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Post by kkelly10 on Nov 10, 2014 21:05:23 GMT
Hi everyone! I am excited to connect with other parent bloggers, and to gain some advice from the mentors. My blog is Ready, Set, Parenthood! I started the blog about a year and a half ago, but have been working on it seriously for the past year. I started on Blogger and moved to a self-hosted Wordpress site about 6 months ago. I blog about our parenting experiences, family-friendly events in Cleveland, occasional DIY projects, and do reviews and giveaways relevant to my audience. I would love some feedback about blog design and organization. Since my initial transfer to Wordpress, I haven't done much with this. Any feedback and criticism would be great! Thank you! Kristen
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Post by danakml on Nov 11, 2014 0:22:58 GMT
Hi Kristen! I just spent a few minutes browsing around on your blog - you have lots of great resources! I love your blog name, and between your header and your about widget on the sidebar, it's easy to get a feel for who you are and what you blog about pretty quickly. Overall I think your organization is good, and your menu and site are easy to navigate. I like your home page, with snippets of most recent posts so a new reader can quickly browse. Your social media buttons are front and center, and your sidebar is neat and uncluttered. I checked out your blog on my iPad, and it looks great on a mobile device. That being said, I'm going to get really nit picky about some design aspects. Please know I'm not a blog designer; these are just my suggestions based on my experience with my own blog and visiting tons of others. I'm speaking both as a user and a fellow blogger. -Your media kit opens oddly - it's over top of your sidebar. Not sure why that is. Could that open to a new tab instead? I think the first part of your media kit (about us/our blog) should be its own tab - I was looking for more info on you and I wasn't sure where to get it. Maybe a "learn more" link under your about widget? Or a "meet us" tab in your menu. - I would ditch the guest posts tab, at least for now. You only have one, and it can be categorized under parenthood. - Since your most recent posts are on your home page, you may want to change your recent posts to popular posts on your sidebar. That may encourage readers to stick around. - I would unclutter your footer by putting all of those badges on a page called "where i belong," which you could add to your menu. - My biggest issue, and I hope you won't take offense, is with your blocks wallpaper. I have a 22" Mac, and the blocks are overwhelming. They are bright and busy and make it hard to focus on your writing, which is what I want to focus on. On my iPad, it's much better, because the wallpaper only peeks out of the background. I think the pattern distracts from your content, and I can't read the footer menu well either. Check out www.viewlike.us to see how your site looks on different devices. Maybe a solid background, or something with a subtler background? Just an idea. Hope that helps! Dana
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Post by Crystal@ Tidbits of Experience on Nov 11, 2014 1:37:26 GMT
Kristen,
Dana covered your site in full detail. All of the details she mentioned, I agreed with completely. Especially concerning the block background. I would add though to have your popular posts on your media kit open up to those posts when you click on them.
-Crystal
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Post by kkelly10 on Nov 11, 2014 3:06:26 GMT
Dana and Crystal,
Thank you both for your feedback! I haven't had much time to give thought to my blog design and organization, so this is very helpful. I chose the blocks on Blogger because they were the best option I had, and just kept with it when I moved to Wordpress. I am not tied to them at all, so will absolutely change them.
Thank you for the advice! I am excited to get to tweaking!
Kristen
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Post by kkelly10 on Nov 13, 2014 12:12:18 GMT
I made a few of the changes already. I picked a new background. Are the polka dots still too busy? I'll be working on some more tweaks this weekend.
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Post by kkelly10 on Nov 13, 2014 17:38:53 GMT
I changed it again to a Chevron design after some feedback from my tribe.
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Post by danakml on Nov 13, 2014 21:46:10 GMT
So much better, Kristen! Now the focus is on your content, not the blocks. I wonder if there is any way to make the yellow match the yellow in your header? But I much prefer the two color background to the busier one.
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