So this great website has decided to publish one of my posts, the basic tutorial for HTML, and I'm super excited! You can stop by BlogHer and check it out here.
Showing posts with label blog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blog. Show all posts
Thursday, October 3, 2013
My Post is on BlogHer!
I love BlogHer! If you don't know this website, do yourself a favor, and check it out now. The articles are really interesting and it's a website by and for women bloggers.
So this great website has decided to publish one of my posts, the basic tutorial for HTML, and I'm super excited! You can stop by BlogHer and check it out here.
So this great website has decided to publish one of my posts, the basic tutorial for HTML, and I'm super excited! You can stop by BlogHer and check it out here.
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Who's Afraid of HTML?
If you're online on a daily basis, or actually if you just live in the 21st century, you probably heard of HTML.
Let's make it simple - HTML is a language that helps us write and design internet pages. It is THAT simple. An HTML code may look really complicated, but actually, if you know how to look at it, it's really not that bad. I promise!
Scary? Just keep on reading!
If you're a blogger or if you have any kind of internet page, a basic understading of HTML can help you A LOT. So I prepared a short tutorial for you, to help you with your first steps.
The basis for HTML is the tags. They look like this < >, and in between we write the commands. These tags mark a beginning and end of something. The opening tag is just written as is in between the angle brackets. The closing tag is written the same way, only with a forward slash ( / ) before the command itself. These tags design our page. Line breaks, links, images, text design – All of these are defined by tags. Anything you don't write between tags will show up as text.
A basic internet page will include these tags - html tag, to mark the beginning and end of the HTML document, head tag, that will be followed by a title tag, which is basically a tag for title, and a body tag - to mark the body of the docuoment.
In most cases it will look like this:
<html> Beginning of the HTML document
<head> Our head section
<title> Beginning of title
</title> See this forward slash? It means that this is the end of the title tag
</head> Another slash! So this is the end of the head tag
<body> There's the beginning of the body of our document
</body> and the end of it
</html> And here's the end of the HTML document
See? It's not that complicated, is it? Once you understand this, it's all a matter of playing with the different tags. Here are some examples for common tags:
<br /> This is a line break tag (same as hitting 'Enter'). This is a special tag, it has no end tag. It is written by itself and the slash will come after the 'br' and not before.
<b> Bold text tag
</b> Don't forget to close it with an end tag.
So if I want to write a bold sentence...
I will write the next code:
So if I want to write a <b> bold sentence </b>...
In the same way, the 'p' tag marks the beginning and end of a paragraph.
<p> Beginning
</p> Ending
And what do we do when we want to define an attribute for a tag? For example, what if I want a part of a sentence to show up as a link? Simple as well! We'll begin with < then the 'command' then = , then " (quotation marks), the link itself (don't forget the http://), " again, close with > , write the text for the link and an end tag. Sounds complicated? Not at all! Look how simple it is.
If I want to write:
I'll write the code:
Welcome to <a href="http://english.the-crafeteria.com">The Crafeteria</a>!
<a> is a tag for a link. 'href' is the attribute that tells us where to go.
In the same way, if I want to add an image, I'll use the 'img' tag and then 'src' to tell the little man sitting inside the computer where this image is located (it can be a Picasa account, a Flickr one etc.)
See this image?
Here's the code for it ('img' tag has no end tag):
Everything you see between the quotation marks just defines where the image is located.
If you want to learn more about HTML, a great place to start is w3schools. You can find there all the tags and lots of simple explanations.
This, in a nutshell, is HTML. Of course there's a lot more than that to it, but I hope this will help you next time you'll see a long and scary code. If you have any question about HTML or if you want to learn more, talk to me (either leave me a comment below or email me)!
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Mobile Apps for Bloggers Part II
So after we reviewed the best known apps, it's time to move on to the less-known, yet still useful apps. All available for iOS and Android, unless stated otherwise.
1. Google Analytics - How did I forget about this one last time?... I use it all the time! All of your blog's statistics available anytime anywhere.
2. Klout - Klout is a website that ranks your social media influence. Why would you need it? Well, that's a good question... If you want to make some money out of your blog, you'll soon find out that many brands will check your Klout score before deciding if they want to work with you. Currently only available on iOS. Let's hope Android users will have their own version soon.
