‘Pimp my website’. Tips to a great looking website / blog without alerting the style police.

After reading the article by Mike Rundle of 9Rules, it really make sense to me that design is more than making your website or blog look cool but both functional and user friendly. It have to be user friendly not for fellow designer only but also for the average internet users that majority know nothing about design.

In his article he wrote about a very interesting principle, C.R.A.P. It stands for Contrast Repetition Alignment Proximity.

Mike have also list out various examples of what C.R.A.P. means on the web (Robin Williams first coined the acronym), but for me it’s this:

Contrast
Elements that aren’t the same should be very different so they stand out, making them “slightly different” confuses the user into seeing a relation that doesn’t exist. Strong contrast between page elements allows the user’s eye to flow from one to another down the page instead of creating a sea of similarity that’s boring and not communicative.

Repetition
To make your website more uniformed and cohesive, one of the methods is repetition. For example, use the same font you use for the entire posting and same one for the title.

Alignment
Everything on the page needs to be visually connected to something else, nothing should be out of place or distinct from all other design elements.

Proximity
Proximity creates related meaning: elements that are related should be grouped together, whereas separate design elements should have enough space in between to communicate they are different.

Apart from this principle, webmaster can also learn more about guideline to make a better website from Google's design and technical guidelines. There you can read tips on how design a functional and effective website.

In one of my class, we we taught about the ‘white space’ and textbook (I think this idea was first coined by Brian Tomlinson). Teaching material expert have said textbook with a lot of whites pace will give a positive effect on its reader. This is also applicable to website and weblog.

What should be avoided.

Accessive use of Flash or animated .gif
Flash is a software created by Macromedia (that was bought recently by Adobe). It can create wonderful animations and very cool to look at. Using flash is normal especially for the introduction page but not for the whole website is a crime. Firstly, flash takes a long time to load waiting equal loss time equal frustration equal loss of one visitor. Add few more pages with heavy flash presentation you may as well put a warning sign to your visitor: visit here only if you have tones of free time.

Annoying banners.
It is normal to put banner on your website to generate income and make money from every hit you have. But never, ever go overboard. User should be able to browse freely without the feeling as they are being hassle to click something or like walking down pasar malam with people shouting left and right asking you to buy their product.

Popups
Popups is annoying. That is why there is such a thing as popup filter.

Dead link
Once in a while, check all the links to your external sites to make sure all of them are working. Update any broken links before anyone starts complaining about your website.

I guess you can list down many bad and good design features of your own. But for me the important thing are to be practical, functional and user friendly

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70 weblog paling popular di Malaysia

IKLAN


Tutorial Asas DSLR boleh di pelajari di sini atau anda beli DVD yang boleh dipesan di sini

Blogging atau budaya menulis jurnal atas talian adalah satu fenomena yang berkembangan hasil dari kemajuan pesat teknologi internet. Ia mudah untuk digunakan dan tidak melibatkan sebarang kos tambahan atau skil. Sehingga kini, kadar celik komputer dikalangan warga belia di Malaysia (bawah 40 tahun) terutamanya di kawasan bandar adalah amat menggalakkan. Kanak-kanak makin terdedah dengan internet. Harga komputer yang semakin murah dan kemudahan internet yang semakin berleluasa banyak membantu kepada berkembangan budaya menulis blog (singkatan untuk weblog)

Menurut Pew Internet study dianggarkan 11%, atau 50 juta pengguna internet adalah pembaca blog. Menurut data Technorati , terdapat 75,000 blog baru dalam sehari dan 50 000 blog dikemaskini setiap jam

Saya pasti, semua orang berminat untuk mengetahui apakah weblog yang paling popular di Malaysia. Waaupun ada antara kita sudah ada jawapannya tapi saya belum jumpa satu bancian rasmi mengenainya. Bermula dari idea Priyadi, seorang penulis blog Indonesia yang sebelum ini berjaya mengumpulkan 100 blog paling popular (beliau menggunakan istilah ‘top’) di Indonesia, saya cuba mengumpulkan blog-blog oleh warga Malaysia untuk dibanci bagi mendapatkan weblog yang paing popular di Malaysia.

Semua weblog yang terlibat di dalam bancian ini dipilih secara rawak dari beberapa sumber iaitu petalingstreet.org, jurnal.biz dan malaysiatopblog.com. Ada juga weblog yang diambil dari sumber peribadi, del.icio.us/syedsyahrul/malaysiablog iaitu himpunan weblog sahabat atau pilihan yang dikutip dari ruang siber dari masa ke semasa. Walaupun jumlah semua weblog dari semua sumber ini berjumlah ribuan, hanya segelintir kecil sahaja yang terpilih. Ini kerana ada weblog yang sudah tidak aktif, dan tidak kurang juga yang tidak mempunyai data dari Alexa.com mahupun Technorati. Ada pula segelintir yang mempunyai ranking terlalu besar untuk disertakan.

