Topic: New Layout? (Read 39350 times)

bicostp · « **on:** 10 Dec 2008, 10:37 »

(Note: shoo-ed from WCT thread.)

New web layout, you say? Hmm...

I don't particularly like CSS, either. It's great once everything's put together, but coding between browsers and platforms is a royal pain. If something works in Firefox 2 it might not work in Firefox 3, IE 6, IE 7, Opera, iCab, Safari for Mac, Safari for Windows, etc.

Would a mobile site be too much to ask? (A cut-down, smaller layout for smartphones and their ilk.)

psion · « **Reply #1 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 11:09 »

CSS is just a pain in the ass to work with in general. But then again, Jeph is talking about in his Twitter going to a beige theme. It should match the Coffee of Doom walls.

Puki · « **Reply #2 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 11:36 »

Hm...only suggestions (although they're not considered):
1. different fonts (not neceserally the type, but the size is too big - for my taste, which has no influence whatsoever, but I like to state it)for previous / next / etc...
2. different colours for links on the right side menu
3. forum link anywhere?
4. have no 4 for now, because I didn't look it very carefully

Rabdsquirlz · « **Reply #3 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 11:55 »

Obligatory "change is scary, bring back the old design" post.
Also, where did the forum link on the home page go?

MillionDollar Belt Sander · « **Reply #4 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 12:08 »

Looks ok to me.

Spoom · « **Reply #5 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 12:58 »

Whatever you just did fixed the layout for me (in Firefox 3).

KamikaziCal · « **Reply #6 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 13:07 »

Forum link is on the right in the side bar. After the other comics links, there is "extra credit" which contains forum and some other stuff.

sieckanddestroy · « **Reply #7 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 13:28 »

Quote from: Jeans on 10 Dec 2008, 12:06

Man, this design is just not good. Sorry Jeph. The old one was plain better.

I liked the one before that better too, still do.

Agreed.

britMonster · « **Reply #8 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 13:34 »

The forum link is on the side now, I really liked it at the top.

Tybalt · « **Reply #9 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 13:38 »

NOOO don't put the newsposts on the bottom.

But otherwise the layout is okay with me.

Tako · « **Reply #10 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 13:47 »

Quote from: Puki on 10 Dec 2008, 11:36

Hm...only suggestions (although they're not considered):
1. different fonts (not neceserally the type, but the size is too big - for my taste, which has no influence whatsoever, but I like to state it)for previous / next / etc...
2. different colours for links on the right side menu
3. forum link anywhere?
4. have no 4 for now, because I didn't look it very carefully

<graphic designer>

I agree with the type. It's too heavy.
And my biggest problem is how crammed in everything seems. The comic has no room to breathe; it's being framed by the background and a bunch of info which makes it harder to focus on it.
There are other little things, but I think those are the main problems. CSS is a pain, but it's the standard.

</graphic designer>

xCaitlinx · « **Reply #11 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 13:48 »

Sexy new layout woo!
The forums link being a little hidden is kind of difficult, and I do prefer the newsposts at the side, but those are things easily adapted to and the layout is pretty, thus making it worth it!

Shawn · « **Reply #12 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 13:54 »

The forums link should really be at the top, like it used to be.

I also agree that the comic looks like it would get a little claustrophobic.

Another thing: It was better with a dark color behind the comic because that caused the comic to pop out at you. Having the light color behind the comic makes the comic fade into the page (especially with this particular strip, because the walls of the library almost match the page's new background color).

All in all, I don't like it.

psion · « **Reply #13 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 14:01 »

Quote from: Tybalt on 10 Dec 2008, 13:38

NOOO don't put the newsposts on the bottom.

But otherwise the layout is okay with me.

I agree with Tybalt. I must also say that I like the new QC logo. Kudo's on the pretty logo.

Jeph said on his Twitter that he was considering a mostly white theme. I must agree that it would have seemed a bit too corporate.

Siibillam-Law · « **Reply #14 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 14:01 »

I like it (especially the new banner)

but forum link at top (damn that tiny one)
and the newsfeed where it should be, cos now it's all the way down there and no one wants to look at it any more

akincisor · « **Reply #15 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 14:43 »

Maybe I'm the only one, but having the news post at the bottom is better, because sometimes it contains spoilers and having it on the side would distract me from the comic.

bicostp · « **Reply #16 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 14:43 »

It's coming along pretty well! Here's some input if you want:

- News post at the bottom =

- Setting the sidebar width to 185 pixels lets you put a buffer to the left of the comic with next to no impact on the sidebar itself (at least in Firefox; more on that shortly).
- I don't know how the navigation font (Home, Archive, etc links) looks in OS X, but it looks like a fill-in font on Windows:

Quote from: The twitter page

OKAY enough webbery for one day. time to start drawin'.

