Written on February 6th, 2008 at 06:02 am by Darren Rowse
Win a Copy of Web Design for ROI
One of the books that I’ve been enjoying lately is Web Design for ROI: Turning Browsers into Buyers & Prospects into Leads. It might surprise regular readers who know that I’m a self confessed web design dummy to know that I’ve been reading (and enjoying) a book about this topic - but I was lucky enough to receive a review copy of it in the mail a month or so back and it is a topic that I’ve enjoyed learning about.
This isn’t a book about designing sexy sites - it’s a book about designing profitable ones (although sexy can be good too and this book will help with that too). It’s not a book about designing blogs - but a lot of what you read in it will inform decisions that you make about your blog’s layout and design also. Whether you’re designing your own blog or hiring someone else to do it this book is a worthwhile read.
I won’t review the book here (to be honest I’m still only 70% of the way through it) but if there are some good review of it on it’s Amazon page if you’re interested.
What I am happy to announce though is that I’ve been given 5 copies of this book to give away to ProBlogger readers.
How to Enter
To enter this competition you need to do 2 things:
1. In comments below leave us a comment telling us what blog’s design you love the most and why. Feel free to leave a link to the blog but do include some thoughts on what you find attractive about the blog’s design and why you admire it.
2. Your comment needs to have the keyword ‘web design’ in it - this will help us make sure comments don’t get caught up in our spam filters.
On Saturday (at midnight my time) I’ll end this competition and choose 5 of my favorite comments (ie comments that stand out for their value) to win a copy of the book. I’m also keen to see what blog designs you love and hope it’ll help provide many of us with some inspiration on that front.
117 Responses to “Win a Copy of Web Design for ROI”
Tanner Christensen
February 6th, 2008 6:29 am
My favorite blog web design would have to be ZenHabits. It’s extremely simple, which makes it easy to follow and even easier to read. I love how he has really big buttons/icons and uses photos in each post.
His layout is brilliant and has given him a great return of investment, something I wouldn’t mind getting from my latest blog as well.
djweezy
February 6th, 2008 6:33 am
I really like the web design of Paul Stamatiou’s blog, it is clean and has a very useful sidebar. It doesn’t hurt that he has great content too.
Blaine Moore
February 6th, 2008 6:35 am
web design
I like Yaro’s site, Entrepreneur’s Journey.
He has good placement for advertising, he has an easy to navigate interface, before he rethemed Small Business Branding he had a nice synergy for switching between the two sites, and I really like how he’s used audio buttons to explain and welcome his readers.
Bitten
February 6th, 2008 6:41 am
Well, of course I like my own blog’s web design. It’s been made by a pro web designer and he really did a great job. The layout is original, minimalistic and kind of cute.
I’m sorry for being such egoist but I couldn’t choose between all the great designs I’ve seen so I chose the easy way. Nonetheless, its one of my favourite web designs.
Shannon Lilly
February 6th, 2008 6:41 am
I have read this book and can also vouch for how valuable it is to everyone who wants to build there own ROI web design!
Mike Goad
February 6th, 2008 6:46 am
Not to be corny, but I like the ProBlogger web design. It’s generally simple to navigate and not overly “busy.”
Tom Beaton
February 6th, 2008 6:48 am
As I imagine many people will say - I like my own site design (technogumption) I think the design is subtle and not obtrusive in any way.
John Cow’s web site has a great fun theme. He has managed to keep the cow theme throughout both his design and content which is great.
Tyler Cruz has his comic style avatar that makes the site unique and has a practical yet colourfull design.
Max
February 6th, 2008 6:52 am
One of the most aesthetically pleasing blogs that I have seen is http://www.skullcandy.com/blog. The vector art in the background really adds and graffiti-ish feel to it, and really reinforces the “candy” in the brand’s name.
The only criticism that I have is the content area. I is a bit cramped and seems like not much though was put into it. The font could be maybe a smaller size with a larger line spacing, and maybe even add a few little icons here and there. Other than that, I have to say that this is one of the best looking blogs in my opinion.
Dobromir Hadzhiev
February 6th, 2008 6:52 am
if you’re in the web design business, you must respect Veerle Pieters’s work, her blog is a combination of style, colors and great tutorials, one of the reasons it has that beautiful layout is it’s free of ads beside the deck adspace, clearly a winner in both design and content for me
Adam Teece
February 6th, 2008 6:52 am
web design
My favorite blog design is the one at http://www.seobook.com/blog
The reason I think it is so good is because it is very simple, and keeps the content king. It visually integrates into the rest of the site perfectly. And it doesn’t have those 6 horrid ads on the right side that seems to be on any blog of value now-a-days. I’m not saying advertising is a bad thing, but I greatly respect a blog that gives tremendous value while offering it’s own product for a price in order to make money.
The sites colors also mesh very well with their logo so that is great for branding.
Design really isn’t the thing that gets me hooked on a blog though, it is the content. I very rarely actually visit a blogs site unless a post pops up in my reader that I think I need to read a lot more closely, and I want to leave a comment on.
Mark V. McDonnell
February 6th, 2008 6:55 am
No blog’s design surpasses that of Smashing Magazine.
Andreas Gerads
February 6th, 2008 7:00 am
Good question, I really like the WP Remix Theme (http://www.wpremix.com/). It combines the design of a usual website with blog-functionallity. For me this is really the best theme, if you want to do both, website with a cool landing page and blog.
Web design at it`s best I think :)
Rinaldo
February 6th, 2008 7:01 am
I really like the web design of Jonathan Snook’s blog. Vivid colors, really well done and easy to read.
JamieO
February 6th, 2008 7:02 am
I suppose saying that the web design(s) on display through CommandShift3 or Design Shack is a cheeky way of saying everything hey?
Freelance Switch is a very strong design. The muted colour palette is easy on the eyes and has great typography. The line-height, use of color and font sizes all lead the eye to an inherent understanding of what the relative importance of certain pieces of information is based on their size, spacing, etc.
What sets FSW apart in my mind is the subtle use of “shine” for effect in just the right areas, without being overwhelming. When compared to other good sites, The Geniant Blog for example, those little touches make their design stand out above the competition. They had a tutorial post that documented how they put those finishing touches on their site, but I cannot seem to locate it currently.
mgroves
February 6th, 2008 7:04 am
I think the web design on my site, mgroves.com is pretty darn good, though I have to credit that to Jon Plante, the designer, because I sure as heck can’t design worth a crap.
