My first response when the page loaded was what the heck is going on here? Big green table that acts as a logo of sorts and below that a bunch of links. Then below that some random stuff, then the weblog entries by each date. The design of the site is very lacking, and looks like it was created by a WYSIWYG editor.
So I look around the site a little bit, and the entire site at least looks the same. Again, I kept saying, there is something wrong with the design of this site.
So finally I started clicking on the weblog links that were listed by date. Seeing as the site has only been around since July, I started at the very beginning to see how the weblog has evolved.
Here is what I found. I found a new to the web user who was writing about her SOHO experiences with building and maintaining the website. I also found that she was using Front Page. That explains a lot of the design issues. I hope that I am correct in that the author doesn’t use a blog tool like Big Blog Tool or Blogger, but rather, writes each page daily, in Front Page and then uploads it. At the bottom of each of her posts are links back and next, with some of the links being broken, but at least there was a directory link also that I could click on to find the next post.
The entries, unlike the design and layout of the site, were very good. I was very interested in what was going on with the site and the building of it and what not. She also throws her opinion into things, which made reading them even more enjoyable. Also, the updates are frequent, about one a day, and of good length.
If you are starting a small business or have one and are looking at putting it on the web, this is a definite read. If the site gets redesigned and fixes the broken links, it will be a much better site overall. But don’t get let a design stop you from reading a good weblog.
Diary of a Mad Web Lackey