Rief . Di Solo . Com

I work for a community website (WordPress powered) and add a link to this web as a credit. I watch this blog stat for a few days hoping to get visitors referred by. I got no one, even the community website has a lot of page view and visits. It makes me wondering, and the first thing to be blamed is that the text link for the credit is not underlined.

Once it is underlined, I got visitors from them. The next question is should links have an underline (or maybe also in blue)?. There is a discussion about it on Cre8asiteforums and WebmasterWorld. Jared Spool also wrote about it and gave some samples to show how links are badly indicated by webmasters.

After reading all those references, I have my conclusion. Here is the list.

1. Links should be indicated differently from ordinary text, either by underlined or give a color to indicate that it is a link. Maybe with blue color.
2. Make it has an effect when hovered. The effects can be a different color or remove the underline.
3. Do not use underline an ordinary text, to avoid user to be confused.
4. Alt tag is good to inform user what will the linked page “talks”
5. To be consistent in all pages for links style

What should I do know? I think I need an extra work to make this web more accessible (maybe for colorblind people) by adding something to indicate that link is a link.

How about yours?

The hardest part after installing a WordPress Blog is choosing the right Theme that suits on me. I found one and customize it. Here is a checklist after installing WordPress:

1. Create a Blog Title and Tagline.
   Actually when you install WordPress using step by step, you will have this screen on your first step.
2. Change your admin password
   WordPress create a short random password after installation. You must write it down to use on login. Immediately update the password from Your Profile and change with your own password.
   Users > Admin > Edit or Click “My Profile” link in top right corner of your admin panel.
3. Set Permalink
   WordPress also offers you to be able to set permalink for your favor. There a lot of reference for you to choose the best permalink that suits on you and search engine.
   Options > Permalink
4. Set Commenting option
   Comment section from your blog is the place where you can interact with your reader. Spams also come from here. Do you allow anyone to comment without moderation? You have the options here.
   Options > Discussion
5. Choose a Theme
   Some of you maybe ready with a theme on your hand. Just upload it to “wp-content/themes” directory and choose it form the Presentation menu. If you do not have one, theme.wordpress.net is a good place to start.
6. Arrange Your Widgets
   If you have a widgetized theme you need to arrange it to suits with you.
   Presentation > Widgets
   
7. Edit the default “About
   Maybe you want to tell to your reader about you or your blog to let them know who are you and what you are blogging about.
   Manage > Pages > About > Edit
8. Install Plugin
   There are so many plugin available for you to choose and use. Here are some basic plugins I use for this blog.
   • Akismet Anti Spam, comes by default. It need WordPress API Key to activate. You can have the API by registering for an account at WordPress.Com.
   • WordPress.Com Stat, to track your blog stat, including page view, referers and search engine keyword. You need a WP API Key also.
   • Admin Drop Down Menu, to easily navigate on your admin panel.
   • Enhanced WP-ContactForm, to provide a contact form for your reader to send you a message.
   • Search-Meter, to track what your reader search on your blog.
   • MyBlogLog, to view your recent readers.
9. Claim Your Technorati Profile
   Technorati provide real-time search for user generated media including blogs either by tag or keyword. The more incoming links to your blog, the more authority rank. To claim it, you need to create a post linked to the “claim-link”. Like this: Technorati Profile
10. Claim Your MyBlogLog Profile
    Having MyBlogLog account allow you to easily leave a foot-print on any blog which has MyBlogLog script installed. In the other side, you can view who read your blog recently. Look at my bottom-right bar for a sample of MyBlogLog widgets.
11. FeedBurner your Feed
    To make reader easily subscribe to your post, you can use the buildin RSS Feed or create a FeedBurner Feed based on your WordPress feed. The advantages of using FeedBurner are you can view your feed stat and monetize it.
12. Track your visitor with Google Analytics
    Of course you want to have more enhanced analytics for your blog. Google Analytics is the solution. Register for a Google Account (if you don’t have one) and apply for Google Analytics. It is free.
13. Monetize your Blog with Google AdSense
    Google AdSense allow blog owner to get money from their blog by placing ads. You need to be verified for the first time to be a part of Google AdSense program.
14. Write Your First Post
    Confuse what you should write for the first time, here is a discussion on Jauhari.Net.
15. Promote Your Blog
    You can add your blog to be crawled by Google to start promoting your blog. Incoming link is good for your page rank. Another way to promote your blog is by asking someone else linking to your blog.

That’s all what I have done. You are welcome to leave your comments below.

Worth to read:

• WordPress The Complete Post Install Check List

Finally this blog is ready for content writing.

I have a blog in Bahasa Indonesia (it was in English for the first time) and another blog in English focuses in Indonesia Furniture issue. This blog will be my main English blog focuses on Blogging, SEO, SEM, Web Development, Web Programming, Database and Internet for wider topics.

Sponsors are welcome to support this blog.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any question or inquiry.

Thank you and enjoy your reading and commenting.