Considering a design change

[Ian]

I knocked up a more modern layout for EP a few weeks ago, which I stumbled across this morning when making some minor tweaks. It's a fixed width layout, which collapses nicely on mobile devices - the overall colour scheme is very similar too. There are fewer images which makes for a faster loading time too.

I'd be interested to hear your feedback on what you think of it, as if it's an improvement I'll roll it out on the site:

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[Anon_LG]

Does it still have latest threads on the right?

 

[Gryd3]

I knocked up a more modern layout for EP a few weeks ago, which I stumbled across this morning when making some minor tweaks. It's a fixed width layout, which collapses nicely on mobile devices - the overall colour scheme is very similar too. There are fewer images which makes for a faster loading time too.

I'd be interested to hear your feedback on what you think of it, as if it's an improvement I'll roll it out on the site:

View attachment 26231​

Change looks pretty minor to me.
Looks like you want to move to the new square+flat tiles . I kind of like it although I distaste the same look for the desktop on PC and mobile xD

 

[Ian]

Does it still have latest threads on the right?

Yep, the sidebars are exactly the same - they just look a little different . I only took a screenshot of the top of the page.

Change looks pretty minor to me.
Looks like you want to move to the new square+flat tiles . I kind of like it although I distaste the same look for the desktop on PC and mobile xD

Yep, that's the sort of look - although there's not a huge amount I can do to change the look of the mobile site, as it's a responsive layout - I can try to minimise clutter though .

 

[Anon_LG]

OK, I like how it looks. I also can not object to faster loading times.

 

[Arouse1973]

Looks fine to me Beaker.
Adam

 

[davenn]

I knocked up a more modern layout for EP a few weeks ago, which I stumbled across this morning when making some minor tweaks. It's a fixed width layout, which collapses nicely on mobile devices - the overall colour scheme is very similar too. There are fewer images which makes for a faster loading time too.

Hi Ian,

You are doing what they did on the Physics Forums about a year ago when you and they both upgraded to a newer version of the
forum software. v I really disliked it for a long while, but have got used to it

Just looks weird having a really narrow layout on a wide PC screen .... huge blanks areas on either side


Dave

 

[Ian]

What I could do is make a 2nd user selectable style, so that members can choose between a fixed and fluid width design - would that help?

 

[Crystal Wizard]

Faster loading, Mobile compatibility: Good.
Change for change's sake ("modernising"): Not so interested. (Although the design looks very similar, so fine.)
Fixed Width: Is this good? Not sure. Maybe.
User-choice = good!

 

[Ian]

I'm going to give it a quick test and see what people think - the additional fluid style will be available in a few moments .

 

[Gryd3]

I'm going to give it a quick test and see what people think - the additional fluid style will be available in a few moments .

Is it possible to make the new theme an elective theme? (Something a user can pick in their preferences.)

I like the idea and the preview, but it seems really bright to me... ie, boarders around some sections are hardly noticeable.
Personally, I would shuffle the top tool-bar down a tad (the one in lighter blue) , and square off the shape around the search bar.

That's the only thing that jumps out to me though. Other than that, I like it.

 

[Ian]

Thanks for the feedback @Gryd3 . I'm going to continue tweaking it a little - but I'm working on making a wider style at the moment, however it's taking ages to perform all of the other behind the scenes updates so it may be another 30 mins or so. It'll be possible to switch between them once I've got it online.

 

[Ian]

I'm still tweaking things, but if you'd like the "fluid" style - please go to the very bottom left of the page and click the style chooser link (labelled "ElectronicsPoint.com v2" at the moment). Then, select the "fluid" option from the popup.

 

[Gryd3]

Thanks for the feedback @Gryd3 . I'm going to continue tweaking it a little - but I'm working on making a wider style at the moment, however it's taking ages to perform all of the other behind the scenes updates so it may be another 30 mins or so. It'll be possible to switch between them once I've got it online.

Sounds good. If you need a hand, I'm sure many of your forumites here are more than willing.
Thank you for your hard work on the site Ian

 

[chopnhack]

I like the fluid option better, similar spacing. I do like the older version better, the border seems to delineate the areas better. Now they seem to float abit, but no big deal, I am here for the content ;-)
Thanks for all you do Ian!

 

[Ian]

I'll have another go at tweaking the design tomorrow and see if I can build upon these suggestions . I really liked the old design, however it had so many customisations that each upgrade was very time consuming - this one has changes that can transition across most upgrades, which saves a lot of time. Keep the thoughts coming and I'll do what I can .

 

[duke37]

I have just tried to post a comment and the program would not accept it.
Please let me know if you do not get this.

 

[Ian]

Reading you loud and clear duke37 . I've force rebuilt the template cache to see if that solves any lingering problems.

 

[Gryd3]

I'll have another go at tweaking the design tomorrow and see if I can build upon these suggestions . I really liked the old design, however it had so many customisations that each upgrade was very time consuming - this one has changes that can transition across most upgrades, which saves a lot of time. Keep the thoughts coming and I'll do what I can .

If you don't mind me asking.. What kind of customizations are required for the XenForo packages?
I've played with other packages and they allow customizing by adding 'over-rides' to packages instead of editing packages.

 

[Ian]

If you don't mind me asking.. What kind of customizations are required for the XenForo packages?
I've played with other packages and they allow customizing by adding 'over-rides' to packages instead of editing packages.

Out of the box none are needed, but there are so many little tweaks that can improve speed and usability etc.... XenForo is very easy to work with from an admin perspective - it comes with a template modification system that allows you to create mini "find and replace" patterns and then package them together to form a basic plugin. At last count, we've got about 40 . As this package is used across several forums all running on the same server, it really helps if the templates have similar workings - as I can re-use lots of code. Although I don't post prolifically on the forums, I'm often beavering away behind the scenes to keep things running smoothly .

If the template change is off-putting to regulars, there may be something I can do to keep 2 styles updated at the same time - it's more work but if there's a big demand then it makes sense to go for.