Nobody likes a thief, and we all want to stop them in their tracks.

Lately I’ve been finding more and more bloggers lifting images directly from my server and using them on their own blogs / websites (also known as hotlinking). Not only is this stealing, but it’s also using up the bandwidth you’re paying your web host for.

Here’s a quick .htaccess tutorial to help prevent hotlinking.

→ Continue reading How to deter thieves from stealing your images and server bandwidth

201 very welcomed comments » Follow the conversation by subscribing to the RSS comments feed.

My top 50 graphic design blogs, authored by some very talented graphic designers. Enjoy the inspiration.

→ Continue reading Top 50 graphic design blogs

210 very welcomed comments » Follow the conversation by subscribing to the RSS comments feed.

My humble blog is Scotland’s top entry into the Adage Power 150.

The Power 150 is a ranking of the world’s top English-language media and marketing blogs. The positions in the list are calculated using Google’s Page Rank, subscriber data from Bloglines, Technorati back-link info and a subjective total from Todd Andrlik (who created the original Power 150).

→ Continue reading Scotland’s first Adage Power 150 blog

29 very welcomed comments » Follow the conversation by subscribing to the RSS comments feed.

It’s finally arrived, the month of my one year blog birthday, and in celebration, I’ve given away some fantastic prizes, kindly donated by a host of excellent blog authors.

The winners listed were drawn by Jamie, of Edinburgh computer servicesTerinea, using a random number generator. Thanks for your help, Jamie.

Here are the lucky winners.

→ Continue reading Graphic design prize draw winners

49 very welcomed comments » Follow the conversation by subscribing to the RSS comments feed.

If you show advertising on your website / blog, or are thinking of doing so, this is something you need to know.

I’ve just removed what little advertising there was on my blog. The ads were shown below my category list, and included just four simple text link ads (two for print cartridge retailers and two for web template sites).

→ Continue reading Google search rank drop: advice needed

105 very welcomed comments » Follow the conversation by subscribing to the RSS comments feed.

To celebrate the 1 year anniversary of my graphic design blog, I’m launching this bumper giveaway to thank you all. You’ve helped make this site what it is today and here are the fantastic prizes up for grabs.

→ Continue reading $4,000 blog anniversary prize draw

131 very welcomed comments » Follow the conversation by subscribing to the RSS comments feed.

Whatever side of the NoFollow / DoFollow debate you’re on, I’m sure you’ll be against spammers and junk commenters. Here’s a useful plugin that can help reduce spam comments left purely for that ‘followed link’.

→ Continue reading Combat DoFollow spammers using this WordPress Plugin

66 very welcomed comments » Follow the conversation by subscribing to the RSS comments feed.

Whether you publish a blog post three times per day, once every day, or even once per week, finding inspiration can prove troublesome. I’ve been able to keep a decent level of consistency up on my blog, posting on average every three days. I owe a lot to you, my readers.

→ Continue reading Your readers are great writing inspiration

17 very welcomed comments » Follow the conversation by subscribing to the RSS comments feed.

Brian Gardner recently asked me, and some design friends, five questions related to design and blogs. Here’s the short Q and A session.

→ Continue reading 5 things about design, blogs, and me

16 very welcomed comments » Follow the conversation by subscribing to the RSS comments feed.

Ilker, of The Thinking Blog, recently left the 4,000th comment here on my site. I like to feature each person who leaves a milestone comment, to thank them for visiting, and for participating in the discussion. I also think it’s a good idea to celebrate your blog milestones, and this is a way of giving a little back to you at the same time.

→ Continue reading 4,000th commenter deserves a mention

9 very welcomed comments » Follow the conversation by subscribing to the RSS comments feed.