Kriteria pemilihan untuk bancian ini tidak sukar. Ia mestilah weblog yang dikendalian oleh rakyat Malaysia. Untuk mendapatkan data pula, saya menggunakan enjin pencari Alexa.com dan Technorati.com. ‘Traffic rank’ Alexa.com adalah berdasarkan sejarah atau maklumat yang dikumpul untuk jangka masa 3 bulan.


As a first step, Alexa computes the reach and number of page views for all sites on the Web on a daily basis. The main Alexa traffic rank is based on the geometric mean of these two quantities averaged over time (so that the rank of a site reflects both the number of users who visit that site as
well as the number of pages on the site viewed by those users). The three-month change is determined by comparing the site's current rank with its rank from three months ago.

Alexa juga ada kekurangannya. Contohnya, untuk sesetengah laman web seperti diaryland.com dan blogdrive.com, enjin pencari Alexa gagal berfungsi. Alexa.com gagal mengenalpasti ‘syedsyahrul’ dari syedsyahrul.blogdrive.com dan hanya akan menunjukkan keputusan untuk blogdrive.com.

Technorati.com ialah enjin khusus untuk weblog. Mereka mendakwa sedang menjejaki 41.3 juta weblog dan 2.4 billion ‘links’. Cara mereka memberi ‘ranking’ kepada setiap weblog ialah berdasarkan jumlah ‘link’ yang membawa kepada atau merujuk kepada sesebuah weblog itu. Contohnya, sekiranya weblog ‘A’ mempunyai 100 ‘link’ yang merujuk kepadanya, manakala weblog ‘B’ mempunyai 20, Ranking ‘A’ adalah lebih tinggi dari ‘B’

Keputusan bancian ini disusun berdasarkan ranking dari Alexa.com manakala nombor di dalam kurungan merujuk kepada ranking dari Technorati.com. Maaf sekiranya ada weblog yang sepatutnya disertakan dalam bancian ini tetapi tidak ada dan sebarang maklum balas adalah dialu-alukan.

Kenapa 70? Kenapa tidak 50 atau 100? Kenapa tidak.

Ranking
Blog Name
Alexa Traffic Rank
Technorati Rank

1 - Liew CF
18,400
2,060 (4)

2 - Paul Tan
29,925
2,958 (5)

3 - Jeff Ooi
35,419
1,234 (3)

4 - TV Smith Dua Sen
38,579
9,040 (14)

5 -Kenny Sia
45,117
194 (1)

6 - Huai Bin
124,115
4,775 (7)

7 - Lim Kit Siang
141,978
527,346

8 - Shaolin Tiger
148,110
5,206 (8)

9 - Brand Malaysia
151,993
6,417 (11)

10 - Rojaks
162,679
6,542 (12)

11 - MGG Pillai
194,378
-

12 - Sultan Muzaffar
198,013
6,256 (10)

13 -Minishorts
251,222
5,271 (9)

14 - Suanie
259,947
8,709 (13)

15 -Peter Tan
324,168
23,836 (22)

16 - Blog.mypapit.net
391,744
59,787 (40)

17 - Afdlin Shauki
416,364
1,010 (2)

18 - Faisal Tehrani
419,026
1,204,425

19 - Fireangleism
419,576
11,060 (15)

20 - IreneQ
482,936
17,463 (21)

22 - Yasmin the storyteller
524,548
3,110 (6)

23 - Kris Khaira
547,564
527,346 (61)

24 - Gelihati
547,649
70,623 (42)

25 - Jee’s life
647,710
42,699 (35)

26 - Mak Andeh
680,561
30,020 (29)

27 - Kimberlycun
814,396
14,147 (20)

28 - Volume of Interactions
823,730
57,882 (39)

29 - Muid Latif
870,671
121,461 (48)

30 - Sashiweb
881,105
33,590 (30)

31 - Patrick Teoh
978,469
11,601 (16)

32 - leez
1,052,619
78,706 (43)

33 - Ricecooker
1,110, 514
25,418 (23)

34 - Buku Nota
1,180,326
37,221 (32)

35 - Nizam Zakaria
1,323,222
12,300 (17)

36 - Seni Kami
1,439,347
28,956 (26)

37 - Badrul After Six
1,506,938
39,854 (33)

