Long overdue blog redesign

I've been blogging since 2004 with essentially the same blog design.

I tweaked my blog here and there over the years, but it had more or less been the same since the beginning.

Back in the early days of blogs, everyone said a blog should be 800 pixels wide “so it can fit all computer screens.” I made the fonts very small. I had three columns - the left and the right were navigation and links - but this meant that the main content was very scrunched up in the middle.

My friend Doug Eymer and I worked on the new design and released it this weekend. We freshened it all up, went to two columns, and made everything easier to read.

In addition, the blog is more consistent with all my other content (all designed by Doug) such as my ebooks, my site, my iPhone & iPad applications, and my TV site.

One thing I regret is naming my blog Web Ink Now. The blog name is not a one I am fond of and it is not a brand that people know. People know the blog I write as "David Meerman Scott's blog." I wish I had just used my name for my blog and its URL. Oh well, I've got too much Search Engine juice to change.

Next, over the coming months, we’re going to re-work my main site.

Over the past 8 years, I've learned that I've got to keep evolving - both my brand and my content. Technology changes. The best way to deliver content evolves. My interests morph. But my blog lives on as an essential way for me to communicate.

Comments

[Ivelina Atanasova]

It's much better - congratilations, wish you many, many new visitors and loyal current readers.

[Luke]

Nice and clean. Well done David.

[Ivanasendecka]

Cool re-make David! ;-) Keep on shipping, I will be reading you no matter of design or url name;-)
Greetings from Slovakia.
i.

[Tony Faustino]

David, the new blog re-design absolutely ROCKS! This looks way, way, cool! Congratulations to you and Doug Eymer in continuously improving the Web Ink Now Experience.

P.S. I'm glad you kept the original masthead logo. I always think of the old school typewriter married with the new school rules of marketing & pr.

[Traci Hayner Vanover]

David:
I am a sucker for retro ad art -- and I love how you've incorporated that look into your brand. At the end of the day, it's all about the content -- and you've got it in spades.

Keep up the great work!

Best,
Traci

[Mark MyWord]

David, Great news ...
... tell me, are you interested in selling your old design, cheap, second hand slightly used condition?
Maybe you have other things to add, like a virtual garage sale. Old Led Zeplin records, camping equiptment?

[Joseph Ratliff]

Love the redesign David.

The "best of" posts...perhaps give them a link in your top bar?

Just a thought, nothing else. Love the DMS app too. :)

[David Meerman Scott]

Thanks so much for all of your comments! I'm sitting here in Barcelona feeling very happy that I did the re-work.

Mark My Word - Ha! Maybe some vintage Grateful Dead posters!

[beth]

We are using your book for our class in Public Relations at Northwestern University. As part of class I will be reviewing your chapters on blogging. The instructor requested that I show how to submit a blog post. I am new to this. Here it is. If you would like me to share any thoughts with the class tomorrow evening, please let me know. Your book is very informative and I am sure will inspire interesting discussion in class.

[doug eymer]

David:

Thanks for the kind mention!

It is always fun to move your ever-evolving communications vehicles along to the next design plateau. I truly enjoy our extremely healthy tag-team working relationship!

Our next design challenge awaits! www.davidmeermanscott.com Full speed ahead!

Rock on.
Doug Eymer

[Nick Allen]

Fantastic rework, and so glad that it's an iteration rather than a total refresh. Us long time visitors still finding everything in it's place.

Still loving your posts, books and storytelling. Nick

[twitter.com/danieldubya]

Looks sharp!

[Anne Sorensen]

Hi David! Looks great! Love the image - is that you on the typewriter - in the old days :) The site is really clear to navigate too. Understand your thoughts re blog name - but personally I always thought it was such a clever play on words ...we all know it's yours - part of the brand? Looking forward to visiting you here. Have a great week! Best wishes.

[David Gordon Schmidt]

Welcome to the world of better readability.

[carolyn winter]

David - you continue to be an inspiration. I love what you are creating at this blog. About WebInkNow - I have to admit it took me over 6 months to actually 'get it' about the meaning but once I did (and was thoroughly amused), that was the only way I remembered your blog address. It must have something to do with my age category LOL. It would make a great newsletter or magazine title - but that too would be for a very narrow older group!

All the best,

Carolyn

[Remco Janssen]

Really cool design, my compliments! Still using TypePad, though? When will you switch to Wordpres,s, David if ever?

