Can somebody tell me how I can improve my blog/website?

Maybe I'm dreaming and maybe you're not done yet, but I don't see any "money links" on your pages.

It also looks very 1990's.

Perhaps another template will spruce up the site.

I concur with Tina G., the content looks good.

Hope This Helps!!

TL

a header would be good.
Give it some identity and presence.

Another vote for setting something up on wordpress. You can grab some pretty simple themes.

The design all really depends on what you are trying to do.
For what it seems one of the newspaper type templates or maybe a personal one.

Keeping it simple is ok, to simple and people will walk, you have to find a balance.

I love the minimalist look. Good job.

Hey Steven, '

since you're not using wordpress, I don;t know if you'll be able to, but its always good to see a blog with a couple of things in a side bar, like scrolling recent posts, or tags - just often leads people to spend longer on your site if there's something that catches their eye.

And a couple of good images are always pleasing to they eye - even put one in the occassional post.

Hope that helps!

don't forget to submit each blog post to social bookmarking sites using socialmarker.com

big time saver!

I second all who suggested switching to wordpress for your blog.

As for the expensive web site design software, it wont go to waste. There still landing pages, squeez pages and sales pages you can use it for as you progress.

I highly recommend using wordpress for your blog.

Hey Tristan,

the website is too small and too simple.
It doesn't have any opt-in forms or subscription
options and that is not good.

Igor

first thing i would have to say, is that its way too simple. it almost looks like a page from a textbook.:-( maybe you should do something about that??

@a1journo - I'm not Steven? Heh just kidding. I get your point. Thanks.

@The Pension Guy - Ah I see. I didn't know this before. Thank for informing me about this.

@mhutar - Yeah I am lacking content. I will add more! By the way, there is a footer in my website near the bottom. Do you mean site index?

@Steve - Thanks for the social bookmarking tip Steve! I don't get much traffic to this site...

@Igor - I don't really want an optin form because I don't want to spam people with emails. I get emails from internet marketers and they are sometimes irritating.

@Zack - I actually don't know right now. It is a personal blog but I also would like to find ways to monetize it. However, right now I don't get that much traffic. I go to school as well so much of my time during the day is spent on writing content, instead of getting traffic. If I spent my time getting traffic, then my I have trouble producing posts. So I find myself in this dilemma, coming here and hoping to find out how to improve my traffic so at least some people are reading what I am writing about.

@Ken - "It looks like a page from a textbook." Ouch. I'm guessing I'm guessing textbook to a lot of people equals boring.

@David - Yes you are right. It is XSitePro. I did not know that XSitePro can publish WordPress themes. I do intend to make income from my blog in the future, but I'm not sure how XSitePro and WordPress mix together (as The Pension Guys above says that you can use any kind of "design software" to create the look (theme) of your WP powered blog/site. Please send me the videos if you can. Thank you.

@Others - Thank you for your inputs.

I guess majority of the people think that to improve this blog, it needs to be changed over to WordPress. I'm just worrying if a theme will take away from the content of my blog.

The first thing I know about your site is that it's not attractive because there is no graph or any images. Beside here is some very useful info regarding your problem. How ever take a similar site and compare by your self, and see what you come up with?

Tristan,

Allow me to share a little of my 30+ years computer/marketing experience with you. I was transmitting data (via snail-paced modems) and designing graphics (using X's and O's on a dot matrix printer) long before most of the people on this forum were born. I think I know what you are trying to accomplish, and I believe you are on the right track so far. There are many great suggestions already posted here, as there are many qualified people on this forum to advise you accordingly.

1. Software - What software are you using? Does it allow you to create your own template? If so, you need to think visually and create a blog based on form, function and color. You have 16 seconds (or less) from when a person first views your page, to the decision they make whether to stay or move on to the next site. Three key words... form, function, color.

2. Content - Your content appears to be very interesting and current with the times. Your blog design should reflect your ability to know what people want to see as much as what they want to read. Research by looking at that which other successful people in your niche are using for their site designs. Emulating successful people is what successful people do!

3. K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid, is one of the oldest and most copied marketing methods in the history of marketing. Simple is good, but simple can also be detrimental, depending on how the message is conveyed (through form, function and color).

Summary - Your thoughts of keeping it simple are good, but your site lacks dimension. You need to think of your site from a current-sophisticated-web-surfers standpoint. People today expect graphics, color, audio, video, advertisements, popups, popunders, etc., etc. Catch them off guard by keeping your site simple (yet complex) by treating them to a simple visual experience which reflects your content and more importantly YOU as the site owner. People actually need places on the internet where they can go and feel relaxed while enjoying reading good quality content... and that you do have. Give your visitors an experience to enjoy and relax at. The internet is a busy and fast -paced environment which needs simple sites to slow people down and make them think. You have a good idea, continue to make it better.

Well, yes it looks simple and 90's but sometimes that isn't a bad thing. You could add a header graphic, some in picture posts, perhaps even a sidebar of sorts. It wouldn't take much to fill out the site. Also, if you focus on mobile phones as your readership, then it could work very well. I know I hate graphics heavy sites on my phone, since the bandwidth is so poor at times.

The site lacks identity however it's relatively well structured. See if you can use your photo on your header.

Adding some social elements might help but only if you really network and build traffic: stuff like Google Friend Connect and Yahoo mybloglog. Maybe add comments but only if you can guarantee participation.

Tyrus

You need branding ... a logo/header, a better theme. You need images to break up all the text. People are turned off by long columns of nothing but text. They look at that and there's nothing to capture their interest and they say ... I'm not reading all that!

Tristan,

My opinion is that what you are doing so far is exactly the intended purpose of your blog:

Your about me page says:

"My aim in this blog is to enlighten oneself through the mind and physical body. There are more than six billion people on this earth, but only a few percentage of them truely have a successful, dream life."

To that end, I believe you are doing what you want and that is to help people and enlighten them, which is noble.

If your intention is to later monetize your site, a few minor changes will be necessary.

In the meantime, I was truly impressed by the quality of your writing and the format of your posts (except you should have posts link together, so one could navigate your site easier).

Keep up the good work!
Jon