[Webdev] linux.ie site design

[Ross Lynch]

On Wed, 8 Nov 2000, Guest, Ken wrote:

> None taken, but yearly changes of design just for the sake of it?
> Tweaking the current design is open to discussion, changing it
> completely is not. (I don't see the point in creating loadsa
> work to do just for the sake of it.)

The current design is dire. As for changing it completely, well maybe not
completely, but people have volunteered to do the work...
 
> I will certainly veto any ideas to put in client side scripting,
> frames or cute little animations.

Good veto.
 
> Ever since I started doing work on the ILUG website it's been with 
> one main principle in mind:
> 
> * Any browser on any OS should be able to render the pages in
>   a consistent manner making it easy for people to read the
>   content rather than frustrated with having to download yet more
>   plugins.

It could still be made nicer/more accessible w/o the use of extra plugins.

> For example:
> 
> Home
> Articles
> Documentation
> Community
> Mailing Lists
> Activities
> Files
> 
> Contact Us
> 
> Search
> [BOX]

This sounds better... more structured.
 
> Directly linked pages might have a sitemap of the relevant section. The link

Sort of like a Midnight Commander/Explorer left-pane type thing?
 
> Also, I'm playing around with slight changes to the color scheme at the
> moment,

It looks worse... colour changes - a white table background?

> http://new-www.linux.ie/ken.html is a change to an old prototype (which the 
> current 'live' design is a variant of), to make the page contents distinct 
> from the sidebar to the left and the shortcuts to the top.
> 
> and http://new-www.linux.ie/ken2.html is a change to just make the sidebar 
> distinct from the rest.

No one's going to /not/ notice the side bar, that's hardly the issue. It
just needs to be made more usable as you described above. Let the design
of the side bar tie in with the overall design of the site and don't worry
overly about it individually.

> (I'm not even remotely thinking of going back to that old logo or design,
> those pages are just for trying out color schemes, that's all).
> 
> Which seems better, changing the background color of the 'specific content'
> of the page, or changing the background color of the sidebar?

Neither. Use outlines and stuff to divide the current page into clear-cut
sections. Just slapping different colours on the sections looks cheap.

> Just to clarify on this point, there won't be any color coding to 
> identify where you are in the site (as that wouldn't help much
> for people reading via lynx of their favourite pda net browser.

I understand and agree with lynx/whatever compatibilty. However, there's a
difference between having the site readable/usable in lynx and bringing
the potential of every other browser down to the level of lynx.

Willing to help...

Yours constructively and non-offensively,
Ross.

-- 
                 [  R o s s  L y n c h  ]

   [ Onesphere Technologies ]  [             NUI, Galway             ]
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