Starting Out A Blog. Help me out here..

RotWic

RotWic

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Dec 25, 2010
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I usually build wordpress blogs (SEO done by experts) and design websites for clients.. But a new found love to write got me to start my own. I'm not particularly interested in making it a money making blog, so advertisements are off the table. Im looking to build a blog where people could enjoy/benefit from reading the articles.

Comment on design and content quality. Do let me know if you think i should make a change anywhere.

here is the blog - chatterboy.com
 


Oh hey there chatterboy


wet-frat-guys-blog-11.jpg
 
One thing that hits me immediately when I look at your blog is - Too much white (or much rather too much unused space) - there is an immense sense of emptiness across your site.

For one - Start with a nice logo. Keep it simple, nothing fancy. But definitely get a logo. Your color scheme is White/Black/Blue - but your logo doesn't have to be so - break the color barrier with your logo.

Then proceed to setup pages "Home" (which is already included as an icon in the theme), "About us", A "Category" drop down, "Contact us" etc. and add them to the horizontal navigation bar.

Add more details to your footer. It's pretty empty as well.

Reduce the size of your "recent post" section in your sidebar. Reduce the h2 font size preferably.

Also, that theme doesn't render correctly in Google Chrome - might want to check that.

Let me know if you need any other help with the same.
 
I love those magazine themes, and your's has that vibe. When I created my blog (see sig), I opted for a more personal touch vice the e-zine feel. I'd say show your personality in your blog, make it apparent that it is in fact an individual's blog.
 
BlogHue said:
One thing that hits me immediately when I look at your blog is - Too much white (or much rather too much unused space) - there is an immense sense of emptiness across your site.

For one - Start with a nice logo. Keep it simple, nothing fancy. But definitely get a logo. Your color scheme is White/Black/Blue - but your logo doesn't have to be so - break the color barrier with your logo.

Then proceed to setup pages "Home" (which is already included as an icon in the theme), "About us", A "Category" drop down, "Contact us" etc. and add them to the horizontal navigation bar.

Add more details to your footer. It's pretty empty as well.

Reduce the size of your "recent post" section in your sidebar. Reduce the h2 font size preferably.

Also, that theme doesn't render correctly in Google Chrome - might want to check that.

Let me know if you need any other help with the same.
Click to expand...

I agree with the logo and navigation changes, but regarding the space, I think he lacks it. You need more white space, the sidebar and content are too close. You made a very big contrast with black and white as backgrounds and I think it's enough.

Reducing h2 sizes it's ok, I recommend that too.
I think the emptiness sensation comes from the color scheme. Don't be afraid to use textures. I don't like the font also, it's a nice font for a logo or a big strong short headline, but for articles like "Reasons Why You Should Buy The Nokia Lumia 920 Instead of The Samsung Galaxy S3" it's not good at all. You also need line spacing because it overlaps and you can't put big line spacing to this font, it already takes too much space.

I would also add another color to the scheme .

Good luck bro, I like the nokia lumia article.
 
Shack said:
I agree with the logo and navigation changes, but regarding the space, I think he lacks it. You need more white space, the sidebar and content are too close.
Click to expand...

ScottDaMan said:
Renders fine for me in Chrome.

BTW, from a marketing standpoint, I've found more whitespace produces better results.
Click to expand...

I know. If you read my earlier posts - I am a huge advocate of white space across a website's canvas.

But somehow, when I saw his site earlier today, it seemed to have a lot of emptiness about it. (Most of which seems to be solved with the fact that he added more articles recently.)

He also has fixed the sidebar apparently and it looks better now.

I am still concerned about the logo and the two "About/Contact blocks" beside it along with the RSS icon that is thrown all the way to the top right without any form of stabilization - thats where the site still feels empty.

Regarding the Chrome issue, this is how it renders for me in Firefox -

ODJd5.jpg


While this is how Chrome renders it -

RNenM.jpg
 
You should make the mouse cursor a cartoon gorilla, and make him throw bananas every time someone clicks their mouse. It'll be fun!
 
BlogHue, boatBurner,Shack - All view appreciated. :) Thanks.

BlogHue and Shack:

I already have a search going on to find a good logo designer. I hired one guy so far, lets see how that goes. I told him to keep it simple and break the color scheme as you suggested.

The H2 tags will be changed soon. Although regarding the background, i think ill change it back to white as i liked it better that way. Maybe add a white textured background in the area beside the post and sidebar container.

Now working on a custom 3 column footer and a horizontal menu. Also, i don't exactly know what you meant by stabilization.

Which version of chrome are you using? I use chrome and it renders fine. Nevertheless, ill check it out.
 
Kiopa_Matt said:
You should make the mouse cursor a cartoon gorilla, and make him throw bananas every time someone clicks their mouse. It'll be fun!
Click to expand...

Haha. Indeed it would be fun. If i had the knowledge to do that, i would implement that. It would at least extend the visit length. :P
 
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