Month: March 2009

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3 WordPress PlugIns to Reward Your Commentators

One of my favorite things, is when I get comments on my blog. Apparently I am not alone! Commentors tell you that someone has actually taken the time to read your post, and leave a comment. It is a good boost to the ego. I think it is also good for your blog to have a dialogue going on. Your readers can add insight and different points of views to your posts, making them more interesting for everyone.

So recently I have decided to do everything I can to reward my commentators. This was easily accomplished by adding three plugins to my wordpress blogs.

One plugin that is very popular, that I really like to see on other blogs, is Comment Luv.
With Comment Luv, when your visitor enters their URL, the plugin finds their last blog post and inserts a link to it at the end of their comment.

What goes along quite nicely with Comment Luv is Keyword Luv Many commentators like to use their keywords in place of their name. But that can make their whole comment look spammy, and it can be awkward to reply to “Make money online with Adsense”. With keyord luv, your commentators are prompted to enter their name as Kat@ Blogging tips for Webmasters. The plugin separates the name from the keywords. So your name will look like Kat from Blogging Tips for Webmasters. Pretty nifty!

And then, to add the icing to the cake, to make Comment Luv and Keyword Luv truly show Luv to your commentators, make your blog no follow free with theNo Follow Free Plugin. By default, most WordPress blogs will add the no follow tag to commentator’s links. No follow free removes those tags, and lets some link juice flow through to your commentators.

Now do know, that when you add these three WordPress plugins to your blog, you will get a certain number of spammers just wanting the free links. You will need to actively moderate your comments and delete the ones that do not add value to your blog. I know that some people may be coming to my blog and commenting just for the do follow link, but I expect them to give me something of value in return, in a well thought out comment that encourages discussion.

To see how all the plug ins work, leave a comment on any post. But make sure it is a good comment, or it will be deleted!

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3 Basic Elements of a Successful Website


By Kabir Bedi

Website development is a complex procedure. It is an amalgam of several small processes in coordination with one another that makes up the larger picture. There are millions of websites on the World Wide Web. However, some are more successful than the others and some lag behind likewise. Though the basic steps of website development are the same, what makes the difference is the importance placed on key features.

Here are 3 building blocks or a successful website.

1. Clean and Strong Coding
HTML is the foundation of the web. And following closely is the CSS markup. Both the elements form the basic coding of the website and decide the functionality of the same. HTML and CSS markup form the basic structure of a website and their quality eventually determines the quality of the website.

It is very important to build a website with quality code structure and then repeat the debugging process frequently in order to ensure a strong website. By doing things right from the very beginning and base level, you can negate the possibility of problems later on.

Always validate your HTML and CSS. This ensures that the website performs well across all major browsers and operating systems. HTML validity ensures browser compatibility which further ensures maximum accessibility.

User-Friendly Interface
It is very easy to get carried away and incorporate complex functionalities in your website in order to show off your technological expertise. However, often it happens that the interface becomes so complex that users find it difficult to browse through and navigate easily.

Website interfaces should be kept as simple as can be. Complex features often tend to confuse the visitors and distract their attention. They only add up to the visual appearance and do absolutely nothing to enhance the functionality of the website. Fancy interfaces distract the purpose of the website. Therefore, it is best to build a simple and user-friendly website interface that serves to facilitate smooth performance of the website.

Elements and Features on the Website
The elements and features that you incorporate or include in your web pages can either promote website usability or act as a hindrance to website users. Features like Auto-Play Music should be completely avoided. If at all you need to incorporate music on your website, make sure you provide an option to your visitors to turn it off. Likewise, it is not a good idea to use extremely small font sizes no matter how good it looks. Small fonts decrease the readability of website contents and until users are able to read through the website, they cannot understand what you are trying to communicate.

Focus on creating a website that is clean, has a strong interface and can be easily understood. Instead of including cool features and jazzy site elements, build a website that would please your audiences and make them visit again and again.

Kabir Bedi is working as a senior web consultant at LeXolution IT Services, a professional web design firm India. The company provides a range of website design and development services in addition to a host of web site maintenance services such as Web site updates.

Article Source: EzineArticles.com
3 Basic Elements of a Successful Website