Discussions
What do you hate about my theme.
Posted by DaneMorgan • 10/22/07 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: blog, layout, template, theme, wordpress
Okay. I've been playing with the theme at danemorgan.com for a couple weeks now, and I've got it about where I want it.
So what do you hate about it. colors, type, layout, included elements, excluded elements, nothing is off limit's.
I'm interested in anyone's opinion, but honestly, if you already visit the blog I'm much MORE interested in your opinion. While I will consider every response to this thread, I want to play to MY audience, so if you say you visit I'll consider your comments more, and if I KNOW you visit I'll consider your comments most.
User Comments
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personally - I think you should find a colour theme and stick to it. you currently have black writing & grey writing, light blue, darker blue and light orange in the background. this makes it look a bit fuddly and less professional. I dunno, thats my opinion. -
just one thought. Either add more yellow to the blue-green title bars and make them green green and Actually DO a Mardi Gras theme (I'm originally from New Orleans _I'd_ love it) of change them to a truer blue so it doesn't look like you Were going for Mardi Gras and missed.
Make that 2 thoughts. DO participate in Vienne'e meme. It was the most fun I had writing this week
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Well - first I'm more of an infrequent visitor so judge my comments accordingly, but I find the site a bit busy. The style kind of detracts from the content. You have good content so I'd keep the layout simple - but that's just me. I've never asked anyone what they thought of my layout because it works for me and that's what matters. If you like it - keep it!
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To be honest I dont think I have visted your blog before Dane, but in the sidebar Register overlaps By RSS in firefox, the grey can be a little hard to see, the black writing in the social bookmark post dominates the grey and distracts from reading the grey writing.-
The font sizes are all over the place for me in Firefox (in Ubuntu) as you can see here:
blog.techfun.org/DaneFontSizes.png
Also, I went ahead and registered to see if after registration the font issues in the login area would be resolved.
However, after submitting the registration, the fields and sidebar area stays the same. There is no confirmation that the form was submitted and as a result I ended up hitting register at least twice. I'd recommend a post-form-submission blurb about checking your email for the registration info or something, even jsut "Thanks!' -
Yeah, registration isn't on yet. And I'm probably going to dump the ajax form because I can't get it contained.
Font sizes are all determined by your browser here. I'm declaring them as relative sizes (small medium large) all body text is medium, titles are medium but bold and meta information is small.
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Dane .. if I can make suggestions, this is what they would be, although I probably do not fit as your type of audience you are seeking .;.
1) Get rid of your Login box .. everything is scrunched below the login button anyway .. to login to your wordpress blog .. just type in danemorgan.com/wp-admin/ or get the WP-ADMIN BAR RELOADED plugin over at John Pozadzides's blog onemansblog.com/2007/04/08/wordpress-plugin-wp-admin-bar-reloaded/
2) Move the Sponsors (not yet but soon) box/section between the categories and above your blogroll .. so it is attractive for them being above the fold
3) Where the Login box is on the top right section, given that you are trying to earn money seeking sponsors, find a 300x250 square adsense image ad, or 368x280 adsense text block, or amazon widget, or something from shareasale about something you think your site represents
4) Grey doesn't translate well ona laptop where people maybe using their computer at locations other than their office with flourescent lighting. I'd suggest a darker shade towards black, and also use that color in the yellow footer bar too.
5) Personally, I prefer a darker purple like cc0066 range, but regardless - keep the box/section heading colours to be identical to the color you have on top (where | Home | The Old Blog | Contact | ) is
6) Make your name on the header clickable to the "home" link
7) I would move the search field under the purple above where the login section is .. and in the header - it looks like enough room for a 728x60 adsense block ... match the yellow and purple when setting up your adsense to blend.
// HART -
The blue fights with the purple and yellow. Maybe use the yellow with white type. Or maybe use a lighter tint of that purple with white type.
Remember design is about the space around everything. I suggest adding some space vertically between your posts. A couple of boxes are jammed up against your title bars.
In the right two columns which are divided into boxes, add space vertically between the box outline and the links/subheads. Right now you've jammed everything in the boxes with a copy crowbar.