Time for some unsolicited fan-webbery, then?

Here's what I came up with after some tinkering:

Unfortunately, it screws up in IE 6. (The sidebar decided it wanted to go to the right side of the page, under the comic. All part of CSS's bizarre nature, I suppose. The original page on the server doesn't do this.) Opera, as usual, doesn't care what you throw at it and renders fine. I can't test on Konqueror or Safari.

EDIT: Fixed that, but the Twitter-reader-size placeholder image isn't centered in the sidebar area. Oh well, close enough. Why can't browser developers decide on one set way to render pages?!

EDIT 2: Crap this is just the old page with a new color scheme, isn't it?

GenericName · « **Reply #17 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 14:47 »

Guys, Jeph is hiding the forums because he is ashamed of them.

I would be too.

Also, the new title bar seems very influenced by A Softer World.

Siibillam-Law · « **Reply #18 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 14:50 »

Quote from: akincisor on 10 Dec 2008, 14:43

Maybe I'm the only one, but having the news post at the bottom is better, because sometimes it contains spoilers and having it on the side would distract me from the comic.

He says when there are spoilers though, so I've never fallen into the trap (cos I read the post first)
It's just a bit too out of the way, plus when it's by the twitter, you can read both at once (seeing they're both newsposts in a way)

Also bicostp, awesome work. Just how I'd have done it

mittensofdoom · « **Reply #19 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 14:58 »

Looks like someone smeared diarrhea all over the background

(been following qc for what looks like a year and made an acc just to say that)

that is all

gnarfel · « **Reply #20 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 15:02 »

I liked the dark colors better, the comic always popped to your attention.

I like the style of the page, just not for a webcomic...it looks like he's going for a 'magazine cutouts/handwritten notes on paper' type of style, which is fine, but theres too much crap crammed in now. Personally, I always used the archive view to read, instead of the front page (less stuff in the sidebar, you know?)

Shawn · « **Reply #21 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 15:22 »

Bicostp, I like your version better than the real thing.

However, the asymmetry of the menu is driving me nuts. It would look better if something separated The Page Navigation Menu and The Comic Navigation Menu. Either way, I think these tweaks improve the layout.

I still hate the color though... It's brighter than the comic.

Shadic · « **Reply #22 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 15:41 »

The white is ugly. I don't think there's really any way around that. It shines at your instead of the comic, and attention is drawn to all the wrong places.

Having the "Home Archive About Merchandise Contact RSS" Be so close to the "First Previous Next Last Random" is just a bad idea too. It's hard to separate the two.

And having the Newspost on the bottom sucks. The comic is too long for that type of style - It should be on the side.

Overall, I honestly think it sucks. It retains nothing that made the old design good, and shits on the idea of improving anything. Different doesn't mean better, and what's actually improved - Design OR Layout wise - Of this, as compared to the old?

Dickbutt · « **Reply #23 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 15:57 »

I'm almost the only one who likes the new layout

Okay the old one is better but I really like this one too.

Siibillam-Law · « **Reply #24 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 16:36 »

Maybe darken the colours, and tweek things here and there (sidebar, symmetry, NEWSPOST), but aside from that, all good

Shawn · « **Reply #25 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 17:31 »

Quote from: Dickbutt on 10 Dec 2008, 15:57

Okay the old one is better but I really like this one too.

Yes, but, if the old one is better... why change to a new one?

Siibillam-Law · « **Reply #26 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 17:39 »

Things need to change every so often. It's been years since he's had a good site layout update. I was thinking the other day "it would be cool if he changed a couple of things around"

hemmofa · « **Reply #27 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 17:48 »

I like the new color scheme, but the layout is still a bit messy. The logo redirs to a 404 (logogo.png), and there could be some extra space between the banners.
Also, a menu on the right with links to the forums, merch and whatever else, would be nice in place at the point where the newsposts were before

(edit) But, assuming you're still working on it: Keep up the good work

DonInKansas · « **Reply #28 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 18:31 »

I miss the dark backgrounds......It put the focus on the comic.
I miss the forum link at the top too...I wondered a minute whether he'd given the Forums the axe altogether.

