Those stupid Flash ads that expand over content

It’s not enough for some ads to be flashy and irritating but just as you start reading the article they have to expand and cover what you were reading.

What do those people think? The only way I’d click you ad is accidentally, maybe that’s the point. Getting in my way is not the best way to endear me to your product.

What’s even worse are those with no immediately discernible close button aarrgh! In that case I close the window and vow never to return to that site again.

Snap-shots.

I hate snapshots, whoever came up with that idea should be shot. You see the link, you make the effort to move your mouse over it and… it’s not a link. What irritates me even more is when I use the middle button to scroll the pointer will inadvertently move over one of these dastardly things.

Why oh why use snap? It sucks resources, increases page loading time and has all that advertising that your visitors don’t really want.

Speaking of useless unnecessary ads

What’s with those disgusting teeth whitening ads

You know the one, yes that one with the mouth full of nasty rotten teeth. The funny thing is that I mostly see that particular ad when visiting Food blogs. Not what I want to see next to pictures of food.

At the very least make sure the ads are relevant to your site’s niche.

Comment systems.

Why do comments have to open a new window?

Why do I have to sign in with a twitter, facebook, openID, Disquss account? Suppose I don’t have or want one.

Why is the Last comment first?

I understand the need for pagination, but every 10 comments? Seriously what are you trying to pull?

Having have to scroll back up to the top of the post to leave a comment.

You are kind enough to put the full posts on your front page, and I really appreciate that. However after reading your well written article don’t let me scroll all the way back to the top to leave a comment. A link to the comments at the bottom of the post would be lovely.

Have more?

I know I’ve missed out some —share yours.

A better way or as the wordpress codec says a safer way to use the jQuery libraries or any of the included scripts is to use wp_register_script or wp_enqueue_script.

WordPress comes loaded with several libraries and scripts for your enjoyment, including:

• Scriptalicious
• jQuery
• Prototype
• Thickbox
• jQuery UI

The easiest way to load the jQuery library for would be to add the following code before the wp_head() function,

wp_enqueue_script('jquery');

It’s important to note that the wordpress loads the internal version of the jQuery library in “no-conflict” mode which means the “$” shortcut will not work. You could use “jQuery” instead of “$”, however if you really want to use that dollar sign then in your jQuery scripts use the following code.

jQuery(document).ready(function($) {
// do jQuery stuff using $
});

You can also specify the source of the script if it is not included with wordpress and load dependencies using wp_enqueue_script, the path to the script should be relative to the root directory of wordpress. The following example loads candy.js which depends on “scriptalicious” and “scriptalicious-slider”.

wp_enqueue_script('candy', WP_CONTENT_URL. '/themes/name-of-theme/js/candy.js', array('scriptalicious, scriptalicious-slider'), false, true);

The first paramenter is the script name, the second is the path to the script, the third parameter array() will load the files that candy.js needs. The names in this array are not the filenames but rather the handles, these will be loaded before candy.js

After the dependencies parameter comes the version option, it’s a string specifying the version number of the script used if there are more than one version of the script.

The last parameter is the wp_enqueue() function is an option to load your script wherever the wp_footer() hook is located, it should be in the, uh —footer.

If this post helps you better understand the wp_enqueue function, let me know in the comments below.

• A:Arsenal.com
• B:Boagworld.com
• C:Coffeeandvanilla.com
• D:Daren Hoyte
• E:Ebuyer
• F:Slideshowpro forums
• G:Guardian.co.uk
• H:heartinternet.co.uk
• I:iPlayer
• J:Jquery.com
• K:Kuler
• L:lite.facebook.com
• M:Marco Bolognesi
• N:Noupe
• O:Oyster
• P:phpmyadmin on localhost
• Q: nothing for q
• R:Radio times
• S:ssp Director on localhost
• T:twitter.com
• U:UX booth
• V:veetle
• W:Wengerball
• X:XKCD
• Y:Youtube
• Z:Zeldman.com

The solution is found in the rounded rectangle options,

Rectangle snap to pixels — Snaps edges of a rectangle or rounded rectangle to the pixel boundaries.

The image above shows two square created with the shape tool, the shape on the left was done with the snap to pixel option checked, while the one on the right wasn’t.At this size there is no difference between the 2 shapes, but we can zoom in to see what really going on.

Add a single pixel stoke to the shape and it really goes haywire.

Notice how the stoke at the bottom is much thinner than the other sides. This is not magnified just a single pixel stroke on a rectangle created without the rectangle shape snap to pixel option.

Compare the two below.

The same option is available for the rounded rectangle tool as compared below

Now for the grand finale, it should be a snap to make a 1px line. Select line tool , set the weight to 1px and voila a perfect 1px line  —of course not.

There is no snap to pixel option with the line too, so how to fix this?

Ok so I cheated, this happens when you attempt to use the line tool with the document zoomed to more than 100%. Just make sure when you’re drawing that 1px line that the document is at 100% or less.

Hope you’ll find this post useful.

This is the first in what we plan to be a regular instalment of free wallpapers for your screens. This wallpaper is inspired by the work of Krak Fox (Garick Middleton) .

• 800×600
• 1024×640
• 1024×768
• 1152×864
• 1280×960
• 1280×1024
• 1440×900
• 1600×1200
• 1680×1050
• 1920×1200
• 1920×1440
• iPhone
• iPhone alternate

Keyword Use in Title Tag

Placing the targeted search term or phrase in the title tag of the web page’s HTML header.

Good titles help everyone. They help the search engine categorise your site, they help the searcher know what to expect from your page, thus helping to increase Click-Through Rate and they get better SERP (Search Engine Ranking Positions).

An Efficient internal linking structure.

Link Popularity within the Site’s Internal Link Structure – Refers to the number and importance of internal links pointing to the target page.

A good linking structure makes certain that important pages get enough emphasis in the same way good navigation structure on the web page helps visitors get around your site slickly.

Global Link Popularity of Site

The overall link weight/authority as measured by links from any and all sites across the web.

Visit popular sites in your category, leave comments and a link to your site. Spread the word, tell your friends, family, anyone who will listen to visit. Make use of social networks like Facebook, linkedin etc.

Keyword Use in Body Text.

Using the targeted search term in the visible, HTML text of the page

Yes, this is important, but do NOT, whatever you do, ‘spam’ the targeted keyword(s). Only use the keyword phrase throughout the page where it makes sense. Search engines are sophisticated beasties and will apply topic analysis to learn what is truly relevant.

The web is ruled by content, and while it takes time to build a great body of content these simple tips can push our website a little bit further.