Finally, [RicardoBueno.com] got a fresh new look! I’m now running on the Proze Child Theme from Studiopress (not an affiliate link…yet). As you can see, it’s a bit more of a minimalist design than anything else. I’m trying to emphasize the white-space on the site and cut back on things/elements that aren’t all that necessary. The sidebar just has the important stuff like subscription options, recent comments (to boost interaction) and an archive of popular posts. That’s it. Everything else would really just be a waste of space in my opinion. As for the header, I have a funky new “RB” logo (I feel like it’s more me), a photo of me in action and a link to my most recent speaking engagement (which links to my speaking page). I don’t think much of anything else really needs to be added.
But alas, what do you think?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on the new look and feel. If you find any broken links or have a suggestion, I’d love to hear it in the comments. Kyle Clouse already recommended installing the JQuery Lightbox for Native Galleries Plugin. It renders your photos like this: http://kyleclouse.com/slideshow. It looks pretty slick in my opinion. Much better than the NextGen Gallery plugin that I’m using for my gallery page. Anyway, I’d love to hear any additional ideas that you might have on how to improve things around the site. What are you doing that works well for you?
Lastly, if you’re new here, here are some of my best posts on social media marketing and blogging:
- Blogging & Goal Setting: Be More Specific! This post is about the need to be more specific when setting your blog goals and expectations because otherwise you can waste a whole lot of time doing all the wrong things.
- I Don’t Have Time – the “I don’t have time” excuse in social media.
- Some Tips To Improve Your Blog – want some blog improvement tips? Here are some of the essentials.
- 13 Must-Have WordPress Plugins for Every Website – I think the title here pretty much speaks for itself.
- Start with the Basics – launching a new blog or social media campaign? Start with the basics. This post challenges you to think about what you’re doing right. What you’re doing wrong. And what you can be doing better.
WIIFM:
“What’s in it for me?” You have limited time and knowledge about how to use social media marketing and technology to drive sales. I’m well versed in blogging, design, social media and technology (IDX solutions) so I’ll challenge your way of thinking about the web to help you differentiate between what’s possible versus what’s practical for business development. Basically, I’ll teach you what you need to know to build your brand, increase awareness and generate leads on the web. All you have to do is subscribe below and tag along with your questions and comments…
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PHOTO CREDIT: (from a second story) Mike Bailey Gates
Love the slick new design! It's definitely more YOU! I'd like to do something like that for my site as well. 🙂 How did you create your logo?
Thanks Suki! I've been wanting to make the change to Prose for a while and finally found the time to do it after Blogworld. I'm definitely feeling more confident with the new logo/header design and love that I linked to my speaking page as it's one of the more prominent Call To Action's that I'd like people to take note of.
It's all been a work in progress (and still continues to be) but I'm feeling good about it 🙂
As for the logo, it started with a sketch that my older brother worked up…
Ricardo,
I like it!! It's a very fresh, clean look – which I believe also just helps to direct visitors more toward the awesome content you have.
Great work!!
Thanks Lance!
It's been an ever-evolving piece since you and I first met but I'm feeling pretty darn good about it now. I'm trying to emphasize white-space and only showcase what's important. Hopefully, that's evident in the new design here.
Ricardo, I like your new look. It's very clean and fresh.
Thanks amigo! And thanks for the recommendation on the gallery plugin 🙂
Love the new look. Fresh! Great artwork choice for this post as well.
Thanks Todd! Got your other note too. Feeling good about it. Wanted to keep it simple & emphasize just the essentials ya know.
Thanks for the comment and tagging along on the adventure 🙂
I like the look – the links stand out nicely, yet also show as an emphasis.
Thanks Thesa! Prose's point-and-click design features make it real easy to make subtle but effective changes like that. It was much more difficult to do with the previous theme.
This is great Ricardo. I noticed that things looked different a few days ago, and now this explains everything. I really like the changes. (Well, you know me. I like minimalism!) I also like your daring choice to use a Serif font. It looks really good on here. Congratulations!
Thanks man! Really diggin' this theme and the flexibility. StudioPress offers some great support too!