I just scanned through the article: according to #9 I should align my ICs.
I believe Bob was pointing to an article where this Folklore/Myths/Rules of Thumb were being shown as “good” tips just based on aesthetics and effort.
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So I should not (necessarily) align my ICs? Meaning the priority to have simpler traces is more important than aligned ICs?
Like most things, orientation is a trade-off. Having components with random orientation makes it more likely that you’ll accidentally install something wrong. It’s much easier when pin 1 on all the ICs are in the upper left corner.
On the other hand, sometimes the layout begs for a component to be oriented in a specific way. You have to decide which is more important.
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Thanks for that clarification … guess in my case I will give the placement more priority as an easier routing is more important than installing something wrong… my soldering speed is so low, I will triple check the orientation anyway.
Do it four times and you will only have to correct 1 or 2 components afterwards 
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@Rene_Poschl (and other interested). After receiving tips to transfer some traces to the back (mostly VCC and related wires), the result so far is shown below. I added a lot of via pins from the bottom GND to upper GND (maybe too much?). The VCC traces really ‘cut’ through the previous nice GND bottom, and the problem that you describe, I don’t know how to solve. Especially where the bottom GND is cut, there are typically traces from one side to the other.
I also tried to make on the front side as much GND areas as possible (although some are quite small).
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