Friday, September 26, 2014

Friday Fixers!


Welcome to the very first Friday Fixer hosted by yours truly!  Friday Fixers are an awesome party where we all dance to Katy Perry's song Birthday and throw rainbow confetti in the air.  No, but seriously, this is how it works... you leave your website/blog/social media profile URL in the comments below, I'll check it out to see how awesome you are, and then I'll comment back with my critique.  

We're not all perfect!  In fact there are a zillion things I have on my fix list for my own websites.  But sometimes it's really helpful to have someone on the outside to check out your web presence.  And what better critiques and tips than free ones, right!?  Not to mention, I encourage everyone in the comments to check out each other's websites and feel free to give them any tips that you may have!  Mixing, mingling, and getting free tips, baby!  That's what Friday Fixers are all about!

Now, I can't take all the credit for this awesomeness.  I first saw this idea done by the lovely Sarah of xosarah.com... except her's are called Fix-It Fridays!  By the way, she's an amazing website designer so she may be able to give you some incredible design tips - so yeah, I think you should go attend her party, too!

Also, I can't simply give endless amounts of tips for days and days and perhaps weeks and weeks to come on this one single post.  So I'll only be giving critiques to those who post their URL by Sunday, September 28th at midnight!  But no worries if you missed out this time - I'll be hosting a Friday Fixer at least once a month!  Can I get a woo woo!?  WOO WOO!

Okay, ready for the fun?  Go comment below with the URL to the website, blog, or social media profile you'd like me to critique!  :)  xo Ali Bee

24 comments:

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    1. Yay! You're the first to join in the fun :) I quite like your website + your work! You are VERY talented, girl! The suggestions I have are to make your logo smaller on your home page/landing page. I'm not sure how it looks on your computer, but on mine I can't see it all in one screen and I'm having to scroll down and over to see it all. I think making that fit on a single screen, but you can still have it large, will make a huge difference. Another logo suggestion is actually making it bigger on your actual website. Make it big enough that you can read it clearly. Right now I'm struggling a bit. Lastly, consider having a photo of yourself on your about page. It's always nice to put a name to a face! I hope that was helpful. :) By the way, that logo is gorgeous!

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  2. This is wonderful! I have just started my blog about a month ago, and while I know there are some things that need to be done (i.e. a search bar), I would still like your thoughts! Also, I am coding it all with the help of a friend. :)

    lovelytomeetyou.com

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    1. Jaclyn! I just adore your blog. Seriously stunning and you definitely drew me in. I'm impressed with how many posts you have and how gorgeous your design is for only blogging since the end of August. I gotta say, it was hard to find anything wrong with your website and web presence. The only suggestion I have is maybe consider also having a 1-2 line description of what each blog post is. I like how you can scroll over the photo and up pops the name of the blog post, but some titles weren't as clear as others... which is fine if a little description is there with it. That's my suggestion :) Again girl, gorgeous. So much so that I'm going to ask who designed it? Haha Thanks for participating and I hope this is helpful! Definitely have a new reader! XO

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    2. Ali, your words are so kind, thank you!! I agree, I should figure out a way to have a little bit of a description on each post. I realized that on phones it is even hard since they can't "hover" over with a mouse. ha! I will work on that!

      And I designed it. :) It took almost a year for me to finally like what I had designed to share, and that's also why I have so many blog posts already because I've been working on having a lot before I even went live. hehe.

      Thank you so much for giving me suggestions. I think this idea is fantastic and I am glad you are doing it. :)

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    3. Haha.. that is true! I never thought about how it would work on a phone. Is there any way you could have a simpler design for phones? You did an awesome job designing it! I can't imagine designing my own website alone. Excellent work and can't wait to see more from you :) Hope you come back and join us again in the future! XO

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  3. Love the idea! My blog is http://melrosaavenue.com and my twitter and insta is @melrosaa

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    1. What a cute blog name that goes so well with your actual name! I really love the design of your blog, as well. My suggestions for you are to perhaps add a search bar to your blog? Maybe you have one already, but I was not able to find it. And my other suggestion is to make your photos all the same width in your posts. Not that there's anything wrong with having them different widths, but the post will look overall smoother and cleaner if same width :) I also checked out your social media account and I honestly have no suggestions there! Your bio's look great - informative about what you can offer + a splash of your personality. Your tweets look professional but still fun and lots of links to your blog! Big thumbs up, girl! You've got a loyal reader here :) Thanks for joining the party! XO

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  4. Emilymkon.wordpress.com
    I just started it so there's only 2 posts and one on the way but I'd love input!

