New Blog/Site design!--Feedback please

[Ginger]

Hi everyone,

Ive been working feverishly on the new site design which I got from www.solostream.com. The creator Michael Pollard is absolutely AWESOME in that he really answered every one of my nit picky questions. I am quite possibly in love with it because I think its such a fab representation of what I want the site to be and convey to my readers.

Poke around and tell me what you think. This is compatible with both IE and Mozilla.


www.girlsjustwannahavefunds.com

[Ginger]

Im not being paid for this, so just sharing. Just wanted to make that clear.

[The Honest Dollar]

I think it's better than your old design, but it could still be improved. I'm going to be critical with my thoughts below, but hopefully it'll be constructive - don't think I'm trying to be mean!

You should put in more white space, since everything looks cluttered. Skelliewag.org (a blog on blogging) has some great articles on the importance of white space and simplicity. Skellie actually doesn't write that much; it took me a couple of hours to read through all the articles, but it's all great advice for bloggers, from both design and content perspectives.

I don't like how pixelated a lot of your pictures appear. Not sure what the issue is - was this by design? Still, it's better than ripping off iStockphoto samples.

You should definitely have your giant subscribe button above the fold. That's critical for people who just glance at your site - give them an easy way of returning.

The pink is hard to see against lighter backgrounds. I get how you want to keep a consistent color scheme, but maybe you can pick a light pink for dark gray backgrounds and a darker pink (like a deep mauve) for main content text (titles and links).

I feel like there should be clearer separations between the articles. Scrolling down quickly, it's a little hard to tell where one ends and another begins.

I'm a little confused about why some pictures only show up when you go to a single post page, but not on the main page. I think having pictures on the home page will be nice for casual readers. (Also, do the pictures appear on your feed if they're not on the home page?)

I like how your monthly archives give previews of the articles. I don't like how they all have the same picture.

Gravatars are cute, but when most of your readers don't have them, you just have a bunch of Gravatar logos. I don't think it would take away too much if you got rid of the Gravatars.

Repeat ads look weird.

Mmm ... that's all I got. Assume that if I didn't mention an element of the new design, I liked it.

[Ginger]

Originally Posted by The Honest Dollar

I think it's better than your old design, but it could still be improved. I'm going to be critical with my thoughts below, but hopefully it'll be constructive - don't think I'm trying to be mean!

You should put in more white space, since everything looks cluttered. Skelliewag.org (a blog on blogging) has some great articles on the importance of white space and simplicity. Skellie actually doesn't write that much; it took me a couple of hours to read through all the articles, but it's all great advice for bloggers, from both design and content perspectives.
I see where you're coming from but right now I am more concerned with the layout than I am with white space, that will be taken into consideration over time as I get things settled down.

I don't like how pixelated a lot of your pictures appear. Not sure what the issue is - was this by design? Still, it's better than ripping off iStockphoto samples.
Still working out this aspect of the design. A bit too involved to explain here though. Ill be working on it this weekend.

You should definitely have your giant subscribe button above the fold. That's critical for people who just glance at your site - give them an easy way of returning.
This I can do.

The pink is hard to see against lighter backgrounds. I get how you want to keep a consistent color scheme, but maybe you can pick a light pink for dark gray backgrounds and a darker pink (like a deep mauve) for main content text (titles and links).
Ive went back and forth about this and still trying to get the "right" shade of pink that will show up clearly on all backgrounds, but I know one will suffer. Im ok with that.

I feel like there should be clearer separations between the articles. Scrolling down quickly, it's a little hard to tell where one ends and another begins.
That's why there is a gray and white block to separate each block. This is pretty clear to me.

I'm a little confused about why some pictures only show up when you go to a single post page, but not on the main page. I think having pictures on the home page will be nice for casual readers. (Also, do the pictures appear on your feed if they're not on the home page?)
No I didnt want thumbnails for every post as that would have made the front page a bit more involved/busy that it needed to be. When readers go to the single post they get the full picture and post. I think thats enough and the point of keeping the design simple on the front page. Still this is a work in progress.

I like how your monthly archives give previews of the articles. I don't like how they all have the same picture.
Not much I plan to do about this unless I have some free time. That is the default picture of the design and until I get some more free time it'll have to do for now.

Gravatars are cute, but when most of your readers don't have them, you just have a bunch of Gravatar logos. I don't think it would take away too much if you got rid of the Gravatars.

I like them, so this part is a keeper. But may be a consideration as I get deeper into customizing the design.

Repeat ads look weird.

Mmm ... that's all I got. Assume that if I didn't mention an element of the new design, I liked it.

I take it you didnt like most of it LOL! That's ok, my responses are in bold.

[Milehimama]

I think you need:
A larger, more memorable header

Darker pink for the text - especially on the gray boxes.

Better quality pix - it looks like maybe they were saved as thumbnail size, then blown up. Have you tried Morguefile or the Library of Congress free photos on Flickr?

Your sidebars are too short and are uneven. You can keep scrolling down for content, but the sidebars disappear leaving a big white hole. Perhaps you can fill in with a "Best of" list, blogroll, etc. further down the page?

Your "continue reading" link occurs at the end of the article, instead of at an "excerpt" length. Perhaps if you fix the excerpt portion, your content wouldn't scroll so much longer than the sidebars.

Also, you might reword your "About Ginger" paragraph, and perhaps move it off to one of the sidebars (and make more room for that memorable, branded header!)

[USCGamecocks]

Solid layout. I like it. I would suggest limiting the number of post on one page. There is so much to scroll and I think it's a bit much.

I would suggest changing, "BlogHer Ad Network" to Advertise Here or Advertise With Us

There is two copyrights on the page. One in the footer and one under house rules.

Blend your Adsense to match the rest of the theme.

I like ok love the new script on the front page. I like the CNN effects of clicking through the featured articles.

If your interested I will work on a logo for your site for the header. Not sure if you care for me to, just offering. Wouldn't mind.

Best of luck!

[purplefdu]

The little blue Gravatar things are supposed to be pictures? Well then that takes care of my biggest thing. However making it a requirement to be a member/download something to see the blog as you made it is a bit restrictive and not something everyone is likely to do. I assume its cute, but I don't need to join another program that I may never use again, lol.

I definitely have issues finding the beginning/end of posts. I have a light LCD and can barely see the darker grey. A larger title or different color would make this easier.

Everything else I noticed has been beat to death so I won't repeat it

Love the title, and the articles are pretty good as well. Love the pink and grey color scheme. Very girly yet chic.

[Ginger]

Hey USC-I'll PM you in a few.

Thanks Purple-Ive made some changes and will continue to make some over the weekend.

Thanks for the feedback everyone! Im working on it!