March 7th, 2005

Again With The Changing

It seems foolish to talk about a site re-design since

a) You’re looking at it
b) If you weren’t here before the change, you won’t care

I still wanted to mention it, though, because the site finally looks like I’ve been wanting it to look for over a year now. The last change gave me the colors I wanted, this change gives me the layout. There are likely to be a few small changes yet, but this is basically it.

List of changes, for the curious:

  1. Color scheme now reflects my current favorite color pair: green and grey.
  2. Three-column layout lets me split things up better: left column for internal stuff, middle column for entries, right column for external links (mostly – the hot chocolate counter and webcam are there because they fit better there).
  3. Webcam picture can be clicked for a larger version.
  4. Email link is now separated from the other links. It’s been bad and needs to be taught a lesson.
  5. Text size is now smaller. I always hated that gargantuan type.
  6. Text in middle column is justified which, strangely, gives it a more professional look.
  7. Addition of a “Favorite Posts” section in the left column. These should not be construed as my most popular posts – they are simply my favorite posts of mine.
  8. 23% fewer calories per post.

Things yet to come:

  1. A MadMup store. Really. Mostly for fun, and because I want to buy a MadMup.com T-shirt myself.
  2. A PayPal link. Because every blog needs to have an easy way for people to donate money, right?
  3. A webcam archive page, mostly so you can see that the hairstyle never changes.

So there you go. Many thanks again go to Brian A. for all of his work on this. I presented my ideas for the design, he would design it and show it to me, and I would say, “That’s good! I like that! Can we change this one thing?” He’d change it and we’d repeat the process. I think maybe he might have slapped me around if we’d been working on it in the same room instead of in Indiana and New Mexico. But he was patient and I love the design.

Now if only I would have more worthwhile content…

8 Comments on “Again With The Changing”

  1. Brian Arnold says:

    It was a fun exercise. I don't think I'd have slapped you around though. It's more fun to tease someone so that they suffer mental anguish, than it is to cause physical pain. :D

  2. Danna says:

    Love the new layout, love the current webcam pic — it's very sweet, & love the content, so hush.

    Whatcha gonna do when the hot chocolates are zero?

  3. Peter says:

    Just wondering- could you make the middle column bigger? I read it on a 1024/768, and there's a big green gap on either side of the screen. And I prefer wider columns to thinner ones.

    Just an idle request. Feel free to ignore it.

    I'm sick, so if I sound rude, put it down to that.

  4. HP says:

    I set up a Frog in a Sock store, bought a shirt and was then too shy to wear it. I think I would be more comfortable in a Madmup shirt.

  5. MadMup says:

    Brian – take solace in this: I have *constant* mental anguish.

    Danna – thanks! And you'll know very soon what I'm going to do when the HC Counter gets to zero :)

    Peter – You don't sound rude at all. If that's what you were trying for, you'll have to try harder! I will consider your thoughts on the middle column. A hefty majority of my readers are using 1024×768 or higher resolution, so it might not be a bad idea. I *really* like how it looks, though, so I don't know.

    hp – EVERYone would be more comfortable in a MadMup shirt!

  6. Meags says:

    I like the changes! Wee!

  7. Mike says:

    1600×1200 for life!

    Well unless I get a ginormous monitor, then I might opt for higher!

  8. TheBon says:

    I like the skinny column. I hate, hate, hate floating layouts for websites [ones that adjust to your screen resolution] because I want to control how people see my website designs. Things can get really wonky or ugly. I've seen some real doozies! I like the new look in general!

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