Comments on: 7 Blog Reviews

By: admin

admin — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:17:50 +0000

Hi Andy,
yup, it’s such a simple thing it makes it easy to overlook, and to underestimate the difference it makes.
more line breaks and “white space” simply makes it easier for people to read the posts, which means they’re more likely to stick around..
cheers,
Matt

By: admin

admin — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:14:52 +0000

Thanks Phil!
Matt

By: admin

admin — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:13:18 +0000

Hi Scott,
um, sorry, but I’ve not really got time to go through and individually note which are personal preferences and which are based on results, but as a guideline, it’s the “looks” of a site that is usually down to personal taste, so things like how a header graphic looks, how the theme used looks etc.
The rest is based on personal experience with my own blogs, of which I have quite a few in many different “niches/markets”, not just “IM”.
cheers,
Matt

By: admin

admin — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:08:16 +0000

Hi Jack,
it’s usually the size/width of the text input fields that makes the optin form stick out of the sidebar.
look for 2 lines that start with input type=”text” and change the size=”20″ to a smaller figure that fits in.
Don’t worry, changing this doesn’t limit how many characters people can type in, just, how wide the form is displayed as.
hope this helps.

Matt

By: admin

admin — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:04:48 +0000

Hi Alex,
you’re welcome!
sorry, I’m going to have to take a “rain check” on the offer to be a guest blogger, I’m a little too busy right now.
cheers,
Matt

By: Phil

Phil — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 11:44:11 +0000

hi Matt,

This is a great blog. I have always thought that paying for a theme is a bit of a luxury but the more I think about it the more appealing it becomes. There are some good free themes but how do I know if it is well coded and easy to use? It could have been written by a novice in his bedroom and although looking pretty is a devil to work with. Proffessional themes are not expensive and you would think would guarantee a certain level of coding expertise.

What are your views? I am using a free theme at present, have you a favourite proffessional theme provider?

Phil

By: Annie

Annie — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 10:32:12 +0000

Hi Matt,

Loads of useful info there, I will read through again. Would have gone for the blog makeover but £££ low at the moment.

To our success
Annie
Twitter @Annie52

By: Peter

Peter — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 07:46:38 +0000

I found this post really interesting and helpful. There is useful advice there for most people I would say. Certainly some pointers that I need to take on board and that is priceless.

Thanks for posting and also doing it in one post. As you said makes for easy reading.

Peter

By: Andy Beveridge

Andy Beveridge — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 06:32:44 +0000

Hi Matt
thanks for the review. Its really important to understand how other people see your site. The real obvious comment to me was the one about leaving more white space, simple but so affective.
You will see an improvement on my blogs in the future.
So thanks again Matt.
Andy Beveridge

Anyone want meet up on twitter? @andybeveridge

By: Philip Mutrie

Philip Mutrie — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 20:23:18 +0000

Hey Matt,
Great to connect with you on your blog…. Great blog post and enjoyed reading your comments on the selected….
I hope our paths cross again very soon!
To Our Success,
Philip J. Mutrie
Twitter – @philmutrie