BW
February 6th, 2008 7:07 am
web design
I like the gridfocus theme used on anywired. It’s a simple layout ustilising white and shades of grey, but is very appealing to the eye.
also like my own site on Puerto Rico - here I’ve used the Puerto RicoElegantBlue theme by Nathen Rice
there are also some great Magazine Style wp themes starting to appear.
Shawn
February 6th, 2008 7:11 am
I hate to do it, but I love the web design of my own blog. I don’t say that just for self-promotion, really. I say it because, when I was in the process of launching it last week, I spent days looking through Wordpress themes looking for one that really did it for me. I, too, am somewhat of a web design/CSS dummy, even though, by day, I work in the IT industry. When I came across this theme it hit me. I needed it. So I plunked down the $50 for it and I’ve never been happier with a theme.
It has all the necessary elements to set it apart from a typical blog. Plenty of room for ads and customization, a prominently displayed RSS feed and email subscription field (I added the one in the header field), and included plugins that allow me to feature my photos prominently (It is a photography blog, after all). It also displays excerpts from other posts without taking up too much space. Best of all, though, is the “Featured Post” header. It displays a large image (important for a photo blog) and makes the Featured article so featured that you can’t miss, but it’s not obnoxious. It’s still a new site, but a few of the first comments on it specifically mentioned how much they liked the layout.
I love it!
Matt Propst
February 6th, 2008 7:11 am
I forget how I came across it, but I love the web design of http://cameron.io/ The site has an extremely simple yet refined layout with a definite style. that site gets my nod.
linkerjpatrick
February 6th, 2008 7:21 am
I have to agree with the post above about liking the web design of Smashing Magazine
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/
Of course I like it because that are design centric so they better have a good design and they do make good use of fonts and white space.
and of course I do like the design and layout of your web site. I’m not saying that to flatter you either but it works.
Of course I try to design my own site in such a way others will like to visit and stick around.
http://www.spinningsilkmultimedia.com/blog/
and try to conform to respect standards in layout and design.
Keith
February 6th, 2008 7:21 am
The web design/blog design I just love is GigaOm. Extremely clean, easy to look at and the ads don’t seem to get in the way, even though there are quite a few of them.
Martin
February 6th, 2008 7:26 am
My favourite blog from a web design viewpoint at the moment is zen habits.
I love the way he has got it setup, from the way his RSS icon bridges across the header/nav/main sections to connect them together, to the typeface he uses (one of the most easy to read blogs around), to his use of images and even the way the two columns backgrounds expand on larger screens.
My only criticism of his site is that, while I am a fan of the ‘fat footer’, his is a little jumbled (maybe too much there?), but overall that’s a pretty minor gripe - it’s a beautiful design and I’m sure Leo is quite proud of it.
Chris Marshall | Martial Development
February 6th, 2008 7:32 am
I like the web design of Martial Development, because they (I) took a free Wordpress theme, made a few changes to give it a totally unique look, and gave away the resulting product to anyone who wants it.
You can download the free “NInja Scroll” theme and apply it to your own Wordpress blog.
Andreas Gerads
February 6th, 2008 7:36 am
Good question, I really like WP Remix, a theme for Wordpress best. It combines a website-like landing page with blog-functionallity and for me is web design at it`s best.
Kind regards
Andreas
Chris Shouse
February 6th, 2008 7:42 am
Web Design
I like http://www.lifeloveandlearning.com/blog/ it is simple and straight forward clean lines.
A Web Design book would help in my research of the new blog I want to do.
Thanks Darren
Cheapest Man
February 6th, 2008 7:43 am
I’ve only been using Wordpress for less than a week, but I’ve come across some great designs. I’d obviously like to vote for my own, but I won’t.
So, the other site I really like is this dude’s Jim Kukral. It’s simple and easy on the eyes. I know he’s using Revolution Themes (cause after seeing his I HAD to have that for my own).
Bill
February 6th, 2008 7:47 am
Web Design
I like a bunch of them but I like the layout of this one with the widgets under the headers showing the most viewed content.
http://theblogentrepreneur.com
Justin
February 6th, 2008 7:49 am
Answering this question from the perspective of a blog reader, and not a blog owner (which I am too), I thoroughly enjoy the web design of http://www.freelanceswitch.com . Overall, the design is very professional, sharp and clean. The navigation is clear, and the articles are obviously separated from one another with easy to read text. The sidebar contains helpful information, and while it also contains advertisements, they’re not intrusive or overwhelming. I particularly like that the site’s design is unique , but also done in a style that can quickly be associated with related sites such as psdtuts, flashden, and eden.cc . I think this branding is important, and plays a certain role in the success of each of these blogs. A reader who regularly visits one site will instantly feel comfortable when they come upon another site with that familiar look and feel.
Favorite Browser
February 6th, 2008 7:50 am
Thanks for great info, I’m not interested in wining this book, I’ll be buying it, if you know any other books, let me know :-)
Chris Thomson
February 6th, 2008 7:53 am
One of the cool blog designs I found recently is the design of Carsonified.
I love designs that have front pages that display lots of information, and not only the recent posts (but also include recent posts in a smaller area), like you do, Darren, at ProBlogger. Carsonified does the same thing, and I love it.
Also, if you’re into blogs with front pages full of recent posts (and look like all the other pages like single post pages, etc), I’d recommend airfrost.
River’s design of airfrost is beautiful, and based on Symphony.
eve
February 6th, 2008 7:54 am
My favorite web design has to be at the http://www.ndesign-studio.com/ I love the organized tabs, the icons and how the background pops. Not many people can make a background that busy work and look professional.
I love the graphics in the posts and the layout is so nice. Hopefully one day they will offer it up to others!
Jon Smock
February 6th, 2008 7:54 am
I love Veerle’s blog design. Perhaps it seems obvious to choose a designer’s blog design, but I appreciate how creative yet clear her web design is, even with everything that’s going on in her sidebars, etc.
Favorite Browser
February 6th, 2008 7:56 am
By the way, seems only one result on eBay (ships to USA only), Amazon doesn’t ship to my country as well. If you are interested, I can send you $ for this book + shipping so you could send me it, if interested, use contact for in my web site :) otherwise, will have to wait for more sellers on ebay :-)
Frugal Dad
February 6th, 2008 8:05 am
I’ve always been a fan of http://www.thesimpledollar.com/ web design because it is one of the cleaner designs around. The ads are tasteful and well-placed, and the obvious focus of Trent’s blog is his content. Besides, it’s hard to argue with someone that has 25k subscribers!
