10 things: Angelika
19. Nov, 2008 
8 Comments
Now that the thrill of being nominated for the Best Web Design Blog Award has subsided (kind of), it’s time to get to the next review. You’ll notice I did skip over Money Saver Pro. I’m waiting to hear back from the blog owner, as it has been sold. In the meantime, this means Angelika is up.
I’ve stressed before how difficult it can be to review personal blogs. It’s a challenge because they’re, well, personal. I don’t want to chance offending anyone because my opinions and tastes are different. That being said, however, if you ask for a review, you’re (probably) going to get one. So, Angelika, here are 10 8 things I hate about your blog:
- Why do I have to see “Dear Blog Visitors” on every page?
- My son eats broccoli faster than your blog loads.
- Do you have foreign readers? Is the translator widget really necessary?
- The “Listen Now” feature is interesting, but kind of creepy.
- What are those links on the bottom?
- Where do I go now?
- How do I get back home?
- The overall layout and sections don’t make sense.
Details
8 things I hate about your blog:
- Why do I have to see “Dear Blog Visitors” on every page? I got it the first time I visited your blog. And the second. And the third. I get it every time I click on a post and it’s the first thing on the page. Get it?
Not only are you imposing a lot of rules on your readers, you’re doing in repeatedly.
What does this mean? While I understand the desire to get things out on the table, so to speak, I would recommend placing your “Dear Blog Visitors” content in the sidebar. That way it is still always there, but just not as annoying.
- My son eats broccoli faster than your blog loads. This is definitely saying something, since my son hates broccoli (I’m guessing you can relate to that, having a son yourself). You have so many widgets, communities, links and stuff in your sidebar it is slowing your load time to a snail’s pace. I’m on DSL and if I didn’t know you and like your blog, I would have clicked away long before I could get to “Dear Blog Visitors.”
What does this mean? It’s very simple: find a way to speed up your load time. The obvious thing to do is pare down the widgets.
- Do you have foreign readers? Is the translator widget really necessary? I’ve seen this on many blogs and will always add it to the 10 things list because 9 1/2 out of 10 blogs do not have foreign readers. And if they did, I bet they’d still speak pretty good English.
What does this mean? Unless you really do have readers from a remote African village, or a small new Eastern European Bloc, get rid of the translator. It’s not taking up many resources, however, with your load time, every little bit helps.
- The “Listen Now” feature is interesting, but kind of creepy. I actually laughed out loud when I clicked on the “Listen Now” link and a computerized male voice started reading your blog post to me. Do you have visitors who are visually impaired?
What does this mean? Like the translator, if “Listen Now” is not there to help visually impaired readers (is that an oxymoron?), take it out. It’s also using resources. If you do need it, consider a female voice. (Although it was a hoot hearing the guy!)
- What are those links on the bottom? When I click on them, I’m taken to Technorati. I don’t understand what they are for, however, and some of them returned no results.
What does this mean? Explain what these are for. Or get rid of them.
- Where do I go now? There are only two ways to view other content on your blog, and you make me scroll to get to them. While this is your blog and it may not bother you to scroll, and scroll, and scroll—you might want to consider your readers. Many of them (me included) like to have options to view similar posts.
What does this mean? I’m not saying you need to have archives, a tag cloud, categories, pages, etc., but it would be nice to at least have your label cloud and archives a little closer to the top. If I’m reading your blog, I’m more interested in YOU and what YOU have to say, not your Fuel Roll, nor your favorite EC blogs.
- How do I get back home? Once I click on a blog post, I’m stranded. I really have no way to get back home. The two methods I’m used to, clicking on the blog title at the top, or clicking on a “Home” link are not available to me. Help!
What does this mean? I should have put this closer to the top of the list (I don’t always list items in the order they are most hated). I was really annoyed every time I clicked on a post and couldn’t really navigate anywhere else. This goes along with #6. Provide your readers with a means of navigating your blog, and a way to get back home.
- The overall layout and sections don’t make sense. At the very bottom of your blog, in the left sidebar, you have a section called Networking, yet you have networking widgets all over the place. In addition, the space between your two sidebars looks odd when your content column doesn’t extend to the bottom of the page.
What does this mean? Consider placing all of your networking widgets together in one section. Then, make only one sidebar extend (I’d recommend the left sidebar, myself) to eliminate this odd gap.
And there you have it. Angelika has a quick wit and a sharp tongue. I’m scared of how she’s going to respond!
I totally get the load time. Daddy Papersurfer said the same thing. But whenever I delete crap, it’s still slow for him. Not me. I got to http://www.iwebtool.com/speed_test to test my speed and it tells ME that my blog loads in under 1 second.
I had something in the middle on the bottom, but I got rid of it, LOL.
YOU aren’t supposed to click on the links at the bottom. They are for the spiders. I don’t know how to make them invisible. That would be why I made them too small to read…
Good suggestions! I’ll take them under advisement.
Angelikas last blog post..Stolen Meme
Good honest review once again. I visited the site and I have to agree the site is very slow. The biggest problem here seems to be that massive 1024 X 768px background image. This graphic alone is over 250Kb in size. Here is a major culprit with regards to the speed. This graphic needs proper optimization.
You and I seem to be experiencing the same problems when it comes to these reviews. We need a good site where we can check load times. There are a few of these available but not one that shows you exactly how long each portion takes to load. If I find one I will let you have the info.
Lyndis last blog post..Blog Review: THE iNFINITY
@Angelika: thanks for the opportunity to review your blog. I hope your back doesn’t hurt today.
Check out Lyndi’s comments regarding your background image to help you with your load time.
@Lyndi: if I come across something, I’ll let you know, too.
Congratulations for the nomination, YOu truely deserve it.:)
Scratch Bagss last blog post..Mighty Mouse or Nimble Pen?
Thanks Dagny! I hope you voted. LOL
I’ve taken some of your suggestions.
It just so happens that I was tired of that BG image and changed it to a smaller one anyway, LOL.
I think there should be only 4 things you hate about my blog now, you big meanie. ;-p
Angelikas last blog post..I can’t believe this $#*@!
A good review. For your title, it wasn’t hateful at all. I’d even dare to post my own, after a little tweaking.
Hi, I wouldn’t mind finding what you hate about my blog beforeiamfamous.com
jenns last blog post..Thoughts on Breaker 1-9