Babblefind…Ruthlessly Ranking Your World

by admin on April 28, 2009

in WordPress Themes

New webtools, blog themes, articles, business opportunities, gadgets and gizmos are bombarding you by the moment.

Babblefind locates the new stuff, the cool apps, the hottest plugins, websites and even blogs…and ranks them according to their usability.

How many times have you searched for a free WordPress theme, found one that looked awesome, then took the time to download it, upload it, extract it to your files…just to find out that it was a piece of crap that you couldn’t use because it has errors in the code that you don’t understand or it’s just not user friendly to the average blogger…

At Babblefind, we go the extra mile. We don’t just fill the pages of this site with all the latest crap, regardless of it’s inefficiency or user friendliness. Babblefind either personally tests or seeks out credible information (the good, the bad and the ugly) for every single item that we promote or warn against. We ruthlessly rate them according to the highest standards. You’ll get the low down on everything from eBooks and affiliate programs to Twitter and Blogging tools. If Babblefind gives it a perfect score, you can trust that it is a MUST HAVE.

Babblefind does not get paid to write reviews. We won’t sell you out and tell you to buy something that’s garbage. We do proudly promote some of the products we believe in through affiliate advertising. But that is only the best of the best.

Would you like your Product or Service Ruthlessly Reviewed? Drop us a line at editor@babblefind.com and we will make it happen!

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Artisteer Review: Building Your Own WordPress, Blogger, Joomla or Drupal Themes

by admin on April 29, 2010

in Webmaster Tool

With the increasing popularity of using Content Management Systems such as Joomla and WordPress to power websites, many do-it-yourselfer web designers are forced to turn to professionals to design their templates because of their dynamic nature. Dynamic templates rely on code and response from the web server to generate the page visitors see, and therefore require an advanced knowledge of complex code that is beyond the typical WYSIWYG, or what you see is what you get, programs. Until now.

What is Artisteer?
Artisteer is a completely revolutionary design program because it takes the familiar WYSIWYG approach of many web design programs such as Dreamweaver, and applies it to building Wordpress, Joomla, and Drupal themes. This once again gives do-it-yourselfers power in the web design world, but is  it really worth the investment?

Artisteer Options
The program comes in the following editions:

Home and Academic: This version of the program is $49.95. This is the perfect solution for those who only need to work with standard HTML templates and WordPress themes.

Standard: This version of the program is $129.95. In addition to support for Wordpress themes and standard HTML templates, it also has support for building templates for Joomla 1.5 templates, Drupal version 5 and 6 themes, ASP.NET applications and allows to export to ColorCharge Studio. This edition is more suitable for an experienced web designer who wants to make jobs a bit easier.

The Artisteer Trial
The free trial is fully functional, even allowing you to export themes for use, but the catch is they are watermarked until you purchase a program license. When we used the program trial to take a closer look at its features, we were impressed by this fact. After developing a few WordPress themes, we purchased the Student license and were immediately pleased to see the watermarks had been removed and the theme could be used on any website we wished. The only catch? You are not legally allowed to use the photos in the stock library in the program if you intend to sell the theme. You can download trials for both editions and make the purchase directly within the program.

Artisteer Pros
•    Free updates for a year after purchase.
•    Users who want to upgrade between editions can do so for the price difference between the two programs, currently $80.
•    The program interface is designed to mimic Microsoft Office 2007 and Windows 7. If you have experience with these programs, you’re one step ahead of the rest of the game.
•    There are many suggestions, color schemes, graphics and other options to help you build your very own themes.

Artisteer Cons
•    The program doesn’t allow you to upload custom backgrounds or headers which makes it difficult to truly customize a theme or template.
•    The resulting theme may need some tweaks by a professional designer to complete customizations.

Our Final Thoughts
Since Artisteer is available for both Windows and Mac based platforms, nearly anyone can enjoy the program. It’s incredibly easy to use, and is a cost effective solution, especially when compared to the costs of professional design. It can even help professionals cut their design time because they can make necessary changes to the code to provide a complete customization. For those who need to design Wordpress, Joomla, Drupal or ASP.NET templates and applications, this is a decent investment. There is certainly room for improvement, but overall, the program is definitely worth it.

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Hostmonster: When Hot Girls Just Don’t Cut It

by admin on March 22, 2010

in Blogging Tools, Webmaster Tool

Okay, so I build blogs and mini websites as a side business. In my line of work it is vitally important that my sites are with a hosting service that can be trusted.

Hooters girls are great, there is no doubt. But if Hooters food and service absolutely sucked, they’d be out of business regardless of the ‘hotness factor.’

The same is true for a webhosting service. In my line of work, I have had the unfortunate experience of building sites and blogs on more web hosting services than I care to remember. Of these, GoDaddy was probably one of the worst. The basic layout of their webhosting site is not easy to navigate and is definitely not designed for the beginner. It has always taken what seemed an endless amount of time to locate the correct files, and even to find the c-panel in the first place. Calling customer service will get you where you need to be, but be prepared to call back again and again. Like I said, there is no ‘common sense’ approach to the layout of this site.

