Words About Good Posting Habits

Dear friends,

Having spent roughly 1/6 of my life studying things like composition and layout, I thought it would be helpful for me to share a few tips. Let me start by saying that most of your posts have generally followed these rules already. Way to go.

On Good Writing

Try to keep posts under 800 words. Say what you have to say, then shut up. Honestly, when was the last time you read a non-work related article that was longer than two pages?

When writing content for the internet, it’s very important that you use the hyperlink tool! Instead of saying, “We saw the Stereo Flys (www.myspace.com/thestereoflys), you should say, “We saw The Stereo Flys.” You can do this by hilighting the phrase “The Stereo Flys,” then click on the hyperlink tool in the tool bar (for you geeks, it’s the one that looks like an infinity sign). Paste the actual link in the box that says “Link URL.” If you’re intent on using a link, at least go to bit.ly and shorten it.

Tag your posts! This is the only way the “search” widget will work. It also affects Google searches. The box “Post Tags” is located on the bottom right of the “Edit Post” page.

On Good Photographs

Keep in mind while reading this section: not all good photographs follow these rules.

There are seven elements of design that you should consider when taking your photos: line, shape, color, texture, form, value and space. To read more about this, see: Composition.

Some of my favorite tricks when framing photos are as follows-
1.Try to fill the entire frame.

2. Look for repeating lines, especially in 3’s.

3. The light should be hitting the thing that is most important in the photo.

4. Lines that go from the bottom corner towards the center of the frame almost always look interesting.

When editing your pictures, reduce the size to 600 pixels horizontally (at 72 dpi) or less. There is no reason for them to be larger because our blog is only 600 pixels wide. It’s usually a good idea to increase the saturation by at least 10, but no more than 30. It may look too saturated in your editing program, but it will look just right when you put it online. Don’t believe me? Look at the difference between my photos and Andrews photos in the post about the Farmer’s Market. If you’d like more advice on how to make your photos look good on the internet, please ask me.

On Good Layout

With so many distractions on the page, your eyes need some extra help focusing; be sure to break the content up into paragraphs, sections, or bullets points. If for some reason your paragraph breaks don’t show up in your preview draft, you can go under the html tab and add the code <p> where you want the break to be. Using bold or italicized fonts can also be useful when trying to make a point.

Don’t use too many photos; five is more than enough. If you have more than that, put them on Facebook and attach a link. Instead of putting all the photos in one place, disperse them them throughout the post. Try to insert them close to the text that is most relevant.

Captions look best when they are one line that spans the entire width of the photo.

Photos should always be placed with the subject facing in. For example, the photo of Andrew eating a sandwich should not be placed on the left hand side of the page. It just looks wrong!!! Flip through at any magazine or newspaper and you will see that they follow this rule.

Hopefully this has been helpful. Happy posting!