I am upgrading various components of this site. Things may break over the next hour or two. You may see some funky layouts as I experiment with themes. Be patient. Things will return to normal. (In theory.)
Edit: Er, just to clarify, this is mainly a behind-the-scenes upgrade. Any cosmetic changes you see here tonight will be only temporary. I’m not planning any permanent changes. Yet. I do want to redesign the site, but I’ve been wanting to do that ever since it launched. I just haven’t found time for it. I’ve finally decided that it’s worth my while to pay for a new template.
I guess since I’ve opened this can of worms, I’ll throw it out there: What would you, as readers, like to see at the site? I know that the archives need work, and that’s on my list of improvements. As an example of where I’d like to take the site, I’m a huge fan of Chris Pearson‘s work. (He did Copyblogger, for example.) I like the 3-column minimalist thing that 43 Folders has going on (though I’m not a fan of the busy sidebars and the text layout). Finally, I like the way Problogger has some useful navigation at the top of the page. I’m looking to combine these three elements into a nice, clean design.
The closest I’ve come to an actual re-design is this test layout I created last fall. It’s a step in the right direction.
I just don’t have time to do this myself.
This article is about Administration
Good luck!
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Ooh, can’t wait to see what you come up with, J.D.
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I’d like to see your links to other sites — I thought you had them and now don’t see any. ??
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The links page is down for remodeling. I was just working on it this afternoon, in fact. It’ll return soon.
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A 3-column theme might look good. If you stick with the current contents of your sidebar and just redistribute it over two sidebars of a 3-column design it won’t have the *busy* look. Plus, for your shorter entries (like the “Links for …” posts), one won’t have to scroll for too long to see what’s in your sidebar. Just my $0.02.
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Personally I think the three-column thing has been overdone now, and sites with just two columns actually stand out favorably because they don’t look like every other blog out there. Plus I think when the focus is on real, information-rich articles rather than short puff pieces, having just two columns lets you devote the bulk of your layout space to content.
I like having the most recent entry right up top, just below the banner, with nothing in between. I don’t like those big boxes at the top of your old test layout…they force attention away from your current content. I think you could consolidate some of the links in the right column, perhaps moving them to a different page…certainly the popular entries and featured entries could be moved off to a separate page, and maybe even the categories and archives could be moved off as well to a separate page devoted to search, archives, and a topic-related index.
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Change? We fear change…
Personally, I kinda like things just the way they are. It’s very clean, green, and easy on the eyes.
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I rather like your current theme. While some might think the pale green resembles the walls in a hospital, I find it much more gentle to read than some of the high-contrast sites out there. Looking forward to seeing what you choose to do!
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