Design Review: Blogging Bits
October 13th 2007
Blogging Bits is the blogging advice site run by Mohsin. What sets Blogging Bits apart from the hundreds of other meta blogs is the style he writes in.
You won't find another site quite like it. If it suits your tastes, you may find his advice more interesting to read than some of the more dry alternatives.
The blog was redesigned not long ago, and his comments here have certainly earned him a review, so here goes.
What Has Been Done Well?
- Minimalism. Blogging Bits is very obviously using a minimalist lay out. You can go over the blog with a fine tooth comb if you please, but you won't find any clutter worth mentioning. A blogging blog that focuses on content, and has zero ads? Readers will notice.
- Typography. The best aspect of the design is the typography. The crisp paragraphs, well spaced lists, clear headings and careful padding all add up to remarkably accessible content.
- Personalised messages. "Michael wrote these pithy words:" "Come on, say something!" Mohsin's personalised messages are much more fun to work with.
- Page x of y archives. Most blogs end their archive pages with "Previous Posts," and "Next Posts," links. If you look at the bottom of the home page, you'll see a different set up, similar to the navigation in a search engine results page, or a forum topic list. Much more useful.
What Could be Changed?
- Search bar and sidebar RSS link. The one element on the page that keeps pulling my attention is the search bar, because of the raised background it sits on. The effect looks good, but I wonder if swapping the positions of the search bar and the RSS ad below may result in more people noticing the RSS?
- Sidebar column alignment. As the typography on the site has been so carefully looked after, lining up the 2 columns of sidebar links would be a worthwhile finishing touch.
- Lose an RSS link. In the top half of the screen, there are 3 separate RSS links. The blog is so uncluttered that it hardly matters, but 3 is still overkill. I'd suggest running a Crazy Egg test and dumping the least used option.
All in all, the redesign has been a success. It is as clean and clear as its predecessor, which is no mean feat. This is one of the few blogs that has pulled off the minimalist look, without losing its personality in the process.
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October 13th at 11:58 am GMT
Comment #1
I think I've seen Blogging Bits before (probably on Design Float). Great review.
Hehe, Blogging Bits is being PWNed (ack, how'd that gaming term sneak in there?) by incoming visitors from your blog.
October 13th at 12:47 pm GMT
Comment #2
Is Blogging Bits on Wordpress?
I heard that WP is notorious for packing up with a sudden influx of traffic. Of course some servers could as well...
October 13th at 1:01 pm GMT
Comment #3
Thanks for the review Michael. I feel elated
I had to remove the RSS link in the header yesterday when I put the one in the sidebar, but I got lazy. Gonna do it now.
redwall_hp and kristarella, hehe I don't think a few hundred visitors (at most) over a couple of days are going to take my site down
October 13th at 1:03 pm GMT
Comment #4
^ bold tags gone wrong. Michael can you correct it please?
October 13th at 4:11 pm GMT
Comment #5
Redwall - lol - I wish! I've no idea how much traffic one of these reviews might send, but I doubt it's in the same league as a digg unfortunately! xD
Kristarella - I've never had any trouble with it at least, and if you install the Wp-cache plugin, you're going to be in great hands.
Mohsin - Glad ya liked it, and sounds good.
October 13th at 11:06 pm GMT
Comment #6
It looks nice, only minor downside is that the "Blogging Bits" in the header is written a big too big for the font making it look less smooth but well yeh. That's just a minor detail which most people probably wouldn't even notice :P.
October 13th at 11:36 pm GMT
Comment #7
Well something's up with your site, Moshin. It was totally crawling when I tried to load it.
October 13th at 11:51 pm GMT
Comment #8
Slevi - Well spotted! That's a very good point. It's minor so I didn't notice it at first, but now that you've pointed it out... xD
Redwall - Could have been a little server hicough. It seems okay for me now.
October 14th at 2:44 am GMT
Comment #9
Yeah, it seems fine now. I also see there's now 2/3 of the RSS links there had been before.
October 14th at 5:12 am GMT
Comment #10
redwall_hp, yeah I think it was a server hiccup. As for the RSS links, there is actually only one link now. The one in the navigation bar that reads 'subscribe' leads to the page where you can subscribe to RSS as well as email notifications.
Slevi, thanks for your suggestion. I'll see if making the header text small looks good
October 14th at 11:30 am GMT
Comment #11
Yeah, I noticed that (the subscribe link)...right after I posted.
October 14th at 3:31 pm GMT
Comment #12
Looks good Mohsin. And the text Slevi meant is only a few pixels smaller (So that the B in your title is the same height as the B in your logo
). Let us know how ya think it looks!
October 18th at 8:21 am GMT
Comment #13
I love BloggingBits for the same reason you do, Michael! And ever since the say I stumbled upon (no, not via SU) BloggingBits, I have been hooked
October 18th at 9:22 pm GMT
Comment #14
It is a great site Pelf.