This morning has been quite techy in the PBF household.
Guess who now officially has DROP DOWN menus!?!?
So, so excited about this new addition to the blog. 
New pages that made their PBF debut today include:
- Press
- Revamped Work It Out Page
- Daily Workout Log
- Workouts (Sorted by cardio, circuit and strength workouts)
- Workout Playlists
- Revamped Favs Page
- Travel
- Orlando & Florida Travel
Phew! I’ve been working on these pages for a couple of weeks now and had the fantastic assistance of Tim Parkin (tparkin@gmail.com) to help implement the drop down menus. If you need any techy or blog-related help, I highly recommend him.
Lunch
I shockingly worked through my typical snack time without even realizing it this morning. A hoppin’ to-do list will do that to ya, I guess.
Needless to say, my stomach was majorly grumbling at lunchtime!
I refueled with a lettuceless salad.
In the mix:
- Broccoli slaw
- Carrots
- Zucchini
- Morningstar Farms Asian veggie patty
- Light Asian sesame dressing
Kashi TLC pita crisps rounded out the meal.
Website Must Haves
After implementing the drop down menus on my blog late this morning, I started thinking about website must-haves. To me every nearly every website (blog, business, news, etc.) should have the following:
- Clean design (I can’t stand cluttered sites.)
- An “About” page (I like to learn more about the person behind the site, the company history or the business itself.)
- Contact information
- Pictures or graphics (A website of straight text is overwhelming and not stimulating to the eyes.)
Question of the Afternoon
- What feature do you think is a “must have” for every website?
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enjoying the new features! honestly i feel like mine is a little cluttered, b ut have no time to fix any of that right now.
I hate pages that overwhelm you with designs so you can’t focus on anything else.
This may be creepy, but I love when people include a picture or two of themselves (just a picture or two though if every post has a billion than it’s annoying), I like seeing who’s writing the blog every one in a while.
The new drop down menus are awesome!
I also agree that pictures make a blog come to life!
About and contact info that is easy to find!
Great new drop down menus by the way!
I am currently in my Master’s program to be an Educational Technologist and we recently discussed what makes a good website. One of the requirements for a valid and reliable website is that they have an about page and contact information! Our teacher had us go to various websites and check for these elements. PB fingers would definitely pass for a reliable and valid website! 🙂
I love the ‘About’ page, it’s such a great way to get to know more about the blogger.
Maybe not a “must have” but I really like when blogs have an easy way to find older posts. Some sort of good archiving system!
I love when websites are cohesive in design, meaning that the fonts match the style, the colors coordinate, and the graphics work with everything else to tie a site together. At my blog runningwithmascara.com we are still working to fix up design, but you are an inspiration!
I love the drop downs!
I love all your pictures!! They definitely make your website. I’m with you on the clutter too… too hard to navigate through.
I thoroughly agree with having an “about me” page. This really helps entice people to read and get to know the writer on a more humanistic level. Speaking of which, I keep meaning to re-vamp my about me page and spice it up! Added to the “blog journal” 😉
My blog has four of those, and I definitely couldn’t imagine it without them! An about me is especially important because I feel thats usually the first thing I click on others.
& mmmmm Asian sesame 🙂
I think all your points are right on Julie! I also think that an easy to navigate site is quite important, and that’s something i’m trying to work on haha. I can’t get the “next page, previous page” buttons to work! I seriously don’t know how to 😛 Do you have pointers for that? And i just saw your videos for the first time, they’re so cute and fun!
Love broccoli slaw! It’s my new favorite thing.
I definitely have some items on my to-do list to improve on my site. Pictures are a must – you’re right. And definitely the clean design.
I am working on the ability to reply to comments on my blog – this is the week where I figure it out (doesn’t automatically come as an option on my blog host site). Determined!
Love the new feature! I agree with your must-haves… definitely need an “About Me” — that’s the first thing I go to!
Wow I guess I take drop down menus for granted! My theme that I bought has dropdown menus already so I just had to configure what I wanted them to say. But I agree, it helps to make things more organized, and helps your readers to find what they want easier!
A blog HAS to have an about me page and a contact page. There’s nothing more frustrating than trying to contact a person, even just to make a friend with someone you connect with if they don’t have a way to contact you. This is especially important as you start to monetize your blog. People will have questions and you want to be there to answer.
