Some dialogue for thought.

Hey readers,

So it's monday morning and I'm supposed to be writing a new review today. However, I just posted the review for Crooked Gremlins on Saturday and during that process I had an interesting conversation with Carter Fort, co-creator of Crooked Gremlins. Our conversation was mainly about webcomic sites and their utility. I posted the main subject of each message below. I think you'll find the conversation interesting.

[me]

I was searching through endless networks of comics when I came across yours'. I fell in love and had to write a review about Crooked Gremlins.

[Carter Fort]

Thanks for the kind words. I can't tell you how much we appreciate them. It's a nice change from, "I don't get it," or "Why would the Gremlin have a gun?" or "What's with all the penis jokes?"

Knowing that someone, somewhere, is chortling because of us is all we need. Well, that and fat stacks of fan-boy cash, but we're willing to wait on that one.

You mentioned something about being confused by the layout of the site. Can you be more specific? I haven't had any complaints yet. I mean, the meat of the site is the comic - and that's easy to navigate through via the buttons beneath it, no?

[me]

Here are some things that I found that either confused me or didn't like about it. First, your sidebar has a lot of information in it. (the one on the right) After scrolling to read your blog it gets monotonous after a few seconds because all the colors and formatting is the same. At a glance I couldn't tell where the "sites we likes" ends and the comments begin. I think it's because you have no defined graphical separators for each gadget in your sidebar. If you had colored footers or gadget backgrounds for each it might help better separate each gadget and give your readers a break from the black and whiteness of your page. :) The same thing can go for your posts. There's a lot of white space on your page, which isn't always a bad thing. But in your case the white space is a little cumbersome. A website is all about what's easy to see. Readers don't like to feel like they're searching for information. So by breaking up information, graphically, it helps make the reading process easier. You can do that with black and white or by introducing other colors into your site.

So it isn't necessarily your layout as much as the formatting of your site. I hope you find this helpful because I did enjoy your comic. I might even mail you later on for some tips when I get my comic up and going. :)

[Carter Fort]

I agree with you about the right column. My list of things to do has "get appropriate iconography for right column" and maybe add some kind of wrapper for the comments. It's certainly missing something, I just haven't figured out what yet. I know that too many graphics on the site will distract from the comic, which is not what's gonna be happenin'.

The ice is starting to melt outside, and I cannot waste this day in front of my wonderful machinery. I must venture out into the world.

[me]

I agree with you that too much graphics is BAD GRAPHICS! :) I'm sure you'll think of a way to make the site graphically pleasing while emphasizing the comic strip. I think adding a little color to differentiate your layout wouldn't be a bad thing if you utilize the colors in a way that they say "background" to your audience instead of "hey look at me i'm a bunch of colors that are distracting". :) Also, you might want to think about simplifying what is contained in your sidebar. Finding an effective way to say everything you want to say without overcluttering your homepage can be a hard task. I'm still struggling with that right now. But when it comes to sidebars the rule of thumb is, less is more. I hope I've been of some use to you and have helped in some way. I also wish you guys the best of luck. I hope enjoy your ice-melting day! :D

What to take away from this conversation:

1: Your website is extremely important! It needs to be an extension of your comic.

2: Don't clutter your web space with frivolous extras that derail your readers from the true purpose their visiting your site; your comic!

3: Try to shy away from using distracting colors or graphics. They also tear your readers away from your comic.

4: Try to separate the sections of your site. You don't want readers to be confused while reading your blog posts when their eyes keep drifting over to other sections of your page.

I hope you enjoyed this conversation and learned something from it.

Thanks again,

Josh Engle