I was bored so made a website!

[cuffylad]

Hi, I was bored over the weekend so made myself a website (I have started and stopped this many times before but decided to finish it off). I love pc gaming and reading news and reviews so thought I would do this, I know I'm never going to be able to compete with the big boys but this is more of a hobby than an attempt to make money etc.

I used a WP template (I know, I know lol) but I'm pretty happy considering I have no background in this field. I have installed some widgets for SEO, Newsletters and Share buttons etc. Made myself a twitter account to go with this site and wrote some articles.

I must say I have really enjoyed doing this and want to continue developing this as much as possible as a hobby. And hopefully people will find it interesting!

www.fryingeyes.com

I guess my post here is asking for any advice from you much more experienced folk as to making this site better, but please bear in mind that I am new to this stuff.

SEO is also something I need to learn about as I would like to drive at least some traffic to my site

Any advice is more than welcome.

 

[cuffylad]

Thanks very much guys, really appreciate the feed back. I have changed the logo and I do think it looks a lot better but Im still not 100% happy with it. I am totally rubbish at logo/banner design so might have to draft someone in to make one for me.

**snip**

Also, on the registration page (under 'news') the grey text on a black background, above the white boxes. is almost impossible to read... well it is on my monitor!

Keep up the good work!

Im not sure which bit you mean mate? can you link it for me please?

Im having a issue with the second nav bar (Features , news, reviews and contact). I cant seem to get it to center on the bar properly, it always seems too far to the right, any ideas please?

 

[cuffylad]

Do you get the same problem reading the text on this page as well? What browser are you using please so I can try and recreate the issue as it is fine in my google chrome.

http://www.fryingeyes.com/pc-better-than-console/

Does anyone else get this issue?

 

[cuffylad]

AH lol I get it now, I installed a widget to help user registrations and I had ticked the block content for none registered users.

It should work now fine now, I think?

 

[cuffylad]

Yes indeed... the page looks quite different now, and no longer asks for registration/log in details etc.

Onwards and upwards!

Yeah thanks, can't believe I didn't check it after I installed the plug in

I am still trying to figure out how to center the menu bar labels on the second bar if anyone can help?

Also do you guys think a video widget would be good in the right had side? I have read that having youtube video's on a site helps with seo?

 

[cuffylad]

Which menu bar labels do you mean?

Also having a video won't really help you SEO-wise. If you want to increase your rank you need to have inbound links (as in third party websites linking to you)

Ah ok, I still would like a video widget some will do some research.

The menu bar I am talking about is the one with "News, Features, Reviews and contacts". As you can see the text is off center.

**edit*** what is the best way to get inbound links, is there a guide u can suggest for me to research?

 

[cuffylad]

There's not really a guide; just write the best possible content you can that attracts people and makes them want to listen to what you have to say. The AddThis plugin may help with social media engagement, but unless you have the content it won't make a difference.

Thanks again, I will have a look at the "AddThis" plugin.

I have also been looking at the google analytics, omg didn't how indepth it was, there is certainly a lot to learn

 

[cuffylad]

Really good effort!

Only tweak I would make is blending in a subtle texture with the background as the plain black seems a little lackluster.

Yeah I know what you mean, the only way I know to alter the background image is by adding a actual image. Other then that I know how to add a flat colour.

I do think it needs to be less dark, Im just not sure what to do......

 

[cuffylad]

Site looks good I have a few suggestions.

UI

• Login/Home should be red so it stands out a bit
• Theme is a little to dark I think, overall I like it but I think maybe tone it down a bit
• Read more links on the sidebar should also be red to standout a bit
• Some of the icons need to be better, things like the new icon on posts makes no sense too me
• "Share Me" text on articles its a little tacky.
• I think the article and the post form should have some separation
• Some Articles use the same image twice - http://www.fryingeyes.com/ea-pulling-plug-24-pc-multiplayer-games/
• Forms need some love e.g. post form the tick is black so sort of disappears into the background and looks a bit odd.

SEO Wise I would look at Rich snippets, you can use it to improve your search results, its extremely useful for reviews, include a sitemap and news sitemap, the later is great if you update your site news section often as it will make google scan your site much more frequently.
Outside of those small points the site looks really solid, I was not expect it to be so good.

I am having real trouble changing font colors, I have inspected the element to find where it is in the style.css file, then amended the color code and saved it, however nothing seems to change. I have also tried to change fonts and text size but still nothing. Below is a example of the section of code I am editing, can anyone help?

/* First Level - Menu Primary */

.menu-primary li a {
    color: #FF0000;
    padding: 11px 28px 11px 2px;
	text-decoration: none;
    font-family: 'Oswald', sans-serif;
    font-size: 12px;
    text-transform: uppercase;
    font-weight: normal;

This I think is the home and login text on the top bar and it should show red now after this alteration? In the end I altered everything under the menu primary section with a color code to show as red but still nothing???

 

[cuffylad]

Make sure when you are checking changes you are reloading (in chrome) the page and not just refreshing.

Usually your browser will still just be pulling the old CSS from cache.

Still the same, I am even using differnet browsers and clearing the cache

 

[cuffylad]

You can also make amends in DevTools which updates instantly so you can see its effect.

sorry but what is this?

***edit***
Ah its the inspect element function in google chrome, i never know that. Its awesome, thanks.

Is it possible to save it via devtools or do I still need to edit the .css file directly?

 

[cuffylad]

I think I am getting the hang of this now, I have even managed to move the second menu text to the left, go me

Background is my next step as it is still really dark, I am rubbish at knowing what looks good or not so would appreciate some advice. I have changed the all background from all black to a kinda grey thingy, but im still not sure.

If anyone has any suggestions and could maybe link me some ideas it would really help.

Thanks

 

[cuffylad]

Guys I have installed WP backup to drop box, what files should I be backing up each day or should I do them all?
thanks