The feature page is back up, and Devlounge 2 (the WordPress theme) will be available either tomorrow or the following day. I’ve been weeding through various errors today, and I have noticed one thing. It seems some posts and pages have been effected by the database restoration we underwent a few weeks back. It has caused the page design to break, when it shouldn’t have. I’ve spotted many of these and fixed them by reposting the article and / or page (only way to fix it is to delete the old so it’s out of the database). Of course, it is impossible to look through every single post and page, so if you notice any problems, please just let me know. I’m pretty sure I’ve got most of them, but you never know when something will slip through the cracks. That takes care of today’s updates. Tomorrow new feed options will be introduced, and hopefully I’ll be able to stop with these updates, because I’m sure it’s annoyed some most of you. 😉
Archives for June 2007
SEO and Personal Blogs, What to Do?
Running a personal blog can be great. You have total free reign on the topics, you can build relationships with readers and you can express yourself in any way you like.
Running a well read, well visited personal blog is even better. It’s no secret that the best traffic is organic traffic, from search engines.
The reason why SE traffic converts so well and is held on such a high pedestal is the SE user is essentially looking for your site. They might not know it, and you certainly don’t but once they do find your site they’re happy. They’ll look at some other pages, maybe subscribe or buy something.
But a personal blog doesn’t have anything to sell, except for your self, of course. The thing with personal blogs and search engines are that you’ll be getting mostly long tail terms or your name popping up in Mint, or your favourite analytics app.
There are exceptions like everything else, where people may target certain terms that are mildly relevant, but the main purpose is for that oh-so-golden traffic.
What Should you do With Your Personal Blog?
There are tons of things you can do to better optimize your blog for search engines. After all, if you’re not getting that one juicy term, then you’re going to be relying on the inevitable long tail.
First, let me explain long tail search terms to those no savvy at the moment. The term simply refers to search terms, usually three or more words, that can seem random but the user finds a post or page from your blog that has the aforementioned words scattered on the page. Basically you’re getting refined terms. A searcher looking for “design blog” might refine their search by looking for “web design and development tips blog”.
So, lets get down to it, shall we? You want to optimize your blog to increase SE traffic which will in turn raise your overall traffic, readership and earnings if you’ve monetized. Sounds like a good idea to me.
The Definitive Guide to Semantic Web Markup is exactly what it says it is. Tell search engines what parts are important and in what order is very important, and will help your site in terms of SEO. Post titles are back links, and when they’re served in <H1>’s they really increase the long tail possibilities.
When you’re writing your headlines, you also have to think about search terms. I’ve personally written a couple of posts with titles laser targeted at range of long tail terms. While these posts are stale to my current readers, they bring in SE hits every day. Blog post titles can come from a couple categories, you just need to choose clever, concise or made for Google.
Another great article made to set you on your way to SEO heaven is “Search Engine Optimization for Blogs“. SEO is something most personal bloggers don’t know about, but it’s something that is really simple at the basic levels. After you start developing, meaning more posts, better posts, more backlinks, more link exchanges and relationships, you’ll notice your traffic increase.
Connor Wilson is a freelance web designer living in Toronto, Ontario writing his own personal blog.
Bug Hunting
There is just a few things here and there to still be done and fixed. The only major issue I’m aware of right now is with Ronald’s WordPress series, which, as a result of the in-series plugin, seems to be messing with the page layout, leading to ugly looking posts. We’ll be getting in fixed by tomorrow, don’t you worry about it. 🙂
Edit: The problem has now been fixed. I had to go back and repost some old posts that must of been published when were having database problems, because there was some kind of code injected into certain “How to” WordPress posts that, even when cleared, was not being deleted. All the posts were replaced and given their original post publish dates, but comments were lost on these posts. Also, because I had to repost some of these posts, it messed up the order of the In Series plugin. Therefore, the “How to Write a WordPress Plugin” series now has its own page with the correct chronological order for the posts in this series.
Making a Big (Return) Splash
When your site has been half asleep for an extended period of time, it can be a struggle returning to the bustling community you once were. Thankfully, there are a few suggestions and ideas which might just help your site return back to the good ‘ol days.
We have all faced it – and extremely bad case of bed head…
Opps, wrong article.
