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Vector of NileI am Nile Flores, a sassy web designer and developer - a webmistress. I live in Centralia, Illinois, which is about an hour from St. Louis. Blondish.net is where I can freely share my love of all things involving web design, graphic design, web developing, and even my experience as a blogger. Join me on my journey. I hope I do not disappoint.
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You Can Blog Without Thesis – Really, You Can!

Posted in Blogging | Posted on Date 06-25-2010 | Comments 11 Comments
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Blogging is awesome and these days there are so many people I need to visit that I literally need to put it on a schedule. That is not including all the return comments I need to do.

I started using WordPress a long time ago because I saw a lot of potential. Before a lot of you were blogging or even had a website, I was in web competitions and already making my first freelance web design transactions.

However, today, after the wonderful social media and branding and all that goodness…why oh why are people jumping on board with Thesis?

I know the default Kubrick theme for WordPress was not that pretty and if I remember correctly, it was introduced in 2005. The TwentyTen default theme introduced in WordPress 3.0 is actually a real gem for newbie bloggers. However, there are hundreds of free and premium themes out there- why do I keep seeing Thesis?

I have designed and used it based on request by a few clients, I am not really much for it. I am not even keen on giving it out to new people to the blogging community. I do not care what marketing ploy there is to get someone to blog, there are better and cheaper options than Thesis.

“I use Thesis for SEO.”

Alright, go ahead, but you can do it with plugins and WordPress all the same. You are the one that controls your SEO because you are writing the articles. If you are needing your site to be optimized, there are a lot of great search engine optimization articles out there… that are FREE! Google it. ;)

If you want to brand yourself with Thesis, you need to get away from that cookie cutter look. There are people out there who have, but as few as I have seen, there are many more who have the same look.

I have said this before in my presentation at WordCamp Chicago 2010 on Rocking Out Your Site With WordPress and will again – Think outside the box!

In thinking outside the box, you will create a site that is worthy of your brand and something you can be proud to share with others.

When you are putting a site up and it is a business and a blog, will you be able to turn that site into a business site, or a blog that is a business.

While you could customize Thesis, you might want to answer a few questions:

  • 1. What do you want your site to do?
  • 2. What is your budget?
  • 3. Can you find a better method?

People already have enough going on with learning WordPress. I receive dozen of Thesis questions from the same crowd daily and frankly, it is kind of sad and frustrating to see that their site is barely different from the next.

If you have a Thesis theme and cannot customize it, have someone do it for you! I do it all the time and frankly it is better knowing someone wanted to be different from the next hundred in their niche sporting Thesis for their WordPress theme. I am not totally ruling out Thesis, I just want to see people use it better. It is hard to believe social media consultants who specialize in branding if they have nothing to back it up with their own branding.

If you use Thesis, how are you thinking outside the box in terms of branding your site?

A Freelancer’s Policy – Protect Yourself

Posted in Freelance | Posted on Date 06-24-2010 | Comments 5 Comments
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Freelancing is something that has its own risks. Like any business, you are dealing with all sorts of clients. Those who are new to the game may not have a set policy, but they should. Whether you are new to freelancing for writing or even web design, here are some ideas to include into your policy. Have a clear policy written from the beginning before the project begins. Everything that is expected should be included: Define your duties. Go into detail. There are some clients who believe you will do more for free and it ends up being a time Read More →

7 Ways To Building Trust With Your Readers

Posted in Social Media | Posted on Date 06-23-2010 | Comments 8 Comments
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Building trust is really important in any aspect of a person’s life. Every person you encounter has been raised with slightly different morals and ethics. They also have varied manners. So, with you putting your content out there for people to read, how can you build their trust to entice them to keep coming back or at least take you seriously? Here are 7 ways to build trust with your readers: Honesty. If you are lying through your teeth, a lot of people will be quick to point it out. Communicate with other people and do not make it all Read More →

Styling Your Facebook Fan box

Posted in Tutorials | Posted on Date 06-21-2010 | Comments 5 Comments
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Sometimes when you get an outside service and apply it to your site, you are unsatisfied on how it looks and perhaps want to alter it – like the Facebook fan box. It really is not too much of a big deal, but for those who like to put a little more effort and get rid of outside branding on their site, this tutorial should help. Really, all it is is copying the code, replacing areas of the code for your fan page, and then copying the css to your layout’s style sheet. This is a short tutorial on how Read More →

Freelancing in College

Posted in Freelance | Posted on Date 06-19-2010 | Comments 1 Comment
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While many of us dream of going straight for a startup, it’s not as easy as it sounds- especially while in school or working on a masters degree. Lots of us end up freelancing and gaining clients over time, in hopes that one day we can start a full fledged business. With that said, as a college student, it can also be a real challenge to find work that will allow you to pay your expenses without interfering with your busy schedule. This is true whether you’re enrolled in a community college or are pursuing your master’s degree. One option Read More →

Determining What Your Site Visitors Are Looking For

Posted in Blogging | Posted on Date 06-17-2010 | Comments 2 Comments
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You may have signed up for a couple different services to monitor your stats like Google Analytics, Lijit, Woopra, and more. However, what can you get from those stats that will allow you to be able to fill the need for your readers, including first time visitors who are looking for something. If your visitors cannot find what they are looking for, they are going to leave. If you are not tagging and using keywords that accurately fit your articles, you might need to go back with a critical eye and adjust. Remember that people look for things and type Read More →

Finding The Right Site For Guest Blogging

Posted in Blogging | Posted on Date 06-16-2010 | Comments 7 Comments
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I have had to turn away a lot of requests for guest blogging. I know others who have. Now, for those who are into guest writing on other sites, I am sure you are like – “Why would you do that when you can get some links back?” As much as I would love to, I have found after a lot of experience that it is best to carefully choose where to write. The wrong place might be for a site that was made for all the wrong reasons or a place that I do not share many of the Read More →

10 Ways To Turn Away Followers With Auto DM on Twitter

Posted in Social Media | Posted on Date 06-14-2010 | Comments 6 Comments
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For me, a lot of the automatic direct messages on Twitter (Auto DM) are annoying. Some of them do not make sense and I am more apt to unfollow unless it is something worthwhile. So in a way, I put a list of my own guidelines for Auto DM. The best way I can explain each is by scenario. Perhaps some of you have experienced a situation or two (or more) from below. No coupon codes or discounts please. Do I go to your site, then comment right off the bat to advertise? No. Please try engaging first, then perhaps Read More →

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