SITE REVIEW: Ancient Standard

http://www.ancientstandard.com is the URL of a new blog I just launched the other week.

We just had the new design finished and added to the site (it's using wordpress). I would appreciate if you guys could take a look and critique the design, ad placement and what you think of the actual content.

I've psoted this in a few places already and some of the feedback I have received is negative regarding the ad placement. So please pay close attention to the ad placement and answer the following questions if you would be so kind:

1. Do you find the ad placement annoying or disruptive to your user experience

2. If 'Yes', Is the content interesting enough for you to put up with the ads.

Thanks for taking the time to check it out!

Please check the w3c markup validator, there are 13 errors in your HTML.

I really love the colour scheme you used, it compliments everything beautifully. I do feel that your home page is way too long, there's just too much going on there ... If you have to keep it that long, please just put some "back to top" links next to each topic.

Also check that your google ad's aren't in the middle of a post, rather between posts, or on the right hand side underneath the menu ...

When a user clicks on a category, be sure to disable that rollover in the categories menu so that a user doesn't redirect him\herself to the same page over and over.

It would be cool also if there were rollovers for "home" and "about" aswell just for effect.

You also may want to add a little something extra in the "about us" column on the right hand side, it seems like you weren't sure what you wanted to put there ...

Lumayan,
But, I think it will look more beautiful if you placed your ads on the right side only, not in the main body.
too many html error

Thanks for the comments, the site is being developed to earn a profit, so the ads have to stay where they are unfortunately.

I'm also not a fan of certain WC3 Validation for various reasons, but a debate on web standards isn't the point of this post

Rollovers on Home and About are a good idea, we may have to include that. You're right about the About Us column, I'm thinking of removing it completely until I have something better to put in.

and a Back top top link isn't a bad idea either.

Thanks for checking it out!

1) slightly disruptive.
I recomend a shorter ad box that is as close to the width of the content text as possible.
Also, in keeping with the google rules of 3 ads per page, I think removing one of the ads from the main content and placing a text ad directly below the archives would be usefull.

just my oppinion.

I also recomend a shorter ad box that is as close to the width of the content text as possible.

The site design is very nice, I like the layout alot, you have done very well here.

I would give you 3/4 which is high! lol

good job!

The color scheme is very attractive and classic. Very Imperial Roman feeling (even though this may be a misconception on my part). You did a nice job blending the ads into the middle of each article. I feel that the ads would be better placed as two on the right blended in and one banner on the bottom. Your page, as much as it resembles a scroll with its length, feels just a little bit too long with the ads mixed in.


Note: I love history so I actually bookmarked your site. Great job all around on an awesomely attractive site.

Dave, Hi

I think that you are right, the ads are disruptive. But not because the position. I think that the problem is the lenght of the ad.
In my opinion ads in that place are a good pause for the reading, because if not the text would be lenghty and readers could become tired. But the ads are very long, and people could lost the reading continuity. I think would be better to cut the same ad in three parts, for example. And so, people could maintain the interest in what is reading.
Its my modest opinion, I am not an specialist. but is a very good and interesting site!

old fashion design but its an ancient theme so maybe that suits?

The layout is good, color scheme is good, and many other things are also good there but you need to enhance little more to get maximum earnings through advertising. first of all you should place ads on both sides that is left and right of the page. this will help you earn more.
Next you can do some afiliate advertising. This can help you build some huge income
Thanks

Gotta say ,
You have a pretty cool site going on.
The pictures are awesome.
gamarketgirl

Like a lot of others who've commented here, I have to compliment you on your color choices. Color schemes have always been a tough thing for me, so I'm doubly impressed.

There's a horizontal scrollbar when I visit the site, which seems strange given the relatively narrow content area. The problem seems to be the width of your container div. If possible, you might try leaving its width unspecified while declaring widths for its child divs instead.

As for the ads, having some of them show up in the middle of a post certainly is disruptive. Like righteous_trespasser, I'd suggest putting them between posts instead. It would also help if they weren't so easily confused with your regular content. Consider a somewhat lighter background on the containing element for the ads, allowing them to stand apart more from the rest of the page. You might make a few bucks by confusing people into clicking on an advertisement, but you won't win a long-term readership that way.

Design: GREAT !
AD placement: is great when google shows 3 ads but when there are only 2 ads shown it looks weird because of the gap, but luckly ads are conected with the website content !