J-cob9000 · « **Reply #29 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 18:46 »

The colors are nice, although some stripes or something in the background would be nice. The newspost should be at the top and perhaps the side bar on the other side. The human eye automatically to the left for information/links/etc. I always look to the right for the comic and now have to look back over.
Forum link at the top would be nice as well.
Type is too thick as well.

smilesvssmirks · « **Reply #30 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 19:00 »

I kind of hate the new design as well. I agree it looks messy and crammed. I also thought for a moment the forums had been axed all together. And didn't see the newsposts until I read on here to look under the comic. I like them much better on the side. Jeph always indicates spoilers if mentioned so if someone reads past the spoiler warnings, that's their stupid fault. With so much linkage and all the ads the right side just looks like spambonanza. I also agree with the remark of the fonts being too big and bold. As well as desiring a distinction between the Home/Archive link bar and the First/Previous link bar. Logo isn't currently loading for me. I like the color choices well enough, but maybe if they were reversed that would help? Everything on the white/cream is just to harsh and distracting. Also, please for the sake of symmetry put a little bit of breathing room to the left of the comic.

bicostp · « **Reply #31 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 19:14 »

Quote from: DonInKansas on 10 Dec 2008, 18:31

I wondered a minute whether he'd given the Forums the axe altogether.

Wouldn't blame him if he did.

Quote from: smilesvssmirks on 10 Dec 2008, 19:00

I agree it looks messy and crammed.

But it's the same width as the old one...

Why is the width still 800 pixels? Almost everyone uses at least 1024x768 nowadays. 1000 pixels wide would open up a lot more space for the layout.

A. Smith · « **Reply #32 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 19:22 »

FLAME FLAME FLAME

I really don't like the new theme. Not because it's new; I personally prefer the new color scheme. However, you MUST put the forum link in the top bar and the newspost just can't be at the bottom.

Somebody · « **Reply #33 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 19:57 »

I have to say... that colour scheme is ugly as hell.

Not fond of Courier either.

Quote from: bicostp on 10 Dec 2008, 19:14

But it's the same width as the old one...

Perception =/= reality.

Notice that, if you look carefully at the French flag, the three stripes aren't actually the same size. They have to be different sizes to look the same size, because the human brain works in odd ways. The old colour scheme, with relatively subtle differences in the shades of blue, gave a more expansive look than great splodges of brown and beige.

badbum61 · « **Reply #34 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 20:23 »

Hey, where's the forums link gone?

wait.........HOLY SHIT! HOW DID I GET HERE??

satsujin24 · « **Reply #35 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 21:18 »

Chiming in along with everyone else... I dislike the new design as well. The color scheme of the old design was very easy on the eyes, while this one is the direct opposite. Also, I'm not quite sure why the twitter feed is at the top but the news post is at the bottom. I'd prefer seeing the news post first rather than "drunk goin bed" or whatever random twitter post Jeph last updated.

Sure you can chalk it up to "oh people don't like change" but the more likely scenario is that this change was simply a bad one. Won't stop me from reading the comic, naturally, but does make it look less polished than it did before.

AnotherWeasley · « **Reply #36 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 21:33 »

I am resurrecting my almost-never-used, not-touched-in-years QC forum membership to pipe up and say I don't really like the new layout at all, for all the reasons mentioned already. That's how motivated I was to add my voice to this choir!

iroquois · « **Reply #37 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 21:58 »

bleh. 've been lurking for quite long.
but decided to register to type this.

i'm using google chrome and i can't even load the banner D:
and the courier new font should be gone~.
i felt that the buttons for the old website was not bad.
i'd prefer buttons over hyperlinks O_o

(sorry for my poor grammar, not very good in english D:)

foofighterq · « **Reply #38 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 22:23 »

yea, im not diggin the new color scheme at all, cant find the forum link, news post on the bottow wtf???

change for change's sake and all that.

Emaline · « **Reply #39 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 22:33 »

I dislike the forum link being tiny and lost.

Dollface · « **Reply #40 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 22:49 »

Quote from: Emaline on 10 Dec 2008, 22:33

I dislike the forum link being tiny and lost.

I'm with you on this one, cause if you are in lates strip and you see forum link and press previous strip and then latest BAM its gone.

(sorry if im nagging)

wings-on-water · « **Reply #41 on:** 10 Dec 2008, 23:13 »

I agree with what a lot of people are saying. Right now the banner doesn't work for me (in Firefox 3) so I can't really get the full impact of everything... However. The thing that offends me visually the most is the terrible hospital-wall pink background colour. It makes me feel like I'm in a bizarre kind of nursing home. (Even more bizarre than usual what with today's tapir strip.) And I find it doesn't really go with the dark brown either, unless you are wearing some kind of retro clothing with those colours on it. Aaaand what somebody else said about the light colour making the strip not pop so much as it used to.

The placement of the newspost and forum link and all that I suppose I can get used to. But those colours are going to drive me nuts.

weirdbeard · « **Reply #42 on:** 11 Dec 2008, 00:18 »

Trying not to whine
but...
New logo not displaying on FF3.0.4 on OSX 10.4.11, dunno what that means
i had a chuckle at minimizing the forums...
Maybe it was just habit because they'd been on the right the whole time I've been reading, but i always read the newspost before i read the comic, it being at the bottom weirds me out. but you know, just me.

