Frontpage redesign

There are already plans to switch over to an IPB front page.
http://www.bzpower.c...er&showissue=36

There are already plans to switch over to an IPB front page.
http://www.bzpower.c...er&showissue=36

 
 
No there are no plans we are discussing that, and most of the people want to keep the old homepage. So I made this so people could see the homepage a bit adapted.

Not a big fan of this. Sure, we could make it higher-resolution, but really, I actually prefer the old style.

 

There are already plans to switch over to an IPB front page.
http://www.bzpower.c...er&showissue=36

 
 
No there are no plans we are discussing that, and most of the people want to keep the old homepage. So I made this so people could see the homepage a bit adapted.

 
 

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With all due respect, those are totally plans. Whether or not anyone has made an example does not change the fact that discussion of the changing of the front page goes in that tracker file. HAZMAT is a staff, which means he probably knows a bit more about the subject that we normal members haven't yet found out.
 
-Rez

Edited by -Reznas-, Dec 17 2012 - 07:09 AM.

Oh sorry then HAZMAT if I was unrespectfull. Well if that is true the topic leader may close this ticket.

I don't know anything about it lol. B6 set it to accepted, which means he's looking into it. Maybe he'll end up deciding against it and just go with a small-scale redesign like this, especially since it seems to be getting lots of thumbs down. Since he didn't say anything on the matter and just accepted it I assumed that was that, but I think a separate ticker for a normal redesign is a good idea to gauge interest on which idea members like more.
 
My bad for coming off so matter-of-factly.

This is also no good. Any site you go to looks far more sleek and modern than this.

I trust the web designers on the staff to come up with a nice, modern design for the front page.

-SK

Yeah, it would need a lot more than just some CSS changes. Restructuring the organization in the PHP, updating the images, and modernizing it to work better with the new forums would also need doing.

Ok, it has been decided now, we'll stick to the omd frontpage and just make some adaptations.


Thats why I like this disign because it keeps the epicness of a decade old page but still lets it feel the same as the forums and the rest.

If we do a front page redesign, we'd likely strip apart the current version and put together something new that using a new version of PHP and uses HTML5/CSS3 so we can provide a modern experience.  No use into hanging on to an old design that has been around since 2004 just for the sake of legacy.

But then you've got like B6 once said, start messing with the 12 year old working news system

Well; with a redesign of the PHP and HTML, then it'd probably be kinda easier to make a news system that might synchronize with RSS feeds, and maybe even the forum, better. Since by bringing the system up to current technology standards, it'd be easier to make a more easily fixable news system, theoretically at least.

/EDIT: Oh, I get what you mean by that comment now. Well; technically, there wouldn't need to be as much work there, since it'd be in a database already(Hopefully, at least). If it is, then it'd be a matter of finding the calls, and adapting the current ones to modern standards.

If they aren't in a database, it would be a little more challenging, yes.

Edited by BZP Blade, Jan 30 2013 - 09:34 AM.

I'm pretty sure there should be no problem with a complete overhaul. News stories would still work the same way, what would change is their appearance on the front page.

-Gata

I'm pretty sure there should be no problem with a complete overhaul. News stories would still work the same way, what would change is their appearance on the front page.

-Gata

Correct, we wouldn't replace the news posting system, just alter the way content is displayed.

Obviously its very, very early in the thought process of any such redesign, there are other things we plan on tackling first.

Edited by Than the Moa, Jan 30 2013 - 12:12 PM.

A revamped news system wouldn't be much different because the same practices would be used, at least in terms of database organization. If they would like to write new PHP with more modern practices (I'm sure some optimizations can be made), that might help.

In terms of design, HTML5 and CSS3 can get very fun and very interesting. I urge you guys to explore some extreme options, and I challenge you to use no Javascript. That's a fun way to get compliant code that also looks really interesting.

The whole idea of a redesign would be a refreshing twist.

In terms of design, HTML5 and CSS3 can get very fun and very interesting. I urge you guys to explore some extreme options, and I challenge you to use no Javascript. That's a fun way to get compliant code that also looks really interesting.

What's not compliant about JavaScript? HTML5 and CSS3 are less compliant, especially with older version of IE. JavaScript is great for interactivity and using AJAX can decrease load times and server load. Plus, unless you use the HTML5 JavaScript shim for IE, IE < 9 will not play nice with HTML5 tags.

In terms of design, HTML5 and CSS3 can get very fun and very interesting. I urge you guys to explore some extreme options, and I challenge you to use no Javascript. That's a fun way to get compliant code that also looks really interesting.

What's not compliant about JavaScript? HTML5 and CSS3 are less compliant, especially with older version of IE. JavaScript is great for interactivity and using AJAX can decrease load times and server load. Plus, unless you use the HTML5 JavaScript shim for IE, IE < 9 will not play nice with HTML5 tags.

Yeah, if you have a relatively static page you can get away with just having HTML5 and CSS3, but if you're going to deliver dynamic content, you really do need javascript to do things, especially due to how powerful AJAX calls and JSON are.
 
Let me put it this way, the day google stops using javascript to give you suggested searches and real time search, I'll rise up to the challenge of a complex javascript-free web.

If it works in the most recent versions of all browsers, it's considered compliant, at least in my book. Javascript has lots of browser-specific things, which is why jQuery sets out to create a unified system for it. But then you have the extra hassle of loading jQuery each time you load.
 
Unless you absolutely need it for AJAX, then it's simply more convenient and still more compliant to not use Javascript. I didn't think you'd want, for example, live updating/endless scrolling or something.

Look, it's admirable that you want to push for HTML5 and CSS3, but Javascript is a first class citizen on the web right among them.  It is standard compliant.  All the browsers are beginning to implement javascript in the same fashion (As evidenced by all current versions of every major browser now implementing the same codes for reporting on which mouse button was clicked in a click event).  jQuery, while working to normalize some of the functions, is more of a library than anything now, providing useful functions and shortcuts to improve the programming experience for developers.  There is no more hassle in loading jQuery when you load than there is in loading every image on the page (not to mention the jQuery file ends up cached by the browser anyway).  Javascript also gives us the highest level of backwards compatibility and highest degree of functionality by allowing us to manipulate data in creative ways that you simply can't with only HTML5 and CSS3.