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I think you (and your mom) have done a great job building a site with quality content. From the headline, I was afraid it was going to be a made-for-AdSense typ

I think you (and your mom) have done a great job building a site with quality content. From the headline, I was afraid it was going to be a made-for-AdSense type of site, but that doesn't seem to be the case at all. Also, I can't tell you how much I love the design. I'm far from the target audience, but even I think it's great. Simple, colorful, memorable. Regarding the redesign - I think you made great choices there too. The old sidebar was definitely cluttered and not as useful. I did like the personal touch in the "letter" from your Mom, but I can see why you removed it. The only thing I might suggest adding is some sort of "social proof" - the old sidebar had the Facebook widget showing 3,000 fans which was good. A FeedBurner widget is probably out of place, but even a blurb about the 200,000+ pins on Pinterest would be an excellent way to demonstrate the quality of the site. The only other thing I might suggest changing is the date-based part of the archives. A simple list of every post title would probably be more interesting and get more clicks. I don't have any data to back it up, but personally I never look through date-based archives (but I'll always skim a list of titles on a blog's archives). You could also include a short curated list of the "best" or most popular recipes (like what's already on the homepage sidebar, but longer or a text-based list). EDIT: Just noticed the permalinks - you should really clean those up. Maybe teach your mom how to customize the post slug? Current URL: http://www.theyummylife.com/blog/2012/03/293/Overnight%2C+No-Cook+Refrigerator+Oatmeal+--+A+healthy+breakfast+made+in+mason+jars+in+six+different+flavors http://www.theyummylife.com/blog/2012/03/293/Overnight%2C+No...! The /blog/ and date parts also feel bloated and entirely unnecessary. I don't usually like blogs that omit the date in the permalink, but recipes in particular are the perfect "evergreen" content that wouldn't need it. Heck, you could probably even kill the post ID. Suggested improved URL: http://www.theyummylife.com/overnight-no-cook-refrigerator-oatmeal http://www.theyummylife.com/overnight-no-cook-refrigerator-o... I think it's as simple as /%post%/ on WordPress's permalinks options page. (If you're worried about breaking existing links on Pinterest, there are many WordPress plugins that help you redirect the old URLs.) I don't even know/care about the SEO of it, I just think shorter, cleaner URLs would help with remembering, bookmarking, and sharing links. EDIT2: Just checked the source and realized it's not WordPress. What CMS is the site running? Movable Type?

the_bear 15y ago
Thanks, I'm glad you like the site! You make a lot of good points. Here are some thoughts/questions: Regarding adding social proof to the site, I'm thinking that the non-post pages need a slightly different sidebar with an extra box forsocial buttons. The posts themselves have four social buttons on the left, so you see how many people like the post rather than how many people like our Facebook page. Do you think it would be overkill/confusing to have both on the same page? I definitely agree that the date archives aren't all that useful for most people. I know a lot of sites have those and I'm guessing that it's so there's an easy way for someone to browse every post from the beginning of the site. This would only appeal to the most obsessed readers, so maybe it's better to just leave that out. To be honest, almost no one clicks on the archives so that's not near the top of my list of things to address, but I'll definitely keep your advice in mind for when I get to it. As for the CMS, it's a homemade system. I know most people think it's crazy not to use an existing CMS like WordPress, but I like working on little side projects like this. It also made it really easy to build some cool customization like the recipe printing feature. You're right that I made a mess of the permalinks. That format is a holdover from a much earlier version of the CMS that I didn't bother to improve before launching The Yummy Life. I've added that to my list of things to address in the future. Thanks again for all the feedback!

the_bear 15y ago

Thanks, I'm glad you like the site! You make a lot of good points. Here are some thoughts/questions: Regarding adding social proof to the site, I'm thinking that the non-post pages need a slightly different sidebar with an extra box forsocial buttons. The posts themselves have four social buttons on the left, so you see how many people like the post rather than how many people like our Facebook page. Do you think it would be overkill/confusing to have both on the same page? I definitely agree that the date archives aren't all that useful for most people. I know a lot of sites have those and I'm guessing that it's so there's an easy way for someone to browse every post from the beginning of the site. This would only appeal to the most obsessed readers, so maybe it's better to just leave that out. To be honest, almost no one clicks on the archives so that's not near the top of my list of things to address, but I'll definitely keep your advice in mind for when I get to it. As for the CMS, it's a homemade system. I know most people think it's crazy not to use an existing CMS like WordPress, but I like working on little side projects like this. It also made it really easy to build some cool customization like the recipe printing feature. You're right that I made a mess of the permalinks. That format is a holdover from a much earlier version of the CMS that I didn't bother to improve before launching The Yummy Life. I've added that to my list of things to address in the future. Thanks again for all the feedback!