It’s easy to notice the trend with bloggers these days. Let me tell you how things start. First a blogger starts a new blog. Then he would put up some nice content with it, dress the blog with a cute design, hire someone to customize the logo and so on. Then the blogger would start promoting. Forum interaction, blog commenting, guest posting and many more. After some months, the blog now averages over 100 uniques a day, with 10+ comments per post and some 50+ feed readers. Then the next more months, it doubles. So what’s the wrong there? Well there’s no wrong except for the fact that after it, the blogger thinks his blog is already popular. By saying popular, it’s like he can put up couple of posts a week, take a coffee, sleep, then still get a heap of traffic, subscribers and responses.

That is probably one of the bigger misconception in blogging. Of course when starting out, you really have to put ton of effort to get noticed. Yaro Starak calls it “sweat work” wherein you have to go to as many places as you can just to stamp your site or blog. While you don’t need to exert that same sweat when your blog starts to become popular, it doesn’t mean you have to stop working. Today I summarize some of the things that you should probably think about, before you choose to make the same mistake.

It’s Easy to Lose Readers

Let’s face this fact, bloggers comment so they can get notice and hopefully someone could get back commenting on them as well. With over hundred thousands of blogs in this niche (blogging, internet marketing), it wouldn’t take long for someone to forget you easily. I’m not saying that you should always comment to those who comment to you but you see, blogging is all about interaction. They say it’s easy to lose readers when you write something crappy. I say its easier to lose one when you don’t care about getting your content into them.

It’s EASY to SLIDE down

Well I always thought blogs are like offline property. The value decreases so fast if not properly utilized. Every blogs are always associated with other online stuffs such as Alexa, Technorati, Pagerank and so. I’m not saying those are super duper important stuffs. What I want to say is that things change so fast and we could say that sliding down is easier than going up. Losing money could be easier than earning as well. Think, every blogger is working so hard (and smart) just to get themselves and their blogs up. I don’t care what your blog is (and how famous it is) but I’m pretty sure that it could easily slide down if you are so quick to start thinking it’s famous.

EASY to lose advertisers

I mentioned it in my blog in my post about failures. When my blog started receiving 20+ comments and traffic stats were really so high, I thought I don’t need to maintain it any longer. It’s silly but I thought my blog was already like ones I’ve been seeing on top 10 make money online blogs. It happened so quick, the advertisers immediately unsubscribed to me and I just lost 3/4 of them the next month. What most bloggers don’t realize is that advertisers always check things. They review what sites are giving them a bad ROI, what sites are giving them poor click-through rates and etc. It’s more than just purchasing an ad space, and getting their banner up to your site.

It’s NOT easy working your way up again

I’m not sure if you would agree with me about this. In my experience, its not easy to gain something that you lost before back. I was notorious for spammy posts in forums before (long time ago) and so I had a bad rep around it. People there have always thought I was not genuine, even though I was starting to become sincere. It works the same way with blogs. Some of my daily read blogs before who started turning their site into an affiliate promotion blogs have lost me as their reader. I’m sure people have their own list of blogs-to-read. If you know your blog is in their list, then make sure your blog would be there forever.

I know some of you may not agree with those things I listed there that’s why feel free to give your feedback. I know it’s somehow ridiculous to exert so much effort on just a blog, after all it’s just a blog. But I’m pretty sure you always cared about your blog and how it can be improved, hence why you are reading Balkhis blog. Just be sure not to overthink about your blog’s accomplishment in the earlier period of your blog.

This article was a guest post by Melvin. Melvin is an 18 year old entrepreneur who blogs at MelvinBlog.com. He specializes in affiliate marketing, SEO and blogging where he aims to share his experience with people on his blog. Feel free to subscribe to his feed.

Majority of the designs on the web now are powered by the CSS. These Cascade Style Sheets seem very simple therefore it is often ignored. Designers need to understand that CSS can be an extremely powerful language if used properly.

Due to it’s simplicity it is believed that anyone can just code templates in CSS, but there is a reason why the experts and gurus are still at the top. That is because they follow the top notch CSS principles. I will share some of the tricks that I have learned after talking to multiple designers over the course of my career.

