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AshesFromStars has 6 Reviews

Below are the reviews left by other members on AshesFromStars. Jump to review form?

1. 

   meggan gave it on 19th Nov 2008 and said:

   My first impression is that your site doesn't have a clear path my eye is supposed to take, so I end up bouncing around, unsure of what I should look at. There's your site title, a calendar, utility links, a tagline, a photo, an ad for rev.iew.me, a blog post, recently published, some navigation, an intro, and latest comments. And that's just what I can see without scrolling. WHEW.

   I think you should take a look at your header and start prioritizing. What should get the most attention? I'd venture that maybe your calendar doesn't need to hog as much visual attention, since it's just a record of when you posted recently and you already have a recently published area. Maybe you don't even need the calendar?

   I think the "Disclaimer" and "Site Map" links could be pushed down a couple pixels so it lines up with that comment-y type box. (What is that, by the way? It's not clickable, and what does the 99 stand for?) The reddish link color doesn't stand out very well on top of that nice grayish-blue.

   You could also spice some areas up a bit using images. Your site title is a little dull, and so is your navigation. This is not to say it has to be crazy or neon or something, but maybe bump up the font size on your title a bit or use a nice-looking font and save it as an image. Maybe make your nav into blocky, clickable areas instead of just text links. Play around with it and see if you can add a bit more interest.

   I like your dividers; the little teardrop shapes fit nicely together and they break up your posts well.

   Ooooh, see, your footer is interesting! It's so much nicer to look at than your header - there are clear places your eye wants to follow and it's not cluttered or confusing. I don't necessarily think that background image matches your layout, but I do like it and it adds some visual interest. Stats section could come up a bit so it nestles under Archives and in between Tags and Commenters. Right now it falls beneath them and looks disconnected. I kind of question whether you even need to display that on the front of your site, but that's up to you.

   For all the information you have stuffed in your sidebars, I feel like they end awfully short compared to how long your main page goes on. Perhaps you could play around with putting some of the stuff from the far right column in the middle column and narrowing the layout a bit? Or maybe not display so many posts on the front page? You could use the WP plugin Different Posts Per Page to set your homepage to show 2 or 3 posts and then set your archives, search, etc. to show 8 or 10 or whatever you want. And actually, I just noticed your other pages don't have the second sidebar, so maybe you can shuffle some stuff around.

   How come there's an "€" character floating about in your footer? It doesn't have an immediate purpose and seems sort of like an accident. You also need a space in between your site title and the word "is;" right now it's showing as "AshesFromStars.comis proudly."

   I like that you provide recipes! They could use a little more separation between them (perhaps your lovely post divider image?) so they don't squish together as much.

   Overall I think you have a nice site. The header is pretty jumbly and I question your sidebars, but I think those things are pretty easily fixable.

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2. 

   Tiffany gave it on 13th Nov 2008 and said:

   Layout
   My first reaction was ehh. But as I reached the bottom, I felt a little reluctant to review your site. First things first, the colors you chose do not match. Reading the links in your header aren't easy. You're also using two (conflicting) different shades of blue.

   - Too much empty space in header and footer. Webdesign is like real estate, space is valuable.
   - Random areas of black (topbar + footer). I recommend you just take this out.
   - Boring header. This is a common problem that can be easily fixed by either adding a something, or decreasing the size of it.
   - Once again. Blood Orange + Blue 1 + Blue 2 + Black = Blah
   - Pattern in footer, not in header. Odd?

   Organization
   I don't really get why you have a two column sidebar, but you still see fit for a footer (and header) with useless information. Remember: webdesign = real estate.

   - Lack of blue in main content.
   - I am displeased with how much the front page scrolls compared to the rest of the pages on your site.
   - Too much bloat in sidebar. If you removed most of it, it could probably all fit in one. Then you might be able to better utilize your footer (twitter feed, last fm feed, flickr feed?, anything that doesn't relate to your blog).

   Pages
   - Site page: that's it?!
   - Design: needs image padding, and the obligatory that's it?!
   - Content: I don't see the content? Where is it? Where, I tell you, where? Aww. Shoot this isn't one of those read the whole thing and look for a mysterious period.
   + Oh there it is! Wow. Almost missed it.
   + Generator: I got: yellow condition .nu. Perhaps you can combine them? *refreshes a billion times*
   + Quick reviews: I don't see how this fits under content.
   + Logos: Just twitter?!

   Summary
   Ehh.

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   afscom's Response:

   Eh, I did forget to put my site on maintenance mode when the nightly build decided it hated my theme, so the comments about the layout I understand as it wasn't actually the proper layout I'd intended on using.

   Thank you anyway.

3. 

   Sinistra gave it on 12th Nov 2008 and said:

   My first impression of your site was mixed between "wow I like how clean it is and how the pink jumps out at me" and "it needs a little something more." And then your background image loaded. I can't say I like it very much, and it doesn't go well with the design when it's washed out and kind of raggy in contrast to the simplicity of the rest of your design. It's very hard for me to focus on anything where the background image is present because it's so distracting - and admittedly, it's harder to read the text on some of the darker bits. I am not opposed to the background staying in the header and footer though. I think it's a nice touch in those areas. I think your design would improve greatly if you just removed the background behind the actual content. And while I'm on the subject of the header, there's this annoying break underneath it between the title/nav and the content that is driving me insane!

   I also think it could use a little more color. The pink is awesome, but maybe you could spice up your text headers a little more with some green or orange. I also think your h3's could stand to be a little smaller; they appear to be about the same size as your h2's, so they don't seem like a subset referring back to the h2's (like on your Music Gigs page - gah, it's hard to explain, I hope you understand what I mean!).

