What do you think of the new theme?
Well, as you can see, Fresh Perspectives gets a new theme couple of days ago. The previous theme BloggingPro worked fine for some time but I used it for too long, more than a year and I needed a change. This theme, Options by Justin Tadlock as you can see, displays a lot more content for you to browse through and I'm loving the navigation.
I had tremendous help (truck loads of it I should say) from my dearest friends Mig from Online Public Relations and Deborah from Life In The Fast Lane. So, although I was a bit afraid of the change, I'm starting to really like it.
There are some features that are not working right now and we are trying to fix them but in the mean time, would love to hear from you guys. Please let me know in the comments if you find something broken or not working. If you are seeing this post via RSS, you'll definitely have to come out here to see it.
One of the things that's not working and it has nothing to do with the theme, is inserting images in WordPress 2.5.1 If you follow that link, you'll see so many others who are having problem with inserting images. Some have found the solution by modifying the .htaccess file which I want to refrain from since WordPress 2.6 has been just released today and I am hoping the upgrade will solve this problem.
So, then.. what do you guys think? Are the colors okay, better or worse than the previous one? What would you like to see and what feature can be remove?
ITS SUPERB…
Pearl, I love it!! I want to steal it!! kidding.
I found this via twitter… it seems that I did not get the update in my email box! Strange really as there is no reason why the RSS feed wouldn’t work!
Otherwise, I clicked around a bit and everything seems in order to me :)
A change is as good as a holiday. Hope to see more posts!
Hi Pearl! I spent a while navigating through everything and checking out all the functionality. It looks and works great, I really love the header too. Now you’ve got me thinking about trying this out :mrgreen:
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I like it – great photo in the header.
@Ange @Bobby.. thanks guys.. I’m starting to love it too as I browse around different sections… was debating if comment background should be changed ‘coz these greens are from the original that matched with the side background… but overall, yeah, I needed a change and hopefully it’ll inspire me to write more…
Feedburner stopped all feeds a couple of days ago .. Ive checked everything last night but have no idea why.. so tweeted out of frustration :)
Bobby you should try it if you need a change :)
@Scott: glad you like it too .. I was really worried about those hdr images too .. they turned out good :)
Hi Pearl! This is lovely! I just got a couple of your updates in my reader at once just now so I had to hop on over. I was so excited to see you and your new look! I hope it serves you well. I gotta go check and make sure I didn’t miss anything at your place while I was away now.
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I like it very much. And the header photo is great. I think I won’t read you in the feed reader anymore from now on ;)
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I like it a lot. The header photo is beautiful and conveys positive feeling. Everything is well organized, and the color scheme is nice, too.
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@teeni I just got last 4 posts in my reader all at once after I made some changes to the original feed. See I didn’t even realize my feeds weren’t getting to anyone… only noticed when there were no comments for more than 10 hours on this post…
@Simonne I thought about it that you hadn’t been around here and concluded I might have bored you ;) so glad you decided to stop by
@Akemi: I’ve been meaning to write to you – glad you like the header images.. refresh it and you’ll see more.. and I hope to add some more some day
Girlfriend, the new skin is absotively gorgeous and is right up your alley. Matter of fact, I’m thinking along the line just like Ange. “I want it”, too!
Congratulations, Girly!
hehe thanks Saboma! glad to have you back .. you know I’m just so glad to have some of the best of friends around, and Im sure you know them too :) so get whatever skin you want when you can :)
okay I dont really like the way these smileys stand out of the context! a problem I used to have with the last theme too.. and that square different colored border!
I just came here following a link on Bobby’s site, after leaving a comment mentioning that I don’t like the magazine themes very much!
I must say, though, that this is one of the better ones. I can find things easily and it’s not hard to spot the most recent post.
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I never left, Girly. I have you in my reader with the others. I had been having connection problems for the past few months, it seems but it’s under control now or at least it appears to be under control. Then again, I could have bumped my head without realizing it, hehehe.
*HUGS!*
I never left, Girly. I have you in my reader with the others. I had been having connection problems for the past few months although it seems but it’s under control now or at least it appears to be under control. Then again, I could have bumped my head without realizing it, hehehe.
*HUGS!*
@dcr I had that fear about magazine themes too this came out looking pretty good. Thanks for stopping by dcr.. hope to see you around again
@Grand*MA haha *HUGS* back … it’s just very good to see you again..
This gives really very new look to your blog.. Actually, re-born :)
Hey Pearl,
Congrats on the new design, it looks good. I like how the theme uses the image thumbnails on the front page.
