And here’s the new look…

By dave • May 18th, 2008 • Category: Banner

Well folks, we seem to change themes and layouts around here pretty regularly, but it had been a long while without changes…that is…until I updated the Wordpress software last week.

For the most part, it went off without a hitch.  However, the new version just did not like the previous theme we were using.  It would not allow you to view the comments that were on a post, instead giving a code error.

Rather than try to dig out the error, I decided to just switch themes, in order to keep the site up and running without problems.  It was meant to only be a temporary switch, and so it has turned out to be so.

A couple of you weighed in that you did not like the temporary theme (I didn’t care much for it either), so here is a brand spanking new layout and theme.  I just finished customizing it tonight.

This theme brings back the content/category blocks on the home page, which seemed to be pretty popular.  It also retains the blurbs of recent comments over on the right, which was also a favorite amongst most viewers.

Cruise around in here…I think this one is just as good as the pre-upgrade theme, far better than the post-upgrade/emergency theme, and at least from my perspective, it will be MUCH easier to customize.

I saw a few other site suggestions mentioned…adding more categories…granting all new members Author privileges…

I would love to hear any other comments and suggestions, as well as follow-ups to the 2 listed above.  What are some new categories you’d like to see added?

We’ll just keep fine-tuning this formula until we get it right. :)

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14 Responses to “And here’s the new look…”

  1. nighthawk Says:
    May 18th, 2008 at 7:07 pm

    Dave this is all looking good now, but I can’t seem to find the login link.
    Luckily I remembered the url.
    I like the new avitars :)

  2. nighthawk Says:
    May 18th, 2008 at 7:34 pm

    Delete the silly test comments please… I need to go do some reading and try again.

  3. nighthawk Says:
    May 18th, 2008 at 8:32 pm

    Here is the link: CLICK HERE TO LOGIN. Still cant find it on the front page even though I’ve been told it’s there.

    After doing some reading, and looking thrue code, I have discovered that we simply don’t have any smilies yet…
    Not such a big deal as we can always use ::smile::, ::grin::, ::biggrin::, etc… to substitute, right?
    The old shorthand isn’t working, but what if I try this : = ) , or this :=) ? are they showing?

  4. dave Says:
    May 18th, 2008 at 9:28 pm

    nighthawk…i’ll get rid of the test comments.

    i had forgotten to add the login link back to the sidebar. it is back over there now. :)

    i’ll take a look at the smilies and see what i can figure out.

    if anyone would like to create a custom avatar for their posts (called a gravatar), you can head on over here and set one up with your email account. then, when you post here, and give that email address, it will show the gravatar you have created. neat, huh??

  5. dave Says:
    May 18th, 2008 at 9:29 pm

    oops…forgot to post that link to the gravatars…

    Gravatar set up

  6. dave Says:
    May 18th, 2008 at 9:34 pm

    also…smilies were turned off…we should be back in bidness now. :) :) :)

  7. nighthawk Says:
    May 18th, 2008 at 10:04 pm

    I hope you didn’t think that I was criticizing your work Dave.
    You have done an excellent job here.
    Just trying to lend a hand as always.

  8. dave Says:
    May 18th, 2008 at 10:41 pm

    oh no, definitely not.

    i appreciate the input absolutely! it is hard to check out all of the things that might be messed up after a big switch like this, so it really does help when folks like you post the issues that they run into.

    it truly is appreciated, and i hope everyone will let me know if they run into strange behaviors.

  9. nighthawk Says:
    May 20th, 2008 at 2:11 pm

    No longer have ability to add images to comments.
    I even tried editing it in, doesn’t work.

  10. dave Says:
    May 24th, 2008 at 10:08 am

    ok folks…i’ve seen a few more comments about the look and issues you are having with it. if you could, try to keep the suggestions and thoughts on that topic tied to this post, so that i can check it for updates.

    i don’t always make it over here every day, and your suggestions may get buried before i get a chance to see them.

    here’s a few items for the list

    -font size, it has now been bumped up a bit, so it should be easier to read

    -Back to top - i’ll see if i can get that worked in soon…shouldn’t be a problem

    -images in comments - also on the list to be added very soon

    Kat…you mentioned problems finding where to post…i’m not sure if you were talking about when you are writing a post, such as the scanner scoop, or if you meant a comment. if you are talking about the “back end” part of the site, where you enter a post, there’s really nothing i can change there. that is the newest version of Wordpress, which is the software we use here, and we are at the mercy of the people who develop that.

    personally, i LOVE the new software. it has made it easier to enter images, videos, update plugins, and a bunch of other stuff. it will just take a bit of getting used to.

    as for this layout being “boring”, i’m not really sure that is is all THAT much different from the LAST layout, really.

    the front page has the blocks of content, broken up by type. we have the list of commments…easy page navigation…logo back up top…i’m not sure what else we are missing.

    the main thing i remember being different is that the links on the last site were red, but other than that, not sure what else about the OLD look was better than the NEW look.

    i’ll keep plugging away at the technical issues, but as for aesthetics, i just hope everybody can find something they DO like about the new look, because it is finally starting to come around to a layout that i feel like works best for an online “magazine” type site.

    there may be a few more tweaks here and there…i’ve just installed a new theme over at the Morgan Minute that i LOVE, so some version of that (which is just a slightly modified version of THIS theme) may make its way over here before too long. if you want to check it out, it is at MorganMinute.com.

    ok…back to work. :)

  11. Kat Says:
    May 24th, 2008 at 11:35 am

    Hey Dave. The thing on this new layout that bugs me is that I can’t just go in and ADD onto my ‘Scanner Scoop’, by clicking on the most recent one and then clicking ‘EDIT’. I have to go into SITE ADMIN, then SCANNER SCOOP and then find the last post and click on MANAGE and then EDIT all to just add something on. Ok, I will add one thing that I do like about this site since you ask us to try to find something we liked about it. I’m glad it’s still here! AND I do like the new font where we type in comments, etc. Much easier to read. Thanks.

  12. dave Says:
    May 24th, 2008 at 1:55 pm

    Hi Kat…
    Thanks for pointing that out. I had not noticed that the EDIT link was missing on the posts.

    I’ve just updated it, and it should be visible now. :)

    so…we can scratch that one off the list. yay!

  13. dave Says:
    May 24th, 2008 at 1:57 pm

    and now…apparently…i’ve killed the gravatars. lol…add that to the list.

    **UPDATE- apparently i did NOT kill them…strange**

  14. dave Says:
    May 24th, 2008 at 2:50 pm

    Ok…there is still a bit of strange behavior going on, but it is starting to settle down just a bit.

    i’ve added a “Back to Top” link, just above the comment box here…right beside where it says “Leave a Reply”

    also…as you can see now, tags are being allowed in the comment boxes…nighthawk…try again with the images and see if it works.

    ok…that is all for now.

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