Now that the blog has been up and running for a week, I’ve made some tweaks in order to improve the Hop Step Jump! experience. Or something like that. Anyway…
A Lighter Shade of Gray
The ugly dark gray background is gone. I actually wanted to use light gray from the very beginning, but the color scheme for the rest of the site proved to be an obstacle. Why I didn’t think to use a shadow in the first place, I don’t know.
It’s the Little Things
Font and link styles have been polished. To be honest, I really don’t like having so many different link styles (I subscribe to the “Just because you can do it, doesn’t mean you should,” school of web design), but the structure of the site sort of requires it.
Tag, You’re It!
Posts are now tagged by anime series (assuming the post references an anime series). I’ve added a nifty tag cloud to the archive page for quick and easy navigation.
The Missing Link(s)
I’ll be updating the blogroll on the links page to include some forgotten blogs (sorry!) and new blogs that popped up in my absence. I want to thank everyone who added Hop Step Jump! to their blogrolls this first week. While I expected a warm welcome from the community upon my return, I never anticipated the red carpet treatment. I intend to pay it forward.
To Sidebar or Not To Sidebar
Having the blogroll on a separate page has proven a bit inconvenient, but I don’t want to add a sidebar for the sake of the blogroll alone. Still, a sidebar may show up in the future.
In the Name of Good Taste
I promise never to post another ugly picture like this one again.
I kind of like the slim, minimalist set up myself, but for my own purposes, a sidebar is just too convenient to leave out. The shadows and lighter background are a nice touch here, though. :D I really enjoy the design. It’s easy on the eyes, and entries/pictures stand out better. I’m hoping to tweak my own design a bit later on, but for this month, I am having trouble finding time to just blog episodes! :) Good luck with any design troubles, looking good, and welcome back again.
Hmm.. K2 [and its derivatives] is proving to be rather popular among the blogs these days (not just anime blogs, from what I’ve seen). Looking forward to any new developments that you come up for your blog.
I’ve always liked your site design, both this and your old one. This is even more uncluttered than the previous one and yes, my vote is for the “no sidebar” option. Form over function (or convenience)!
the light background is nice but if I had to I’d make the banner/header of the site stand out a tad more i.e.
the banner image could be more distinctive/bold (e.g memento blog) and ditto for the blog/archive/links tabs.
I agree that the header could stand out more. Don’t be surprised if something new pops up soon.
Right now, I’m trying to figure out why the site loads so slowly. I’ve just about narrowed it down to a problem with the database connection… which, unfortunately, is something I can’t fix myself. I could petition Dreamhost to move the site to a faster machine, but I doubt I’ll have much luck. Perhaps I could play the, “I’ve been a customer for six years,” card.
Good show! Sorry I didn’t post a “Welcome back Jeff Lawson!” thing, I’ve been kind of wigging out over Monster. But at least I did a “Farewell Jeff Lawson!” post several months back.
I’m not fussy on design, but I do have to wonder what that “Pu” means at the top of the page. As long as you’re having fun, it’s all that matters. I’ve just got to rediscover what “fun” is.
Regarding the “Pu” (for those who haven’t already figured it out)…
If you “katakananize” the title of the blog, you get Hoppu Suteppu Janpu. In other words, HopPU SutepPU JanPU. Triple Pu Power!