Ways To Improve Blog?

Professor Snugglesworth

Since this is more about the technical aspects of a blog rather than personal ones, I figured it would be more appropriate to ask for advice here.

So as some of you might know, I run a gaming-focused blog, which you can access anytime by clicking my sig. Primarily, the blog is to collect and show off my reviews and news articles that I've written for various websites, and also to potentially attract new sites who may be interested in hiring me.

But it's also an avenue to express my opinions on topics of interest. Recently I've decided to add more personal articles to the blog in addition to the reviews.

But I've also been trying to find ways I could improve the overall layout and content of the blog, if any are needed. My first goal was to pick a basic template that also had a light font, so anyone could read it easily. But is it too basic? What are some things I should add to the layout?

I've also tried to find a way to add spoiler tags, like the ones used on this site.

And how about the content? Right now I've gotten into a Final Fantasy tangent, and plan to write several sequential articles on the subject, but I've also discussed other types of series and genres. Would writing a string of FF articles alienate readers, or is it better to stick to one subject?

And lastly, what's a good way to increase awareness of the blog? I've got it linked to my sig, although I'm not sure how many people know that it's there to click. I've also got it linked to my Twitter so that every new post is posted there. I'd say the hits are decent enough for a personal blog, but if there's a way to get more views, I'd like to hear about it.

ben0207

I would say switch away from such a stock Wordpress theme / layout might be a nice start.

Content wise - it's well written, but ultimately just long form versions of the same shit I see on forums. Try something more interesting. Your post on Metroid Prime was good, but you need to push a little harder. Be funny, or be informative, or be bloody well researched, because this awkward middle fo ground of research article / opinion piece isn't working for you.

FyreWulff

Need less commas (I have that problem too, I put commas where I'd stop for a moment if I was speaking).

A little word heavy. People that frequent these forums might like wall of texts, but if I was the average reader who was linked to your site i'd be like HOLY SHIT EJECT EJECT. Use jump links and only show the first paragraph and let them click through to read the rest of the article. As it is, the Final Fantasy entry takes forever to scroll down past to even get to the Metroid Prime article. In fact, I only knew a Prime article was there because the previous poster mentioned it. You're burying your past content without jump links.

Turn off comments.

Don't apologize for not updating at the top of every post. Lots of people find that irritating because it has nothing to do with the content that comes right after it.

edit: also the About sidebar is overkill for what is supposed to be a quick glance, it looks like another article is sitting there and adds to the visual text weight of the page. You also get double vision if you click 'About' in the upper right hand corner.. keep the extended version for that specific page, slim down the front page version.

Zerokku

Have to second the wall of text bit. I understand you having a lot you want to say but that is incredibly overkill. I didn't think it was too bad until I was scrolling down and realized all the sections were part of the same initial post I had started reading. Use Jump Links.

That and get away from the standard wordpress layouts.

If you're willing to pay some money to really get it looking good I could recommend my sister-in-law's graphic design business. I'll link it to you if you're interested.

Oh and actually link to your blog. Until reading this post I had no clue your sig was a link. I figured it was just a picture. Post a small link or url under the pic.

Professor Snugglesworth

FyreWulff wrote: »

Need less commas (I have that problem too, I put commas where I'd stop for a moment if I was speaking).

A little word heavy. People that frequent these forums might like wall of texts, but if I was the average reader who was linked to your site i'd be like HOLY SHIT EJECT EJECT. Use jump links and only show the first paragraph and let them click through to read the rest of the article. As it is, the Final Fantasy entry takes forever to scroll down past to even get to the Metroid Prime article. In fact, I only knew a Prime article was there because the previous poster mentioned it. You're burying your past content without jump links.

Turn off comments.

Don't apologize for not updating at the top of every post. Lots of people find that irritating because it has nothing to do with the content that comes right after it.

edit: also the About sidebar is overkill for what is supposed to be a quick glance, it looks like another article is sitting there and adds to the visual text weight of the page. You also get double vision if you click 'About' in the upper right hand corner.. keep the extended version for that specific page, slim down the front page version.

Commas have been a bit of a habit that's been hard to break, but that was something I worked on as I was originally criticized for overdoing it on paragraphs (a habit that still resurfaces now and then....see! There I go again!).

When you say "too wordy", do you mean that I'm taking too long to get to the point, or that I'm adding too much information? I do feel sometimes I overdo it, but I also feel that if I'm not expressing the reasons for my opinions clearly, then I might as well be no different from a guy who posts "this game sux lol". I'm hoping the walls of text shows the average reader that I put a lot of thought into my opinions.

As for jump links, it's funny you mention that, because the last time I asked for blog feedback, the people here said that jump links were bad because the average reader won't bother clicking a link just to read the whole article. I could go either way, but right now opinions have been split on this.

I don't see the harm in leaving comments. I only approve what doesn't sound like spam or overall incoherent trash.

Apologizing for delayed posts is something I'll stop doing. It does feel like incompetence, in hindsight.

I didn't think the sidebar was too distracting, but I am using a widescreen monitor. Should I shorten it to a couple of sentences or just get rid of it altogether?

Zerokku wrote: »

Oh and actually link to your blog. Until reading this post I had no clue your sig was a link. I figured it was just a picture. Post a small link or url under the pic.

I'd love to, but the last time I posted a small link, I would get a mod warning. I'm not sure what the best approach would be. An arrow to the right of the sig followed by a "click this" text?

Professor Snugglesworth

Added links on my sig, cleaned the About page, and changed to a new layout.

What do you think?

TychoCelchuuu

I think each post could use a thumbnail picture.

Professor Snugglesworth

Not a bad idea, but how do I do that?

Also, still wondering if it's possible to add spoiler tags.

TychoCelchuuu

Make a small picture and put it before the jump?

Professor Snugglesworth

How small would it have to be in order to fit with the current layout? Small icons ala PA's front page would be pretty neat, indicating a theme, but I would have to know the exact dimensions before commiting to that.

TychoCelchuuu

I'm not at my main computer right now so I can't just open up Photoshop and measure but it looks like, I dunno, 75-100 pixels wide?

Professor Snugglesworth

Might be out of my Photoshop range in making it look good.

But you know what I would like to put? Some sort of highlight that always pops up on the newest post. The way that grid layout is...laid out, it might be useful to have some sort of "New!" icon or something similar to indicate that the page has been updated. This possible?

FyreWulff

That would probably lead to visual clutter. People will be able to tell if something is new by just looking at the date, or their RSS reader will notify them anyway.