I’m excited to finally have a new design up on my blog. The other design was long past its due, but you know how it can be. You get busy and if something seems to be working you just leave it be while other things seem more important. I’ve finally put together a new look, feel and brand that is a much better fit for what I want to bring to you.
This new design wouldn’t have come together without the help of some excellent freelancers and handy resources that I want to list here with my endorsement.
Logo/Header Design
I was fortunate to meet and work with Mike Gibson back when I was working on my book. He did the cover design as well as the internal layout.
Since then, not only have we become friends, I’ve also enlisted him on a number of other projects. His work is always top notch and delivered with thoughtful insight. He knows fonts like no one else I know.
If you need design work for print or web, I highly recommend his services.
Photography
Getting photos taken is never a fun proposition. It’s uncomfortable. It’s nerve-wracking. You put all that time and money into it just hoping that they don’t turn out cheesy and that there are at least a couple that you can stand to look at.
Well, I’m very fortunate to have a friend that is very naturally gifted at working with a camera and people. She did an excellent job taking new photos of me after I had literally put it off for years.
You can find her incredible portfolio here.
Blogging Software
It’s no secret I’m a huge fan of WordPress. It’s the platform of choice for launching a new media-ready site fast and inexpensively. As always, this site is run by WordPress. You can download it for free to install on your site here.
Site Layout/Design
Finding a good theme for your WordPress can be tough. There are a lot of horrible designs and poorly coded themes floating around out there. Fortunately I found a premium theme designer whose work I really like. This blog is theme was originally purchased from them and then customized to fit what I wanted.
You can find there themes here.
Web Hosting
My recommended host for beginners is still here.
However, this site is now hosted on a virtual private server (VPS) in order to handle the traffic and other contraints that it needs to. The VPS service that I use (and have been very happy with so far) can be found here.
Their service, features and performance have been top notch. I have been through many, many hosts and so for this has been the best when the time comes that you want to move beyond a shared hosting plan.
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My hope is that one or more of those recommended resources will help you out in your own online efforts. I’ve put in a lot of time and research to find the tools that I use. I share them here to save you the time and energy of finding trusted services.
What other questions do you have about the new design and the resources that I used? Share them in the comments below.
March 25th, 2009 at 10:30 am
Jason,
I love the new site design. Looking forward to new and exciting information from you.
John
March 26th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
jason -
are the plug ins on the right hand column stock or customized? i like them all, esp the testimonial, contact me, and let’s connect box.
- thanks, matt
March 26th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
@Matt,
The testimonial scroll box was done with jQuery library. It’s not a WP plugin. It’s relatively easy to implement if you have a bit of tech/coding knowledge.
The tabs box is also done with jQuery.
More info is here:
http://jqueryui.com/
All the other widgets in the sidebar were just coded into the theme to customize it.
March 31st, 2009 at 2:08 pm
Hiya Jason
Not heard anything from you in agee. I read your excellent book months ago and highly recommend it to anyone who will listen about how to promote their podcast. Anyway, I’m glad to hear that you’re still alive and kicking. The new site design looks really cool and I’ve just downloaded your new media podcast which I look forward to listening to.
All the best!
John O’Hara
United Kingdom
April 1st, 2009 at 3:24 am
I love the design Jason – friendly, artsy, accessible.
May 6th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
I’ve just been recommended your site and signed up for newsletters and the early alert. I’m going back through your archives and had a basic question to which the answer must change regularly as technology improves.
Any Microphone and mixer recommendations?
Thanks again
Hope I make the 20 people!
May 6th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
I see on the How to Podcast Tutorial site you were recommending upgrading RAM to 512mb and a Sound Card that is quite a few years old, so just hoping for some current info. Thanks
May 7th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
@David,
As for microphones, it depends on your budget. Here is the set up I use which is available for around $200.
1. Shure SM58
2. Behringer UB802
3. Griffin iMic (USB interface)
4. Pop filter
As for the free tutorial site, I have plans to get that updated again later this year.