How to improve my blog

[BlackAffronted]

My blog is woefully amatuer! I'd love some hints & tips on how to make it better from some of you top notch bloggers here, if thats ok?

my blog

[skylarkuk]

Can't find where to make a comment on your individual posts, LOVE the rainbow cake (the poke makes it more special LOL) I wouldn't change much just make it easy to leave comments and move any buttons/badges to the left or right hand side.

[BlackAffronted]

Thank you :) Still havent worked out which little finger it was!

[LittleRedFarm]

I think your recipes look lovely especially the tandoori chicken kebab mmmm
If you want my honest opinion about your blog I would say the best thing that you could do would be to have much much bigger photos and better staged ones i.e nice simple plain plate and lots of close ups of the food so that I can really see what you make. :)

[trulymyrtle]

I am hardly a top notch blogger....
But, I agree bigger photos and think a white background might make them stand out a whole lot more. Have you come across this blog? I think she makes food look amazing.

[BlackAffronted]

Thanks for the tips, will try better with my photography :)

Thanks for that link truly.

[BlackAffronted]

Ok, so I need some pretty tablecloths and a few fancy plates I think :)

[greenteantoast]

Hi - agree the recipes all look great.

I remember reading on a very popular blog once that black text on a white background is the most user friendly for readers. Worth thinking about.

Personally, I also like to know a few details about the blogger (but then my blog is totally not incognito!). I see you've shared your children's ages, but you could also give them nicknames and share a little info about them. Plus people always love to read about family life - so if you're comfortable you could also share more about what you've been up to in relation to the recipe. Eg. who was the cake for? What was the party like? Was it difficult to make?

Good luck!

[trulymyrtle]

I think you're photos are actually fine - but make them bigger on the page. I agree, a few "personal" details would be great - you don't have to tell them much

[trulymyrtle]

Ugh Your - not you're...

[BlackAffronted]

Thanks. I am awlays wary of boring people with family waffle but maybe i should add more of it in. Thanks again!

[BlackAffronted]

Do you think I need a better name? Any suggestions?

[trulymyrtle]

Nope. Like the name Maybe a distinctive font/logo?

[BlackAffronted]

Yep, will work on that this evening, sharpen up my paintshop skills!

[BlackAffronted]

Updated with a new font/header. Probably needs some tweeking but I am happy for now.

[LittleRedFarm]

Wow! what a transformation!
If I may say I think that the strap line would be better in a fancy (but smaller font) than your header. Can you add it to the picture under Jen's place? Picky I know but I think it would look good.
nice work! :)

[LittleRedFarm]

btw those last two photos are really professional looking.

[trulymyrtle]

Looks wicked! Well done!

[fastfoodfamilyjourney]

I find that taking food photos yourself is incredibly hard - you either need a professional food stylist and camera man/woman, or someone with a fantastic camera. I wish I could make my photos look like they do in Olive magazine, for example! I follow Jamie Oliver on Twitter and he was raving about Instagram - have you heard of it? It's a free app which allows you to take photos and put filters and effects on the picture making it look more professional, and then share it more easily too. I'm just trying to get to grips with it. www.fastfoodfamilyjourney.wordpress.com

[BlackAffronted]

Those last two photos were taken with Instagram on my smartphone :) Previous photos were taken with my expensive fancy DSLR! Think I will stick with the phone haha!

Nice blog fffj :)

[fastfoodfamilyjourney]

I can tell the last 2 photos were - they look great! I can only see filter options on the app - are there any other options to use apart from filters? I'm glad you liked my blog :)

[BlackAffronted]

Ive only had the app 3 days, still trying to understand it :)

[skylarkuk]

oh it looks really different now!!!! fab!

[valiumpoptarts]

Strangely I was looking at your blog last night and thinking it was really good, wish you had an email sign up or twitter account so I could follow you? (I am a bit of a luddite so these are easiest for me!)

[BlackAffronted]

Good point, Ill add links for those :)

[valiumpoptarts]

Cool, if you could look at mine in return and recommend anything that would be appreciated too! Crafts on Sea