Exciting stuff going on here at B-Side Blog lately. No, I didn’t get new office furniture. I’ve decided to recommit myself to the blog, which means more coverage of more TV shows as well as other fun stuff in the realm of food, drink, nightlife, and everything else. To that end, I plan on rejiggering some of the layout here on the site. One of the struggles that I’ve had is keeping a clear brand message for new readers. TV fans come here and see posts about soups and vacuum cleaners. Food people come here and see nothing but Real Housewives. B-Side Blog is first and foremost a pop culture site, and the redesign will emphasize that. The new look will feature TV items prominently on the main page, but food, drink, and nightlife will be easily accessible on the sidebar. The idea is to give the site more of a pop-culture “hub” feeling rather than a random stream of topics. Fear not though: this is not going to be an annoying segmentation (ie. the dreaded recaps and Newsgasm segregation that occurred at TVgasm). The full blog will still be accessible from the very front page. Furthermore, the content will be exactly the same.

The whole point is to merely make the site more accessible for new readers (as well as potential advertisers because let’s be honest, that’s what it’s all about). I’ll be moving over to the new theme over the course of this weekend; so if things look funky, you’ll know why. On the plus side, if you’re bored, you can watch as the site morphs in front of your eyes (I don’t know how to put up a nifty “Under Construction” page; so you’ll get to see the changes just as I do).

Wish me luck…

42 replies on “Layout Changes Coming To B-Side Blog”

  1. I love your website just the way it is, but am excited to see the new changes. By the way, what do you mean by the “dreaded recaps and Newsgasm segregation that occurred at TVgasm”??

    1. When I was at TVgasm several years ago, the site used to be one big blog. After we were bought out, our supervisor made us split the site into two sections – recaps and news items. It meant readers had to click back and forth. No one liked the layout, and traffic plummeted. It was a big brouhaha at the time.

      1. Thanks for the explanation. I just went to the TVGASM website and I see what you mean. No one likes brouhaha!

  2. I am so excited that you are going to be posting more and recapping more shows!!! But I am equally as excited that you will keep up the other fun posts because without them I would not have procured my amazing stovetop smoker (which is the bomb!) and my mango splitter (which I can say I will be forever in your debt for bringing this product to my attention).

    Can’t wait to see the new changes!!

  5. Good luck!

    It still makes me sad to think of the ‘Gasm in the glory days. Good times. Excited to see the changes, B!

  6. Look forward to seeing the new design – my only plea is, if you read Gawker… please do not model this site after any aspect of the recent Gawker redesign. It’s almost as bad as the Bravo site.

    1. I completely agree. I have stopped going to that site because it’s impossible to navigate now. Same with Jezebel.

    2. Seriously. Half the time I try to scroll through to see what I missed and end up on a random post that I had no interest in reading. Look at Gawker and do the opposite!

    3. I was just going to post that. Gawker, Jezebel and Deadspin used to be regular stops for me, and now I am barely over there. That said, I was excited to read this post, as Ben is my favorite tv recapper on the net, and more recapped shows would be amazing. BTW, I am so excited to see B-Side Blog has a regularly updated Facebook feed now! Nice work.

  8. Sooo, you’re saying that there will be a new layout but also a link to view it in the blog format? Like you said, me no likey annoying segmentation. Of course I still want your blog to grow and flourish so do what it takes!

  10. Don’t worry – like I said, the content will be exactly the same, and the blog will be on the front page still (not segmented elsewhere). Be brave, people!

  11. Go for it! But be ready for loud shouts if we don’t like it! 🙂
    But I’ll be we will.

  12. Go forth and prosper. Humans are designed to adapt. In a few weeks we won’t even remember what the old site looked like!

  13. I am happy that you are taking a leap. You have had enough recent press that you do need to take it up a notch. I am also in favor of any freaking change that will get Jill Zarin having her nose cleaned out by her dog off the front page. Thank you Little Baby Jesus.

  15. Thanks for putting up confirmation lady!! I’ve missed seeing her after I post successfully. Good luck with the revamp!

  16. changes will probs happen this afternoon… it’ll look really weird here for an hour or two. or three.

  21. Looks pretty good this morning, and I’m glad to see the ad for Discreet Partners is still prominently featured.

  23. Don’t worry, Miss Priss. I think you’ll get used to it. It’s the same blog, only now it’s under a slide show. My only problem is that I don’t know how to get the comment link for each entry on the front page to go at the bottom of the entry, not in the headline.

    Working on it…

    1. I’m loving the site. It looks more professional but the blog is there still fully intact and I love the skip to the blog button up top.

    2. booooo, I went on last night with my nook and it looked good but STILL! I hate change…but I will be supportive because you are the best. On a side note; can you PLEASE re-cap teen mom? It has so much b-side worthy stuff going on there you would have a field day with it.

  24. OK OK I am back and need to say I over reacted. All is good, this isn’t THAT bad. My OCD kicked in and I panicked but it looks good now. GOOD JOB!!
    Miss Prissy

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