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2007 Masey Blog Design!
December 11, 2006 | 4,909 views | Trackback | |
After slogging away in the "Blogosphere" background for the past week, I am proud to finally be able to launch my new Blog Design for 2007 as of today! While it retains a certain amount of "style" from my 2006 design, I've done what I can to improve navigation, readability, layout, and overall usability.
Probably the biggest change is the splitting up of my blog from my design portfolio. A new photography and design portfolio site will be the next project on the cards and I expect that I will have that done sometime early in the new year. I have full intentions of having a full photographic storefront up and running by the end of 2007 so you can buy prints of my images directly from the web so keep an eye out for that.
There's a whole host of new and improved features to explore - the most important of which I will touch on below, but the best thing to do is to take a look around for yourself. If you find things you really like, problems or stuff that you really don't care much for, please, please, please leave a comment at the bottom of this post so I can set about making this site BETTER for everyone!
Speaking of comments, if you find yourself becoming a regular viewer of my Blog going forward, please leave comments at the end of the entries. Comments make the hard work worth while and help me know if what I'm posting is what people want to see and read.
New stuff to make sure you check out:
- Full complement of RSS feeds
RSS feeds are now provided for the overall Blog, comments and comments for individual posts. Keep an eye out for the standard icons (posts - orange icon, comments - blue icons) and stay up to date with any of my postings. - Subscribe to email updates
If you don't and have never known what an RSS feed is, never fear! You can now receive email notifications of my new Blog posts! Simply add your email address into the box provided in the "Geek Stuff" module and hit "Subscribe". You will receive nominated emails each time I make a new post or add new images to my Flickr gallery! - Rate and Share Posts
Ok, so it's not entirely new to my Blog, but make sure after you read each entry you rate it for me (out of 5). If you really liked it and know someone else who you think would like to read it as well, you can email them the link directly from the post. Both these features are available in the left hand column of each post. - Related Post List
In the module group at the bottom of each post is a list of links to posts that relate to what you have just read. - In-built Image Galleries
I have implemented the fantastic "Lightbox 2.0″ image viewing script into this design which provides you with gallery functions on each post where I have posted a number of photographs or other images. Click here for an example. - Improved Search Function
I don't know if you noticed, but the search function on my last design was kinda slow, clumsy and poorly designed. I've fixed all of that! It's now easily accessible in the heading on ANY page. - Snap External Link Previews
For any link to an external site which appears like this with a small indicating icon attached, if you roll over the link with your cursor, a graphical preview of the site will appear. An awesome addition thanks to SNAP. - New Firefox Extensions List
For the Firefox users out there (hopefully that's everyone), I have restructured my Firefox Extensions/Add-Ons toolbox page with my current list of "must-have" additions to this awesome browser. - Improved Contact Form
It's now even easier and somewhat cooler to leave me an email message directly from my Blog. Simply click on the "Contact" link in the top menu and watch the magic happen! I'm stoked with my design efforts on this function.
I'm still in the process of editing all archived entries to make sure they "fit" into the new structure and making sure photography entries have the new image viewing plugin applied, so please be patient with me on that. The new design is also largely untested on IE and Safari - just so you know.
Finally, a big thanks must go out to Ad, the designer of the Wordpress "H2O" theme that I used as the base for my new design. His assistance over this past week (considering now he's a big important Yahoo! employee) has been invaluable. Cheers mate - I'll stop bugging you... for now!
Ok... be gone people! Play! Enjoy! Comment like crazy!
Filed Under web & tech | Trackback | |
![[r:m] design and photography](http://www.masey.com.au/blog/wp-content/themes/revolution-magazine/images/rm.gif)
Looks great, Robbie! It all looks fresh and bright and seems to be a lot easier to navigate. Well done, all your hard work was worth it. XXX
Of course your new look is fabulous!... you are THE Rob Masey! Can't wait to see the new porfolio site soon too! You're a genius and we all know it! CONGRATS!! XOX Mrs. B
Thanks everyone for your comments. Already I've received some great feedback and will be applying some more fixes and improvements today.
Cheers!
It looks great Rob! And I'm looking forward to being on your mailing list etc etc. One quick thing: in the first dot point it should be 'full complEment of RSS feeds' because you're not telling the RSS feeds how good they look. Sorry! I am such a pedant.
Fixed! Thanks for that Mel... the RSS feeds do look fantastic though I have to tell you!
Bah! My first comment didn't take. Probably my error, not the design's fault.
First off, let me say this: "Let ye who is without sin cast the first stone." And by that I mean, if anyone ever tried to call me on a spelling error, I'd start proofreading THEIR stuff, and that could get ugly. 'Nuff said.
Now, with regards to the design; I like it, but knowing me as well as you do, you know I'm easy to please on design, and I bit more demanding and critical when it comes to "useability."
The good news is, from a useabilty standpoint, all of the changes are great. The home page might be a tad on the busy side, but whatever you're looking for, you'll find. That scores big points with me.
In particular, I love the various icons that tell the user what they're seeing/doing. Pictures, as they say, are worth a thousand words...which is a perfect segue to my one suggestion for improvement:
-Although I do very much love the new "Contact" function (likely the culprit for all of the email follow-ups you received, rather than comments) I have to question the choice of icon next to the fields. In North America, the symbol you used means "Do Not Enter" as a traffic sign, and therefore causes some level of confusion in one's brain when they go to enter info into those (required) fields. Replace those with something more "action-oriented" such as arrows, and you'll eliminate that confusion, and there-by increase the "conversion rate" on uses of the contact form.
I hope this critique has been useful, and I look forward to continuing as a happy user of Masey.com.au
Many thanks,
Jordan.
Haha! Why are you being so formal you dork! Comments noted!
Loving the new design Bobski! Have had a chance to have a proper look around now, and I likes what I sees.
Took a look in the toolbox too, and downloaded 7 of the 10 recommendations. I now have not one but THREE time/weather indicators throughout Roger (my puter)!! I dread to think how complicated your desktop and browser pages are!!!
The biggest smile crossed my face when you indicated you would be getting a bit more business savvy regarding your photography!! About time you got out there, and shouted from the hilltops about your portfolio!! No one tells a photographic story like you, and I'll keep banging on about it until you bloody well listen gawdamnit! I will not rest until you're on the National Geographic payroll!
Well done!! You certainly set the standard!
Nice blog! Those snap pop-ups are soooo annoying ....tand they do not add any value whatsoever. Just give me the link, forget the stupid snap thing!