New website design! Share your thoughts with Calisa Rhose #MFRW #feedback

Feb 4

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Welcome old guests and new! I’ve finished the remodel on the Ranch for now and would love to hear what you think. To help you with what I need feedback on I’ve made a short list. If you don’t like it I can take that, as long as you tell me what you don’t like. 🙂

I welcome your opinions on:

1. ease of navigation (personally I don’t care for the almost hidden comment button that gets lost in the tags section at the bottom of each post, but I can’t change it)

2. header appearance (should I turn in my design badge and hire someone?)

3. readability (I visit sites that the font and background color combinations hurt my eyes and I strive to avoid that here on the Ranch)

4. other tips or comments welcome too (by clicking that hidden comment button I mentioned up ^ there in 1

I’m not too worried about the colors since I like to do a new monthly theme that will change each month, so that isn’t on the list. But if there is a certain color or shade that interferes with you enjoying your visit I absolutely want to know. 🙂

As always, thanks for visiting!

About Calisa Rhose

I'm a mother of three daughters and wife to a wonderful man of 35+ years. I'm also an avid seamstress, polymer clay artisan and die-hard crafter, always coming up with things to make with, and for, my six granddaughters and two grandsons. Check out my craft site https://lisasfancifulallure.wordpress.com/ when you have a moment. I'm also a small online business owner of Okie fLips on Etsy and Poshmark (eBay/Merkari coming soon), https://www.etsy.com/people/cmselfridge and https://poshmark.com/closet/okieflips I'm a published author of sensual romance. I write about stubborn men and women who don't take no for an answer, and there's always that golden HEA. Cowboys and first responders are my favorite contemporary heroes to write about. My light paranormal heroes are strong men ready to protect their women--not that they need protecting, since they are capable of caring for themselves.

Posted on 02/04/2015, in Branding, Marketing, Pen of the Dreamer, Welcome and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink. 18 Comments.

  1. Ashantay Peters | 02/07/2015 at 9:06 AM

    I like the new design. Easy to read and click through. Great button choices! Also like your author tag line, but I found the color/font combination of your header was difficult for me to read. It sort of “vibrated.” Once I focused, I was fine. Maybe I just need more coffee!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Calisa Rhose | 02/07/2015 at 9:40 AM

      I think the ‘vibration’ is caused by the white outline of the text. I’m going to fix that as soon as I have time. Thanks Ashantay!

      ps. I deleted your second comment since both went through fine. 😉

      Like

  2. Joanna Aislinn | 02/06/2015 at 8:50 PM

    I also think your comment button is highly visible. Just sayin’ 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Joanna Aislinn | 02/06/2015 at 8:49 PM

    The color scheme is very pretty, Calisa, but I find the purple font a little hard on the eyes b/c of how it pops off the background. Your header looks great! Wish I knew how to make one!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Calisa Rhose | 02/07/2015 at 9:43 AM

      I was experimenting with font colors Joanna so thanks for that input! I taught myself how to make headers over the last few years, so they may look a little rough until I play around enough to figure out my programs and color schemes more. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      • Joanna Aislinn | 02/07/2015 at 9:44 PM

        Any website(s) that you found particularly helpful for learning how to make headers?

        Like

        • Calisa Rhose | 02/10/2015 at 7:40 AM

          I’ve been told http://picmonkey.com is helpful, though I’ve never used it. I have used http://canva.com to make a couple of banners. A lot of people use Picmonkey.com. I made my FB author page banner with Canva- https://www.canva.com/. It’s very basic, no real photo editing capabilities (Picmonkey might come in handy for that) and offers purchasable images and backgrounds as well as free ones. I used a free background and purchased the image for $1. See my Canva-created banner here: https://www.facebook.com/CalisaRhose
          But for the most part, I taught myself how to use my Paint Shop Pro (ver. 7) design program and just played around until I got what I wanted. There are a lot of free images to be found, but I purchased the rose on this header for one credit from http://fotolia.com.

          Like

          • Joanna Aislinn | 02/11/2015 at 5:30 AM

            Thanks for all the info, Calisa! I’ll save it for future reference. 🙂 Say ‘hi’ to my pal Anna K for me, too. That grandbaby of hers keeps getting cuter all the time!

            Like

  4. sandylrowland | 02/05/2015 at 9:46 AM

    I didn’t have any of the white space issues when clicking to follow you. As for your header, it’s fine but it’s not as awesome as everything else. This is just me, but I’d love to see in the header a display of your books. I’ve seen it done elsewhere. It probably costs some real money to do that. No, I haven’t done it but am thinking about it. The header is your fist impression set out to the world. What do you want to say?

    Liked by 1 person

    • Calisa Rhose | 02/05/2015 at 6:09 PM

      Great tips Sandy! With just one book out currently I didn’t think about adding it to the header. Maybe once I get more to share? It shouldn’t cost me a fortune since I know where I can get it done for $25, but I made this one myself so I’m sure I could figure out how to add books. I might play with that idea. 🙂 Thank you!

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Erin | 02/05/2015 at 8:00 AM

    I like your changes–easy to navigate–and the header is very inviting! On the negative side, I’m also seeing the blank spaces that Mae Clair notes and wondering if some of the links on the left-hand side are getting lost since the reader has scroll to the bottom of the page to find them… Not sure… Just something to consider. And, by the way, I love your tag line–perfect for an author!

    Like

  6. Mae Clair | 02/05/2015 at 7:46 AM

    Nicely done, Calisa. I think the navigation is fine, and I had no problem whatsoever in locating the comment button. One thing I noticed, and it could just be my display for some reason, but under your “FOLLOW ME” on the left hand side, there is a large blank white space before I reach Google +

    There’s also a space under your NETWORKED BLOG box before the next widget. And I know you change your colors and background a lot, but I LOVE the combination of the orchid background with the black header! I’m getting a spa-like feeling with that rose and candle….so soothing, and perfect for a romance author!

    Like

    • Calisa Rhose | 02/05/2015 at 12:59 PM

      I wasn’t sure about the black header since that isn’t one of my favorite colors. But it does seem to go with everything! lol I’m glad it gives a romantic feel overall though. Thank you.

      I’ll have to take a look at the sidebar widgets. I tried to correct the one under Networked blogs, but I can’t seem to figure out why it’s doing that. I think the other blank(s) just need refreshing of their links. Thanks again!

      Like

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