More Domain Talk: Top Level Domains

Last time, I talked about what you should do before choosing a domain. Where to buy, what you might want to call it, etc. I only briefly touched on top level domains like .com or .net. However, most of my friends who are deciding on domains seem to have a lot of trouble with this particular issue, so it merits a closer look.

On the surface, there is no actual difference between the domain choices themselves. Changing a domain from .com to .net will not suddenly give your website a dramatic look, nor will it mess with your coding. It really is just a label in a grocery store. Taking a bag of Cheerios and dropping them in a box of Frosted Flakes will not suddenly turn those Cheerios into Frosted Flakes. Nor will pouring Pepsi in a Mr. Pibb bottle change it (although, why he hell would you pick Pepsi over Mr. Pibb, you sick fuck).

However, there are some restrictions in place, for obvious reasons. Over the internet, it's easy to fake just about anything. Which is great for people who know their stuff, but a little scary for people who don't. Without these kind of restrictions, there would be absolutely no guarantee that that .gov site is really a government website. And if you're registering for something online and give your private data out, well, suddenly that innocent act of reordering your drivers license online can become pretty scary. Plus, some countries want to ensure that their own top level domains are actually going to their citizens and not just a bunch of domain squatters. With that in mind, it's important to check and make sure there isn't some restriction on the site you want.

Finally, we get to the all important question. "What's better? .com, .net, .info, or .me?" Really, it's up to personal taste. It just sends different messages to different people. Com is short for commercial, so if you're a site that's looking to make money or showcasing a commercial product, go with that. Net is short for network, referring to the original use of .net, which was for network infrastructure. If you ask me, .net has a "geekier" and even an almost artsy feel to it, so if the commercial idea turns you off, it's definitely a good choice to go with. Info is a newer top level domain, and while it has no restrictions, it definitely sends off a different message. If you go with .info, you send out the message that your goal is purely to instruct and inform people, instead of entertaining or marketing. For example, this blog may go .info if I don't go with .com. And last but not least, there's .me. This did originally start out as a country domain, but of course they realized how globally this would appeal to everyone, and have made it available for unrestricted use. With that in mind, it's probably best to save .me for websites that are all about you as a person or your day to day life (which, as I said before, is a terrible idea for a blog).

Beyond those basic unrestricted choices, there are many others. Several country domains are unrestricted, so they're worth a look. In the end, you will just have to do the research yourself. But when you do, it's important to consider what the restrictions are, and what the original use for the domain was. That way, you can ensure you send out the right message to anyone before they click.

Eye-Catching: First steps.

Okay, so everyone wants a sleek and stylish blog, right? The easiest way to grab someone's attention is to have a nice banner. And those just happen to be my specialty.

(I made all of these so I'm allowed to post them here.)

When making a banner, this is what you should consider:
1. Use colors that in general blend well with other colors on the rest of your blog. You want it to flow nicely. But you also want to add in colors that are NOT found anywhere else on your blog, so it pops out and leaves an image in your reader's mind after they navigate away. Many times I'll see a plain black and white blog, and people wonder why I don't remember which one is theirs. Give me a reason to want to remember your blog.
2. Decide what message you want your blog to send. Look at the first banner I've selected. The writer's blog is about Hawaii. When looking at it, you definitely get a Hawaii feel to it. The second one is for my other blog, where I draw and review video games. So I drew myself drawing a Tepig with the help of De Blob and Comrade Black. You can probably guess what the others are supposed to be about.
3. ALWAYS include your title. You want people to associate the title with the image.
4. NEVER use images you are not allowed to use. Do not upload a picture of Miley Cyrus unless it is allowed. Do not steal a picture someone else did.
5. Try not to sign the banner, even if it's just going to your blog. It's just tacky to have your name up there, in my opinion. ESPECIALLY if you are giving the banner to someone else to use-- let the blogger decide on how to thank you/advertise you. It's really distracting from the image, otherwise. It's not like a painting where you SHOULD sign it so no one takes credit for it.

Now me, I'm going to break my rule and not make a banner just yet. Mostly because I only made this blog an hour ago and it's quite late right now, haha.

Til then, see you later, my lovely Suckers! (Or should I call you guys Sucks? Hm. I'll think about that for a while.)

I hate introduction posts.

They're so freaking awkward, you know? But whenever you see a new blog, you see this short and simple post saying how the person is new to blogging and how they've always thought about it, blah blah blah. But often times you'll see that blog post and there won't be anything else. Which always confuses the hell out of me.

Okay, I get not wanting to just randomly start out blogging, cause you feel awkward doing it. But don't you feel just as awkward not contributing anything substantial to your blog and expecting others to want to read it?

Also, what's really irritating is seeing people use blogs as their journals, and then they expect to make a career out of doing that. What? I mean, if you were a celeb, I can see that kind of blog getting somewhere, but if you're just making a public diary, who really is going to care to give you money for that?

These kinds of blogs are what I'm getting at. They suck. I want to help you not suck anymore. I'm not saying I'm great, but I'm saying I don't suck. I get lots of questions and offer lots of help to a bunch of new people in blogging, so I decided I'd make a blog dedicated to this sort of thing. It's a blog for bloggers, from advertising, to improving your writing. Hopefully you'll learn a few things and can make a bitchin' blog.