. If you copy them, you’ll end up with a subpar copycat blog.

And here’s the big question. Why would someone read your copycat blog when they could read the A-list blog?

Go Deeper Not Wider

Fortunately, with many bloggers copying the A-listers, there’s a lot of opportunity for probloggers who choose to specialize and focus. Instead of focusing on all usual subjects in your niche, pick only 1-2 and really learn them well. In other words, go “deeper” instead of “wider”.

For example, let’s say you have an interest in video games. Instead of trying to cover every single video game like Joystiq, you decide to only write about Xbox games. You could even narrow that subject down. Maybe just do Xbox reviews. Or only blog about future Xbox games. Or just create Xbox strategy videos. You get the idea.

After some time, by focusing on a small topic area, you’ll get enough experience to draw from that will help you generate truly unique valuable content. Quality goes down when you’re juggling too many things but it goes up when you concentrate on a few things. You’ll actually become an expert instead of a so-called expert that just spouts the same old advice that everyone’s already heard.

Going deeper is better too because you can make more per visitor. You’re delivering more value so you can charge more. You won’t need a ton of traffic to make a decent living.

Performancing offers blog management services.

As someone who manages and hosts several websites for others, there’s nothing worse for me than finding out a client’s site is down from the client himself. Thankfully, that very rarely happens these days- and I have these monitoring services to thank.

Montastic

I’ve been using Montastic for several years now. I like how it’s simple to use, and does exactly what it says: monitors your sites for downtime. Its free version checks your website every 30 minutes, which is fine for most of my needs. Checking is made from many (US) locations, and the IP numbers of their checkers change “on a regular basis”. A good and solid choice.

Mon.itor.us

I only recently discovered Mon.itor.us, but have already embraced its powerful (and free!) service wholeheartedly. Its interface isn’t too pretty, but when I said “powerful” I meant it- Mon.itor.us will track your site’s uptime (including averages), response times, and visitors. You can build widgets to place on your website, as well.

LinkPatch

There are lots of similar services out there, but LinkPatch is hands down my link checking service of choice. It constantly monitors your site(s) for 404 page views, including links from external sites and out-of-date links you forgot to redirect. It also takes into consideration things like common user misspellings, then automatically emails you details on who got the error, where they came from, and what they were looking for in the first place. Plans start at $10/month, but there’s a free plan if you only need the service for one site.

How do you monitor your sites?

By now you’ve probably realized that a lot of your Web traffic is unexpected. By that I’m talking about the many people who stumble upon your blog in unexpected ways. Whether it’s a random page that has been crawled and ranked well by Google – or some random niche site picking up and promoting one of your links.

When people land on your blog, you should not assume that they will hit your homepage or the landing page you have put so much effort into. That’s why it might be time to consider an FAQ.

I’ve been spending a lot of time defining what exactly my blog is and who it targets. During the process, I’ve realized that I have taken for granted that people will ‘get it.’

An “About Us’ page is important to answer important questions, but you also don’t want to get too long-winded. That’s why an FAQ page, though it might sound very ‘last decade,’ makes perfect sense. You get a chance to get more detailed, without eating into other valuable real estate.

Among the questions it’s important to answer:

Who are you?

What are you blogging about?

Who is the blog primarily for?

How frequently do you blog?

What makes you an expert?

Do you accept advertising?

Will you accept pay-for-play?

Are you associated with any other blogs?

Are there any other blogs you recommend?

Do you employ an FAQ on your blog? Is it something you would consider?

Help us round out the list of important questions to answer by leaving a comment below.

Now that everyone knows how important adding social media links to a website or blog is, I’m always on the lookout for great looking social media buttons. Sure, I’ve designed my own- sometimes it’s necessary to create unique ones to suit a unique design- but more often than not, I turn to my collection of pre-made social media buttons, the best of which I share with you here today. They’re awesome- and they’re free.

