MelvinBlog

A blog that chronicles my journey on online marketing, blogging, social media, technology and life.

MelvinBlog 2.0 – The Scenes Behind It

MelvinBlog 2.0 – The Scenes Behind It

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By now you probably have realized that this blog has been sporting a new design and a completely different layout. And as always any change deserves an explanation. 😉 So in this post I would try to do an in-depth explanation about this new design and how it came out to look like this.

MelvinBlog’s New Design

I lied when I stated that the new design would probably be implemented next year. Anyways, obviously the new design uses a magazine template which enables easier navigation and making good use of spaces. At first I totally really oppose the use of magazine themes for this blog for some reasons but after seeking for professional advices, I just got myself convinced!

The theme I am specifically using is Colormatic Theme, a theme created by ThemeWars which is owned by the super popular Unique Blog Designs. As of course, there are many magazine-styled themes by other companies but I guess UBD has sold the concept of this theme well to me and so I did purchase the developer’s license.

Anyways, the one prop I always get from the former theme is that it looks really peaceful and tranquil. I guess people like the light colors of it and I, myself think that the blending of color on that theme was good. So basically what I did was to try to carry out as much color schemes/combination as possible and import it in the new theme.

Better Navigation

As you can see the homepage of the blog showcases not just the latest post but also the best posts from the blog. It has the featured content at the top most part and the recent blog posts at the left. I also have four sub footers in there in which I have difficulties filling up with.

The unique part of this theme is the built-in blog navigator widget, the social network in the sidebar and the recent tweets. Do take note that those are not plugins but built-in widgets that comes within the theme.

Newsletter

newsletterThis is the first time I have had a list in the IM niche and although I am with Aweber for long, I never really intended to have one until I realized the need of it last month. And that was one reason the change of theme has become imminent.

So this current layout has basically met my plans with the newsletter placement and as you may notice it’s very very visible. Feel free to sign up in it (it’s free) and I am promising to over-deliver to you, giving out the best stuffs that I’ve never yet put up here. You might not want to miss that.

Better Ad Placements

The new theme benefits advertisers as well. All the ads are shown on EVERY page/post and it just means maximum exposure for them. It’s also taking lesser space now as opposed to before yet is more organized.

I don’t have any plans on increasing the number of ads/ad spots in this blog (yet) as this blog is not created solely for getting monetized. But I am planning to increase the price of the ad spots since the current price is the price for about 5-6 months and obviously the blog has grown a ton after that period.

The Sidebar, Testimonials and Facebook Fan My Blog

Well this theme is preloaded with 4-5 different layouts and this one I’m using has two sidebars in homepage and one in every page/post. Using the sidebars is so easy because it’s widgetized unlike my former team. And as you may notice different widgets show in different pages of the blog (I would talk that in my future posts).

There’s also that testimonial part in the latter part of the sidebar. These are testimonials from some of the loyal readers of this blog and if you feel you can add one, then please hit me up in the contact form.

The facebook fan my blog widget is one that’s been recently used by a lot of bloggers and have left me wondering “why not?” So currently all the fans are my friends and classmates and so if you’re a frequent reader and a subscriber here then why not give the author some kudos by hitting up the “become a fan” button? 🙂

Overall Feel and Your Suggestions

It actually took me close to one week to test different color schemes and layout before deciding to fully implement this one. My designers and I still had about 4-5 custom implementations to make this theme more enticing. We’re still waiting for something to finally put together all those piece. In the end I really feel it’s all worth it and I feel more excited than ever! It makes me want to go to every page of the blog and feel the new look of it.

I also think it’s time to say goodbye to the old theme. I really like it and I’ve told you that lots of times here. That greenish organic theme from PremiumThemes.Net made me good money, helped the blog grow and had its own ups and downs. I’m a guy who appreciates everything and here’s the final look the MelvinBlog V1 powered by Organic theme. Click for a larger look…

So now it’s your turn. I’ve asked some of my friends about the new design and now it’s time for you, my audience to speak out your mind and throw your suggestions and critique for this blog. I could very well appreciate each and every suggestion that I can get from you and let’s hope it’s a win-win situation for everyone here.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Wow, good job on the new design. The new design looks good and attractive. It still is the same kind of design as the curretn one, but it’s like a upgraded version.

    Anyway looking forward to the new design.

  2. Very eye-catching design with some great features. There’s a lot going on though. I’ll be curious how this impacts your stats. Keep us posted!
    .-= Gabe | freebloghelp.com´s last blog ..The 21st century corporate soapbox =-.

    Melvin Reply:
    November 27th, 2009 at 11:29 am

    yes Gabe there’s some interesting impact of this new theme on my traffic and in other aspects. Its pretty interesting and Im hoping to do a post about that soon. 🙂

  10. Melvin, I like your blog, especially as it’s not all cluttered up with stuff. It’s very clean and easy on the eye. But just so you know I like my theme a whole lot better. 😀

    BTW, I’ve been trying to tick the ‘Notify me of followup comments via e-mail’ button and it won’t let me do it.
    .-= Sire´s last blog ..Why Marketing Your Ad Space Should Precede Marketing Your Blog =-.

    Melvin Reply:
    November 27th, 2009 at 11:33 am

    There was a problem with it I guess. But if you’re notified that I replied to your comment, then it means its ticked! 😉

  11. Hey Melvin,

    Like everyone else thinks. I think it looks great…. One tiny thing I would change is your RSS button. Everything is awesome and clean and then there is a little hand drawn style button that doesn’t fit too well with the clean image.

    Also it’s hard to understand if the Noify me of followup comments is clicked or not!

    Anyway, looks great.

    Forest.
    .-= Forest´s last blog ..Musically Motivated Monday – I Want A Gun! =-.

    Melvin Reply:
    November 27th, 2009 at 11:34 am

    Hmmm. Actually I changed the rss button with the hand-drawn one because I have a soft spot for hand-drawn designs. Anyways I would put that into consideration.

    And man Thanks..

  16. So did you customized the theme yourself or you get some coders to do it?
    .-= iYingHang´s last blog ..Gurus or Not? =-.

    Melvin Reply:
    November 30th, 2009 at 3:27 am

    I did both. Some of the tweaks were really basic ones so I did it myself while some needs major help from real coders. =p

  19. Ok Nice one..But I think you should make the search and newsletter subscription box appear on all pages of your blog as I think you will get better results by doing that.
    .-= Typhoon´s last blog ..Commenting Idol 2 – $180 Cash Prize & Many Valuable Prizes | Now More Ways To Win It! =-.

    Melvin Reply:
    December 4th, 2009 at 10:38 am

    I really try as much as possible to just limit the elements on the sidebar especially the ones that were not that much needed.

    Talking with the email subscription, Im considering that option since day 1 but I couldnt find a good placement for that w/o cluttering the overall look

  20. It looks awesome now.. I would have loved to give a little more space (width) to the main content though. Right now the main content on homepage is only as wide as one of the sidebars.

    Good luck!
    .-= Ajith Edassery´s last blog ..Make Money Online via Forex Trading (for Beginners) =-.

    Melvin Reply:
    December 4th, 2009 at 10:34 am

    Good suggestion! actually I haven’t quite given that a thought, Most bloggers whose theme kinda resembles like mine, also have that space equal with both sidebars on homepage..

    But I would consider that.. Thanks

  26. Melvin,
    I agree with almost everyone, your design is smooth and clear to the reader.
    It’s also very sleek, and I like how the interface is clean throughout the whole navigation.
    Well done, keep up the amazing work and Happy New Year. 🙂