I’m soliciting feedback on the new design. For instance, I’m using screen resolution 1024 x 768, and the page looks even and centered, no scrolling required to see the right side.
1) What resolution are you using, and how does the page look to you?
I’m breaking down blogs into categories to shorten the roll. I’m not very creative in naming categories.
2) What do you think of the categories I already have (Left, Right, etc.)? Do you have suggestions for how I should groups of blogs?
Other changes of note: side containers, blogads, Google ads, Recent Posts, Categories and Archives moved to the right, post links bigger, Your Comments removed (Fewer posts will be open for comments) , etc.
3) What’s your opinion on these changes, and what suggestions do you have for improvement, features you’d like to see?
Addendum: Issues I’m working on include pop-up comments window redirects to web page instead of comment window after submitting comment.
Unrelated Addendum: I finally made Instapundit’s blogroll. Don’t ask me how.
{ 40 comments }
La Shawn,
My suggestion is to have your links open in another window, like Jonah Goldbergs posts in the corner or Michelle Malkins blogroll. This is convenient and it leaves your site up, resulting in more hits for you!
Respectfully,
Scott
btw my website is down for the time being
I would also like to suggest a new photo too. Your present one is nice but the background is poor (distracts from the portrait) and the overall contrast of the image is flat. Maybe some photoshop work on it to remove the background would be helpful.
I’m just a poor ole dumb Georgia boy, but here’s my take:
1) I’m using 1024×768. And the site works for me. Looks fine. At 800×600, it’s not too bad; entire post readable, entire right column (mostly ads) scrolled off screen. Do you have access to any stats that indicate reader resolution? Mine show 62% with 1024×768 or higher (13% unknown). W3Schools http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp indicates, of all Internet users everywhere, that 61% have 1024×768 or higher (4% unknown).
2) The categories you have make sense to me. Placement of the ads on the right will probably not generate many complaints from 800×600 readers.
3) The site looks great. In fact, the only change I can suggest is adding one category: No Talent Hacks. If you added that, you’d have a place for me!
Seriously, though, it looks good. Thanks for listening. Uh, reading. You know what I mean.
The site looks good with the three columns, one category suggestion is have the “right” links on the right side of the page and the “left” on the left (and to also include my blog on the blogroll…hehe, shameless promotion but you gotta do what you got to do). I like the overall symmetry of the site though and it does look less busy than the other one. Keep it up!
Like Scott said the ability to open a link in a new window would be great.
Other than that the new format is the bomb.
Pardon the geekspeak, but the target_blank tag for opening new windows is not XHMTL compliant, and I haven’t figured out how to do it so that it does comply. Any technical advice would be appreciated.
Beautiful.
Looks good to me – opening links in a separate window is a good idea, I do that on my (but like basil you could add me in with “no talent hacks”).. Looks good and the comments pop-up worked fine for me.
I’ve got a 19 inch LCD and normally sst to 1900X1440. Aside from the “white” space to the right, it looks good.
As for your last question above, try Googling “XHTML Strict Target blank new”
1) 1024×768. Good.
2) They’re fine.
3) I love them. But like Scott said, you need a new photo!
La Shawn, Looks fine to me. I wonder how difficult it would be to get links to come with a mouse over effect?
Re: opening in new window XHTML
Does this not work:
<a onclick=”window.open(this.href,’_blank’);return false;” href=”http://www.basilsblog.net/”>basil’s blog</a>
La Shawn:
Resolution and colors are OK. Fancier site would be slow to load.
Keep separate pop-up window – it is just more convenient writing in a separate window while still looking at your page [With dual monitors, this separate window is a VERY convenient feature.]
Site point has an article on opening new windows using XHTML:
http://www.sitepoint.com/article/standards-compliant-world
It uses a bit of javascript to get things moving.
LaShawn,
Any blogger interested in setting up their site, should reference a source like this before deciding – http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp
1) Looks fine at 1280 x 1024.
2) I usually don’t notice or care about catagories. “LaShawn Barber” is one catagory to me.
3) I like it. Good luck with the ads, hope you make some moolah.
Of course, I’m an engineer, asking for my aesthetic opinion is like asking your butcher how he likes the way you do your hair.
PS. A great web coding site that we used to use in the web site design industry was http://www.irt.org. You will not be disappointed there.
LaShawn, it looks good, one problem though – I’m using Safari 1.0 on Mac OS X, viewed on a 20″ monitor – your blogrolls seem to be overlapping eachother. For example, the G-P list is overlapping your Christian Resources, News/Research, and Favorite Writers/Pundits lists.
I didn’t see anything obvious in the page source that might be causing this, you might want to take another look at the styles of your SideContainer class?
Clarification/correction on my last comment – I’m using Firefox 1.0 (keep forgetting!). The bloglists suddenly became properly aligned when I closed my Firefox Bookmark Sidebar and reopened it.
However, when the Firefox Bookmark Sidebar is closed, there’s a lot of empty white space on the right hand side of the page, making the content look uncentered. When the Bookmarks Sidebar is displayed, the white space is gone and the page looks much better.
p.s. – love the crown!
1.) Do not like the way some of the text bleeds over onto the background on the right-hand side of the page (at least it does using Fireworks.)
2.) I would make the search box easier to find. I think it would be better located beneath your picture.
The Amazon links on the right hand side aren’t showing up properly.
Otherwise: I can’t really see a difference from your normal site?
Despite these categories, your posts are still going to be available by date, right? Cause I generally go back to the last time I read you and want to read EVERYTHING (or at least skim it)
At 800×600 the right column completely disappears. Not the worst problem, but there it is.
Glenn Reynolds would tell you that he’s a libertarian, and I couldn’t win an argument that he isn’t. That leaves me wondering why Instapundit is listed in the alphabetical categories, rather than with the libertarians/moderates. Other than that, the blog looks great.
