I made some very minor changes to the front page of BME and BME/extreme. Mostly it’s just making the text a little bigger, taking off unused elements, and expanding ones that are being used a bit more. There’s nothing particularly dramatic about it, but if the “latest updates” ticker breaks anyone’s browser, please let me know. The members page is more heavy updated as an index, but since it was just a list of small-text updates before, I hope that’s a good thing.
Suggestions (if possible, with a mock-up or example) are very much appreciated!
I’m going to try and dedicate a day every week or two to clean up an element of the site, with galleries being next on my list (most of that work is already done)…
Comments
200 responses to “Minor BME updates”
i wouldnt have called it cheap, but i would call it ‘retro’.
there are a bunch of elements on the page that make it look like you are using a netscape beta or ncsa mosaic:
1) the large blue borders around the clickable images
2) page is filled with underlines
3) highly sautrated blue links go very badly with the rest of the color scheme
4) the grey on white with a grey border looks amaturish
5) grids of photos have larger ‘borders’ on the inside than on the outside.
6)ticker should be prepopulated on startup, not start out blank and fill in
7) slow down the ticker slightly
8) the entire page has too much going on for you to justify such a huge border. use a smaller border and spread things out.
9) links turn horrible purple when you visit them.. this is just so very retro
i feel that the design of the main page could use an overhaul in colors and spacing, but the above should get the ‘cheap’ look fixed
i wouldnt have called it cheap, but i would call it ‘retro’.
there are a bunch of elements on the page that make it look like you are using a netscape beta or ncsa mosaic:
1) the large blue borders around the clickable images
2) page is filled with underlines
3) highly sautrated blue links go very badly with the rest of the color scheme
4) the grey on white with a grey border looks amaturish
5) grids of photos have larger ‘borders’ on the inside than on the outside.
6)ticker should be prepopulated on startup, not start out blank and fill in
7) slow down the ticker slightly
8) the entire page has too much going on for you to justify such a huge border. use a smaller border and spread things out.
9) links turn horrible purple when you visit them.. this is just so very retro
i feel that the design of the main page could use an overhaul in colors and spacing, but the above should get the ‘cheap’ look fixed
I like the new layout.I love it!
I like the new layout.I love it!
I think the problem is that most pages today use less and less html code and go for PHP and Flash which give, esthetically speaking, much bette results… Just compare BME to Needled and you’ll understand what I mean.
I think that a regular “menu on the left, banner at the top and content in the middle” layout with beautiful graphics would be much better… The best example of what would probably work the best for you is another body mods related website: http://www.bodyartforms.com/
You wouldn’t need as much space to show every sub-categories of piercings/tattoos/Scarifications… on the front page by having a menu “popping” out like Bodyarforms have when you pass your mouse over the Plugs & Eyelets category. Where “Sales, Essentials, Hanging styles” categories are could have “BME, BME HARD, BME EXTREME” categories with the different mods as sub-categories.
As for making the text bigger, I was running my 17” widescreen laptop at 1600X1440 screen resolution and didn’t have any problems reading with my text size set at normal on firefox, now I changed my computer so I’m running at 1280×800 and I didn’t have any problems with the other front page…
Personally I don’t like the fact that there’s no search bar anymore and I alway wondered why there wasn’t a direct link to the page with all the different columns because that’s probably the part of the website I’m the most interested in…
Just my 2 cents… I’ll try to make a better example using a screenshot from bodyartforms, can’t guarantee the results though!
I think the problem is that most pages today use less and less html code and go for PHP and Flash which give, esthetically speaking, much bette results… Just compare BME to Needled and you’ll understand what I mean.
I think that a regular “menu on the left, banner at the top and content in the middle” layout with beautiful graphics would be much better… The best example of what would probably work the best for you is another body mods related website: http://www.bodyartforms.com/
You wouldn’t need as much space to show every sub-categories of piercings/tattoos/Scarifications… on the front page by having a menu “popping” out like Bodyarforms have when you pass your mouse over the Plugs & Eyelets category. Where “Sales, Essentials, Hanging styles” categories are could have “BME, BME HARD, BME EXTREME” categories with the different mods as sub-categories.
As for making the text bigger, I was running my 17” widescreen laptop at 1600X1440 screen resolution and didn’t have any problems reading with my text size set at normal on firefox, now I changed my computer so I’m running at 1280×800 and I didn’t have any problems with the other front page…
Personally I don’t like the fact that there’s no search bar anymore and I alway wondered why there wasn’t a direct link to the page with all the different columns because that’s probably the part of the website I’m the most interested in…
Just my 2 cents… I’ll try to make a better example using a screenshot from bodyartforms, can’t guarantee the results though!
I like it, but miss the poll!
