After looking at the 10,000+ pictures on my laptop of things I’ve got up to over the last few years, and realising that I would quite enjoy putting a few words to them, I’ve started a little website/blog type thing to collate them all.

I’ve put together the basic structure and my first post (a review of something). However, I know **** all about how this sort of thing and could do with some constructive crisicism/abuse 🙂

Professional Wreckhead

The first attempt at content is HERE

The review of the Terra Nova Super Quasar is the first bit of content I’ve put up.

Would you guys mind casting an eye over it if you are bored and giving some feedback on anything that springs to mind? There’s not much in there yet since I don’t want to write loads and then find out that i’m missing something out or doing something fundamentally wrong.

The purpose, I suppose, is as follows:

I’m confined (like many of us) to an office. I enjoy my job, but my passion lies in the outside world.

I want to document, light heartedly, some of the “interesting” stuff I’ve done, mostly to relive the adventures for my own benefit and to provide a bit of lunchtime reading for anyone else it might interest. I travel a lot and somehow always get myself into weird, lucky and downright inappropriate situations all over the place. My iphone tends to capture most of it.

HMRC and marketing departments love me, I’m prone to buying anything that’s shiny. I want to review some of the stuff I use, not taking it too seriously though. I have a few novel ideas that might make my reviews more interesting 🙂

Any design, coding, struture, writing tips or general suggestions would be welcomed. I’ve never attempted anything like this before.

How can anyone comment on a blog website that has no content on it?

Nice theme.

Err.

That’s it really.

Come back when you have put some content in it.

How can anyone comment on a blog website that has no content on it?

Nice theme.

Err.

That’s it really.

Come back when you have put some content in it.

Some content, about 4,000 words 🙂

Just looking for a few early pointers in terms of the site generally, and the style of the first few thousand words i’ve put together. I have no idea what I’m doing in terms of webstuff/design.

Looks good, dunno about the domain though 😐

from the tent review – you need to separate the ‘what sort of tent do I need’/chatty stuff from the actual review. I had to scroll down twice to start reading about the actual tent being reviewed.

As m_f says – difficult to judge with so little content but I woudl say unless you’re planning on putting a lot of words in there you have to many sections – I needed to click three times from front page to get to a review.

Looks like a good start, though the title bit is messed up, on Chrome at least. “The Adventures…” etc is on top of the drop down links.

It’s nice, looks good on IE. Get more content up 😉 Especially more pictures of that white shocker!

It’d be worth putting some like / tweet buttons on it so people can share your stuff if they want to. You can do all that with the wordpress plugins.

Good review of the tent, would like to see some more of your photography, the main page image looks amazing.

Stylistically a nice clean layout.
Apart from the header in a fancy italic font which is totally at odds with the rest of the style. Change it to match the font used for everything else is my advice.

from the tent review – you need to separate the ‘what sort of tent do I need’/chatty stuff from the actual review.

Yeah, that first post was a bit of a brain fart, just wanted to get some words down after spending so long mucking around with the site itself.

Apart from the header in a fancy italic font which is totally at odds with the rest of the style

Ha ha, agreed! I spent ages trying to duplicate the font used elsewhere, and eventually gave up and used an online “font to jpeg” generator to do the title. Need to brush up on some basic coding skills to find the info i’m looking for in the style sheets etc

thanks though guys, this is the kind of stuff i’m looking for 🙂

I couldn’t be bothered to read your tent review as I have no interest in buying a tent.

Not trying to be funny but as you said it is a blog and the only reason people read blogs is because they are funny/interesting/subject matter is interesting.

You need to put more stuff up so people can start to see your personality. As someone else has said – your pics look good (assuming they are yours) – put up a gallery.

The sections don’t make sense – you have a section on adventuring, a section on reviews, a section on builds and a section on making money. Bizarre. As said above – get your personality in there and it might start to make sense.

Perhaps wrap up content together (ie one section linking to other content) – if you go on an adventure then you will have used kit so you can link to a review page and you may have built a bike to do it…

At the moment it just seems you have four arbitrary sections.

You did ask for constructive criticism.

I liked your writing style – very good indeed.

Do you own the rights to use all the pics you have?

E.g. the high key studio shot of the tent used to link to the review?

Not a criticism as such, more a point to be careful on…

You’d do well to make the background picture float rather than repeat over and over again.

Especially more pictures of that white shocker!

Not a finished page, but I’ve been trying to get a gallery plug-in to show my pictures correctly. Does this gallery work on everyones browsers?

Cove Shocker DH build (an attempt at using a gallery plug-in)

I couldn’t be bothered to read your tent review as I have no interest in buying a tent.

Not trying to be funny but as you said it is a blog and the only reason people read blogs is because they are funny/interesting/subject matter is interesting.

You need to put more stuff up so people can start to see your personality. As someone else has said – your pics look good (assuming they are yours) – put up a gallery.

