Sorry again for this being late.
In-Depth Review
Site Name: Familial Ramblings
Site Type: Family/Relationship Blog
Age: 1 year 13 days
The appearance of your blog is top notch. The shades of green flow well with each other and make the header very easy on the eyes. The logo is very well designed and matches the favicon, which is a big plus. The navigation is very clear and easy to read and understand. One problem that I encountered in the menu is that the drop down for "Media Ramblings" does not stay when trying to click on the links that are inside the drop down. The images that are included with the posts are a great addition and give them a feeling of completeness. The sidebar ares is laid out very well and the colors used flow well with the rest of the theme. The "Friends & Affiliates" area seems to be a bit jumbled. I would recommend limiting the size of the images that are placed in that area to 88x31, the standard size for affiliate images. One small thing would be to change the copyright year from 2012 to 2013, or 2012-2013.
The layout is exceptional as well. All of the pages that I've seen are fully developed and completely professional. It is easy to preview the posts in all the categories and find what you are looking for. One suggestion that I feel would make the layout even better would be to include the images attached to the posts inline. This would make the posts flow better and give the images a better position. As they sit now, they look out of place and more of placeholders to reduce empty space. Under the Site Title "Familial Ramblings" it says "Family, Relationships & Random Ramblings". But if you look at the navigation bar this includes "Family" , "Relationships", "Random" AND "Media" ramblings, with a dropdown box of the different media ramblings. I would suggest moving the media ramblings onto the random one as a dropdown box from the random ramblings instead. I'm a little iffy on the "Top Commentluvvers" part. And what exactly does this show? I'd probably put something else there. In the sidebar, the "Archives" does not line up with the rest of the content there. I would suggest placing and horizontal rule or similar dividing line between the different sections that need them, such as "Archives", "Top Commentluvvers", "Popular Posts", "Friends & Affiliates" and "Advertisements". This would give those sections more definition and help them flow better with the rest of the layout.
The content is very good. Your posts are of a decent length and give enough information for the reader to be satisfied. You have a good flow of comments and people seem to enjoy commenting on your posts. All of the comments are positive and of good length. One post has twenty two comments and the last three posts have thirteen or more comments. This is a great accomplishment. It does not seem that the blog is updated too much though. There has not been a post in 2013 yet and two of the last 3 posts have been celebratory and not really related to the subject. Your Twitter account is a very nice addition to the blog. Your tweets about family quotes is a very nice touch. I really like the content in general. You have been posting great family-related blog posts. For example, the "Last Minute Christmas Cookies!" blog post was interesting. I know a lot of parents who would love your blog. I also like the Lilo & Stitch references.
Your SEO is pretty good, but could use some work. You at a PageRank of 1 after a year being open. Your Alexa rank is 2,017,546 globally and 442,546 in the US with only 110 sites linking in. You could be doing a lot better at this point in your blogs life. I would suggest submitting your blog to directories about family or even cross advertising at forums that are dedicated to moms and family.
Words from the Reviewer
Overall, this site has a wonderful layout and organization doesn't seem to be a problem at all. I feel like some people may be confused by what the blog is about at first, as not everyone knows what "Familial" means. I wish you the best of luck with your blog!
Star Rating
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