Know-How Exchange : Website Critique

Never under estimate the power of good design, comparing the two even a novice can see that they have the upper hand.

As dhansman said, your site looks like all you care about is visitors and making money; it's not a NASCAR car you've got to earn their trust before you begin selling them. Plat a seed, water it and watch it flourish; you can't grow an apple tree overnight.

Everything everybody has said so far.

Rhea has developed a voice. I know who she is. She talks one-on-one with her readers.

I don't know who you are. I know what you think, what you believe, what your politics are. I know a bit about your background.

But you're not talking to me. You're pontificating.

That's fine. Pontificate away. I don't have a problem with that. It's your voice, your style.

But that's the difference between your blog and Rhea's. It may or may not be the reason she has more readers - but it's definitely the reason why her readers leave comments and have online discussions with her.

Everything everybody has said so far.

Rhea has developed a voice. I know who she is. She talks one-on-one with her readers.

I don't know who you are. I know what you think, what you believe, what your politics are. I know a bit about your background.

But you're not talking to me. You're pontificating.

That's fine. Pontificate away. I don't have a problem with that. It's your voice, your style.

But that's the difference between your blog and Rhea's. It may or may not be the reason she has more readers - but it's definitely the reason why her readers leave comments and, in effect, have online conversations with her.

(Yes - I'm answering the person who writes the blog - not the person who left the post here.)

One possibility is that your competitor has been around longer and has a bigger online network of friends.

However, looking at your homepages, I think the issue is the content itself. Your site is focused on "boomers" and your thoughts. Hers is focused on problems faced by boomers (without using the word boomers). People will therefore find her "organically" more than your site, whether or not they're boomers, and comment more about their solutions to the problems.

As others have mentioned, her copy is terser and layout cleaner than yours.

Rhea's copy speaks directly to the reader, she has a clear point of view and she identifies with the people reading the blog. She tells interesting stories about people and things I didn't know about. She offers solutions to problems.


Your blog feels like it's largely set up to sell things. A quick look doesn't tell me why I should trust you, nor do you say anything I felt compelled to comment on. It seems stream of consciousness, rather than focused on a particular topic.

Sorry if this sounds harsh, but I hope it helps you improve your site!

I too am not a big fan of the ads, even with the smaller ads. It seems to take away from your message.

In regards to design, the header seems to be pixellated and the Member Top 100 breaks up the gradient. Yoiu may want to rework your graphics to give it a cleaner look.

Sometimes the blog titles appear to overlap when they are multilined. You may want to change your CSS to allow more line spacing in your titles. The overlap makes them harder to read. It does give it an edgy feel which is kinda of cool, but not what I would think of with boomers.

If you want to keep your ads move your search, archives, etc up to the top of the blog. You should make it easier for people to search your content.

I hope this helps.

Mike