The sections don’t make sense – you have a section on adventuring, a section on reviews, a section on builds and a section on making money. Bizarre. As said above – get your personality in there and it might start to make sense.

Perhaps wrap up content together (ie one section linking to other content) – if you go on an adventure then you will have used kit so you can link to a review page and you may have built a bike to do it…

At the moment it just seems you have four arbitrary sections.

You did ask for constructive criticism.

Yes I did, and it is genuinely welcomed.

My personality will come through when the words start flowing, but I’m just trying to find my web-feet at the moment, it takes me far longer to get a plug in to work than it does to write the content, so just want to sort the basics out before I flood the thing with words.

Aye, the aim isn’t really for everyone to read every post, more that if someone is looking for a review on a Terra Nova Super Quasar they will find that one, or looking for ideas for a Cove Shocker build then they will be able to see mine. I have no idea how this even works re Google searches, so it may just sit there doing nothing 🙂

If you want to get on with google then have a look at google analytics – it’s not difficult to use and it’ll show you what generates traffic to your site and also allow you to say to google ‘here’s my site point your robots at it and index it please’.

What sort of forex trading are you doing? More interested in that 😉

Looks really good.

I don’t have time to criticise your writing I’m afraid, but I’d disagree with m_f’s grumpy comments above and say it’s your blog and it’s for whatever you want to do with it.

Yes, you might want to have an “about me” page, but not all bloggers are raging egotists so it’s OK if you don’t.

I suspect that you will get as much traffic through search results to specific pages as through people coming to your homepage, possibly much more – so you don’t need to stick to a conventional editorial format unless it works for you that way.

but I’d disagree with m_f’s grumpy comments

Not being grumpy at all – it seems a fair comment (as we were asked) to say that a blog needs to have some content so people can form opinions about it.

If you want to get on with google then have a look at google analytics – it’s not difficult to use and it’ll show you what generates traffic to your site and also allow you to say to google ‘here’s my site point your robots at it and index it please’.

Merci! Having a read into it now.

What sort of forex trading are you doing? More interested in that

Lots of strategies, from indicator-free trading just using a few simple lines and watching PA, to some exciting “black-box” stuff that’s being developed over at FXAW. Looking foward to putting content into that section (and maybe linking in a real time feed of trades etc and links to MyFXbook analytics), but it’s a tricky one to start, need to have a good think around structure. Plus, with it being forex, I don’t want to end up with the site getting spammed into oblivion 🙁

There’s a google analytics plugin to get it set up. Dead easy.

To make sure google can search your site, go to ‘privacy’ under ‘settings’ on the left hand column of your admin page.

Oh, and the gallery looks fine here (chrome)

I’ve just done my first WordPress site so may well have just gone through any issues you’re having. Give me a shout if you need any help.

Not being grumpy at all

OK, it read a bit like you;d got out of bed the wrong side – but I’ll take your word for it.

🙂

many thanks for the offer radtothepowerofsik, i’ll probably take you up on that! The less time i spend mucking around with wordpress, the more time i can spend actually writing.

Not being grumpy at all – it seems a fair comment (as we were asked) to say that a blog needs to have some content so people can form opinions about it.

I didn’t think you were being grumpy, i did ask for everyones own opinion and what they felt wasn’t right with the site 🙂

I suppose I didn’t describe it very well…it’s going to be a website full of reviews of outdoor equipment, bikes and trip reports, rather than a traditional “this is what’s on my mind today” blog.

I quite liked the tent review, even tho I don’t think i’ll be buying a tent any time soon (bivi bag for the win?).

If you’re going to do gear reviews have a look at:

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2011/10/garmin-forerunner-910xt-in-depth-review.html

I tend to think his reviews are ace, but could do with an injection of humour!

I personally find the title and title font quite off-putting. The tent review seems overly long to me – maybe some people would like that if it’s thorough though I suppose.

The background image looks pretty poor when it repeats if you have your browser window quite wide.

Not my cup of tea. The site ‘looks’ very commercial, I half expected to see an add to basket box in the corner.
The write ups good but too long.

Just my humble opinion, I prefer the day to day ramblings of bloggers. Rolling and not in categories. So I’d be reading about the ride they’d done that day, then when I scroll down there might be a bit about the nice cake they had the day before.

Edit what is a wreckhead?

It’s a nice looking site, but I wouldn’t have links or menu tabs which send you to pages which don’t have any content on them. I’d wait until you have something there before you allow people to view it. It just makes it a bit frustrating. I’d create a twitter and facebook page and add the plugin on to your site, any avenue to attract more traffic.

Also, never pass up opportunity to plug your own site… 😆

http://www.rideswinley.com

You never really finish playing around with the style, it just evolves all the time.

deleted the background image for now and had a bash at trying to insert a title image that resembles the fonts used elsewhere (found a variety of font names in the style sheets for this theme, so working my way through until i get the best fit)

The write ups good but too long.

