As you may already know, not long ago I discovered that I can add "Pages" to my blog, where I can add separate information on a page that is still part of my blog but in a different location from the main page where all my posts are. I love seeing how other people organize their pages and what information they believe deserves its own page.
For example, Ruth over at Booktalk & More has a separate page for all her different kinds of reviews. She has a page for book reviews from A through M; book reviews from N through Z; reviews for Masterpiece Classic, Contemporary, and Mystery shows; etc. I love organization, and I think that is a fabulous idea to make it easier for the readers to navigate through her reviews! Rel over at Relz Reviewz has a somewhat similar layout, with pages for book reviews, author interviews, etc. (Both of these ladies have great blogs, so be sure to go and visit them!)
My browsin
g has led me to wonder...what would you all like to see for my different pages? I think it's important to have pages with information about me, my rating system, the poem that inspired this blog title, and my blog awards. However, do you like having pages about my different features, as well (such as "Mondays for the Military" and "Sightseeing by the Seasons")? Would it be helpful to you if I included pages with organized links to my book reviews and movie reviews? Or do I have too many pages as it is?
I would love to hear your thoughts! As an added incentive and as a way for me to say thank you for your feedback, I'll give away my gently used copy of The Waiting by Suzanne Woods Fisher OR Love's First Bloom by Delia Parr (winner's choice)! Simply leave your e-mail address in your comment along with your choice of the book you'd like to have if you win. (Note: You must have a U.S. or Canadian mailing address.) I'll pick a winner sometime next week. (Since I've been watching a mystery show lately, let's just leave the specific date of the drawing as a mystery to go along with that theme.) Thank you in advance for your time!Also, I'd appreciate it if you would vote on the new poll! It will help me with some more blog organization ideas.
26 comments:
I really need to try and work on this for my blog! It seems like it can get cluttered sometimes. I like your pages just as they are and those other blogs you mentioned are great too...maybe I'll have to have you come over and organize my blog...kidding LOL!
please don't enter me I already have those books!
XOXO~ Renee
I think it would be a good idea to at least have pages for your special days and such, but it could be a good idea to have a page for reviews as well since that's also a big part of your blog. I say base them on the focus of your blog :)
I already have Love's First Bloom, but I'd love The Waiting :)
pinkdaddysgirl[at]msn[dot]com
I think that using your pages to organizing your reviews is a good idea! It'll make finding a book you've reviewed in the past that much easier!
btw, I always love reading your posts, Amber! Even if I don't comment every time, your posts are always so much fun and I love reading your thoughts!!
I'd love to get Love's First Bloom! Looks good!!
legacy1992(at)gmail(dot)com
~ Katie M
I definitely think pages to organize book and movie reviews would be super helpful!
I really enjoy your posts! :)
I would really like to read Love's First Bloom! :)
Kim
lonebanana(at)msn(dot)com
Thanks for the blog shout-out! :) I think it would be great to have a reviews page - if you didn't want to separate books and movies you could combine them into one page. I just love the accessibility of it (not that I'm biased or anything, given my own layout, LOL). A reviews page, and pages devoted to your special features, definitely!
Renee,
It's so easy to let the blog get cluttered, which is a big reason why I decided to move my blog awards to a separate page (for example). Do you think mine might still be too cluttered now? I'm not really sure...
Hahaha, nice try, Renee! ;) I'm just kidding! I love to organize, so if you ever want any help, let me know. (I'm not exactly sure what I could do, but I could at least lend some moral support!)
Thank you for stopping by to share your thoughts, even though you already have book of these books! :) You're so sweet!
~Amber
Ariel,
I agree. :) Since book reviews (and occasional movie reviews) are such a big part of my blog, it makes sense to have a separate page dedicated to them.
And I'm glad you like that I have pages for my special features and such! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and for entering the giveaway! :)
~Amber
Katie M,
Thanks for letting me know! I want to make things easier for my readers (and me!), so I think organizing the reviews would be helpful. :) Do you think more people would go back and read old reviews that way? Would it be a good resource?
Thank you, also, for your kind words! I'm so glad you enjoy my posts, and don't worry about not leaving a comment all the time. :) It's great to hear that people read my posts even if they don't leave comments! I appreciate your support. :)
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and entering the drawing!