Jeremy Davis
February 6th, 2008 8:05 am
Recently I’ve come to enjoy the web design of Put Things Off. It’s a slight modification of the Premium News Wordpress Theme. The illustrations suit the site well and give it a bit of uniqueness. This blog is a good example of knowing what it wanted to do from the beginning, instead of a blog that slowly morphed into being by cramming new content into sidebars. Most all the things I want to find on the site are easily located with no clutter.
Tangible Tara
February 6th, 2008 8:17 am
I love, love, love how Derek Allard’s blog is designed. It’s fun (there are robots!) but it’s also very content driven. I especially like how the side navigation doesn’t scroll off the screen, so it’s easy to get to other areas of the site.
I found Derek’s site through the CodeIgniter community.
And the user guide for CodeIgniter is an excellent example of a site that is really well thought out.
It may be simple and unglamorous, but I think it’s a stellar example of good web design that thinks about how the page will be used by it’s audience, rather than how to make it cool. When I was shopping around for a PHP framework, the Code Igniter docs sold me on the framework.
Why? Because, in my mind, if they put that much thought into the content and presentation of their docs, then they much have put the same care and attention to detail into their product.
Joanna Young
February 6th, 2008 8:21 am
My vote for favourite web design would also be Freelance Switch because it’s:
Distinctive
Clear
Uncluttered
Easy to navigate
Welcoming
Packed with resources
Branded (with the repeat graphic)
Writing style & design go together
Design reinforces blog purpose
There’s no other blog that looks remotely like it
Joanna
Gavin Smith
February 6th, 2008 8:25 am
As far as visually stunning web design for a blog goes, I’m a big fan of Design Sponge - http://www.designspongeonline.com/ . It almost feels like I am reading one of those expensive glossy design magazines as I scroll through the articles. The advertising and monetisation is bold, yet not overpowering. It almost adds to the feel of the blog.
Without wanting to seem like a kiss ass, problogger is a good design as well, in that it adapts well (and maintains the brand) across a number of different purposes, including shop and jobs board. I think it is a great idea when planning a blog design, that you try to plan for all future possibilities.
Hazel
February 6th, 2008 8:26 am
I love Chrispian’s web design, it’s nice to see a dark theme that’s still entirely readable.
Matt Packer
February 6th, 2008 8:40 am
There’s so many well designed websites out there and these days blogs are leading the way!
My favourite resources to find some of the best website designs are CSS Tux and Fave Up.
A few people have mentioned Freelance Switch among their favs, I’d have to agree as it’s such a clean and simple design that just seems to be fresh.
Other blogs / website designs I’d suggest people take a look at are;
- CSS Rockstars
- Slash Chris
- Tim Lahan
- JareDigital
- Jeremy Cowart
- ISO 50
- Gala Darling
There’s such a massive universe of blogs around, hopefully people will have a little stray outside the usual array of similarly designed ‘make money online’ websites..
Take it easy.
Matt
Donovan
February 6th, 2008 8:44 am
I love the design of the anticlown sites, The Superficial especially. Good navigation, cross-promoting within his sites, and great advertiser placement.
Shannon Lilly
February 6th, 2008 8:45 am
I guess I should have added this to my first comment but I was to excited to talk about the prize!
Anyhow…
The webdesign or blog design rather that I like the best through the whole net would have to be http://www.tylercruz.com
Tyler cruz brings a sweet avatar of himself to the mix where as sites like johncow are just a general person not the blogger himself.
I personally have talked with tyler on various occasions and he even reviewed my webmaster forum.
He shows what a true good blogger is and thats why I think his blog design is the best.
Phil Nash
February 6th, 2008 8:46 am
My favourite site design at the moment is Andy Rutledge’s site. It is so simple, but beautiful because of it. I’m really into minimalist designs at the moment and am about to redesign my own blog so I’ve been on the look out for inspiration!
(and, for the purposes of key words in comments, web design!)
William Tully
February 6th, 2008 8:57 am
I’ve been playing around with a theme for a new blog of mine for Knowledge Advantage and it is the first one I’ve see that has widgets you can actually move around. Yup, just grab ‘em and move them where you would like. It’s always refreshing to see someone having fun with their templates - sure, it’s absolutely useless, but it’s a great start for something bigger that IS useful! (oh and the blog is super new and not ready for release yet - just wanted to point out the template becuase I haven’t seen it anywhere else).
As for designs (web design), I am partial to blogs where you can distinguish between each blog post (ie. each one doesn’t start and end with an advertisement), and significant screen percentages are devoted to CONTENT and not advertising.
I appreciate the fact that people insist on monetizing their blogs, yet why are you hiding that which we actually came for?
My actual suggestion would be Yanko Design simply because there is advertising on the left, blog stuff on the right, and content down the middle with only one advertisement in the centre column. Very clean.
kevin watson
February 6th, 2008 9:00 am
My favorite blog in terms of web design is the blog at the Forgotten Ways. It just looks cool. I really like the shade of red that makes background and the archival paper that the actual blog text is on. It is just easy to look at, and more importantly, easy to read. The other reason I like it is that it has tons of information, but the layout almost hides that. It isn’t overwhelming, but you can get a load of info without navigating away from the site.
Rhett Soveran
February 6th, 2008 9:13 am
Currently, my favourite web design is my own: http://www.rockstarpoet.ca. I am not trying to be arrogant or an egotistical jerk. I just finished it. The fact of the matter is that I am not really a designer and when I do design something it takes me a really long time to see it. So that’s why it currently rates as my favourite. Though I realize that there are fair better designs than my own.
I recognize that there is an offensive amount of green on my blog, but it’s better than what I had imagined and so I really love it.
Mike King
February 6th, 2008 9:15 am
I recently came across http://www.firstwivesworld.com/ from my google alerts keywords. I found one particular post of interest but as I explored the site a bit I found that I really love the web design.
It has an extremely simple navigation bar along the top and the best part is that each page or section of the site has a completely different style sheet or color scheme. This is really nice. The front page also has an amazing summary of each section (again all color coordinated) like a magazine style design.
The site also has a great style for each post where a single bar at the bottom of each post summarizes the comments and sharing options. Its nice and clean and VERY friendly to read. If you hover over the “more posts about” item in this bar, it expands to show the related posts. A great design for showing when there is interest, yet keeping it clean otherwise for general viewing.
Also, the site has a great mix of content and images which highly add to the visual appeal of the site. The getting started page is a great implementation as well to attract and guide new users. Overall, I was quite impressed with the overall web design.
