How many times have you changed your theme already? Changing themes to shake things up occasionally is good. Changing themes because you’re fickle is not good.
When we first venture out in the blog world, we might try a handful of themes right away. Then as momentum builds, most bloggers lock down what they have for a while. After 90-120 days, it’s time to re-evaluate again. Obviously, as the site grows, its needs also grow.
I loved my frugal theme (and I’m keeping it for two of my other sites) but honestly Free Blog Help is ready for a makeover. So when I woke up this morning, I suddenly had the urge to hunt down a new theme and customize the heck out of it. After several hours of fine-tuning…voila!
Here’s the problem: I’m not sure I absolutely love it! I mean, I like it a lot but I can’t say I’m in love. Maybe it’ll grow on me, maybe not.
In the meantime, I want to know what you liked about my old site and what you like about this current theme. No feedback is too harsh (or too kind)!
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I love the new look! Still looks clean like your old site but the whole thing just feels fresher.
I like it! I am new to your blog and love it! Great stuff! And I think I like this look better than the other one. I enjoy your blog!!!
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Nice! Looks pretty good and is very colorful
.
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I’m immune!
I *loathe* tweaking themes. Once I get enough revenue, I’m outsourcing all of the design.
Coding is a definite story. Don’t mind coding at all.
Dave Doolin | Website In A Weekend´s last blog ..DIY WordPress: Creating Sidebars On-the-Fly in WordPress
Thanks for the feedback. Keeping it uncluttered is a goal of mine!
I like this one better too but part of it is because I had to look at the other one for many hours a day.
I tried not to overdo it but one way to get that fresh look is to splash more color on the site. I think it’s a decent balance.
I love messing with design but I do my best not to play around with my sites. Keeping a consistent look and feel for appropriate periods of time sends a message of stability.
As for rolling up my sleeves and coding, it all depends on what it is. The tweaking I had to do today required a lot of coding but not real hard-core programming.
Already said it in my previous comment. But I said it again, I like this one much much better. Like the brown color…
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Thanks for your input. Without a question, I knew I was going to move to an earth tone.
I had the same urge last night and re-did all of mine. I am liking the new look. The categories are much easier to see up along the header of the website. I actually decided to find a theme with the exact same functionality when I updated mine last night.
It’s always nice to get a whole new look and feel. I’m liking it. I’ll let you know if I see anything or come across anything that I find difficult with the usability.
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I’d like to think I have it all worked out but I’m certain some of my readers will point out something that I missed.
Nice look, do u change it for Christmas and New Year
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I used to suffer with this problem sometime. I frequently changed themes. But now I am happy with my current theme. It is because many commented on the neatness of my theme which affirmed me.
I liked your new design, the background and arrangement are good
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Thanks! Not planning on making any changes for the upcoming holidays though.
Thanks. There were many trials with various backgrounds but I settled with what I think adds warmth to the site while still allowing for good readability.
Gabe, I like this one better. The gray seems to be calmer to the eyes than the white background, makes you want to dive right in and read everything!
Contrast is always a consideration. The white that I used before was intended to make up for the smaller fonts and darkish outer layer.
However, since I increased the font, I decided that either a light gray or soft tan would be less taxing on the eyes. Glad you were able to pick that up. Thanks!
Nice theme! Personally I believe in branding and well crafted theme for purpose.
And I usually do redesigns and design improvements on existing theme coz changing themes hurt the branding.
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I agree that most themes will require a level of configuration and customization to make it stand out.
Unfortunately, not everyone has a good eye for design or knowledge of usability, which leads to using most themes out of the box. Not a bad thing, just nothing spectacular.
Yup maybe that’s why we have ‘Web Designers’?
King Sidharth´s last blog ..Its World AIDS Day Can Meditation Help?
I’m new here so can’t comment on the changes you’ve made but you certainly have a great looking theme. I agree with Gabe, the colour is very calm on the eyes.
Regards,
Karl
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In case you’re curious, the screen shot in the article is what the old one looked like.
The color in-particular has a much more comfortable feel.
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Comfortable is good. Anything to keep that bounce rate down!
Go for the new theme. It much more simple and elegant. Actually, its inviting to readers.
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Gabe, the new theme is super cool. Currently i am on my mobile so cant observe it carefully. I will try to provide you more detailed opinion via email.
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Thanks. I’m not switching back but I will be making some minor tweaks based on everyone’s feedback.
Thanks for the detailed email. Some of those are already in the works!
The new makeover is good and promising but still i like your old theme.. It is clean..
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I miss the old look too. There were a lot of pluses but overall I believe I incorporated most of the things I’ve been looking for into the new one.
yes you are right no blogger is ever 100% satisfied with this theme.i like ur old theme design it was simple and easy to navigate.will take some to get use to this new layout.
I hope I was able to capture some of the old strengths on this one while providing additional value for both me and the reader.