I'm not sure how much control you have over your layout to do these things . . . . that's my 2 cents. -
Not a fan of yellow, at least not that shade (too bright).
And the boxes on the right, with the outlines, need to be redone. Too many boxes and outlining. -
I looked a 2nd time. I like your layout. Just needs some color freshing up. I think the box at the upper right is too large. If you could reduce it and bring some of the great stuff from below up higher, then you get more items into eyeballs with the initial page load before people start dragging their mouse down.
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Purple has to go. Maybe #4a6676 instead.
And try #eedd82 for all the yellows -
the color scheme is just a wreck, it looks like someone driving a blue car hit a Minnesota vikings fan.
Also your log in area overlaps onto the the RSS information. Also I think your font size is a little big.
I get that you want to keep a clean to look the blog, which is something I like. I think you are on the right track.-
I was thinking wussy Vikings that fell into one of those famous lakes. But I agree that there are too many different colors that don't quite mesh. And the outlined boxes chop the sidebar into so many pieces that nothing but the lines stands out. Light gray outlines with darker text might be okay but the text is de-emphasized by all of the other color.
Dane, tone down the yellow and purple and make the blue grayer. Darken the text so that it's readable on a darker laptop screen (at home I can't read this blog at all).
One last note, regarding the log-in box. Why would I register? Is there a benefit, do I have to register to comment? A little explanation would be good, to help new readers understand why that huge box is there. -
I agree. The color scheme does not flow well, at all. It reminds me of webpages I used to see in the early 90's. Here's a good website to check out some harmonious color blends: www.colourlovers.com/ -
Oddly enough I got this color pallette from there.
And I slected it because the "yellow" appears orange on my monitor and it was titled something to do with vikings.
But I'm definitely leaning toward a color change at this point.
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I am not keen on the colours and i can see that overlapping thingie too(technical term).
I like everything else -
Text size is too big and line space is too small-
Text sizes are set by your browser with this theme.
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Hi Dane,
I popped by your blog. For me, it's seems the sidebars and the content are competing for attention. Like for a women, who is applying her make-up. She can either put emphasis on the lips or the eyes, but not both or she looks overdone. I also, agree that there is a bit overkill on the underlines and borders. I do like the color scheme. -
Appreciate all the comments here. Thanks and keep em comming, though I'm down with a color change at this point already.
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I'm web designer (since 1998)... I know what I'm talking about. It's about line spacing, not only the text size.
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I'm not specifying line spacing. What would you suggest? 1.25, 1.5 em?
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What I've Done
"unyellowed" and "Redded" up the header color.
Selected a darker blue nav bar color.
darkened the normal text.
eliminated headline backgrounds and replaced with bottom border in new color scheme.
added a line height of 1.4
Replaced AJAX register/login code with hard coded versions
removed box borders from side bar sections.
Lightened page background to it's just about white.-
That's a major improvement! I still think the purple is a wee bit glaring, but the teal and gold are much less distracting. The layout is cleaner-looking and the text easier to read, too.
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That's looking much better.
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From a non-technical person, i think it looks much more appealing.
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It looks Much better today Dane.
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i recently posted a link to some of my favorite wordpress themes... (www.revenuerobot.com/2008/free-wordpress-themes-magazine-3-column-styles/) I always try to find one that is user friendly and has the ability to display ads for advertising... -
I just went on by your blog....If anything I would say that the side bar has a lot of stuff...it is distracting to the flighty minded folks such as myself.
However, I see that you do have a lot of good things in it - so maybe you could rearrange it a little? I like the review option, I sent you a message.
Other than that, the striped theme is a little off for me personally, but at least the table wasn't striped (at first I thought it was!) so thats OK. -
i don't like "underline" every item on you sidebar, difficult to see and read.
others is nice -
Remember that diagonals mess with your sense of balance. I think there are too many in your design. Yes, they create excitement, but it's distracting here.
The dark purple bar across the middle screams out. Lighten the purple some.
Otherwise your layout is looking fairly clean.
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