Okay, so it’s been a few months in the making, but the shiny, new TwiTip is finally here! Thanks to the folks at Cre8d Design we’re more organized, colorful and easier to navigate.
Check out the Add A Tip page, too! Now you can submit your guest posts right through the site, which is (in my opinion) way cool. Even better, regular guest authors will have their own bios for even more exposure.
We’d love to hear what you think, so don’t hesitate to peek around and come back here with feedback. We’re still cleaning up a few things, so please be patient and let us know if you have any problems!
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@EzyBlogger
I like the new look but the page is kinda slower to load…
@los_ziegler
Nice… but this background makes it look like a math blog! it reminds me the paper we used back in the school to plot graphs
@netmeg
I’m sorry, but the background is distracting enough to make me stop reading. It actually kind of hurts.
@solutions4tech
Wow!! I like it, I usually read on RSS but I wanted to see what you did. I’m a big fan of simple and clean, and you’ve done a great job of it. I also like the ‘Subject Bar’ at the top. That’s the first time I’ve seen that on a blog (I may try to steal the idea)
@Freenuts
I like the whole design, but I do like the background.
@gloson
Hi. I think it looks great and very attractive, but I have to agree with Guillermo. It does look like a math blog because of the grid.
@patflynn
Aww, Thesis gets the boot. I like the new design though
@alisonkerr
Has Thesis had it’s day? Recently I’ve seen several Thesis blogs with major layout glitches and a friend of mine bought then dumped Thesis because it just wasn’t easy enough to customize.
I recommend Atahualpa (and they didn’t pay me to say that).
Kinda like the new look here – maybe that’s because I’m a homeschooler and like square/graph paper. Fun!
@browneyedbaker
I love the new look! I personally love the background – although not an engineer or math lover, I am an organizational freak, so it makes me feel at home. Ha!
@technomania
I couldn’t resist myself but to comment on this new look.
Frankly speaking, I hated it. The previous design looked more professional and clean.
This background makes me sick and I must add, it looks very childish.
I could have never imagined a look like that on a Darren’s blog.
I am sorry…no offense to the creators. But I would never visit it again, though will keep reading in RSS reader.
Sorry Darren, if possible consider some other option.
Nice design, like the simple underline effect. Many sites would have gone a flashy overlay which would have ditracted from the content.
Thanks all for the feedback.
To those who feel sick at the background or who don’t want to ever visit again because of it – I’m sorry but that’s one of the more bizarre reasons I’ve heard not to read a blog. While it might not be for everyone it’s the content on a blog that’s supposed to bring you back – not the background
Anyway – it might take a little while for people to get used to but we wanted something a little distinct and memorable – hopefully we got that.
And to those asking about Thesis – by no means is this a rejection of that. I just like to start blogs with a simple theme (like Thesis) but usually like to move to something completely customized once the blog is established – it’s the pattern I use on all my blogs. Thesis has been great but we’ve had this blog up for over a year now so it was time to give it its own look, feel and brand.
@HarounKola
I like the design even the graph paper background. It certainly is different
@davidelstone
I think the issue with the background (at least in my case) is that it’s at that opacity level where it draws your attention from the text, and then due to the size of the grid makes me feel like my eyes are being strained.
Hope that helps as to why people may prefer to simply read the content via RSS.
@marioremedios
I do think the background is a little distracting, but this is no reason to stop reading a blog.
People eventually will embrace it and move on.
Darren, you got the “little distinct and memorable” part right.
@gippsygirl
Nice and fresh, if not a little ‘busy’, but since graph paper was mentioned, I can’t get that out of my head.
Did not enjoy maths at school.
@PaulCunningham
The grid paper background is distinct, thats for sure! Not a huge fan but then again I usually visit Twitip via RSS feed only.
Shame Thesis was ditched as the backend. This design could have been pretty easily built on that framework.
@ferntreacy
I like it, it’s eyecatching and different, and has a more friendly and personal feel than the previous design.
Great work Cre8d Design!
@brandonacox
I love the content and I usually read it in the feed reader, so I’ll definitely be a loyal reader, but the content doesn’t stand out on this background the way it did before. Just my own opinion though. Still very clean.
@EKricfalusi
There’s nothing bizarre about people feeling sick by this background. The small repetitive grid pattern has a similar effect as white text on a black background or big blocks of red and blue on a page — they create an optical illusion where it seems like the page is vibrating. This effect is known to actually cause migraines in people.
