Randa Clay Design

Pinterest Social Media Icon for Your Blog

2011-09-07T12:35:41Z

Have you discovered Pinterest yet? It’s the best way I’ve found to keep track of, organize and share all the stuff you find on the web. I’ve been using it for a while and was looking around for an icon to put on one of my sites to link to my Pinterest boards, and I couldn’t find one. So I made some! Here they are – just right-click on the one you want and save it to your computer to use on your site.

32x32px Pinterest Icons:

48x48px Pinterest Icons:

(Please do not link directly to these images, but rather download the one you want to use and save it wherever you normally host images for use on your site. Also YOU MAY NOT take these buttons and host them on your own site. You may give an example or two in a post if you like, but you must link back here for users to download the buttons.)

Pretty, Feminine Premium WordPress Themes on DivaThemes.com

2011-08-22T21:40:43Z

I’ve been working hard over the recent months to create some beautiful premium themes for WordPress for my DivaThemes.com site. I thought I’d post an update, as there are now four themes available! They are reasonably priced and there is a support forum available for those with questions.

Snappy Theme

This theme uses the jQuery Masonry plugin to create a unique post layout that is gapless, no matter the height of your post. There are tons of options available and spaces for all sizes of ads.

Classy Theme

This is a very pretty theme with lots of background and color options, and it’s easy to upload your own background as well! You can arrange the header to include an ad spot or other content in the widget section. There are plenty of other widget sections and options as well.

Yummy Theme

This cute theme was designed with food bloggers in mind, but it would work great for anyone. There are optional featured post sections, an optional slider on the home page, header layout options and many other features!

Happy Theme

With pretty swirls in the background and multiple color schemes and widget areas, this theme will make your site happy.

Great source for stock photography

2011-08-09T22:48:59Z

There are many sources for stock photography and vector images, and I’m always up for trying a new one. Recently Fotolia contacted me, and asked if I wanted to try out their service and pass along my thoughts to you*. I’ve used Fotolia for over a week now, and I must say, I am surprised! I have used iStockPhoto for years and have enjoyed their selection and low prices, but the selection of images at Fotolia seems to be similar and their credits are cheaper! You get 25 credits for $30 ($1.20/credit) vs. 26 credits for $39.50 ($1.52 /credit) at iStockPhoto.

Remember, adding professional images to your blog posts can make a huge difference in how your site is perceived, and when you can get them so cheaply, why not?

Win a trial subscription

Would YOU like to try out Fotolia? I have 3 coupon codes for a 2 week trial subscription to give away! The winners will be able to download 3 images a day during the 14 day trial.

To enter: simply leave a comment in the area below. I will choose 3 winners randomly on Monday, August 8th at 9pm central time. Good luck!

*while Fotolia did give me a free month’s subscription, I was under no obligation to review their service positively.

New Pretty Premium Theme Site

2010-12-16T13:46:55Z

There are some great premium theme sites out here and it never occurred to me to start my own until I began to notice how few of the themes looked like they were designed for “girly” sites. A HUGE portion of the blogs and sites out there are dedicated to crafting, scrapbooking, cooking, mommy-blogging, etc. and these ladies are terribly under-served in the premium theme market. I think it’s time to change all that, so… ta da!

DivaThemes has only one theme available right now as I just launched the site. (Long time readers might recognize it as an incarnation of a former design here on this site.) It’s called the Happy Theme! It comes with 5 happy color schemes, lots of widget areas, WP Menus functionality and a theme options panel where you can do things like insert your own custom logo and put in custom CSS. I can’t wait to dive in and design some more fun, cute themes.

I’m considering opening up the site for other designers to sell their themes as well, and would also consider offering themes for Blogger as well, so if you’re a designer and that sounds like something you’d be interested in, let me know.

