Blog-Ophttp://blog-op.comDescription of site:
A collection of useful resources for the small-time blogger. This site comes from Chris who also keeps the Thermal blog, which faired so well (9/10) when we reviewed it back in November 2006. It has a promising pedigree.
Appearance:
Three column WordPress template with unusual pale green colouration.
Organisation:
Neatly organised. There are ten posts displayed per page - I think this is a lot of content and may prove overwhelming for the infrequent or first time reader.
Navigation and Functionality:
Sidebar links and well hidden blog archive. I really struggled to find the archive link – always the first place I go when I do a review. It is tucked down the left hand sidebar, just above the AdSense referral buttons. It might prove difficult to find for the ad blind so I recommend more strategic positioning.
Advertising:
Left hand sidebar is an intermingle of Google AdSense ad units and referral buttons. The right hand side bar includes a few discreet directory mini banners.
Comments:
This is a requested review.
After finding the archive I hopped back two months in time to the beginning of Blog-Op. The posts quickly jump into the promised 'blogging resources' theme and we are introduced to RSS, Feedburner, pinging and Google sitemaps to name but a few. I noticed that this is a community blog and I recognise several of the contributing names – Chris has employed a sound knowledgebase here, which is reflected in the high quality of the writing. It really is insider knowledge – not canned dribble that has been cut and pasted from elsewhere. I've got quite a lot of blogging experience myself now but I never knew what a 'Favicon' was, or how to go about getting one. I'm certainly wiser having read through Blog-Op and there's not many blogs I can say that about! I draw your attention to the 'How To Set-Up A Blog' series of posts because these really do provide a brilliant overview of the process.
This may sound selfish now, but when I see a huge list of posts on the same page my heart sinks. I might be the exception because I have to read everything at one sitting, but I'm sure someone visiting Blog-Op for the first time might be overwhelmed by the huge content on a single page. I realise that Chris is trying to maximise space and navigability. I have to be critical of the colour scheme too. I'm afraid to say that I don’t find it very inspiring – it reminds me of mouldy bread, but perhaps the intention is to portray an image of new life.
In conclusion, Blog-Op is a very well written community blog which is abundant with useful blogging information. In my opinion (and I might be wrong) there are too many posts per page even though they are in the drop down format. The colour scheme and archive link positioning should also be revisited.
Rating:
7/10
Reviewer:
Tom
1 comment:
Tom,
Thank you very much for a very fair and constructive review as always.
I have already amended the sidebar/archive issue - you're not the first to make that comment, so it was time for it to change.
I like the mouldy green, so unless someone gets up a petition, it stays for now ;-)
I have not enabled drop-down posts, they are present in their entirety. Unless you have strange browser issues, it may be just because there's a lot of text. I may reduce the number of posts shown from 10 to 5 & see if that makes it better.
Thanks,
Chris.
PS Don't suppose you'd like to contribute an article on blog design, or anything else close to your blogging heart? It would be most welcome. :-)
Post a Comment