3. Sverve - This is also a website that ranks you by your influence. Here you choose 5 areas of influence, add tips and articles from all over the WWW and get your score. Some brands offer campaigns for bloggers on the website, so you can try making some money out of it as well. Also available for iOS only...
4. BlogGo - Dana, a reader of The Crafeteria, commented on the Apps for Bloggers Part I with a link to an app that she created for Blogger users. I already told you about my disappointment with the official Blogger app, so I was really happy to hear about this app. Unfortunately, this app, too, is currently only available for iOS. I really hope Dana is working on an Android version! Btw, Stephanie Stoll also commented on the last post, saying she prefers to just use her Safari for that. Hmmmm... How come I didn't think of that?... :)
5. Photoshop - A light (and free!) version for the famous photo editor. You can fix your photos and then share them. Adobe also have other (paid) versions.
6. Evernote - I admit, I didn't understand what all the buzz was about. I mean, come on, an app to save your notes and sets reminders? We've seen hundreds of those! But when you're wrong, you're wrong. I gave it a try and fell for it. It's a very useful and fun app.
7. Photobucket - The known image hosting site in the mobile version. You can upload images from your mobile and they will be available for you on you desktop as well. Simple and convenient.
8. Paypal - So you worked hard and you're making some money now? Now is the time to download the Paypal mobile app and manage your account no matter where you are (as long as your internet connection is working, that is :) )
9. Are My Sites Up - This app is more suitable for those who own more than one website. The idea is simple – YOU should be the first one to know in case your site is down. It's a paid app (different plans available), but important to those who need their sites up and running all the time.
1. Google Analytics - How did I forget about this one last time?... I use it all the time! All of your blog's statistics available anytime anywhere.
2. Klout - Klout is a website that ranks your social media influence. Why would you need it? Well, that's a good question... If you want to make some money out of your blog, you'll soon find out that many brands will check your Klout score before deciding if they want to work with you. Currently only available on iOS. Let's hope Android users will have their own version soon.
3. Sverve - This is also a website that ranks you by your influence. Here you choose 5 areas of influence, add tips and articles from all over the WWW and get your score. Some brands offer campaigns for bloggers on the website, so you can try making some money out of it as well. Also available for iOS only...
4. BlogGo - Dana, a reader of The Crafeteria, commented on the Apps for Bloggers Part I with a link to an app that she created for Blogger users. I already told you about my disappointment with the official Blogger app, so I was really happy to hear about this app. Unfortunately, this app, too, is currently only available for iOS. I really hope Dana is working on an Android version! Btw, Stephanie Stoll also commented on the last post, saying she prefers to just use her Safari for that. Hmmmm... How come I didn't think of that?... :)
5. Photoshop - A light (and free!) version for the famous photo editor. You can fix your photos and then share them. Adobe also have other (paid) versions.
6. Evernote - I admit, I didn't understand what all the buzz was about. I mean, come on, an app to save your notes and sets reminders? We've seen hundreds of those! But when you're wrong, you're wrong. I gave it a try and fell for it. It's a very useful and fun app.
7. Photobucket - The known image hosting site in the mobile version. You can upload images from your mobile and they will be available for you on you desktop as well. Simple and convenient.
8. Paypal - So you worked hard and you're making some money now? Now is the time to download the Paypal mobile app and manage your account no matter where you are (as long as your internet connection is working, that is :) )
9. Are My Sites Up - This app is more suitable for those who own more than one website. The idea is simple – YOU should be the first one to know in case your site is down. It's a paid app (different plans available), but important to those who need their sites up and running all the time.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Best Mobile Apps for Bloggers Part I
These days, when we all carry with us tablets and smartphones, you (almost) don't need a computer to run a blog. Lots of apps, some are better, some are not that good, will help you with everything you need to get your blog going.
I tried to list here the most interesting and important apps (at least I think they are :) ) for bloggers. All of these apps are available for android and iOS and all are free, unless otherwise stated.
1. Facebook Page Manager - A must if you have a Facebook page (not a personal profile, but a business page). With this app you can manage your Facebook page, see and reply to messages, upload pictures and check your insights.