JBagley
February 6th, 2008 9:19 am
They have a saying in my part of the World - “Proudly South African”. This saying is used to encompass almost everything that comes out of our country. Us South African’s are very proud of our country and where we have come in such a short space of time. Ideate, is one of those blogs that is about fresh new ideas. It’s about small business. It’s about South Africa. It’s also about money, innovation, progress, and gob-smackingly brilliant concepts. Oh, its also about web design. ;-)
This is exactly what is portrayed in their blog design. It makes heavy use of the SA flag, although its not made to look like a feature of the site. They also have images of local products that have been exported world wide, namely Castle Beer and Mrs Balls Chutney.
Along with the clean text and large headings, the most interesting is the use of a kid wearing a cape as if he was flying. This is exactly what South Africa is - we are young (in terms of being a free and fair nation), yet we are flying with regards to progress, technology and innovation.
The overall design of the blog definitely beams the saying “Proudly South African!”
Acdbulls
February 6th, 2008 9:40 am
I really like the Web Desing from http://www.stylomovil.com , very clean and easy to use.
They need to find a logo for them, but it´s very simple and i like it.
Lani
February 6th, 2008 9:48 am
At the moment, I’m completely in love with the web design over at skelliewag.org. It’s pure, clean and functional but uses graphics in a powerful way. Consistently.
Ian McKenzie
February 6th, 2008 9:53 am
Web-design
I’d chose the design I’m using at Ian’s Messy Desk. I can’t call it mine; it’s the Deep Blue Wordpress from DailyBlogTips. Three reasons spring to mind:
1) I like the look. It has something of a Web 2.0 style, which is trendy at the moment. And it is not a cluttered theme. (Not including the ways I have modified it. ;)
2) It has easy AdSense integration and is SE optimized. I have seen significant improvement to all my stats since switching to the theme, January 1/08.
3) DailyBlogTips has generously made this theme available at no cost; actually, three versions of the theme. They could sell a theme like this, but have chosen to share it with the blogging community.
Kevin
February 6th, 2008 9:59 am
Web Design
S I M P L I C I T Y S E L L S
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/
=)
Andy MacDonald
February 6th, 2008 10:12 am
Just for everybody’s information, this is a worthwhile competition. i personally have purchased the book and found it to be very informative and it has certainly helped me with my websites.
Well done Darren. Good comp.
Pepper
February 6th, 2008 10:17 am
One of my favorite sites for web design is
http://www.briangardner.com/.
(I’m sorry, i don’t know how to make a link here.)
The color pallette is so easy on the eyes and right away you can see the three services he offers. The homepage is short therefore I don’t have to scroll down forever to get what i’m looking for.
Pepper
February 6th, 2008 10:19 am
OH! it made the link for me……cool!
Pat B. Doyle
February 6th, 2008 10:59 am
Web Design
I have to agree with Martin - I love the design of Zen Habits, http://zenhabits.net/
It is so simple and uncluttered, it is a joy to read. I like the simple dark gray header with the image of stones. I like the blue sidebar - it is a soothing color.
The photos are interesting. There are a few ads, but they don’t make the site look cluttered.
I love the way the simplicity of the design reinforces the concept of zen simplicity that Leo talks about on the blog.
Celine
February 6th, 2008 11:16 am
Darren, here’s my answer in the form of a letter:
Dear Spoon Graphics blog (http://www.blog.spoongraphics.co.uk/),
I love the way you look. In fact, I love the way you are. Maybe love is an understatement.
True, you’re a blog by web design experts, so that might be a bit unfair. But there are just so many things about you that I can’t resist:
Your carefully crafted elements. You play with shape, boldness of color, lines, and texture! One would think that only chaos can come out of this - but not with you! All your elements work in complete harmony.
The way you direct my eyes. What’s immediately noticeable about you is the “Blog Spoon Graphics” image on your header. But you do more than let my eyes linger there - the dotted lines and the paper airplane makes my vision flow to the “subscribe” section.
Is this your way of manipulating me? Perhaps. But manipulation means that you are conscious of what you are doing. I do not feel violated that your form tells my eyes where to wander.
You’ve limited yourself to what’s essential. Everything is so straightforward, intuitive, and labeled. Despite the highly artistic elements on you, I’m never lost! I’ve already spoken of the beauty of your form - but the combination of this with your function leaves me speechless.
You share yourself with others. Whether it’s through your design tutorials, freebies (vector shapes, brushes, textures), and articles - you share a bit of your creativity. Not so you will be mimicked, but to inspire those like me to come up with our own vision and our own work.
I know I have yet to create something as bold, beautiful, and practical as you. But one thing’s for certain - you’ve already left your mark in my heart.
All my love,
Celine
Dan Cole
February 6th, 2008 11:29 am
The design I lover the most is… Problogger. The wen design has a nice site title, good transition between elements (to note: the sides from content from sidebar), and the thing I love the most is the use of the footer. Problogger is one of only a few sites to make good use of the footer and it includes a lot of good information in it.
Note: This had nothing to do with the fact that Darren is judging these comments…
Ross Hill
February 6th, 2008 11:41 am
One of the web designs, or blog designs, I like the most is Megnut. It has been around for years but has stood the test of time.
JEMi
February 6th, 2008 11:47 am
Web Design
To be honest, I love the JS theme on InMyHeels.com
and the customized Grid Focus theme on MyFavoriteDietBlog.com.
Granted these are my own blogs (honest, this isn’t the shameless plug) but
and am really proud of them. I’m a brand new blogger starting from the top and I took great care looking for just the right look, just the right feel.
I feel that if a site is easy to navigate and pleasing to the eye, it’s a winner.
Well those are the goals on those sites.
I’m getting there.
:)
Steve Cook
February 6th, 2008 11:49 am
I’m very new to blogging. In fact I only discovered problogger.net a couple of weeks ago and subsequently an entire world of amazing, informative and beautiful sites.
It never dawned on me that I could convey my interests in such a professional and yet informal way, until after just a few days of blogging, I stumbled upon http://the-coveted.com/blog/ - Essentially a fashion magazine, which I have no real interest in, but the design floor’d me:
Simple, smart and wonderfully intuitive, it feels and reads like professional and intelligent publication. It’s bold heading and article stucture is not dusturbed but is in fact complemented by it’s ad and very pretty affiliate link intergration.
Fashions fade, style is eternal.
Very inspiring web design.
Melissa Donovan
February 6th, 2008 12:14 pm
Anything by Brian Gardner, but especially his Revolution theme.
I also have to mention Freelance Switch because they have one of my favorite designs as well.
Third World Engineer
February 6th, 2008 12:19 pm
I’ve always been a sucker for the minimalist look so the web design of Waiter Rant appeals to me. It’s extremely simple and easy to use. Not putting too much content also emphasizes the content of his blog.
