My Life, and Pursuit of Becoming A Millionaire

Shoemoney Redesigns Blog. Looks Like Every Other Thesis Site on The Web.

Haters gonna hate…

So I was excited when I saw Chris Pearsons tweet about Shoemoney redesigning his whole site with Thesis. I thought maybe, just maybe I’d see a stunning variation on the bare bones look of Thesis that I’m so used to seeing. Nope.

You see, I used to be part of the Thesis circle jerk, before abandoning it for what I now feel is a much better-looking, easier-to-look-professional alternative.

Shoemoney. Love ya man. But I hate your redesign. Of course I don’t expect you to care, but why, oh why would you ditch your last design for this standard, out of the box, gray nav bar, Thesis look? Maybe Chris offered you a preview of a new version and you wanted to play with it and experiment during a time where maybe your blog traffic isn’t what it once was.

Maybe the performance metrics are a touch faster than your previous theme. Hell, I don’t know.

I do know though that I’ve liked all of your previous redesigns much better than what you’ve got now.

And for you Chris Pearson: You’re obviously extremely intelligent. A kick ass coder. You know your stuff. I don’t question your skills for one second. But I don’t understand why in the world a dude with such an affinity for typography lets an out-of-the-box-look like this fly: [Continue reading]

By on February 26, 2012 Leave a Comment Filed Under: Insight, Info, & Opinion

Inspectlet: Perfect Blend of Crazy Egg & Clicktale, & Cheaper Than Both.

Now you can peek over your customers shoulders as they browse your website in real time!

Inspectlet is a new real-time analytics, and website heat mapping + screen capture tool that allows you to take a peek at how your customers react with your website as they browse. This means that the software literally takes screencapture videos of users cursor trails as they navigate from page to page on your website.

Inspectlet was kind enough to give me a free demo of their platform, and despite a few issues (the most substantial being a speed issue with my site after the install, that they immediately fixed after an email), the features provided are well worth the price. Their basic plan is even cheaper than the most well known heatmapping solution, called crazy egg – and crazy egg doesnt even offer the ability to record user sessions – inspectlet does.

So if you arent in a position to pay the huge monthly fees for a robust solution like clicktale, yet you arent happy with the cheaper, more watered down solution that is crazy egg, then inspectlet is probably right for you. They offer a free one week trial so you can test the waters.

I have personally tried crazy egg off and on over the last several years, and the data I harvested just didnt justify paying the monthly fee. Especially when there is no screencapturing! Im no analytics pro, but when i compare inspectlet with crazy egg and clicktale, inspectlet offers the most bang for my buck.

I wish that they would add the option to filter out my IP from data gathering. This is actually a critical feature that needs to be added asap. Or maybe they already have. Its been a minute or two since i last logged in and they are usually quick about fixing things.

So give inspectlet a try.

I almost felt like a spy when i watched my first recorded screencapture. Try it. You will too. ;)

Note: password and other sensitive information fields are obviously censored out, so dont get too excited.

By on December 15, 2011 1 Comment Filed Under: Kick Ass Software

3 Things To Know Before Buying Thesis Theme

I’ve used the Thesis theme for the last few years and for the most part, I’ve been really happy with it.

Clean code, good SEO control, and a great support forum with very helpful users. And if there’s one feature I’m repeatedly glad for with this theme it is the fact that there is a responsive support forum, because I’ve spent a huge amount of time in the trenches there.

Nothing but love for the gods and girlies on that forum.

So without further ado, here are 3 things that I wish I would have known before jumping on the Thesis theme bandwagon. I won’t try to talk you out of Thesis, but depending on what kind of person you are, what you’re looking for, and how much you love to tinker, there may be better options for your first (paid) WordPress theme. [Continue reading]

By on October 20, 2011 1 Comment Filed Under: Reviews & Referrals

Mass Redirections With WordPress [How To]

I have been forced to do tons of mass URL redirections on several of my Wordpress sites as of late. It's an unfortunate, but necessary biproduct of messing around with URL structures. For instance, on this blog, a URL to a post used to be: … [Continue reading]

By on October 16, 2011 1 Comment Filed Under: Guides & Tutorials

Explain This.

Have you ever had the odd experience of learning a new word that you had never in your life heard before, and then, in as little as a few hours later, you happen to hear that same exact word again? I know I have, and I find it strange. It brings a … [Continue reading]

By on October 14, 2011 2 Comments Filed Under: Random
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