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General Talk: Your Two Cents Worth Is Sought on a New Theme

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  1.  
    • CommentAuthor4evrblu
    • CommentTimeJan 6th 2007 edited by 4evrblu on the 06th January 2007 at 17:46:32 EST
     
    I was poking around some WP theme sites and stumbled across a 2-column site that seemed rather nice. I was not sure it would work, and for several reasons. One,. I have a lot of content on my site and a 3-column theme seemed to work best. Two, this newew theme did not have support for child/sub pages.

    The first issue was interesting because I have heard several folks express a feling that my site is cluttered. So, I thought this would be a good opportunity to streamline a bit, and see how it felt.

    The second issue was a bit harder, because I am still learning PHP, but I wanted to try my hand at soom coding and felt this was as good a chance as any.

    I addressed both issues, rebuilding the theme function.php file basically. I paired down some on the content. I did all of this on a mirror site. Once I got it working, I ported it over to

    http://totalphysiqueonline.com/

    I still have the earlier style, but for now use this pre-custom version to compare the two:

    http://cfcure.com/wordpress/

    Coupled with all of the upgrades for THREE blogs, and I did a boatload of work the last 24 hours.

    Now, I like the new site. It is not perfect and looks great in 1400x900 and lower. I am not able to view it in 1600x1900, and I am told by Chris that it would look terribly small at that resolution.

    Still, wanna know which site you guys prefer of the two (for those of you who remember my 3 column site, that is).

    Thanks
    • CommentAuthor4evrblu
    • CommentTimeJan 6th 2007 edited by 4evrblu on the 06th January 2007 at 17:08:49 EST
     
    OH yeah, and I plan on a new logo....but that had to take a back seat to other issues. And I also thought about font size. How is it on your eyes?
    •  
      CommentAuthorJosh
    • CommentTimeJan 6th 2007 edited by Josh on the 06th January 2007 at 18:04:04 EST
     
    I like the totalphysiqueonline.com one better. I've never been a huge fan of three column layouts.

    It does need a new header image though :)

    As for font sizes, it could stand an increase. It's very small on my 1440x900 monitor.

    One last suggestion would be to shorten the right sidebar.. it's too long compared to the content of the page. It just looks weird.
    • CommentAuthor4evrblu
    • CommentTimeJan 6th 2007
     
    Josh you are right. I could maybe use a conditional to shorten it. That is the trouble with two columns though. On the other hand, LOL, I COULD add something to the text....wink and actually, that was what I was going to do, so I am glad you said something. Just the confirmation I needed.

    As for the header image, it will have to wait until I can come up with something JUST right. In the meantime, man aint that bridge somethin!
    •  
      CommentAuthorcoollew
    • CommentTimeJan 6th 2007
     
    I think your going in the right direction with the new one and I love the bridge I would think about keeping it myself but that's just me.
    and you are going to add more content as you go along it will balance
    its self quite nicely the way i see it if the content overtakes the right coloum (cool) content is king.
  6.  
    when i said 1600 / 1900 in my email, i meant 1600x1200 res, and 1900x1440 res :P but both of those are still on the large side for the average user, although i can't help but wonder if you could/should have gone slightly bigger, with a fixed 980px site designed with 1024x768 and above in mind.

    But out of interest, what % of 800x600 users do you have? As it totally depends on who your site attracts and what screen res etc they use.

    Even if you design for 1024x768 you can do a 2 column and keep the main content within the 800x600 barrier, then have a sidebar for less important content, as an example (that is no where near finished and i haven't even thought about main navigation lol), but just trying to throw out some ideas :)
    • CommentAuthor4evrblu
    • CommentTimeJan 7th 2007
     
    Thanks for the input. Keep it coming.

    Cool, the funny thing is I like that Bridge Photo as well. Can't get enough of it. And yes, the content will eventually balance the front page.

    Chris, great suggestions. I have a sitemeter on my page that tells me what res. people are using and in the last 2-4 weeks I have had nearly 700 unique visitors. Believe it or not, I have yet to see more that 5 people with 800x600! Amazing. Most folks are 1024 x "something" .

    For example, I took a look at 20 visitors res settings - a random sample...I just grabbed the details of the last 20 people that visited. Only one had 800x600. The rest were some version of 1024 or above. One guy was 1152 x 720. And one was 2560 x 1024!!!!! Zoiks!

    My site looks fine at 1024 x 768, 1152 x 720 and of course it looks great at 1400 x 900. Now, that is on a 17 inch, widescreen laptop. So, without having nearly as much knowledge as you on the subject (I am serious here), my first inclination is not to change much (I did increase font site a smidgeon). But again, I really lack your expertise, to take that with a grain of salt.

    Also, is there a ulility online that will help me see what my site looks like in diff res settings?
    •  
      CommentAuthorChristopher
    • CommentTimeJan 7th 2007 edited by Christopher on the 07th January 2007 at 05:44:35 EST
     
    right, looking at your site in 1024px wide resolutions shows you can go slightly larger if wanted. in 1600px wide resolutions it just looks empty. also if you scroll down in any resolution all you have is sidebar content, and no main content, it doesn't look great on a front page really...

    also, i'm not trying to push you away from that theme, but your site has a lot of side content, so maybe go for the 3 column approach, but a style such as this theme, or this one, both are similar, both use a doublt sidebar which may suit your style of content better.

