May
8
Blogging Tips is one of the feeds that I read every day so when Kevin requested a review, I was more than happy to oblige. The following are my thoughts and opinions on his site.
URL
http://www.bloggingtips.com
About
The tagline says, “Take your blog to the next level!â€, and I think that is a pretty accurate description of what this site can help you do. Kevin has been involved in web development since 2000 and has managed several webmaster related resource sites and forums in that time. Blogging Tips was created to share the things he has learned over the years and help you improve your blog.
Pros
There is a lot to like and here are a couple of things that stand out to me.
- Content: Content is king and Blogging Tips does not disappoint in that area. The site may be relatively new but the archives are already packed with many, many excellent tips and ideas. Some samples include:
- Design: In general, I like the 3-column design with the large content area in the center. I think it provides a lot of flexibility and does a good job of framing the main content. The ads also blend well with the overall design and are not intrusive at all.
- Extras: Kevin has included an excellent blogging FAQ page and has a couple of nice free Wordpress themes available for download.
Cons
I know how hard people work on their site and it’s tough to criticize something that they have worked so hard on but there are a couple of things that I feel I should point out here.
- Sidebars: I like the layout of the site but the sidebars seem to be a little too busy and distracting. It’s hard to focus on the main content area because my attention is drawn to the sidebars.
- Search Bar: Maybe a little too creative… it took me a while to realize what it was. I didn’t think the site a search function at first.
- Feed: Some of Kevin’s posts are very long so I certainly understand the use of the more tag to split his posts up. Unfortunately for feed readers like myself, the more tag is not feed friendly and may cost him a few subscribers in the long run. I would suggest either not using the more tag or installing Full Text Feed, a plugin that prevents Wordpress from adding the more link to your feed.
Final Thoughts
Blogging Tips has a ton of high quality content and is regularly updated with great advice for both new and advanced bloggers. If you get a chance head on over and take a look around. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
Note: The preceding post was sponsored by BloggingTips.com.
Popularity: 20% [?]
many thanks for the review David. I appreciate the criticism.
The sidebars are the one thing i really want to change. infact i am considering going back to one sidebar. Id love have been messing around with the design of the sidebar for the last week but i havent come up with anything im 100% happy with. Not only that, ive found the way i designed the blog in css the blog isnt displayed properly in older browsers so ive had to download old versions of css and ive been hitting my head off the wall with that haha
Im going travelling for a month so i might not get a new sidebar done for another month or so. I could hire someone to do it but i like to do it myself as it helps me improve my understanding of css 
with regards to the search bar – i personally think its easy to find – but i was the guy who placed it there and so i know where to look haha. What do you suggest i do to improve its usability – any feedback would be greatly appreciated
on your last point, the placement of the feed position is something i thought about for a long time. Some of the guides i wrote were just too long so it made sense to break them up. That wasnt the main reason though.
I know that the more tag is frustrating for feed subscribers however the more tag greatly reduces search engine traffic as it duplicates content on a few areas of your blog. If you use the more tag the full article is only on one page which is much better. i hope that the extra benefit that search engine traffic will make up for any loss of subscribers. Whilst i dont want to piss of readers im trying to look at the bigger picture
again, i really appreciate the points you brought up – i have come to hate those sidebars! haha
thanks again,
kevin
You’re welcome… like I said, I hate to criticize someone else’s work. With a lot of things it just comes down to personal preference and if you ask 10 different people you get 10 different answers.
Anyway, on the search bar… The location is fine but it doesn’t look like a search bar. At first glance, it looks like a banner or something but that may be just me.
I completely understand your point on the more tag. That’s why I suggested using the Full Text Feed plugin. You can continue to use the more tag as you do now, it just won’t show up in your feed.
[...] some reviews of Blogging Tips through ReviewMe. David Culpepper of PureBlogging posted his review today and regular Blogging Tips commentator Chris Stark posted his review of us yesterday. I was pleased [...]
Great Review … this blog is being added to my reader as I write this!
Thanks for the info and tips!
Darin
Hi David,
Thanks for the post on Blogging Tips. I have to say that I popped over there before reading all of your post and now that I have, I’m glad to see that you gave not only pros but also cons.
I think it’s important that if you are going to review someone’s site that you give them all the feedback, not just the positive. I want to know what’s wrong so that I can fix it. If I disagree then I disagree, however I want an honest review, just like you gave them.
Good job on this!
JoLynn
Thank you JoLynn. I tried to be fair and I hope it came across that way.
[...] Culpepper from PureBlogging recently did a review of Blogging Tips. He said that Some of Kevin’s posts are very long so I certainly understand the use of the more [...]
“I tried to be fair and I hope it came across that way.” Yes, I think you came across like that.
I honestly think that you are doing the site owner a disservice if you do not try to help them and point out improvements that could be made.
Of course, you would want someone reviewing your site that has some knowledge and background, but I don’t think that people who don’t have that experience would be reviewing sites anyway.
**I am also going to check out the WP plugin Full Text Feed that you wrote about in your review. I don’t use the more tag currently, but if I am hurting search engine traffic because of it, then I should look into it (while not affecting my feeds).
Thanks very much David!
JoLynn
[...] you seen this guy yet? If not then take a look at the great review David C. did over at PureBlogging. The Cape Blogger AKA Kevin Muldoon and his site name is BloggingTips.com. So , why am I writing [...]
Looks like Kevin advertises really hard! Nice review! I saw about 3 reviews of kevin’s blog today.. hehehe
Carl
[...] Pure Blogging [...]