Archive for the ‘Blog Design’ Category
by James Dunaway on September 14th, 2011
Usability is one feature of a website that no designer can afford to overlook. Of course, some obvious rules apply such as underlined and highlighted links so they are easy to find and use. Also, using a sitemap for easy navigation and SEO optimization are other tools that help your website be as useable and visitor friendly as possible. It is true that these rules are not necessary for every website. However, understanding these rules so that you can choose the best ones for your website will help lead to more traffic, more return traffic, greater sales and happier visitors from the market you are trying to attract. Read More
Categories: Blog Design, Blogger Tools, Blogging Resources, Blogging Tips
Tags: google, Website, website usability
by Jonathan Bailey on August 3rd, 2011
Popups: A single word that drives both fear and anger into the hearts of nearly all web surfers.
The Web is filled with stories about embarrassing popups loading in the background, annoying, never ending popup loops and, more recently, overlays and other annoying tools that obstruct and restrict access to the desired content.
Popups are annoying but they are also extremely common and, despite technology to block most of them, they are becoming much more common. However, the time has come for bloggers to put a stop to this, to fight back against popups and other visitor annoyances. Read More
Categories: Blog Design
by Jonathan Bailey on July 6th, 2011
When it comes to blog design, most put the lion’s share of their effort on the area that “above the fold” or what appears on the screen before the user has done any scrolling.
This makes a lot of sense because this is the first thing that visitors see and, as we have discussed before, you can’t ignore blog design as these first impressions can literally make or break your blog.
But what about the content at the other end of your blog? While it might not be the first thing that people read or even something your casual visitor will observe at all, it still has a series of critical functions for your site and ignoring it outright simply is not an option.
Most importantly though, it is the first place at least some of your visitors will look for key information and, if they do, you need to make sure you have what they’re looking for there. Otherwise, there could be legal or other related issues to not having your information available.
In short, you can’t afford to ignore your site’s footer. It’s an important part of your site and one you need to craft carefully both to maximize its usefulness and to avoid any unnecessary trouble.
Read More
Categories: Blog Design
Tags: Blog Design, copyright, disclosure, footer, privacy, social networking
by Franky Branckaute on July 6th, 2011
WordPress, which was just released in version 3.2, has always been at the forefront of creative design and we continue to see many great WordPress designs. Too often WordPress designs are immediately recognizable because of the linear, blog home page. For this entry we looked for greatly designed home pages of sites using WordPress.
OctavoDesign
The very bright and colorful homepage of octavo designs is all about scrolling. Not only does the main image scroll down when hovering over it, the whole home page does scroll horizontally.
If you don’t believe this site is made with WordPress, check the source code. Read More
Categories: Blog Design, WordPress Themes
Tags: design, Home page, wordpress, WordPress Design
by Jonathan Bailey on December 8th, 2010
It wasn’t that long ago that starting up a website required a great deal of expertise, time and commitment. There was a reason that those who created sites in the early days of the Web were stereotyped as “dorks” and “nerds”, it was because you had to know HTML, the ins and outs of site construction and at least a decent amount about how the Web worked just to get a basic site off the ground.
However, for Web development, the march of technology has been toward simplicity and ease of use. Blogging and Web publishing in general are both more approachable than ever. Not only can one set up a Facebook account in minutes but they can do the same with a WordPress.com account or a Tumblr blog as well.
In short, anyone who wants to publish a blog can easily do so and almost no experience is required, just the ability to fill in a short form and write some new content.
But this doesn’t mean we’ve gotten away from HTML and CSS being a requirement for creating a successful site. Not knowing these languages can be very detrimental to your site and not only keeps great content from finding the audience it deserves, but can actually cripple your site in ways you can’t predict.
Simply put, if you don’t know HTML and CSS, at least to a minimal extent, you are holding your blog back and gambling with its future.
Read More
Categories: Blog Design, Blogging Resources, Blogging Tips, WordPress Themes
Tags: Code, CSS, design, html, templates, Themes, widgets, wordpress
by Franky Branckaute on November 24th, 2010
WPZoom released a free set of icons for designers and developers. The icons are designed by David Ferreira and available in .PNG, .AI and .PSD format. The icon set features most common icons, also social media buttons, and is rather complete for most uses. A preview of the set posted below.
The set can be downloaded for free at WPZoom.
