It was time.
I’ve updated the design at Instigator Blog with something that I hope works well for everyone.
If you’re reading this via the RSS feed, please come take a look!
So why did I do it?
- I wanted something a bit more sophisticated looking.
- I wanted to flex my design and WordPress editing muscles.
- I never really liked the fonts of the old design.
- I wanted to experiment with a 3-column layout.
- I wanted to shrink the height of the header and get more content above the fold.
I think this design does a much better job of showing people what Instigator Blog is all about. My biggest worry with making the move was alienating anyone in my community, and newcomers as well. It was crucial that the design be inviting and open. I think it’s both, but with more flair.
I’ve still got a bit of fine tuning to do in a few places, but I’m ecstatic with how it turned out.
But now it’s your turn — What do YOU think?
Take a poke around, look at some posts, pages, search, etc. and let me know your thoughts!
Andy – did you test mine in IE7 and it’s broken?
I just tried IE6 and it looks like it worked properly – auto-discovering the FeedBurner feed.
I appreciate the help!
Andy – did you test mine in IE7 and it's broken?
I just tried IE6 and it looks like it worked properly – auto-discovering the FeedBurner feed.
I appreciate the help!
The subscribe icon and tag looks good in both Firefox 2 and IE7. Both also found your feed with no problem.
The subscribe icon and tag are on both your home page and single post pages, just not your archive pages.
The subscribe icon and tag looks good in both Firefox 2 and IE7. Both also found your feed with no problem.
The subscribe icon and tag are on both your home page and single post pages, just not your archive pages.
I was just pointing out the problem I alway hit on my site. Rick has tested it so I don’t have to (I hate even loading up IE7)
I was just pointing out the problem I alway hit on my site. Rick has tested it so I don't have to (I hate even loading up IE7)
Rick — I haven’t put the subscribe code on the Archive pages yet (but I will soon.)
I’ve also left the SUBSCRIBE stuff in the far right sidebar – but after mucking with sizes and having sidebars disappear on me in IE, I’m leaving the width as is…
And thanks for testing Rick!
Andy — if you want me to send you the code I’ve used just shoot me an email. Maybe it’ll help you in IE7…
Rick — I haven't put the subscribe code on the Archive pages yet (but I will soon.)
I've also left the SUBSCRIBE stuff in the far right sidebar – but after mucking with sizes and having sidebars disappear on me in IE, I'm leaving the width as is…
And thanks for testing Rick!
Andy — if you want me to send you the code I've used just shoot me an email. Maybe it'll help you in IE7…
I will get there in the end, my problem is always the line spacing in the form on the left hand side. I need to specify it implicitly in the CSS, but might just use it as an advert for firefox
Does this blog theme look broken? Get a browser that supports standards
I will get there in the end, my problem is always the line spacing in the form on the left hand side. I need to specify it implicitly in the CSS, but might just use it as an advert for firefox
Does this blog theme look broken? Get a browser that supports standards
Looks great, Ben. Apparently you, Andy, and Rick got is all worked out while I slept.
Don’t you guys ever sleep?
Looks great, Ben. Apparently you, Andy, and Rick got is all worked out while I slept.
Don't you guys ever sleep?
You sleep too much.
Since that last comment I launched a new website and had a good 6 hrs sleep.
You sleep too much.
Since that last comment I launched a new website and had a good 6 hrs sleep.
I’ve learned to let half my brain sleep while the other half works. Then switch. The results are sometimes odd, but I can just keep on trucking…
(OK that was a complete lie.)
I've learned to let half my brain sleep while the other half works. Then switch. The results are sometimes odd, but I can just keep on trucking…
(OK that was a complete lie.)
I like the new look. Cleaner, easier to read, more professional.
I like the new look. Cleaner, easier to read, more professional.
Looks very nice and clean. I love the gloves!
Looks very nice and clean. I love the gloves!
Nice work, Ben. The three column design seems to work well…after all, aren’t our sidebars getting more and more packed with relevant widgets and whatnots?
Nice work, Ben. The three column design seems to work well…after all, aren't our sidebars getting more and more packed with relevant widgets and whatnots?