But that is what it can feel like when you try to put your own site back on its feet after being off for an extended period of time. It is not something you can just shake off, and even loading on the gel (such as useless content) will only temporarily fix the problem (especially if it is not super hold strength). Everyone from the casual blogger, to large resource like this faces downtime at some point in their online history, and it can come from a vast array of reasons – from personal issues, to having a craptastic host that simply “misplaces” all of your files – whatever the case, chances are you lost at least some readers, and even more are at least slightly annoyed with a large lapse of new content, even if you gave them fair warning about the situation at hand.
After not writing for a while, it can seem very awkward trying to come up with topics that your visitors will find interesting. While if you run a personal blog, you could probably just talk about what your cat did over the past two and half months and all your visitors would come running back to you (yes, they seem to love that), but it is not always that simple.
You find yourself with questions running through your head that, when you were frequently posting, you never even consider. And the larger the resource, the more on edge you are with what you plan on writing. You don’t want to come out with an extremely pointless post that will only drive people further away, but you want something interesting that will catch their eye in those long list of feeds and bring them back. How exactly should you do this? Here are some posting suggestions for that first “I’m back” post.
- Be comical – Avoid a flat out serious tone in your first welcome back post, because readers don’t want that. Instead, add some comedic flair to your post to get people laughing. Whether that means throwing in figures of speech you may never use in an actual post, or over-exaggerating the story about why your site / blog / etc may have been closed for so long. Whatever you have to do, make it funny.
- Hit a Controversial Topic – Don’t be scared to jump the gun and bring up discussion on a hot-topic issue. Chances are, it will spark responses from your visitors, especially depending on the topic being discussed. This is always good, because it drives readers back, and if they comment, chances are they are going to return to read others responses and possible respond again. If you’re going to say, “Hey, I just got dressed today”, don’t expect a bubbling of activity.
- Give Something Back – Another smart way of getting your traffic back up to the top of the mountain is to give something back to your readers. Of course, if you are a designer or developer, now is your perfect opportunity to release that new icon pack, script, blog theme, etc, and etc. Or, give something away in the form of a contest. Even if it’s something inexpensive and rather weak, it lets your readers know that they mean something to you, and their viewership is worth a little bit more than just your time, but also your coin.
- Avoid Getting Stale – I hate chips like this too, but more importantly, as soon as press publish on your first “welcome back” post, your readers are going to be expecting the return on consistency. Don’t pound your head over what topic to write about and spend three weeks between posts because you want to be perfect. Chances are, you will not be able to win back your entire lost reader base in one swell swoop. It is going to take some time, so worry about getting fresh posts out as frequently as possible (still, put some thought into them, no one wants to read complete bs), but don’t worry about getting dugg on your second post in a very long time.
The most important step: just get back out there and have fun. You may have had the unfortunate luck of falling off your horse for a few days / weeks / months / whatever, but it is still right there waiting for you to get back on.
Fernando Lins
Devlounge: Welcome Fernando! It’s a pleasure to be chatting with you today; I’ve been a fan for a long time. For our casual reader, mind introducing yourself?
Fernando Lins: Sure, my name is Fernando Lins, I’m 20 years old and I live in São Paulo, Brazil. Currently I study Graphic Design at the Belas Artes university during night time, and work as a freelance illustrator, graphic and interface designer during the day. My website is fernandolins.com .
DL: Now on to the obvious and most repetitive question I’ve ever had to ask: How did you get started in design? (And how long have you been doing it for, etc)
FL: I’ve always been a great fan of technology, grew up watching Transformers and Macross reruns, playing video-games, listening to dance(!) music. And since I’m the youngest of 3, with 10 and 12 years of difference between my siblings and I, I had to find ways to have fun alone. So besides my MTNT toys and Lego, I used to draw all day long. I would watch Disney movies, pause them, and draw the characters on paper, then color them and make an exhibition in my room, or make collages with them on backgrounds I’d paint myself with gouache.
My illustrations are mostly a way to express myself without rules, so I like it very much, and I’m trying to incorporate that into my “real” designs more
When my sister went to college to study Industrial Design, and had to work on websites (that back in 1995) to make a living, that got me interested. I liked to watch her “create” images on Photoshop and make them interactive. I had no idea what Photoshop was, but from watching her I learned the basics, just enough to open an image and paint over it, play with brushes and so on. I also decided to learn how to make a website a few years later (1997) and learned HTML and Javascript.