Categories: Blog Design, Linking
Tags: David Ferreira, design, free social media icons, Freebies, Icons, WPZoom
by Susan Gunelius on September 2nd, 2010
It’s been about a month since I posted free social media icon sources (last time I offered some fun niche blog social media icon options), and with a new school year starting, I though it might be a good time to search for some creative social media icon sets that can give your blog some back to school flair. Check out the options below!
1. Puzzle Social Network Icon Set
What grade school student doesn’t love puzzles?
2. Sewn Badge Icon Set
This set reminds me of badges on Cub Scouts uniforms!
3. Moleskin Icon Set
For the discerning student, only a moleskin notebook will do. Are moleskin icons right for your blog?
4. Color-stroked Free Hand Icon Set
This is one of my favorite hand-drawn icon sets. I wish my doodles looked this good, and I love the crumpled paper.
5. Hand Drawn Social Media Icon Set
Here is another option if you like the hand drawn style. This one offers consistent square shapes with simpler designs drawn on grid paper.
What do you think? Will any of these social media icon sets give your blog the bling it needs?
Follow the link to read more about back to school and blogging basics on Performancing.
Categories: Blog Design, Blogger Tools, Blogging Resources, Blogging Tools
Tags: free social media buttons, free social media icon sets, social media badges, social media graphics
by Susan Gunelius on August 26th, 2010
Who doesn’t love the classic Magic 8-Ball toy? Did you know you can add one to your blog?
It’s true! There are tons of free widgets that you can add to your blog to make it fun, interactive, and even more useful. Listed below are several sites where you can find free widgets that you can install on your blog right now.
Some widgets will display on your blog with ad content, but some widget directory sites offer an option to pay for a pro account and remove the ads from the widgets.
Keep in mind, not all widgets are created equal. Read the reviews, check the star-ratings, and be prepared to delete the widget if you don’t like it or it doesn’t function properly once you install it on your blog.
Most importantly, make sure the widgets you choose to use on your blog match your blog’s topic, tone and your audience’s expectations. For example, if you write a blog about finance and investing, the Magic 8-Ball widget (like the one shown in the image at the beginning of this post) might not be appropriate, unless your audience knows you for having a sarcastic tone or sense of humor.
Check out these sites and browse around the widgets available. From countdown clocks to Etch-a-Sketches, there is a widget for everyone!
Widgetbox offers a huge selection of widgets and several different types of accounts with varying price tags and features. The basic account is free, and a free 7-day trial offer is available for the pro account. You can follow the link to see current Widgetbox fees.
SpringWidgets is owned by Fox Interactive Media and offers a directory that includes tens of thousands of free widgets that you can add to your blog by simply copying and pasting specific share code.
Widgipedia is owned by Vendio Services, Inc. and aims to be the ultimate widgets resource. Widgipedia is free and you don’t need an account unless you plan to create and upload new widgets to the directory.
What do you think? Are you going to spice up your blog with a widget? Can you resist the mysterious allure of the Magic 8-Ball?
Categories: Blog Design
Tags: Blog Design, blog widgets, free widgets, web widgets
by Susan Gunelius on August 5th, 2010
Do you write a niche blog about food, spirits, Asia, clothes or science? If so, you’ll be interested in the social media icons highlighted in this post. Even if you don’t write a blog about one of those niche topics, you might like the social media icons featured below. They could add some color, visual appeal, and interest to any blog!
Check them out and see if the right social media icons to give your blog some zing are included in the list!
These food-related social media icons are available in six sizes and include cakes and popsicles!
This set of social media icons includes martini glasses, wine glasses, margarita glasses, beer mugs, and more! Read More
Categories: Blog Design, Blogger Tools, Blogging Resources, Blogging Tools
Tags: free blog icons, free social media buttons, free social media graphics, free social media icons, free twitter buttons
by Robyn-Dale Samuda on August 2nd, 2010
As bloggers, we aim to provide unique user experiences for all our visitors online through the use of the best blog designs and templates we can find. Although there are thousands of free and premium themes available, there comes a time when we want something specifically suited to our taste as well as our readers’ without hiring a developer.
The ability to customize your own blog theme is an invaluable skill and will save you lots of time and money in the long-run; and through the use of a tool like the Firebug Firefox Add-on, making simple and advanced customizations are easier than ever. Firebug is a tool I use extensively as a developer to help me understand a site’s layout and quickly implement design changes through CSS. So here are some tips and ideas to get you started on customizing your own WordPress themes. Read More
Categories: Blog Design, WordPress Tutorials
Tags: CSS Customization, Firebug, Tutorials, WordPress Theme Customization
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