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One of these colors is not like the other

How can two Web browsers display the same graphic in different colors? They can’t — at least not until recently.

Color management, a term familiar to photographer and print graphic designers, is a forgotten art for many Web designers. Primitive low-resolution monitors limited early Web artists to a palette of 216 colors. Now, aside mobile devices, most users have high resolution monitors capable of handling millions of colors. A limited palette should no longer be an issue, but another issue emerges: The color profile you used to so lovingly turn out that graphic or photo won’t be recognized by most browsers.

Getting your perfectly tweaked photo to appear the same way on your Web site is challenging. I didn’t think about this until I began mocking a Web site for a friend’s wedding. A background image kept appearing a different shade in Safari versus Firefox and Internet Explorer. Imagine — a Web design problem not linked to IE.

Safari, as it turns out, has included color management since version 2.0. Firefox has it now, but you have to go through some trickery to get it to work right or download a plugin. A proposed future version of CSS will include the ability to specify color profiles.

Even with a profile specified for your graphic or photo, good luck matching it with the browser’s default implementation of CSS colors.

How did I solve my problem? I re-exported my graphics file from Photoshop with the ICC profile option unchecked. This turned my colors just the way I wanted to match the surrounding CSS colors — or at least I hope so. Even with the Web being able to display millions of colors, it still has a long way to go to display them right.

5 WordPress pet peeves

WordPress 2.7 came out last week. With any software update, I wait until most of the public offers itself as a guinea pig before I upgrade. Sometimes so-called patches or upgrades just cause more misery. I haven’t installed it yet — although the list of new features and interface improvements seem to make 2.7 worth the  upgrade.

Researching other WordPress-powered blogs for major problems with 2.7 reminded me of some of my WordPress pet peeves, here addressed to news Web site and regular site operators.

1. A “Meta” section — Every install of WordPress comes with two default themes, both with a sidebar section called meta. This area contains links for users to login or register. Although probably useful as a WP newbie creates his or her first blog, these links need to go. Why would you provide access to the “secret” backend of your site? Yes, any seasoned user knows how to find the WP login without those links, but leaving them in your design makes it look tacky, almost like an untucked shirt or a piece of toilet paper dangling from your shoe. Seriously, delete this.
2. Disjointed WP installs — Your organization’s content management system will make or break you online. Eight years ago if you bought a crappy, proprietary CMS, you did so because you had no other options, and all that annoying hand coding of html you once did could be replaced by automation. But with that time-saver, came a great time-drainer: You now spend even more trying to work around the restraints of the proprietary CMS. Want to rearrange the front page? Ha! Add a blog? Double ha-ha! Out of this problem grew the disjointed WP install, a theme that looks nothing like the Web site it came from. This can be a jarring and disorientating experience for the user. A look that isn’t cohesive mars your brand and its impact. The public doesn’t go through your Web site with a checklist, but a client might, even if it’s just a mental one.
3. “Admin” — Change your default user name! Many WP security exploits are based on the widespread use of “admin” as the default login name. Besides security, using “admin” as your name makes your blog less personal.
4. “I have a blog … ?” — Remember that blog or new feature your company started a few months ago? When’s the last time you updated it? You cannot grow a community or audience if you don’t nurture it. Just as your body sometimes gets needs eight hours of sleep, a good diet and amphetamines exercise, so does your Web presence. Help it flourish by giving it regular updates. (Looking for help? See these seven good blogging tips.)
5. Coming soon — Promotion means building excitement, and no anticipation is built with a “coming soon” or “under construction” sign. Promote that new feature or section properly, or just drop the notice. If it’s any consolation, this gives you an out when things don’t roll out on time. The Web 2.0 version is “beta” — aka most services on Google.

Seven good blogging tips

Lost Remote provides a good list of things bloggers should/shouldn’t do. Among them, with comments from me:

1. Have a voice - To think in newspaper terms, a professional blog comes somewhere between a story and a well-reported column. Don’t be boring!
2. Don’t just post wire stories – Or regurgitate press releases. Ugh! I’ve seen this done word-for-word in a local newspaper’s entertainment blog. That’s lazy reporting and journalism.
3. Engage with your readers - A colleague once snorted (yes, snorted) at my suggestion that reporters should act more like blog writers and actually police/engage in the conversations that bloom out of their stories. Many news Web sites treat their story comments like ghettos, where just about any racist or mean-spirited, off-topic comment goes, especially those hosted on Topix.com. That’s only part of the solution, of course.
4. If you don’t enjoy it, you shouldn’t be doing it
5. Create content that’s easy to read on the fly – What a great idea …
6. Make sure you post the entire feed

I will add a No. 7: Update, update, update! Now certainly for me this is a case of do as I say, not as I do. If you want to have any sort of following for your blog, you have to update it. How do you expect to build an audience if your last update was in February? I’ve seen many businesses and trade associations do this. They’ll kick off a blog, make a big deal out of it, then just stop posting.

For a Web developer starting, then forgetting is stupid. Your blog is a vital part of your “brand” and shows  your expertise. Not only can you give back to your field in terms of tips and inside information, you build crediblity in that community and with future customers.

Similar opportunities abound for news sources online. Build some credibility through regular, thoughout, kickbutt posts.