1. Use CSS Shorthand System

This seem like a very simple trick but like I said it is the simple tricks that makes you a pro. Beginners / Newbies often ignore this feature. It takes a while to get used to of it, but once you do you save yourself a lot of time, and you are making your CSS File smaller. To give you an example of a CSS shorthand system would be:

Lets say you have a div class that you are setting padding to. Instead of saying padding-right: 0.5em; padding-left: 1em and so on you can just use padding: 0 0.5em 0 1em; It goes like padding: top right bottom left;

Same goes for the margin. Another example would be setting borders – border-width:1px; border-style:solid; border-color:#000; You can simply say border: 1px solid #000;

This type of techniques will help speed up the process and it is one of the principle code that is followed among the top notch designers. [Source]

2. Essence of Class Names

Appropriate Class names define an expert designer. You might think it is useless and a waste of time. But by naming your classes efficiently, you are comforming to the standard, and you are increasing your reputation in the community. How so? Well when you design a website, that client might not always stick with you. They might branch out, or get their own design department. Now if you have a well guided CSS class names, they would get respect for you. Forget the respect, it just makes it easier for others to understand your CSS.

Lets say you name a class .rssbox or you can say .sidebarbox well there could be multiple elements in the sidebar, so you don’t know which one it is. Naming it .rssbox is probably the way to go. It might take the extra 2 seconds, but putting thoughts into class names is worth it.

3. Center your Layouts with CSS

Centered layouts are the future of the web because it allows designers to be more creative and it just looks better on the screen. Alot of sites use tables to center and use divs the rest of the site. The fact is that most people don’t know how to center the layouts using css.

It is very simple actually. Lets say you are calling your class .main-container{margin: 0 auto; width: 950px; text-align: left;} whereas your body css would look like body{text-align: center;}

This should get the job done just fine. This method helps your website looks organized and neat.

4. Using the Correct Doctype

DOCTYPE is a key solution to alot of CSS Problems. This is a crucial part of design which gets overlooked very often. Using an incomplete or outdated DOCTYPE or no DOCTYPE at all throws the same browsers into Crazy mode, where it assumes you’ve written old-fashioned, invalid markup and code.

So Basically I am saying that if your site is not looking like how it should in all browsers than this could be one of the problems that you need to check.

5. Use Notes within Your Codes

It really helps when a CSS file is well guided. You need to divide the css files into sections. For example header section, content section, sidebar section, and footer section. Obviously a complete site is more complex and may have more sections. But this is what you should do. This way you know exactly where to look for when you encounter an error, or when you want to change something. Well how do you make these notes in your css file?

You add /* Notes */ in your css file. I learnt this technique during the latter part of my career. That is why now I try to add as much notes in the css file to help. Specially if I am designing a free theme.

6. Keep Your CSS File Small

You need to keep your CSS file small because it helps the load time of the site. How can you do that. Remove unnecessary characters, and spaces from your CSS File. Embracing Short Hands as mentioned above will do this for you. Another technique alot of CSS Experts suggest is that you keep your codes in one line.

For example if you have

body{
background: #fff;
color: #333;
font-size: 9pt;
margin: 0;
padding: 0;
}

You should instead use

body{background: #fff; color: #333; font-size: 9pt; margin: 0; padding: 0;}

Because this cut the space down. I personally don’t do it that way because for me it is more organized the other way, but I have seen this done alot. You can take your pick.

7. Don’t Force the Codes

CSS is a simple language, but when you force the codes, it ends up breaking your website. What do I mean by forcing the codes? Well forcing a code is when you set width and margins at the same time. Have you ever opened a website and saw the sidebar scrolled all the way down to the footer below the content. That is just one of the common problems forcing codes can do.

A good advice to take would be if you set a width, then don’t set margin or padding. And if you are setting a margin or padding, then don’t set a width.

Using a box style template system can cause alot of problems if you use percents in your design structure. Note if you are using a box style system without percentages then you can force codes.

8. Use px instead of pt or em for fonts

Are you designing a website for the web. I hope you are. Well than you should be using px for your font sizes. I mean you can use pt system as well, but you might end up getting different results in the browser. If you are thinking about users printing your site than stick with pt but if you want the accuracy go with px.

I personally use pt for balkhis because alot of my users print the articles to read. Just remember that at the end day it is your own choice because I can’t enforce anything on you.

Great Article on CSS Font Size Selection

9. Avoid Hacks

It is becoming more and more acceptable to use hacks in the CSS community, but experts still preach that you should avoid using those. I would be another one to tell you that you should not use CSS Hacks. Reason is simple. You are avoiding simple problems and looking for more complicated ones. While you may think that one or two hacks every now and then won’t hurt anyone, getting into the mindset of “hacking through” any problems you encounter can have a negative impact on your overall design mentality.

Always Validate

I give this advice to not only designers but programmers also. If you are spending time to code a website than might as well validate it with W3C Validator. Validating your code allows you to clean up any problems and ensure that it’s going to work well for all of your visitors.

Now often designers do this job and programmers leave it out. Specially you will have alot of plugins that are not css valid. You might fix them once, and if the update comes out, there you go more work. That is why Balkhis is not CSS valid right now.

