New layout

[DELTETHISACCOUNT]

http://www.ruizwashere.com

Unsatisfied with my previous layout, I decided to redo it. I recieved a lot of suggestions from friends that the previous design looked too simple and didn't stand out enough. Also recieved comments that the splash page was a waste. I don't like for my page to look too bloated and complicated, so I added more while still keeping a simple feel. So here she is, completely re-done. Most of the main pages pass validation just fine but there may be a few pages that need some tweaking. I will take care of that later.

Please don't judge me too harshly because I'm still very new to this, but be honest and tell what you think about it and if there's anything I can do to make it even better! Thank you for looking!

EDIT: September 12, 2008 - Well, I decided to scrap the layout and create a new one. I felt that creating another topic wouldn't necessary. Please tell me what you think!

Edited September 12, 2008 by Ruiz

[primexx]

i really like the top and bottom, the middle could use some work though...I think it's the horizontal gradient making it look cheap, try a more subtle/consistent content background and see how that goes.

[p858snake]

Maybe center it on the page and then have the colour shadow on either side?

[Kami-]

Its too damn long! =(

Sorry I just hate scrolling >.<

[White Cuban]

Its nice, background's stunning, though. the transition to orange color is kinda not cool to me, i dont like it, it should be maybe blue and cyan but not orange>blue

[primexx]

mm i like the orange to blue combination actually

[DELTETHISACCOUNT]

Thank you all for your comments. :)

i really like the top and bottom, the middle could use some work though...I think it's the horizontal gradient making it look cheap, try a more subtle/consistent content background and see how that goes.

Will definitely consider that. My only fear is that it will look too repetitive as the user scrolls. So I have to put a lot of thought into what I want to place there.

Maybe center it on the page and then have the colour shadow on either side?

That would look much much better. Again, the only fear I have is that it may not look right on screens that use different resolutions. But really, I should consider that for it would make the page better to focus on.

Its too damn long! =(

Sorry I just hate scrolling >.<

Haha, I hear ya. It actually used to be twice as long. I decided to shorten all of my blog entries and reduce the ammount that appears on the page.

Its nice, background's stunning, though. the transition to orange color is kinda not cool to me, i dont like it, it should be maybe blue and cyan but not orange>blue

I actually tried the cyan to blue transition. It looked nice, but it goes without saying any page with different shades of blue would look nice. I still wanted to keep the blue but mix it with another color to have it stand out. Most of all, I wanted to use a color scheme that users don't usually see. Peach was the winner.

[DreadBoat89]

That would look much much better. Again, the only fear I have is that it may not look right on screens that use different resolutions. But really, I should consider that for it would make the page better to focus on.

well think of it this way... a left-aligned page would look ok on resolutions that are less than 1280 in width, but when you get to 1920 and more, well you can use your imagination for that.

[DELTETHISACCOUNT]

Alright, I followed suggestions made by some of you guys and from personal friends and re-did it. My lord it took forever but it looks well worth it.

Unless something is broken or missing, I'm not changing it. (Y)

[joe_banana]

maybe change the color of your body text or something..

but still the header looks great..:)

[primexx]

looks a lot better than before

try how it looks if you get rid of the text reflections at the top

[DELTETHISACCOUNT]

^ It looked a little too plain without it, so I decided to blur it instead so that it looks like it's reflecting off a glass texture. Should look alright now, right? :)

[primexx]

much better

[azz0r_wugg]

I'd prefer it centralised, some more padding around the content area, different font maybe.

Header is nice.

[DELTETHISACCOUNT]

Well, I decided to scrap that layout and create a new one. I felt that creating another topic wouldn't be necessary. Please tell me what you think!

http://www.ruizwashere.com

[primexx]

Well, I decided to scrap that layout and create a new one. I felt that creating another topic wouldn't be necessary. Please tell me what you think!

http://www.ruizwashere.com

make the post titles A LOT bigger, and work on the sidebar. otherwise, it looks great!

[gigapixels Veteran]

make the post titles A LOT bigger, and work on the sidebar. otherwise, it looks great!

I agree. The titles should stand out from the rest of the content.

And the sidebar also should stand out or at least be separated somehow.

[DELTETHISACCOUNT]

Alright, I took care of the size. I'm using Arial right now. Is there a font that looks thinner when oversized?

And will definitely work on the sidebar. Problem is, I have no idea what to do with it or how to do it, lol. :)

[gigapixels Veteran]

Titles look much better (Y)

As for a different font, try just setting font-weight to normal. You have to do this explicitly on the h1, h2, etc. since their default style is bold.

And I don't currently have any ideas for the sidebar either. I'll let you know if I think of anything.

[DELTETHISACCOUNT]

Awesome! Thanks for that little tidbit, I had no idea it was bold by default!

[Kami-]

Nice =)

I like that new layout :)

[?AK]

I really like it! I think it's easy on the eyes too. Good job mate.

[gigapixels Veteran]

Awesome! Thanks for that little tidbit, I had no idea it was bold by default!

There are a few things you learn after working with CSS for 6+ years like I have been :p

To keep from running into issues like that though, I always just define the styles exactly how I want them. That way I won't have a weird problem I can't figure out that just so happens to be caused by a default style that I didn't change.

[Plarkster]

Your last version looked pretty good but I really like your new one. Nice work!