   That said, I enjoyed reading your about page and it really gives the reader a sense that they know what you're about. You have a cute doggy (more pictures please!), the 100 Facts page was amusing, and your book montage doesn't show up. I also like the examples under "Designs" and I would love to see more from you there. The section is bare, but quality.

   Oops! I just checked your links page, and your list image overrides the left border on your design. A bit of padding in the CSS should do the trick there. Meanwhile, your Elsewhere page is kind of unattractive. I think it would be better if you styled the list to not have image markers, removed the giant black border around the small images, and made it so the text (Melissa at StumbleUpon, Melissa at Twitter, etcetera) sits next to each image (they're kind of mismatched the way they are).

   Overall, your site is very organized and has some nice content, but suffers from the design. I see that you stated your design is this way because you upgraded, so I hope this means you'll fix it up when you get the chance and make it seem more welcoming.

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   afscom's Response:

   Hi, thanks for your review. Unfortunately I forgot to turn on maintenance mode when my installation screwed up so your comments about layout etc don't apply now that it's fixed - but thank you so much :)

4. Bruce gave it on 10th Nov 2008 and said:

   Disclaimer: I'm using Mozilla Firefox 3 with a 1680x1050 resolution. All of the following is just my own (unprofessional) *opinion* and I'd like the least amount of grief and drama about it as possible.

   The layout is rather unattractive. You said that it was because you just upgraded to a new Wordpress and I don't know whether you made this layout or not, but the point still stands. It would be barable even if the background was white throughout but instead you've decided to go with the typical "victorian" pattern and made it faded with random colors. It makes the text nearly impossible to read because the background is the same shade as the text. Why don't you link Wordpress in the footer?

   I was skimming through your blog and saw no less than two revenue supported paid posts. I have to admit that really turns me off to the rest of the personal entries that are in between the paid posts.

   The domain name generator just seems like another advertisement. The recipes page is good, would be even nicer with pictures if possible. The design page is neat but lacking slightly. I can see that you're really talented, which is awesome. I especially love the purple wallpaper, I wish it came in my size. The about you page is actually pretty informative. The only thing that I think is kind of tacky is the date of death thing, but to each their own. Is the books page supposed to be something besides two huge links? Because if it is, it didn't load for me. I don't know why. As for "contact details", I think a contact form would be more appropriate and effective. The LifeStream page has no introduction and someone who doesn't know what last.fm or twitter is would be thrown into the page confused. And probably because you just changed layouts, the alignment is messed up ( http://i37.tinypic.com/211jayp.jpg ). Test Results page: The HTML challenge doesn't load correctly for me. Accessibility page: I'm glad that you've gone to the trouble to making your page accessible.

   In conclusion, I probably wouldn't visit your site again. Paid posts generally put me off in any "blog" atmosphere. At the moment, it has a theme that you admit is "ugly assed". The content is lacking severely and is not worthy of another visit.

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5. 

   Aisling gave it on 10th Nov 2008 and said:

   Your layout does absolutely nothing to make me want to stay at your blog. Firstly, I am assaulted by a bright orange background while I wait for an oh-so trendy wood patterned background to appear. Then, there is absolutely no header image, although there is a large gap for one. It looks like you took a premade, and took out the header image and changed the background so you wouldn't have to call it a premade anymore.

   Your actual content-filled area is deliciously well-spaced, and clearly separated into Title, Body, Meta sectors. I love it. Your sidebar is also pretty close to perfect, apart from your Twitter updates which could use some more padding.

   I can't say much more about the layout, because there isn't anything else there, unfortunately. :(

   Onward to content, I guess! Your Melissa page is well-written and extensive, although I really dislike the justified text used for the "profile," bit at the top. There are so many big spaces and it looks very sloppy.

   I think the Commented On feature is really cool, but sort of redundant since you don't seem to comment on very much. ;) I liked your Music Gigs page, it was cool to read about the different concerts.

   Your site section is pretty much standard. Parts of it were interesting, and some parts weren't. Nothing particularly stood out, which is not a bad thing, not a good thing but more of a... meh, thing. :P

   A links list is a links list is a links list. Haha. :)

   Ooh, so, under design, I see that you actually DO have great graphic skills! Then, why, pray tell, are they not being used here?! The Out of This World manip is gorgeous. If it sat atop your blog, I would definitely be more thrilled to sit down and peruse your blog at great length.

   Finally, we come to Content. Which, to be honest, I think it a pretty dumb heading for something. :P Technically, everything in your website, from your blog to your disclaimer, is content. Having a separate section called Content is redundant. There are plenty of other things you could call it. The domain name generator is pretty funny. I got terriblemarket.us, which made me LOL. The Quick Reviews is a kind of nice idea. You should expand on it more. :)

   Ooh, you have recipes too! I also have some on my site, I love baking and cooking, so this section really interests me! Both recipes look relatively simple and delicious. One of the suggestions I got on a review for my site was to add pictures, and I'm going to suggest that you do the same thing. ;)

   I must say, it's your content that really saves you. Definitely work on a more interesting layout! You have all the skills, I don't understand why you aren't putting them to good use!

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6. 

   Sewwy gave it on 9th Nov 2008 and said:

   Overall, I thought that your site was well set out, simple and effective. Your blogs were interesting to read and, to be perfectly honest, I find that the most important thing overall when visiting blogs. After all, what's the point in even sharing your blog with the world if it's not something people want to read.

   Your layout is quite simple, but in this case I think it works well. It's designed well, with clear sections and makes it so much easier to navigate. The large text works well too (which is a relief for my eyes, which are rather sore today.)

   I thoroughly enjoyed going through your content - I particularly liked your recipe section. I'll have to try your cupcake recipe sometime.

   Overall a well designed and structured website with decent, interesting content.

   Kudos =)

   Using Safari on Mac | Report This?

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