What do you think?

West · #1 (**permalink**) 10-30-2007, 10:09 AM

My site has been up for almost 2 months now. I've asked questions here and there, but never for an overall review. So, what do you all think of my site?

Thanks!

lisa · #2 (**permalink**) 10-30-2007, 03:17 PM

Hi West

Your site's colors are perfect. Very baby-esque!

Your AdSense ads weren't loading on several of your pages. Not sure if it's my internet connection or AdSense is having a temporary glitch. But it's weird because they show on your decorations page but not on your baby registry page for example. I just see an empty white space where the ads should be Could be my PC too.

Some of your paragraphs get a little long. I would try to keep them under 5 lines if you can help it. Makes for easier reading/skimming.

One thing I always suggest to SBIers is to put some kind of "how I built this site" message on your site, whether it's an "about me" page or something like that. It's amazing how many people will ask how you created your site and it's always nice to add a subtle plug for SBI! and you can earn a commission too.

Another SBI! customer emailed me the other day and she said someone asked her to design their site for her because she liked her design. LOL She was like "I used SBI! and know nothing about design." But she had a nice header for her site that added a nice touch. In any event I told her what a great time to just mention the host you used and how you built your site.

Yes, SBI!'s templates are simple but you'd be surprised how many people just want something like that for themselves.

West · #3 (**permalink**) 10-30-2007, 09:03 PM

Thanks for the review. I went through all my pages and the ads are coming up on my screen. I am actually working on the "about this site" page as we speak. As for the long paragraphs, I'll have to work on that. I took a look at your exercise site and I see what you mean; it's easier to read.

One more thing, the nav bar button "baby shower blog" (third from the bottom) is a redirect to my blogger blog. On my computer it takes about 5 seconds to redirect. The first time I tested it, I initially thought it wasn't working, but I don't know if that's just my computer's speed. Do you think I should link to my blog some other way?

Theresa · #4 (**permalink**) 10-30-2007, 09:33 PM

Wow, you have been busy! Your site looks great. Now I know where to go if I ever have to plan a baby shower.

I noticed a typo in your paragraph about baby predictions on your ideas page.

Quote:

the predictions to [see] if they've come true.

"See" is missing.

I love the way you link back to your home page with a mention of your key word(s). Very clever. I found myself going from page to page to see how you would do it next.

West · #5 (**permalink**) 10-31-2007, 10:51 AM

Thanks Theresa. I just fixed the typo. I'll need to go through my entire site again and proofread.

lisa · #6 (**permalink**) 10-31-2007, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by West

One more thing, the nav bar button "baby shower blog" (third from the bottom) is a redirect to my blogger blog. On my computer it takes about 5 seconds to redirect. The first time I tested it, I initially thought it wasn't working, but I don't know if that's just my computer's speed. Do you think I should link to my blog some other way?

I don't think it's that bad. I would leave it as is. I used to promote a store on my SBI! site and used that redirect.

webdev · #7 (**permalink**) 10-31-2007, 05:01 PM

great site. good work. i can see you have so many ways you can monetize this site. Best of all your site appeals to mums. Best market to target in my opinion (I have heard new mums are the least shy about spending money online...).

I think CJ and EBAY are perfect affiliates networks for you to explore. Also check out auctions ads. You will need to do some research on merchants to promote and experiment to see what works and what doesn't. The biggest problem I'm facing with my site is I can't find anything related to promote which sells (other than adsense ads). I'm constantly playing with different things to promote to see what sells.

Few things i have notice on your site which could be perfected and fixed. First of all, some of the adsense ads don't work. I have also noticed you're using 200by200 adsense ad blocks in your articles placed in the middle and nothing around it. This leaves big white space on the sides. It kind of breaks the follow of the page. I would advise you to use 400by60 ad unit blocks instead.

Second, the menu links font and size are a little hard to read. If you don't want change the font type, i would advice just change the font size by 2 or 3 points.

Other than that, everything looks good. Keep writing those articles

revenue · #8 (**permalink**) 10-31-2007, 05:16 PM

West gotta hand it to ya, the site looks great!

What about it? Its Welcoming, has a long NAV bar, thoughts for my site exactly. Also very informative, lots of content, Thats Excellent for only two months, Im no where near that in the past what 5 plus months or more that I've been building mine. Plus its simple and compact dead in the middle of the screen. What I do is go over my whole site at least once a week to double check for little things or errors.

Hope your using analyze it on every page.

West · #9 (**permalink**) 10-31-2007, 05:52 PM

Thanks everyone. I should have asked for a review a long time ago! Webdev, Lisa said the same thing about my ads, but I went through every page and they are coming up. But I did notice that some of the url's are not included in the ads. Does that matter?

I've been experimenting with ad positioning, placement and color for a while now, just trying to see what works best. I'll give your suggestion a try.
Thanks again everyone!

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