Comments on: Blog Design: WTF Is That Doing There?

By: sc

sc — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 07:10:08 +0000

jeez, some folks seem to be comparing personal and portfolio blogs with business/professional blogs. i consider 3 columns perfect to organize ads, menu and content. I also expect ads to be in the sidebar. there is something nice and neat about 125 by 125 ads. this series on clutter has been excellent all in all. i think this site layout is well-stocked and nicely organized, cant really ask for more. keep up the good work
.

By: Rob O.

Rob O. — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 23:15:05 +0000

I get flustered with blogs that have some much junk in their sidebars that the miniscule content column is a mere afterthought. Granted, I have no intention of monetizing my blog, but my aversion to clutter is why I went with a single-column design. There’s room at the top and bottom areas for navigation tabs and links, but the content doesn’t have to fight with sidebars, widgets, plugins, or any other doodads.

By: Marisa

Marisa — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 21:05:59 +0000

Great advice and yes, I’ve uncluttered the blog! Hell, I’ve even exorcised it.

I’ve uncluttered it so thoroughly, it doesn’t look like a blog anymore. :|

(sad.)

By: Lorelle VanFossen

Lorelle VanFossen — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 17:59:25 +0000

@ Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach: Good points. And for those not up on the jargon, USP in this context means Unique Selling Proposition.

By: Brock

Brock — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:07:45 +0000

As others have said, I hate flashing or otherwise animated ads. Those ads that expand across the screen are a whole new kind of evil, but those may not be on personal blogs as much as commercial sites.

I’d also agree about the inside sidebar on Blog Herald being too busy. Then again, I’m still trying to figure out the best way to clean up my sidebars (especially regarding archives, categories).

I won’t even say anything about myspace pages.

By: Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach

Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 09:29:40 +0000

I like:

RSS icons
Newsletter signups
Definitive here’s what in it for me statement

I dislike:

Confusion

One thing I did discover – whenever you declutter your blog, make certain you DON’T lose key elements (like your USP….)

Barbara

By: Lorelle VanFossen

Lorelle VanFossen — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:53:58 +0000

@ Rik: Your input is welcome but specifics would be even more welcome. Are you talking about my own personal blog, my business blogs, the Blog Herald, and which elements are the ones you find to be clutter?

By: GoingLikeSixty

GoingLikeSixty — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:52:30 +0000

How do you do it? You just hit the hot buttons regularly to make us think.
Nice job.

I rarely have trouble finding the content I want to read.
(Never mind the fact that I do most of my reading in RSS!)

I HATE: every myspace.com page. Every one.

I dislike:
-autoplay
-Huge headers that take forever to load and that I have to scroll past to read.
-”too clever” substitute words for category, contact, about, etc.

By: Rik

Rik — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:00:08 +0000

Have you looked at your own blog recently?

Please do. Thanks.

By: Brian Carnell

Brian Carnell — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:53:24 +0000

Umm, okay, but have you really looked at the Blog Herald theme lately? 40 shades of ugh. WTF is with the popularity of 3 column web designs with WordPress? They look like crap because they’re so busy. Look at all the different elements just on the page this article resides at. Ugh.

Why do they have to replicate most of the front page of the blog in the “news” column on each article page?

And the sad thing is, this site is one of the less busy on the web.

By: Megan

Megan — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:10:47 +0000

Love:
Comment feeds
RSS buttons that are easy to find
Search fields

Hate:
Anything that blinks
Widgets that tell me what time it is or how cold it is
Music I can’t turn off
Ads