I like it, but miss the poll!
It looks too busy to me.
It looks too busy to me.
I don’t like it 🙁 The older one was prettier. The blue text just makes it look amateur.
And yes Shannon, please do bring back QOD asap 🙂
I don’t like it 🙁 The older one was prettier. The blue text just makes it look amateur.
And yes Shannon, please do bring back QOD asap 🙂
Lotn – On the experience updates page.
Dd – Thanks, all good points.
Al – Cool 🙂 Definitely interested in seeing your ideas!
MatLax – I actually disagree on the flash and pop-up menu interface point… Not a fan at all…
Re: Search Bar
I will try and rebuild the search later today and reinsert it. Totally forgot, sorry!
Lotn – On the experience updates page.
Dd – Thanks, all good points.
Al – Cool 🙂 Definitely interested in seeing your ideas!
MatLax – I actually disagree on the flash and pop-up menu interface point… Not a fan at all…
Re: Search Bar
I will try and rebuild the search later today and reinsert it. Totally forgot, sorry!
I’m currently working with the BAF website to show you what it could look like if it was BME instead (using image editing, not reworking the code itself), I haven’t done much, but it’s coming along very well, it just involves a lot of “cleaning” to make place for the BMEcontent…
I’m currently working with the BAF website to show you what it could look like if it was BME instead (using image editing, not reworking the code itself), I haven’t done much, but it’s coming along very well, it just involves a lot of “cleaning” to make place for the BMEcontent…
I agree with Daderain. I think the new colors (the white background with blue font mostly) make the site look cheap. I much prefer the old color scheme/layout. In my opinion, it would have been a much nicer change if the Latest Updates ticker and Hot on Modblog was just added to the older layout.
I agree with Daderain. I think the new colors (the white background with blue font mostly) make the site look cheap. I much prefer the old color scheme/layout. In my opinion, it would have been a much nicer change if the Latest Updates ticker and Hot on Modblog was just added to the older layout.
Obviously I’m the minority here in thinking that your simple minimalistic design is awesome. The site really draws people in for the content and not the flashy, bloated web design that most other sites have these days. I for one think you should stick with a really nice clean design like you have. I don’t think there is any reason to swap over.
Also just quickly browsing through the normal BME site nothing seemed to break with IE7/8 or Firefox 3 beta 4. Good job man.
Eric
Obviously I’m the minority here in thinking that your simple minimalistic design is awesome. The site really draws people in for the content and not the flashy, bloated web design that most other sites have these days. I for one think you should stick with a really nice clean design like you have. I don’t think there is any reason to swap over.
Also just quickly browsing through the normal BME site nothing seemed to break with IE7/8 or Firefox 3 beta 4. Good job man.
Eric
Jennifer/color people – How about I make the colors and styles match ModBlog? Might as well have consistency.
Jennifer/color people – How about I make the colors and styles match ModBlog? Might as well have consistency.
There you go, I kept the BAF colors for it was easier for me, but I think you’ll be happy since everything fits without a drop down menu… It gives you a very good idea of what it could look like, and for me it seems professional…
Flame on!
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z82/MatLax/BMEExperiment.jpg
There you go, I kept the BAF colors for it was easier for me, but I think you’ll be happy since everything fits without a drop down menu… It gives you a very good idea of what it could look like, and for me it seems professional…
Flame on!
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z82/MatLax/BMEExperiment.jpg
Oops, just realized I forgot to write “Piercings” in the left menu over the “Ear” square…
Oops, just realized I forgot to write “Piercings” in the left menu over the “Ear” square…
All right, I made two corrections, now everything seems fine…
All right, I made two corrections, now everything seems fine…
I thought I typed in the URL wrong and was brought to a site that was ripping off BMEs content.
I thought I typed in the URL wrong and was brought to a site that was ripping off BMEs content.
MatLax – That looks good, but I think that’s a level of redesign that’s probably better for when a more intense rework of the CMS is done.
MatLax – That looks good, but I think that’s a level of redesign that’s probably better for when a more intense rework of the CMS is done.
Oh, I’m sorry I thought askBME was the new QOD lol! Nevermind that then!
I don’t mind the new layout, looks fine to me!
Oh, I’m sorry I thought askBME was the new QOD lol! Nevermind that then!
I don’t mind the new layout, looks fine to me!
Lack of CSS, poor image and text padding and structure, feels very generic, missing search, and missing askbme link (better than having no QOD at all)
Lack of CSS, poor image and text padding and structure, feels very generic, missing search, and missing askbme link (better than having no QOD at all)
I like the old layout better, and I’m not too big on making things more simple either as I felt the old layout was incredibly straight forward and easy to navigate, this seems like you’re dumbing it down. For me personally this new layout seems harder to read. Also I agree with the majority of negative comments made about borders, colors etc. but I have faith in your awesomeness Shannon.
