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The softer side of Tom

By Tom Chambers • 11:55 p.m. Sept. 26, 2004 • 6 Comments • 0 Trackbacks

In case you haven’t noticed, ROCKMYCAR.COM has gone through an overhaul.

I initially began redesigning the site when I switched from Movable Type to WordPress as the machine behind the blog (actually, I first upgraded to the newest version of MT and then realzied what a pain in the ass it is).

In general, designs I like are strong — meaning, big, bold fonts without serifs, dark, harsh colors and mean graphics. The first two designs I made were in that vain — one was a refurbish of the original ROCKMYCAR.COM with the blog incorporated into the front page, and the other was a really cool, “worn” looking site….

BUT… I didn’t use either one. Why? My thinking was, and I’m not sure that it was correct at this point, that my site should focus more on the content and not the look. So what you see now, is a much softer — or more inviting — version that only uses on graphic (and of course it’s a picture of me).

I’m still not sure that I’m in love with it — and I’ll likely be tweaking it over time. Let me know what you think. Tell me if there’s any glitches you notice, features I should add, or just stuff that bugs you.

One advantage to overhauling ROCKMYCAR.COM is that now all the columns, editorials and college writings are included in the blog database — which means you can comment not only my blog ramblings, but also on stuff that gets published in print.

Enjoy.

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6 Comments

Stephen at 9:09 p.m. Sept. 27, 2004:

I dig especially that I’m not reading the Log in a little box. For those of us running at higher resolutions, it’s very nice.

One thing: this post is truncated on the main page, and it wasn’t obvious to me how to read all of it. I realize now that if you click the post title, it’s a link to the whole thing, but since the post title is black and not underlined, it doesn’t look like a link. If you added a “Read More…” button or something, it would probably help a lot.

P.S. Also, if my e-mail address is required to comment (why?), you should note that on the comment form.

Andrew Phelps at 3:31 p.m. Sept. 28, 2004:

Congratulations on the redesign. I used to design in the mindset of a Print Person — with perfect boxes, to the pixel. But the Web doesn’t work that way, with the number of varying browsers and resolutions and systems out there. I’m learning to create more clean, open designs that focus on content — and that’s the way this redesign looks. No more popups, either. I really like it.

Nice job with the comments feed in RSS. Nice job having your picture and description underneath so the reader understands what he’s looking at right away. However, I suggest keeping this consistent throughout the site. When someone on another blog permalinks one of your posts, a foreign reader would like to see that description text to know where he is. You could put data relating to the post in the area that actually contains the content.

I admire the indented paragraph approach, but it doesn’t work. No indents.

Also, while your weblog is relatively young, I highly suggest you future-proof your permanent links and take out PHP code like “p=140″. If you use headlines for links and organize them by date (like I do), your links won’t change in two weeks or two years when you change your CMS or ditch PHP. Plus, headlines and dates don’t change in two weeks or two years.

I love the one-image approach. Besides the webcam image, my weblog’s base design is the same way. It’s amazing what you can do with two colors (black and white) and all the shades thereof. You take advantage of that.

Finally, I am confused by your “keep reading” link. I think cuts, as they’re sometimes called in blogs, should be reserved for only very long posts. It was weird to have to click a link to read the remaining nine words of your Zell Miller post.

I hope all my suggestions make sense,

Andrew Phelps at 2:14 p.m. Sept. 30, 2004:

Plus, I would like to see a comment tally attached to each entry on the front page, rather than having to click the permalink and scrolling down,

Stephen at 4:51 p.m. Sept. 30, 2004:

I too would like a comment tally (I tried saying this earlier at work yesterday, but my comment got eaten mysteriously).

And I like the indented paragraphs, personally.

Layla at 8:45 a.m. Oct. 15, 2004:

OK, so I’m commenting long after the fact, but I’ll echo Stephen and say that I like the indented paragraphs, too. Maybe it’s a newspaper thing… I’m also interested in seeing how WordPress works over the long-term. Movable Type is fine for me, except for the fact that deleting spam comments is a pain in the ass, because I have to rebuild the entire site just to make one change.

Andrew Phelps at 10:20 p.m. Oct. 16, 2004:

Layla,

MT-Blacklist. TRUST ME.

http://www.jayallen.org/projects/mt-blacklist/

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