Preet,
To the point: I like the site overall. It has information and opinion of personal interest, and I’ll be returning to it. I’m glad I came across your link here.
You requested specific commentary, so here are answers to your checklist, based on my experience in my day job as a newspaper editor/web designer:
Checklist:
1) Theme – Bottom line, a little overdone, but otherwise, fine. Pleasing color palette. The wide width of the central column works for you, in that it doesn’t let the busyness of the background pattern and the header overpower the content. Remember that use of varied patterns is like the use of varied fonts: The fewer the better; select only two or three (three is pushing it) for your style and stick to them. As a design exercise, give yourself a week’s vacation from your blog. Don’t post, don’t even look at it. During that week off, concentrate on simplification. Notice how the best displays that we encounter (billboards, service signage, TV and print ads, other websites, magazine covers, product packaging, etc.) keep things simple and non-cluttered. After a week, come back to your site and take another look at it with your “new eye.” I predict that you won’t see a need for a major overhaul, but you will find bits and pieces of design here and there that you can modify and even remove.
2) Does the purpose reflect in the layout and design elements, use of color and graphics? It’s not what I would have selected for personal development and entrepreneurship, but as stated before, it’s a pleasant look.
3) The Header. The header needs work. It’s too busy and is the biggest culprit in the ineffectiveness of conveying your intended purpose (No. 2). Do you need a photo background? (My vote is no. Keep it to a simple color with no pattern.) I have NEVER been a fan of script font. To me it is an immediate signal that this is not a blog to be taken seriously, but is, instead, a “Dear Diary” blog that threatens to tell me who you think Lauren should be dating on “The Hills.” I think you can find a nice non-script font, either serif or sans-serif, that conveys your personal approach with just the right amount of formality. If you insist on using script, use it in just one of the header lines, then use a complementary font (one that’s in use elsewhere on your site; remember, keep your font list simple) for the other line. Lose the question mark, or move it away from the title lines. I know you’re using it as a graphic element, not as punctuation, but I read your title as “Be the Answer? Don’t Be a Question?” Also, your site URL is answeryourself.com, but your blog title is “Be the Answer.” To cut down on reader confusion, how about having the blog title be “Answer Yourself” then having the tagline be “Be the Answer. Don’t Be a Question.” (I know you should avoid using “answer” twice, but I think you could get away with it.) Finally on the header, I suggest a tighter crop on your photo. (In other words, keep the square the same size, just make your head bigger within that frame.)
4) Center-Column layout. As I said before, your width works for you. I like your display of dates and quotes. The other elements are what are usually found (and expected) in other blogs, so there’s nothing that’s too distracting to the average blog reader. If you do the “vacation” exercise above, you might spot some things you can live without, but I think the center column is the best part of the page.
5) Readability. Although I like the width, there are many who would say it’s too wide for comfortable web reading. One thing to keep in mind is that if you ever decide to narrow the center column, you MUST tone down the visual patterns surrounding it. No bold patterns or colors. Font and sizes all are fine. (I like the trend of smaller font sizes in the sidebar items.)
6) Is it cluttered or ok or too sparse? Should i cut down on certain widgets or plugins? Again I suggest the “vacation” exercise. It’s the natural course of action for web designers and builders to use all the latest doodads and gimmicks, and that’s fine; I do it too. After awhile, though, you’ll tend to notice elements on your own that are superfluous. (The one item I thought stuck out like a sore thumb was the “Places I Wanna Visit” widget. It’s too “Dear Diary”-esque. “Wanna?” While friendly and colloquial, it’s much too informal for your purposes.)
7) Load time. I had no problems. I’m on a cable modem via wireless hookup.
One more comment: Great content. I love how you take current events and put them in the context of personal development using concrete examples and not vague musings.
I hope my long-windedness has been of some assistance. Good luck to you with your site, Preet.