I also like my own site’s design (modified technics theme for Wordpress) but I’m still working on it. The empty space at the sides look a bit disturbing
Third World Engineer
February 6th, 2008 12:29 pm
I like the web design of Waiter Rant as well as the design for my own site (It’s a modified free theme for Wordpress).
Here are the links (my previous comment with the anchor tags didn’t seem to show up):
http://waiterrant.net
and
http://www.3w-engineer.net
John
February 6th, 2008 12:32 pm
Ryan Carson’s Carsonified. It’s a company website but the Blog is the main page, which I think is cool. I love the web design - I don’t think the hardwood floor concept would work for everyone, but here it fits so well. No ads as befitting a company site.
My favorite feature is how the first article is integrated into the header - and right now the graphic is really fun and makes you feel good.
And Ryan wears a cool hat.
Barbara Rozgonyi, Wired PR Works
February 6th, 2008 12:34 pm
Really enjoying reading this list - just wrote a post about blog themes and am adding this entry as a follow up. It’s hard to choose one absolute favorite blog based on web design - there so many good ones out there, including yours!
Here’s my entry:
What I love about http://www.northxeast.com . . .
Identity
NorthxEast, image shows direction with a compass image
Tagline
Umissable Weekly Articles for Bloggers – states frequency [weekly], for who [bloggers], what the reader will find [articles]; and what kind [unmissable] with a word you probably won’t see anywhere else
Image
Two starfish touching arms on a beach with a surf in the background, especially attractive on this drippy, grey and cold Chicago winter day
Color palette
Black backdrop offsets the teal, orange and neutral elements
Architecture
The list of weekly articles with number of comments on the home page reads like a table of contents, easy to browse
Featured article
Like the big, bold type and the author’s name above the post
Graphic elements
Previous articles icon calls attention as an askew bookmark above the article index. The teal divider band is similar to a graphic element I use on my site. I call it a “ribbon.”
Nav tabs
Simple direction to four pages
Blogroll
Great call to action: Obey the title: “Blogs every blogger should read” – and feed into the collection
Bonus Points
Content is remarkable, relevant and unmissable.
Jeremy Maurer
February 6th, 2008 12:40 pm
I think http://www.tylercruz.com is one of the best blogs. His Web Design is fabtastic. The color contrasts remind me of an easy to read comic book. His postings are real, not just “and read the rest of my posts”. He is “real” and I love the Masthead. On that note I also love the layout of http://www.johncow.com.
Jacky
February 6th, 2008 12:49 pm
I like shoemoney’s WP theme best.The style is really cool.
Andrea >> Become a consultant
February 6th, 2008 1:01 pm
Who is Roi and why would I want to help him win a copy of Web Design? ;)
Neil Duckett
February 6th, 2008 1:03 pm
I like Danny Choo’s website. It’s one of a kind, with some great functionality for users to interact with the site.
Danny Choo
The site is easy to navigate and has a great feeling of depth to it. I guess it’s similar to probloggers from a Magazine Style.
Sehrae Banu
February 6th, 2008 1:07 pm
I like the web design of Techtaxi. It’s colorful, neat, readable, organized and easy to find information.
Jeremy wilkins
February 6th, 2008 1:15 pm
Veerle’s blog has a number of things going for it that make it tasteful, usable, and downright delicious.
* Limited column width improves readability–your eye moves in saccades, tiny, abrupt movements. This makes it difficult to read columns of text several inches wide: it’s easy to begin re-reading lines, or skip lines altogether.
* Whitespace and color clearly demarcate regions of content. This makes scanning for the material you’re interested in extremely easy.
* High contrast, generous leading (spacing between lines) and sensible font choices (Verdana) makes the text a joy to read.
* :hover effects invite exploration, and make it easy to find your way through content, although there is a great deal of content to find your way through!
* Everything you might want is available or linked to on the front page. No canvassing the site in search of elusive tutorials or articles. And the portfolio call-out makes Veerle’s front page a one-stop shop.
Dan Schulz
February 6th, 2008 1:17 pm
Darren,
You claim you don’t know a thing about Web design, yet your blog is by far the best designed I’ve ever seen. It is simple, functional, and even aesthetically pleasing, even if the blog doesn’t zoom properly in Opera when the page is zoomed in (I get a horizontal scrollbar). Other than that, I have no problems with it whatsoever.
thatedeguy
February 6th, 2008 1:21 pm
I do like the web design of problogger. I also like the design of shoemoney.com, and of course, my own sites at thatedeguy.com and ebayhabit.com. I think what it really breaks down to is whether the web design fits the site and the readers. The design here, for instance, wouldn’t work very well in some settings, while it works great in this setting where it’s become almost a full online magazine.
Doug Green
February 6th, 2008 1:25 pm
I’m a big fan of Copyblogger. Both for the content as well as the blog layout. They’ve done several things that I admire. To begin with, the overall web design look is crisp and clean.
The opening screen above the fold presents well with good contrast between the outer-edge blue-gray, almost-neutral colours, and the clear white central pane. The ad section shows well on the right and I think this works really well. If you don’t catch the reader with the content, you have a good chance of having them click on the ad section.
I like the layout on the left with the subscription boxes at the top. One of my pet peeves is blog layouts that make you work to subscribe. This one doesn’t.
And finally, while I mentioned the content earlier I do like the emphasis on one substantive article at a time. It’s more like a website than a blog. I can ignore terrible design if the content is great but this site has both.
It’s a clean design, not cluttered and has great content. What’s not to like?
MyEggNoodles
February 6th, 2008 1:56 pm
Firstly, I’m really happy with my latest new blog design on my adventure travel blog: myeggnoodles.com
I love the colours and layout of this site: http://www.donmoses.co.uk/
For e-commerce, I really like the design of this site: http://www.hotelchocolat.co.uk
JamieO
February 6th, 2008 1:56 pm
The fact that it was a guest-post on another great design site (PSDTuts) caused the confusion, but after a few more googles I found the Freelance Switch design article I was thinking of - http://psdtuts.com/designing-tutorials/elements-of-great-web-design-the-polish/
I shouldn’t be surprised that so many people like FSW, checking my RSS feeds in the middle of the afternoon at work might have paid off for being able to get my comment in early with it for the contest. I feel like I’m holding top pair with an ace kicker coming up on fourth street. Hrmmmmm, blog poker?
Mike
February 6th, 2008 2:42 pm
That web design book sounds fantastic. Aesthetics are a matter of opinion but stone cold results speak for themselves.
