Service Offering I'll help you set up your website, analytics, basic design, etc.

If anyone needs help with basic web-related services, I'm here to help you out.

I know many of you have websites or blogs you maintain. I've been doing this stuff for a while and I just thought I'd put myself out there and let you know I'm willing to assist you on the technical side or by answering any questions you might have.

I don't have the time for any major design projects, but anything short of that is fair game.

Edit: If you prefer your project remain private, feel free to PM instead of posting in this thread.

 

@Infel are you referring to the horizontal golden borders on the flash home page?



Or are you talking about this:



If the first, it can be accomplished in two basic ways - photoshop or CSS. The later is definitely image-based and would require you designing an image.

I recommend against using images whenever possible because it's slower to load and is more difficult to modify. CSS is the best route in most situations.

If you're trying to accomplish something similar to the later image, you need to create it in Photoshop. What I would recommend is:

1) Create a high resolution .psd file
2) Add each piece of the image border as a separate layer
3) Make sure you save the original .psd with layers for future modification
4) When finished, export to web as a .png

It doesn't need to be a particular size, just make sure it's wide enough and large enough to display well on large screens. I recommend making it very high resolution - you can always resize or compress the images later. I can help you do this with CSS.

If you're trying to create boarders with fancy corners like the second image, it could get a bit trick as far as measuring each content box. You could split this in to separate images. However, it's best done by adjusting the images CSS height (the ability to do this will depend on the actual design). This may be able to be done automatically based upon the content type.

If you could clarify which exact area you're trying to replicate - and/or if you want to post (or PM me) a link to your Wordpress site so I can identify the type of area you're trying to add borders too - I can get more specific and possibly help with some CSS code, especially if you're trying to replicate the first attachment.

 

@Lew I'm on mobile now, so I'll take a look on my big screen tommorrow and hopefully I'll be able to offer better feedback.

The mobile version looks great. Very clean and professional. Not much I can offer for improvement in the design field. I'll let you know what I think about the full screen version.

Some general thoughts on the design:

1. I'll have to compare on the desktop, but the mobile version of the page title banner may be a little too big. Generally the most important part of a website is what viewers see first: the above-the-fold space. Viewers shouldn't have to scroll too far to get to the meat of the content. That said, it does look good as is.

2. I noticed The Eagle and the Dragon page displays the title twice in large font. This isn't a problem but I would consider only displaying it once.

3. I think the book description pages are very good - well written and well displayed. I noticed at least one displays the date below the title, I'm not sure if it's necessary unless it's serving a function.

4. On the same page, the way the book description, image, and Amazon purchase option are segmented is a little odd, I might consider some changes there, perhaps incorporating the cover within the description. I'm not sure if this is true for desktop.

5. I do really like how you introduce the book. Generally in e-commerce it's good to make purchase options easy to find, and normally I'd suggest linking to Amazon in the first two paragraphs. However, in this instance I think the personal introduction, book description, and endings in a soft sale is very smooth and very professional.

6. I noticed you don't have a website footer, other than the Powered by SquareSpace branding. Though not a necessity, it may be something to consider adding for navigational purposes. I'd include important links there, such as home, books available in Amazon, and possibly social media links.

These are just things to consider, nothing glaring that absolutely needs changed. I think what you have now is very good.

Depending on the primary purpose of your website, I might add additional website functions. Is it's primary intent to provide personal biographical information, to generate book sales, etc.? It's a general question to consider with any website like this; what is its goal and what is its function.

If you want to build and maintain a fanbase, I would eventually consider adding a opt-in Newsletter and authors blog.

I think your website is great and better than some big name author websites I've visited in the past.

I would also ask: are you using Google Analytics? I'm not sure what SquareSpace offers but analytics are a must.

 

Lol @matwoolf would you mind telling me more about this site? I checked it out (again, on mobile) and it's not clear for me. What is the nature of the project?

You have one subscriber that comments on everything?

I'd be happy to discuss promotional strategies on how to generate more readers/subscribers but I require Subaru shares up-front.

Tell me more about your project and what you've already tried to reach new readers and I'll see if I can offer any productive suggestions. Year #1 is free of charge.

 

@matwoolf I see, I figured the blog was something of that nature. I totally understand the idea of having your own eccentric place just for you on the web. I have my own. I think you do need to decide if it's going to solely be your sanctuary or if you want a lot of people to read what you write. If you want the later you need to be active on networking and exposure.

As for having a scribble pad versus a professional website, it could be best to have both, but it may not be. That's twice the promotional and networking work. I would suggest reviewing your menu, categorization, and other navigational structures if you want to better differentiate your content types. These changes (and other design or technical improvements) may make viewers more likely to stay once they land on your blog.

I can offer some general technical and design suggestions, but if we're focusing on exposing your blog to new readers that will involve some trial and error. I haven't run a blog with subscribers in about six years.

Since your blog is hosted on Wordpress.com, I suspect there are some integrated options for networking and promoting your blog. I'm not super familiar with the platform, but I would probably start by reading other blogs with similar interests and writing authentic, relevant comments with your name linking back to your blog. Don't force it; you're not spamming, you're networking and adding to the discussion. Make personal, authentic connections.