~Amber
Kim,
Thank you so much! I appreciate your input, and I'm glad to hear that an added page or two for reviews would be helpful. :)
And I'm so glad you like reading my posts! That's so nice of you to say that; I appreciate it! :)
Thank you for your entry in the drawing and for sharing your thoughts!
~Amber
Ruth,
No problem! :D Your blog is so well-organized, and I love that you post so much about the PBS Masterpiece programs. ;) Thank you for being an inspiration to me!
I think it would be nicer to make the reviews more accessible; thank you so much for your input! And I'm so glad you like the pages for the special features, as well. :)
Did you want to enter the drawing? You're eligible after sharing some feedback, if you're interested. :)
~Amber
EVERYONE: I thought of some additional questions I wanted to ask you:
Do you like the current location of the pages tabs (at the top of the sidebar)? Are they pretty obvious where they are, or would it be better to have them under the main picture (or somewhere else)?
If I provided a page with links to my book and movie reviews, would you go back and look at some of them (ie: when you were thinking about buying a certain book or watching a certain movie)? Just curious!
Thank you again for your help! You guys are wonderful! :D
~Amber
EVERYONE (Again!): I thought of yet another question. I hope you don't mind!
Do you think if I added a page or two for reviews that I'd have too many pages? And do you like how they're organized now? Does the order of the pages matter to you?
(Note: The "Love Finds You" Blog Party page is only temporary.)
~Amber
hi amber,
i always enjoy visiting your blog...it's very inviting...and friendly.
thanks for the chance to read 'the waiting'
blessings,
karenk
kmkuka at yahoo dot com
Since I don't have a blog of my own yet, I feel woefully unqualified to give you any input regarding your beautiful blog. You and the other ladies here are so talented with all your sweet blogging skills :)
But, I think your pages are in a good spot. I know you had them in the middle under the picture but now there is probably too many to fit. Not that you have too many- what you do have is important info that should stand out and be easily accessible. I think a review page is an awesome idea! You write such great reviews for books and movies, and it would be great to get to them fast (especially for people who aren't familiar with your blog or who don't follow you on Goodreads). Maybe you could have one titled "This Months Special Features" - where you could list any important dates for that month for upcoming interviews, parties, reviews and such? You could even put what you might be sightseeing or the Monday military stuff for that particular month? Just an idea. It might even make fewer pages, if that's what you wanted?
My friend, your blog is beautiful and is a blessing to many!! I think what you have now is great and I think you are SO sweet for even wanting to consider our opinions. And, you're also SO sweet for offering us a chance at so many giveaways :) I would love to enter for a chance to win The Waiting!
I know your desire is to glorify the Lord and bless others through your blog (AND YOU DO!!!), so I know the Lord will direct you :) Praying for you!
Blessings,
Amanda Stanley
mrose608{at}gmail{dot}com
PS- I've been wanting to email you all week, but have been crazy busy. So sorry :( And, just to give you an idea of how crazy busy- yesterday, my mom and I spent the day baking and decorating about 150 cupcakes for a party for my uncle this afternoon! They all came so cute :D Cupcakes are very in this year, LOL! Anyway, will be emailing you before the weekend is out! Promise!
I think your pages are fine where they are because they're easy to locate. I like it when a blog is neatly organized enough that I can find their pages. And if a blog has too many pages, I will not look at them all.
The only thing I would add to yours would be the 2 review pages. Otherwise, I think it's great the way it is! And I enjoy the movie reviews. (I just voted in your poll.) It's an area I don't get into on my blog, so I like reading about movies on other people's and chiming in with a comment.
Which, BTW, I just watched my first episode of Sherlock last night during some down time and loved it!
Karen,
Well, thank you! :) That's so sweet, and I'm glad you feel that way!
Thank you for your entry!
~Amber
Amanda,
Thank you so much for your input! Even if you don't have your own blog yet, you are very familiar with the blogging world and what can make blogs better, so I appreciate your advice! :)
I'm glad you like the "Reviews" page idea, and that you think it would be helpful! :) And that's a great idea about the "This Month's Special Features" page! :D I'll have to think on that one... :) It's a great idea!