[Sonja Jefferson]

David and Doug - nice work!

That must have taken a lot of thinking through.

It's a good looking and sensible evolution of the original blog. Close enough to be recognisable with a much fresher, cleaner feel.

You're right - you couldn't lose Web Ink Now - we all know you for it, but more weight on the 'David Meerman Scott' works well.

I hope you're happy with it. There's nothing more annoying than working on a platform you've outgrown. I look forward to the website redesign too.

Sonja

[David Meerman Scott]

Thanks Sonja.

Remco -- my search engine optimization on this blog is terrific. Nearly 1,000 posts and zillions of inbound links. Changing the blog provider means breaking the links and it requires a major production not to mess up my SEO.

I like TypePad though. Been using it since 2004.

[Ramona]

Hy, I'm from Romania, Europe. First off all Thanks. Thanks for all the work you did. I was stuck whit my PH d Thesis and ... i find your site. I now know how to finish it. You are the first person whit who i'm sharing this joy, because is you how really helped me.
Hope some day you will come in Romania. Good Trip!

[Ian Brodie]

David - I like the new design generally - though I think the font size is still a little small.

Maybe it's me getting old!

Ian

[Avil Beckford]

David,

It's a nice clean design, I like it. Avil

[John Pohl]

Nice enhancement...and I love the admission that you regret your blog's name. I think we'd all benefit from be honest with ourselves about the things we'd do differently if we had them to do over again. I know I would!

[Debbie Josendale]

Hi David,

Love your new blog design...so fresh and it is easier to read! All of us with baby boomer eyes...thank-you:)

But most importantly thank-you for being a great role model of what you teach. Being authentic...and sharing that you wish your url was different is a great example of that! And although you may wish it was your name, I'm not really sure that it matters all that much becausue of the massive exposure you have built on many other platforms. And as you said you have so many links coming into this site (because of following your rules and sharing relevant and compelling info) that provide major SEO, WebInkNow will contiue to serve you well:)

Debbie

[Tanner]

Glad to see a fresh face on the blog David, it's looking good!

I wasn't really a fan of the previous design, but this new one is much cleaner and feels very clutter-free, which will make reading it just that much more enjoyable.

[Alan]

David,

Looks great. Thanks again for your writings. My "Rules" book is dog-eared and it's the one title I wont move off my ipod to make room for other titles

[David Meerman Scott]

Thanks so much to all of you. Wow - I am so glad I did this redesign!

[DerekClair]

You know, I was wondering when you were going to freshen things up over here. The changes look great, great job. What is going to be the topic for the next book? just curious? I'm looking forward to it.

[Ricardo Bueno]

David,

First of all, I dig the new fresh look... Well done! I definitely feel like I have a little more breathing room with the new look and it's very easy to navigate. I know doing a re-design isn't always the easiest thing to do but in this case, it turned out well.

As for the domain name, if it's any consolation, I've made the mistake of changing domains 3 times (losing subscribings, Page Rank, etc.). I went from Ribeezie.com to ribeeziemedia.com (PR 4) to now RicardoBueno.com. Too much moving around!! For the longest time I used my name as a static profile page much the way you use yours.

All of that just to say that I don't think there's anything wrong with the name you own now.

[Dan Antion]

David,

I do like the new look, but I really wanted to comment on the name. I have been reading this for a very long time, and I recommend it often. For those old-school (verbal) recommendations, webinknow is very easy to say, very easy to remember and very easy to spell.

[Connie McKnight]

David,
I can't imagine blogging that many years. The new look feels good.

I don't understand one thing - why don't you have your links open to a new window? When I'm reading, I like to click on a link so I can check it out later. When I clicked on your links, it took me away from your blog. Just curious.

Connie

[David Meerman Scott]

Hi Connie. I don't know. It is not on purpose. I just default to what TypePad does. I'll see if I can modify.

[Tabata timer]

Very nice and simple enough design! I like when people keep the designs simple and dont try to overdo them.

[Stephen Eugene Adams]

You can change the title of your post for SEO purposes to the David Meerman Scott blog. In Wordpress, the "All In One SEO" plug-in serves this purpose. I do this with my blog. The title of my blog is different than what Google sees.

Stephen Eugene Adams
stevesagjournal.com