Keep up the good work, MyssiAnn
I find the higher resolutions result in a small picture on my large screen. I use the old 680 but I can go as high as I choose.
FWIW, I’m using Firefox 1.0 under Windows XP and have no issues with display. Everything looks good.
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.7.5) Gecko/20041107 Firefox/1.0
Commenters with right pane problems. If right pane is missing, you are probably set to an 800×600 display resolution.
To see the right pane, scroll right using the scroll bar at the bottom of the sreen.
-or- change your display resolution to 1024×768. To do this, right click on a blank area of your desktop screen. Left click ‘properties’ then left click ’settings’tab. Move ’screen area’ bar to the right to increase resolution to 1024×768. Left click OK. Your display will temp go blank and recover showing new resolution. If it looks ok, left click YES or ACCEPT on query window showing to save and use this new resolution.
Repeat above to switch back to 800×600 if you don’t like the smaller size text and icons at any time in the future.
I’m using 1280×1024, and it looks a little lopsided. (I use 1600×1200 on my main computer at home, and haven’t checked it there yet.) Still, it’s completely readable, and looks nice.
I don’t care much one way or the other for the categories — I don’t have a lot of problems with just skimming through the full list. I do (half-jokingly) support the No-Talent Hack category idea, though.
Please, please, PLEASE don’t make links automatically open in a new window. It annoys me to no end when sites do that. (Small popups for comment links are okay. Regular links, no.) For those who want a new window, I’m almost certain that there should be an easy way to force a link into a new window. On the other hand, for those of us who like having a minimal number of windows open under most circumstances, clicking a link becomes a chore when they auto open in a new window: Click link. Close old window. Lose history. Sigh when you realize you can’t get back to where you were half an hour ago by clicking the “back” button. I realize how petty that complaint really is, but it’s one of my pet peeves.
LaShawn -
I like the new design. Everything looks pretty good on my 12″ Powerbook screen. I’m using Safari 1.2.4 and 1024 x 768 and don’t seem to have any trouble with your blogroll etc.
Keep up the good work!
The new design looks great except that you could have a BIG FONT link to my site….;)
I like it. Esp the boxes around different ‘features’ in the left and right columns. Much easier to process.
Dividing up your blogroll into category, and in the case of Right, also into letter groupings, also much easier to read and know what you’re getting into when you click on a link. You have so many now, that I thought I missed one or two, only to find that they were in another box (although I’m pretty sure one or two or missing [can't put my finger on which], and it looks like some are new). I knew I should have screen scraped your old page when you announced changes, for when this question was asked
Looks good to me.
Looks great, La Shawn, except that I still haven’t made YOUR blogroll. Now, that’ll be a happy day!
(Obviously I’m not too proud to plug…)
To add to Jim R’s comment about changing the resolution, 800 x 600 to 1024 x 768 or higher:
If you like the overall improved resolution, but find the text too small, you can click on the “Advanced” button and under the General tab, change the font to display at a larger %. Default setting is “normal at 96dpi”.
Experiment and see what works for you. If other applications look fine as is, i.e. Word, Excel etc, but the browser text is too small to read comfortably, then focus instead on changing the Browser’s view settings. Go to the menu and click on View | Text Size and change to suit.
Did I say the new look looks great?
Thanks, everybody!
I think someone made a comment about text size. I’m using Firefox and I can increase the size of text on the page.
Cindy – I thought you were already on my blogroll. You are now.
Thanks, Andy. You did mention that.
800×600 – and I dislike scrolling left and right. I just can’t get used to 1024 – too small for my aging eyes.
Ms. Barber,
1) I like the new look especially the three-column look with the main center column justified. My present resolution setting is 1024 x 768, Windows XP, IE 6+.
2) I’m not that particular on the use of categories but I do like them more than the one single list of blog links. I like the use of comments but after reading some of Michelle Malkins “trash” I can certainly understand the need to eliminate them or at least limit them to only a few posts. I like the aesthetic changes and the position of your side containers is immaterial. My main interest is in your writing and communication of thoughts and overall information. Isn’t that the real importance of any of us having and maintaining a blog?
3) Suggestions and changes would have to come from someone other than a non-computer geek like myself. The little codex I know comes strictly from trial and error and the dependence on many friends. At the present time I can not think of any new features other than I enjoy pictures along with some posts to add variety.
Please keep up the excellent work and I’m sure there are many individuals well qualified out in the Blogosphere to help with the many technical details. As for now, your site looks especially good and easy to read. Thank you…
Thanks, La Shawn! [grinning happily]
Cindy, If you click on the left side of the scroll bar, instead of the left scroll bar button,
the screen will scroll in one big leap, exposing the full right pane with one click.
If you still don’t like even a one-click scroll, then read Andy’s comment about increasing text sizes in the 1024×768 setting for either the whole screen or just in the Cindy, If you click on the left side of the scroll bar, instead of the left scroll bar button,
the screen will scroll in one big leap, exposing the full right pane with one click.
If you still don’t like even a one-click scroll, then read Andy’s comment about increasing text sizes in the 1024×768 setting for either the whole screen or just in the Cindy, If you click on the left side of the scroll bar, instead of the left scroll bar button,
the screen will scroll in one big leap, exposing the full right pane with one click.
If you still don’t like even a one-click scroll, then read Andy’s comment about increasing text sizes in the 1024×768 setting for either the whole screen or just in the browser window.
Given the available space on the right, would you consider expanding the Recent Posts to 10 or even 15? I wonder if WordPress can also indicate the # of comments (perhaps even use “-” or blank for posts with no comments allowed)? That should enhace usability in determining whether new comments were added since the last vist.
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