I’m a big fan of the DIY ethic but I also recognize I can’t do everything myself.
Inspired by Danny Brown’s launch of his blog design, I figured there was no better time than the present (err, past) to change the look of things around here, too.
After searching for a WordPress designer who is adept in customizing CSS and PHP code for the Thesis theme, I stumbled onto Steve.
Between a series of Thesis reviews about his services and a newspaper profile, I reached out to Steve Goerger of Web Design Beta. He gladly expressed willingness to achieve my desires for a revised header section and background, improved sidebar titles, and a few more tweaks here and there.
While I could have performed the changes myself, my time and frustration would have gone through the roof.
I am pleased by the new design and layout structure.
What do you think?
About Ari Herzog
Nicely done, Ari! Webpage looks terrific. I sure could use some pointers myself!
I like it, Ari – it mixes your minimalist preferences well with a strong, bold look. And nice job in the header – catches the eye, and that’s all you can ask for.
Thanks, Danny. I credit Steve for the 3-D “wrap” effect. I’d provided him some other blogs that inspired me design-wise and he took the best of them with his own creative flair.
New design looks good.
Only good?
Ha ha! Well, good means a lot of things. Even better than best.
It looks better than the previous design that you had but you are able to maintain the Ariwriter look. I like the fact that you maintained the font size and style. It looks neat and organized.The new look for 2011 is cool.
Fonts were untouched. I’d really like the font size in this sentence to be 2 points larger; this might come later.
Another thumbs up here. I like how the header section gives some depth to what would otherwise be a two-dimensional surface. It “adds.”
– Daniel
Thanks. By depth, you refer to the 3-D wrap look?
Exactly, Ari. Any “depth” to a blog’s look makes it jump out more, at least in my humble opinion. I suppose that could be carried too far, it certainly isn’t here.
– Daniel
Wow the new design looks awesome. The header is very simple but attractive.
Thanks.
Hmm… I liked it on Wednesday!
So what works and what doesn’t?
Top Bar – Works, very nice, sleek and modern
The share buttons – Don’t work, they look very pixelated, and I preferred the old ones n the side bar, it looked neater
Sidebar – Works, but tags look a little bit pointless, Twitter app would be better and where did that lovely picture go
Logo/Slogan – Works, very nice, I like
Colour scheme – Generally good, but 1) The Background could be a bit ligher, the grey feels a bit too dark to me 2) The buttons are really too blue, not the same blue as the buttons, and far too in your face
Overall its ok Ari, but as I said the design earlier in the week had more good points
Sorry if I have been a little harsh.
Christopher
“Twitter app would be better ” – Whoops I must have missed that earlier or it didn’t load, as its back now
The share buttons can be changed, whether pixelated or colored or whatnot. That’s easy; got an icon set you think would work better? I wanted them off the sidebar, though, which was getting cluttered.
The sidebar tag cloud is very helpful. Many asked for it when it wasn’t there, and I use it a lot. I also use the search form, myself, a lot.
You can’t be too harsh.
Ari, compared to 99% of blogs, your sidebar is practically empty!
Search, yeah I use that but not the tag cloud…
I will be on the lookout for some buttons
Your logic that other blogs have something that I should have it too is not a logical reason (to me). Many people like to eat cheesecake but I don’t.
Loving the flags Ari, better than the buttons
Now I really don’t mean to sound negative, but they are not 100% if you know what I mean, fit well, but not perfect.
“Your logic that other blogs have something that I should have it too is not a logical reason (to me).” – that is very true, every blog in its own right, why not lead by example?
“Many people like to eat cheesecake but I don’t.” –
you wouldn’t want to come to dinner at my house then Ari, I make a beautiful cheesecake, its my speciallity! – not American cheesecake though, the other one… anyway, back to blogging 
Things change around here a lot, as you can tell. The flags are less than 10 minutes old and they may be gone by day’s end, who knows.
I noticed the YouTube one wasn’t there when I flicked onto your blog, but seconds later on a new page load, it was
Perfection is an illusion. One person’s perfection is another’s imperfection. I merely strive to be.