Just my humble opinion, I prefer the day to day ramblings of bloggers.

Once the site has some proper content on it, I had hoped the main feature of the home page would be more of a contemporary blog – e.g. a few lines from a trip at the weekend, or one that i’m planning, which then links to more detailed reviews of kit and trip report. But for now, I just want to get stuff up there and see how it develops.

Yeah, the write up of the tent is not entirely a “review”, I’m going to pull the first part out into a “what tent?” type section and make the Quasar part stick to just the tent itself.

I appreciate people taking the time to have a look and leave their feedback though, it’s all helping 🙂

It’s a nice looking site, but I wouldn’t have links or menu tabs which send you to pages which don’t have any content on them.

I know I’ve jumped the gun by posting up with limited content, but web stuff is completely alien to me (although i’m gradually starting to get the hang of it) so wanted a hand to get rid of the glaringly obvious crap early on (like fonts and structure etc) before I’ve found that i’ve used it in all my content and have to change the lot!

Lots of the stuff people have been posting has already been a massive help. I just want to get the framework right so I can roll my sleeves up and start getting some content up there.

I like the look of it and it works afaict but I am also a bit grumpy about blogs. If you’re looking for an online space to cross-post/store info that people might realistically google for (e.g. terra nova super quasar reviews), then go for it. But very few people have interesting enough lives that I want to read their blog about themselves. Sorry!

I like the look of it and it works afaict but I am also a bit grumpy about blogs. If you’re looking for an online space to cross-post/store info that people might realistically google for (e.g. terra nova super quasar reviews), then go for it.

🙂

Aye, the aim isn’t really for everyone to read every post, more that if someone is looking for a review on a Terra Nova Super Quasar they will find that one, or looking for ideas for a Cove Shocker build then they will be able to see mine.

blogs like that are 2 a penny, i guess your friends and family would be interested but as somebody who likes reading about travel and bikes i just found it as dull as every other similar blog.

it’s just not worth reading when you have well written stuff like this to read:
http://michaelbarry.ca/2012/02/a-team-and-a-leader/

obviously not if you don’t like road riding but there’s better stuff out there so i’ll not be bookmarking, don’t stop though some people will like it.
like this grooming blog:
http://groomblog.blogspot.com/

no appeal for me but groomers obviously like it. 😆

Fair point Mr Smith, but the aim was that when people google something like “Terra Nova Super Quasar”, they might read my review of a tent and it might be useful. I tend to read a wide variety of reviews before I buy stuff.

I’m not expecting people to hang off my every word like the backside of some lycra clad demi-god 😉

But thanks for your input though, very useful.

blogs like that are 2 a penny, i guess your friends and family would be interested but as somebody who likes reading about travel and bikes i just found it as dull as every other similar blog.

Ain’t that the same with anything though? books, films, magazine, blogs….? Magazines are 2 a penny, many of which I consider crap and badly written.

You like what you like, and not matter who well written something is, if it’s not on a subject you’re interested in, then you’re never going to read it. It’s worth doing though, if you enjoy it, even if no one reads it, and the more you do it, the better you’ll get.

That dog grooming site is ace btw 😉

You like what you like, and not matter who well written something is, if it’s not on a subject you’re interested in, then you’re never going to read it.

That was my general thinking on how these things worked.

When I’m considering buying a new set of crampons and looking for some reviews, I don’t tend to google “well written road cycling blog” and just read that instead.

Or if I’m planning a wild camp near Ben Lui and looking for where others might have found a great place to pitch, I don’t tend to google “dog grooming blog”.

In addition, I’ve never really bought into the notion that unless you are the best at something on your first attempt then pursuing it is somewhat pointless.

😉

To my mum it means the fear of being bitten by insects that don’t even exist in this country,

They do exist in this country. They just don’t live here, at least not as indigenous species.

(You did ask for criticism.)

People who think blogs are only written by the egotistical and self-centred have missed the point completely.

I blog myself, firstly as an online diary but secondly as a means of connecting and sharing with likeminded folk.

There’s a wealth of information can be gleaned from blogs. That’s the beauty of the Web, we no longer have to rely on magazines and marketing departments when making our buying choices, we can go online and make informed choices based on the experiences of others.

This is true for purchasing goods, planning trips and checking the snowcover and avalanche risk across the Highlands. It’s not about ego, it’s about sharing knowledge.

Dorset_Knob – Member

I stopped reading your blog after that sentence: I prefer my copy written by writers, and edited by editors.

It’s a personal review of a tent for goodness sake, lighten up 🙂

Keep buying those wonderfully edited, objective and completely impartial magazines whenever you need to find a review (and of course those writers and editors ALWAYS test the products so thoroughly). 😉