Thu 23 Aug 2007
I stumbled across this website - Blog Duck - today, and have now spent a little while reading the last few posts.
The layout is nice, clean and clear which makes the reading of what he has to say that much easier on the eyes! The content of the site is there to offer hints and tips to bloggers on making their blogs better and hopefully attract more readers.
The latest post today was what really struck a chord with me as it concerned the design of a blog - I’m sure anyone who has a blog will empathise with the ongoing desire to change the design and layout. I’ve only had this blog a couple of months and I’ve changed it a few times already!
My only slight complaint - and it’s not restricted to just this blog by any means - is the row of icons at the bottom of each post. These allow you to link to the post from a multitude of bookmarking and social networking sites, etc - personally I’m not a fan of this but it’s becoming more popular everywhere these days!
Another post on the site sent me further on to the Fair Review website, which seems like a pretty unique initiative set up by Rhys Wynne in a bid to attract more visitors to blogs and create more of a community atmosphere to the blogging world.
August 25th, 2007 at 7:39 pm
Blog Duck - fair to middling design, nothing to write home about. It’s weakness is that it meanders off into the white space around it - it needs more definite boundaries to lead the eye more naturally to the content. I’m not a great fan of cartoon headers either, although that’s a matter of taste, I suppose.
As regards your own blog, Craig, I think it’s good. I know it’s a template but you have begun to personalise it with the header photo (much better than that weird tunnel photo of the original). I would be tempted to take the AdSense block within the post, reduce it to the banner, text link, type only and stick that below the header. You have three AdSense types (the maximum allowed) and the other two are neat and unobtrusive exactly where they are.
Just my thoughts…
August 27th, 2007 at 9:24 pm
Thanks for taking the time to give me your thoughts Clive - I’m pretty new to all this (hence the reason for using WordPress and their available templates on the first place!) so any pointers are gratefully appreciated.
I still need to get a better pic for the header, though I like the fact it’s one of my own for now at least.
As for the AdSense blocks, they were set up as part of this Connections theme so I haven’t even thought about moving them about to be honest.
Slowly but surely I’m adding things, removing things and also rearranging things as I’m starting to have new ideas and find out about different options so it’s definitely something I’ll bear in mind.
Thanks again - and thanks also for all your comments