The Internet evolved, and from looking for cool sites I got in touch with the work of amazing graphic designers like Mike Cina and Mike Young from WeWorkForThem, DesignGraphik and TrueIsTrue, Jemma Gura from Prate, Joshua Davis of Praystation, and studios like Me Company, The Designers Republic, Attik, Tomato, etc. That combined with my interest in electronic music grew on me the need to use that new, incredible language to express myself.
My first professional piece of work was for a canadian DJ, whom I e-mailed asking if I could re-design his site, and he was really happy about the offer. A few years later we worked together on a huge project called Progressive Vibe, but it was cancelled due to financial problems. That was in 2001 so I can say I do some sort of design work for almost 7 years now.
DL: Illustration is one of your strong points, but you’ve also done some great looking logo and icon work. If you had to pick a specific type of work as a favorite, what would it be?
FL: That’s quite hard for me to choose, I think each of them has a different pleasure, if I can put it that way, attached to it. My illustrations are mostly a way to express myself without rules, so I like it very much, and I’m trying to incorporate that into my “real” designs more. Branding is my favorite part of graphic design, I love to create an identity for a company or a person, think of an strategy and then smell that amazing scent of paper when you print business cards and brochures. On the interface side, I like working with icons because they are all about metaphors, and they’re universal. Making a symbol that people from around the globe must understand is tough. I guess that if one day I have my own studio with lots of employees, I’ll keep the branding services for myself, it’s probably the one I like the most.
DL: For the latest Devlounge design, you played a major role in the constructing of the layout of the site by creating fresh, original illustrations to replace our outdated collection we had used for the past 3 versions. If you could give a brief overview of your three main pieces you’ve contributed so far (at the time of writing this interview) and the inspiration behind them…
FL: Starting by the red one, which I recently named “Dragon Battle”, I wanted something that incorporated the red inside the Devlounge logo. It is not the same color, but that’s from where I began. You probably won’t be able to see it, but there is an outline of an open hand in the middle of the piece, and that was the first object. I then made a liquid, gradient outline for it and that naturally evolved into a full piece. I can’t quite explain how it happens, I just grab my stylus and start to create these lava, swirly, liquid shapes. I dunno, I guess I like molten things.
“High Voltage Love” was inspired by an issue of the Vogue magazine saying something about the 80’s look being back for the Brazilian summer (*audible gasp*), so I thought it’d be fun to work with some kitsch elements, like the sad woman face, the rounded “pacman” font – which I designed myself – and the vibrant colors.
“On” is a great piece, and lots of people have been asking me about it. It’s just a bunch of brushes under a levels adjustments layer, there, I said it. It was inspired by a picture I saw on Flickr of the power button of an iBook. I then got a very similar picture on a stock pictures site and started working on top of it. I think it’s the one that most says “motion”, and I really like the mix of blue and green on black.
DL: Since we’re on the topic of illustration work, do you use any special techniques and/or tools, such as a tablet, or is it mainly the mouse doing all the work?
FL: I have many, many illustrations done solely with the mouse. Actually all my work prior to 2006 is all “mouse-made”. I bought my tablet on the beginning of 2006 and it’s all I use today. The liquid aspect of my illustrations exists because I do it with the tablet, as well as the light beams on illustrations like “On”, mentioned above. For some of the illustrations I’ll draw elements on paper with ink and scan them, making a virtual pastiche in Photoshop.
DL: What do you like to do in your free time when you’re away from the desk?
FL: “Free time” is something I haven’t had for a while now, but when I get a chance to escape I like to walk around the city with my camera, and sometimes without it. I’m a big walker, so I’ll take the day to visit places, eat in new restaurants, listen to good music live, and take as many pictures as I can. It’s a great exercise, not only for the body but for the mind, as a designer you can’t know enough things, so I’m always looking for new things. During the week, which is when I’m busier, it all comes down to being near my loved one and reading some books.
DL: Out of all your clients and all your various types of work, what project do you think you’ve had the most fun working on?
FL: I’ve had a lot of fun working on all of my projects, but what you see in my portfolio is just the start. I’ve been working on some really great projects lately that mix all of my abilities, so I guess they are the most fun so far, but unfortunately I can’t name them. They’ll be on my *cough*new*cough* site soon. Working on the Devlounge illustrations set was really exciting, it’s not often that I get to do illustration work with such freedom, and it really helped me instigate my artistic vein.
