Thinner Header Creates More Page Real Estate
October 25, 2009 by Russell Hall
Filed under random thoughts
Hi guys,
so I'm gradually getting the header more the way I want it. It was way to thick before at 208px, but now I've got it down to 138px (which is about 35% thinner) and I must say it looks a lot better. It could even be thinner still but I've made it so the pencil sketch of my profile protrudes out of top by about 20px and that gives a nice 3d effect.
Later on I intend on doing a complete blog styling overhaul but I'm putting that off based on solid advice for some seasoned bloggers that have warned against spending heaps of time redesigning during the first 3 months because the main thing to focus on is content.
The thing about header width (and this is my main point in this post) is that they demand so much of the above-the-fold page real estate,.. and therefore, unless that real estate is being optimized (either visually or content wise) then having a wide header just takes up too much of that above-the-fold page area (i.e. the part of the webpage that gets seen in the browser first off without having to scroll down).
Home page changed.
I mentioned in an earlier post in this Random Thoughts category that I was going to work on the home page layout a bit more, so now I actually have arranged for the home page to show the latest posts instead of the default "lifestyle" feature article boxes (they can look great when set up with the featured content gallery image slideshows but right now I just don't have the time for that and seeing as I've decided that the design for RussRave MkII will be along the plain and simple lines it would be a bit pointless of spending time focusing on a different styling.
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Russell.
Yes this keeping as much as possible above the fold is something I am very concerned with. For this reason my headers and even my headings have been getting shallower and shallower (just in size I hope!)
I also have to be careful not to spend too much time on design and concentrate on “content”. So I started on New Year Day with almost nothing actually working (no RSS, optins, comment subscriptions etc) but so far I have not got back to the content either! (Computer has been out of action – I am writing this in a 1998 HP desktop with 256mb RAM!)
I have just noticed that you do not apparently have an optin box on this page.
Is that purposeful or one of the things you have not got to yet?
Is this blog actually still going?
I have just noticed that the newest post is older than my first New Years post!
Wayne.
Wayne Cochrane´s last blog ..Beginning! 1.1.10 Hello! Welcome!
Ahhh,… an interesting observation about the Optin form missing from this blog.
I actually deliberately removed it. Mainly because nobody was opting in…. despite the fact that at one stage I had put an offer to get 3 free really good e-books (not trash… good stuff) just for opting in. I had a really nice graphic and a subtle Action exit popup but none of it made any difference.
I just figured that people are so sick of having to “optin” and then getting sent trash in their email that they’re understandably reluctant to optin. Now if your blog has been going for a while and they feel that you can be trusted AND have something decent to say and offer then they’ll optin. Just look at the prime examples of that in Yarro Starak, Gideon Shalwick, David Risely, Darren Rowse, Jeremy Shoemaker, John Chow..etc.
I also noticed quite a few people were using the RSS to subscribe… which is something I like to do because you can get all the content without the annoying emails.
Russ
PS.. yes the blog is still going but to be honest I started to devote more attention to my other blogs that make money,… having said that,.. the RussRave will remain as an anchor and we’ll see what it can be morphed into as it evolves! (someone suggested I should become even more pointed and vocal and rename it The RussRant!)