Website Failure: How To Avoid It And When To Accept It

2010-10-25T11:18:55Z

Posting has been a little thin around here lately, to say the least, as I’m continuing to find it difficult to keep all the balls in the air. I started several sites this summer and in hindsight, while I learned something from them, I should have just skipped it and spent that time more wisely. I’ve been a site owner for almost 5 years now, and some have succeeded, some have failed. I’ve learned something from each experience, and I’d like to share some thoughts on avoiding failure as you start a new site, as well as recognizing when it’s time to throw in the towel and chalk it up to “experience”.

Has this happened to you? You’re laying in bed at night and can’t sleep, and suddenly you have an idea for a site. It’s unique! It’s perfect! You jump up and buy the domain before someone else thinks of the idea… As tempting as it is to jump in with both feet, I’ve learned that no matter how good you think the idea is, it’s best to do some research first.

1. Keyword research – is anyone searching for what your site is going to offer? At a bare minimum do some basic keyword research to understand what kind of search volume you might expect.

2. Competition – are there other sites out there with the same idea? How many other pages are there on the topic in the Google index? If there are a ton of awesome sites, it might be best to go back to the drawing board. Sometimes you find that there are lots of sites, but you know you could do it better and overcome the competition.

3. Reality check – ask people you respect if it’s a good idea. See if it still seems like a good idea after you sleep on it. Trying writing some content for the site, especially if it’s blog oriented, and see if you still have lots of ideas and energy for the topic after you’ve spent some time writing.

Sometimes, after doing some research, you end up realizing it wasn’t such a good idea after all. Sometimes you adjust your concept just a bit before buying a domain name.

Make sure you have adequate time (and money) to devote to the site

You can only do so much, so you have to choose wisely where to put your resources of time and money. Sometimes it’s better to put resources into a site you already have, rather than start a new one. Remember that overloading oneself can create burnout and that just sucks all the fun out of it.

Consider monetization

If you’re going to invest time and money into a site, be sure you have a plan for getting a return on that investment. Would it be a good Adsense site? Are you going to do affiliate marketing or try and get into an ad network? It’s never too early to monetize a site.

Be prepared for the long haul

There are plenty of sites that succeed in a relatively short amount of time, but for the most part, you should be prepared to allow at least a year for a site to be generating traffic and a decent income. Persistence pays off though, and as long as you continue to see growth, stick with it.

Be prepared to throw in the towel

Some ideas will fail. In some cases you’ll spend hours and hours building a site’s content, persist for months and get nowhere. Sometimes you have to cut your losses, move on and be glad for what you learned in the process. My first two sites were started about the same time. I put a LOT more time into one than I did the other, and finally after about 18 months I had to give up on the one I’d invested so much time into. It still makes a small income each month, just sitting there, but I stopped pouring resources into it and focused on the other site, which has become my leading money-maker.

Don’t be discouraged

If you really believe in your idea, go for it. Even if it fails you will have learned a lot and be more likely to be successful with the next idea. Every experienced entrepreneur will tell you that failure is just a part of the game, and a necessary stepping stone to eventual success.

Review: Sumo Sway Couple

2010-07-09T16:17:31Z

Not your momma’s bean bag chair…

Last summer the folks at Sumo contacted me and asked if I’d like to review one of their awesome bean bag chairs. I agreed and they sent me the Sumo Omni, and we love it. So, when they offered me the opportunity to review their new Sumo Sway Couple I was totally up for it.

This chair is closer to being a “regular” chair than a bean bag. It’s formed with a back and a bottom and it’s heaven to sink into it- so comfortable. I wish the bottom were a bit taller, because it can be a challenge to get out of for old folks like me. <wink> I chose the microsuede chair in Funky Brown. The material is very soft and there’s even a nice pocket in the side to hold a remote control.

The chair is perfect for a game room, media room or kids room. We now have two bean bag chairs made by Sumo, and the quality is top notch. The chair cover is removable, so washing it will be no problem. I expect my boys to be taking these off to college with them, still in excellent condition.

