Cosmetic Cutie

07 March 2012

A Little Rant - IE Issues on Some Blogs

2:07 PM
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When designing a blog or website I often ask myself 'Will this display correctly on IE?' Internet Explorer is an antiquated browser and frankly Microsoft needs to up their game so that it accepts all the lates programming languages. but for the time being we are stuck with it.

A site that displays beautifully in firefox and Chrome often looks jumbled and unreadable on IE. As bloggers we want as many people as possible to read our content. Internet explorer still accounts for more than 20% of internet users and ignoring these people would be a big mistake. Testing your site in all browsers ensures that you can spot any problems immediately. Many bloggers display one theme for non IE users and make IE users click on a separate link on their homepage - DO NOT DO THIS! Internet users are notoriously lazy and many will leave your site rather than click on a separate link and doing this basically says you don't care about IE users as the linked IE version is usually formatted totally different and most just use Blogger's dynamic views default layout (ie Ugly!)

If your not a designer there are literally hundreds of themes out there that are compatible with all browsers. Any good designer would design a theme that that is cross browser compatible. I was actually discussing this same subject with a blogger yesterday and she actually unfollowed a blog that wasn't designed for IE. Catering for all internet users is a hallmark of good design and good blogging practice.

Rant over!

06 March 2012

Blogger Tutorial - Add an Image to Sidebar Titles

12:31 AM
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Over on my other blog All These Pretty Things I have added a cute little feather to the start of my sidebar titles. this is a great design fluorish and makes the items in my sidebar stand out. so today I'm going to show you how to achieve the same thing on your own blogs. Of course you can use any images you like.

To start with you'll need to create your image in your photo editing software of choice. I made mine 40px high and 80px wide. Upload your image to photobucket and grab the direct link. Make a note of this url.

Log into blogger and navigate to the template designer. Click on advanced and select add CSS. Paste the following code into the CSS box.

.sidebar h2 {
background:url(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U2m_Cmz2-TQ/T1Sri-d6BtI/AAAAAAAACVg/SQ0FkwwJjz0/s1600/feather.png);
background-repeat: no-repeat;
background-position:left;
height:40px;
margin:0;
padding:10px 3px 0 80px;
line-height:1.5em;
text-transform:uppercase;
letter-spacing:.2em;
}

Replace the bolded url with the direct link you made a note of earlier.

Change the height to the height of your image and replace the '80px' on the line padding: 10px 3px 0 80px with the width of your image.

Press apply to blog.

You should now have an image next to your sidebar titles. easy peasy!

04 March 2012

Tips for Creating a User Friendly Blog

2:07 PM
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This post is going to prove really controversial for some but remember this is just my point of view. I do have a little experience in good blog design and in designing a blog that is user friendly for readers. Certain things about blog design are great for readers and other things aren't so great for keeping users on your blog. So here are my tips for a user friendly blog.

No Autoplaying Music

This is one of my biggest bugbears and speaking with other bloggers it irritates them too. Autoplaying music can be a hassle when your trying to read a blog secretly at work or when I have the 3 year old asleep next to me. Don't do it.

Show Content Above the Fold

Massive headers are a real pain in the ass. A lot of bloggers opt for them but I really like to see some content without scrolling. Readers are notoriously lazy and you want to lure in readers as soon as they land on your page. Show some content above the fold please.

No CAPTCHA

Captcha really does annoy me and put me off commenting. Sometimes I have to enter it 3 or 4 times before I get the correct one. If you're worried about spam then moderate your comments.

Follow Button vs GFC

Some bloggers on the Blogger platform only have the follow button active and not a GFC box. There is one huge problem with this option. The follow button only shows when you're logged into Blogger. This is a huge problem for non Blogger users especially. Also having the follow button located there means that less people will see it and of course that will result in less followers.

Add a Search Box

Search boxes are vital for helping people to locate what they're looking for. If your blog is very new then you really don't need one. But if you have more than a couple of hundred posts then a search box is essential. You'd be suprised how many blogs don't have one.

Add an Email Subscription Box

The more options you give readers the better. You need to remember not every reader is a blogger. So RSS, GFC or Bloglovin' may be something they know nothing about. Blogger and Wordpress all give easy options for adding an email subscription box.

Dark Backgrounds and Grey Text

I am not a fan of dark backgrounds in general but when coupled with grey text it makes the content almost unreadable. Avoid dark backgrounds and grey text whenever possible.

Unclutter Your Sidebar

Only add widgets that are necessary. A lot of bloggers choose to add tonnes of images, badges etc to their sidebar. The more widgets in the sidebar, the longer the site takes to load. There are of course things that are necessary like social media icons, archive list, search button, subscription options, ads etc. But overloading your sidebars is never a good idea. Not only does it affect load times but it also makes a blog look cluttered.

Yes I am quite particular when it comes to design and I won't apologise for it. This is of course my personal preference and based on my experience. it is purely a post to give all bloggers something to think about.

