Since I started blogging, I’ve come across a ton of amazing people and some really cool blogs. Like most bloggers, I have my list of big name blogs I follow like John Chow, Daily Blog Tips, Copyblogger, and Chris Brogan to name a few.
I also have some smaller blogs that either haven’t hit the big time yet or aren’t designed to go mainstream. Website-in-a-Weekend (which is a very misleading name since it is updated daily at a minimum) by Dave Doolin is one of my favorites.
Site: http://website-in-a-weekend.net
Author: Dave Doolin
Online since: Nov 2005
Page Rank: 1
Alexa Rank: 167,820 (recently under 100,000)
Sites Linking in: 2,686 (source: websitegrader.com )
Pageviews per month: unknown
Feedburner Subscribers: unknown
Website Grader: 97.4
Upon arriving at Website-in-a-Weekend, you’ll notice the layout is extremely simple and not very graphic dense. The right column has some information about Dave, his newsletter, a small block of ads, and some popular posts.
One of the first things I noticed and liked is Dave notes an estimated reading time for each post. This is extremely helpful for deciding if you want to start digging in, or if you want to wait until later. More people (including me) should do this.
Dave tackles the daunting task of writing about the technical (behind the scenes) and coding side of producing a blog (something few dare to do on a daily basis). If you don’t have problems pumping out content, but you need to improve your SEO and you can’t seem to format your images correctly, Dave has some Practical WordPress Tips for you.
In fact, Dave has an entire series called Practical WordPress Tips that I think is beautifully branded and will help bloggers in many areas including: SEO, formatting, creating content, and generating organic traffic. While this site might be mainstream now, he is building a strong foundation for future visitors.
Dave’s writing style is in your face facts. When you are as smart as David M. Doolin, PhD, it can sometimes be difficult to tone down the technical. He does a great job of communicating solid no-nonsense information in an effective manner. Despite this often technical style of writing, Dave has a great sense of humor that he lets show through by poking at his haters and his friends alike.
In just the few short months I’ve been reading Website-in-a-Weekend, the site has improved greatly. The only extra thing I could ask for are easier to navigate archives since the site now has so much content.
I will have a guest post on WIAW about how valuable learning about code is for a blogger in the next couple of weeks; be on the lookout for it!
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October 26th, 2009 at 2:31 PM
Thanks!
I think you captured very well what I’m doing: improving WordPress skills! It’s hard for me to get perspective, I’m too close to it.
Looking forward to your article.
October 26th, 2009 at 7:30 PM
I have been reading Dave blog for some time and I can say I have become a fan of him. His tips are very useful and he cover Wp tips for basic and for advanced users both… he deserves a mention here.
October 26th, 2009 at 9:38 PM
I am looking forward to guest posting on your blog. I really like your style, and I think your readers a pretty awesome too. You have a great community.
October 27th, 2009 at 12:45 AM
Thanks for the info. I will check it, I always eager to improve my wordpress related knowledge.
October 27th, 2009 at 10:45 AM
Dave’s site is an everyday visit of mine. Lots of technical WP info but just enough to fill my daily appetite.
October 27th, 2009 at 12:02 PM
what i like about Dave’s website is it simplicity.there is something for everyone.every time i visit it i learn something new.
November 2nd, 2009 at 5:34 PM
Thank you very much for your tips….it useful for me