Well anyways these are the 10 top notch CSS Principles that I have learned from the experts and my own experience. Feel free to put your own down in the comment box. If you like this post then all Social Media love is appreciated.

Four years, on blog, one directory, multiple proxies, and a hundred designs, that is how long I have known Syed Balkhi. Over the years, if I have learned anything its that working online changes a person. You may not notice it, but the people around you certainly do. So for all of you bloggers out there, here are twenty signs that shows you that blogging can influence your day to day life, and change your personality. These might not be somethings that you have, but it is just a funny story that Syed and I were talking about, and I thought I will share it with you guys and reveal more of his personality.

1. Wardrobe with 25% Sponsored Clothing

25% Shirts, and other clothings that you own are from conferences or other blogs/companies online. Syed has alot, alot, and alot of shirts/caps that are sponsored from different companies and websites. So when he goes out somewhere it is very likely that one of these companies will be advertised. He is asked questions by people around town what is this company and it makes him sound so geeky lol.

2. You google yourself and your site multiple times a week.

Syed got an authority status for Balkhis at the end of January. He checks his name and sites that are ranking for his keywords atleast multiple times a week. I have asked him why, and he said that it helps me see how well I am doing with advertising my own site. Or which sites that I should advertise on.

3. Your family has to go to your blog to see photos of your vacation

Syed never updates facebook. Majority of his pictures are his friends tagging him. The only time his families can check his pictures are when they are on the blog. And that is not the only time, but it is the only way. (For proof of this see our Tennessee Vacation and more on Balkhis).

4. You regularly speak to and about people who you met online

Syed talks to insane amount of people online, and I can’t keep track of everyone. A good number of these people he has never seen before, but he talks to them online. And he tells me often what happened in someone’s life later on the day, and I have absolutely no clue what he is talking about, so I have to ask him who was so and so.

5. You ask for social media for breakfast

One day Syed asked me to wake him up, and I went over to his apartment in the morning. After waking him up, I asked him what is he going to have for breakfast, and the answer I got was “Social Meda”. Syed is a deep sleeper, so it takes him a while to be fully awake. I still tease him about this one and this was a long time back.

6. Your Girlfriend is Now Blogging on Your Blog

Seven Posts and counting. Yup that is me. I have learned so much about blogging from Syed that now I consider myself as a blogger. I have blogged at Balkhis multiple times.

7. Your nightime routine includes checking your email thrice, twitter, and other stats.

You cannot get an exact time to sleep for him. He might say he is going to sleep at 11 pm, but he ends up going to sleep later like 12 p.m or after that. The reason is that he checks his emails, reply to them, tweet to his friend, check other stats on his blog. And from these, other tasks come up which he tries to get done. Which results him being tired the next day, and I have to deal with that.

8. You check your comments more often than your voicemail

Another true fact about Syed. He checks his comments more than once a day otherwise his spam folder gets huge. Answer I get is that he wants to make sure none of his reader’s comment went to Spam which now is a problem. But he does not check his voicemail this often even though the phone shows you on the top that you have a Voicemail.

9. You make your own theme song

Syed asked his roommate to make a theme song for Balkhis. And another Rap song that he made will be on soon also. The sad part is that I have to listen to these songs in our long drive.

10. You know the URLs of at least fifteen other blogs off the top of your head

I am being modest when I say this about Syed. He knows too many sites off top of his head. I personally keep a bookmark selection, Syed just visits them without using the bookmark tab.

11. You would sacrifice food for an internet connection

Syed never have his meals on time. Which often gets unhealthy. I have told him multiple times about this. He even wrote a post about it once when I insisted him to do so because this was suppose to change his habits 7 Unhealthy habits that affect your Productivity.

12. You email your girlfriend “Hey, woudn’t this be a good post?”

I have gotten too many emails asking me for titles / ideas. Sometimes I think why does he ask me when he has more experience in this industry. [Edit by Syed: That is because I like to hear other people's opinion]

13. Your relatives are scared you will put them on your website

Family times yay fun. Embarassing times around friends yay fun. When it is with bloggers, you are afraid when they will blog about it. I mean he blogged about his cousin’s face full with cake. Specially now since Dina from Market Leverage sent him these multiple shirts in different colors saying: I am blogging this, it has become his favorite collection. He wears these to events and people than are scared to be on his site.

14. You use abbreviations in real life

Syed uses f9, btw, brb more often then I can count. I think that is all from his little chats and tweets that he does online. But it has seriously affected teh talk time. If you know Syed well, you would understand these terms.

