Blog Review: Vankaizer by Henry Tan

Blog Title: Vankaizer (http://vankaizer.com)
Owner: Henry Tan
Genre: Technology
Platform: Wordpress
Description: Interest and Hobbies

Cross-Browser Test: Tested on the Following Browsers

• ✓ Mozilla FireFox 10.X
• ✓ Safari 5.1.4
• ✓ Chrome 17.X
• ✗ Internet Explorer 8 (Found an issue: description overlaps with Title)
• ✗ Internet Explorer 7 (See Comment on IE8 above)
• ✓ Opera Mini (no template for mobile devices)

see description and title

Things Worth Mentioning

• Images for every posts
• Images has alt and titles

Things that Need Attention

• Lack of meta tags
• Big fonts and big spaces
• Flash based widgets

Tips from BTT

1. I know it is an advertisement so why should I click on it? - 
   
   

   

   an advertisement on the sidebar

   
   See the google ad on the side. First of all it says "advertisement" so there is no denying that the display below is and ad. You may want to use some tricks there to show it as if it was part of your design. Here are some tricky examples: Always10 List and Semidoppel's Reports. Check their advertisements at the sidebar and you'll know what I mean.
   
   Technically, it goes like this, Mixed text based ads with texts. Show Image based ads as if they were your archived posts.
   
   
2. Heading was to BIG - there is nothing wrong with big headings, the problem is if it is taking too much space that it almost cover the 25% of your "above the fold", it tends to become too eye-catching.
   
   Look at your menu, I think there is too much wasted space in there.
   
   
3. Clean or Re-Do your Sidebar - Yes it looks simple but it was too dull. You may want to remove the headers for those widgets with no title.
   
   
   
   
   Just a tip: you may probably mixed them in just one position. Example: Put nuffnang and badges in just one sidebar-box.
   
   
4. Headings on sidebar - I honestly love how you play with the fonts case. Recently, all-caps or all-lowercase are used on making elegant designs. Just make sure that you have consistency on your designs. Look at your headings, there is a colon out there. *wink*
   
   
5. What's with the description? "Interests and Hobbies" doesn't mixed well with "Vankaizer" nor with "Technology"
   
   
6. I'm pretty sure that I saw a plugin/extension before for WP that allows you to do browse on Previous and Next posts, why not add one.
   
   

BTT's Opinion on Vankaizer

Design 3/5 ★★★★★

Clean and simple. Forms were elegant in some way. What I don't like is seeing a lot of wasted space on the upper part and the way widgets/extensions are placed on the sidebar

too much spaces

Content 3/5 ★★★★★

Contents were too short and by adding a link below shows that it was "as if" a summary of the actual post.

Branding 2/5 ★★★★★

Name was unique but the description doesn't tell anything. The favicon is a Yin-Yang, though its color was based from the theme, it has nothing to do with your content (based on first glance). Maybe you need to come up with a better logo or banner.

Audience Impact 2/5 ★★★★★

You may need to find a way to attract more visitors not just with your design but also with your content. There is nothing wrong with showing the source link on your posts but doing so simply says that there is a better post about it. Also, as far as I know, google adsense denies posts with sources.

Guest Judge Opinion for Vankaizer

Our guest judge for today is Master Genkaku, a programmer who specializes on Assembly Language and he is also an avid gamer and a fan of Japanese manga. So here is what he can say:

DISCLAIMER

The views expressed in comments by the guest judge published on this blog site are those of the comment writers alone. They do not represent the views or opinions of Beneath the Tree, nor do they represent the views or opinions of www.ajibanda.com, or any entity of, or affiliated with www.ajibanda.com

Design 4/5 ★★★★★

The design is clean and great, but I don't like the idea of having large images to show. But maybe it depends from viewer to viewer. When I try to comment on a certain post, I have observed the improper positioning of the text boxes, which most blogs have it aligned. Another is the CAPTCHA verification box. Who would know that "box times six = 36" was really a CAPTCHA verification box? There's not even a label that it is a CAPTCHA for verifying that the comments came from a human and not from a bot.

Content 3/5 ★★★★★

I like the contents, but it would be very nice if the article is free from copy-pasting stuff. I would better read the main website rather than reading your post if it is only copy-pasted from that site. I suggest using paraphrase and summaries for it. Also, show your point of view or commentaries rather than just sharing them so other readers may see your criticisms. When you show system requirements of a game, make sure the specifications are indented, so readers can really distinguish them between Windows PC and Mac.

Branding 3/5 ★★★★★

What's with Vankaizer? What's the connection of your big text to the interest and hobbies? Maybe consider having a tagline that promotes something, just like from other companies. But still, it's your own personal choice. Based on the contents, I would prefer you have a banner that's worth remembering. And by just looking at your banner, I would compare it to a banner like this, "Another blog". Improve it.

Audience Impact 3/5 ★★★★★

In terms of audience impact, it is worth reading and most probably, I'll be back someday... why? It affects your banner. It's not worth remembering. I like the new updates, especially the PS4 update, but then, because of the banner, who would care checking it out when I try to share it via Facebook.

Summary

Technically, there is nothing wrong with your site, a little more improvement on your design and content and it's already good :)

P.S. By the way, I found something interesting on your blog's footer

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So that's it, again this is just a friendly review from BTT. We aim for a better site and not to insult the owners and administrators. Whether you follow our tips and suggestions depend on your decision. Ciao!



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