Twitter Buttons

I’ll admit my bias here: I designed many of these buttons, with a wide selection of styles from boxy to glossy to girly. These aren’t meant for downloading- simply input your Twitter ID, hit “Go”, and copy the code directly beneath the button(s) of your choice. Visit Twitter Buttons »

Social Icons Hand-Drawned

There are quite a few “hand-drawn” style buttons out there. These, released on by TheG-Force on Deviant Art, are my favorite. They’re hand-drawn, but still stay true to the social media logo colors, making them easy for your visitors to find on your page. Get Social Icons Hand-Drawned »

Social Bookmark Iconset

I find myself using this one over and over, especially when a particular project could use (or, let’s be frank, a client insists on) a small injection of that Web 2.0-gloss-and-reflection-style. They’re well made, and include most of the popular services today. No Twitter, though- but for that, see Twitter Buttons above. Get Social Bookmark Iconset »

Aquaticus Social

Next to the Iconset above, I use this the most. With 30 buttons to choose from, there’s one for nearly every social media service you can think of- from Twitter to Facebook to Vimeo. Because they’re hip-to-be-square, they require less space than round icons, and when you’re pixel-counting, that’s a very good thing. Get Aquaticus Social »

Cheers

Finally, I couldn’t list my Favorite Five without including Smashing Magazine’s contribution to the free social media icon world. From a RSS beer mug, to a shot of StumbleUpon, to a champagne flute of Twitter- these may not be suitable for every project, but they certainly belong in any designer’s button collection. Get Cheers »

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, let’s try our hand at wedding planning with these nicely designed websites. Whether your status is “single”, “in a relationship”, or “it’s complicated”, there’s no hurt in dreaming up the perfect wedding just like the kids used to do in their notebooks, and what better season than now? Have a lovely Friday Focus, everyone!

Designs of the Week

Wedding sites tend to be filled with flowers and scripty type. This look is a sort of middle ground that doesn’t overwhelm: a more delicate slab serif and purple hues instead of pink.

Here’s a similar look, this time with a shade of Tiffany blue, often associated with weddings. The scalloped edges also seem to be a popular touch for that cozy and romantic feel. And when in doubt, serifs also seem to up the romance factor a bit!

The design gets out of the way, but doesn’t forget to make the browsing experience better with the drop-down menu and the share buttons.

Despite a positioning problem for one line of text in the header, this site looks pretty good. And it needs a bit more contrast with the smaller text below.

Interesting how the header area isn’t very big but attracts attention nonetheless with the floral vines, which is pretty much the only decoration on the site. And by the looks of the screenshot for registered users, the UI looks well done.

Here’s another typical scenario: if it’s a wedding photography site, it’s probably dark. That usually makes the photos pop. You’ll want the design minimal as well.

Or you can go light, remembering to stay neutral. The flowers used here are really pretty; they look almost as transparent as the main box. Love the whitespace.

I think the paragraph text should be darker and bigger. Other than that, I like that lots of elements on the site carry the scrapbook theme well, even the forum icons and calendar dates.

Has the feel of wedding invitation, but doesn’t go overboard. I love the second-level menu.

This one’s definitely a girly look. My problem with this site is it looks somewhat juvenile instead of elegant. Perhaps too sugary?

It looks almost underdesigned. But the fantastic part of this site is this: clicking on the arrows scrolls two panes (one for the images and one for the description) and changes the background to match what’s in the panes. Subtle but brilliant! (Tiny issue though: when you change pages, the default background flashes before it is replaced by the contextual one.)

Love the 3D effect going on below the blurbs, although it looks a little too light.

The odd one out of the group, with a completely different look that doesn’t really scream “wedding”. Looks quite savvy though, which does seem to match the feel of luxurious jewelry. I like how the buttons have a subtle background pattern to them. Then the logo reappears as a large watermark background in the bottom navigation, another nice touch.

Social Media Weekly

Design – Overcoming Creative Block

Accessibility – Social Inclusion for the Web

Programming – Explaining what YQL is to non-technical people

Photo by Kriss Szkurlatowski

When I first learned about problogging, I definitely looked up to the A-List blogs. You know, the TechCrunches, the Gizmodos, the TMZs, the Daily Koses, the Mashables. These were the blogs that had made it. They were the most high profile blogs. They had the most traffic. And more traffic meant more money, right?

