“What do you think of my blog?”
“Do I have too many….?”
“What should I do about my colors?”
You’ve got questions about your blog’s design and I’ve got answers. Got a specific question or just want me to take a quick look and give a suggestion?
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Because today is the First Friday of the month which means it’s time for the “Dear Marianne” Blog Advice column, yay!
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So I’m one of those people who was inspired by your header poat to do something about mine, and I like me new one a lot, however I’m a bit concerned it’s too busy and louds
If I can sneak in another question here, someone recently suggested I start putting cuts/jumps in my posts because they’re so long. I think that’s a great idea, but I usually find it pretty annoying when I’m visiting a new blog and just want to read a few things quickly. What do you think?
Hi Claire! I think the new header is great! I don’t think it’s too busy and it’s very representative of your blog. Funny because I looked at it real quickly yesterday (but didn’t have time then to reply) and was going to suggest removing or lightening up the black borders, but looks like you already did!
The only thing I might suggest however is try to switch the logo (which looks very cool btw!) to the left. It feels like it’s a bit unbalanced having it right above your profile photo.
Dear Marianne
So excited about my journey with your 14 Blog Expert Tour, Fizzle and just get things done. 🙂
However it’s still so much to do and somehow I feel a bit lost with my blog design. I love my blog design in this magazine style instead of the traditional blog styles. As it’s still quit empty it may look a bit odd. Would have tons of questions, hahaha.
But what I would need help is about the header picture and colors.
1. just to have this square color bar with the blog name dosen’t really makes me happy. Do you have any suggestion?
2. on the slider below there is this rose picture and I think it dosen’t really matches well with the color header. So I would have to change somehow the color from the header pictures. What would be the best colors which matches the rose and relates to happiness and creativity?
Thank you so much for taking your time and help! 🙂
Hello Skye! I agree with your concerns and here’s what I suggest.
I know you like the magazine style ( i do too!) but it does look a little funny right now with not that much content because your content is now repeated 3 times on the home page. So it’s up to you whether or not you want to change themes til you have more content or just deal and write a lot in the next few months 😉
1. Yes the header with your blog name is too big. I think that if you want to keep the slider, you should keep your logo very simple. No background, just the logo on white and probably centered in the header. Look at this recent post for suggestions: http://designyourownblog.com/blog-design/inspiration/lovely-blog-headers/ I would suggest the centered lone logo style or the logo with navigation style. This will then allow the slider to move up the page a little and be noticeable “above the fold”
2. Removing the top header will take care of the problem of the rose photo not matching. But I would suggest making the slider smaller. It’s very tall and I actually don’t see the entire image on my laptop screen without scrolling.
Hope this helps!
I like simple, clean design but I think I took that too far. Is my site in general too clean? Do you think I am losing people because of the lack of “stuff?” I worry that it does not really scream I’m a professional because it just looks bare.
Thank you!
Not at all Asea! You’re a photographer so your photos should be the main attraction. I think the entire look is very clean and the focus is all on the photos. Great job!
What do you think about the color of my links in my blog post text? Right now, it’s a purple color that matches my color theme, but I’m afraid it’s not noticeable enough- especially when viewed on a mobile device. Do you think I should make the links a brighter, more noticeable color? If so, can you recommend a good color? Thanks for the opportunity to ask questions!
Hi Lisa!
Yes they are a little hard to see, not too bad, but they could probably stand out a little more. Try the dark orange from your header (#F38D14) and see how you like that. I like it as it adds a little pop of color to the rest of your page and definitely stands out more.
I’m a teensy bit late, but hopefully I can squeeze a last question in? I’m wondering if my header is too busy and amateur (for lack of a better word) looking. If you could also just take a look at the design of my homepage and give me some general feedback I would be hugely grateful. Thanks!
Hi Silvia,
No worries, I forgot to turn comments off anyway 😉
So I don’t think your header is too busy, however as cute as the graphic of you on the hill is, I’m not so sure the style of it blends with the rest of the design. :/
The only other thing I’d suggest is to move the sidebar on the home page all the way to the right and widen the post area. It looks like there should be something in that last column, but it’s empty so it looks unbalanced. I would stay away from a 3 column layout (if that’s what you’re inteneding) as they tend to get cluttered.
Hope that helps!