02 March 2012

Introducing a Service That Allows Non IPhone Users to Comment onInstagram Photos

9:51 PM
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I discovered a service recently that will be of interest to those on instagram and those who aren't. Instagram is one of the hottest social communities out there at the moment but only iPhone users can use it - until now! Webstagram aims to allow non iphone owners to comment on users photos. You can't upload photos yourself yet but you can comment via facebook comment system on the photos of your friends. This isn't the only reason it is a great service though. For instagram users who are bloggers it is a great way to connect with your readers even more as no matter what phone they use they can comment on your photos. You'll have noticed that I have added an instagram link to my sidebar. this links to the web version so now you'll be able to comment on mine but unfortunately you won't be able to follow me per se. BUT you can sign up to the RSS feed on there to be notified when I post photos. It is a great little service.

In other instagram news - you may remember that I blogged about a website called snapwidget that allows you to add your recent photos to your sidebar. well I've discovered another similar service called badgeplz. This service gives you more options for customising the look of your widget and that is why I am using it instead of snap widget. It also shows stats like number of followers and number of photos. As time goes on I fully expect that more services for instagram will be introduced as the service goes from strength to strength.

Webstagram can be found here.

Badge Plz can be found here.

25 February 2012

Netflix Won't Support Blackberry's Playbook Anytime Soon

11:58 AM
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Bad news for Blackberry users. Popular film and TV streaming service Netflix has announced that they have no plans to bring its service to Blackberry's Playbook any time soon. It is yet another area where the playbook lags behind its competitiors. Netflix is available on iPad and iPhones at the moment. The company made the announcement via their Twitter page. RIM have been trying to bridget the gap between itself and the iPad in recent months. The newest upgrade included a native app but the iPad is still streets ahead of the Playbook. It is all a bit too little too late for RIM and sales figures reflect this. Netflix is a hugely popular service with more than 20 million subscribers in America and a growing subscription list in the UK. It is available here on the Playstation3.

RIM upgraded the software of its poor-selling PlayBook on Tuesday, making it possible for app makers to easily move their existing Android apps across to the PlayBook.

The upgrade also enables a BlackBerry smartphone to remotely control the tablet, which connects to a television via a standard cable.

It was not immediately clear if Netflix would port its existing Android app across rather than create a specific app for PlayBook.

Netflix has more than 24 million U.S. subscribers, where it offers both a mail-in service and streaming movies and TV shows. It also has also expanded its streaming-only service to Canada and parts of Latin America

Orange & EAT Launch New Reward Scheme

12:47 AM
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Orange has announced a new reward system called Quick Tap Treats specifically for customers with NFC enabled handsets. It is the UK's first contactless mobile reward scheme and it runs in partnership with restaurantchain EAT. Customers simply tap their handset on special posters in EAT restaurants to play a game which enables them to win a reward. They can play the game daily.

Users will be eligible to win one of the following treats and more treats are expected to be added:

Free Ham & Cheese Baguette
Free Small Coffee
Free Porridge
Free Fruit
Free Mash & Gravy with any Pie purchase
Breakfast Bacon upgrade (small to big)
Soup Upgrade (small to big)

The rewards scheme utilises the NFC tags system and will also be available as an app in Orange World, Blackberry App World, Android & OVI. Approximately 200,000 Orange customers will be able to benefit from the new rewards scheme. The reward scheme kicks off in March.

All Orange customers with Quick Tap (NFC) handsets will receive an SMS informing them about the Quick Tap Treats rewards programme, and a marketing campaign supporting the initiative will also commence in early March. If any customer is unsure whether they have an eligible Quick Tap handset, they can contact Orange customer services, who will be able to advise them or they will be able to visit a special section of the Orange website from launch.

24 February 2012

Women in Tech - TechHub's Elizabeth Varley

11:55 AM
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The world of tech and entrepreneurship is an area over populated by the male of the species. Since starting this technology blog it has become even more apparent that tech is seen as a man's world. So in this new feature I wanted to put the spotlight on women making waves in the technology and internet arena.

Who better to kick off the series than TechHub co-founder & CEO Elizabeth Varley.

TechHub is an organisation that offers low price wifi, meeting rooms and holds events for budding tech entrepreneurs. The company was formed in July of 2010. It offers more than just space to work, it offers members the chance to meet and network with other entrepreneurs in the same boat. TechHub is situated bang in the middle of London's thriving tech community with offices based in Old Street.

Elizabeth's unique skills and passion for the tech community have also caught the eye of those at no.10. She is assisting 10 Downing Street with its plans to build a tech city (much like America's Silicon Valley) in East London. Elizabeth's passion and desire to help UK tech start-ups sets her apart from her male counterparts and it is easy to see why No.10 were keen to get her on board. This tech minded entrepreneur is one to watch and TechHub is an amazing resource for budding tech entrepreneurs.