The Knoxville blog network is one of the tightest virtual networks I’ve come into contact with. This circle of bloggers is filled with talented, comical and friendly people from a myriad of backgrounds.
One thing that is lacking across the community is good blog design. In my opinion, content reigns supreme but having a blog-front that’s easy on the eyes is a major bonus.
I’m not going to point fingers at those needing a new coat of pixels or an architectural overhaul, but I will show you my list of the top Knoxville blogs that are rich in content and color - in no particular order.
Update: Busy Mom isn’t a Knoxville blogger. She somehow crept onto the Knoxville Blog Network. Shame, shame.
Update #2: We’ve decided to adopt Busy Mom into the Knoxville blog family since she “used to live here”.
- Patrick Beeson
- Busy Mom
- the sunsphere is NOT a wigshop
- Small Initiatives
- Andy -not- Andrew
- Mac Fanatic
- Ackermania
Photography by szeretlek_ma
20 Responses to “Knoxville Blogs Need an Overhaul”
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Patrick Beeson
March 11th, 2008 at 9:36 am
Thanks for the design props!
I’m no graphic designer, but I do love arranging things in terms of their semantic value.
LissaKay
March 11th, 2008 at 10:05 am
I’d just be tickled if people would check to make sure their design is standards compliant and semantically laid out. I use Firefox on my PCs and lots of layouts break because they don’t comply (or even come close) to W3C standards. Also, I surf a lot from my cell phone, and many sites are unreadable in the Windows Mobile IE browser. Even if a mobile version of a site isn’t available, having the main content appear first in the html document goes a long, long way to making it readable in mobile browsers.
One last gripe … for the love of all that is holy, for those of us who’s eyes are no longer in the bloom of youth, please do not use white text on a dark background!
CP
March 11th, 2008 at 10:37 am
LissaKay, you bring up another good point and that’s the mobile aspect.
Busy Mom
March 11th, 2008 at 10:55 am
Hey, thanks!
Vinh Le
March 11th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
I like white text on a dark background, I think it can be done right without blinding people.
On another note, I agree that creating quality content should be the priority of most bloggers, but that they should also pay attention to their blog designs at least as much as they pay attention to their SEO.
CP
March 11th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
Vinh, you yourself have a very nice blog design. Are you in Knoxville?
ck
March 11th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
Thanks for the props toward the wigshop!
I was forming a post about this very thing and you guys beat me to the punch. I took the time one day to go down the list on the Blog Network and most of them are graphically god awful.
One other critique on the state of Knoxville blogs: many are too focused on national news and don’t publish a word about Knoxville news/life. We need more examination of the uniqueness of the hundreds of lives in this city represented by the network.
CP
March 11th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
ck, good observation.
Another comment we’ve heard (and I’m sure you’ve gotten this as well) is that people like Knoxify because it’s, for the most part, positive. There are quite a few Knoxville-centric blogs that are negative. But let’s face it, it’s easier (and sometime more fun) to be negative than dig for the positive sometimes.
Andy Melton
March 12th, 2008 at 3:38 am
Thanks for linking to my blog and I’m glad you like my colors! There are a lot of blogs in the Knoxville community that look really awesome.
CP
March 12th, 2008 at 6:43 am
Keep up the good work Andy.
Tam
March 12th, 2008 at 9:41 am
Mine is tired, but I fear change.
Busy Mom
March 12th, 2008 at 11:25 am
Whew, that was a close one. I promise to defend the constitution of Knoxify and all that…
Mike Cohen
March 12th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
We appreciate the postive feedback. All of us enjoy an opportunity to blog. Knowing someone reads it makes it even better.
CP
March 12th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
@Busy Mom - I’ll let Michael Silence determine your initiation ritual.
@Mike Cohen - I’m really glad to see a PR firm blogging. I think it’s a great way for businesses in general to show their personality and culture to the rest of the world. It can make the business transaction a bit more personal.
Swap Blog
March 18th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
We are a Knoxville blog, but we don’t seem to make the list at Knox News. Guess we don’t do enough Knox focused posts, oh well…that is life… not a biggie. Site looks nice though and it solid. Good work.
Victor Agreda Jr
April 11th, 2008 at 11:25 am
I’m the first to admit lazy design— I just picked a Blogger template I sorta liked. Sad, because I used to love coding pages, but now I don’t have the time. The upshot is that the page renders nicely in mobile browsers, is rather compliant, flexible enough to do what I want (though obviously light years away from WP or something sensible) and keeps a low overhead on my time.