Cats And Coupons

I started reading Mom Reviews last year. Elizabeth asked me a while back if I’d take a look at her blog, so here we are. Elizabeth changed the theme of her blog this past week, so I think this a great time to do this review.

When Mom Reviews first loads you can’t help but notice the header. It contains family photos and it immediately brings color to the page and welcomes the visitor. The two column gray and white theme loaded quickly. The text the content appears in is a good size and color but it might be appear just a little sharper if a different font was used.

I am a big fan of navigation placed at the top of a blog rather than on the side. The sidebars on Mom Reviews are neat, but I would recommend a couple of minor changes. I’d suggest moving the tags and categories widgets up higher in the sidebar, above the blogroll. There’s a pretty big blogroll over there (that I’m not on, LOL) that I’m guessing she wants there because it isn’t on her blogrolls page. If the length gets too much she could put this into a scrollbox. 3 Boys Toys stands out a bit right now, if Elizabeth doesn’t have a button for it she could center it above the other buttons so it doesn’t stand out so much like it does when aligned to the left.

Elizabeth updates her blog daily, sometimes more than once. She often includes pictures, which will work well with this new white theme. The blog has an about page, and it actually tells the reader a lot about her. The writing style is personal and invites the visitor to read more. Elizabeth writes on a number of topics on Mom Reviews, the main ones being reviews, contests, saving money, family and home. Readers are invited to interact and share their thoughts through the comments section. Commenting requires no registration or login and Elizabeth often replies to comments that are left.

I highly recommend Mom Reviews. Yes, she frequently holds fantastic contests that I enter. But she also writes from a personal point of view that invites readers into her home and family, all while sharing her thoughts and opinions and interacting with her readers. One of the reasons she wanted a review was to be sure that her blog was appealing to readers, and I think it is. When you visit Mom Reviews, please tell her that valmg sent you.

This afternoon I reviewed the blog EJobTips.com.

The first thing I see when the blog loads on my screen is the header. The header image looks unbalanced when placed on the left of the screen because it isn’t as big as the field it’s in. I would enlarge the image to occupy the entire header area. EJobTips is currently on a three column theme of blues, green and beige. It takes me fourteen clicks to get from the top of the blog’s home page to the bottom.

At the top there are links that are supposed to allow the reader to view advertising info or view the blog in website format, neither of which are working at this time. RSS subscribe options in a reader or by email are well placed. The blog offers an easy to find category list. I was unable to find an archive list or page, which I recommend against because it means there is no quick way to see all posts within one time frame. This is handy if you need to catch up on some reading or are looking for something that you know was written in a specific period of time. The sidebars are neat and uncluttered.

The blog offers no About page. Readers like to know a little about who is writing, including answers to the questions who is the author, why is the author writing and where did the author get his/her knowledge. What drew my attention to this is that at the bottom of the page is a disclaimer where the author refers to him/herself as I. If you go farther back in the blog to the first post the author refers to several writers as we, implying there are different authors. All posts are shown as being authored by EJobTips. If there is more than one author the articles should be credited to the appropriate one author. Nowhere in the blog did I find a name or nickname for the author or authors.

The written description of this blog is to provide tips and article on the topic of working from home. The blog is fairly new but the writing seems to consist of original content and the length of the posts is decent. Take a look at EJob Tips.com, and when you do please say that valmg sent you.

This morning I reviewed a blog called “The Blogdom. A Suburb of the Beandom“, written by Chivalrybean.

The first thing I see when the blog loads on my screen is a little green and gray knight character. I’m not sure if he’s a vegetable or a bean, but he’s cute. The Blogdom is currently on a three column theme of white and shades of green. It takes me eight clicks to get from the top of the blog’s home page to the bottom.

At the top there are tabs representing the blog’s pages. They look great up there. You should include a link for the blog home page. The page links are also located at the top of the left sidebar, but they block the knight. Chivalrybean, see if you can add a little padding to push the contents at the top of the left sidebar down a bit. If you can adjust that it would also improve where the banner at the top of the home page blocks the contents at the top of the right sidebar.

Chivalrybean, nowhere was I able to find an rss subscribe link. Those are a must if you want to people to be able to add you to their feed reader. I also couldn’t find an About page, which I’d been hoping to find so I could learn more about you and the Blogdom. I suggest adding either a category list or a category page to give new readers a quick idea of what topics you write on.

It looks like Chivalrybean blogs about a wide variety of random topics. The writing is original and the length of the posts varies from short to just right. He doesn’t currently include too many pictures in his posts, but I wonder if that might change after the baby comes. Chivalrybean and his wife are expecting their first child, you see.