Good Ethos
Hi Chris, It is fine as long as leading by example leads to a better outcome not the other way.
I am glad that Ari widen his sidebar. He is always receptive to new ideas as long as they fit with his taste.
“…as leading by example leads to a better outcome not the other way…” – not necessarily, if you are innovative and try something brave and new, but it doesn’t work, is that bad?
I think you can learn from things like that
I’m curious what you suggest instead of the flags. Share some links to icons you’d think would work here.
Give these a go Ari
http://webdesignledger.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/social_media_icons_1.jpg
http://www.evohosting.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/socialize_preview.jpg
http://webdesignledger.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/social_media_icons_19.jpg
http://www.evohosting.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/doodle-icons-450.jpg
http://www.jankoatwarpspeed.com/post/2008/10/20/Handycons-a-free-hand-drawn-social-media-icon-set.aspx
http://www.africandigitalart.com/2009/10/social-media-icons/
OR
why not take an image like this http://www.singaporeseo.org/images/social-media-marketing.jpg trim it down a bit and then put the social media logos inside the speech/thought bubbles?
Need any graphics design help, just ask, I am quite handy with Photoshop
BTW, tineye.com should help you find better quality versions of these images.
Good Luck
It’s cool design, however I don’t really like the blue color. Do you think it will hurt your website when you change the template ? Such as getting down with search engine ranking pages.
No effect on search engines.
Which blue do you not like?
Tony, due to Ari’s blog being designed using CSS and as it is powered by WordPress, in Google’s (and other search engine’s) eyes, the site hasn’t changed – ok, the sidebar text may be slightly different.
Search engines are basically just after the content, is it good and is it linked to, looks and aesthetics are purely for people
Not to confuse things, but you replied to the blog, not to Tony. See the difference?
Yeah thing is, I hit reply, then just as I was about to click submit, but I accidentally went back one page, hence loosing the comment. At the time, Tony’s comment was the last comment, so when I went forward a page and re-typed (to the best of my memory) the comment, forgot to hit reply
If you have any way of rectifying this by threading it onto his comment, that would be great Ari, if not, don’t worry
No can do (to my knowledge). No idea if comments can be moved.
ok
Move WordPress Comments
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/move-wordpress-comments/
Your answer
Looks great, Ari! I like the changes. It maintains the look and feel that is you and yet is a bit more sophisticated.
Thanks, Christine. Simple yet sophisticated, I like it.
Ari, I think the new design looks very “clean”. The three words I would use to describe it would be minimalistic, modern and 2.0….lol
Thanks, Chris. I hate web versions, by the way, but know what you mean.
Looking good Ari. Nice, clean and simple.
Congrats!
Thanks, Dave. No room to improve?
I always did like the way the wrap-around effect seen on your header looks. Gives it that “more than just 2d” kinda look.
It’s funny that you “always” liked it when it’s new.
Heh, alright. I’ve seen the exact same design many, many times in my travels, and I’ve always liked the way it looks on sites.
That better? Forget I’m a web developer? (I know it’s just a simple mis-communication, yanking yer cord)
Happy Monday!!! haha
By the way, your new “someone replied to your comment” email doesn’t provide a link back to the post, just your homepage. Fyi fwiw
I like it too. Its amazing what Thesis can do. I’m using Thesis too, and my site looks totally different to yours. Such a blessing
The same looks can be created without Thesis, by the way.
Positive step forward, Ari. Good points are: classy Nav. bar, social icons’ positions, sidebar titles’ background and another color than white for the background. Here are some ideas:
They are screaming “Don’t touch me. I hurt!”. Too out of your style also. Here is a choice. http://www.iconfinder.com/search/?q=iconset:free-psd-blogging-icons-bimbilini – 4 icons are there and you can get linkedin here to match http://www.iconfinder.com/search/?q=iconset:yooicons_set01_socialbookmarks – The second set is good also to have (blue on silver).