38 - Shahrizal
1,600,480
-

39 - Arsyan
1,646,066
-

40 - Mohd Ismail
1,673,338
105,233 (46)

41 - Najahnasseri
1,752,470
212,456 (55)

42 - Tengku Mohd Ali
1,840,155
27,504 (25)

43 - Sinaganaga
1,976,388
28,956 (27)

44 -Makansakan
2,132,523
-

45 - Adib
2,555,758
52,944 (38)

46 - Rizainuddin
2,741,383
161,515 (52)

47 - Syed Syahrul
3,201,037
212,627 (56)

48 - Salinan karbon
3,294,535
229,206 (57)

49 - Abdullah Jones
3,646,422
29,478 (28)

50 -Cik Daun
3,732,414
92,114 (45)

51 - Pakdi
4,315,191
13,207 (19)

52 - Kumprinx
4,762,733
121,461 (49)

53 - From This day
4,773,910
172,144 (53)

54 - Paichowan
4,890,247
68,147 (41)

55 - Jongkang Jongket
5,648,324
296,666 (58)

56 - Tipah Vogue
6,272,151
12,715 (18)

57 -Kembara Artrevolt
6,334,052
-

58 -Honey Biru
6,459,250
41,770 (34)

59 - Makcik Nab
6,519,805
-

60 -Seniman jalanan
6,577,013
1,204,425 (62)

61 - Tok Rimau
6,611,733
27,446 (24)

62 - Juandanza
-
35,750 (31)

63 - spyz
-
44,887 (36)

64 - Jiwa Rasa
-
46,096 (37)

65 - Dugong senyum
-
81,678 (44)

66 -Screaming sonic
-
115,765 (47)

67 - bilik
-
151,719(50)

68 - Awan Putih
-
151,860 (51)

69 - Klubbkidd
-
184,059 (54)

70 - Figurasi
-
459,962 (59)

71 - Faizal Riza
-
460,301 (60)

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The Henry Rollins Show


Henry Rollins must be the most best looking man in the punk rock scene. Well-build body and a perfect chisel face, he has played in legendary bands such as Black Flag, S.O.A and Henry Rollins Band. He has not only confined himself as the front man to these bands, but he is also a prolific writer, an established spoken word artist and even acted in several major films. And now, he has his own talk show. I just heard about it, and I’m sure, just like me, you will be hooked with his sharp commentary on the issues that were discussed in the show. He is, for me, one of the most entertaining, thought provoking & funniest speaker around, along with Jello Biafra of DeadKennedys.

“The Henry Rollins Show" is not your conventional TV talk show ala Oprah Winfrey or Jay Leno. Heck, it did not even aired on the television. It can only be found on the internet. Log on to Independent Film Channel’s website ifc.com .The show is broadcast every Saturday at 10p.m. (US Easter time). Check it out, great topic and excellent guess musician. Shepard Fairey of Obey! created and designed the marketing images for the show. Henry Rollins runs his own bookstore, 21361 (that’s his birthday) and he have his own Myspace (who doesn’t).

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Fish with Quran verse found in Kenya


A 2.5g fish was found in Vanga, a small fishing port on the Kenyan coast, 50km south of Mombasa with Quranic text on its side. The text is close to the Koranic verse: "Wa anta khair al-raziqin" which mean "You are the best provider".
Correction: 2.5Kg, NOT 2.5g. Thanks Izham!
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Webby Award 2006

The results are in! Webby Award, said to be the Academy Award of the Internet industry. The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence in web design, creativity, usability and functionality. Established in 1996, it has since been an annual event. The big winner is the social web page, Myspace that won the Webby breakout of the year. The once small web site have sprung from total anonymity to total dominance, even ousting Google as most popular web site with 77 million registered users. Other notable winners are The Huffington Post, we-make-money-not-art (beating the favorite boingboing) and Gorillaz for Webby artist of the year. Check out their web site for full list of winners.

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Selamat hari ibu

Sebelum terlambat, selamat hari ibu untuk ibu-ibu sedunia. Khasnya kepada ibu kali pertama, Fadhilah Othman. Dan. Bonda Fuziah Ali & Mazidah Wahab. Semoga panjang umur & murah rejeki.

Mesti beli! Buku 'Ayah Kita Boss'


pick of the week Awal tahun lalu, Tok Rimau ada hantar sms, seraya mengajak sama-sama berkarya untuk buku terbaru beliau. Beberapa email bertukar masuk antara kami dan akhirnya satu karya berjaya siap pada saat-saat akhir. Tanggal 1 April, Tok Rimau sekali lagi menghantar email. Kali ini ke Laman Seni Kuala Lumpur. Upacara menjual buku Ayah Kita Boss sambil berjumpa dengan sang penulis sudah tiba. Kerana komitmen keluarga, hajat terpaksa ditangguh. Kempunan tenguk karya sendiri (sila selak mukasurat 118).

