Tech blog review required

Discussion in 'Websites' started by Perryb2009, Aug 5, 2009.

  1. #1
    Hi,
    I have started a blog named Techvorm, containing information related to softwares, blogging, wordpress, software reviews, game reviews, etc

    The url is www.techvorm.com

    I Would really appreciate if you guys ( or girls ) can give an honest opinion about its design, content, ad positioning, load time, etc

    Thanks
     
    Perryb2009, Aug 5, 2009 IP
  2. indigochild

    indigochild Peon

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    #2
    Looks very good and professional to me. Keep on!
     
    indigochild, Aug 5, 2009 IP
  3. Perryb2009

    Perryb2009 Peon

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    #3
    Glad you liked it. Thanks for your time.
     
    Perryb2009, Aug 5, 2009 IP
  4. mushroomdigi

    mushroomdigi Peon

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    #4
    That's a decent design, the way the content comes down the pages reminds me a little of mashable.com.

    Much like mashable, it might be worth dropping the tweet next to the news posts to get people to tweet the news and get it out there a bit more, which of course in turns brings more traffic back to you.

    You need a logo, just something simple. I bet you could get someone to design you a simple one for free on a web design forum. Young people trying out their own skills would do it for you.

    The Write & Advertise on the right, I think that would be better and more obvious if they looked like buttons. 'Write for TechVorm' & 'Advertise with TechVorm'.

    I wouldn't use the Tmobile logo as your favicon, if you can get a design to knock you a logo up. There is plenty of websites that will generate a favicon for you. I use this one - tools.dynamicdrive.com/favicon/

    If your getting comments, perhaps you could show some on the home page so that you are getting new content appearing even when your not blogging.

    That's about it for now, good luck with the site.
     
    mushroomdigi, Aug 5, 2009 IP
  5. MikeMcRae

    MikeMcRae Peon

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    #5
    Looks nice and clean.

    +1 on needing a spiffy matching logo though. Brand yourself! :)
     
    MikeMcRae, Aug 5, 2009 IP
  6. claire0917

    claire0917 Peon

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    #6
    It looks very professional, but I think you really need a logo.
    The slider is very nice but I want to have some control.. It doesn't allow me to go back or give me enough time to finish reading, and one of the posts there shows script error.

    I think the Popular Posts section needs more links.. and I'm not sure if the excerpt is needed there; since it's already popular, people will be curious.

    Btw, in your category menu, "Softwares" should be "Software". It is already considered plural.
     
    claire0917, Aug 5, 2009 IP
  7. Perryb2009

    Perryb2009 Peon

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    #7
    @Mushroomdigi Thanks for your time, never expected such a detailed analysis but am happy that members at DP do take pains to review blogs and give suggestions.

    Regarding tweet button, i first thought of putting one but didnt as i dont have much of a traffic as of now. But now that you have said it, i will definately put that option.

    I am not good at designing logos but as you said the forums are best place, can you suggest me some forum ? And i thought nobody would realise that the favicon is a Tmobile logo ;) but i was wrong ! Will change that too asap.

    Re: Comments
    I have got around 72 comments but they are coming at regular intervals. And where should i show it ( in sidebar ) ?
     
    Perryb2009, Aug 5, 2009 IP
  8. Perryb2009

    Perryb2009 Peon

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    #8
    @Claire I really dont know how to control the slider or put stop button beneath it, not a techie at all ! You said popular section needs more links, can you explain it further ? Thanks for pointing out the grammatical error, will rectify it asap.

    And yeah thanks for your time !
     
    Perryb2009, Aug 6, 2009 IP
  9. mushroomdigi

    mushroomdigi Peon

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    #9
    No problem, try the forum on www.sitepoint.com.

    The tmobile thing... I can spot anything, hawk eye... well with websites, I have ruined my eyesight staring at stuff so much!
     
    mushroomdigi, Aug 6, 2009 IP
  10. xDemevenx

    xDemevenx Well-Known Member

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    #10
    Nice, simplistic design. I agree on the logo thing though, it needs to be revamped. Otherwise, nice site =)
     
    xDemevenx, Aug 6, 2009 IP
  11. Perryb2009

    Perryb2009 Peon

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    #11
    @mushroomdigi Thanks for the link.

    @xDemevenx Glad you liked the blog !
     
    Perryb2009, Aug 6, 2009 IP
  12. Perryb2009

    Perryb2009 Peon

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    #12
    Please let me know the load time for my blog and how do you find it.
     
    Perryb2009, Aug 6, 2009 IP
  13. commb

    commb Peon

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    #13
    I like it, but i have some comments:
    The layout can be recreated to look more professionally. And the advertising is a little annoying

    THanks
     
    commb, Aug 6, 2009 IP
  14. Perryb2009

    Perryb2009 Peon

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    #14
    @commb Thanks for the opinion and Which adspot did you find annoying ?

    Also as i said above in one of my comments, i am not a techie and hence cant play with HTML or CSS, however if you could alter the theme, i will happily place a link to your blog in the footer section !
     
    Perryb2009, Aug 6, 2009 IP
  15. vinoth2vinoth

    vinoth2vinoth Peon

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    #15
    Ad position is not good dude. But I don't recommend you to concentrate more on ads now as your blog is new and you need to build traffic first. Once you get enough traffic , tweak your ads and experiment with it until you get more from it.
     
    vinoth2vinoth, Aug 6, 2009 IP
  16. Perryb2009

    Perryb2009 Peon

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    #16
    @vinoth What ad positioning do you recommend ?
     
    Perryb2009, Aug 6, 2009 IP
  17. vinoth2vinoth

    vinoth2vinoth Peon

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    #17
    well here is my suggestion. Hey I'm not an expert in this but still I can help you :)

    1. you can remove that Wide Skyscraper at the end of the blog it may go unnoticed most of the time.
    2. You can add a text link ad (728x15) just below the second menu bar
    3. I see the ad in the above the post which is blended well to match the post background. check the border of the ad. I can see the white color border change it to post background color. This will make your ad looks a part of a site.
    4. Check my hacking website blog in my sig. the post and the ad should start together parallel(side by side)
    5. Once you remove the Wide Skyscraper, you can add another ad just above the comment section. Here I recommend you to use Banner (468 x 60) image only

    Note : These are just my suggestions don't always stick to this format. You have to experiment a lot with the ad position until you find one format which is best.
     
    vinoth2vinoth, Aug 6, 2009 IP
  18. pantho

    pantho Banned

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    #18
    site looks really professional and it needs a good theme
     
    pantho, Aug 6, 2009 IP
  19. Perryb2009

    Perryb2009 Peon

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    #19
    @vinoth Really appreciate your suggestions.
    Will remove the wide sky scraper, i had put it watching some of the successfull blogs :)
    About placing ads below menu bar, i want to add but as told earlier, i dont really have knowledge about doing so ! And you said, post and ad should go side by side, you mean the ad should be placed in the sidebar next to post.
    Again thanks for the detailed analysis !
     
    Perryb2009, Aug 6, 2009 IP
  20. Perryb2009

    Perryb2009 Peon

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    #20
    @trumpet So you dont like the theme. What exactly you dislike about the existing layout ? And what do you suggest ?
     
    Perryb2009, Aug 6, 2009 IP