Blog FeedIf You Could Make a Change
Aelon’s current design is now 7 months old. As far as my site designs go, that’s bang smack on the average life span of all the sites I’ve run. Usually by now, I’ve become well and truly tired and frustrated with certain aspects of my work. Usually by now, I have started tinkering with new design ideas I’ve had in my head for a few weeks. Usually, within a month, you’d be seeing a completely new site, with all sorts of improvements and changes to praise or bitch about.
This time round, however, things are different. I don’t really have many niggling issues with the design building up in the back of my head. Everything seems to work as it should, looking how it’s meant to look. Thing is, that’s just what I think - and that’s rather selfish. So, I’d like to know what you guys think. What you think of the layout, the colours, the functionailty, whatever. This goes for both the site and the forums - anything you can think of improving, I’d love to hear it. Your answers will determine whether I feel the need to redesign everything, or just make some tweaks here and there… or to do nothing at all.
Perfectly good looks and functionailty are no reason to hold off on a redesign, but are perhaps reason to postpone one. In any case, I’d love some input from more perspectives than just my own. Be picky. Really picky.
30th July | Reply
I think it looks awesome. Everytime I see your sites, I feel my own site designs humbled
30th July | Reply
The problem I always have is that change scares me. And to be honest, I like the site as it is. I always fear that change could potentially make it worse in my eyes. Im one of the few people who seems happy and content with the way the Gamespy forums look right now.
Although if you really pressed me for some suggestions, I would say that the backgrounds can look a bit bland. The whole colour scheme just seems to revolve around this whitey-greyish look. Maybe you could make it look a bit less bland. But then again, this background makes reading the words very easy, and maybe changing the background would hinder this…
But thats all I can think of for now.
30th July | Reply
Well, as I think I’ve noted before, I do tend to feel that the site is a little cool. It’s pretty stylish and all but the grey and blue scheme makes it feel a bit unwelcoming. I remember the site layout that you used for your own site where it showed a beach in the background. That was nice. Something warming would be recommendation.
31st July | Reply
Themes might be swanky. I always wanted to see Aelon in red. Green too. On a very smaller change perhaps just trying to dark the outside boarders to a darker gray-blue. It would focus the eye on the content inside the 2 columns. As of now there is just a line seperating white from white.
31st July | Reply
The only thing I can think of is a new Aelon logo. I’ve never been a fan of it. It always makes me think of a the Star Trek logo, or close to it.
31st July | Reply
I like the colour scheme as it is, I say leave it, and maybe implement themes for those who don’t. Although I do agree with Hardflip about the logo. I’m enough of a geek as it is without feeling like a Trekkie too.
1st August | Reply
Maybe just flip it upside-down. We could be Uelon. Some fancy foreign pant-wearers.
1st August | Reply
I agree with Kelmon, you do tend to lean towards the cold spectrum colour-wise (in all your site designs if I remember correctly). That doesn’t mean that it’s bad though, just that I’m being picky… like you asked ;o)
If you have time and can be bothered, add themes. If not then fine, The site looks great anyway.
(PS: I want a cool Star Wars theme to go with your Star Trek logo)
3rd August | Reply
Anyway, I’ve been looking over Aelon more and more and I’ve compiled a list of things that I agree may need changing after suggestions above, and things that I have since found myself:
- A comment previewer - I know where I can get one. It uses javascript to place your post on the screen as you type it. Rather nifty, but it’ll be hard making it work along with the textbox resizer for people with small screens or low resolutions.
- A little javascript function to hide the allowed HTML list for each comment, so we have more room for the previewer, most likely.
- A new theme. This looks like it’ll need to include both a new logo (it’s about time for a new one anyway), and some warmer colours to offset the blue. Probably something with more contrast too. Bringing the forums in to line hopefully won’t be too difficult…
- While the post archive itself is laid out nicely, the “most commented” and “bits and pieces” archives seem like they’ve just been tacked on to the site (which they have). Adding them in a more streamlined way is definately a goal.
- That goal may be achieved with another desire of mine, to have a different sidebar depending on what page you’re on. So, the front page will have the current sidebar, a post page (like this one you’re on now) may have information about the post, and we could probably merge the About and Contact pages in to one.
I don’t think I’ll be making the site themable, as the /graphics/ folder on the server already takes up more than enough of the site’s bandwidth. Just today I had to email our host to ask for a bigger plan because it’s obvious we’ll otherwise go over our allotted bandwidth this month.
So yeah, that should all take some time. A very long time actually, as I am back at uni.
5th August | Reply
The site’s certainly good as it is now and if you can change it to make it even better more power to you.