Subscribe via RSSSite Layout Changes 7 Mar 2008
March 7, 2008
There are some major changes been going on my blog in the last 2 days. And so far, I have made changes to the theme, the pages, and the categories. Which I describe in more details here.
New Temporary Theme
First of all, it's a must mention that I have officially adapt this temporary professional theme. You can read some info about that here This Blog is Dressing Up. I already spotted out a few bugs since I applied the theme. Since then, I did fix some and still have some. So could you please, do me a favor and leave me some comment on what type of bug you see?
Changes to Pages
I added a few more functional pages:
- Search - of course you want some outstanding search function. Yes, my blog is now powered by Google site search.
- Contact - yes, now you can email me directly from my blog.
- Sitemap - now you can browse all links my site's viewable content.
Changes to Categories
I admit this is so far one of the hardest job in modifying a blog. The difficulty level is only lower than coding a brand new theme. I will brag about this later on. For now is the update for the new category structure.
Old structure |
New structure |
|---|---|
The changes include both category name and slug name. I also altered some category from singular noun into plural noun. I don't know if doing so is correct, so if you read till here, please give me some thoughts.
Changes to Permalinks
No, not yet. But I'm planning to change to the no-date based permalink structure. Which means there will be no http://www.binh.name/2008/03/05/this-blog-is-dressing-up/, instead there might be:
- http://www.binh.name/this-blog-is-dressing-up/ .
- http://www.binh.name/blog/this-blog-is-dressing-up/
- http://www.binh.name/post/this-blog-is-dressing-up/
- http://www.binh.name/posts/this-blog-is-dressing-up/
If it's you, which option would you choose for post? Put yourself as a reader (which u already are) and give me your honest opinons.
Category permalinks also is a hot topic. I want to know you prefer which of the following:
- Longer hierarchy based (currently):
http://www.binh.name/category/computing/
http://www.binh.name/category/computing/windows/ OR - Shorter hierarchy based:
http://www.binh.name/computing/
http://www.binh.name/computing/windows/ OR - Shorter non-hierarchy
http://www.binh.name/computing/
http://www.binh.name/windows/
Counting YOUR criticism
Yes, this post is made primarily to ask your opinions. If you are reader, either new or subscribed, could you please point your fingers and tell me what's going wrong here? Of course nice words are also appreciated, but I prefer critics. I will be deeply in debt of your generosity.
Tags: binh.name, blog, Blogging, google, layout, plan, Web design
New theme looks better than the old one. I do see one small bug though. Under "Wordpress" link in the navigation it has a white square where a black line should be.
As for permalinks, domain.com/post is the best, however I also started with using the dates and am afraid it will cause more problems than it fixes, so I am keeping it on my blog.
Collin LaHay » Great, thanks for the info. I fixed it now.
Did anyone notice the "About" link got problem when mouse over?
The overall looks is professional.
The logo looks professional and the photo is well-photoshopped. Good work.
The ad placement of the google ads up to the right fits perfectly.
//
Dean’s Design Ideas » Thanks for the compliments. I had a look at your blog and I like it. Please keep up the good work there and if you have new idea please let me know. I would love to hear more from you, especially about the bad things on my blog. Regards, Binh.
Great new theme Binh, but you should fix a few things.
1. Try not to comment on blogs using anything other than your name. People will NEVER get to know you because your name is your image.
2. On the main page, it shows too many images of YOU. No offense of course, but updates/posts should show other images related to the post.
-Mike
Mike Huang » Thanks Mike, for the greatest comment so far. Of course I love your comment and I will listen to your suggestions. But as for some remarks (no defense), here are my "excuses":
1. Yes, I tried. I personally doesn't like doing so. That's why I put a note on the comment saying if the blog author doesn't like keyword name, they should change back to my name "Binh Nguyen", and also include my name as a signature.
2. Oh, yes, yes. That's surpose to be the post image. But I set to default to use my own (ugly) face on it if there is no image on the post. And all those posts haven't got thumbnails. Not yet. When I fix those I will notify you.
Thanks again, this time for your valuable time. Your blog is growing fast, while my blog is only at minor level. It's a honor to have you here, and I hope you will come back often as I will write more about professional stuff. More plans to come.
Regards,
Binh