31DBB Help

[Andrea Thomson Viner]

Hi Bloggers!

I’m taking a cue from Doodling Dogs and asking for help with the 31 Days to a Better Blog challenge. I also need someone who has not seen my blog to explore it for a bit and comment. My blog is Iowa Dog Blog. 

 

I would appreciate it if you could let me know: your first impressions, any suggestions for improvement, and what you think works the best or most grabs your attention.You can just leave me a comment below, or if you’d rather comment on my BlogPaws page, that would be great too.

 

Thanks so much! And please let me know if you need help with Task 17 for 31DBB–I’d be happy to look at your blog as well.

 

Andrea

[Jodi]

Hi Andrea! I’m here for the same reason. I’m looking for a first time reader to check out our blog Kol’s Notes. Would you have a few minutes to visit? I would sure appreciate the help!!

 

I’m headed over to your blog to check it out now :0)

[Jodi]

OK, I’m back! 

 

First, let me say I really like your writing style. Your recent posts on naming are great – interesting, well written & personalized. 

 

The blog itself is easy to navigate, though I might consider moving the links to some of your topics (the funny bone, travelling etc.) into the main navigation bar at the top or removing the bar at the top, so that all the navigation links are in one spot. 

 

Now for the only thing that really jumped out at me – and this one is a matter of preference, I think. Your blog design doesn’t really sparkle as much as your writing does. You have used a fairly generic template, which would be OK, except that the generic header etc. doesn’t really set you apart from any off the other blogs using the same template. I might consider creating a custom blog header and some standard graphics to use in posts and maybe use images as the sidebar links, to try and make the whole blog feel less “text heavy”. But like I said, this is really a matter of preference, I know there are people who find our blog design at Kol’s Notes too “cluttered” and they would love the clean look of yours. 

 

If there is anything in particular you’d like to ask about – just let me know. I’m happy to go back and check out specific pages etc. if there is something that concerns you :0)

 

 

[Doodling Dogs]

I meant to write this a few days ago, but its been a busy week.  

 

First, I love your pictures and post topics.  They are original and contain interesting information that I want to keep reading.  I really enjoyed your most recent post about nicknames for your dogs.  I myself have come up with some silly and random names for Leila.  

 

Second, I do agree with Jodi that your blog template is quite simple and if you added a few personalized touches I think your blog would really pop and stand out.  I also have a pretty simple layout for my blog because I didn’t want to have anything too confusing for viewers to follow.  I have added some widgets and pictures on the sides which along with my header I feel give it a personal touch.  

 

You have a great about page that covers everything I need to know to get a feel for what the blog is about.  I liked that you mentioned what your blog includes and the Dog Creds are a very cute touch.  🙂  I really enjoy your writing style and think you are a great writer!

[Andrea Thomson Viner]

Thanks for taking a look at my blog, and thanks for the suggestions! I kind of hate my header photo now, so I definitely need to change that. I will have to look at what I could do with other themes/templates with WordPress. I also appreciate your kind words about my writing–thank you!

 

Jodi–I have looked at your blog, but I’m going to quickly peek at it again, and then I’ll either email you or leave you a comment.

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