Take a ride over to The Blogdom and congratulate the new father to be. When you get there, please tell Chivalrybean that valmg sent you.

This afternoon I reviewed the blog called Like Every Inch Of Me Is Bruised, a blog written by Nicole.

The first thing I see when the blog loads on my screen is the color black. The whole page is completely black except for the color of the text. Bruised is currently on a two column theme. It takes me six clicks to get from the top of the blog’s home page to the bottom.

The sidebar is on the right and it is pretty orderly. The archive is a pretty long list because it contains every post this month. A dropdown or scrollbar for the archives would make it look a little cleaner. I would suggest moving the rss subscribe link higher in the theme to make it more visible, which might help increase feed subscribers.

Bruised doesn’t have an About page. I wish there was one, because there’s stuff I think readers would like to know about. Why the blog is named so is the first question that comes to my mind. From what I’ve read I can tell that Nicole writes on random topics, but nowhere am I able to find a category list to explore. Her writing is original and the majority of her posts have decent length. She rarely includes pictures in her posts, and I wonder if they might help break up the darkness of the theme.

Nicole has been blogging on Bruised for a little over four months, and she’s off to a nice little start. When you visit her blog, please tell her that valmg sent you.

This morning I reviewed Liza’s blog Vanilla Soup.

The first thing I see when the blog loads on my screen is….. green! Lots and lots of green. Green is not one of my favorite colors but this theme looks really sharp. Vanilla Soup is currently on a two column theme made up of shades of green and off white. It takes me ten clicks to get from the top of the blog’s home page to the bottom. At the top there are tabs representing the blog’s pages, and there’s a nice green rollover effect on them. If possible I would include a tab for the blog home page. In the footer the reader is informed that monkeys will eat us all, which made me chuckle.

Liza’s sidebar is uncluttered. It’s so neat I have no suggestions for it except to move the rss subscribe link higher on the page. Having the subscription link near the top gets them to act on it right away (hopefully). I did wonder why there’s a Smorty review link all by its lonesome self over there.

Liza has included an About page. You all know how I like a good About page. But in case the About page isn’t enough, she offers readers access to an even better About page at the bottom of her About page. Liza writes on a wide variety of random topics including life and relationships. Her writing is original and her posts are of nice length. She includes pictures in a number of her posts. I particularly enjoyed her 12/09/07 post on how to save your life.

Go sample some Vanilla Soup. When you do, please tell Liza that valmg sent you.

This morning I reviewed the blog My Favorite Things, by Agnes.

The first thing I see when Agnes’ blog loads on my monitor is … Agnes! The header contains an image of her, which compliments the blog title “My Favorite Things”. The blog takes an astounding 147 clicks to get from the top of the home page to the bottom. Yes, that is one hundred and forty seven, not a typo. Wow Agnes, that page is way too long. I would shorten the amount of posts on the page.

Currently the blog is on a two column white theme, with a lot of open space on both sides. There’s quite a bit in her sidebar. I would recommend a little housekeeping there. Many of the ads and some of the widgets are bigger than the column. Agnes could make things that don’t fit smaller, make the sidebar bigger or switch themes. The archive currently lists all of the current months posts on individual lines. Depending on the frequency of posting that could really make for quite a list, so she might want to consider putting it into a dropdown box. The subscribe link is way down at the bottom in a text link that mnight be easily missed, if anyone makes it all of the way down there. By having the subscribe link near the top it will be one of the first things a reader sees, and hopefully makes use of.

I am not able to say much about Agnes’ posts as they are not completely written in English. I can say that they appear to be of nice length, and that what was written in English was original content. I do suggest that she include more pictures. There’s much open bright white space on the blog, and pictures would break it up nicely as well as bring the reader’s attention to that area.

When you visit My Favorite Things, please tell Agnes that valmg sent you.

This evening I reviewed the blog The Pond, one of Karen’s blogs.

The first thing I notice about this blog when it loads on my monitor is the goldfish in the fish bowl. I have this mental image of a cat sitting there waiting to stick his paw in and catch it. But I digress. The goldfish goes well with the statement “just a little fish in a big pond”, which really applies to all of us. Currently the blog is on a two column white theme. It takes me eleven clicks to get from the top of the blog’s home page to the bottom.