A blog driven by truly inspired design is delicious:days, a food blog out of Germany. Every element from typeface to icons to palette appears meticulously planned to draw a reader deeper into the site and yet every impossibly lush photo delivers urgency, as in, “I have to read this post right now!”
Chetan
February 6th, 2008 2:55 pm
Darren, I love the web design of these couple of blogs -
Design of this blog is very cool and attractive.
http://www.pronetadvertising.com/ - The design is just beautiful and simple, making a pleasant feeling for the readers, and no much complications in it.
http://www.clazh.com/ - Very much attractive for just random blogging stuff, but not for any professional type of blogs.
Ellen
February 6th, 2008 3:02 pm
Don’t want to enter the contest–just wanted to add some weight as to what a good book this! I’ve encouraged several clients to buy copies for their web teams.
Jermayn Parker
February 6th, 2008 3:22 pm
My favourite blog web design would be several:
Pro blogger is good indeed (sounds like im sucking up does it not?) as its clean, separates sections by design, colours, lines etc and its simplistic (without looking bare) as it does not cram to much into the side bar
Another favourite would be Premium News theme by Adii. It has all of the positives of Pro Bloggers web design but also because of the little extra bits that add the cherry to the top (ajax menus etc). I am currently using this design for a new website - kick2kick.net
I also like my blog design, while its busy somewhat it uses just one colour and can be used effectivly! IT still has some work/ tinkering to do be done on it!
Sarah
February 6th, 2008 3:29 pm
I have to say I really like stevepavlina.com. It’s not the cutest but it’s the most functional.
I’ve never gotten lost at his site. I’ve always easily found what I was looking for and more. He cleverly and overtly entices the reader into delving deeper into his site with no effort to navigate it.
Plus, his is the most useful content in the personal development niche that I’ve found.
Conrad Hees
February 6th, 2008 3:32 pm
Hello Darren!
My favorite blog theme is at Tim Ferriss’s 4HWW blog. I like it for several reasons:
- It really utilizes the space above the fold to draw the reader into his whole theme ( 4HWW,not blog theme). It has a prominent picture of him in an exotic place, a prominent link to his book, and a limited number of links at the top, making the reader more likely to read on. Also, the subscribe button and the latest post, and Twitter are all above the fold. This is just good marketing overall.
- It is very simple, attractive, and easy to use. You do not have to look long to find something.
- Good use of whitespace and color contrast.
These things make Tim’s blog design one of the best out there right now. It is not a unique design but still individualistic. Overall, a great blog as well!
web design :)
Jerome Locson
February 6th, 2008 3:38 pm
As a blogger and a web designer, I admire sites that are properly organized. Generally, it must comprise all basic elements to have a good web design. From its navigation, ads positioning, layout and contents, all must be coherent. Theme must also work with the content.
And indeed Problogger meets all the criteria and I just love this site because of its fresh contents, interactive functionalities and well-organized structure.
PT from Prime Time Money
February 6th, 2008 3:45 pm
I love looking at other blogs’ web designs as research for refining my own look. Viewing other blogs for their designs helps me get a feel for:
1. a look that “pops” on the initial viewing.
2. colors, fonts, and layouts that are highly readable.
3. what’s fresh looking.
4. the key attractive elements above the fold.
5. different ways of presenting the same features (e.g. rss buttons)
I’d have to say one of the best designs I’ve seen lately in my niche is at Gather Little By Little. Thanks!
Four20
February 6th, 2008 4:23 pm
http://www.copyblogger.com
I always loved the very straight forward web design style Brian went with this website.
RSS and Email icons pop out from the edge. . .and it is very easy on the eyes.
Lance Loveday
February 6th, 2008 4:28 pm
Darren-
Thanks for your kind words about the book; we strongly believe people aren’t making the most of their sites/blogs. We wrote the book in an attempt to help work around some of the pain normally associated with web design projects by getting everyone involved focusing on the things that really matter.
Those interested can read an excerpt of the book here: http://www.wd4roi.com/inside-the-book.html.
Thanks for fighting the good fight.
Brett
February 6th, 2008 4:54 pm
There are many portions of a blog’s design to consider. I have seen many blogs that do a few things well. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of one that does everything well, so I want to select on that stands out for having a great header section:
http://moneysmartlife.com/
What I I like about this header:
- Immediately the tag line stands out. Enjoy Life and Invest for the Future. Brands the site well.
- The top navigation quickly sends you down three paths 1) enjoy life 2) investing for the future or 3) get off your duff and do items one or two now!
- The tabs are also handy — I love to read the “about” page on a blog so I like this to be easy to find.
Additional features that I like on blogs that are easy to find on this one (despite the ads):
1) Top Posts
2) New Posts
3) Categories
I still amazes me how many people organize all their posts by a calendar feature. That is useless to me.
I think that this blog is doing two things poorly 1) useless, ad stuffed footer 2) too many ads on the side that look similar to content or a blog roll and that pass along page rank. It is easy enough to figure out which are content and which are not after looking around for a minute, but that many ads look cheap and distract from the content.
Brett
February 6th, 2008 4:55 pm
There are many portions of a blog’s design to consider. I have seen many blogs that do a few things well. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of one that does everything well, so I want to select on that stands out for having a great header section:
http://moneysmartlife.com/
What I I like about this header:
- Immediately the tag line stands out. Enjoy Life and Invest for the Future. This brands the site well.
- The top navigation quickly sends you down three paths 1) enjoy life 2) investing for the future or 3) get off your duff and do items one or two now! Follows the branding well.
- The tabs are also handy — I love to read the “about” page on a blog so I like this to be easy to find.
Additional features that I like on blogs that are easy to find on this one (despite the ads):
1) Top Posts
2) New Posts
3) Categories
I still amazes me how many people organize all their posts by a calendar feature. That is useless to me.
I think that this blog is doing two things poorly 1) useless, ad stuffed footer 2) too many ads on the side that look similar to content or a blog roll and that pass along page rank. It is easy enough to figure out which are content and which are not after looking around for a minute, but that many ads look cheap and distract from the content.
I almost forgot the words ‘web design.’
UzBlogger
February 6th, 2008 5:18 pm
Okay, thanks for giving a chance to spread a word about my favourite web designs.
First of all, I’d like to talk about Dan Cederholm’s http://www.SimleBits.com. I’m a fan of this blog from the very beginning versions, and the latest design is the perfect. It’s very neat and tidy. It doesn’t have much graphics used but great color scheme helps your eyes to “scan” the whole content easily.
