Redesign Complete
At long last, the redesign is complete. I’ll probably be tweaking for weeks/months to come, but here’s what’s new right now:
-
New Design and Layout
We’ve freshened things up a bit. The new logo is one that Chris did for me a while ago, but I could never figure out how to use it without using too much screen real estate. Chris was kind enough to do a mockup that I tweaked ever-so-slightly to arrive at what you see today. I like it…a lot.
-
Cleaner Code
We’ve done a major cleanup of the underlying XHTML and CSS code. It’s still not quite as clean as I’d like it to be, but thanks to the writings of Eric Meyer, Jeffrey Zeldman, and Dan Cedarholm it’s leaps and bounds ahead of the CodeBloat™ I had going.
-
Comment Registration
To fight comment spam we’ve implemented the TypeKey Authentication Service. Here’s a blurb from the TypeKey web site:
“TypeKey is a free, open system providing a central identity that anyone can use to log in and post comments on blogs and other web sites.
“…TypeKey gives weblog authors more control over managing comments that have been posted, prevents comment spamming (junk comments) and prohibits unauthorized comments. This is accomplished by requiring commenters to log in with a verified account before they can post, and by offering weblog authors the power to approve or ban a commenter’s ability to post on the site.”
This is a pilot program for us. As one of the alpha/beta test sites, we’re going to give it a try and see how it works. I realize that requiring someone to register with a third party before they can make comments does take some of the spontaneity out of life, but our visibility has made us a real target for comment spam in the past. Anything that gives me the ability to allow comments without requiring me to act as a moderator is worth trying.
The new version of Movable Type does provide us with the ability to approve comments from unregistered users before they’re published to the site, but the lag between posting and publishing would probably do just as much to kill the spontaneity. (You’d try to be the first to respond to someone’s wisecrack only to find that 20 people were ahead of you in the queue.)
So, I’d encourage you to either register with TypeKey or get more information.
(Keep in mind that one of the advantages of signing up for a service in its infancy is that you can usually register a username that doesn’t resemble something like “grettirUK925bleu.”)
-
New Swag
…with the new logo. Again, thanks to Chris.
-
Weeding
I’ve weeded out some of the older, inconsequential weblog entries. The volume of posts was getting hard to wade through and a lot of content was no longer valid (broken links, etc). Besides, I was the number one result returned by Google for a few very disturbing search phrases, so a little expurgating was called for.
I readily acknowledge that there are a few deficiencies with the new design:
-
It’s Too Darn Wide
To accommodate the logo, I’ve added a 90-pixel, fixed-width, left margin that makes the the entire page roughly 820 pixels wide. Those people with 800x600 screens will become good friends with the horizontal scroll bar.
-
An Over-Reliance On <hr /> Tags
The dark orange-red bars that separate the entries are created using <hr /> tags. I faked them properly, but there are too many instances where they’re there for purely decorative, not structural, purposes.
-
Non-Browser-Safe Colors
It was time to move on…
-
Still No Worthwhile Content
Yeah, so what’s your point?
I’d be interested in getting your feedback (if for no other reason than to give the comment system a workout). So, what do you think?
Comments
benson
it’s absolutely gorgeous
Kate Xylophone B.
It is, indeed, lovely. And perfect for the summer season.
My only concern is that you have expurgated too vociferously….
emily
Hoorah! It looks really great grettir! I do like the logo a lot Chris, good job! I also can’t wait…ahem…for the next HMG entry… ;D Congrats on a great design!
danUK925bleu
Looks great! That logo is so edgy- you’re practically punk-rock!
Listening to: The Sex Pistols
Nice redesign, Shawny Rotten.
Chris
After all the registration procedures, confirmation emails, and signing in, I forgot what I was going to say. Um…
The color green makes me bilious.
grettir
jenny
This green (see left/right/above/below) is not bilious—it’s earthy. I have never seen bile this color.
Now this is bilious:
…and colour aside, it’s an onion, which makes it automatically bilious.
Dr G
I feel bad i don’t know any fancy words.
dave
grettir, I’ve been searching around your site for an email address or email form to send you a note, but it appears this is the only way.
I’m interested in how awesome your website is, and wondered about borrowing/buying your MT templates. Of course, I if I do use a similar format I will adequately and gracefully supply a link to tinypineapple.com.
What do ya say?
davepeckens
Okay, I sent a comment several days ago. I’m not sure if it was received yet or not. I commented on how great this (re)design is and wondered about sharing the MT templates????
grettir
“Several days ago?” It was only 28 hours between your first comment and your second! I know I’m perpetually behind in answering my email, but give me some credit. ;-)
Your difficulty in finding an email address to which you could send feedback is a pretty good indicator of just what a mess my MT templates are right now. (My email address / copyright notice is only appearing properly on about half of the pages.) I recently upgraded to MT 3.01D and still haven’t finished incorporating all of the new changes into the old templates. That’s this weekend’s project.
I’m a little wary of sharing my MT templates after getting burned a few times in the past with look-alike sites. Besides, as I said before, in their current state they’re not necessarily fit for human consumption.
Is it really my MT templates you’re interested in or the HTML/CSS files? The reason that I ask is that I’m not really doing anything fancy/different with the MT templates. If it’s the look-and-feel you’re after, you’re free to peruse my HTML/CSS files.
Anyway, just let me know and I’ll see what I can do…