Kini setelah sebulan berlalu, sms Tok Rimau sampai lagi, dan buku ‘Ayah Kita Boss’ pun muncul di dalam peti surat yang selalunya kosong. Boleh tahan. Tebal. Ada gambar dua orang kanak-kanak berdiri tengah panas. Setiap helai diselang-seli dengan senyum dan ketawa. Ternyata buku ini telah berjaya.

Saya setuju dengan Mat Jan, semasa memetik kata-kata pakar sakit puan, Dr. Ismail Thambi. Yang penting bukan panjang pendek tapi kepuasan. Itulah sebenarnya isi dan intipati buku Ayah Saya Boss. Ia terdiri dari entri-entri blog Tok Rimau dan sinaganaga yang sememangnya terkenal dengan sindiran sinis dan kisah-kisah masyarakat yang disampaikan dengan cara yang mudah diterima. Kedua-dua mereka boleh dikatakan ikon weblog tempatan dan buku ini adalah sebahagian dari tulisan mereka yang perlu dibaca oleh pengemar cerita rakyat, pembaca blog atau sebagai ganti Mastika yang makin tidak berkualiti.

Sms terbaru Tok Rimau, "Upah ciput bg hasil seni kau. Print 500, ada 200 copiesbuat sendal pintu. Ha ha ha. Jaja pelan-pelan. Yg penting niaga berkat. DIY."

Maklumat tambahan : Tajuk buku – Ayah Kita Boss, Penulis – Tok Rimau dan sinaganaga, ISBN – 983 43007 0 0, Muka surat – 160, Harga – RM23 senaskah, Boleh didapati dari – harimauj@yahoo.com / sinaganaga1547@yahoo.com (foto ihsan sinaganaga)

How to use your current job as a launch pad to starting your own business

I was browsing through ThinkVitamin and found this link to 5 tips on how to use your current job as a launch pad to starting your own business, posted by Ryan Carson. Simple and make alot of sense to me. On another note, Threadless is having their summer sale and I know they have many fans here. Check it out.

Orang nak tengok tv, dia sebok nak tukar channel


biskut, originally uploaded by Syed Syahrul Zarizi.

A'a. Itulah antara aktiviti kegemaran dia. Semakin hari semakin banyak kerenah. Makin pandai panjat sofa, tarik langsir, tarik beg, tarik rambut mama, tampo muka walid. Makin hari makin bijak. Makin berkilat lantai mama.

Iconic Pearl Jam out with self-title album


Legendary Seattle rocker Pearl Jam have just released their 8th self-title album after years of hiatus and hiding from media attention. The album is a more strip-down affair with some sources said the band are more concern about the content of the music then being musically loud as their previous releases.

Pearl Jam's non-forgiving attitude toward Bush administration were continued here, blasting off the airwave with their first single from the album, World Wide Suicide.

Songs list: Life Wasted, World Wide Suicide, Comatose, Severed Hand, Marker In The Sand, Parachutes, Unemployable, Big Wave, Gone, Wasted Reprise, Army Reserve, Come Back & Inside Job. Label : J Record.

Update 4/5/2006

In a recent interview in Rolling Stone, Eddie Vedder stated Fugazi as one of his favorite band because of their high degree of respect on their audience and fans. Apart from The Who, Neil Young and The Ramones, some of Vedder most recent favorite bands are The Strokes and King Of Leons.

As Pearl Jam have stopped from making music video long time ago, check out their live performance on Saturday Night Live, playing their latest single, World Wide Suicide.

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TIME's 100 People Who Shape Our World

TIME magazine have released it list of 100 People Who Shape Our World. Names like George W. Bush, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Muqtada al-Sadr were expected to be in the list as they have been hogging the headlines since couple of years, some with totally wrong reason. But one interesting addition to the list was Arianna Huffington, a leftist writer and blogger and co-founder of Huffingtonpost.com, a popular news blog that have been online since May 9th, barely a year ago.

In her blog, Arianna wrote that the honor of being in the list "belongs squarely to the Huffington Post community -- our talented team, our amazing stable of bloggers (over 700 strong), our advertisers, and our readers whose clicks and comments have been the lifeblood of HuffPost, and fueled whatever success and influence we may have enjoyed."

The recognition have shown that blogging have now command respect and wordwide acknowledgement on par with other kind of conventional publication.

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