Blazing Truth — My Philosophy Blog

Furthering the debate on design, here is a good rule of thumb: always use text that sharply contrasts to the background. The Red on black, especially with the size font you have it in makes it really hard to read.

I would agree with Gabe in that you should try to use graphical header, but if you want to stick with text, change the color so that the name and subheading of your site POP.

Even more serious is the footer where you have black text on a dark background. I usually test it on several browsers and that text goes from hard to read to virtually invisible, which I’m sure it’s not your intention.

always use text that sharply contrasts to the background

Not too sharp a contrast, please. Very high contrasts mean that those with specific forms of dyslexia and visually impaired users who rely on screen magnifiers will not be able to read your text.

Well not enough where it causes epileptic seizures of course. But speaking as both someone who has dyslexia (mild) and wears glasses and is a web designer too, the text I mentioned seriously needs some contrast.

The only way I could read it was to highlight the text. That is not something most people will do. When I say “sharply” I mean it has to be seen. Much like black text on a white background or vice-versa. On the other hand, I would never use lime green or shocking pink. ; )

the text I mentioned seriously needs some contrast

Agreed. Just wanted to point out that very high contrasts (eg black text on a white background) can cause severe pixelation of text when trying to use a screen magnifier. In the worst cases, it renders the text unreadable. Came out of some research I did a while back on contrast issues.

@gabe, would you be able to point me to an example, or several examples, of a website with a very well done header? I’m in need of ideas, and my header is definitely something I’ve been meaning to get around to.

@jon, I agree with everything you’ve said, and I’ll probably change the text color as a temporary fix, and I’m working to change the black text on the footer, as that’s something that irks me.

I’m definitely looking to avoid any confusion, and don’t want to get crazy with the color scheme, I’m trying to work my blacks/whites/red/grays in such a way that it looks nice and presentable, will keep you guys posted.

@esmi, what do you recommend from your research?

Thanks all, very valid points. I’ll get to work as soon as possible.

D

Have a look at https://blackwidows.co.uk/resources/color-contrast-analyser.php

Well, you can take a look at one of mine freebloghelp.com. Alternatively, chrisbrogan.com currently uses your colors.

I’ve done away with the boxed and dark layout, for a more user-friendly one. Form follows function, they say.

Is this better?

I definitely like your new theme over the iPad one.

@gabe, I agree. Any suggestions for improvement?

Overall, I think you did a really great job. Here’s where I would focus:

1. Header could still use work. It’s so inexpensive and makes such a big difference. This will be the first impression of your brand.

2. There’s no simple way to navigate to old posts. Instead of your current top nav, you could use categories to allow visitors to access your posts. Home-About-Links-Q&A could just bury them below the fold. They will not be used often if at all.

3. I would add a contact form or at least a way for people to reach out to you.

4. In the comments section for each post, I would add some padding between the left margin and text/buttons/textbox so that they are not touching.

5. Personally, I really like commentluv since it encourages some visitors to comment. I would add that to your list of plugins.

6. What is the goal of your site? If you’re planning on monetizing it, I don’t see much here other than a few ads. Those won’t make you much, likely pennies a day even when you’re a mature site.

@gabe, thanks for the honest and extremely helpful suggestions.

1. I’ve found a guy to make me a custom header to “brand” my content and website. It should be in place within the next week.

2. I am still working on this, and am trying to figure out how to do that with WordPress controls, as I don’t have much programming experience to do it myself. Perhaps there’s a plugin..

3. This is a priority, will be done shortly.

4. Fixed

5. Tried out commentluv, and am not entirely sure how to work it. I’ll put this on hold until all else is finished.

6. I do plan on monetizing it, as I spend lots of my time researching and writing and would very much like to be compensated for my time. What is the best way to go about doing this?

Thank you!

In response to #6, there are many ways you can monetize your site. Many bloggers start with Google AdSense but that’s only going to bring in pennies a day, if at all.

I would suggest you focus on building a following first and get some organic traffic on your site. There’s a lot you can do that can’t be detailed in a simply reply but in short: write good stuff, participate in discussions on dofollow site (especially those in your niche), and perhaps write some guest articles for others. Eventually, you’ll have advertisers and link buyers coming your way.

Of course, you can also decide to pay for a list service and start gathering names/emails by offering a service. Then you would market affiliate products/services to them.

Just a few ideas…

Flush left is always better….to look at…and to read. Because it is visually more interesting.

your “my inspiration” picture truly is inspiring lol