Authors Tools Blog

If you’ve been a regular visitor to this blog, you’ll notice some changes. When I upgraded to the latest and greatest WordPress version, I found that my theme was no longer compatible. Right now I’m playing with themes.

I haven’t found a theme with all the features I want yet. I may have to design one or have one designed for me. I have to determine how much of my time I want to put into the project. It might be more cost effective for me to have someone else take over the project so I can spend my time on  high payoff activities.

The failure of my old theme is a reminder that things are always changing, especially in technology. Just when you get comfortable with something, it changes. A client of mine recently told me that every time she gets really good at using the Facebook interface, they change it. She thinks they are monitoring the time she spends on the site and using that to schedule their next upgrade.

One of the most unhelpful changes I’ve seen recently is the number of emails and forum posts that have links that aren’t “hot” or clickable. You can’t click on the link to see the webpage anymore.

I’ve seen lots of discussion around this all over the Internet. However, I haven’t seen a reason given that stands up to testing.

I hesitated telling you about this until I new for sure what changed. I’ve tried different browsers with no change in the clickability of links. Using different email programs give the same results.

So, here’s what you need to know when giving a link to your website. (At least this is true at the time I write this. Tomorrow, who knows.)

To make your links clickable

• Include the http://
• Test to see if you need the www. (Some sites need this, but most don’t.)
• Type your domain name in lower case. (This is the big change I’ve seen.)
• If you are sending people to a specific file, match the filename and case exactly.

In the past, you’ve been able to use a visually appealing style for your URL, such as http://AuthorsToolsBlog.com. Now, however, you should use http://authorstoolsblog.com.

Using mixed case makes it easier for people to remember your URL, but if you want them to be able to click on the name, you need to use all lower case.

As always, if you are directing folks to a certain page or file, the filename must match exactly the filename you have on your host (http://myreport.pdf or http://Myreport.pdf).

With URL links, people can cut and paste into the browser address bar. The browser will take care of translating to the proper URL. However, you want to make your links easy for your readers to navigate.

What technology change bothers you the most? Leave a comment below and let’s discuss it.

Write on,

Lynn