Early last month, I redesigned Copyblogger.com, which was previously the home of my most popular design to date. The old layout was simple, featuring copious amounts of whitespace coupled with understated details. Problem was, Brian started receiving advertising requests, and the old template simply wasn’t able to accommodate the necessary ad positions in addition to keeping the blog’s subscription options at the forefront.
Oh, and based on all the things I’d learned since the last Copyblogger update, I knew there was an opportunity to improve Brian’s in-site SEO, too.
Enter the new design, which I think features a highly-effective organization of key pieces of information. For instance:
- Primary navigation resides in the upper left, which is some of the most premium real estate on the page.
- Subscriptions fuel the site, and the subscription options are placed above the fold on the left along with custom icon embellishments that serve to draw the user’s attention to that area.
- Advertisers receive prominent placement on the right—this wasn’t going to be possible on the old design without sacrificing the subscription options.
Although I don’t think Brian really wanted to change his design, he certainly saw plenty of reasons why he ought to go ahead and do it. With 18,000+ subscribers, he had reached a point where the site had outgrown its current confines, and by making the switch to a newer, smarter layout, he has already expanded the site and positioned it for future growth.
→ # 29
April 30, 2007
You’d think that as a result of open-source development practices, blog architectures would be pretty close to perfection in areas like Web standards and maximum SEO impact.
You’d be wrong.
Unbelievably, nearly every WordPress, MovableType, or TypePad theme that I’ve come across in the past year fails a simple test for truly semantic (and Google-recommended) XHTML markup. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that these failures are by no means fatal flaws. At the same time, though, I find it extremely unsettling that an inferior markup structure is prevailing in the face of an absolutely correct way of doing things.
After having this revelation, I thought I’d champion the cause and start changing sites one by one, all the while evangelizing the benefits of perfect markup. Then I realized that there are only 24 hours in the day, and I wanted at least three of those to go towards playing Guitar Hero…
So to compromise, I decided to publish the essential guide to semantic Web markup for blogs. Learn it, live it, and benefit from it—it can mean the difference between a good site and one that will blow you away. [Read more →]
→ # 12
What would you do for a free video iPod, a free digital camera, or other free gadgety goodness? Would you write an article? Would you create a wicked Photoshop mock-up for a competition? Would you… you get the idea.
What if all you had to do was make people laugh?
It’s no joke; each week on CelebrityHack.com, we’ll be giving away a free tech toy to the funniest commenter, as determined by you, the user, and our panel of snarky judges. On top of that, you’ll have lots of chances to win because you can enter one bit of comedic genius per post — and we’re posting as fast as I can add embarrassing thought/speech bubbles to celebrity pics.
Now go! Register (it’s free), drop punchlines like it’s your job (it’s way more fun than your job, actually), and win a killer gadget on me — this week, it’s a Video iPod!
→ # 20
February 2, 2007
I know you’re out there. You, the keen Web designer who rolls out both client and personal sites by modifying the CSS styles of existing WordPress themes. You’re smart, and I like that about you — after all, there’s no sense in reinventing the wheel with every project now, is there? Utilizing WordPress themes, or Website frameworks, is the only way to fly these days.
But there’s one major problem here.
Whenever one of your favorite theme frameworks is updated, you have to identify the new changes, re-implement your CSS mods, and then move ahead from there. That might not sound so bad, but I know there are tons of you out there who make hundreds of modifications. Suddenly, that molehill really is a mountain.
Are you sure you want to keep spinning your wheels every time a new version of your preferred framework is updated? What you need, my friend, is a futureproof, bulletproof means of protecting your CSS mods so that you can ride the wave of agile development without the associated headache from upgrading! [Read more →]
Completely out of the blue, I learned on Friday that Pearsonified was nominated for a 2007 Bloggy Award. Specifically, I’m a finalist in the “Best Designed Weblog” category, which is pretty cool considering my name is out there alongside Veerle Pieters and Khoi Vinh, two people whose work I’ve referenced and linked up in the past. I don’t know how I got nominated or who was responsible, but to whoever had a hand in things — thank you!
Now, head on over to the Bloggy Awards site and give me a vote, eh? And while you’re there, vote for my dawg Brian of Copyblogger, who was nominated for the “Best Web Development Weblog.” Heck, Copyblogger’s tips have helped to make this site successful over the past year, and if it weren’t for his development ideas, I probably wouldn’t have gotten nominated at all. Now how’s that for a circuitous bit of back scratching?
→ # 45
→ # 10
January 4, 2007
If you’re serious about improving your SEO, then you’ve probably already taken the time to generate a sitemap and construct dynamic, descriptive <title> tags.
Although I guarantee that you’ll see high-impact, positive effects from those changes, I doubt very seriously that either of them will flat out blow you away.
Today, however, I’m going to share a tip with you that, once implemented, will knock your socks off. It’s like the California Gold Rush, and you, my friend, are a savvy prospector. So saddle up, and let’s go panning for search engine gold! [Read more →]
→ # 18
December 19, 2006
Ordinarily, I try to resist participating in the various memes that periodically tear across the digital landscape. This time, however, I’m left with no choice because I’ve been tagged by the likes of Brian, Cesar, Yuri, and Russell.
Oh, and I also think the “5 things you didn’t know about me” approach makes for good reading 
Without further ado, it’s time to get your curiosity fix for the day! [Read more →]
