I recently made some design/layout changes, and am afraid it may look too busy. Any ideas? http://www.bradsblog.net/
Well since I am new my opinion may not weigh that much to you but you have alot of information that is excellent but it does look like you can add some to the left and not so much in the middle so it wong be so long. I am just going from my opinion on what makes me stay on websites. Again I am new so dont beat me up too hard.
Yes, it's too busy looking for my eyes. I wouldn't stay on this blog for more then a few seconds, if I came across it. Try blending your ads better. Move the "List your Blog" to the bottom (or remove it all together). The first thing I thought was "he must have read that ad's at the top of a page have a better click through ratio" I've been working on blending my ads better and the click through ratio has increased in all cases. Here are my blogs: Personal Fashion Lingerie
Comments: 1. Consider revising the Black/Green background at the top. It doesn't seem to fit too well. it's too big and kinda distracting to me. 2. I'm still not sure what the "theme" is for your site. It appears to be various musings by Brad? The title "BradsBlog" also could use some help. It's too generic and unless you become well-known for something, most won't have much interest. 3. It's non-targeted busy. If this was a dog blog and the ads/links were about dogs, it would work. Just ask yourself this question "Why is John Smith going to read my blog?"
I like the "related posts" plugin you're using. Generally, I like the layout. The only issue I see is the constant Adsense ads in between articles. The top and right side should be enough. Unless you are running a huge network of blogs interlinking with each other, the focus should be on retaining the reader and building credibility so he/she clicks. A smooth reading experience is necessary and too many ads makes this cumbersome. Overall, it's a decent looking blog.
WRT "too busy," I think it looks like many other blogs. I think most blog readers have learned to tune out the extraneous content. At the same time, the extras are in the expected spots: search, profile/about, contact info, categories and archives. The only major change I might suggest is to lose one of your search boxes. There Can Be Only One.
Thank you all for the input. I made a couple of changes 1. I removed one of the search bars. I had planned on doing this anyway, I put the google onein this morning. 2. I did away with the links ads in the header. The biggest problem I am facing is the focus of the blog. When I started this blog I didnt give it much thught. Now that I want to change direction, I feel as though I am stuck because I have a lot invested in the content already. Should I cut bait and narow the focus? Or should I stick with the way it is now.
I would stick with it. My personal blog definately doesn't have one particular focus and it gets decent traffic. Each post you make has it's own page, which is where search engine traffic is going to land. For example my blog ranks #1 in Google for good boobs, not because I always blog about boobs, but because the one post I did make is titled "Good Boobs Vs. Bad Boobs", which in turn matches the title tag for that page. And, no, I was not trying to rank for "good boobs", it just happened...haha. The changes you made look WAY better, by the way. Good work! I still don't like the "List Your Blog" ad at the top (I'd rather see content 1st, ads 2nd), but hey, it's your blog . What about adding adsense ads to your individual posts, since that is where target traffic is going to be landing?
The top is fine, but once I scroll down, it does begin to look too busy, I'd get rid of a little bit.
Summer, the only reason I have the list your blog ad on there is because I am trying to promote that site. It is only temporary. I have decided to continue with this blog, but instead narow the focus to reviews only. I think I might revert to my old blogger blog until I can get something new going for other things. What do you think?
it make me dizzzzzzy .. can't read more than 1 minutes .. try to use soft colors such as light orange .. or blue ..
The site looks ok, jusst lengthy, I would move the catagoriz up, and the links at the bottom are overrighting wome of your graphics. Hope that helps Pit
I found the inline ads too distracting to keep reading. I'm defintely one of those who tend to wander to adsense in the margins rather than tripping on it at the end of a post. I've seen similar word press theme but methinks this one has been a tad overtweaked. Also, I'm using IE and the links at the bottom are definitely out of whack.