Wpdesigner Version 7
- Filed under: Wpdesigner.com
I knew this re-design was going to be bright, but not this bright. Dang! It’s bright! Besides the brightness and that it’s less pretty than the last version, I like this version more than the last version because this version gives me a feeling of openness. Also, I re-designed (this time) for a more usable layout.
With this re-design, several things have changed about the layout. Instead of two menus, one on top and the other at the bottom of the header, Wpdesigner now has only one simple menu beneath the blog title.
The search form is easier to find; it’s sitting at the top right hand corner rather than within a header. Third, the theme thumbnails at the top are no longer there. Some of you told me that you simply passed over them to get to the blog posts so the theme thumbnails were actually useless on the home page.
Fourth, this design features 125 x 125 button banners instead of the 234 x 60 half banners for monetization. (Contact me if you’d like to advertise on this blog.)
The main color also changed, obviously. (Come over to the red side with Wpdesigner!) Do you prefer blue or red? What else about this re-design do you like or not like?
In other news: After two and a half years, Problogger is getting a facelift too. Read my Problogger design review (of the old design).
(Before I even start: I haven’t got a proper site yet so yes, in a way, I’m talking about things I know sh*t about.)
I’ve been a faithful WPdesigner follower for months now and I’ve got to admit I’ve learned loads of things here. However, I’d never been completely convinced by the design which is quite a paradox for such a site.
Don’t get me wrong, I like the basic structure of it, I’m not into all those “graphical masterpieces†(for example, N-Design Studio at http://www.ndesign-studio.com/ is a bit heavy on the graphics for me).
But I do have a feeling that there should be more content visible as soon as you enter your site. I’d definitely go for a smaller font to provide more space for text and/or other things – a couple of small flickr-like theme screenshots come to mind first.
As it stands, your latest design seems to be too empty for me – the only things visible as I open your blog are the header/site info (not so meaningful after the first visit, is it?), the beginning of the latest entry and a bunch of text ads (not that I’m against them, don’t get me wrong) on the right. Just not enough for a site of such richness in content and context, I’m afraid.
Hopefully this still sounds like a list of constructive observations – I don’t want to sound too harsh …
I think it looks very sharp! The only pesky little comment I have is that I think your red banner across the top should have the same borders top and bottom. It looks a little funny to me with just the thin black on the top. I think Jack’s comments are worth considering, but I don’t agree that you need a smaller font. I think people go way too small too often. It would be ideal if some of your “pillar” articles were front and center. As it is, a new visitor could come and go easily without realizing what a great resource this site is.
Well, my two cents:
- place the theme thumbnail in a 3 col footer
- navi looks now like a G ads script
- a logo for your brand is necessary
- some of your own themes (post) as excerpts in the sidebar
That’s all.
Forget to mention the favicon ico.
I like the cleaner look and the subtle borders. And I really like the description in a banner across the top. But I agree with milo317, the navigation looks like a Google Ad.
You could consider having more of a branded look. I suspect that a lot of people equate mad photoshop skills with web design. A photoshoppy site might give you more authority. But I would read this blog even if everything was white on white and I had to highlight the content to read.
Love it. I’m all for simplicity so this design gets a thumbs up!
I do agree with Ian and milo about the nav looking like Google Ads so I would consider adding Google Ads there (if not going to already).
The only thing I miss about the previous design, was the huge fat header with the search bar. I’m not sure what it was about it, but i loved it.
But the site looks great and it focuses on the content, which is most important! Good luck.
I love red, so…
Dittot on the page navigation. Looks a little unemphasized. And now that I think of it, there really should be a “best of” with your top ten posts on the sidebar.
Jack - It’s not harsh. Thank you for taking the time to write a detailed feedback on the new design. Let me answer several of your points:
For my own blog, I tend to go with simple so you can focus on the content. As for giving access to the popular content, I’ll try to weave them into this layout.
Like Randa, I also don’t agree with the smaller font. You can take a look at TechCrunch for an example of a smaller font size.
The header/site info or red blog description box, that part will be a new ticker. The message will vary depending on which part of my blog you’re looking at. I just haven’t had time to work on that part.
Randa - Top and bottom thick borders for the red area is a little bit too heavy for me. I’ll link to more popular content in the sidebar and in the blog description.
Milo and Ian - Thanks for pointing out the Adsense-like nav. It bothered me, but I couldn’t pinpoint what the problem was. I’ll try turning them into tabs. We’ll see how it looks then. Before I forget… have to add a favicon.
Michael - I loved the huge search bar too. That’s why I did it
, but people tend to skip over it without ever knowing it was there.
