Every few months, I feel an overwhelming need to change the design of this site. I’m sure I’m not the only one who experiences these nagging surges of inspiration, as many of you have attested to the same.
Living in a world where the substance of design seeps into every crevice of our lives, we not only primp ourselves but our personal websites as well — after all, in this wired society, it only makes sense that our websites are extensions of our personas.
We are introduced to beautifully-designed websites every day via the many design sources at our disposal. We read about the latest trends in web design and study tutorials on achieving said effects. And with time and experience, we are able to choose and pick what works best for us while staying true to our style and design ethics.
Slowly but surely, our websites become us.
I have been lacking the energy for a complete overhaul. But I did put my hours of insomnia to good use by making some changes that I believe puts an extra coat of polish on this site. These changes include:
- new footer
- re-designing and re-positioning the datestamp
- small design changes to the comments sections
- re-organization of the top horizontal menu and the incorporation of drop-down, nested menus
- getting rid of the “Friends” section in my sidebar and creating a “Links” section in the top horizontal menu
- adding “Currently Reading” and “Recent Comments” sections to my sidebar
What do you think of the changes?
You will also notice that my “Links” pages are now pretty extensive, including a “Favorite Blogs” page featuring choice selections from my Google Reader. (If you have a link that you believe should be included, please let me know.)
I am still not completely satisfied with this design. Will I ever be? Probably not. Just like how I know I’ll never be completely happy with my appearance.
How often do you re-design your site? Are you happy with your current design?
I like books, gadgets, spicy food, and art. I dislike shopping, hot weather, and the laws of entropy. Although I am a self-proclaimed computer nerd, I still have a love for handbags and makeup... and I am always teetering on high heels. To learn more about me, visit the 
I always change my design. Ever so often, I get the urge every 6 – 12 months to redo my header at least. Or change the colours.
Or switch to a different blogging platform
So far, so good 🙂 No urges yet
Love the changes – putting a tab at the top for links is a great clean-up strategy since you had so many. I also like the recent comments section – it gives new readers (and you) an idea of what people are responding to the most.
As for changing my own, I like my current layout and design, but I like to clean it up every now and then, which usually consists of updating blogs I don’t read anymore or updating my links page.
P.S. – I did a little happy dance when I saw I made it to the “friends” link section. 🙂
FB – switch to a different blogging platform? Wow, that’s hardcore…I don’t think I’ve ever had urges to completely switch. But then again, I’ve hopped around every major blogging platform for ages until I found Squarespace. 😉
Ashley – a bit of maintenance like that makes a huge difference! When I was organizing the list of links, I couldn’t believe how many were out-of-date! Hopefully the new links pages will motivate me to update it often. And of course you’d make it to the “friends” section! 🙂
Ahh, what a perfectly-timed post for me to read!
I JUST finished switching my blog over to WordPress from Blogger and am NOT happy with my layout right now. I had to throw something up temporarily so that all my links & important stuff is up and running, but I’m on the hunt for a decent design.
It’s a lot harder than I thought it would be. Back in the day I used to do web design and could whip up anything I wanted. But it’s been so long that all the languages, etc. have changed, my mind has become rusty and I don’t know how to use Photoshop anymore to make my own headers, etc.
What a sad day for me indeed.
So I guess to answer your question: I am NOT happy with my design, and I generally like to switch it up every couple of months anyway. Got any suggestions as to where I can find a good free template? 😉
Hi Ginger,
I would definitely check out Smashing Magazine’s popular post, 100 Excellent Free WordPress Themes. If you scroll down a bit, the sidebar lists more posts on WordPress themes. Even if you don’t find a theme that you like there, the site links to so many great theme repositories that you will eventually stumble onto something you love. Good luck!