8 Mad Scientist Blog Manipulations

Blogging
image of zombie horse about to bite

In my WIP (work-in-progress), a mad scientist named Dr. Gerhardt manipulates wasps for his own warped purposes. Presumably I don’t have a warped mind, but like Dr. Gerhardt, I’ve manipulated things. I’ve made changes to my blog to make it more user-friendly.

8 Bloggerly Manipulations

1. When I post an image, I describe the image in the alt text so seeing-impaired people know what’s going on. Wait, do blind people read blogs? Actually, yes, but it’s often via an audible text-reader. A text-reader can describe the image if you put descriptive words in the alt text. Hover over today’s feature image, and you’ll see “image of zombie horse about to bite” in a little text box.

2. Speaking of images, I shrink huge, 7797 kB photos to 178 kB photos so they’ll load faster on readers’ devices.

3. I don’t post animated GIF’s. Yes, they’re fun! But they’re also hard on people with neurological impairments. If I’m surfing the net when I’m tired, they’re hard on me, too. It feels like eye-strain or something, and I quickly scroll past them.

4. I keep the links in blog posts to a minimum when practical so readers won’t get interrupted in their reading experience (click here . . . read . . . click back . . . read some more). I usually put reference links at the bottom of a post, like the link for these user-friendly webpage ideas.:-)

5. I stopped truncating my posts when I send them out on email notifications. The idea is someone reading on a phone can read the whole thing without having to click and then wait for the phone to load the webpage. Nowadays, people use phones more than laptops or desk computers to read content on the web.

6. I use a WordPress theme that’s responsive so folks can read my blog on whatever device they choose.

7. I keep my blog minimalist-looking. Readers don’t have a lot to distract them from the post they’re reading. I don’t know the age of my blog readers, but the older you get, the more important it is to have distraction-free focus in order to absorb what you’re reading.

8. Along the lines of minimalist-looking, I am saving my pennies to go ad-free on WordPress. I’m excited to get rid of those scary images of bowel cleansers and toenail fungus cures and . . . well, sure, I’ll stick an image of an angry horse on my post (because, you know, zombie horses), but no one needs to see toenail fungus!

But this is not an ad. It’s a personal recommendation.:-) Last year I read a terrific psychological whodunit thriller, The Stranger Inside by Laura Benedict. (What do you do when you come home and the key to your front door won’t work, and worse yet, there’s a stranger living in your house?) The book just came out in paperback from Mulholland Books. If you’re looking for a fun read with a complex female protagonist, you’d like The Stranger Inside.

Ideas to make your website more user-friendly: https://elementor.com/blog/wordpress-accessibility/

Statistics about internet use, mobile devices vs computers: https://www.broadbandsearch.net/blog/mobile-desktop-internet-usage-statistics

Scott Young, author of Ultralearning, explains how older brains need an environment with fewer distractions in order to absorb what they are studying: https://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/

Published

71 thoughts on “8 Mad Scientist Blog Manipulations”

  1. These are all fantastic changes Pri! Though.. I don’t think I’ve ever seen toenail fungus on your blog LOL!

    A responsive WordPress theme has always been a must for me! The times when I’ve change my theme I spent DAYS choosing one LOL

    My alt text would probably say something like “zombie horse ” So, I need to do much better with my alt text descriptions!

    As far as GIFs.. totally agree! I didn’t know they’re hard on people with neurological impairments! That may explain why some of us, even without the impairments, don’t like it

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  2. I like this list! I do the same with the alt text (it also means your images are more likely to turn up on related search results) and shrink my images too because while images are a big part of my posts, they need to load quickly but still in good quality! I think my blog is not too overcrowded, or at least I hope not! I especially hope there aren’t too many ads as well. Great list ❤

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  3. I’m ad-free as well. I find reading blogs with ads to be a real turn off and don’t take them as seriously as they might otherwise warrant. I’m thinking about truncating posts too, as you suggest.

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    1. I think we have the same WP theme. My gravatar photo is in the same place, but I turned it into a black field so it wouldn’t show up on the background, which means I had to have a header photo with a black background! I think my messing with the gravatar is why sometimes when I post comments elsewhere my regular photo doesn’t show up. It’s all a little convoluted, eh?

      Have a lovely weekend yourself, Robbie, and I hope your beautiful country is spared the worst of the pandemic.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you, Priscilla. We already have it hear and are fearing the worst with our poverty stricken population who live in squatter camps and shared accommodation. There will be no isolation available for these people.

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  6. This is very thoughtful of you Priscilla. I will absolutely use the alt text option. Thank you!
    Also, the horse image is…wow!

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    1. It’s a scary horse image for sure. There are horses down the road from us, and they come to the fence, and they’re sweet, and you can pet them. So it’s hard for me to image horses actually get angry, but I guess they do. I’m glad you stopped by, Jess!

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  7. Great advice. I seem to clog things up even when I try to keep things bare bones. Your blog is super easy to read and “clean.” I also have never noticed any of those ads you mentioned. Now I feel like I’m missing out! LOL Also, are you on any of the socials? Facebook, Insta, Twitter etc? I’m curious as a writer how you feel about those, if you concentrate time you’d spend on them to visiting other blogs (because you’re a great commenter and proof you get what you give because you always have a gazillion comments on your blog.) Basically, you seem to know what you’re doing and what you want and I love when you share your writing tips!

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    1. You are so sweet, Courtney, thank you. I am not on other social sites. I think if I did have Twitter and FB, etc., accounts I would spend too much time there. (Or rather, I don’t need the distraction when I should be writing!) Plus, when I hear about political rants, fake news, and online bullying, it makes me not want to have other social media accounts. I’m glad you commented!

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  9. I love the minimalist design of your blog. I’m not fond of animated gifts either.

    I nominated you for a Sunshine Blogger Award, if it’s not your thing that’s cool. Looking forward to reading more of your posts.

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