I can’t help myself”¦
If you are reading this blog post on PhoenixRealEstateGuy.com and not in a feed reader, and assuming you’ve been here before, and you remember what it looked like, then you’re well aware that we’ve changed the look and feel of the blog.
If you’ve been around very long, you also know this happens on a semi-regular basis.
TPREG is still running on the fabulous Thesis Theme by Chris Pearson. It also uses the Print is Dead Thesis skin by Adam Barber over at ThesisReady.com. Yours truly modified the skin pretty extensively, but Adam did an amazing job with the framework, functions and CSS. I’d be remiss if I didn’t say he provides world-class tech support. Like fixing a bunch of Internet Explorer styling issues in just a couple of hours. If you’re looking to spice up a Thesis install, check him out!
I would LOVE to get some reader feedback ”“ Good, Bad, and Ugly. You won’t hurt my feelings, let me have it!
Here are some before and after screen shots. Below them you’ll find my thoughts and rational for what I’m trying to accomplish”¦
Before:
I had to cut out the middle two-thirds of this screen shot because it just went on and on forever (one of the biggest problems with the old design in my opinion). The full size screen shot is over 7000 pixels tall. That’s a LOT of scrolling.
After:
That’s the entire screen shot, 2300 pixels tall. A mere one-third of the length of the original design.
I’m keeping the old header as I’ve grown fond of it. Social Media icons are next to that and navigation tabs are below the header graphic.
The most recent post will always be at the top, spanning the width of the content area. Below that is a new addition — “Home Info” pages — which will be updated regularly and contain market stats, new listings, and other info on different areas of the Phoenix and Tucson real estate market (there is data there, I’m still working on the layout of these pages).
Below the Home Info area are snippets of the next four most recent posts. Below that are some buttons that will take the visitor to different home searches. Then comes a video section that will have the most recent episode of Streets of Phoenix embedded and links to other episodes (I can’t begin to describe the pain of creating this section).
Below the content area is a widgetized footer area that will let me easily highlight posts of topical interest.
Over in the sidebar is pretty standard stuff. Buttons leading to our Phoenix and Tucson home search solutions and the Ask The Broker button. “Sliders” highlighting current listings for Thompson’s Realty, and a Google Custom Search area to help folks find the 1400ish articles here.
Below that is a “tabber” (another PITA to install) that highlights more recent posts, recent comments and has a nifty “random” tab that pulls up random posts from the last 6 months on each screen refresh. Under the tabber are links to our agents blogs and an ad block.
The single post pages are different as well. The primary difference is the content column is significantly wider than the old design, requiring the reader to scroll less and making my sometimes ridiculously long articles appear shorter. A “Contact Us” block will always be top right on single post pages because, well, we want people to contact us. I also stripped out a bunch of superfluous crap from the old single post pages so they load much faster and have more white-space ”“ in theory that makes them more pleasing to the eye.
I’m undecided at this time if I’m going to add the Disqus commenting system back in. It had lots of bells and whistles, but they were rarely used and provided more clutter.
I suspect I’ll be tinkering with things for quite some time, but the nuts and bolts of it are here. Let me know if you see anything wonky and again I’d love your constructive criticism! Let me know what you think! Honestly.
The Phoenix Real Estate Guy was started by Jay Thompson, and I have a little blogging problem... he liked to say...
Hi Jay – I think the new design looks great!! Additionally, it should create more Real Estate sales. Much improvement in my opinion. I think we all like to tinker and update our sites which, in my opinion, is a good thing.
Wayne – tinkering is something I'll NEVER get away from… Thanks for the compliments!
Jay, I like it.
If point 2 ever gets up to speed on their platform I'd like your firm to do something similar
for us.
Will do! I talked to some Point2 guys at the NAR Conference. They said they are working on introducing a new blog platform based on WordPress!!
Hello Jay,
WOW! A lot of changes. From one Thesis designer to another, I can only imagine how much work went into the new style. Nicely done. My first impression is that I really like the layout. Nice choices on the changes and I think the PITA sections should be worth it. I am going to poke around a little more but so far, SO GOOD. Interesting thoughts on Disqus, I have been thinking the same thing in regards to cool functionality, but lots of clutter. I like the use of Sexy Bookmarks too.
Thanks Jack! Coming from someone with your mad Thesis skills, I appreciate it!
Hey Jay
It now has a more smoother/organized feeling to it. Everything's been put into a nice box which makes the entire site look more friendly to the eye. I was never a fan of the old design 🙂 but then again I've only been following you for a month or two so hadn't had a chance to give you feedback.
Warm wishes
Hey Matt – first, thanks for reading! Never ever be shy about popping in with an opinion!
