Wireframing for web design is the art (yes, art) of creating a visual template upon which you will build your site. Taking the time to wireframe the components of your website before actually leaping into action will not only save you a bucket load of time, but it can increase exposure, improve SEO and enhance user experience. This should be a bit of therapeutic exercise; a way to get your feet wet and try different things out.
Of course, I’m an obsessive designer, and I don’t like moving forward until I have everything meticulously planned out. But for the sane among you, here are a few tips to get you started.
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Written by Jay D. Hoffman
Adding video to your WordPress blog can be a great way to keep readers coming back. Whether that means posting a simple introduction video or guided tour, or including interviews and special events in your posts, a video will pull a reader in and keep him interested. There are quite a few ways that you can incorporate videos into your WordPress design, and it is sometimes a little tricky to figure out which is best. Here are a few ways to go about it, and more than enough to get you started.
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Written by Jay D. Hoffman
As a web designer, I am very careful about the fonts that I select for my websites. I want my choice to be crisp and readable, but at the same time fit into the general aesthetic of my design. If your website, or company, becomes successful then its typography will help define its image. Think about the type that IBM uses for its logo. Smart, professional and cutting edge. Ever see a NYC Subway sign. They are all Helvetica. Simple, clean and clear.
Assuming you do understand the importance of typography (and you really should) then your selection will be as obsessive as mine. Remember, you don’t want to mix too many fonts together on the same page. It will make everything look cluttered. Pick a font that suits your image best and stick with it. Your logo and body text will probably be different fonts, but you want them to complement each other.
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Written by Jay D. Hoffman
There are a lot of gallery plugins for WordPress. One of the most popular is the NextGEN plugin and for good reason. This plugin is fairly simple to use and very flexible, with an active development team behind it. Here’s how to get started with NextGEN and a few ways you can use it. A quick word to the wise though. NextGEN is a fairly robust plugin that sometimes can conflict with other javascript applications. Your best bet is to either start with this plugin or make sure to delete any plugins that you are not using.
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Written by Jay D. Hoffman
Last night I moved Blog Design Guy from WebFaction over to Bluehost. In the process, I ran into a problem I’ve come across every time I’ve dealt with new domain names and/or switching hosts: the old site wouldn’t go away!
In order to switch your host, you have to change your domain’s name servers. Simply put, these name servers tell browsers where they can find your website. When you’re working on a deadline as I was last night, you need things to switch quickly so you can make sure the new site is ready to go as soon as possible. The problem is, the changes you make aren’t necessarily instant. It can take up to 24 hours for your site to redirect and the results aren’t the same for everyone. Someone in Utah might see the new site while someone in New York is still getting served the old one.
Last night, as I was in a hurry to restore the database and get Blog Design Guy up to speed before anyone noticed, I got served the old site.
In the past, I’ve waited up to 4 hours for the right site to show up. I couldn’t wait that long last night, so here’s what I did to get the new site loading almost instantly.
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