So now that the new site is live and I’ve had a chance to fix most of the re-launch related bugs, it’s time to share a little about the process that went into building this version of the site.
If you’re seeing this in a feed reader, this is what the new site looks like:
Come on over for a visit and poke around a bit. 
I launched alexking.org v1 on Nov. 1, 2002, v2 launches 4 years later1 and incorporates a number of lessons learned. The main changes/adjustments have been building up in my head for the last 2 years, and as a result I made a lot of changes in the redesign.
There are a number of topics regarding the redesign that I think would be interesting to discuss, for example:
- Overall re-design goals - what needed fixing.
- New site navigation - reasons for it, what it solves. & Goals of simplification.
- Designing for the future.
- New URL structure - which choices were made and why.
- You’ve got content - how do you best leverage it?
- New WordPress plugins written/updated for the new site.
- Bending WordPress to your will - or how many plugins are too many?
- Is your site maintenance toolset holding your site back?
- Benefits of having your entire site content in a single CMS.
- Monetization choices.
I’ll try to tackle these over the next few weeks. If you have other topics you’d like to hear about regarding the redesign, let me know in the comments and I’ll try to cover them as well.
- To the day - how about that. [back]
Popularity: 13% [?]
D. Goodmanson adds this Comment:
Like the new look! Great 3 column layout.
November 2nd, 2006 at 4:49 pm
Matt W adds this Comment:
I’ll definitely be looking forward to reading the “Designing for the future,” “New URL Structure,” and “Bending WordPress to your will” points. Would also be interested in hearing about any back-end things you might be using that wouldn’t be apparent to the visitor (if there are any worth noting).
November 2nd, 2006 at 5:37 pm
danithew adds this Comment:
The new site design looks great. The color-scheme is similar to the old one but nicer/easier on the eyes. I like the tab system.
My blog’s been a mess for awhile. Besides needing to update the version of WordPress I’m using, I’m looking forward to doing a re-design. It’s good to see a site like this. Lots of good ideas.
November 2nd, 2006 at 7:59 pm
Jenny adds this Comment:
i love the new layout.
November 3rd, 2006 at 12:09 am
Ian Pottinger adds this Comment:
I love the “tone” of the site! Very easy on the eyes, well organized. I immediately threw my mouse to Firefox’s URL bar, ready to click the RSS subscription button and was surprised not to see it there.
I know the site was just launched and this may be just one of many planned features to come. But on the very small chance that this might be an oversight, and as a helpful hint to readers of your comments that may not be familiar with RSS auto-discovery in the newest versions of the most popular browsers, I provide this link as a primer.
http://developer.moz[...]ting_Started
Please don’t take offense. Just want to be helpful. I will be an avid reader of your blog. Looking forward to the experience. My best wishes to you!
November 3rd, 2006 at 12:33 am
Malte adds this Comment:
I think, the three column layouts are the future…
There is much more place for stuff and nearly everybody uses a screen with high resolution. An for those, who are using PDAs we have different stylesheets
I like your new design!
November 3rd, 2006 at 12:46 am
ade adds this Comment:
I’m loving this new look!
November 3rd, 2006 at 12:49 am
Ozh adds this Comment:
Nice look overall, but I think the link style is really odd and really 1990. Really looks like default styling and I can’t help thinking “hmmm must reload the browser forgot to load a css those links are ugly” …
November 3rd, 2006 at 1:42 am
Mike Lanxess adds this Comment:
“Share this” is an excellent solution not to overload a post with all the social bookmarking icons. And good idea for a “service box” with much more functionality. Will you make this functionality available as a plugin?
November 3rd, 2006 at 2:19 am
TDH adds this Comment:
This is a vast improvement, Alex. Nice.
November 3rd, 2006 at 7:02 am
Brett adds this Comment:
Looking good Alex!
Consider a Recommendations spot on your site… I already have the Harmony remote, use Wordpress for CMS and have learned some handy coding techniques in the past.
“Recommendations” or “Personal Setup” might be a good idea! Something like below…? Feel free to expand on this if you or anyone else can.
===============
Web Must Haves:
http://phpforms.net - For automated forms, any other recommendations that aren’t subscription based for the client?
Wordpress Plugin Must Haves (other suggestions or additions):
All of Alex’s of course. =)
Including PHP - http://bluesome.net/[...]05/08/18/50/
Contact Form - http://chip.cuccio.u[...]act-form-ii/
Must Have Hardware:
Harmony Universal Remote - 880 - Love it! Get this or 550.
Apple MacBook Pro - Camera and Intel chip are sweet, but the drive isn’t near as accessible as the MacBook
Canon Digital Rebel XT - Works great for all our needs, learning it mostly on my honeymoon. eBay’d a 2GB card for best price.
Must Have Software:
Accounting - vebio.com or otherwise, etc., I use MYOB but only because it’s one of the few that run on Mac, etc.
Newsreader - www.google.com/reader
November 3rd, 2006 at 8:34 am
Grant Palin adds this Comment:
I’ve got a local copy of wordpress on my computer, just to fiddle around with and see what changes I can make so it becomes just a little more useful. I haven’t done mmuch with it lately, and have some catching up to do.
I would definitely be interested in reading about modifications you made to WP, how to use it as a CMS, and leveraging content. I’ll be watching!
Nice design too! I really should try a new design - it’s so easy with WP!
November 3rd, 2006 at 1:51 pm
kristin adds this Comment:
Looks great! easier to read the text compared to the old site.
November 4th, 2006 at 9:16 am
Alfred adds this Comment:
Sorry I liked your old site more, although I know that this new one had better features. To my feeling a lot of sites move towards a sort of K2-style. Mine does too, but older sites seem to have more differences in styles. Well all right, congratulations anyway!
November 5th, 2006 at 6:02 pm
Cocoliso adds this Comment:
Thanks for sharing. I’m waiting to see the last two installments.
March 6th, 2007 at 7:30 pm
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April 18th, 2007 at 12:35 pm
lorenzo piccinini adds this Comment:
Hi! I was completely new about the wordpress platform but thanks to your articles and others tutorials on the web I made a nice blogsite that you can visit.I take some inspiration from other blogs and my own graphic style, the nature style on it! hope you can like it.
May 17th, 2007 at 3:16 pm
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