After talking about it for months and planning it for weeks I finally sat down and started the redesign of All About iWeb. If you’re a regular visitor I hope you like what I have done with the site, and if not welcome, where have you been?
So what has taken me so long? why have I redesigned? and what changes have I made? That’s what this post is for, to explain the whys and wherefores of the new build and to help you get the most from it. I hope you like what you see and I would really like to see your comments.
So what’s new?
Well apart from the completely new look and feel of the site there are several new features that have been introduced.
To begin with we’ll start with the home-page. The traditional long list of posts has disappeared in favor of a mini-list of a few of the most popular posts on All About iWeb. This will change as the popularity of pages change and to help keep the front-page fresh.
Below that are listed the most recent posts on the site. One thing you may notice form now on is the inclusion of an image for every post (note to self, remember to put images in posts!) to help bring a bit of color to the site.
The side-bar of each page has been redesigned to include a few ad spots. This I’m afraid has become a necessary evil as hosting a popular site can get and has got expensive. There are then the list of categories, recent posts and recent comments as before.
The footer section of the site has been rebuilt too and now includes a poll for you to take part in. I will be updating this from time to time and aim to have at least one different one a month; iWeb related of course.
Moving on
I have re-written my About Me page to bring it up-to date. I felt the old one had far too much waffle and so it has been trimmed a bit. There are more links to keep in touch though.
Post pages have not escaped the change either; at the bottom you will notice that I have added an ‘about the author’ block as well as a list of the most popular social bookmarking links for you choose from (should you so wish). You may also notice that I have replaced the traditional ‘older posts’ or ‘newer posts’ with number navigation, again for ease of use.
At the top of each page and post, just underneath the title you will see I have now got breadcrumb navigation in place to help you get around (usability was a big driving factor behind All About iWeb’s redesign), and while you are looking at the top of each page you may notice that I have a new logo.
At the bottom of each post there are still the obligatory comments section and these have been tweaked a little to make them easier to read.
Tied in with the new side-bar advertising I felt it necessary to add a page specifically for the purpose of contacting me on the subject and talking of contacting me, I have redesigned that page too.
So is it ready now?
Yes and no. There are still a few things I want to do to the new site to make it completely finished. My initial plan was to continue with the corkboard background image, just like the old site and, of course the iWeb icon. However, I ran up against problems with the nav-bar and so this will be introduced in the very near future. Those of you who have downloaded my free Circles iWeb theme will know I like wooden backgrounds too.
I also want to get a photo of me on the About Me page and as a gravatar as I feel it adds a more personal touch to the site; you will all know who is responsible!! There are also a few more little tweaks and minor edits that I have to make ‘under the hood’ but nothing that doesn’t effect the running of the site.
Over time I will also be adding thumbnail images to post as well as slimming down the number of tags I have given to each post; I think too many just confuses the issue. These things will all be done in the background though and won’t make any difference to the site’s day to day running.
Other than that, yes it is ready. Like I said earlier, I hope you like what I have done to the site and that it makes it a more user-friendly and accessible place to be. During the first few weeks there may be a few bugs here and there, and if you spot any please do get in touch. In the meantime I would really like to know what you think of the new site, so please leave a comment.
I love this site
Hello Tim,
I guess I’m the first one to have the honor. I like the new design, good job on this new looking website. As usual your advises are great and very helpful, keep up the good work.
Thierry
The new site looks awesome. I hope that one day I’ll be able to make the site I’m working on half as good as this.
Hi Tim, like the new look! Have been meaning to send you a link to my iWeb site for a while and your latest post prompted me. Your blog has proved invaluable to me as a novice in web design, I’m pretty happy with the results so far – see what you think!
Dear Tim, Congrats with this new great looking website. A job well done….
Facts about this site? Made entirely in iWeb (version?) or with “extras” (which?)?? I have made 3 iWeb sites, with much gnashing of teeth and without total success. Hope your site helps me advance without being an advanced coder/programer/IT specialist. Thanks.
Very Nice! According to Google this website is my most visited and I LOVE it! Please check out my sample sites I have on mine and critique! Keep up the Great work!
I personally love the new navigation bar. I have a urge to try to recreate this website by myself to see how close I can get to it looking like the real thing.
Hi. On its website, I introduced MobileMe gallery http://web.me.com/x3mbrand/site/VM_Portfolio.html . NEW! If you are interested please contact me. I will tell you how to do it.
Great site! Good work!
How do I add the “add-this” bar you have on every blogpage? Love the pop-up design.
Cheers!
/Daniel
Great looks! Fantastic upgrade!
So, have you switched to using WordPress instead of iWeb for this site? I’m considering doing the same thing since it doesn’t look like we’ll get an iWeb update this year. This is the WordPress Unite Theme with the wood skin, correct? I’ve been eyeing this one as well!
Congratulation for the new look to the site, i love this site it is very informative.
However i would love to see a tutorial about how to create an iweb template, can you please do a tutorial teach us about this subject?
Wow I love the natural look and warm invitation it creates. At the same time it combines with a modern interactive surface that just coincides nicely.
I have a long way to go on my site, but I am learning from you daily.
thanks.
Is this site done on iweb?