New Site Layout & Design: Feedback Please
I use WordPress to maintain this site. After upgrading to version 1.5 I was left with a theme which doesn't do much of what I want to do with my site. The potential is there however there are several pieces which are missing from the picture. So I redesigned the site from scratch with custom theme, several custom plugins and hard work.
It is still in progress. Most of the changes are live. Please report to me ( angsuman[at]taragana[dot]com ) if you see something is broken.
The site now handles each category as independent blogs. So for example javablogs.com will only get pings from Java category and so on.
Looking forward for your feedback and suggestions on how to make it better.
Here is how the old site looked like to give you a frame of reference.
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April 1st, 2005 at 6:04 am
What should we compare it to? Do you a screenshot of the old one?
April 1st, 2005 at 6:23 am
@Jose Sandoval
I have updated the post to include a screenshot of the old site.
April 1st, 2005 at 7:21 am
So I thought that the old design was good. It was fun, simple, but organized. This new design seems very simple indeed, but no logical separation of content, which makes harder to focus on what you’re reading. There is also much less color (without the nice header graphic).
Also, maybe the redesign would make more sense if we knew what you had in mind for it. I mean, this design could afford your new ideas much better, and therefore would make perfect sense to keep it the way it is.
April 1st, 2005 at 10:20 am
I love wordpress, but i’m not a big Kubrick fan (the default theme, for those that aren’t wordpress geeks). So I’m all for anything that kicks the big blue bar to the curb.
If your new theme needs anything, it might be just a tad more white space. I love that you’re using a 100% width theme. But I do think one of their drawbacks is that they can make things seem crowded. I’m dealing with similar issues at http://doing.squeg.com where I’m also trying to do away with kubrik.
At the very least, kubrick was very easy to read with all the white space and large fonts. I just like something different.
April 2nd, 2005 at 4:49 am
Oh these are all templates… Does anyone write their own HTML/CSS anymore?
April 2nd, 2005 at 9:37 pm
@Squeg Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate your help.
Yes, I am starting to see Kubrick everywhere
@Kevin Why not? If you are trying to make your own site ( and not outsourcing ) then someone has to write it. You can always use other’s theme but then it is not your original work
But seriously I found that creating my own theme was the best way forward when I wanted the site to meet my design criteria and not that of anyone else.
April 5th, 2005 at 6:53 am
Kevin,
For the record, we’re talking about creating “templates” from scratch. The HTML/CSS IS original, in this case. But it’s being designed to make use of a templating system for pulling various bits of data out of a database in a uniform manner. Once finished, such templates can then be shared or not as the auther sees fit.
Even canned themes that people borrow from others, are often heavilly modified.
That being said, using other people’s templates isn’t all bad. It gives the site author the opportunity to focus on “writing” rather than “coding.” And for most people, it’s really the writing that’s important.
April 5th, 2005 at 7:01 am
angsuman, one more comment on your template:
When viewing a “category” page, the Simple Thoughts logo links to the category and not to the main blog homepage. This means that it’s possible for folks to get kind of stuck, depending on how they arrive at your site. You might want to consider a “home” link or some such in your navigation bar so that users always have a way out of the category specific blog section, if they want it.
April 6th, 2005 at 2:39 pm
@Squeg Thanks. I realized that it is rather restrictive to force user to the category only. I am thinking of changing the logo and associated link to accomodate this.
April 25th, 2005 at 5:52 pm
@Squeg
> When viewing a “category” page, the Simple Thoughts logo links to the category and not to the main blog homepage.
I have taken care of it. Thanks again.
Let me know what you think.
September 9th, 2007 at 1:56 am
Sure its looks New Layout Looks Great! we can add
little small graphics or logo design for the blog title - and colors we can still use light blue to light gray shade -
use professional corporate font of for the title.
September 9th, 2007 at 1:58 am
Need to Use Logo Design and Light colors for header,Looks great new style though.