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    1. Cool blog design! Very unique and I like it. I would suggest you have an about me/blog section, as well as, a search bar! I think both would really make your blog come more to life and allow people to connect with you better! Hope this was helpful. :) Congrats on the new blog + thanks so much for joining in on the fun! XO

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  5. what a neat idea! www.hellofelecia.com I am in the process of redesigning it so outside opinion is much appreciated. :)

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    1. Hi Felicia! I like your design. The other blog posts you can click at the top are a nice touch! I don't have too many suggestions for you... everything looks really nice. I am a bit confused on what it means when it says "1 note" or "0 notes" by the blog post title? I think that looks like a good spot where the post date should be. Maybe consider changing that to a date? Or including the post date somewhere. People like to know when things have been posted :) Thanks for participating girl! Hope you come back in the future! XOXO

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  6. Love this!! I jump on xoSarah's too when I catch it. My blog is www.foreverashley.com

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    1. Ooo Ahhh! I like the color palette! Your blog design looks very clean and easy to navigate through. It seems like you can get lost in it really easily which is a good thing! :) I really only have one suggestion and that's if you want people to sign up for your "weekly updates" aka that's one of your main goals, then I would suggest bringing that box up higher on your site and putting more emphasis on it to grab people's attention better. It blends in and not much about it screams, "you WANT to give me your email!" Hope this was helpful :) Thanks so much for participating! XOXO

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  7. I do my own "design" with very little coding knowledge, so I can surely use the help! Thanks, Ali! This is a great idea! :) http://styleonhigh.com/

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    1. Hi Ashley! :) I've always been a fan of your clean black + white design! I would suggest that you add a photo of you in the top right corner right above your links. It's always nice to put a face to the words right away without having to click on the "about me" tab. Also, I noticed when I clicked the "about" button, it opened a whole new page. Some people may find that annoying and get overwhelmed by the multiple tabs. That's all I have :) I hope this was helpful for you! Thank you bunches for joining in on the fun! XO

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  9. Hi. I hope I'm not too late... http://www.ivansiladji.com

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    1. Nope, not too late! :) I really like your blog! Very clean and well put together. My suggestion for you is to consider having a side bar and bringing some of the things you have all the way at the bottom of your site onto the side. For example, you have the option of people following your blog via email... if people following your blog via email is a priority for you, then I'd suggest bringing it up higher. Most people miss all the stuff all the way at the bottom! Hope this was helpful :) Thanks for participating!! XO

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  10. Hey hey! This is so awesome (and scary!). My website is www.kathleenelizabeth-photography.com and my blog (that I need the most help with) is www.blog.kathleenelizabeth-photography.com.

    Thank you SO SO much <3

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    1. Hi Kathleen! No need to be scared :) Especially since I absolutely love both your website and your blog! Honestly the only suggestion I have is to consider combining them into one site. I clicked your "About" tab on your blog and it led me to your website and it just was a bit confusing and overwhelming. I think having it all at one place would make it all flow much better! :) I'm working on doing this myself actually... so you're not the only one who has this issue, girl! I'm right there with ya! Thanks for being brave and joining the fun :) XO

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  11. I literally can't figure out if I've double posted because I'm not sure if my first one went through haha trying again sorry!
    Anyways www.dinajoanna.com, Thanks so much for doing this!

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    1. Hey Dina! I don't think you double posted because I didn't see your comment :P I really like your website! It shows off your personality big time. I think you get major bonus points for having "fun facts" in your about me and for a FAQ tab. I plan on having both when I do my own website re-design! :) I honestly don't see much that I would change about your website to make it "better." The only thing I did notice was at the top of some of your pages you had a handful of images from a senior's shoot. Some of them looked really similar and I think you could benefit more if you showed just a tad bit more variety. If you find that too difficult, then maybe don't stick with one client for each page.. mix it up and have 4 different clients! I hope that makes since?? Let me know if it doesn't! I hope this was helpful, girl and I'm so glad you hopped in for the ride! It was fun and can't wait to do this again sometime. Hope you come back! :) XO

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    2. Wooh okay I just didn't quite know my google password to login haha glad it worked :)
      And I really appreciate you pointing that out, I have COMPLETELY forgotten to update those with new pictures, I will add some variety there when I have all my new sessions edited, thank you!! Can't wait to see your new website!

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