Public Beta
I’m finally comfortable releasing NR2.0 to the public!!!
This is not the official announcement of the new theme release, but it is a step in that direction. Once the theme has been thoroughly tested by you, my loyal readers and critics, I’ll put together an official release and explain some of the features of the site.
Until then, please play around with the site and help me find the bugs. Because I haven’t really been able to test it live, there may be some things I hadn’t thought of. If you find a bug, notice an inefficient feature, have a suggestion to make the site better, feel free to leave a comment here and tell me. I’m very interested in hearing your thoughts on the theme, good and bad.
Finally!!!
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Could just be this library computer, but there’s no margin at all on the left. Makes it a bit uncomfortable to read.
Hmmm, might be the resolution on the screen. If it’s 800×600, you’re right, there won’t be any margin. Less than that, and it will start to cut off content on the left and right.
I’m kind of assuming that most people using this site have 17 inch monitors and can handle the 950px wide design. If not, there’s always the feed reader option
Yeah, my own computer has a 19″ monitor at 1280×960, it’s just these library computers have 19″ monitors set at 800×600 so old people can read them.
I’ll probably have to see the site at home to really get the effect.
I’ll be blunt (aren’t I always?): the new layout is visually dead. It verges on being fully monochromatic and is painfully boring to look at.
And as a tiny side note, my last name just happens to be mispelled… If anything, spell it “matthew dangemans”, but not “matthew dengemans”…
Matthew,
I appreciate the candor
Any suggestions to fix the boring-ness?
I like it, but I also tend to like the minimalist/web 2.0 look (of course, you couldn’t tell by my own blog…
). It loads faster than the last one and it’s very readable.
Maybe you should add some animated gif’s… a floating or spinning golden cross. Maybe a little paperclip that gives helpful hints about using the site would help. Or perhaps some popups advertisements for Ci@li$ ? (akismet is SO going to filter my comment for that…)
Don’t get me wrong – simple is great. It’s just that all the color elements are neutral (blue gray, tan, white, etc – ok, with a hint of orange).
But there is no graphic appeal… I’m big on finding killer header images (you’ll seem, hopefully in a few days, when my photography website is up) as a bare minimum.
All this coming, of course, from a photographer who loves color-dripping eye candy.
Yeah… now that I see it in high-res, I am forced to agree with Matt (is it just me, or is that happening more and more lately?). It really looks like something that would be a ‘default’ theme, and is too Web 2.0 for my taste. Many of the colors are ones that would clash, if they were only a bit less neutral.
Don’t get me wrong, I like that it’s simple and clean. Here’s what I would recommend:
1. Use fewer colors, but use ones that are more striking against the white background. Consider replacing the turqoise with the dark blue of the header, and perhaps replacing the tan with silver or something like that.
2. More pronounced flanking borders.
3. Add some curves.
George agrees with me? I need some kinda medication, I’m sure…
The prior layout felt a bit more organic… where did the organic go?
Well guys, you’ve given me a lot to think about …
I’m seriously considering redoing this bad boy and releasing this version as a free theme.
I gotta say though, the features of this theme are working out just as planned. The emphasis on subscribing has gained new subscribers. The comments are working nicely. The sidebar is creating better click-throughs, and the old stories called “favorite posts” are getting fresh traffic.
Maybe just the colors need some sprucing up.
Although I can’t imagine doing another header image. I want to keep it simple and make the content the star, not the cool graphic design.
At least I know the design works. Now I just need to pretty it up a bit.
Thanks for the feedback!
Nathan