Homepage Layout Re-Design - Page 2

MarkG · June 13, 2002, 06:04

Quote:

If something is underlined, I expect at least a tooltip.

the only non-linked, underlined piece of text remaining in the page now is linked....

Buck Birdseed · June 13, 2002, 06:05

Immensely superior to the last design in every way.

* less vertical scrolling (still no horizontal, which is nice)
* all the relevant info (well, most) in the first screenful
* less white space
* more clarity over what goes where
* better alignment with the new vertical column system.

Actually, the last one still has a few niggles. I'd move the Welcome paragraph down about two pixels (or the My Apolyton headline up by the corresponding amount) because it's not really centered. I'd stretch the News@Apolyton menu so that it hangs out slightly over the edge of the Welcome paragraph (or is aligned with it, though that might be a problem since the Logo is just slightly wider than the column, perhaps you should think of shrinking it a bit). I'd experiment with the vertical alignment of the Square Boxes too.

Also, I probably would try to go for a single header style throughout. But that's a matter of opinion only. I still give it an A...

Solver · June 13, 2002, 06:11

Sorry Markos, I meant horizontal, which doesn't scroll anywhere

.

Solver · June 13, 2002, 06:12

Now it's gone.

MarkG · June 13, 2002, 06:15

changes:
-logo aligned to left
-news menu aligned to the right even more than before

Skanky Burns · June 13, 2002, 06:15

I gave it a B.

On a smaller screen it looks great. On larger screens (such as mine

), it looks like below. I would probably just right-justify the headings as well as the text belonging to them, or make that particular column fixed width.

btw: Why is the forum archive link hidden?

MarkG · June 13, 2002, 06:27

Quote:

On larger screens (such as mine ), it looks like below.

now?

Skanky Burns · June 13, 2002, 07:02

Yes, looks better now.

Buck Birdseed · June 13, 2002, 07:03

And now the space between the "My Poly" headline and the welcome paragraph is too small!

Good change to the logo, still not sure about the News Combo Box. No way to align it both to the left and the right side of the column, using javascript or something?

MarkG · June 13, 2002, 07:24

Quote:

the space between the "My Poly" headline and the welcome paragraph is too small!

now?

Panag · June 13, 2002, 09:23

hi ,

nice work , site-owners , nice work , ...

MarkG , when loading the user control panel , somtimes the fields in it look weird , any thing that can be done it , ....

if only some other site's where kept up-to-date , and worked on like this site , the net would be a different place , .......

have a nice day

MarkG · June 13, 2002, 09:37

Quote:

somtimes the fields in it look weird

define "weird"

Panag · June 13, 2002, 09:46

Quote:

Originally posted by MarkG

Quote:

somtimes the fields in it look weird

define "weird"

hi ,

well a bit like what Skanky posted , ...

buddy list ; sometimes the names are right , but next name is starting from the left , ...the one below that stands in the middle of the field , ...

suscribed threads , the same , but sometimes its only the little arrow that does this , or only "last post" , ..

sometimes the little fields in "subscribed threads" are big , or to small , yet the size of the window is the same , ....

the problem goes away when you refresh , but sometimes you have to refresh 20 times , ...

have a nice day

Buck Birdseed · June 13, 2002, 11:08

Now we're talking!

TCO · June 13, 2002, 12:05

Rewrite the welcome paragraph and I will be happy. It is too wordy and pretentious in style. (DanQ strongly needs to read The Elements of Style by Strunk and White.) In addition, it leaves out some vital descriptive info:

-Apolyton is not "a leading epicenter". It is THE most popular Civ site--provable with traffic stats.

-The welcome paragraph should mention/describe the forums/community. This is the biggest part of the site. It is what makes Poly, Poly. Emphasizing "Storage and retreival" while not mentioing the forums is disingenuous. (Several people have said that other sites have better download sections.) Noone would contest that we have the most active forums.
-------------------------

For new users, this paragraph is their intro to Poly. A less wordy, more content-filled paragraph will help lure them into further exploration of the site.

MarkG · June 13, 2002, 13:25

Quote:

Apolyton is not "a leading epicenter". It is THE most popular Civ site--provable with traffic stats.

we're modest, you ought to have noticed that by now!

Immortal Wombat · June 13, 2002, 13:34

I like it.

Much better than the old one, but I never look at it anyway, so I don't really care

The only thing that does look wierd is the logo lost in the middle of the menus left and right. Could the menus be dropped down so the logo becomes more central or something?

