HomemadeGuides.com looks like a sister site to Buildables.net previously reviewed as its topics are similar and the design is identical. The latter is also the reason why it's hard to review this site without repeating some of the exact same critiques and advice said for Buildables.net previously, especially given that even the topic doesn't offer enough differentiation to warrant significant changes in advised design improvements.

The nice touches of this theme are the background pattern, search box style, rounded corners, subscription box in the sidebar. Overall however it's still a relatively simplistic design. What it could use is a distinct logo instead of just the textual site title, something perhaps with a "do it yourself" or "homemade" motive, maybe a graphic of a toolbox that looks like a house..

Two blocks at the end of the sidebar could better look if they displayed below each other and expanded to full width of the sidebar because they look a little too squeezed as they currently are, especially the "recent guides" box which has many of its links using two lines of text as a result, which adds to the feel of clutter.

In the content area and article pages a little more margin between the title and the article could be used. Also instead of strong tags heading tags might be a better idea for subsections. Other than that the main issue are ads, their size, number, font size (bigger than the main content) and the fact that they in some articles distort the display of "share and enjoy" buttons (pushing and squeezing them to the side).

The comment form could look a little better if info input fields were closer together and their titles on the right to them and if main text area were styled to match the border of input fields above it.

Design Rating: 6/10

Focus:

"Homemade Guides" as the title of the site already provides a good hint which in combination with article titles immediately visible makes the purpose of the site pretty clear.

Focus Rating: 10/10

Content:

Nearly one hundred articles in eight categories contain instructions on how to make a variety of things at home, with subsections often corresponding to subtypes of what is being made. In some sections a list form could be used to make the instructions more easily readable and attractive. The last publisher article (and therefore first to display on the site) is one large paragraph however which is harder to read. This seems to be an exception however, but since it's the most prominently visible article at the moment it's worth fixing soon.

Overall though, articles don't beat around the bush much, as is usual for this publisher. We are given the introduction to what is being built and instructions on how to do it which make them quite useful.

Content Rating: 9/10

The nicest thing about Buildables.net is probably the background. I don't know about others, but if I'm building something I'm likely to be building it on the floor (and even sitting there) so this seems quite fitting. This background also gives the site a bright feeling. The rest of the site is decent and with a few nice touches, but in all honesty not terribly impressive. Nice touches include the search box style, rounded corners and the subscription box in the sidebar. The rest just does the job and might at least get some points for simplicity..

There are definitely things to be improved. Starting from the top perhaps it would still be a good idea to use some sort of a nice logo or an image with "Buildables" written in a nice style. This would add a lot to the uniqueness and attractiveness of the site. Last blocks in the sidebar feel a little squeezed. Almost all all titles in the "recent themes" block use up two lines because they can't fit on a single one which makes it look messier. It's probably better for this to expand across both sidebar columns to be wider. Also, "recent themes" is a little odd as the site contains articles or guides rather than "themes".

The left column of the sidebar that has blocks for categories and archives leaves quite a bit of white space beneath compared to the right column which also adds to the "messy" feel. This might be somewhat better if there were more categories to show. Currently it only has "building" and "uncategorized". which probably isn't even worth displaying in a dedicate block. If the "recent themes" (or I would suppose it should be "recent guides" is expanded across both sidebar columns the categories and archives blocks can be just put beneath it which would look better.

The content area would be quite fine if the ads weren't so ubiquitous, at least in the first two entries. The only issue left would be the "share and enjoy" text being too close to the corresponding buttons. Same goes for the article pages, plus the numbered lists could be styled to have a little more top/bottom margins which would make numbered lists containing multiple lines for each number look more readable. I'd suggest going even further in beautifying the lists as they are the primary thing articles consist of. For example something like this or this might look better.

It's a good thing the article uses proper HTML headings (h2) for its sections (and main h1 for title). The comment form isn't especially attractive so if the owner would like to go a step further in polishing up I'd suggest putting the info input fields closer together and their titles on the right to them and then styling the main textarea to match them. That would just add a basic, but more elegant look.

Design Rating: 6/10

Focus:

"Buildables" is a nice catchy name that should be easy to brand (all the more reason to produce a good logo and make the site's design stand out better). Slogan hints and the purpose of the site and the article titles on the homepage complete the picture. Categories are missing, that is, there's only two categories "building" and uncategorized which is almost the same as having no categories. It's not a serious issue perhaps as it doesn't really confuse the user about the focus, but it does leave out one browsing option and essentially makes the site into a single uncategorized bunch of articles.

Focus Rating: 9/10

Content:

One nice thing about articles on Buildables.net is that it consistently uses bullets or numbered lists to present information and instructions which makes them easier to follow and more attractive. Articles consistently start with a brief description of highlights of what is being built and why you might want to build it and then proceeds with required tools and materials, instructions for building and finally tips and warnings. There are just over 40 articles showing how to build a variety of things, some big and some small, albeit most seem to be about big things such as a house or a tree house, lounge, windmill, trailer and so on.

Content Rating: 10/10