Blog

I've completed the theme functionality on the new site. Changing the look (and width) of the site is extremely easy and fast. The screenshots that you can see demonstrate this functionality although changes to templates are only minor for testing - in the end result the themes will be quite different from each other.

In addition to themes I've completed a user registration process with live java validation of the form fields as you type. This will simplify the process making sure that your passwords match up and that your address is valid etc. The registration process also features validation by e-mail to ensure you don't get unsolicited spam.

 Finally - the most important thing I've learned so far is KEEP YOUR CONTENT AND DESIGN SEPARATED. This is the best way to work as changing a theme or page content is super simple once the framework is in place. It's 4:14am now so I'm going to eat something and watch some TV now... then off to sleep.

Today I put yet another couple of hours into the new web sites and I am getting some inspiration from the look of this blog. The new sites will be quite modular and should feature some functionality that is shared between the music and the games section and I am quite excited about the whole project.

 I am also happy to say that I'm going for the commonly suggested method layout by best practice which is a max fixed width of 960 pixels that allows resizing down to a minimum of 760 pixels. This should look best in higher resolutions but also allow those with lower resolution to enjoy the site (I feel it is important not to neglect any of fellow fans!)

 There is nothing new to show and it will probably be quite a while until then, but I will continue to work on this when time allows.

I'm in the process of planning the new Music and Games sites and I am currently batteling whether to use "fixed width" rather than "liquid layout" on the site. Today I use liquid as you can see the content adjusting automatically to the width of the browser window, but you can achieve better design (in my opinion) and also better readability with fixed width of the page. Statistics from a 2006 (yes I know, old info) show that about 60% are using a resolution of 1024x768 and up and only about 17% use the resolution 800x600. I would like to use a width of 960 pixels of the new web sites. I may do some testing with what I feel may be the optimal solution, that is a maximum width of 960 pixels but a fluid layout to accomodate for users still using lower resolutions. More on this topic later.