Andemagne · June 13, 2002, 13:42

oh no. again. can wehave the old one back? please.

Mercator · June 13, 2002, 13:44

The "My Apolyton" thing is a great addition... I'm almost inclined to set the homepage in my bookmarks now, instead of my control panel.

I still get a horizontal scrollbar though (IE6, 1024x768 with the Favourites "bar" opened up on the left so the actual window is exactly 800 wide).

MarkG · June 13, 2002, 14:01

Quote:

I still get a horizontal scrollbar though (IE6, 1024x768 with the Favourites "bar" opened up on the left so the actual window is exactly 800 wide).

how about making it 802 or 804?

the page fits on "real" 800x600(which is actually a bit less than that due to the window borders), it should fit in "exactly 800"

DanQ · June 13, 2002, 23:55

Quote:

Originally posted by GP
Rewrite the welcome paragraph and I will be happy. It is too wordy and pretentious in style. (DanQ strongly needs to read The Elements of Style by Strunk and White.) In addition, it leaves out some vital descriptive info:

-Apolyton is not "a leading epicenter". It is THE most popular Civ site--provable with traffic stats.

-The welcome paragraph should mention/describe the forums/community. This is the biggest part of the site. It is what makes Poly, Poly. Emphasizing "Storage and retreival" while not mentioing the forums is disingenuous. (Several people have said that other sites have better download sections.) Noone would contest that we have the most active forums.
-------------------------

For new users, this paragraph is their intro to Poly. A less wordy, more content-filled paragraph will help lure them into further exploration of the site.

1) I agree that the lack of direct mention of the forums is a valid point to raise. Added 'interactive discussions' to the sentence that discusses the 'late breaking news' and 'hottest customized downloads'.
3) There is now a link in the paragraph that directs visitors such as yourself to an "Introduction" page, elaborating on what is introduced in the 'maiden paragraph'.
4) As for your reading material suggestion, I'll pass along one of my own: "Everyone's-Style-Is-Different-And-That-Does-Not-Necessarily-Make-One-Better-Over-Another" by me, myself and I.

---------------
Dan; Apolyton CS

JohnIII · June 14, 2002, 04:43

Mark, thanks for the fixes! I like the factt hat the intro link is slightly different to the rest.

Dan, that isn't a suggestion at all, that's an excuse. Being wordy and pretentious is not a matter of style, it's a matter of not knowing how to write.

The welcome paragraph sounds like a badly-written politician's speech, and doesn't really tell you anything, apart from:
1) Civilization.
2) Founded on 26th July 1998.
3) Civ.

Quote:

Founded on July 26th, 1998, this site has since proven itself as a leading epicenter of activity in the community as a one stop resource for all things "Civ" from late-breaking news, interactive discussions to the hottest customized downloads.

Lemmy · June 14, 2002, 04:49

hmm, i don't like, it seems to crowded, but i never look there, and almost never will, i don't even remember what the old one looked like, so it could be a huge improvement for all i know.

J Bytheway · June 14, 2002, 10:14

It doesn't all fit on my 800x600 (see attached picture), though I suspect that this is because I am subscribed to CtP2 - General/Help/Strategy/Multiplaying and CtP2 - Creation/AI/Mods/Scenarios, which stretches out the central section. Why are these forum names so very long? I never understood it. It would suffice to say CtP2 - General/Multiplaying and CtP2 - Creation.

J Bytheway · June 14, 2002, 10:15

What a surprise - forgot the attachment

Hywel Dda · June 14, 2002, 12:47

Personally I like it a lot - and certainly a lot more than the previous designs. Good enough for an A, and no major complaints.

MarkG · June 14, 2002, 13:04

J Bytheway, what about now?

JohnIII · June 14, 2002, 13:44

Mark and Dan, I have another problem.

The Welcome paragraph is in the middle of the page. Fine. But when you click on the link to the Apolyton intro, the text is one the left. This makes your mind do a double-take, as you're expecting the ext to be in roughly the same place.

I'm not sure what you can do about this, though, as having every page like the homepage would be just silly.

J Bytheway · June 14, 2002, 15:38

Quote:

Originally posted by MarkG
J Bytheway, what about now?

Much better, no scrollbar - but now one of the CtP forums' names is split and also the table of subscribed forums is very tall because the dates are split over two lines.

MarkG · June 14, 2002, 15:54

you should be ok now