Greatly improved on the sidebar, a lot less clutter, may not be as fun for us real estate geeks but a lot better for the joe home shopper coming by.
I think the font on the tabs is a little tough to read, I may darken them up a little.
On the "EV Homes Info" I like it, the only thing I would think about is the name "EV Home info" I dont think it really tells the home shopper what it is and I am a big believer in KISS. If you plan on leaving the page the same then maybe "EV Home Statistics" or Market statistics.
I would be interested in hearing why you put the Info section above the blog and the home search below the blog, it would seem to me you would want to make the home search section a little more prominent. ANd I would say just in my opinion that those icons for the home search are the only ones on the blog I see that dont really work for me. Looks like you had someone do professional graphics for everywhere but there.
But overall I think it is greatly improved for home shoppers!!
Great feedback Dean!
Really the only reason the info area is where it is is because that's the way it came built into the skin. I think you're right though, the search should be more prominent. And funny you should mention the search icons… they are placeholders and I'm working on new ones at this very moment!!
You know I love my gadgets and gizmos. As soon as I can figure out conditional sidebars, I'm going to put up a page that will be just a little play area for trying out new stuff. It's *hard* for me to get rid of cool gadgets, but often they don't really do anything for the non-RE geek but clutter things up.
Thanks for taking a look and providing the feedback!
Jay-
I like the new design for the most part, easier to read and navigate. Only change I would make is to move the "area info buttons". I think it would flow better with current post, then previous posts together without being broken up by the info section….just my opinion!
I would love to get together when you have some time to redesign my blog too!
Looks great Jay, did you use the developer's option or the personal option?
Jim –
I have a developer's license for Thesis. But the two options are exactly the same. Developer's just lets you put it on as many sites as you want (as long as they are your sites).
Jay –
I like the redesign – looks really sharp. One piece of feedback: Do you know what % of your visitors are on 1024px wide screens? I know mine is still in the ~25% range, so I definitely support them. Here's a screenshot of you on 1024px wide: http://screencast.com/t/ZmE2YWEyMjQt – if you were to squeeze the page in by ~80px, you these users wouldn't have to scroll horizontally.
Anyways, good design – I just wanted to throw in my .02.
Good point Eric. I'm at about 21% using a resolution at 1024px — more than I would have suspected.
Ack. Reworking everything to be smaller is going to be a major task…
Here's a site that has browser display statistics: http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_displa… I stop supporting anything with less than 5% of users, so no longer support anything smaller than 800X600px. (I can't wait until IE6 gets down below 5%!!!)
Jay,
The site looks awesome! Everything flows real nicely and I really like the social media buttons at the top, Great Job!
I’ve spent two days redisgning both Jennifer and my sites. It’s a huge undertaking, but well worth the effort in the end. I’ve always been a huge fan of your features and functionality.
It’s a great effort. I especially like the wide insgle column sidebar and the move of some features to the bottom.
Jay –
I really like the redesign. While your blog readers can still find the articles that they want, the typical buyer/seller will see a site that is focused on homes for sale & community information.
I really like the Tweet Me button and the SM sharing icons at the end of each post. I'm still using Share This, but want to switch. What plugins are you using?
Karen –
The Tweet button is this plugin: http://tweetmeme.com/about/plugins
The SM sharing icons are this one: http://sexybookmarks.net/
Hey Jay,
I've been following your site (first through Thesis forum years ago) for quite a while. I love the new look. Just an FYI, but your "our current locations" section wasn't loading this morning.
Keep up the great work. I'm in a re-design myself now so I love the great ideas here!
Joe
Hi Jay,
Much improved in the way of clutter. Having said that, I recall your last overhaul which also started out relatively clutter free…but then much like a Thanksgiving belly, it just grew and GREW.
The key will be to not give in to the temptation of continually adding the latest and the greatest widget or gadget without considering the need to eliminate one as well.
Carl –
I have a problem getting rid of stuff I add… I plan to build a "play page" where I can install and test stuff without cluttering up the home page or single post pages…
Outstanding!!!, but look at my site, what do I know ?
Great location for the search.
Love the stats, Cromford has really helped me…keep my sanity.
I like that you have your video`s on the front page. The streets of Phoenix deserve it.
Can you get someone to hold the camera for you?
I`m jealous, of your site, not you.
Leave it alone!
Jay, I liked your trial redesign and now the real thing as well. The comments about the trial redesign seemed negative about your new corporate look. I never saw that then or now. Good job as always!
One of the reasons that I didn't like the disqus was that I had to log in over and over again, it seemed to be a waste of time so I'm personally glad you got rid of it.