*Disclosure: though I did receive this chair at no charge, I am under absolutely no obligation to review it positively. If I didn’t like it, I’d tell you.

Redesign 2010

2010-06-03T21:33:06Z

I really don’t PLAN to redesign every year. It just seems that I’m happy with a design for only a year or so, and then something I see strikes me and I’ve suddenly got redesign fever. This time, it was a font- League Gothic. I have long been a fan of Trade Gothic, especially in it’s bold condensed form, but I just cannot spend almost $300 for a font, no matter how much I like it. So, when I discovered League Gothic, I did a little happy dance and promptly decided to redesign my site around it.

This design is probably more “me” than any in the past, clean and simple, lots of color and some unexpected touches here and there. I always have a hard time deciding on just one color scheme, so with this design, there are several color schemes and each time a page is loaded a random one is chosen. Also, I’ve gone with a bit less focus on the blog and more on my work.

Thanks, as always, for visiting my little corner of the world- I appreciate it!

Build Your Web Sites By Building Relationships On Twitter

2010-05-26T16:18:05Z

I develop sites for clients on a regular basis (which is often why it’s difficult for me to find time to post here), and there are still some who are resisting the use of social media as an important part of building relationships with their readers. It took me a while to understand the value of Twitter, so I know it can be a hard sell. After all, there is only so much time in the day.

I already use RSS to keep my readers updated and interact with them in the comments. Why do I need to be on Twitter?

It used to be that you’d set up a new site, make sure that people could easily subscribe and keep up with your posts, respond to readers in the comments, and that was all there was to staying connected with those who wanted to stay updated with your site. As Twitter has become almost ubiquitous these days, many are slowly moving away from the feed reader to using Twitter exclusively. I’ve had several people tell me they can’t remember the last time they opened their feed reader.

There are many, I imagine, who are not happy with this turn of events. They don’t understand Twitter and don’t see the value in engaging with their readers this way, but that’s a rather short-sighted view of things.

Building relationships

The great thing about Twitter is that it’s a two-way conversation. Sure, people visit your site and who subscribe to your feed can comment on posts, and you can reply, but Twitter allows regular interaction with your followers, on more than just your blog posts. It’s a much more effective way to develop relationships with readers, and people are much more likely to stay engaged in your site’s content if they’re also engaged with you on a bit more personal, immediate level.

What if I have multiple web sites?

Okay, so maybe you get the reasons to use Twitter if you’ve got a web site, but what if you have multiple sites? For many, having a separate Twitter account for each site is the way to go because the content of their sites is different. For example, I have Twitter accounts for one of my kids sites, and my Solutions for WP site, along with my regular personal Twitter account. I would likely annoy many of the followers on my main account if I tweeted posts from my kids site on a regular basis and tweeted incessantly about “Mommy stuff”.

How do I manage multiple accounts on Twitter?

I use TweetDeck. I know there are several options for managing multiple accounts on Twitter, but I have found TweetDeck to be so easy to use, I haven’t even bothered checking out the others. Looking for other options? Check here.

Brand your Twitter page

Don’t take the easy route by just choosing one of the default templates. Take the extra time to brand your Twitter page. There are plenty of Twitter templates available for download.

Have fun at the Twitter party

Twitter is like a party. You go, you mingle, you have conversations, and take a break from your work. You’re not at the party too long before you know who to avoid. It’s “that guy” who is selling something. It’s usually insurance or financial planning. You can tell what is foremost in his mind. It’s not having a good time and getting to know people. He’s not really interested in people in general except that they are potential clients, and you can tell within a couple minutes of talking to him.

How to do the Twitter party the right way:

Go – show up, tweet a couple of times a day at least

Mingle - get to know lots of people, follow the most interesting and important, especially in your niche.

Relax – this isn’t all about work. You’re not there to sell yourself. You’re there to develop relationships.

