Viewing Archive for: November 2008

Using WordPress? How to Enhance Your Site’s Search Engine Optimization with Plugins.

One of the nice things about WordPress is that it’s as friendly to search engine optimization as a beagle is to a bowl of ice cream–even before you start tweaking it. Long ago, I settled on WP because I was more interested in using it as a simple content management system than an actual blog. All I really wanted to do is build a no-fuss place–comprising four or five pages–where I could showcase my work and experience to promote my Web writing business. I don’t really... learn more

Using Clipping Masks to Place Images Inside Shapes or Text

One of my favorite options inside Photoshop is clipping masks. Clipping masks can be used for a variety of reasons. They are used to place an image inside text, or to place an image inside a shape. Clipping masks can also be used to edit a selected portion of an image. In this tutorial, we are going to use a Clipping Mask to place an image inside a shape. learn more  Read More →

How I Increased Traffic to My Blog with These Easy Tips from Google

When you’re optimizing your site for Google and other search engines, images may not be everything, but you shouldn’t overlook them. According to Google, you can use Google Image Labeler and other tools “to associate the images included in your site with labels that will improve indexing and search quality of those images.” To opt in to enhanced image search: 1. Sign into Google Webmaster Tools with your Google Account. 2. Click the URL for the site you want. 3. Click... learn more

Fluid, Fixed and Elastic Web Design, Explained

When using CSS to style a website there are three primary layout types available to web designers. This tutorial aims to arm you with the information you need to know to help make a more informed decision when choosing how to design your website projects. The Options The three primary layout styles for determining the width of websites — Fluid, Fixed and Elastic. All have their own merits. There are also drawbacks to these design patterns, so it’s important to know the best situation in... learn more

Prepare for Your Pages to Be Less Sticky and More Bouncy

Sales of laptop computers, especially the ultra-portables from Asus, Dell, HP and several other companies, are super hot these days and that has repercussions for Web writers and designers alike. According to International Data Group, the sales of portable notebooks in the US–driven by several new companies in that segment of the business-outsold desktop computers for the first time in the history of computers in the third quarter of this year. IDG says notebook computers accounted for 55 percent... learn more

How to Make Your Site is Journalist Friendly and Increase Publicity

There isn’t a journalist alive who doesn’t use the Web to develop story ideas, find breaking news, research feature articles and more. Here are some of the primary reasons a journalist might want to visit your site: learn more  Read More →

Is Your Document Print-Ready?

Preparing your document for print has become much easier over the past few years. Some printers now only require a high quality PDF file for printing. Others may still ask for the native file along with the fonts and images used in the document. This article is going to take a closer look at the 2nd option. We’ll discuss the items to double-check and the files to include when sending your document for print. And, we’ll look at a few cleanup steps we want to do within the native file before... learn more

14 secret tips on how you can write killer headlines

Ever notice how many articles these days have headlines such as “Six Ways to Make Vista and XP Work Your Way,” and “Ten Things Your Ticket Broker Won’t Tell You“? Headlines that promise any number of ways to do something are cliché but readers still find them irresistible, in part because they believe they’re about to get lots of useful info without having to work too hard at it. If you have trouble figuring out what you want to say and how to say it, write the headline... learn more

7 Things You Should Know About Web Writing and 8 Sites Where You Can Learn More

Visitors to your Web site won’t read much of your content word-for-word. They’ll scan the text and visually cherry pick what to read. They’re in a hurry, easily distracted and have limited attention spans. If they don’t see right away what they’re looking for, they’ll bail out. Let’s talk about the way people read online and how to write for the Web. Reading onscreen is hard on the eyes. Figure on using one-third the number of words onscreen as you... learn more

Use Customer Success Stories to Promote Your Web Design Business

Customer success stories–also referred to as case studies–are a terrific way to bolster your Web and print marketing business. They’re convincing because they provide third-party testimonials of how a customer used your service to solve a problem. You can write customer success stories as narratives (like magazine articles) or structure them in a format that you use with all your success stories. For marketing, I prefer the structured approach because I can get the point across... learn more

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