This is going to be a pretty large one people as I’ve spent the past 4 days trying to get this to all work nicely together. As you’ll notice Broken Kode has now got a new front page, as I mentioned a little while back. This is about why, how and what I’ve learnt in the process.
All of Broken Kode’s previous derivatives have always been a one column job. Always. The reasoning behind this is pretty simple really, when the site started I only wanted a simple way to update the news section of the site. Using Blogger this was as easy as pie. Needless to say that just quickly spiralled into the wonderful world of CSS and Weblogs as I began to use the feature for a whole lot more.
Now believe it or not Manji is actually the second FULL CSS site design I ever attempt. All previous attempts had css sure but none of them except what I call version 1.0 had css structure in place. The more I got into it the more I realised the full potential of the language.
I downloaded the excellent plugin BAStats which is running on this site right now. The significance of the plugin is two fold. First of all it lets me see what is being read and by how many, but it also tells me what people are searching for, both on google and locally, and that is the main driver behind the two column index page. I get over 1000 local searches a day retaining to shuttle and manji. Erm guys it’s right up there at the top.
Which is why I decided to make them a little more prominent. The second reason was due to the number of completely different people coming to the site, seems Broken Kode is coming up higher in specific searches for the topics I cover. So I take these things a bit seriously and rather than have people come to the site for some seriously unrelated rubbish, I’d like for them to come and get some semblance of information, opinion or whatever. If they want to know what the deal is about this site at a glance I’ve included a tiny description with a bit of my character right there on the index page.
I’ve tried to keep additional items on the side to a minimum, but what you’ll notice is the fact that I don’t have complete posts on the front page anymore. Reason behind that is again very simple, as the focus of this site changes slightly so too should the design. I’m not in the habit of finding great links on the internet before everyone and telling them about it. I write about things. I write long posts, like articles. They might not be the greatest things in the world, but one has to try and try again before they can get better. The way I write now is ultimately much more different to the way I used to write a year ago, and hopefully in a year’s time it will be better than now.
Logo Design. I’m sure I’ll keep tweaking it till I’ve got it exactly the way I want it. It’s a start and been in my head for a while now. Something simple and yet gives this site an identity.
This design also showcases the Iliosnare logo for the first time. Basically this is to get me to actually start doing something with regards to my showcase site. My online portfolio. That will be a reminder for me that I’ve not done that yet. Iliosnare will be 85% Flash with a bit of WordPress and CSS stuck in there for good measure. As much as I love CSS and XHTML, I love Flash and all it’s infinite possibilities. I’m not constrained to much with Flash, and it’s a joy to use.
In trying to solve a few design issues I had to delve deeper and deeper into the world of web design and CSS. There really is an immense amount of information out there, and as it seems there are some key players that set the standard for all of us out there. Some worthwhile resources include the following sites:
Designers Toolbox - Absolutely one of the best resources on the net. I’m going to be downloading EVERYTHING that they offer whether I use it or not, because it’s such a fantastic resources of information. Somethings I’m going to be trying out simply because now I know how.
Oh yeah and I HATE INTERNET FUCKING EXPLORER. Please! Please! Please! stop using that pile of shit browser. It’s really pretty bad. It kills my site (and many others) for no reason other than it feels like it. I’ve spent like 3 days trying to sort out bugs that come up in IE. There are alternatives people, much better alternatives. I’ve even written about them. Go, have a look. Just wanted to thank Joshua who came to my rescue again, as I was slowly going insane trying to sort out these bloody IE bugs. Thanks buddy I owe you big time.
I had a pretty quiet moment of clarity yesterday as I finally understood something that had been bugging up my design for 2 days, and it was then that I understood something Joshua said to me. We were talking about Shuttle, and he asked me how I was going to handle compromise. I replied that there shouldn’t be any problem at all, it’s an honour working with everyone on the team. It only occurred to me how quickly Joshua sussed me out though e-mail and MSN conversations. That I’m a stubborn bastard when it comes to my work. He realised this by the way I was adamant about how I wanted to skin Manji2. The good news is that I’ve seen the light and will be sorting that code out in a big way in the coming weeks. The beta phase is over. I like to do this before I release a theme because I get to see what works and what doesn’t. See people’s reactions etc.
Manji2 will get a bit of a rebranding as well, in terms of colour to distinguish it slightly.