Thursday, March 01, 2007

Site Redesign

A three column format seemed inappropriate when most folks simply are there to click through to the latest updates. All the menu options (and a bunch more) are still there. If you notice any "buggy" behavior with the new software let me know. I'll highlight individual features in new blog posts.

11 comments:

  1. Anonymous6:20 PM

    Great work, John! I have a couple of suggestions for readability:

    First, the text is awfully small. If you went up a couple point sizes it would be much easier to read - especially the headlines of each post.

    Second, I like to be able to click directly to a blog's home page rather than the individual post from the feed listing, especially if I notice someone has a number of things up I haven't read. Could you consider adding that link back in addition to the uupdates summary page of the site? Saves a click and a page load.

    Love the new customizable features - this is such a great service. Thanks so much.

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  2. Anonymous6:55 PM

    Very nice!!! I really like the clean look.

    Jess, have you tried increasing the font size yourself using CTRL + ? That's what I do as I look at different pages. Some people like small, some big--it's hard to get the perfect font.

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  3. Giving credit where credit is due (or blame) I made minor changes of color/logo to the OSWD (open Source Web Design) Template "Editorial" It's the same one I used for the UU Blog Awards. I gave up trying to make my own. I love Open Source.

    There is an alternate style sheet called "larger fonts" which seems a tad excessive. I haven't tried playing too much with tweeking the various different sizes. I could try swapping those around, especially since not everyone knows about [ctrl]+ I was hoping by using a designers I would get the benefit of their wisdom in regards to size choice. Is there a recommended size (industry standard) for font size?

    Site/info is easy enough to add back. - Done!

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  4. Anonymous9:51 PM

    I can increase the font size that way (though with cmd= on a Mac), but then I'm in for a shock when I navigate someplace else.

    In web design, I've found that it's far more effective to use larger font sizes from the get-go, and let people make them smaller if they wish. A site I have to adjust every time I visit is one I don't visit very often.

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  5. Anonymous9:55 PM

    14 pt is typical on most web pages - including this Blogger comment page

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  6. Anonymous10:10 PM

    god, three in a row, sorry - should learn to have a whole thought before hitting "publish. . ."

    Anyway, I took a look at the style sheet for your template, and it's not difficult to compare the default with the larger fonts file, then split the difference on the sizes. The larger fonts file cascades from the default, so it only contains styles for font sizes and darkening the grays in the original, and it's easy to pick out the right lines.

    Sorry to harp, just trying to be helpful. ;-)

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  7. Jess - seriously I appreciate the feedback and will likely bump it up. This is the kind of constructive criticism I hope for when I put up a site. I will probably bump up the main and make the title h1 smaller, 3x the larger font is what struck me as excessively large.

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  8. I am glad folks like the new look, I myself am much happier with it. I did adjust the size. I set no default, only a percentage. So if people actually do change the browsers default font the css will respect their choice.

    The original is added as another theme to the site, so if you liked it better, it's a customizable option.

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  9. Anonymous11:24 AM

    My eyeballs thank you!

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  10. Love the My UUpdates features. I'm enjoying my color scheme (muted) and I've been experimenting with the My Sites area. Just in time too. I was starting to feel that my UUpdates feed was being overwhelmed by posts that I didn't need to see. Thanks!!

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