1. Blue dotted line.. well.. it is tacky. If you want to keep it, make it black solid bold. It will blend well.
2. Better yet the banner should be above the navigation bar. That way the nav. bar will replace that line and will increase the banner’s focus.
3. Give some room for the background to show above the header. 2 to 4em.
* Try these three together and see the overall look. Just try it out.
4. Give the page a shadow effect, which with the Nav. bar will enhance the 2nd dimension effect.
5. The social icons set MUST be replaced.
6. Solid background is not always the best option. See what I mean on my website.
7. Your sidebar in itself and relative to your content within your page needs work. This should be your next focus. Interior layout borders can be achieved in better ways than those lines. Take a look at mine and you might get some inspiration as you do to your readers. Very simple but effective.
8. “About Ari” title and background can be removed and replaced with a picture. First widget especially when it is “about” widget doesn’t need a title.
9. I know you like to stick with black but colors are not bad if they match well. This one is up to you.
Was that enough or you want more? I hope this added some value. Cheer!
Thanks. Some of your ideas I am nodding to, and others I am shaking. The navbar is above the banner for a reason, for instance; and comparing your sidebar to mine, I like mine much better. But to each her own.
I am glad it added something. My sidebar suggestion was to give ideas not an alternative. Still I believe point 7 should be looked at whichever way you like. My last suggestion will be to widen the sidebar a bit. Text is squeezed and crowded there especially with the new two text widgets. Give it a breather. Take a look at the 19 sites you reviewed earlier. 98% of websites will have larger size than yours. Best!
Hi Joy,
Looking at your sidebar, it’s actually not formatting properly (by the looks of it). Your social icons aren’t uniform (one line would have been better) and the text links are outside the sidebar (see the link and the Flickr text).
http://dannybrown.me/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Picture-69.png
Is this deliberate?
You have 2000 unread email messages, Danny? Wowzers.
Haha, I was going to ask, “Wha’?” but then saw the screen grab again.
Spam, sales pitches and emails from forums – ya, mass delete in order.
Move everything to a limbo folder and don’t look or touch it. If someone needs you, they’ll email you again.
Appreciate the feedback, Danny. It’s an issue I am working on it indeed. It doesn’t render well on some browsers either because of the fonts or my width configuration. http://www.willtoknow.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/WTK.jpg ~ Notice font rendered differently here than yours. Still new to DIY web-design but getting there.
PS. I thought to email you but, well, your email box left me kinda sorta horrified to the fate of my email.
Nice set of icons, Ari. They are there but not jumping to get me. Email subscription fits well there also. Rank badge is well earned and fits well. How about center it? Great job but there is always room for improvement, which you never cease to seek.
I really like the look of the blog, I know it’s noy much but I love the icons on the top right of the page. It really stands out!
New icons are up.
Your blog always contains fresh resources about web which is always helpful.
Thanks. How can I improve here?
Are you saying my design isn’t personalized, Jane?
I think what Ari meant re. “inspiration” is that he saw other bloggers change up their sites, and felt the desire to do the same, as opposed to the graphical look and feel of the others.
Indeed I meant that. Was it unclear?
To be fair, Danny was one of many bloggers introducing a new design.
Love the flags and the minimalist approach, Ari. Makes your site unique and very readable. I also like the fact that you were able to get your new site out there in what seems to me like no time at all. This means to me that you really know what you wanted and got it. Cool!
I wish my own new site can be launched soon.
- Wes -
Nice changes Ari. I’m just amazed that your blog is always helpful especially to those who want to be more effective in making their personal blogs. Well, me and myself is not an exemption. May you continue to develop your blogs Ari and I could say that you are great and cool.
Cool designs. I just love this kind of design. I’m just hoping that you will keep posting new designs because i am one of your many followers.
The prominent smile on your face is the best thing going for this site, in my opinion – that and the change of tense from “Ari is…” to “I am…”
Small things, I would change the link text of ‘ that email link is here.’ by making just the word ‘here’ linkable – it just seems more logical.
I’m not 100% sure about the flags for the social media icons.
On the whole, a definite thumbs up!