On the other hand, all of my 30+ websites are hosted neatly on an easy to navigate hosting site called Hostmonster. Singing the praises of Hostmonster is pretty easy, since they’ve got everything going for them. Here’s a few of their strong points:

  • Ease of use – The site is laid out with a super simple c-panel, easy to find files, Simple Scripts for uploading Wordpress, and a short tutorial for newbies.
  • Cost – For anyone worried about hidden charges from web hosting companies, look no further. Hostmonster has one low flat yearly rate for your main domain and then (drum roll please) you can host as many additional sites as you want for no extra charge! For someone like me with over 30 websites, that is music to my ears.
  • Reliability – With Hostmonster I’ve never experienced down time or problems. They are just that good.
  • Tech Support – Now here is where the real deal lies. I’ve called customer service lines for numerous web hosting companies and some were better than others, but Hostmonster goes the extra mile. In the early days of blog building, I’d occasionally try something new that didn’t quite work out so well. Once I wiped out my entire blog with a single keystroke. I’m still not sure what I did wrong, but all I know is that when I called Hostmonster for help, they quickly and politely restored my site to the last full backup (which was less than 24 hours prior) so I lost nothing. Kind of gives you peace of mind when you are just starting out, doesn’t it?

I am sure I could go on touting the praises of Hostmonster, but I encourage you to check them out for yourself.  Check out Hostmonster now. You’ll be glad you did. In my book they are the most reliable, stable web hosting company out there.

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Linkvana Review Coming Soon.

by admin on March 16, 2010

in Affiliate Programs

In keeping with the Babblefind tradition of personally testing the products we promote, we have recently signed up to be a customer of Linkvana. We plan to bring you a thorough review after using their services. Watch for our review coming soon!

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Affiliate Program Review: Commission Junction a Scam with Lawsuits?

by admin on May 5, 2009

in Affiliate Programs

commission junction scamRuthless Ranking: 0 / 5

I have tried to use major affiliate sites before, like Clickbank and Pepperjam but I guess it’s not meant to be. I could never find anything on Clickbank that I thought was a valuable product that I could believe in, and Pepperjam never responded to my initial sign up.

Commission Junction is another player in the affiliate game. I recently did a bit of investigating to find out their level of credibility. I was shocked. Commission Junction has represented Adobe and Ebay, major companies, so I expected them to be on the up and up. [read more…]

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Webmaster Cool Tool: Favicon (tiny tab icon) Generator

by admin on May 5, 2009

in Webmaster Tool

flavicon generatorRuthless Ranking: 5 / 5

Stumbling around aimlessly online, as I often do, I found the tool that generates that tiny little icon that sits next to the title of your website. It is used in the site tabs and also for sites you bookmark.

This little branding image makes your site look official and ultra-professional. That tiny icon, by the way, is called a favicon (or a favorites icon). [read more…]

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John Chow’s Twitter Tool: Twitter Follower

by admin on May 2, 2009

in Twitter Tools

twitter followRuthless Ranking: 3.5 / 5

Oh John, when will you stop being on the cutting edge of everything? The famous online marketing guru, John Chow has a new Twitter application called Twitter Follower.

Johns Chow’s new twitter tool has a couple of cool features. One, which is the one I personally use, is called The List. Once you sign up, there is a list of tweeters who are “follow-back” guys and girls. Now, I can’t guarantee that these people will follow you back, but it’s worked out great for me so far. [read more…]

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Twitter Tool: Twibes – Find Your Happy Place

by admin on May 1, 2009

in Twitter Tools

twitter twibeRuthless Ranking: 5 / 5

Are you an aspiring actor looking for a way to network with some producers? Or maybe you’re a  photographer looking for some new  gigs? I’ve got some good news for you.

Twibes.com is a new mini-social media place where you can sign yourself up in approximately ten seconds flat and instantly belong to a group, or ‘twibe’ of people that are in your profession or share the same interests. [read more…]

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Wordpress Plugin: Blog Link & Traffic Analysis

by admin on April 30, 2009

in WordPress Plugin

traffic analysis pluginRuthless Ranking: 4 / 5

Did you ever wish you had a magical window in your Wordpress admin area, that could show you a straightforward, easy to read chart about all your blog posts, so you could quickly determine the success of each?

The Blog Link & Traffic Analysis Plugin created by Search Engine People does just that. [read more…]

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Web and Marketing Program: Site Build It Review – Is SBI a Scam?

by admin on April 30, 2009

in Web Building Memberships

site build itRuthless Ranking 1.5 / 5

Site Build it (also known as Site Sell) touts itself as being the answer for people who want to find life changing financial freedom by buying into their system. Is it real? Is Site Build It a scam?

There are quotes from both sides. I will let you be the judge of this one. I will only provide the information I have gathered from several sites. It seems that those who love it, really love it–and those who feel mistreated by the Site Build It team are sincerely upset about their experience. [read more…]

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Monitter Twitter Tool: Real Time Keyword Tracker

by admin on April 30, 2009

in Twitter Tools

babblefindRuthless Ranking: 3.5 / 5

There are a lot of janky looking Twitter tools being slapped together out there. Some of them look almost primitive. Today I checked out the cool, real time, keyword search tool called Monitter.

Monitter is a slick tracking tool for Twitter that lets you enter multiple keywords in separate columns–then sit back and watch any tweets that mention these words in real time. [read more…]

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