Couldn’t Resist SmartWealthyRich

I met Jonathan Phillips when he left a message with me at MyBlogLog. I took a side trip to his blog, before I replied. When I got there I saw something I couldn’t resist — the title of his blog.

Smart, Wealthy, Rich [dot] com

But that engaging title was in tiny typography . . .

So I invited Jonathan Phillips to get tweaked Above the Fold. Here’s how the Above the Fold Tweak Process works

1. I make a “before” screenshot.
2. We talk through some changes for readability.
3. The blogger makes the changes.
4. We talk while the tweaks are in process.
5. I take an “after” screenshot and share the results in a post.

Tweaking Smart, Wealthy, Rich

The blog: SmartWealthyRich.com
– How to create wealth, keep it, and make it grow!
URL: : http://www.smartwealthyrich.com
Blogger:: Jonathan-C. Philllips

Before

This is SmartWealthyRich.com before we started. Click to enlarge.

Three Tweaks that We Agreed Upon

In this series, we’ll concentrate only three important tweaks for each blog that is featured. On Jonathan’s blog, those three tweaks were these.

1. His feed button was overpowering.
2. The title is too small.
3. The main body text block is too wide. A reader needs transportation to return to the next line.

Jonathan and I discussed how in a blink test, the feed button wins. We decided that it would be a much stronger presentation if the title got that first attention. Folks would remember where they were and where they wanted to return.

When choosing text the type size needs to match the line length. If they don’t match, the eye has trouble doing the “return sweep” to the next line correctly. Jonathan’s line was too long for the size of the type in the body text. We shortened the main body copy block and increased the type size.

We made other changes. Can you see them?

For the results, turn the page now. [Read more…]