So as you've guessed already, if you've been here before, I've been messing with my blog. Changing things up a bit. Playing with formats and colour and backgrounds. Trying to make it more reader friendly. But still have it reflect what I want.
I've been thinking of doing this for some time now. Several readers have mentioned that they found the white text on the dark background too hard to read. Last year, I lightened the background from black to dark grey, and made the text less bright. That helped, I think. But I'm pretty sure most people wouldn't have even noticed. Someone else mentioned that the "lines of text were too long," so I changed the widths to make the post itself narrower, and the sidebar wider. I follow several on-line publications that help bloggers, and as a result I cleaned up my sidebar, and did some other stuff. Most of this was just tinkering. Albeit tinkering that took time, but which I enjoyed. I like to tackle a problem, research how to fix it, and then see if I can do it. Most times it works out.
But changing my template scared the pants off me. I was afraid I would mess everything up and not be able to get it back the way it was. I really liked the look of the dark background, especially how it made pictures seem more dramatic. I liked how all the colours worked together, text links, titles, sidebar, post background etc etc. I'd spent a long time getting everything just right, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to change what I had. And I was determined to do everything by myself. This is my blog after all. And taking credit for how it looks when someone else has done the work just wouldn't be as satisfying to me.
So. Yesterday, I jumped in the deep end. I tried about five different looks and hated them all. I was going for something clean. Something uncluttered. And for a lighter post background to please those readers who were having trouble with the old template. I didn't want a template that was too dynamic, where pictures move and change of their own accord. Or something where it's difficult to tell where the most current post is located. When I read a blog myself, I like to be able to see the latest post right away. I'm also limited in what I can do because I don't know how to design a website from the ground up, so I use the Blogger templates, choose one, and then play with proportion, font style, and colours to achieve a look that I like.
If you read the blog in the mobile format, below, you won't notice any difference at all. But if you read it on an i-pad, tablet, or desktop computer the look is now completely different.
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| This is the mobile format of my blog. |
As you can see I tried to match the web version to the mobile version. It's funny, but that's not as easy as it sounds. Ask Hubby. There was a whole lotta swearing going on in the den for a while yesterday afternoon. For the record, he doesn't like the new look. And to be honest, I'm not sure I do either. I wanted the post background to be pale grey and not baby blue. But... sigh... like choosing paint colours... sometimes the reality is way different than you hoped.
And the blog format is not all that I'm hoping to improve. I'm trying to up my game when it comes to my outfit photos. I bought a tripod and a blue-tooth shutter control for my i-phone. So now I don't have to set the timer and then run around in front of the camera to "pose." I'm hoping to take more shots in different locations. So far I haven't strayed beyond my deck and front yard. I cringe at the thought of taking photos of myself anywhere where there are people. Actually, sometimes I cringe at the thought of even taking outfits photos of myself.
And, you know, some weeks, I question whether doing outfit posts is worthwhile at all. I don't mean "worthwhile" in the sense that I think fashion is not "worthy" of discussion. Ha. Not at all. Just that with my small closet, and my pared down wardrobe... there are only so many outfit posts I can do. And shopping for the sake of a blog post is, well, silly. And I've come to believe that most of you who read this blog think shopping for the sake of posting is silly, too. So, we agree. You'll find in future that I won't be trying so hard to do one outfit post a week. Because there are just so many other interesting things to talk about. I will probably only do a fashion post when there's fashion news. Like if I've been shopping or deciding what to shop for when a new season is upon us. Or when something in the fashion media world really gets my goat, and I feel a rant is timely. And necessary.
So that's it really. All the ch-ch-ch-changes that I have in mind for my little corner of the world-wide-web. Some content tweaks. Hopefully some improvement in the photo quality. Or at least more variety there. And a major format change. I'm not finished fiddling with everything yet. The social media buttons, for instance. They took me ages to get right, so I won't be changing them until I'm sure I have everything else the way I want.
Now, dear readers, I'd love to hear what you think. Please feel free to weigh in on content. And style, in particular tell me what you think about the format, the new version versus the old version. And could you please let me know what device you use to read the blog? Do you read on your phone, on an i-pad or tablet, or on a desktop computer? Funnily enough, I've discovered that the background looks quite different on my i-pad than it does on my desktop PC.
And then I'll do my best to please everyone. But honestly, ultimately, I have to please myself too.