I like the old layout better, and I’m not too big on making things more simple either as I felt the old layout was incredibly straight forward and easy to navigate, this seems like you’re dumbing it down. For me personally this new layout seems harder to read. Also I agree with the majority of negative comments made about borders, colors etc. but I have faith in your awesomeness Shannon.
Search engine is plugged in by the way (and a new one is building right now which I’ll upload later in the day) and the colors from here are largely mirrored.
I definitely look forward to seeing people’s proposals and mockups, although the bigger changes will wait until I’m in a position to re-staff the site with more task-appropriate admins and can do a heavier rebuild.
Search engine is plugged in by the way (and a new one is building right now which I’ll upload later in the day) and the colors from here are largely mirrored.
I definitely look forward to seeing people’s proposals and mockups, although the bigger changes will wait until I’m in a position to re-staff the site with more task-appropriate admins and can do a heavier rebuild.
The ticker dosn’t crash my browser, but does seem to cut into my memory quite a bit (makes the mouse cursor jump). I’m not a big fan of it….the rest seems good – I would like to see the titles of the older interviews along with the images.
The ticker dosn’t crash my browser, but does seem to cut into my memory quite a bit (makes the mouse cursor jump). I’m not a big fan of it….the rest seems good – I would like to see the titles of the older interviews along with the images.
I personally find the ticker to be very distracting, and it takes away from elements that should be of a greater focus (ie. the cover image). I think that the ‘latest updates’ would fit a lot better if the images remained static.
Shannon, I’ve just read your comment about making the colours/styles fit with those of ModBlog, and I think that it’s a great idea. The colour scheme would look a whole lot less generic that way, without being too overbearing.
I’m not really feeling the thumbnails for the older ‘recent articles’, but that might just be my personal loathing for mouseovers.
On a more positive note, however, I’m really liking the ‘Hot on ModBlog’ feature, since it makes ModBlog a little bit more integral with the rest of the website than it used to be prior to the redesign.
I personally find the ticker to be very distracting, and it takes away from elements that should be of a greater focus (ie. the cover image). I think that the ‘latest updates’ would fit a lot better if the images remained static.
Shannon, I’ve just read your comment about making the colours/styles fit with those of ModBlog, and I think that it’s a great idea. The colour scheme would look a whole lot less generic that way, without being too overbearing.
I’m not really feeling the thumbnails for the older ‘recent articles’, but that might just be my personal loathing for mouseovers.
On a more positive note, however, I’m really liking the ‘Hot on ModBlog’ feature, since it makes ModBlog a little bit more integral with the rest of the website than it used to be prior to the redesign.
The “hot on modblog” are the top-six (in terms of comments) entries on modblog’s front page by the way.
I’m not sure what you mean by mouseover on the recent articles? they’re just regular image links… or do you mean the tone change in the outline?
On the recent updates, then maybe I’ll swap the whole set every ten seconds or something rather than doing a “ticker”? That would be cleaner, but still scroll through the set.
The “hot on modblog” are the top-six (in terms of comments) entries on modblog’s front page by the way.
I’m not sure what you mean by mouseover on the recent articles? they’re just regular image links… or do you mean the tone change in the outline?
On the recent updates, then maybe I’ll swap the whole set every ten seconds or something rather than doing a “ticker”? That would be cleaner, but still scroll through the set.
This redesign has promise, but it is mired by some very 1998/web 1.0 type design flaws. the borders around the images are probably the biggest problem, and the use of default colors for links. using tables/font tags is more of a nit-pick, but seriously, just about every site worth its merit has used css for font styling/layout for the last 3-4 years.
I do get that this is sort of a work-in-progress, and can probably be shifted into a pretty nice redesign with some more work. You probably jumped the gun a bit making this live,though.
This redesign has promise, but it is mired by some very 1998/web 1.0 type design flaws. the borders around the images are probably the biggest problem, and the use of default colors for links. using tables/font tags is more of a nit-pick, but seriously, just about every site worth its merit has used css for font styling/layout for the last 3-4 years.
I do get that this is sort of a work-in-progress, and can probably be shifted into a pretty nice redesign with some more work. You probably jumped the gun a bit making this live,though.
css should be moved to a separate document so that it can be cached seperately, and all font tags should be removed in favor of font styles in css.
in fact it would probably look better if you ditched those grey bars on the side (make them white), it would at least hide most of the padding inconsistencies.
css should be moved to a separate document so that it can be cached seperately, and all font tags should be removed in favor of font styles in css.
in fact it would probably look better if you ditched those grey bars on the side (make them white), it would at least hide most of the padding inconsistencies.