    /* edit: Just noticed you said this - "And yes, the content will eventually balance the front page." - so maybe it will look better when you have more content :) */
    • CommentAuthor4evrblu
    • CommentTimeJan 7th 2007 edited by 4evrblu on the 07th January 2007 at 07:04:04 EST
     
    Chris, you have a great eye for design. No doubt about. Well, everyone here at OP seems to have that gift. It is one of the reasons I love this community.

    As I said, I plan on adding some content to the front page; perhaps something like my photos. Perhaps live feeds. When I do, it should look better, or at least more balanced.

    I know three columns is good for me, and I can always go back to the other one in a snap. But lets play with this one a bit more before we drop it for a new one. :)
    •  
      CommentAuthorNeuen
    • CommentTimeJan 7th 2007
     
    On your homepage I would suggest that you shorten your side bar by applying a new file for it. Because with the static home page the way it is with the navigation you don't really need all of the sidebar stuff. Also if you want to you could consider putting something on your main content like Recent Blog Entries and have a short little summary.
    • CommentAuthor4evrblu
    • CommentTimeJan 7th 2007 edited by 4evrblu on the 07th January 2007 at 08:47:06 EST
     
    Hi Ethan. Thanks.

    If you look closely you will see that the Recent Entries is in the sidebar. Are you suggesting moving it from the sidebar to the content section for the front page only? Is that what you mean?
    •  
      CommentAuthorNeuen
    • CommentTimeJan 7th 2007
     
    What I am suggesting is that you remove the recent posts from the side bar and put them in the main content area of your home page under the:

    Welcome to Total Physique Online.
    All of the primary sections of this web site, may be accessed via the page buttons along the top of the page, just beneath the logo image.
    Here are are a few Hot Links for your convenience.

    * TPO FITNESS BLOG: enter the primary fitness Blog for Total Physique Online
    * SHOPPING: Visit our Affiliate pages for all your fitness needs ranging from nutrition, to strength tools, publications and more (under development)
    * DAILY PRODUCTS: browse our Daily Products and Paid Advertisers at the Spotlight (under development)
    * URGENT: help Pit Bull attack victim pay her medical bills!
    * BROWSERS AND SUCH: suggested browsers for your best viewing experience
    * COMMENTS/CREDITS: TPO Comment Policy/Credits

    Some of you may not recognize the site, and that is because:

    * a) this is your first time here. You have no idea what the site use to look like, so what’s the big deal?
    * b) you have been here before and your mind is playing tricks on you.
    ...................................... continued

    TaC: AKA Webmaster - TPO


    So that way it makes your sidebar smaller and gives you a better area for this; If you need the code I will be glad to give it to you.
    • CommentAuthorJ.D.Couper
    • CommentTimeJan 7th 2007 edited by J.D.Couper on the 07th January 2007 at 10:36:47 EST
     
    @Christopher: I just clicked on your example. Can you please finish this site as is and email me a zip-file? whorship

    I LOVE IT AND IT IS ALMOST EXACTLY WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR! Thanks!

    Duncan
    • CommentAuthor4evrblu
    • CommentTimeJan 7th 2007
     
    Posted By: EthanNeuenWhat I am suggesting is that you remove the recent posts from the side bar and put them in the main content area of your home page under the:

    Welcome to Total Physique Online.
    All of the primary sections of this web site, may be accessed via the page buttons along the top of the page, just beneath the logo image.
    Here are are a few Hot Links for your convenience.

    * TPO FITNESS BLOG: enter the primary fitness Blog for Total Physique Online
    * SHOPPING: Visit our Affiliate pages for all your fitness needs ranging from nutrition, to strength tools, publications and more (under development)
    * DAILY PRODUCTS: browse our Daily Products and Paid Advertisers at the Spotlight (under development)
    * URGENT: help Pit Bull attack victim pay her medical bills!
    * BROWSERS AND SUCH: suggested browsers for your best viewing experience
    * COMMENTS/CREDITS: TPO Comment Policy/Credits

    Some of you may not recognize the site, and that is because:

    * a) this is your first time here. You have no idea what the site use to look like, so what’s the big deal?
    * b) you have been here before and your mind is playing tricks on you.
    ...................................... continued

    TaC: AKA Webmaster - TPO


    So that way it makes your sidebar smaller and gives you a better area for this; If you need the code I will be glad to give it to you.


    Actually, I know how to add the recent posts to the homepage content area. :)

    What I would like to do is use a conditional in the sidebar that prevents certain sidebar items from appearing when only the homepage is being viewed. Otherwise, I want the items to appear.
  15.  
    Posted By: J.D.Couper@Christopher: I just clicked on your example. Can you please finish this site as is and email me a zip-file?" start="fileopen" height="30" alt="whorship" isMap="false" hspace="0" loop="1" src="http://www.opendesigns.org/forum/extensions/Vanillacons/smilies/love/whorship.gif" width="30" vspace="0">

    I LOVE IT AND IT IS ALMOST EXACTLY WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR! Thanks!

    Duncan


    It's the (slow) redesign for my site, been at it for over a month and never really got it finished. So if and when I do finish it, I doubt I will be releasing the wordpress theme as it would be used on my site. I know that probably sounds mean but well, its how I feel, sorry!
  16.  
    That's o.k. Christopher, no hard feelings. bigsmile

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