Let me know what you think

by Mathew on October 11, 2007 · Comments

I’ve had some negative comments from readers on my new blog theme (which is called Lorem Ipsum, after the famous Latin text that designers use when they want to fill out a page with random words) so I thought I would do a poll. For those of you who read me through an RSS reader and never actually see the design, you may not realize that anything has changed (or you may not care). In any case, click through and take the poll and let me know what you think. If enough people don’t like it I will bring the old one back (that one was the excellent Cutline theme by Chris Pearson).

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Tagged as: blog, design, poll

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Leigh 1 year ago 1 point
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Welcome to the wonderful world of web design. No matter what you change, people get all freaky about it. Personally I don't care as long as:

1. It's readable
2. You keep that cute little photo of you as a baby on your home page

(number 2 should be read in a really annoying baby talk like voice to get the most impact)

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http://leighhimel.blogspot.com

Dead Robot 1 year ago 1 point
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I'm not a real big fan of this style for personal blogs: people have a tendency to fill up the white space in the columns with useless self-important widgets about cats that just slow load times.

But for a tech writer, it works. Trez newspapery.

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http://www.deadrobot.com

Mathew 1 year ago 1 point
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Thanks, er... Dead :-) I think it looks newspapery too -- on the other hand, given the state of the industry, maybe that's not such a good thing.

And thanks for the props, Leigh. I'm glad someone likes the baby photo :-)

Just to be clear though, we're only talking about the blog theme -- the baby photo on the homepage is non-negotiable.

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Mukund Mohan 1 year ago 1 point
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Mathew
Maybe a wrong comment, but I *NEVER* visit your blog. I read your content daily. I dont understand why people spend time on getting their blog design "right". I have the right blog design already - its called Google reader.

But you do write well.

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http://www.bestengagingcommunities.com

Frederic 1 year ago 1 point
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Like most people here, I read your blog in my RSS reader, so the layout doesn't matter to much to me.

Having said that, I still prefer the old one, mostly because it seemed less busy for some reason. Maybe its the colors of the widgets clashing with this very clean, white theme.

I was also never much of a fan of the two sidebards on the right. Distracts from the text too much.
Just my two cents. :)

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http://lastpodcast.net

Steven Hodson 1 year ago 1 point
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I can understand the need for the 3col design but for some reason this design feels scrunched up with the extra's (sidebars) taking up more space than the content

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http://www.winextra.com

Stuart MacDonald 1 year ago 1 point
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What's a blog? ;)

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http://stuart.blogware.com

Rod 1 year ago 1 point
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I like the new look. Admittedly I use a feed reader to get my info, though, but I did click through to give the site a look. Take that for what it's worth...

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http://www.rodtempleton.net

engtech 1 year ago 1 point
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ditto the "meh, I read it in Google Reader" :)

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http://InternetDuctTape.com

Mich 1 year ago 1 point
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The ads and feeds seem sporadic, making it look busy. So much so, that everything on the right is a blur. *On the main page, with 5 or so entries, it's less noticeable. But once you click 'more' and go to one entry per page, it kills it.

I'm wondering if you could tweak everything on the right so it's either sectioned somehow, or uses smaller fonts, the same font, or similar colors – something to help those guys sink in the background yet seem organized. [Maybe you could kill some of the features by adopting a 'quick links' column and calling it a day.

Also, I'd rather see 'recent posts' than 'recent comments' at the tip top. I care more about what you write than what others say. Especially when I'm on your site.

Best,

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http://michsineath.blogspot.com

Mike Allan 1 year ago 1 point
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I liked the old "cutline", but this new lorem epsom is perfect for you. I think it brings your persona to the forefront, you are a newspaperman writing a blog, and this design reinforces that to me.

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http://digitalmediaTORONTO.com

Mathew 1 year ago 1 point
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Thanks, Mike -- that's what I thought too.

And thanks to everyone for all the helpful comments. I'm going to add a "theme switcher" to the sidebar so everyone can choose whichever theme they like :-)

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Alex Beamish 1 year ago 1 point
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I read your blog via RSS (yay Google Reader), so I normally get just the text. So this time I did pop by to have a look at the design. It seems to missing a visual element -- there's no top, there's just white stuff in the middle and gray on both sides.

If it were my blog (like I'd be able to write something every day -- ha!) or even my web page, I'd make the top portion light blue to frame the content. To me, that would be 'minimalist' design -- I think the current design is less than minimalist.

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I'm a blogger and communities editor at The Globe and Mail in Toronto, and this is where I write about online media and other things I come across on the Web. Feel free to leave a comment or use the contact form to send me an email.
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