The second blog design I’d like to talk about is http://ilovetypography.com/
I’m subscribed to this site through RSS, but I visit it everyday to take a look once again… I can’t help myself :( The most attractive thing is that ILT’s design best explains the website’s content, what the site is about.
The next of a kind is Veerle Pieters’s http://veerle.duoh.com/
Being one of the most stunning designed blog, it provides very great articles and tutorials too. It’s design doesn’t cut your eyes, very clean and lovely.
The last but one of the best web design show takes place at http://paulenderson.com/
It’s very marvellous… shortly, I’d describe this like the following - after visiting “reflections” I decided to change my blog design. It’s design structure is awesome and my next blog design would be highly based on it.
I hope these links will help for many people to distinguish the great web designs on the web.
Thanks.
Sorel
February 6th, 2008 7:25 pm
First: Great Contest. Saw a lot of good designed blogs in those comments.
And my favorite blog design is http://www.tehnic.net Why? Because is my blog and because is designed by me. I`ve designed it by following all my needs.
I also like http://www.mydiscountdeals.co.uk also because is designed by me (and it`s normal to like your own work) but I like very much all work done by designdisease.com
And of course, web design keyword.
Mario
February 6th, 2008 8:43 pm
Well, I find http://www.webdesignerwall.com/ the most beautiful web design blog there is. Not only web design, content, usability and other stuff are just perfectly setup - and it runs on wp ;)
Anuj Seth
February 6th, 2008 9:32 pm
Talking about blogs, there are several new concepts in web design or blog design coming up nowadays. From the earlier style of having excerpts from 10 posts on the main page, things have evolved to take on looks called ‘Magazine’ and Newspaper formats.
I personally like the magazine layout for blogs since it provides an eye catching preview of what the site is all about.
My Blog (click on my name above!), uses a Magazine style theme since this is a layout I like personally. I’m in no way mentioning that it looks the best though ;-)
Rob Mason
February 7th, 2008 12:07 am
The Rissington Podcast is one of the greats, made by two web design giants (Jon Hicks and John Oxton). It’s got great style and bags of character. They rent office on an old RAF base in the UK, hence the design for the site.
Also need to mention Smashing Magazine - part online magazine, part blog. The design is discreet and understated, but judiciously uses colour for highlighting. Also great use of images within blog entries to keep the content lively.
Orfej
February 7th, 2008 12:26 am
The best web design is when graphic illuminates a simple concept in a powerful way. For example : http://templeofjennifer.com/blog/. I want to avoid anything too fancy , heavy-framed boxes on a plain background.It is preety to see color pages with blue and the use of photoshop sunrays, for example, brings the audience’s attention right into the center of the piece or just to make preety.. The connection and size between each element also must be balanced very well.
Melinda Seckington
February 7th, 2008 12:49 am
I love the web design of N Design Studio: http://www.ndesign-studio.com/
It’s just so vibrant and pretty, but at the same time still very organized and functional.
Chris Jacobson
February 7th, 2008 2:04 am
I like the John Cow theme (http://www.johncow.com)
Sandra Niehaus
February 7th, 2008 3:30 am
Hey Darren,
Thanks very much for the shout out!
Clearly, your readers are very aware of the impact and potential influence of design, whether on a blog or on another type of web site.
Lance and I hope the book inspires and motivates readers to look at their sites with new eyes. Once you know what you want your site to do, there are easy ways to use the power of design to reach that goal.
Good luck to everyone!
Marylin
February 7th, 2008 4:11 am
of the blogs I brose on a regular basis there are 2 who’s themes I love. the first is http://www.worldofmatticus.com
the second http://www.somedaywewillsleep.com .
the first is very streamlined and crisp, with just the right amount of white space.
the second is easy to navigate around and has some nice custimization available with the top bar.
Of course I like my own blog design too, took me ages to find a theme I liked and tweak enough to be settled with it :)
Kelly
February 7th, 2008 4:27 am
Darren,
I am of course quite happy with my own blog’s design, which is a significantly tweaked verion of Carrie Petri’s Soleil.
However, the BEST blog out there in terms of web design, IMHO, is Idea Sandbox. It’s so beautiful, usable, and fun to read I had to write an email to its author right away when I found it, telling him what a gem it is.
Regards,
Kelly
Kelly
February 7th, 2008 4:36 am
Darren,
I am of course quite happy with my own bolog’s design, which is a significantly tweaked version of Carrie Petri’s Soleil.
However, the BEST blog out there in terms of web design IMHO, is Idea Sandbox. It is so beautiful, usable, and fun that I had to write the author right away when I discovered it, to tell him what a gem it is.
Regards,
Kelly
Greg
February 7th, 2008 4:54 am
I know my chances of winning thsi web design book are almost null, but I recommend to everyone to read a book if you want to learn! It’s the best way :)
shriya
February 7th, 2008 5:52 am
Well, I love my husband’s web design shankrila.com - in fact a heavily modified version of Saur theme. I love the grey and orange hints and the tag cloud plus the footer is great! IMHO. :-)
Miroslav Kovac
February 7th, 2008 10:42 am
My favorite blog web design is http://www.saleperson.info because of combination retro wallpaper plus modern layout and darken colors.
Honestly, this is not mine but Dreamworks Redux theme developed by Vinh Le. I will tweak it litle :)
It’s so cool that I visit this link every litle just to see that theme. If I get smaller font it will be perfect.
Good work Vinh, hope I’ll get a book.
Chris Estes
February 7th, 2008 12:23 pm
The best web design is New York Times. There is something about the proper usage of white space on a classic newspaper design that is just plain sexy. No matter what the lastest sunglasses brand or suits classic styles are always sexy.
The New York Times may not be a favorite news source but at least you can spot their style as synonymous with newspapers. Many news blogs are modeled after their front page an excellent usage of white.
How is white sexy? A lady in a white dress is always beautiful. I don’t know so much about a man in a white dress… But when I wear a white suit the lady’s flock to me and if I ad nice accessory, like a Pulitzer prize winning story, they really jump out for me.
So yes the New York Times gets my vote for sexy web design.
Karen Putz
February 7th, 2008 12:23 pm
I like the Freelance Folder web design. Simple, but it uses eye-catching graphics and photos in the blog posts.
Jeremy Zhong
February 7th, 2008 2:01 pm
Dear Darren,
Firstly, pardon me for my poor english and usage of vocabulary.
Previous Blog Design > Current
Your previous blog design was more to my liking than your current one. Right now when I enter problogger, there are too many links everywhere on your page and I don’t know where to start from. A lot of people sees it otherwise but that’s my personal opinion. However, I love the new implementation of a weekly video post, been looking forward to it every week.
