Features
- A clever way to hide the social bookmarking buttons
see Be Playful - A guided tour for new visitors
see Small Biz Survival - Podcasts!
- Flash video demos (3-5 minutes) of Going NoWare apps
Design
Chris Brogan wrote a thorough article on blog design worth checking out.
- Maybe a caricature for a logo?
see Scrappindipity and Hungry Girl - Maybe a hand drawn logo?
sorta like this logo design - Maybe a bright, chunky, whimsical look?
see Put Things Off - Maybe a slick, glossy look with bold colors and rounded edges?
see Red Hot Copy
Layout
- A fun and yummy, yet professional, color theme
see ColorSchemer and Colr - Maybe a big fat header full of goodies?
see Caroline Middlebrook and Shoemoney and John Chow - Maybe a big fat footer full of goodies?
see ProBlogger and John Chow - Or maybe a skinny header, footer, and sidebar with fewer goodies?
see Chris Brogan
Comments
- Threaded comments so we can follow the convos better
use Nested Comments plugin - Commenter avatars included, so we can see each other
- Big bold text in the comment fields so it’s easy to read while typing
see Copyblogger - Sexy form fields
see Art of NonConformity
Content
- A multi-faceted Archives Page so we can get to everything
see ProBlogger - A directive 404 Page for when we arrive at nothing
see ProBlogger - A Best Of Big Bright Bulb Page
see Small Biz Survival Cream of the Crop - Lists of recommended blogs, sites, tools, books, and apps in sidebar
Getting Around
- A tabbed box for Comments, Popular, Recent, Tags
see Get Paid To Write Online - Maybe a targeted homepage to direct different types of readers to specific blog ‘zones’?
see Targeted Homepage - Maybe list new posts for the top tags/categories?
see 6 Weeks - A regular features list in the footer
see Small Biz Survival
Feed Love
- An image for the feed
- Subscriber-only goodies and download links in the feed
- A weekly digest by email: Roundup of week’s posts with short intro, top comments with link, top commenter with link, best business quote for the week, and all the tasty little bits that are too tiny to post.
…and everything my readers want, too!
Big love and a thousand thanks,
Pssst! Even if Santa doesn’t come through, I’ve got an elf or two on standby to help with the heavy lifting.
Is there something you’d love to see at BBB that I should add to the list? Or maybe something you’d rather not see? Lemme know down below…
Ask for anything you’d like…I’ll see what I can do.
Many thanks for the link love, looks like you need a degree in CSS!
Recent blog post from David | beplayful: Breaking the edges of comfort
Crystal,
I love your wish list and thank you for including part of “me” on it.
I think you’ve already got everything your readers want
so you have that one covered.
I think Santa will help you out here – you’ve been doing a good job so far this year – keep it up!
-Brett
This is an encyclopedia of great tips! I am bookmarking this for a reference as I work on my own thought out design plans. I really want to be clear on what my goals are before I make my final desicions but I am narrowing in on the home stretch, you really gave me another few weeks of research homework here!
Thanks! One of the blogs/websites tha I really like the format of is Christine Kane. It is easy to work around and although she is selling all over it, it is nice and feels very profecional. (profeccional…proffecional…)
Dang…there’s that word I can never spell. How about adding in a spell-checker? Is that hard?
Recent blog post from Wendi Kelly: Fountain of Beauty
@Y’all—Thanks for your comments! I stayed up all night, but no sign of Santa yet. *Yawn*
Mom always said he won’t show if I don’t sleep, so I’m going back to bed to give the dude a longer delivery window.
Keep on talking amongst your selves… I’ll catch you in a few hours.
Crystal, you’ve done a lot of research and really know what you want for your blog. Love the “Dear Santa” graphic!
Thanks for the link. Can’t wait to see your redesign!
Recent blog post from sterling: Magento – Revolutionary eCommerce for Small Biz
This looks a lot like my wishlist did a few weeks ago, and there are still a few items I’d like to add to my new look, like a best of list. Thanks for including my blog – I have lusted after those tabbed boxes since I first saw them and now I finally have some.
Recent blog post from Sharon Hurley Hall: Promotion Is Free – Forums
This is awesome; well done. I’m looking forward to seeing what Santa brings. By the way, I know a great Santa Designer if another one does not appear shortly.