Therefore, I thought of them as good examples to follow. I patterned my first couple of blogs after them. But after a couple failed blogs, over the last couple of months I’ve realized that for most of us those blogs are not the best examples to follow.

An Easier Way to Make a Living

I realized that it’s very difficult to reach A-List levels of traffic. Just from a odds perspective, only a few can reach A-List status. Not everyone who seeks A-List status will achieve it. There just isn’t enough demand for many A-List blogs in any given industry.

Think of the classic bell curve. Most of us will languish in the middle of the curve.

However, that doesn’t mean we can’t make a decent living. I realized that there are many mid-level bloggers that make a good living. They don’t get a lot of press because they don’t have nearly as much eyeballs as the A-List bloggers. But they love what they do and they provide value to their industry.

If your goal is to earn a decent living with blogging, those mid-level bloggers are much better examples than the A-List ones. It’s much easier to get the mid-level traffic than A-List traffic. Sure, you probably won’t earn millions of dollars but you’ll have a much better chance of being able to quit your job.

One thing I noticed a lot with the mid-level blogs is they have their own product. This is one of the main things that separates them from the A-Listers. A-List blogs need a ton of traffic because their main income source is advertisers. But mid-level blogs have learned how to make more money per visitor.

Creating and selling a product is the key. With a product, you can earn more with less traffic because you don’t have to split profits with advertisers and affiliate programs. It will take more work to create a product than to manage ads and affiliate products, but once you’ve done it, you have a recurring income stream all to yourself.

Performancing offers blog management services.

As I’ve warned you before, there are a ton of other bloggers applying for that freelance opening. In fact, the last time I was looking for a blogger, I received over 800 inquiries!

That’s a lot of noise to cut through. There are several tactics you can employ to help increase your odds of landing a freelance blogging gig. Here are a few that have worked for me. Follow them and you might grab that next gig right out of my hands!

- THE HIRING AGENT IS BUSY, VERY BUSY. In my experience, the folks making hiring decisions for blogs and/or blog networks are busy. They normally wear multiple hats and are subjected to more Web noise then the average person. Unlike typical Human Resources professionals, these people are not trained to hire/fire. Therefore, you must approach them differently. That means no long cover letter or resume attachment.

- PLAY WITH THE SUBJECT LINE. Much like e-commerce campaigns, your first goal is to get the individual to open the e-mail – a major challenge in itself. Your subject line should be concise, descriptive, and unique. If there is a default subject line when filling out a form or clicking an e-mail link – change it. If a job asks you to list the title of the job in the subject line, do so, but put your own spin either before or after the requested information.

- GET THEM TO THE CONTENT. If you are applying to be a blogger, the hiring agent will be most interested in examples of your previous work. If you include a link to past posts, be sure that it is obvious that the post belongs to you when they land on the page. You want to avoid giving the employer any extra work to do. If they have to hunt for answers, they’ll likely just move on to a different applicant. I recommend using a link shortening service. It keeps the e-mail free of long URL’s and it lets you know if the employer actually viewed the page.

I also recommend that you copy and paste your strongest writing sample at the bottom of the e-mail after your closing/signature. People can be wary of clicking links from strangers. Plus you’ll combat a potential broken link.

- TIME IT RIGHT. This one is out of your control, but the bulk of applicants will apply for the freelance blogging job within the first few days that it’s posted. Based on sheer volume, you are likely to get lost in the shuffle. Applying for a job after it has been posted for at least a week might give you a better chance of getting the hiring agent’s attention. Also, I’m a big believer that the first people to apply come across as ‘job board patrollers.’ To me that means they are not interested in a specific job – but any job. And in my world, that takes you out of the running.

- BANK ON BEING GOOGLED. Just accept the fact that an employer will plug your name into a major search engine. It’s your job to make sure that every Tweet, picture and post makes you a desirable employee. Use common sense!

Share your success stories below! How did you land that freelance blogging gig?