Karen keeps a neat and tidy sidebar. Nothing to trip over there! When the archive expands to include 2008 I would suggest putting it in a dropdown box. I would also suggest moving the rss subscribe button as high in the sidebar as possible, maybe right above or under the site search. Karen ought to show that button off, it’s really cute and festive! By having the subscribe button near the top it should be one of the first things a reader sees and will hopefully do right away while it’s fresh in their mind, rather than maybe getting to it later. Also, waaaay down at the bottom, she might want to alter the width of the viewers boxes to fit within the large column of the theme.
Karen’s posts are personal. Really, every time I read a post on one of her blogs I can hear and see her in my mind. Think I’m kidding? Go read her substantial About page, and then read some posts. Karen writes on a variety of random topics, and puts thought, time and heart into them. The one suggestion I have for her is that she include more pictures. The theme is white, leaving lots of open space. Occasional pictures would help break up the space and bring the readers attention to topics she’d like attention given to.

I think Karen’s doing a great job. Go take a dip in The Pond, and when you get there please tell Karen that valmg sent you.

Tonight I am reviewing the blog Flight of the Eaglehawk.

When the blog first loads on my monitor the first thing I notice is the brightness of the page. Currently the blog is on a three column theme. The theme is white, with a blue header and a greenish navigation bar. It takes me ten clicks to get from the top of the home page to the bottom.

The brightness is really getting to me. The white is bright, and the greenish link color on the white seems to make everything brighter. I would suggest changing the page background to the creamy color that is the color of the text in the header and navigation bar. I would then darken the link color to match the green of the navigation bar. Eaglehawk may want to look at his archives and articles pages, they don’t seem to be working right now.

The blogroll in the right sidebar is very long and would benefit from being placed into a box with a scrollbar or a dropdown box. The amount of things in the right sidebar is far more than the amount of things in the left, Eaglehawk could consider rearranging both sidebars so they’re more evenly distributed. The edge of the Blogrush widget in the left sidebar is being cut off.

Eaglehawk offers posts containing original content. He also includes pictures rather frequently, which can be so nice for the reader. Nowhere was I able to find a category list. I think category lists are helpful because they permit exploration of a blog by being able to see what else a blogger has written in that category.

Fly now, like an eagle, and go check out Eaglehawk’s blog. And please tell him that valmg sent you.

This afternoon I reviewed the blog Beaman’s World.

The first thing I notice about this blog when it loads on my monitor is the cats. I love cats! Currently the blog is on a two column multi colored theme of black, red, yellow and blue. I know it sounds busy, but it works. It takes me ten clicks to get from the top of the blog’s home page to the bottom.

Beaman’s World is neat and orderly, but I do still have a couple of suggestions. The blogroll is lengthy. It would look good if the blogroll was put into an expandable box, and would then also match the other expandable boxes in the sidebar. Also, the archive takes up quite a bit of space, not showing every post from the current month would help. He could also consider rearranging the current sidebar to put all the blogrolls together, so that visitors could see them all at once and further have insight into Beaman’s interests.

Beaman’s posts are all original content. They consist of substance reflecting time and thought, and are of a good length. He doesn’t offer an About page (you know how much I enjoy a good About page), but he does offer a brief profile of himself and his two cats.  He writes on serious issues, but some of his posts also reflect a good sense of humor. His post about Dyson vacuum cleaners really made me laugh. Oh, I almost forgot to mention. His cat Nigel has special powers. He made predictions for 2007, and is now providing horoscopes to visitors. I have commented, requesting Nigel give me a reading. If he does, I will post it on this blog.

Take a ride on over to Beamans World, and when you get there please tell Beaman and the cats that valmg sent you.

This afternoon I reviewed a relatively new blog called The House of Poker.

When the site loaded on my monitor, the first thing my eyes caught was the header. It features playing cards, fitting with the title and theme of the blog. The blog currently appears on a beige two column theme. It took me eight clicks to get from the top of the home page to the bottom. The sidebar is organized and neat.

One thing I can recommend is that the author check his theme width. When I reviewed the site a horizontal scroll bar appeared on the screen. I have my monitor set at 1024 x 768 and don’t often have to scroll left to right, which makes me happy because I really dislike scrolling left to right.

The blog is about poker. It is written by two authors, skinski and cerberi. That is all I know about the writers of the blog and the blogs purpose. I recommend an About page, so people will understand a little about the authors, their knowledge and experience with the game. The blog offers tournament news, background on the game and playing tips. There are also pages containing game instructions, a poker store and recommended game sites. The posts are original and substantial, and written in easy to understand terms.

I think the site is off to a very nice start. Go check it out and tell skinski that valmg sent you.