I was tagged about 300 years ago by both Maurice and K from ShanKri-La with the blog improvement meme, and thought I’d better get around to doing it before they forget all about it……
A post with this title should probably be about two thousand points long, but I shall attempt to keep it down to a round five:
- Get back to a regular posting frequency: For reasons I alluded to in the previous post, amongst others, I have not been posting as frequently as I had done. As I approach a year of blogging, I am more comfortable than ever with a more relaxed frequency and missing a day here and there, but I still need to be a little more regular. Although it doesn’t seem like it when you first start, you can have a day off here and there…..
- Change the theme: I have been putting this off for ages, but I shall have to bite the bullet and change the template of this blog very soon. I like it, and so far I seem to be about the only person using it, so it’s fairly unique, but it doesn’t work properly. The sidebars load before the content, which means if a widget hangs, then my blog doesn’t appear. I have tried everything to get the sidebars loading after the content, but putting the calls anywhere else results in the content appearing first, and the sidebars appearing way down the page.
- Try to use some more images: While it’s a very texty topic, judicious use of images would make the blog much more attractive. Perhaps if I inserted some bikini babes in each post, I could attract the Digg crowd? I bet it would increase my page views……
- Promotion: I really don’t do anything to promote this blog, or indeed any of mine. I spend enough time writing them and reading other peoples that I just don’t get around to it.
- Change hosts: I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: ANHosting is an awful webhost. Their 99.9% uptime guarantee is a sick joke, and when I complained about it, they gave me another month’s hosting free! I said I wanted compensation, not punishment….. Any recommendations of a decent webhost gratefully accepted.
I suppose I could also have added ‘respond to memes more promptly’, but there you go.
What one thing could you do to improve your blog, that you haven’t got around to yet?
15 users commented in " How Can I Improve My Blog? Let Me Count The Ways…. "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackI’m sure that with your knowledge of blogs, you could create an excellent theme. Time, of course, is another factor.
I was going to suggest placing your content code before the sidebars, but that’d be too easy, wouldn’t it?
Thankfully it worked for me, even if I wanted to place my sidebars before the content. But then I don’t use a fluid layout.
Chris.. thanks for taking up the meme! You are right on target with the improvements. Since I started I have always taken a day off here and there and I think it really helps.
I have been with A Small Orange for over a year and they have been nothing but outstanding. Great support, support forum and reasonable cost. Not a single downtime yet. (knock on wood)
My two blogs,
iPentimento and Pentimento suffer from a sad lack of consistent quality content. I know it, and I really try to get something on them that people would actually read, but I am not very good at it. Pentimento has just sustained a Google rank hit that took it from a 4 to a 3. I suppose if I worked harder at them, I could get it back up to 4, and get any rating for iPentimento. The trouble is, “life is what happens….” ….when you are trying to blog.
There are a lot of things which i would like to change or add in my blog but couldnt find enough time .
I run a webhost. Our new servers have been up 100% for 78 days now.
If interested, please send bandwidth and space requirements to sales-at-favhost-dot-com and I’ll see what I can do to give you a great offer.
Look forward to hearing from you.
Keith.
Hi Chris
Thanks for joining in with the meme, and don’t worry, it took me a while to put something up too
Over posting is often as bad as too infrequently IMO. I try not to miss too many days, but sometimes I like to leave a post “out in front” for a few days. Like anything else, you need a break from it sometimes to avoid burn out.
I think your content outweighs the colorful/pretty worries, although a new look often makes you feel better I know.
As far as hosting goes, I use Kiosk for my blogs and they are excellent, and I don’t say that just as an affiliate, and wouldn’t be crass enough to post a link. Not the cheapest, but 100% reliable and top support, technical and customer service wise.
Invest in a professional theme!
I have actually mangled a theme for my photoblog David, but I don’t think my design skills are quite up to it! I don’t know what it is withthis theme, but any attempt to move the sidebar calls anywhere else just breaks it.
Cheers K, I shall add them to the list of possibles!
Webduck, sometimes life is more important than blogging - unbelievable I know
Cheers Maurice, I shall be asking for affiliate links when I make my choice, only fair really.
The one thing I would change about mine is the theme — and I plan to. I just want it done now!
I second #5 changing web hosts… I had the great fortune to get on the front page of digg.com but my (old) host pulled the plug on my site… they thought it was DOS attack!
[...] Chris at Blog Op [...]
Hi, Chris! I have just developed a new theme called Revolution.
See if you are interested or not.
I believe, getting a reliable hosting and design for your blog is very important. I suggest you to go with MT if you have a sum of income a month. Or Use Bluehost/Dreamhost instead for better price.
I had a long list of things I wanted to do to improve my blog, http://www.dropoutdiaries.com but I’ve just spent the weekend doing them. Go me! They included changing the design and sharpening up the whole focus of the site. And getting a hoodie printed with my website address - just for a laugh!
Anyway, next on my list is to create more great content.
I’m a fan of this site, by the way. You are top of my alphabetical Blogroll!
Hi Sally, good work with your blog, and thanks for linking me
I changed my server and it was a big difference. I was in Startlogic but when I had problems with Movable Type they couldn’t help me. Their support is terrible.
Then I went to Globat. Please, tell everyone to keep away from it.
Now I am at Hostgator and I am getting more visitors each day.
I changed my theme as well. Maybe that helped.
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