Have conversations – retweet, ask questions, be genuine, be yourself, get to know people and share stuff about yourself. This is the part where you tell people what you do, share the latest thing you’re working on, talk about what you love and what you’re excited about

If you’re involved in social media- Twitter in particular- just to market yourself, people can often tell. Just like they can tell when they start talking to “that guy” at the party that he’s trying to work the conversation around to what he does, what he sells and feeling you out to see if you’re a potential customer. Don’t be that guy.

New site: Solutions for WP – How to do it in WordPress

2010-05-10T12:15:16Z

For quite a long time, I’ve had an difficulty keeping track of all the cool, interesting, and useful WordPress solutions I read in posts and forums. I bookmark things, put them on Delicious, etc. but just end up forgetting where I put them and then spend time Googling around for that thing I read about 6 months ago. Finally, I got the bright idea of using a WordPress database to keep track of them all, and pretty soon I ended up with another website, in the hopes that others might find it useful as well:

I know there are lots of WordPress tips and hacks kinds of sites out there. This site is designed to aggregate and categorize the solutions I find, and contains some original content as well. If you know of a post that should be included, you can submit it via the form at the top of the sidebar; particularly if you’ve posted a “how to” on your site- you can never have too many incoming links right? This site is somewhat inspired by CSS Globe, which is a great resource for web developers, linking out to all kinds of great tutorials, tips, hacks, etc…

So, check out SolutionsforWP.com. Submit your WordPress solution posts and bookmark it for the next time you’re trying to figure out a way to make something happen in WordPress.

*Props to ElegantThemes.com for the site design. I didn’t have time to do a custom theme for this site, and one of my favorite sources these days for AWESOME premium themes is Elegant Themes. You get access to all his themes for only $19.95 and they are not only beautiful, but have some great options on the back end, and I have found them to be easy to customize as well.

Thinking of using a design contest site? Think again.

2010-02-18T04:49:13Z

Let me tell you a story…

Once upon a time a running group decided they wanted a new web site design. They thought that going to one of those “crowdsourcing” sites would be a great way to go because they could hold a design contest and get lots of ideas and then take a vote on which was the best. This is what they ended up with (go ahead and click on the image so you can see it in it’s full glory):

One of their group is a former client of mine who has good design sense, and she thought the site was sort of awful. She had taken the reins with the project and sent the Photoshop file asking me to keep the same basic design (since the group liked it), but to “fix it” so it looked and worked better. I realize most designers would have probably said no to the request, but I wanted to help her out and I had time in my schedule for some extra work, so… here’s the site after I spent some time on it:

It’s still sort of awful in some ways, but in several important ways it’s a much more effective site.

Fonts

There were WAY too many fonts used and almost none of them were web safe. Much of the text had drop shadows and outer glow applied which interfered with legibility. A good rule of thumb when designing a site is to keep the number of fonts to 3 or less and make your main font a web safe font so everything doesn’t have to be a graphic element. Also, be very judicious about effects applied to fonts as they can interfere with legibility.

Graphic Elements

The site was plainly over-decorated. Everything had a gradient, strange shadows inside and outside of containers, extra borders and pictures. The eye does not know where to look. Clean visual elements allow the visitor to easily process what they’re seeing so they can interact with the site in a productive way. When in doubt, keep it simple.

Clarity of message

Visitors should be able to take in a site in just a couple of seconds and have a decently clear idea of what the main message is and what you want them to do about that message. If fonts are too small, illegible or hidden within visual clutter, the message is lost. If the message is lost, it does not matter how “pretty” the design is.

And the moral of the story is…

You get what you pay for. This organization paid for a design that would have been a big, bloated, ineffective site. The person who did the original design likely didn’t know any better. When you’re just starting out, you make mistakes- it’s just part of the process.People who participate in these kinds of design contests are almost always inexperienced and mistake-prone, and the mistakes they make will often cost more than the money you saved by using a design contest site in the first place.

You can read more about crowdsourcing/spec work sites in this interesting article about design contests at Web Designer Depot.