Snagit – A Good Graphic Tool

January 27, 2013 by 1 Comment

snagitSnagit is a good graphic tool for anyone.  While it started out as a basic screen capture tool, it has evolved into much more.

Pictures and images are an essential way to bring a website/blog to life.  But getting an image file “web ready” can be tricky.  The most common mistake is bloated file size which can slow down your website and hurt your Google ranking.  Here’s a good BOT article on “size matters” when it come to pictures for your website:

http://www.biologyoftechnology.com/2012/04/size-matters-for-pictures-on-a-website/

Snagit provides a simple way to obtain and re-size image files for the web.  And it does a lot more.

Here are a few of the things you can do with the Snagit software.

  • Capture a selected region of a screen
  • Capture a window, scrolling window of a web page or a full screen shot
  • Keep weblinks active in the above options
  • Use its Snagit Editor for editing captures saved to a file

Snagit Editor provides a wide range of options.

  • Saving the capture as a PNG, BMP, JPEG or PDF file
  • Sending an image to Word, Excel, PowerPoint
  • Add enhancements such as arrows, cursors, lines, text
  • Adjust color depth
  • Add text, or view the frames of a video capture
  • Add custom edge effects like drop shadow or torn or faded edges
  • Manipulating the image through flip, mirror, shear, rotate, crop, and cut

You can download fully functional 30 day trial from TechSmith (Windows and Mac versions are available).  If you like Snagit, it’s only $49.95!  And TechSmith provides great instructional videos.

 

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Filed Under: Tech Tips, WordPress

Fancy Fonts can Hurt Your Website

May 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Fancy fonts can actually hurt your website. Keep fonts simple and your website is more appealing and easier to read.

And in some cases, a bad fonts choice can distort your message and maybe even scare customers away.  Consider this font fail.

YIKES!  Needless to say, this store owner made a bad font choice.  Imagine the customers that took a quick glimpse at “Megaflicks”  and walked away before taking a closer look.  In this case, a cleaner font would clear-up the message and help get more customers.  Well, at least a better font would not scare people away!

The lure of “cutesy” fonts on a website falls in the same category as Flash intros and over-the-top animation.  While these design elements may seem like a good idea in theory, they distract from your website and dilute your message.

On the Web content is king.  And while a nice looking website is like catchy art on a book cover (in that it may get your attention), it’s the words on the pages that keeps you coming back for more.  The same is true for your website.

Consider the following study…
Two groups of people were given a set of instructions. One group received directions in a simple Arial font, and the other group received directions in a fancy, or harder to read Brush font.

The people who received the simple font estimated it would take 8.2 minutes to complete the directions whereas the people who received the complex font estimated that it would take 15.1 minutes to complete.

A simple font change, and people estimated that directions would take around 86 percent longer.

What’s that mean to you?

Given that web surfers are very A.D.D., a distracting font means users are less likely to even start reading your content.  And just like those people who misread “Megaflicks” and kept walking, you can loose potential customer before they even read the first word on your website.

Think of what you want when you are surfing the web.  Often fancy intros and busy websites can be distracting when what you really want is information.

Font Advice

  • For content, stick to the basic fonts:  Arial or Times Roman
    If you look around at other major website, these are the fonts you will see (at least for content)
  • It’s important to create contrast between your font color and background.
    Studies have shown that on the Web dark fonts on a light background are easier to read.
  • Don’t go crazy with different font colors as it could make your website look cheesy.
    Use the same color font with bolder font weight for emphasis.
  • Refrain from using more than 2 different font types on your site. It becomes confusing and your design goes from distinguished to disgusting.
  • You can use fancy fonts on logos or titles, but be consistent and practical when selecting your logo font.

Don’t let the fonts on your website be a megaf#%*!

 

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Filed Under: Tech Tips, Website, WordPress

Size Matters for Pictures on a Website

April 17, 2012 by 2 Comments

There’s a lot “talk” (and jokes) about size when it comes to the male anatomy.  But size really matters for picture files used on a website.  In this case, smaller is better!  Bloated pictures files can negatively impact website performance and hurt your Google ranking!

To help insure a better user experience and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) for your website it is highly recommended that pictures are re-sized and optimized before loading them on a website.  It is best to keep image files under 200KB in size.

Many websites suffer from performance issues because image files are not optimized for the Web.  This sluggishness can be due to a many reasons.  The biggest factors are the the end user’s Internet speed and PC power (CPU size, RAM, operating system).

When a large pictures file is used on a website, the large file still has to be loaded to the user’s browser.  This means it uses Internet bandwidth to deliver the large file.  And local PC resources are used to re-size the picture to fit on the user’s screen.  Mobile users suffer the most from websites with big image files, and mobile users are the largest growing demographic on the Web!

Here’s an easy procedure for optimizing image files for a website.

  • Measure the pixel dimensions of the space on the website where the picture is to be placed.  Most pictures on websites are no larger than 500px BY 500px.  Anything larger is usually just a waste.
  • Recommendation:  Use a tool like Snagit from TechSmith:  http://www.techsmith.com/snagit.html
  • Use a tool like Snagit to capture the image and size it the measured pixel dimensions
  • Save to a file in JPG format.
  • Upload this “fitted” JPG image file to the website and place it in the desired location.

This procedure only takes about a minute but will have a positive impact on performance. Furthermore, this procedure will not impact quality.

Another reason to optimize pictures is SEO (Search Engine Optimization).  Websites that have large size picture files that hog Internet bandwidth can lose Google ranking.  

For a WordPress Website, here’s how to upload a picture AFTER it has been re-sized for your website from a local hard drive.

  • Put your cursor in the post/page where you wish to insert the picture
  • Click Add an Image:
  • The following box will appear:
  • You can drag the file into the “Drop files here” box.
  • OR you can click the “Select Files” button and upload with a file manager
  • Fill in image parameters and click
  • If necessary use WordPress to fine-tune the picture to the correct size.

This will help your WordPress website perform better and help with SEO!

 

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Filed Under: SEO, Tech Tips, WordPress

WordPress Tip – Links that Open in a New Browser

November 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment

It’s easy to add links in WordPress.  But it is important to create links that open in a new browser window and do not pull users away from your website.

Links to Websites
To insert to a link to another website in any page or post that will open in another browser window:

[Read more...]

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Filed Under: Tech Tips, WordPress