It’s very nice, Pearl. I like the rotating header images and the multiple options in the upper right corner. I need to see how those options are done and copy it. :-)
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Hi Pearl,
Then new theme looks awesome! Especially the header image. I also use a Justin Tadlock theme and I love it )
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Thanks Steven… I like that feature too.. the theme is filled with a lot of great options – may be that’s why Justin called it Options too :)
RT.. hehe theres an option to have those multiple tabs right below the featured image section too if you want to display more of the stuff.. I love that rotating header feature too :)
Hey Alina… glad header images are getting positive reviews.. do you use Options theme or structure? I couldn’t tell…
The new theme is very clean and I actually like gray themes because they emphasize color. I also like the tab usage on the HP.
I’m not crazy about the font. It’s not so to read in black or red on gray, and I think you should bump it up one say.
Also, I think you need your own logo, whether you design it with software or not :)
Jacob: I agree with you completely.. increase font size, and a lighter gray may be?
Oh the logo, I’ve thought about it and will be working on it soon – and if you have any ideas, please feel free to share .. I know you’ve got graphic design skills Jacob :)
The new theme looks great. Man, I have had the same theme for almost three years…hmm…maybe it is time for a change. I guess I should just stop being a wuss and do it.
It’s true, I have a PhD in Wannabe Design. My thesis was on Design Inspiration: Copy or Clone? :)
More seriously, it’s all about branding. You need to decide (perhaps you have already) how you want to brand yourself on the Web, and then sync your blog from there.
One problem you have is that your url is about “fresh perspectives” but then the site is called “interesting observations”. Why is that? They could mean the same thing but they’re different, and shouldn’t be.
@Ben.. it does feel like a new blog now :) hey Ben.. I browsed around your both blogs and didn’t see updates… hope you are still blogging
@Adam… go for it..change is scary but it feels good. I like looking at different shades around here
@Jacob.. They are different and we were thinking about changing the name of blog to fresh perspectives too this time but then only God knows how this interesting observations slipped in there… will do something about it, Dr. Share :)
Pearl, I just wanted to say thanks for using the theme. It seems like you’re getting a lot of positive feedback here. I also want to echo what everyone else has said about the header — it’s great! I’m a big fan of the blue colors you’ve added too.
Feel free to stop by my forums anytime you have questions about the theme, even though it looks like you have everything worked out here.
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Pearl, I love the new theme!
I usually check the RSS reader for new content, and I followed it over for the guest post. I noticed the theme immediately!
hey Justin.. I’m so glad that you like the way the theme came together, it’s an honor to have your input. I really appreciate your offer to help out in the forums too and thank YOU for letting me use such a nice looking theme for free :)
Mike: My RSS feeds weren’t working for some reason and I only noticed it after this post, but as soon as the original feed’s url was fixed, all posts came thru immediately..so you might have missed couple of posts
so glad you like the theme too :)
I just love the new look Pearl! Nice, clean, readable and easy to navigate. I also love the top pictures – yea; have reloaded a couple of times and seen some of them – as a Norwegian, I love the beauty of pure nature you know :-)
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Excellent! I came to the site and said, “Wow!” I love the colors and I love the peaceful header.
If I had to critique one thing it would be it’s not apparent right away what this blog is about. Interesting Observations could be about anything. Maybe a small tagline or something could tell new comers what’s here or why they might want to read your blog.
But that’s just being picky. I really like your new home.
@Renny – glad you like the header images and the design too…
@John – It’s such a relief to get positive feedback on the header images… you know, that’s not being picky and I’ve been meaning to include the tagline but for some reason, haven’t had the time to do it. Will fix it soon…. glad you like it…
Hi Pearl
I love the new theme. I am pleased you have kept all the recent posts very obvious on the front page, unlike some of the magazine type themes which I find hard to navigate. What an appropriate image for your front page too.
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Hi Pearl
I love the new theme, its awesome!
And you know what? One of the image in the rotating header shows 2 Chinese pagodas overlooking a lake, I’m quite sure it’s a tourist attraction here in Singapore!
The place is call Chinese Garden and it’s about 10mins drive from where I live.
I see most of the above comments singing praises about the many beautiful header images, you got it going girl!
Excellent makeover!
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@Sue.. glad you like it.. hope to see you here more often .. although I’ve got to write something.. having a blocked mind these days..
@betshopboy: wow, what a small world :) yes, they are pagodas in Singapore :) How nice that the place is actually close to you guys.. it is such a calming image.. wish I can actually see the place some day..
I’ll be adding the blogroll for credits soon so you’ll be able to see rest of the images in the album :)
It’s a great one. I love how the picture fits the title – it gives depth and perspective… and it is so peaceful…
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Pearl I love it. I have been working on looking for a new theme myself for months, modifying, testing etc etc , this one looks very clean and practical
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thanks Polina…
@Making Sales Making Money: can’t wait to see what you come up with..
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Hi Pearl,
I love the new look and the header image is lovely.
Great job!
Take care,
~Maura
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I like it. It’s clean.