Caspain · « **Reply #43 on:** 11 Dec 2008, 01:01 »

tl;dr

Basically, I like the new color scheme. The only thing I'd change are the black frames on the comics themselves, they strangle any ambiance created by this new soothing atmosphere. I'd suggest using the same color as the background to create a 'floating' appearance for each panel. Obviously, the side bars links need altered to the new dried blood/red font/high light scheme.

Not positive, but via the Chrome web-browser, the image of 'http://questionablecontent.net/index.php' is not displayed.

The background is nice, but viewed at 1600x1200, there is a whole lot of it, what would you think of a very light outline of various panels/characters/things scattered across it, maybe only a degree of shading different of the base color, so as to add something to it, without overloading peoples video memory.

Over all, change is good, not well received, but good on the whole. (insert preparation H joke)

Damien · « **Reply #44 on:** 11 Dec 2008, 01:39 »

Jeph, we all love it when you put effort into keeping the site and comic new and spiffy, really we do.

Just... maybe in a different direction here? I agree with the most frequent requests to relocate the Forum link and the newspost. I'd also add in that I really like a little box that defines the clicky area of a given button (like with the previous comic nav. links); it makes things look more buttony and less texty. Also the logo is down in FF3 for me, as well.

I liked what Dora did with the decor in Coffee of Doom, with the warm orange and the mahogany woodstain*. I think that might fit the bill for a color scheme people can appreciate, or at least tolerate. Concensus?

* http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=425

gophergun · « **Reply #45 on:** 11 Dec 2008, 02:14 »

Honestly, the new site's about as user-friendly as Battlecruiser 3000AD's interface was. In fact, it took me a good seven minutes or so to find the forum before refreshing for some reason (a bad habit of mine coming from my forum-going) and then watching links magically appear on the right hand side. The website's still in development, so I can let bugs like that slide (though I can't see the banner). The fact that the next, previous, etc. images have been replaced with text is one of the most bothersome things for me. It hearkens back to a time when if you had Internet, you had dial-up, and designers tried to use as few images as possible to avoid frustrating load times. Obviously, this is not the case. I'd imagine that the majority of QC readers, if not the majority of Internet users, now use broadband of some kind, making the removal of the stylized Previous/Next buttons fairly unnecessary. The use of the DOS-esque font is even more perplexing. The movement of the newspost to the bottom makes it rather uncomfortable to read, as well. Now, I'm normally very open to change, it's exciting. However, it's not worth it if it mucks up the already good usability of the site.

Related Articles:
Youtube's transition to widescreen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youtube#Widescreen_and_HD_videos
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tragic_pizza · « **Reply #46 on:** 11 Dec 2008, 02:19 »

Everyone hates it = it must be awesome.

Steve · « **Reply #47 on:** 11 Dec 2008, 02:59 »

New design = awful. As in, I'll probably just come once a week and read in a block, instead of reading daily.

IMO - WAAAAAAAY too bright, too crammed, and not at all reflective of what I consider to be the QC spirit.

smilesvssmirks · « **Reply #48 on:** 11 Dec 2008, 03:12 »

Quote from: Damien on 11 Dec 2008, 01:39

I liked what Dora did with the decor in Coffee of Doom, with the warm orange and the mahogany woodstain*. I think that might fit the bill for a color scheme people can appreciate, or at least tolerate. Concensus?

The one problem with that is it might be too much of the same look a bit washed out. If you go back to the last strip you'll see what I mean by how closely the library walls are in color to the current layout color and those the comic gets a little lost.

If Jeph were to do a fully red or green theme (similar to how the old blue was, I suppose) I think that might look nice while still being a bit of a change.

sieckanddestroy · « **Reply #49 on:** 11 Dec 2008, 06:11 »

Quote from: Siibillam-Law on 10 Dec 2008, 17:39

I was thinking the other day "it would be cool if he changed a couple of things around"

So you're to blame for this!

Quote from: Siibillam-Law on 10 Dec 2008, 17:39

Things need to change every so often.

Why change for the sake of change? And shouldn't there be an option to keep the old design? Then again, I don't know if there was warning because I don't frequent this forum, but if there wasn't...and from the surprised response, I'm guessing that's the case...then perhaps this wasn't thought out very well.

THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)

Author Topic: New Layout? (Read 39350 times)

psion

xCaitlinx

psion

akincisor

mittensofdoom

hemmofa

AnotherWeasley

wings-on-water

gophergun