The new design looks good… and the way you tell your readers what's going on is also nice. For those of us who aren't in phoenix, the local search buttons are a bit more obtrusive, however, I bet you'll see more real estate sales as a result!
Also, a quick note. In Firefox 3.5 your phone and e-mail are squished together below the social media icons at the top-right of the page. This doesn't show up in IE.
Hmmm…. looks OK on my FF 3.5. I'll have to play around with it. Thanks!
Lookin' good! I found my way to your blog from a magazine piece just now. I'm new in RE and looking for cyber-inspiration!
Thanks for stopping by Helen! Come back any time!!
Can you set the bar any higher? At this point I am still trying to add relevant content and will exceed my target post goal for 2009 so I'm feeling good.
I always had to go to IE to sign in for Disqus which was a pain but I'm sure you get targeted by a ton of spam comments, Akismet has worked for me. The "Contact Us" section is huge and takes up a lot of RE, just a thought.
Once again you have given me plenty to think about… now I need to see what Matt's done!
Looks great! You still have to scroll up and down quite a bit though, seems like a taller page than I am used to.
-Tyler
Interesting observation Tyler. I was thinking for a blog the new design was pretty "short"… It'll never fit on one screen — lots harder to do that with a blog as opposed to a static site. But, shorter is better…
I love what you've done with my skin! The mods look so good in fact, that I may end up stealing somethings to work into the next release. I also love how much traffic this post has been driving to ThesisReady.
A happy customer really is the best PR!
-Adam
Adam –
THANKS for developing such a kick ass skin!
Jay,
Regarding the constructive feedback you asked for:
• I think adding titles above sections would help the user have a better idea that there are different sections at play here. For instance, the first thing we see in the content area is a green bar with an article and then green buttons to search homes below it. There really isn't a clear signal to differentiate to the user that one of these things relates to a blog post and another thing relates to finding homes. Titles above these sections and probably making the 'featured article' banner a different color from the property section buttons may prove helpful to the user.
This is also true when scrolling further down and there are four recent posts with a section of stats below that. The change in colors from 'Recent Posts' and 'Market Stats' however, is probably very useful to the user.
Best,
Rob
Thanks Rob. What you are saying makes a LOT of sense. Must ponder the best way to do that…
Jay – haven't been on in awhile, but pleasantly surprised to see your new look ! Whenever I need to communicate w/Francy on the latest trials & tribulations of trying to sell my second home up north (didn't happen this season) – in favor of tackling a foreclosed property in our beloved NE Mesa target…I enjoy popping in to see what you've done.
Better use of color really segregates the multitudiness offerings you deliver to the reader. As a 20 year I/T guy who's developed more womb to tomb apps then one man should have to suffer through – the only thought I'd share is truly….LESS is MORE. I know from experience that one could fiddle with things until your eyes bleed (especially those delivering one's personal message) – so I appreciate the efforts you must constantly trial and error through. Cheers !!
Thanks Michael! (and hang in there, that thing WILL sell…)
I really like the changes here Jay! Very fresh and clean look. It's inviting. Love the large sharing buttons at the top right. I have the Thesis theme as well @ my blog, such a great template.
Jay, I noticed you dropped the contact form that was in the side bar. It seemed like a nice way to start a conversation with folks.
Did you drop the contact from from that location on purpose? Was it dropped because of a design constraint?
Overall, how would you rate the effectiveness of that contact form in that location?
Thanks!
John – that contact form was plagued with spammers sending messages., even with an anti-spam captcha installed. Still cogitating the best way to implement.
Hi Jay,
I think I like the look. A couple of metrics to follow may be your drill down to indidual posts and your time on site….
I'm sure that the performance will be important and it should work well…
Jay, I like the design a lot. Nice work. One of the reasons I turned to Thesis was seeing what you have done with your site. I have also learned about some cool wp plugins by your example. Thanks for leading the way!
Looks good!
Hi, This comment is a bit late, but maybe you could provide some insight. You mentioned that the "tabber" was a PITA – can you elaborate a little bit as to why – I really like this feature. We are considering moving our blog "inside" our website and having something similar one the home page – just didn't think of this idea before. Is it specific to this theme? Also, have you seen more traffic to FB with it on top rather than at the bottom of the page? Thanks!
A little late in commenting, but I like the new design. I have a few questions maybe you'd be willing to answer. You mentioned that the tabbers were a PITA – could you explain why. Is this theme related or programing. We are looking to move our blog "inside" our primary website and I like this idea. Also, have you found more traffic to FB with the link at the top? Thanks
I do like the last update of you website. It looks a bit more organize and the distribution of each section are much better.
I think the site looks great. Very profesional.