New blog

[Currahee]

Hi there everyone!
I'm an avid gamer, and I recently started a blog about video games to create an outlet for my enthusiasm. Blogging is proving to be good fun, but my blog hasn't received much traffic yet. My blog can be found here, and I'd appreciate any feedback or criticism on it from anyone.

Thanks in advance!

[randall]

1. The page is too wide. Whether this is because the banner is too wide at the top or not, I am unsure, but definitely look into that. That left and right scrollbar is not generally a good thing.

2. I like that you filled out the About Me, but you should put it near the top of the right hand sidebar. It doesn't really format well at the top, and most people look to the right side of the page first.

3. The page is a bit long for me, and may lag some computers. Perhaps you could limit the number of posts that appear on the front page? (This may be done by going to your Design settings, and clicking "Edit" in the 'Posts' section, and then changing the number of posts displayed on the front page.)

4. There is something really wrong with having your News Reel, Blog Archive, and Welcome sections at the bottom of the page, under all of the posts. Put them in the sidebar, hopefully near the top. Especially since it's so far down, under all of those posts.

5. The layout is a little dull, and doesn't really relate to videogaming well. Perhaps you could find something that does? Customizing your layout is a great way to keep people coming back.

Overall, your blog is fine, but I'll get to why that won't cut it in a second. I like that you have your own personal taste to your posts. I also like that you include pictures. However, you need to define yourself. Why is your blog the gaming blog I should go to? I've seen thousands of gaming blogs. Add something special to yours that will keep them coming back.

Thanks for taking into consideration what I have to say. If you'd like to return the favor, you could leave some love on my blog. Link is in the signature; I'd appreciate it. ;D

[Currahee]

Hi randall,
Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it. I can't see a left and right scrollbar on my page if I view it, and I'm not sure what you mean; on my PC and laptop the page is all there without scrolling. Any suggestions? I definitely need a new layout and a better location for my welcome/about me links, so thanks I'll look into it. As for the unique content, that's what I'm struggling with the most. As you say, there a loads of high quality gaming blogs, and I'm not sure how to get around that yet. Any ideas are welcome on that front too.

[randall]

Here is a screencap of your blog in my web browser (I am using Firefox):

http://i53.tinypic.com/3010co4.jpg

[Currahee]

Oh that's not good... How do I correct that if I can't see it though? Is there an easy way to ensure that your blog fits on other people's screens? Thanks again Randall

[Alexis Wilke]

I would think that Randall cannot see my blog without scroll bars either...

Blogs | Snap! Websites

You'd need to make the screen width smaller. To fit most screen, 750 is good. But it makes the content squeezed quite a bit...

Otherwise I don't like the design too much either. But that's a question of taste, obviously.

In regard to ameliorating the content, I would write something about X, Y, Z game, then go read the best blogs and see what they said and how they said it in comparison to my own post.

I'm not into games anymore, but I wrote a few when I was still a kid. 8-)

[Currahee]

Hi Alexis Wilke,
Thanks for the input. I've decreased the blog width to 790px, I'm afraid any smaller and my blog starts to go haywire. As for designs, I'm not a big fan either, but it's a case of the least worst for the moment until I find a more suitable one. Thanks again for the advice.

[Currahee]

By the way folks, my blog now has a clip of the day so please check it out and let me know what you think

[Invader_Stu]

I suggest making your sidebar more narrow. You're losing a lot of content space to it at the moment. I'd also move your profile into your side bar so people get to your content quicker. It might sound like a small thing but people on the internet have a very short attention span and you need to grab it.

[Currahee]

Hi Stu, thanks for the tips, I've been told my sidebar is too wide but short of the adjust witdth tool I'm not really sure how to narrow it down without making the sidebar content go haywire. Any suggestions?