One thing I decided to try is the use of excerpts. I’m usually not a fan (and my post tweets have suffered slightly) but it should help the site load faster and allow my non-regular visitors to see more articles quickly.
I liked the new look, as its more vibrant and funky. Something new as those themes can be seen on every second – third blog.
New look always attract visitors.
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Sorry, Gabe, I must have a serious case of banner blindness, I only skipped the screenshot of your old site without paying attention to what the pic was about (that will teach me
)
Yes, I prefer the change.
Karl
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No doubt, the ad blindness was in effect!
We’ll see. The redesign had more to do with increasing usability for my current visitors (with some trade-offs of course). New visitors would be a nice bonus.
Frugal theme looks very like Thesis in terms of layout and appearance, but I am curious about its SEO power too?
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Gabe – when I stopped by earlier today I meant to comment that I noticed you had changed the theme. And then voila I happen across your post tonight about the change.
Personally, I really like this Theme – it’s a keeper!
I just re-designed my site – for the third time in a year because of “outgrowing” my other themes. I’m on Thesis now and I imagine I’ll keep this one for awhile.
Later Gator! Was great to see you on Dennis’ “Direct Sales Marketing” post tonight. (which is how I ended up back here on this post!)
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Frugal’s SEO is decent. I’m going to miss some of the great features it has but it was definitely time for a new look.
Thanks for the feedback about the new digs here.
Thesis is a great theme to keep for a while. Maybe you’ll let it stick around for an entire year!
Thesis is like SUPERB!!! I use it on many of the blogs I own, I love customized design for thesis and I am sure if you start playing with it … it’ll be there ‘Forever!” lol
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cool theme
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Thesis is truly powerful since it offers so many options. Many people who don’t use it don’t realize all the SEO benefits as well.
So true, that’s why I use it on my site: http://www.KingSidharth.com
King Sidharth´s last blog ..World Aids Day – I Will Be Human
That’s awesome! Looks like you really made the site your own.
First time commenting here or even coming through the site, I like the Theme your running now it’s soft on the eyes.
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Thanks for the feedback. Glad you like it!
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I have a huge problem with this..I keep changing stuff almost weekly lol Glad to know I am not alone.
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Having the urge to do overhauls doesn’t mean you actually do them!
I think the above the fold are is a little… well… a little lacking of the usual branding must-haves. It’s especially important since we all strive recognition from the crowd one way or the other. The theme’s clean. I like it
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I’m working on the header as we speak. The problem is that the designer working on it has yet to produce something I could use. I may be reaching out to source another designer soon.
Hi Gabe. I’m new here but we’ve ‘met’ on other sites commenting. I had a chance to take a peek at your old theme once, and ‘though I’m into white backgrounds, I find this one more appealing. Even the font size is better on the eyes.
Keep it, and keep it up.
David
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Welcome, David! Thanks for the feedback. I, too, am a fan of white backgrounds when they’re done right. However, I’m really thrilled with the way this one turned out.
Thanks for the encouragement!
i loved this theme of yours and dont know much abt ur past theme if u have changed as i am new visitor on your blog
i liked your taste on changing themes, but what about some more modifications on your current header ???
A new header is in process. So far, I’ve reviewed a few but they didn’t match the theme at all. I have one more round with another vendor so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
Well, it looks clean and it looks nice and warm. A keeper I would say!
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Indeed this theme looks much better, you made a very good choice
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Hi Gabe,
Oh boy do I know what it feels like to wake up one day and just decide it’s time to change themes. One of my good blogging friends once described coming to my site as like the box of chocolates in Forrest Gump … you never what you’re gonna get … because I used to change themes so often.
I currently have a “semi-custom” design that I hacked from one of Justin Tadlock’s themehybrid child themes. I like it, and I hope to stick with it for a while.
This is my first visit to your site, so I didn’t get a chance to see the old theme “in action”. But from the picture above, I probably would have liked it, since I’m a fan of “white” designs. That said, this theme is certainly attractive … and judging from the previous comments above, your readers seem to like it … which let’s be honest, is probably more important than even what You, yourself think of it.
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I love so many themes so I know it’s hard to just stick with just one. I do miss my old site but a new look was due and I’m glad the feedback was favorable.
I’m not that arrogant that I think I know what my visitors want either. As a result, I’ve made a handful of tweaks since the redesign based on their feedback.
This is why I try to stay away from using a theme. It seems like there is always someone who has a theme that looks like yours so I prefer my site to have an original look to it. Change is always a good thing though.
For those of you who have an established blog with plenty of followers just bear in mind that a theme change might throw a few people off. Remember that your blog becomes a brand identity in some ways, it’s not technically a logo as it is a theme but changing it needs to be done carefully and openly, let people know you are going to do it before you change, have a launch date set so they know it’s coming. Ask for feedback too, just because you need a change your readers might not!