Your previous blog design came in 2nd in my list after Yaro Starak’s Entrepreneurs Journey.
What I Find Attractive:
==> Good flow
He presents his information well and has a flow in it, starting off with Introduction at the top right hand corner, popular articles, mailing list, entry, etc.
==> Embedded Audio Message
What’s really interesting about the Introduction is it has an Audio Message. I’m not sure about everyone’s opinion about this but I would rather hear an audio than reading it. Upon hearing his introduction message, I knew I liked his accent and content, and proceed on to downloading his podcasts. I had not seen a blog that utilize this Audio function that effectively.
==> Popular Article Section
Next up would be a Popular Article section which includes an Audio Message too. These are the 4 articles that I first read on his post as I was really fascinated why is it really popular. After reading those 4 articles, I began to love his style of writing, and went on to read more of his other entries, subscribed to his mailing list and even thought of joining BlogTrafficKing but did not have enough cash flow for it. It was like a chain reaction. Every blog should implement this Popular Article section as it gives new visitors a chance to look at the best contents by the Author and whether or not his content and style of writing are to that visitor’s liking.
==> Huge font to Motivate me to read!
The font of Entrepreneurs Journey was huge! I really love it as it gives me a chance to scan through the article quick without missing any words. I happen to miss a lot of words when it comes to small fonts. I am a BAD speed reader. The huge font really somewhat plays with my mind, tells me I have less to read(when it could be the same amount) and gives me a motivation to carry on reading. Had not seen a blog that has such huge font as Yaro.
==> Slight Improvements…
However, there could be a minor improvement that could be done, in my opinion. The ‘categories’ section at the bottom right hand corner were shrinked to fit that spot together with the ‘Recent Comments’ section. Many new visitors would tend to miss that spot due to it’s small font and width of the sidebar. I am not sure if it would perform better if it was placed below his Blog Mailing List (Not BlogTrafficKing Mailing List) instead of that little ad. Well, Yaro might had done some testing to figure out that spot is the best for ads. I don’t know. Don’t take my suggestion too seriously. It’s great as it is now.
Why I admire it?
As I had mentioned earlier on, I find the design to be simple, plain, organized and there’s a flow to it.
I am aiming my blog in the future (I dont know where to start), to be like his.
PS: I am terribly sorry for writing such a lengthy one. The above are just my personal opinions and there are people who bound to disagree on my stand. Don’t take it too seriously.
PPS: My apologies once again for the structuring of my sentences. I tried my best. I don’t grow up from a english speaking background. Sorry. :(
PPPS: I am not paid by Yaro to write this. I respect him and he deserve this small opinion from me for dishing out fantastic content every week.
Best Regards,
Jeremy
Duane Brown
February 7th, 2008 3:03 pm
I love the web design for Go Media, http://www.gomediazine.com, as I think it shows off their design and style. The content is also really great and you can just feel for them as a person. I think a website/blog’s design is related to one’s personality.
If you are into design, art or business… this is a keeper in your rss reader.
Neural Spike
February 7th, 2008 6:33 pm
http://myinitiation.blogspot.com/
I just finished the web design of my first blog (!) “ My Initiation ”, it’s fresh new. I like how I could transform one default blogger template into something to fit all of my wants; it was like css zen garden in some way, adjusting the page to create something till it’s yours. I managed to put a clickable logo in it, to put a custom favicon, to place the bookmark button in line with the title, the comment and send links. I like how I blended MyBlogLog and the email form. The result is that is has all the features that I wanted and yet it’s very clean and simple; it didn’t end up messy like the rest of the newer blogs that incorporates the same elements into the page. I love it, I think it’s the best example of how you can be productive and do-it for free, with tools already available on the internet.
Nick
February 7th, 2008 10:22 pm
My favorite Web Design for a blog is currently http://www.problogger.net
I hope the fact that I am picking your site as my favorite does not discourage you from picking me as a winner as I will explain why this truly is my favorite design of blogs I’ve seen so far.
This was my first blog that I subscribed to as I was looking into starting a web-based businessness and blogging caught my attention. The reasons I believe it is very well designed web site and blog is because the middle post, about the fold and centered is your weekly video post. I think videos stand out and catch the attention of viewers. I then like the location of your featured post, it is prominent at the top of the page and is impossible to miss, it is also given extra space for readers to be able to get more into the article before clicking through so they’ll know if they want to read it or not. Further, the location of “recently at the blog” is in a great location and is set up nicely. I like unlike many blogs (and this is good because of how often you post and may not be good for others necessarily) how this is really an archieve of helpful blogging tips. And it is laid out as such. When you look at the recently at the blog section you see the diversity of blogs, it gives new visitors many opportunities to choose what they like and give you more opportunites to find new readers for your blog. I also think that your ads on the right and location of RSS subscribe is in a good location. I think the site looks classy and does not feel cluttered, as well as when you click through to a post it is easy to read and has a good font size, things that may seem insignificant but are good to keep readers reading the whole way through the article.
Lastly, I like the color orange, so you have an unfair advantage over me because of the orange on all of the post titles.
I should add however, I believe I have taken the best parts of many blogs and will be implementing them on my new blog (linked to through my name) which is not yet running, and then that will be my favorite web design for a blog!
Thanks,
Nick
Clint
February 8th, 2008 12:51 am
My favorite Web Design for a blog is currently http://www.dooce.com
I’m a pet lover like the author, and she incorporates her dogs into the design on a regular basis. She also rotates the masthead monthly to provide a fresh look.
Jill at GoalGuru.com
February 8th, 2008 5:54 am
I love the WordPress Dream Theme
It’s a more dynamic layout and I have been using it for a few weeks and getting great feedback. It is a premium theme but with my busy schedule, I needed a techie person to put the pieces together and customize it and that (Ben Cope’s expertise) was included.
Live Your Dreams,
Jill
Karen Anderson
February 9th, 2008 3:14 pm
I love all ALL templates available to people who use the latest version of Blogger.
Their attractive designs, combined with feature-rich modules (and the ability to just jump in and edit in HTML if that’s your thing) make it easy for even a beginning blogger to communicate clearly and powerfully and look like a pro. It takes just seconds to set the controls to ping Technorati and Google; that, plus the box for tagging each post, makes Blogger ideal for SEO.
I’ve had friends (writers, not designers) who have floundered around with more sophisticated apps, creating some pretty cheesy-looking blogs in the process, only to return to Blogger.
Nabin
February 10th, 2008 12:42 am
I like my own blog’s web design.