Antbag.com

For the past week or two, I’ve seen quite a few posts about Google Page Rank, and the hit that many popular blogs took this go around. It was first reported that two ultra-popular blogs that I regularly read, Copyblogger and Problogger, went from a PR6 to a PR4. This past week, it seems that they have recovered. Problogger is now a PR6 and Copyblogger has actually gained rank landing at a PR7.

The apparent reason the Page Rank of so many sites took a turn for the worse, is based on the sites having paid links. Not sure how this will affect services like Text Link Ads, but I’m sure it’s not good news for them.

I’ve never had paid links here before, mainly because I didn’t qualify back when I applied for TLA. At the time, my blog had a Page Rank of 3, and I think a PR4 was required before your site was considered established enough to be profitable. With this update, seems I’m a PR5 now. Although I’ve placed ads on this site from time to time, I’ve never really set out to directly monetize it. What money I have made from it has been in more of an indirect way(WP design/customization), not through ads.

Why does it matter?

So the golden question is, how important is the Page Rank of your site? Maki, from popular money-making blog, Dosh Dosh, says it doesn’t matter. He makes the point that that what Google does is completely out of anyones control, and bloggers/siteowners don’t need systems that use Page Rank as a metric for measuring comparative value.

If your ad revenue is affected just because PageRank changes, then you’re not doing something right. Not exploring the right monetization options. Not having a long term business plan. Not making full use of the traffic you have. Not getting the right advertisers who know the value of your site.

While I agree with him, I must admit that I get a big chunk of the traffic on this site through Google. Ad revenue aside, if Page Rank determines how high on the list your site is, then you can’t deny it’s somewhat important. Especially when you consider that Google is seemingly taking over the world…

Tags: Blogging, Web by Anthony ∗ 16 Comments »

I admit it. I didn’t really get the appeal of the tumblelog(aka miniblogs). I could see the value of having the mini-blog in your sidebar, for things you might like to share, but aren’t really full-blog-post-worthy, but aside from that…..

While checking out an incoming link the other day, it turned out to be from a friend of mine with a Tumblr tumblelog. So I decided to sign up, and check it out.

Of course, the first thing I did to mine, before even thinking about posting, was to start manipulating the template. I ended up making it look like a mini version of this site…..which only took about 20 minutes. Tumblr is like a super mini version of Wordpress, without so many options. You have no sidebar. Basically, you have four six ways that you can post:

1. text
2. video
3. quote
4. link
5. chat
6. photo

It’s that simple. It’s actually fun.

So, what’s it actually good for?

For me, the value is creating a cool place to bookmark places on the web I run across, and to post things I want to remember. Does anyone actually read these things? I really don’t know. Whether they read mine or not, it doesn’t really matter to me. I like it because it’s extremely easy to use, and it’s easy to change the design however you want. If you want to see what I find interesting, you can check mine out at antbag.tumblr.com.

Tags: Blogging, Web by Anthony ∗ 5 Comments »

Why in the world have I never tried out Skype? I’ve been aware of it for a long time, but tonight I plugged in for the first time and talked to someone on the other side of the world.

For some reason, I was under the impression that there was a special phone you had to have to use the service. I think I saw a phone with a Skype logo on the shelf at Wal-Mart in the computer accessories, and just assumed that you had to have that…..as embarrassing as it is. Well, I found out tonight that all you need is a mic and speakers, and you’re good to go. I had an old pair of headphones in one of my closets with an attached microphone, and it worked perfectly. I was amazed. The headset I have probably isn’t worth a couple of bucks. So I’ve found one of my new favorite web apps!

Tags: Web by Anthony ∗ 20 Comments »

This past week, I introduced you to a new design I created for my wife’s embroidery business. I had built the site with XHTML and CSS on static HTML pages. I asked for constructive criticism, and I got what I asked for pretty quickly. Based on the feedback I received plus several ideas of my own, I’ve made several major revisions. Here are the changes:

• site is now built on Wordpress 2.2
• changed the domain from .info to .org - (.info address is forwarded to .org)
• new item pictures that are more consistent with each other
• did away with the sidebar - same links are in the horizontal nav bar
• h1, h2, etc. are being used more appropriately
• front page photos now click-thru to the appropriate pages
• added dialogue to the contact form

At some point, I may still change the site over to a shopping cart system such as OSCommerce. Presently, I believe this set-up will serve the purpose of the site. I also think using Wordpress opens up some new possibilities, all of which I’ve yet to grasp. Wordpress is such an awesome system, the possibilities are endless.

Embroidery and More

Tags: Design, Web, Wordpress by Anthony ∗ 5 Comments »

This week, I’ve redesigned my wife’s online store, Embroidery and More. Her site has gradually shifted to 100% children’s items as that’s been the far majority of her business online. Offline, shirt designs for local business seems to be her niche.

The Tools

What CMS platform is the store built on? NONE. I’ve looked at and tested multiple shopping cart systems and haven’t found the right fit as of yet. So at the moment, the site is powered by static web pages and Paypal’s free shopping cart solution. In the future, I would like to add a full shopping cart if I find the right one(that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg). I’m undecided what to do as far as the domain name. Presently, the store sits on a .info domain. I also own the .org address of the same name.

The Design

As for the design, I wanted the store to have a simple, clean design with a color scheme that screams KIDS! I’m very pleased with the results. IMO, the different shades of blue provide just the right contrast for the subtle pinks, greens, and yellows.

I would love to get some feedback. Constructive criticism anyone?

Tags: Design, Web by Anthony ∗ 7 Comments »

If you take a look at the very top of the page, you’ll notice I added a bookstore. The majority of the books are web design related, and I also have a few other books(fiction and non-fiction) that I’ve read lately. All of the web design books are books that I either have and would recommend, or they’re books I have on my “plan to get” list.

I also added a few movies. Some of them aren’t all that popular, but I consider them some of my favorites.

The store is an Amazon store and took all of about twenty minutes to set up and embed on the site.

Tags: Business, Web by Anthony ∗ 6 Comments »