To Redesign, or Not

6 May, 2005 | Site UpdateTdp

I'm thinking of redesigning the site, again. It's close to how I think it should look and run, but it's not right, and I have a few issues that bother me. But, before I launch into it, I thought I'd ask if anyone has any suggestions.

I like the style of The Morning News, and some of the less cluttered news sites. Unfortunately, many of them have elements I don't need. I don't have a constantly expanding blogroll (though I am thinking of including my newly started del.icio.us links), so it can stay on an archive page. I only publish about every other day, so having access to the latest x number of posts is less important (to me, but what about you?), I'm not adding numerous posts per day to different categories so there's little confusion.

Keeping track of the latest comments is less important than most other blogs too, I don't get that many. How important is seeing comments to you? Do you read other peoples? Do you like the ability to add comments?

What about meta data; things like word and image counts, post categories, related articles? Or the ability to send to a friend or print a post, are these important to you? What about links to related material off site; to buy mentioned products, see similar stories, more info. Should links be part of the article or a separate list?

What about text. I'm going to stick with a white background and black text. But is sans serif (e.g. verdana) better, or the current style serif font, does it need to be larger, smaller, darker, bolder?

Do you want to see more images, both in the site design and the text? How about images for categories, or gravatars in comments? Would you like to see my latest images posted to Flickr, or have a gallery?

What do you like about the current site? Do you like the design, do you like the content, do you like the way I write. What topics interest you? What, if anything, makes you want to come back? Are there any articles you'd like me to expand on? Should the articles be kept separate or included as part of the blog?

Are there any particular sites you like to visit, to look, or read?

Please leave a comment, or drop me a line via the contact page.