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts, and for your encouraging words! I really, really appreciate all of your support, and for reminding me what is really important: glorifying God. :) May He use my blog for His glory!
Also, thank you for your entry!
~Amber
P.S. Wow--150 cupcakes!!! I'll say you've been busy! ;) I hope you had fun making them with your mom, and I hope your uncle has a wonderful party!
Don't worry about not e-mailing me sooner! It's nice to be able to anticipate your e-mails, and I certainly don't want to take time away from your family! You are so sweet to write so many e-mails to me as it is! :D
Oh, and I got the CDs yesterday! I'm hoping to listen to one tomorrow--looking forward to it! :D Thank you for sending them to me!
~Amber
Renee Ann,
Oh, I'm glad you like the location of the pages! :) I was hoping they stood out enough and were easy to find. I'm also glad to hear that you would like the 2 review pages (and that you enjoy my movie reviews)! Thank you so much for your input and your support! :D
And yay!!! I'm so happy you liked the first episode of Sherlock! Wasn't it GREAT? Very quotable, funny, and intriguing, in my opinion!
~Amber
P.S. Did you want to enter the giveaway?
I love the pages feature!! I've wanted to do that for my reviews to separate them by author and title, and just haven't got around to it yet.
But I do think a page for books and movies with links would be great. I know just recently I came looking for a review of one of your books and just kept hitting "older posts" until I got to it.
Totally my opinion, but I don't think you can have too many pages as long as they are helpful. All that said, you do such a great job on your blog and it will look great no matter what you do!! :)
And don't enter me. I have both books.
Bluerose,
I know! I was so happy to discover that I could create pages like the ones I've seen on other blogs. :)
I'm glad you like the idea! I just spent quite a while putting both of those pages together, so I hope you like how they turned out! :) I'm glad to have made it easier; it took so long putting the pages together because I had to do the same thing to get to all the links (hitting "older posts" after hitting the label "review)! *sigh* But it's done for now!!! Finally!
I'm also glad that you don't think I can have too many pages. ;) I'm a little bit worried about it being too much, but I don't know which ones I could get rid of, really. Hope you like them!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts even though you have both of the books! :D You're so sweet!
~Amber
Amber, you've done a great job with your book and movie review pages! I'm so happy you've found any part of my blog helpful, that just makes my day. :) I'm going to pass on entering the drawing - I've got a sky-high TBR pile. But thank you for the opportunity!
Ruth,
Yay! Thank you so much! It took me the better part of the day to put those pages together, so I'm so happy you liked how they turned out!!!
And your blog is beautiful, and I love how you dedicate a large part of it to current T.V. and movie reviews (especially PBS Masterpiece). ;) Thank you for inspiring me!
I know what you mean about that sky-high TBR pile, so I completely understand! Thank you for still sharing your thoughts!
~Amber
The new pages look great! On a blog that's new to me, I skim those type of pages to get an idea of who the blogger is by what they like. Good job! . . . Don't enter me in the giveaway, but thanks for your generous offer! I'll wait for your party week--by then I'll have worked through some of the Christmas books in my TBR pile!
Wow!! This shows you how out of it I am lately!! I didn't realize you already had the book/movie review pages!! :P I saw the pages up there, but I don't know what's wrong with me. I bet they were even up there when I came looking for that certain review.
I am very grateful for all the time you put into it, because I know how much work it takes. That's why I still don't have mine done! :)
But I went to look at them and they look great! I love the way you did it!
Renee Ann,
Thank you!!! :D And that's an interesting thought...I hope what I have in my pages paints a good picture of me and my blog! LOL ;)
And I understand. ;) I love big TBR piles, because I have so much to look forward to reading, but it is hard, too, because there are just so many you want to read right now! I'll look forward to seeing you at the party, then! :)
Thanks for letting me know how you liked the new pages!
~Amber
Bluerose,
Hahaha, no worries! ;) I just put them up yesterday afternoon, so they haven't been up very long at all.
Thank you so much for the sweet words!!! It does feel really good to have the reviews organized, and I hope they're helpful for everyone. :) I appreciate your kindness! :D
~Amber
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