Ironically, I just wrote a post today about how to override white text on a black background using your browser’s accessibility options — it would work on this design as well. (However, it also renders the logo invisible for some reason.)
http://tinyurl.com/yfb2k3w
@christiantjr
LOL at not reading anymore because of the background
The header and navigation are sharp and the site is still very much content-focused. Rock on.
@ghodgkins
I do like the background – and the overall look of the redesign – but also think that the content doesn’t stand out as it should. Slightly darker headlines, slightly bolder outline around content blocks – both would make a huge difference. Pages are hard to read now, with such a uniform intensity to all of the elements.
@jeanniebeannie
I didn’t think I could dislike a theme any more than the previous one.
Now I see I was wrong.
@Gaelen2
Love the new logo, but have to agree with those who’ve said that the background is distracting. I will also be reading TwiTip from my RSS feed because it is cleaner. Darren, to your comment that “To those who feel sick at the background or who don’t want to ever visit again because of it – I’m sorry but that’s one of the more bizarre reasons I’ve heard not to read a blog. While it might not be for everyone it’s the content on a blog that’s supposed to bring you back – not the background.” — just a couple thoughts. I’ve found blogs where I like the content a lot but I won’t visit to read. When the blog’s text color (too muddy) or background (too dark, too busy) makes it tough to read the site, I don’t bother to go to the site – I can get the good content from a feed.
Yep, the content is supposed to draw me in – but a bad design or color choice that makes it difficult to read that great content can and does turn me away. Mileage will vary…
@EKricfalusi
Also, FYI, the “Notify me of followup comments via e-mail” doesn’t appear to be working. I haven’t received notifications of the two comments that came in after my earlier one.
@djchoppercat
ADD A TIP page is not allowing me to post mine without entering some domian host’s demand for a username and password. HMMM, what is that about?
@DreamWebsite
Dear Darren & team,
Another option to approach this situation in the future would be to draw some inspiration from Tony Robbins.
I’m on his mailing list and recently I got an invitation to vote for the design I like best for his main site. A link took me to a page with quite a few templates that have all been submitted by participants in the design contest he ran.
PS I loved the Thesis theme.
we’ve pulled back the harshness of the background (it’s at about 65% of what it was). You might need to refresh cache to see the impact.
@coreyfreeman
I really like the new design! (although the comment box could be a little wider…) I’m not going to harp on thesis but I’m not a giant fan and I’m kind of glad to see a more unique layout here. =)
@jaledwith
The new logo is awesome. Personally I like the background, though I think it would be easier to read the poll on the right (and other sidebar content) if each thing was in its own white-background container, much like each comment.
@sharonandalex
Nice job by Crea8d-design. I haven’t a clue what people mean when they find the background ‘cluttered’. The background is ‘white’. The posts are clear, ‘black on white’ and the posts are on the left. Pretty clear to me. See what happens when you ask us. Better not do that anymore
@technomania
Hi Darren,
I have always been a fan of your blogs – be it ProBlogger or Twitip. I am not a photographer and hence couldn’t find interest reading DPS.
As I said earlier, I am reading Twitip in RSS, but since you had asked for the feedback on the design, I came to visit your site. Wanted to provide you the honest feedback, the way I felt.
As some of the previous commenters also mentioned, the graph background really creates a glare in eyes and makes it hard to read the content.
I remember doing the same exercise on my blog earlier : I had a black background with grey text on it. Users complained and I had to change the background. I created black because I like it, but this is not why I set up the blog. I set it up so that readers like it. Even if 50% doesn’t like it, it means there are very high chances that another 25% also doesn’t like that much, but are afraid to say so.
I would personally remove it.
Well, but I am a small blogger and not at all famous. So I can’t take any chance.
You are famous and since you have nice following already, reader will eventually adjust or at max read it in RSS as myself. So you can make a decision on your choice.
Sorry, if I offended you somehow. That was not my intention at all.
Thanks
@TrackHustle
Whoa! I like this new look. For a second there I thought I was at the wrong URL. I’m in the process of redoing my sight layout. I must admit, this is a good look for your site.
nice site but as mentioned i thnik it would look a million times better without the maths style paper background. perhaps it’s the simple child like appearance you’re trying to convey but imo it isn’t working