Jordan – sidebars are getting packed. I’m desperately trying to keep mine as neat as possible, and organize them intelligently.
Having two sidebars adds some flexibility which I like, but it also opens up the door for cramming in more stuff. Very likely I’ll be reducing over time not adding…but there are some essentials in there for me (and hopefully everyone else too!)
Jordan – sidebars are getting packed. I'm desperately trying to keep mine as neat as possible, and organize them intelligently.
Having two sidebars adds some flexibility which I like, but it also opens up the door for cramming in more stuff. Very likely I'll be reducing over time not adding…but there are some essentials in there for me (and hopefully everyone else too!)
I’m a little late with a comment here, but I’ll say it anyway – it looks good! Only thing I don’t like is the black bar at the top. Feels too different from the blue. Anyway, looks good.
I'm a little late with a comment here, but I'll say it anyway – it looks good! Only thing I don't like is the black bar at the top. Feels too different from the blue. Anyway, looks good.
I like the new design. Well done.
Since recently launching my own blog (kind of a blog and kind of not http://www.techtraction.com please pardon the shameless plug), I’ve started paying closer attention to what others are doing with their design. I like your new design simply because it makes sense to me. Easy navigation and no nonsense.
I’m not totally thrilled with my design but figure it’s 1.0 and gets me started. After I’ve learned more about what I want and how to do it, I’ll work on 2.0.
I like the new design. Well done.
Since recently launching my own blog (kind of a blog and kind of not http://www.techtraction.com please pardon the shameless plug), I've started paying closer attention to what others are doing with their design. I like your new design simply because it makes sense to me. Easy navigation and no nonsense.
I'm not totally thrilled with my design but figure it's 1.0 and gets me started. After I've learned more about what I want and how to do it, I'll work on 2.0.
Looks good, Ben! Very clean!
I also just underwent a massive site redesign over at http://www.2dolphins.com (yup, another shameless plug). I’d had the old frames-based design in place for more than 2 years and it was just looking stale. The new design moves the blog itself front & center and all of the other pages are modelled after it, so there’s a consistent look (mostly) throughout.
I’ve been puring over every little detail. Even down to a custom “quote” graphic used for blockquote insets. I’m still refining the code a bit to try to make the pages load a bit faster. I hope to move the stylesheet data to an externally-linked file, but this is still presenting a few problems…
Looks good, Ben! Very clean!
I also just underwent a massive site redesign over at http://www.2dolphins.com (yup, another shameless plug). I'd had the old frames-based design in place for more than 2 years and it was just looking stale. The new design moves the blog itself front & center and all of the other pages are modelled after it, so there's a consistent look (mostly) throughout.
I've been puring over every little detail. Even down to a custom “quote” graphic used for blockquote insets. I'm still refining the code a bit to try to make the pages load a bit faster. I hope to move the stylesheet data to an externally-linked file, but this is still presenting a few problems…
Rob – no problem on the shameless plug – your site looks good. I’m particularly intrigued by your adoption journal, sounds like something that could help a lot of parents.
Rob – no problem on the shameless plug – your site looks good. I'm particularly intrigued by your adoption journal, sounds like something that could help a lot of parents.
[...] ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????RSS ???????????????????????? [...]
I found your blog very interesting,just setting mine up.hope it does as well as yours.
I found your blog very interesting,just setting mine up.hope it does as well as yours.
[...] need to stand out. Before I re-designed Instigator Blog I was using a nice WordPress template, but I hadn’t modified it significantly. And you could [...]
[...] About The Change On Your Blog. Make sure you tell people that you’ve changed the design of your blog. Ask people for feedback. People have all kinds of different setups; resolutions, browsers, screen [...]
[...] About The Change On Your Blog. Make sure you tell people that you’ve changed the design of your blog. Ask people for feedback. People have all kinds of different setups; resolutions, browsers, screen [...]
[...] Simplified /**/ Every so often I feel compelled to redesign this blog. The first redesign was in 2007, followed by another in 2008. It’s been a couple years since the last redesign, and this one [...]