The other thing a blog needs is an opt in form to be on a list. This is huge for monetizing your blog, but you also have to give something of value in return for someone giving you their valuable email list!
My blog is getting renovated and will be at a different url too…I can’t wait to incorporate these things too!
I love broccoli slaw! You can do lots with it! 🙂
And in other news, I’m down in Florida visiting my mom… and when I was at Publix today (which I miss dearly!), I saw like 3 or 4 of the products that you talk about on a regular basis that I haven’t been able to find at my grocery store!! 😉 Some day, I’ll have a Publix near me again (I hope!)!
I completely agree with you on what a website needs. Those are essentials for making it user-friendly. Thankfully, PBFingers has all of those 🙂
So exciting! They look great.
Photos are definitely important to me in a blog, they don’t have to be the prettiest but at least a little something is nice!
I love lettuceless salad! 😀
I agree with your website musthaves!
I also like when blogs have that little box at the top that describes the blogger and blog in a few sentences, as well as a good ‘about’ page.
Your blog looks great, I love the new drop downs! 🙂
Must haves…I agree with all of yours, they’re right on.
So exciting!! I really hope that all of your freelance stuff and blogging workout because I think it’s amazing when people can do what they love and make money as well!! One day, I’d like to leave the corporate world and become a trainer who works with obese patients, so I’m hoping that happens. I think it’s great you’re doing what you love and going after it!!
Loving the new drop down menus. I agree that an “about” page is essential to a blog. I really want to know the person who is writing the material.
Busy Busy! …. I think EVERY page needs a Help? section where someone jumps out of your computer screen and helps you! HA…. As far as blogs go, a About pages is a must!
I love clean, crisp design and an about menu. I wanna know who I’m reading about!
I love your drop-down menus. It makes your already-easy-to-navigate-site EVEN easier :-).
I sometimes worry that my blog is too cluttered. I hope not! I think its nice when websites have a recent posts sidebar, for the mere fact that it’s an easy way to catch up 🙂
I also love recipe tabs, but that’s not a requirement, just a nice-to-have 😉
Love the dropdowns! I agree, blogs need to have contact info and I like to know about the person writing the blog. Julie I also love that you have a fashion page.
Congrats on the drop down menus! Isn’t it funny how such a small thing can make us so happy! Getting your blog to work just how you want it definitely puts me in a good mood! 🙂
I think most sites should definitely have an info/about page. And pics are a MUST! I get bored with too much text.
I think every good blog should have a picture of Sadie with a funny caption in it!! Like…My God! You’re taking another freaking picture of me??!! Make her stop!! 8)
Now that you have the drop down menus you don’t really need the “Pages” widget on the left-hand side. It’s pretty much the same thing. Then it’ll help you with an even cleaner website! No duplicates. (:
Drop-down menus rock! I’m still not very tech-savvy, so no drop-drop menus for me . . . but maybe someday! 🙂 Also, just watched your rutabaga fry tutorial, and I might make them!! 🙂
LOVE the drop downs. Very professional. I also think its important to have a search bar in your blog. I seem to use these all the time, even in my own site.
I believe pictures are a must! Text heavy blogs are bo-ring.
Love the new drop down menus and your blog!
Clutter-free and picture-full, for sure. I also like websites that are easy to navigate (I’m looking at you, dear college of mine…).
The new drop-downs look so nice!!
Oooohhh, love the new features! I can’t wait to check out the travel and playlists pages 🙂
definitely clean design, and at this point social media integration — whether it’s a simple “like” button or something with more depth. That’s key to help spread your content!
Yay for the new drop-down menus! I love it when sites are easy to navigate, so having the option to go directly to your desired destination is definitely nice. 🙂
I agree with you that a clean design is key. However cute little touches that add a kick of personality (like the peanut butter spoon on the right-hand side of PBF!) make the reading experience more fun!
While I LOVE your site, I have to say that I find it a bit crowded. Just a smidgeon! I must be a minimalist.
I really do love your site. 🙂
Definitely a clean look. I also really prefer it if blogs have a list somewhere convenient that lists their last few blogs. So I can quickly scan them and click on the ones I haven’t read.
I also have to agree with another commenter. I love it when blogs have it in a clear place the name of the blogger. Definitely hard to know what to call someone when you don’t know their name!