2. Twitter - Everything you love (or not) in Twitter you'll find on this official app as well.
3. Pinterest - Oh, Pinterest... As if all the hours we spent in front of the computer weren't enough, now comes this great app. You can pin, search other pins and boards and basically do almost everything you can on the website.
4. Instagram - Need I say more?
5. Bloglovin' - The website that took Google Reader's (RIP) place in a praised mobile version. Add blogs to your list and read them on the cleanly designed feed.
6. Google+ - I admit, I'm not a huge fan of their app, but in tough times, when I can't work on my laptop (summer vacation with three kids anyone?...), I use the app instead. Google+, by the way, is well worth a series of posts. What used to be an inferior social network is now one of the most important networks for bloggers.
7. Stumble Upon - I love the idea behind the website. You mark pages with like and dislike, and Stumble Upon will show you other sites you might like. The app does just the same :)
8. Hootsuite is an app that helps you manage multiple social media accounts. You can post on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and other networks with just one click. I'm still learning this app, but I know of other bloggers that use it and love it.
9. MailChimp is a website and an app that will help you create newsletters and manage your subscribers. The app is very convenient (although I only used it to manage subscribers so far) and similar to the website.
10. Guidecentral is an app that features all kind of tutorials. You can also find the tutorials on their website. Pinterest addicts beware, the potential for addiction is high here as well... Currently only available for iOS, but android version is on its way.
And a few words about apps for writing posts -
My blog is a Blogger blog. Unfotunately, I don't like the Blogger app. I tried to use it a few times, but sometimes the posts I write on my smartphone don't show up later on my laptop, sometimes I only get the html of the post etc. So I rarely use it, but I'd love to hear from you if you had better experience with it.
Regarding Wordpress app - since I'm not a wordpress user, all I can tell you is that there is a wordpress app for mobile :).
If you're a fan of apps I didn't mention here or if you have any comments and insights on the above, please let me know. I'm working on a second part for this post and I'd love to give credit to anyone that will help with it :)
**** Update - Second part to this post is now up! ****
**** Update - Second part to this post is now up! ****
Saturday, July 20, 2013
UBC Day 18 (yeah, yeah, I'm behind). Link Parties Tracker
One of the best ways to get your blog out there is link parties. Many popular blogs have them, usually once a week, for you to link your best posts and visit other blogs. Many of these bloggers also feature some of the best posts once a week, and from my experience, this can lead to hundreds more views to your website.
Problem begins when you link to a few of these parties every week. Then it's really hard to track to which party you sent which post and whether or not your post was featured.
When I felt that I was getting lost, I prepared a table to help me track just that. It already has inside the parties I like and you can just add your posts and start tracking.
Download it (free, of course!) here.
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Fabric Covered Binder Tutorial (a nice packaging to your blog planner)
This is how you will make one yourself:
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| Materials: a simple binder, fabric (you can use 2 different pieces. One for the inside and one for the outside of the binder), spray adhesive, scissors |
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| Place the binder on the fabric that you're using for the outside. Leave 5 cm (around 2") hangover and cut |
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| Spray adhesive from 20-30 cm (8"-12") distance on wrong side of the fabric and on outside of binder and carefully apply fabric onto binder. Start with one side, then move to the center (the narrow part) and only then to the other side (apply other side when binder is closed). If you have wrinkles, lift fabric and apply again |
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| Move on to the inside of the binder. Fold in the sides edges, spray adhesive and apply |
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| That's how it looks now |
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| To paste the top and bottom edges, cut 2 vertical stripes in the hangover fabric in the center (the narrow part) and fold a triange in the corner |
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| Fold in edges, spray adhesive and apply to the inside |
Now to the inside. Cut the other piece of fabric to size (leave 1-2cm / 0.4"-0.8" hangover)
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| In the center, where the rings are, cut 2 small slits and thread the rings |
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| Fold in the edges towards the wrong side. You can press or paste first, but if you're like me, just use your finger :) |
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| Spray adhesive like you did on the outside and apply |
That's it, done! Easy and fun. And when people ask you "where did you buy this?!", you can always reply with "oh, this? I made it. It was nothing. Took me exactly 5 minutes...".
I used this binder for my blog planner. If you also need a blog planner, just subscribe to The Crafeteria's newsletter and you'll receive one to your inbox within 24 hours.
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