I would also network with similar blogs both on and off of the Wordpress.com platform and suggest blogroll link exchanges. Both of these are old school methods but are fairly organic and may help a few new readers trickle in. There may be other on-platform promotional options.

Beyond networking and promoting on Wordpress.com and other off-site blogging platforms, there are a few basic ways to get new viewers (who will hopefully turn into reoccurring readers). There are of course additional approaches, we're talking basics here.

You can find new viewers by getting readers to your blog on social media, websites like this very one, blog post exchanges, blog comments, and methods where you link to your blog somewhere someone will see it. Both direct and indirect referrals.

You can also work on finding readers via search engines. This is a long-term project, basically relying on you creating well-written unique and specific content that is linked to by other websites, and optimized to meet search engine standards. There's a lot more to it than that but even one we'll-ranking blog post can get you hundreds or thousands of views.

I could go on and on, maybe offer more specific things to try. Any questions?

 

@Lew, great job on your first web page. I think you did a pretty good job on having a high signal-to-noise ratio as you intended. I'm definitely a fan of the mobile version.

Sorry for taking so long to get back with feedback on the full page version (non-mobile version). I just took a look at your website on a larger screen.

On desktop view:

1. I would reduce the size of the title bar on full screen as well as mobile. I think it's way too big and takes up too much of the space.
2. I would reposition the "f" Facebook image on the homepage (above the title bar) to somewhere above the navigational menu. It isn't symmetrical and pushes the main content further down (remember, above-the-fold!). I would place it to the far, far read of the logo/header, above your main menu.
3. I would consider putting a little more information on the homepage. As is, the content is a little thin. Perhaps a few paragraphs below the main paragraph on the homepage; a short biographical second paragraph that links to the biography page and a short about/description paragraph of The Eagle and The Dragon linking to the full description page.
4. Again, I'd encourage you to use and monitor some type of analytics software, though I recommend Google Adsense.
5. Have you tested your contact us page? Make sure it works!

Let me know if you want clarification or help with any of these changes or my mobile recommendations.

Generating more sales from a personal author website is going to be a long-term goal, keep that in mind. I think you're taking a decent approach with Facebook. To gain visits to your website you really need to promote it on other websites and hopefully develop some good search engine rankings. The later is difficult, takes a lot of time, and has no special formula.

I think a blog would be good, but not if it takes away from your other responsibilities. It's possible you're at a stage to early for a dedicate blog. If you do create a blog on historical fiction, it's should would be to 1) draw in readers of historical fiction through search engines and social media. Hopefully these readers would eventually turn into readers.

As for improving reach, could you clarify? Are we talking about getting website visitors, Facebook likes, purchases, etc? Do you mean the website exposure in general?

Internet marketing is a little outside the scope of this thread, I'd like to focus on technical suggestions and improvements. I'm still happy to discuss the topic, but I'd encourage you start a new thread in the book marketing forum. You may also want to check out my post here on book publicization.

 

Initial thoughts:

I think it's very clear the type of website it is: a personal website and blog with personal opinions/thoughts/notes, book reviews, and information on your writing/publishing pursuits. This is good - viewers should know right away what the site is about. I love your color scheme; cool header image, and the light green background compliments the white, blue, and black well.

I think there is some room for minor improvement. The theme your using seems a little dated in design/layout/functions. This is absolutely fine, but you may what to consider some changes.

My suggestions:

1. Extend the blog post cutoff preview significantly. As is, after 2-3 sentences viewers will the [...] link. I would highly recommend extending this. I personally prefer full blog posts to display on the homepage, but depending on your personal preferences and length of blog posts, that might not be ideal. I would recommend at least three paragraphs in preview, I would prefer four. We're talking 600-800 characters I believe.

2. If you choose to keep the cutoff preview, either at the current or extended length, I'd highly recommend changing the link. The [...] link is an older blogger style and it's not immediately clear it's a link. I would change it to something more clear like "Read More" or "Continue Reading" or "View Full Post" (more modern).

3. I love that you have the email subscription form at the top of the sidebar. Great positioning for great results. I would recommend removing the Meta widget (or moving it to the footer or bottom of sidebar). I would also recommend you consider adjusting the archives widget: either display categories by month without the dropdown menu (and archive title) or possible replace with blog posts by category.

4. You footer is okay as is. Consider adding links to the homepage, about, published works, books, archives, and/or social media to the footer. You don't want to make it too clutter, but it's a good space to display important links. If you have the authority to do so, you might want to consider removing the links to Wordpress and theme name. Option, depending on if you want to give credit.

5. Since you don't have much other sidebar content, I think your social media blocks are okay - though a little dated in general style. Generally I'd recommend icons in the header or links in the footer.

6. When you click your username/author link, it shows a link of all your posts with summaries. This may be personal preference, but I'd use a plugin that converts them to a list format - easier to browse entries faster.

7. I don't have any immediate suggestions for your sidebar, but there may be ways to further utilize the space.

I love your use of images, and I think your About Me and Books page look great. All in all a decent blog with not much I can offer in general feedback. Let me know if you have any questions, happy to answer them.