Recent blog post from Chris Guillebeau: The Road to Jerusalem and Amman
Wow! Talk about research. That is some impressive work put into figuring out exactly what you want!
Very cool, and some sites I’d never seen before either.
I’d offer up my design skills – but they are not nearly as good as what I’m sure Santa can bring you!
Hi Shawn! I appreciate the offer, regardless of what Santa does (or doesn’t) bring. Thank you
Funny thing about this list is it’s only half of my to-do/checklist? I set forward on a Brainstorm 100, and have been collecting ideas here and there for weeks. Only have 50, though…another 50 to go!
Enjoy the links/sites! If you anything especially yummy, lemme know?
Recent blog post from Crystal: Dear Santa: A New Design Wishlist for Big Bright Bulb
Shawn–
Edit that…it doesn’t have to be especially yummy. If you see anything you feel like pointing out, I’d love to hear it
Recent blog post from Crystal: Dear Santa: A New Design Wishlist for Big Bright Bulb
Crystal,
Love it! My own list is huge, too, and I’m in the middle of working through it. It’s amazing how quickly we outgrow our blog’s features/design.
Big bummer for me. When I finish, I have to have all my stationery and other printed stuff redone to reflect my new blog address. Ick.
So for others who are looking at Crystal’s list, if you are a baby blogger or haven’t begun yet:
Get your own domain first thing. Don’t take your host’s name or when the divorce comes, you’ll find you have a lot of extra work to do.
How fun would a post on blog divorce statistics be? How many people stay with their first platform forever, what’s the average length of the first “marriage”… I’d love to read that.
Regards,
Kelly
Recent blog post from Kelly: Mail Bag: Or, the Long Tail of Search at MCE
Wow! I want to go shopping on your list! Lots of great ideas. And thank you so much for including not one, but three of my features!
Recent blog post from Becky McCray: It’s OK to brag
Hi Becky and welcome!
My pleasure
The first time I visited your site, I read for ages. The posts were just there for me, ya know? You’ve arranged content for new visitors in smart and nifty ways.
Hi Kelly—Toooo trueee. Those stats would be interesting indeed. In Maryland, a 48 hour wait on marriage licenses, but a 1 year separation + 3 month (or more) wait to get divorced.
Likewise, we can set a blog up in five minutes on hosted sites like Blogger, Typepad, or Wordpress, but then when we want to be off on our own…
And then designing a new theme so there’s room to grow—again. Growing pains…painful, but wow, how nice to know that we’re movin’ up!
ps And a good lesson for the bloggers, too…
Thanks for the link-love! =)
I love our new logo so much. The rest of the design could do with some attention though. All in good time, I guess.
Shiny design or not, people will keep coming back to bbb because you’ve always got great content.
You got a great list going on there. My new theme ideas are just scattered throughout my moleskine pages.
I definitely would like to see more focus put into the comments like you mentioned with the threaded comments plugin because this blog is one of the most conversational ones that I read. I think it would suit this blog well and make the following easier and more understandable:
@kelly – Me and my Wordpress bride have been happily married for 6 months and 9 days. I’ve also set up 5 of my friends and family with their own Wordpress counterparts and they are off honeymooning as well.
Recent blog post from Jeremy Davis: My Spectacular Photoshopped Grass Text
Crystal,
Great stuff here, I will come back and check it out. I need to do a little blog housecleaning when I have more time. Thanks for this!
E
Recent blog post from Ellen Wilson: Pouring Yourself into Purity
@Bec—My pleasure and thanks for the comment! Your logo is so very cool, and I appreciate you pointing me to the artist.
@Jeremy—Ahh, what I wouldn’t do to peek at your moleskine. Eww…that sounds raunchy, but you know what I mean? A glimpse into your designer’s mind.
My list accumulated in an ever-open Google Document and was somewhat tidy, but there are magazines smothered in Post-its, many many examples stashed in del.icio.us, and yup, scattered moleskine sketches, too.
Thanks so much for the feedback. I will do what I can to get the comments threaded. Even though this design doesn’t show it, my direct replies have been threaded for weeks in anticipation. I hope it works!
@Ellen—Thanks! Glad I could help
Even though my English not so good, I have really enjoyed looking at your blog posts. Thank you.