15. You buy a new computer as a backup

I told him that he didn’t need this new computer, but he got it anyways calling it a backup. Like four external hard drives are never enough for your primary computer. This is when you make BS excuses and hide behind your online life.

16. You still bid on auctions even when your overseas

He recently went to Pakistan due to his Grandfather’s death. But he kept bidding on this Power Mac G5. Knowing that he won’t be able to pick it up as he is out of the conuntry. He won the auction in Dubai and asked me to pick it up for him.

17. Your uncle, girlfriend’s family member, and other family and friends subscibes to your rss feed

I know two person I can think of right off the top of my head that has subscribed to Balkhis. His uncle and my mom. They both have sent him emails in the past commenting on his blog posts. Alot of our friends are subscribed to Balkhis as well just to check out what crazy scheme he is working on.

18. You have a stock of 5-hour energy drinks for late night sessions online

Have I not seen this one before. He has a stock of these unhealthy drinks that he use if he has to work on some big projects online or to pull late night sessions.

19. You were on Twitter before Tweeting was cool

Twitter is becoming cool and a very hot phenomena recently as Oprah and other stars are entering. And alot of its exposure on CNN and other media networks. Well it really makes me feel weird that he was on it before it was popular like any other services. Now that all of us friends are joining twitter, he has been there, so we ask him questions. Before when he talked about twitter, we used to call him crazy. By the way I am on twitter as well. I joined during Izeafest but I am not very active. But you can check out his Twitter Profile.

20. When You have Crazy Dreams about the Web

One time he was sharing his dream with me that how he was telepathically connected to his website. His brain was functioning as internet. He could move through his site using his brain FTP so much faster. Uploading was done alot faster. Also he could use wordpress with touch screen moving everything with his hand. And he didn’t have to type because his thoughts were being typed by wordpress.

Well this is a life of Syed Balkhi. I did share alot of insight moments in here so you can know more about him. I wrote this post because I won an argument with him and the bet was I would get to share this on the web. And so I did now. Anyways you would not believe that being on the web as a webmaster, blogger, SEO, or any other profession really influences your day to day life and your personality. Often you would deny it, but ask the people around you because they see it more than you do.

This past sunday, I wrote a post about 25 Sure-Fire Ways to become a better Designer, and in that post I mentioned as step 25 you need to stay updated. Stay updated with the news, inspirational sites, and new technology.

Well in this post, I will share with you guys 15 very good websites for designers. These websites I check almost every other day if not daily. I can guarantee you would learn alot of skills from these sites, and they will make you a mind blowing designer because of the tips and trick you will learn. Sit back and relax, and get ready to subscribe to these sites because I am sure you will once you check them out.

1. Smashing Magazine

2. Photoshop Tutorials

3. Webdesigner Depot

4. Six Revisions

5. Noupe

6. Web Designer Wall

7. N. Design Studio

8. Specky Boy

9. Tuts Plus

10. Photoshop Lady

11. PSD Rockstar

12. Deviant Art

13. CSS Drive

14. CSS Elite

15. Best Web Gallery

There are alot of other websites that you can stay updated with, but these are the ones that I currently stay updated with and use often. In the past I have made a list of 24 Design Magazines that you should read. Which you can also use as a resource.

Alright this past week alot have been going on. I was very active on Balkhis as well as I was very active in the web community. I am putting my hands in just about everywhere. So what is going on in my life. Well this coming week is exam week, so I had to pre-plan all the posts for this week. Stressed out about that. I have also started updating my twitter more frequently, so if you are on twitter than check out my twitter profile. Hopefully by the end of April or early May, I will be starting another blog, so keep your eyes open for that.

I do have plans to launch a premium theme service soon, and possibly another free theme coming out in the near future. Alright so Balkhis users have you seen what has been going on Balkhis? No well here is a week in the review:

25 Sure-Fire Ways to Become a Better Designer

Effective Forum Posting Rules led me to 2739 visitors monthly from forums

Random Header Images for Your Blog

Top 15 Beautiful Free Fonts for Professional Designs

Good Read around the blogosphere

13 Twitter Tips and Tutorials for Beginners

30 Creative Illustrative Header Designs

40 Brilliant Gmail Hacks and Secrets

3 Factors to Consider when submitting to a directory

5 Reasons for Blog Success

How Gary Vaynerchuk built a multi-million dollar empire around a video blog

Well those are the reads above which I enjoyed this week. I will be working my ass off for the next month to make all projects possible and get you guys a new theme hopefully. I am not playing basketball for atleast like a month in a team because doctors said I have inflammation in my left foot which might become severe tendonitis if I don’t take care of it.

Well guys this week’s tip is Join Twitter if you haven’t and follow me.