Help Me Help My Blog! (January's Thread)

[Maw Books]

Many of us would love a place to ask specific questions about our blogs and get your input! So, I think this is how it will work and if you have any ideas, let me know. If we can discuss 1-2 blogs a week or about 4-8 blogs a month that would be great. There are a lot of us and I don't want anybody to have to wait if they are anxious. I will start a new thread in February to start fresh again.

So if you would like your blog critiqued, then feel free to post here your url, your goals, and what type of input you are looking for. The more specific you are the more we can help. I'm sure we'll all be nice! And remember, it's your blog. Just because somebody mentions something doesn't mean it will be right for you.

So, if there are a couple of you that would like help, then go right ahead!

EDITED TO ADD: Let's try to keep the comments threaded underneath each blog that is getting reviewed, that way it's easy to figure out the conversation. Thanks!

[Phoebe Jordan]

Thanks Trish for the advice and I've taken some to considertion and have done them and some I don't agree with. Thanks for taking the time to go to my blog and help me out.

[Trish Collins]

I think you've done a great job! Really, I'm totally impressed. Natasha made a good point about font color, but other than that, I think you've made your blog much easier to navigate, read, and it's much more professional. :-)

Another thing to remember is that your blog will evolve over time. That's one thing I love (personally): that a blog is dynamic, not static.

Kudos to you!

[Phoebe Jordan]

Thanks Natashia for all the great advice which some I agree with and some I don't. I did clean up the clutter in my sidebars and I will be playing around with it for a bit. Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog to help me out because I appreciate everyones advice and opinion.

[Maw Books]

I already really like the changes that you've made. The organization is making a lot more sense. One other thing that I just noticed that you may want to consider (or not! LOL) is how many font colors you are using. When I was scrolling down I stopped and counted at least five different colors, including red text which I think is difficult to read. You may want to choose just a few colors that compliment each other.

Any other ideas for Phoebe anyone?

[meg89]

Okay -- I managed to find a template to upload that works (tell me if you've seen it). I don't if I like it yet, but I think it's a step in the right direction.

Thanks so much for the help, I really appreciate it!

[Nicola O.]

Hi Meg,
I didn't see you blog before you changed the template -- looks like it could use a couple of tweaks:

- The title should be offset more toward the right so that the "L" doesn't hang off the green block.
- Can you increase the width of the posting area? It's really narrow.
- You should also be able to add a little (5-10px) float space to the left of your text. It runs right into the left margin.

I really like the color scheme and the "paper" design of the elements on the blog. Very elegant and pretty.

[meg89]

Okay, working on this new template, and I realize that the comments are messed up, the author of the comment ends up looking like the author comment down, etc. Very confusing. If anyone knows what's going on and how to fix the code, I'd appreciate it. I don't know anything about the HTML.

[Amy]

By the way, if any of you can afford to, I really recommend getting someone to design your blog. I personally didnt' think trying to figure out how to do it on my own was worth the headache. I think you can find some customized designs or pre-mades for as cheap as 25-30 dollars. Just an idea.

[Trish Collins]

I've been looking for someone to design my new blog (woohoo!), and it's my understanding most blog designers start around $1500. :-(

What I'll be doing for my new blog is finding a template I like and then having someone tweak that.

[Maw Books]

That's what I'm doing. Using my same template but changing it. I'm thinking of approaching this girl. I'll let you know what I think if I do.

[Trish Collins]

LOL! That's who I was going to approach. Once I figure out what template I want and how I want it tweaked. Someone on Twitter recommended her to me...well, this girl is their niece or something, but it's more of a lead than I had before. :-)

[Maw Books]

I found her through Twitter too! I know I follow her but I can't remember who she is on Twitter. If I remember correctly, she loves books. Librarian related somehow? Who knows. So I thought that was cool - somebody who really understood the niche. Let's both hope that she's good.