As you’ve probably seen, The Blog Herald doesn’t look they way it used to. This is intentional, luckily, and part of our efforts to get better at everything. That’s the goal after all, so let’s be frank about it.
I mentioned the relaunch with a new design when I took over as the editor a few months back. I would’ve wanted to do it sooner, but you can’t get everything you want, and besides, the poor designer’s schedule was really full. Being my schedule, I did the design, and I hope you like it.
So let’s talk a little bit about the relaunch, shall we?
The New Beta Version
First of all, let’s get something straight right away: This site is currently in beta, which means that some things might not function properly just yet. This is due to a number of things, the most prominent one being that The Blog Herald is chock full of content, had a ridiculous amount of categories, and have a history that isn’t to be taken lightly. In other words, there’s a lot of stuff going on with the archives, the categorization, and with tagging. I’ll be keeping it in beta until everything works more or less as intended. Or at least until the full footer is up…!
That being said, this new version is fully functional, so you can browse the archives, or visit the brand new tag cloud, knowing that it behaves decently enough to be released to the public. We will update the site as usual, as well, so stick around.
About the New Design
Hottest tags, always to the left
The new design brings the content back in focus, which should mean a better flow and a more natural reading experience. We’ve got a simple top menu to make sure that you can dive into any main area of the site at any time, and the latest stories listed in traditional blog behaviour.
The small left column lists the hottest topics right now, being tags of course, which is something that The Blog Herald haven’t had before. This means that the archive isn’t properly tagged (yet), but everything new and most of the most recent updates are, so you can track what’s hot just by looking at this list, and read our extensive coverage of the various topics by clicking the links. Don’t forget the larger tag cloud either.
A site like The Blog Herald have a lot of needs, from traditional ads to linking other sites within the network, there are simply a lot of needs. That brought clutter to the previous version, something that isn’t entirely erased (again, out of need) but at least kept to a minimum.
I think I’ll leave you at that. Click around, try stuff out, see what you think. Personally, I think that the 100 latest stories page is a nice addition, making it easier to read up when you’ve been away for a few days. There’s more funky stuff on its way, so keep an eye out for new things here on The Blog Herald.
For now, thanks for reading, looking forward to your comments, and have a great weekend!
Author: Thord Daniel Hedengren
Thord Daniel Hedengren is a designer, writer, and blogger, and also the former editor of The Blog Herald. He used to be a hotshot in the gaming industry in Sweden, but sold everything and went International. Most recently he wrote a book called Smashing WordPress: Beyond the Blog, and does loads of kickass design.
Nice one!
That’s what I’d call a felicitous relaunch.
Smile! Gerrit – We speak Online.
Love the new design. There’s a lot less clutter and more focus on the content in the centre of the page. :)
Really nice, more clear and more attractive..
Your new design is good. Keep up the good work
Well done — very nice design. Any chance of releasing it for use?
Much better.
Thanks for the kind words, everybody!
@David,
No, sorry, at least not until we’re launching another one, then perhaps.
Your post starts “As you’ve probably seen, The Blog Herald doesn’t look they way it used to.”
As someone who’s a long-time subscriber to your RSS feed, I hadn’t seen as I don’t visit the site. So the first I knew was those words in the post which I read in my feed reader. Naturally, I jumped over here to take a look.
If you don’t write a post about a new blog design, people like me will never know. So thanks for writing it.
Btw, the design is very nice :)
Very nice, good work!
I like it better because the typography on old design is hard to read
yeah it is very well . the new design is very beauty.
i like it.
Do you really need the line “Want an avatar? Get a gravatar!” under every single comment? Maybe only have it appear if the commenter doesn’t have an image defined.
I like the new design enormously. But the ad next to the logo in the header detracts incredibly from the logo’s identity.
Thanks for the kind words, all!
@Neville Hobson
The perhaps it is about time to start reading The Blog Herald on blogherald.com then! Nevertheless, thanks for stopping by, and enjoy your full RSS feed.
@Michael Clark
Perhaps not, although the readership is very diverse so I think it is best to be clear about it. Still, I’ll see if I can’t tone it down a bit.
@Jon
Thanks. Yeah, it is not a good ad to have. The sales department are working on it.
much better.
Im really not liking the new design. First the Blog Herald title doesnt stand out enough.. and i really hate when it is next to a 468 ad, because the 468 just makes your blog title seem useless.
I like the fact that the design is simple. 3 column.. with 125 ads in the right column.. like every other blog on the internet, but the articles still seem to be a little cluttered.. and mix in with the left cloumn too much.. it is a little weird on the eye.
I just think this design goes in the wrong direction for the site!!
Confusing. Sorry, I don’t like it.
Wow, certainly a change that will take some getting used to. I like the more informed footer and some of the other elements of the site, but it sure looks to me like an overload of text everywhere.
@Prince Campbell,
Thanks!
@Steven Finch,
Ads are a tough nut to crack, the standard formats might not be very funny to work with, nor is the positioning of them, but income is necessary for a site like The Blog Herald. The single posts will be a bit tightened up, we’re still in beta and I’ll be de-cluttering them asap.
@Eduf,
Sorry to here that. What is it that you’re finding confusing, exactly?
@Jeffro2pt0,
Thanks. There IS a lot of text, we’re a text-focused blog after all. I’ll see what I can do about it though.
The design is excellent. It is very clean and easy to use. I wish I had your skills!
@Zane Waltz,
Thanks a lot!
loved this new look … really awesome … the design itself attracts me to the content ..
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