Red is bad. I’m never much of a supporter of red. Try and find 20 popular websites that are red. The most popular colors are generally blue, green or some pastel color.
The main reason for the lack of popularity of red is that the wavelength of the color is long and puts a strain on your eyes while reading. Not to mention if you have images of softer colors on the website it will create more strain from switching between the wavelengths. Being a blog designed for daily reading makes using the color red a bad idea.
Its also worth noting that a solid white background makes reading a bit difficult. Its funny because you mention Problogger in your post and you reviewed them stating the same issues you created in this new design.
I quote “However, that shouldn’t be an excuse for using white on gray, gray on gray, and white on orange color schemes.The sidebar doesn’t have enough contrast and contains mainly links. If that’s the case, why not make those links darker”. Just switch the orange for red;)
With all of that in mind. The basic grid layout is good it just a few color changes for readability. One interesting thing you could do is control the viewers eyes with a horizontal gradient going from a lite color on the left side to a darker color on the right. Would bring the viewer to the ads and the categories.
For what it’s worth, Problogger’s current design has a solid white background. My body background is #ededed, but I guess it doesn’t contribute much to reading when the content is on a 931px white background. I’ll try to do something about that. Keep tweaking until it’s right…
About the red, if red isn’t popular then I’ll start a new trend
Although more open and usuable, this design has a problem with clarity. The post title and entry meta areas look a bit too cluttered for me. You can’t really spot the comments number. That’s why I highlighted it.
After all, this is work in progress. You’ll see small changes made here and there in the next several days. Thanks for the feedback Brian.
hey sp it looks good. But the links on top forums, wordpress etc kind of look lost in grey.
If you are going to stick with red soften it up a bit. Check out Roger Johansson website for some red inspiration. One of the few “redish” popular websites.
I suppose I could help by providing an actual link.
http://www.456bereastreet.com/
I do read Roger’s blog from time to time.
Also, I just realized the excerpt you quoted from my Problogger review was mostly about the header area. I was commenting on the fact that the header uses white text on orange background and how the sidebar is gray on gray.
I like the new design very much. It’s very nice.
Thanks Runa
Hi Small Potato,
I like those colors but i feel that your blog looks like many others now (though its content is still unique).
I’m not a designer, just an illustrator, but i have the feeling that you should add some contrast. My eyes don’t know where to focus except the header. If i come back here everyday, i’ll be tired reading the header pretty soon, i think.
Another question : how do people suscribe to RSS now?
Hope it can help in some way, good luck
For me the great thing about your other designs is how unique they are. The new theme I feel like I have seen it around and it feels tired. Now I don’t know what is going on under the hood and I am sure there is significant work but I am a fan of the old SP Style.
We Asians got to love red hehee
I love the new design, but I do miss the thumbnails on top. I always check there to make sure I haven’t missed any new themes!!
SP, you’re the best, but I am not feeling the new design (sorry) - it’s perhaps better from a usability standpoint (taking the themes gallery and huge search field out from the top allowing the user to get to the content faster) but the design feels so basic, like a generic theme that could even be included with the wordpress install, and echoing other commenters here, the red is too harsh and the the branding is basically nonexistent - please don’t take offense, you’re a great designer and I don’t have a graphical bone in my body, but while I’m not good for layout myself, I do know what I like and unfortunately I liked the old design better
As others have said, the top nav looks like text ads, but I know you’re already addressing that.
I liked the old design better; I think it had just the right amount and choice of colors. The header area was a bit big on the old theme, which this new theme seems to have directly addressed; however, now it feels like something is missing from the top header area because it’s so simple. Ah, finding the balance…
Hey SP.
I think version 7 looks great as is. Keep up the good work.
[…] reading all the suggestions and opinions, I’ve made a few changes to the this new version of […]
Its nice and fresh, but looks like you are standing for political office
@Brian: Red is bad?
I like the new changes. Adding featured post and best of WPDesigner part made this blog look even more professional.
Sorry to say that, but i don’t like the new design very much. There are no Eye-Catcher … i think its poorly organized/difficult to overview …. hope u know what i mean because i cant’ directly translate the word we are using vor something like this ….
Cool!
[…] new look, take a look at the past months redesigned blogs for some ideas and inspiration. WPDesigner.com August 9, 2007 ProBlogger.com August 13, 2007 JohnChow.com August 22, 2007 Sizlopedia.com […]
new version very easy and very good. thanks
It’s very clean, which is great, but it does seem a little plain. Perhaps you could do something to fill it up a little more?
Still, the gradients in the sidebar are gorgeous and the search bar is perfect.
Thanks Michael - The sidebar will be filled up soon. I think you commented under the wrong post?