Archives for July 2007

If you are thinking about some website design templates or themes, then you may want to check out The Templates Factory blog. This is a blog for the home page for Templates Factory. The sites is geared to provide information towards obtaining the best information in web templates for either the individual or the business. If you want to take your website to the next level, Templates Factory definitely has something for you. They offer a large range of professionally designed products, and are backed by professionals in the field. The blog will give you some information on what templates may be best suited for your needs, and as well, provides some excellent marketing tips as well. You can find these at any of the recent posts: The Science Behind Web Templates, The Future of the Advertising Universe, Web 2.0, Flash Templates – Are they really in?, Important Aspects with Flash Technology, So Why are Directories Important?, CSS vs. Table Based Design and Website Templates for the Aspiring Marketer.

Navigation on the blog is extremely straightforward. The posts are left marginalized on a beige background with black text. The overall appearance is very appealing, and contains a professional appeal. This is a great marketing strategy given the niche it is covering and provides credibility to the reader immediately. The posts are well written, and though they are clearly provided by an expert in the field, the information is extremely user friendly. Yes, even I could figure this stuff out. There is a right navigation bar where you can visit the homepage of Templates Factory or any of their categories. Categories you will find include Flash Templates, Internet Marketing, Search Engines, Technology, Web Directories, Website Design, and Website Templates. You can also visit any of the links on the top navigation bar that will take you to Flash Templates, Website Templates, Logo Templates, osCommerce Templates, Corporate Identity, and Swish Templates.

Overall I am going with a 3.5 for this one. I really liked the layout and found the appearance appealing. The site is easy to navigate and the content is written very well. What I would like to see more of here are some pictures of the templates the site is marketing. While these are prevalent on the home page, I think the blog could use some pictures and this may even create some conversion off the main pages as a result. I also think that categories containing 30 posts over a period of well over a year is a little sparse on the activity side. So this blog is going to need some regular updating if it wants to get anywhere from a marketing perspective. However with its professional layout and professional voice, this blog could certainly do well in this already very popular niche.

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– Chrissie

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If you are looking for some tips and tricks, or perhaps a new gadget or two to throw around the house, stop into Michael’s blog Freshome – Furniture, Gadgets, Inspiration and More for a Better Home. Michael started this blog because he wanted to know more about home improvement and he enjoys sharing beautiful things with his readers. Here you will find tips and tricks on home improvement, neat products, home gadgets, dream homes, and many more. If you want to know how to make your home more 21st century style, he also enjoys bringing the modern into his daily living, and sharing this with you. He will be the first to tell you he is not trying to sell you anything, just offer you suggestions on beautiful home living. See examples of this in his posts Modern Bedroom Inspiration #6, SKiN Sofa, Beehive Inspired Table by Hoon Roh, Tricks to Keep your House Cool this Summer, Tsubomi chair, Wall Stickers from Canthaveitstickit, Twin Arc Lamp, Green Roofs Collection, Holden Monaro GTS Turned into a BBQ Grill, and Raindance Rainfall Shower.

Navigation on this site is somewhat awkward, but with just a few changes it won’t even be noticeable. The posts are centered down the page and there are both left and right navigation bars. There is a few formatting issues going down the right hand side of the page, as you have to find the right sided menus after some mega-scrolling all the way down to the bottom. On the left hand side you will find a series of advertising, the blogroll, and the friends list. On the right hand side you will find the recent posts menu, categories section, ads, and feedreader. The categories list is pretty comprehensive, if you have some specific renovating ideas in mind you will be able to find some tips fairly easily. Check out the links on architecture, bathroom, bedroom, dream homes, furniture, garden, home gadgets, ideas, kitchen, tips and tricks, and a miscellaneous section.

I am going to go with a 3.5 for this one. I thought the blog was well laid out, despite some formatting issues. There were appropriate pictures that contributed to the posts and were appealing for the reader. Content I did not have any problems with, and the blog is certainly unique in both its design and its niche. I think the left navigation menus can be moved around a little so that the ads are maybe below the menus which are the meat of the blog. And the right navigation bar needs to be readjusted though I suspect the pictures are putting the format out of wack. This blog is doing very well with its 480 readers so there are few suggestions I could offer outside of that. Take a look at it if you are a home tinkerer, you will be happy you did!

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– Chrissie

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