Does my site need a makeover?

  • Hi

    I started my blog/forum 7 years ago and in that time its only had one facelift when i started to use WordPress. I am getting to the point where I feel it’s now starting to look a little tired and dated again, particularly when compared with some of the incredible sites that have been featured and critiqued here.

    Its been suggested to me both through professional advice and from feedback from my readers and contributors that the site could be so much better than it currently is. I come here with the intent of gaining further insight, particularly as i’d like to keep using WordPress.

    I submit to your collective wisdom The RiotACT for critique.

    The RiotACT was started with the intent of providing a community based site where issues, opinions and events could be discussed. Its at a point now where most of the sites content comes from contributors most of whom are rowdy, opinionated and not particularly tech savvy.

    Specifically i’d like feedback on the following (am plagerising some of Preet’s words here as those questions were so relevant to what i was seeking too) but would love to hear general comments too.

    a) Does my site need complete redesign?
    b) If not, what stuff should i change. (I’m not particularly wedded to anything i currently have)

    1) Theme – Am I utilising color and graphics sufficiently. Do the colors match or contrast in a way to accentuate the content.
    Do the layout and navigation (content & sidebar) make the site easy to use and navigate. Could i be utilising features in newer versions of WordPress or a different theme style to achieve a better result .

    2) The Header – is it too large & represent the site? For that matter, is the purpose of the site clearly identifiable.

    3) Readbility: Font size, color, line-height, etc how do they affect the readability of the content. Are there things i should be avoiding? As my content mostly user submitted I think its even more important that it be accessible and not overwhelmed by site features or ads.

    4) Features. I’ve got hardly any plugins? Are there any i should I give serious consideration to in order to offer my readers that little bit extra

    I really appreciate your time. Thanks.

Viewing 5 replies - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)

  • Missing link (wrong code in your post)
    https://the-riotact.com/

    Thread Starter mrwolf

    (@mrwolf)

    thanks moshu. I was just trying to fix that

    Thread Starter mrwolf

    (@mrwolf)

    apologies for the double post. I don’t know how that happened

    Thread Starter mrwolf

    (@mrwolf)

    The silence is killing me. I guess it must be a textbook case for a wordpress implementation.

    Thanks again to anyone who took the time for a look

    I like it. The colors at the top are unique (my High School colors were blue/gold, so it brings back memories), but the matching graphic shades builds well.

    The categories/archive lists on the side sort of run together. That whole concept of LONG LIST + SAME COLOR = run-on. Maybe if there was a way to spice up those columns in your sidebar… I don’t know how, exactly.

    But, for the most part, I would say it looks really good.

    –jpDiMaggio.com

Viewing 5 replies - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
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