Site News: Macrumors Redesign

[MacRumors]

MacRumors site design has been updated.

The new design preserves the basic feel of MacRumors but brings improved "standards" compliance and improved site navigation. Raw HTML file sizes should also be reduced.

Please report any errors or navigational difficulties to arn (http://forums.macrumors.com/member.php?action=getinfo&userid=1).

MacRumors' Forums will also see a major version upgrade in the future at which time the forum style will be brought into line with the new design.

A few things to note:
- Ad free 'contributors' section will be functional shortly.
- Permanent story links can now be found by clicking on the Article Titles.

[blakespot]

looks nice.


blakespot

[Awimoway]

Congrats. It's a nice job.

In Safari, I'm getting a weird green box when I mouse over the logo at the top left. After mouseover, a red outline box remains.

Edit: It's gone now. Logo is normal.

[MisterG5]

I LOVE THE NEW LOOK! GREAT JOB!

[Freg3000]

This is going to be great. Everyone will love it. You know why? I love it. And I hate everything at first. :D

I think it would be a good time to say that maybe this thread isn't the best place for everyone to go nuts complaining about every little qualm they have, ie. the rollovers should be darker, or something silly like that.

Best of luck with the redesign.

[bobindashadows]

Holy Crap!!!
I just noticed this. I thought I had the first post on it, too, but it appears that the "0 Comments" was outdated by 5 seconds.

I love it.

has anyone else noticed that apparently MacRumors is now XHTML compliant? At least it has the xhtml transitional doctype. i hadn't noticed that before.

Oh, yeah, Arn mentioned standards compliance. Score 1 XHTML!

[latergator116]

WOWOWOW!! scared me for a sec. Nice! Looks professional.

[alamar]

can't vote anmore?

[Kwyjibo]

very cool nice work arn ....

[Awimoway]

Originally posted by alamar
can't vote anmore?

Nah, I don't they're going to use it (not that I have any say in it, of course). But maybe you can help us convince 'em to go with a new kind of voting--for True or False on rumors. That would be sweet.

[MattG]

AWESOME!!

Looks way better on my 19".

[latergator116]

One little suggestion. Can you have the title of soecific forum section be a link to that forum? I can't remember if you had this before...lol.

[nuckinfutz]

.........hey....pretty spiffy :p

[Awimoway]

Originally posted by latergator116
One little suggestion. Can you have the title of soecific forum section be a link to that forum? I can't remember if you had this before...lol.

They way they have it designed, if you click on "More" at the bottom of each forum section, then you can navigate to that forum. Bonus Tip: There's a groovy bright yellow on mouseover of "More". Check it out. :cool:

[Waluigi]

As a professional web designer here is my input, take it for what it is worth:

Pros:
-Improved, more modern look with the tabs
-Compatibility
-Size of HTML file

Cons:
-Too much information coming at you at once with three columns instead of two
-Larger Google Ads
-Still not remotely consistent with the mac fourms in terms of style
-Addition of additional color (light blue), which makes 4 (red, tan, white, and now blue)

Overall, a good start, but there is still a lot more asthetic work to be done.

--Waluigi

[mac15]

something I'll have to get used too, but it looks ok.

Arn, will there be a WAP site anytime soon?

[joelypolly]

looks great love it

[arn]

Originally posted by Waluigi
As a professional web designer here is my input, take it for what it is worth:

Cons:
-Too much information coming at you at once with three columns instead of two
-Larger Google Ads
-Still not remotely consistent with the mac fourms in terms of style
-Addition of additional color (light blue), which makes 4 (red, tan, white, and now blue)


1. Too Much Info... perhaps... it is a lot of info... which is could be good or bad depending on how you use MacRumors.

2. Larger Google Ads were an unfortunate side effect of the narrower middle column. The "smaller" ad from before was too wide and would overlap the right column at 800x600 res.

3. Style of the forums will come into line with the site when the forums are upgraded (weeks, or so)

4. The colors are a hard thing to work with... I've played when them for quite some time. I'd be very open to color/design changes, though... I fully concede that I'm an amateur. ;)

Thanks to Rower_CPU - who helped with a lot of the CSS issues... as well as the other mods (Anderson, Eyelikeart, Mudbug, Ambitious Lemon) for feedback/assistance.

arn

[jimthorn]

Looks nice, and more importantly, it's standards-based. I'm glad to see MacRumors standing in the XHTML/CSS camp.

[Powerbook G5]

Wow, I must say that it caught me by surprise when I opened Safari and got hit with the new page design like a freight train. I guess I didn't realize how used to the older style I was, but it is on its way to looking like a more modern and freshened design.

[MacRAND]

Originally posted by Macrumors
MacRumors site design has been updated.

The new design preserves the basic feel of MacRumors but brings improved "standards" compliance and improved site navigation. Raw HTML file sizes should also be reduced.
ARN, impressive design (lots of work). I like :)
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2004
all you MacRumor mongers!
:p

ps: Before you DRINK & DRIVE on New Years (or any other time)
the COPS are looking for YOU,
Penalty:
$Fine (ouch!) :eek:
$Attorneys Fees (thank you, very much)
$Time lost / job? :rolleyes:
$Insurance Rates UP
*Jail Time :(
**Dead victims :mad:

DON'T BE STUPID • DON'T DRINK & DRIVE
instead --
FIND A DESIGNATED DRIVER • TAKE A TAXI
Be safe, not sorry :( Save a Drunk Friend, Take their Keys, then Take them Home

[zach]

Heh.. I really like it.. Much more "apple-like". I do have to agree that the google ads are annoying... but all the more reason to become a demi-god!

[scem0]

It look great Arn, nice work.

Keep up the good work :).

scem0

[Doctor Q]

I like the tabs and the mouseovers. I'm looking forward to the version upgrade too.

Should the times of stories shown under their titles include the time zone?

Site News: Macrumors Redesign
Wednesday December 31, 2003 12:47 AM PST

I wouldn't mind military time either.

Site News: Macrumors Redesign
Wednesday December 31, 2003 12:47 -0800

[x86isslow]

the best part is, we dont have no crappy movie advertising macrumors x.0.. unlike that other site..:rolleyes:

looks good arn!

[alphaq619]

Freaking awesome. One of my favorite Mac sites does a redesign. XHTML and CSS too. I'm all for the standards compliance. I'm speechless.

[latergator116]

Originally posted by Awimoway
They way they have it designed, if you click on "More" at the bottom of each forum section, then you can navigate to that forum. Bonus Tip: There's a groovy bright yellow on mouseover of "More". Check it out. :cool:

Nifty!:cool:

[Freg3000]

Originally posted by zap23
Heh.. I really like it.. Much more "apple-like". I do have to agree that the google ads are annoying... but all the more reason to become a demi-god!

Yes, and that got me looking for a link to "contribute." But I couldn't find one. :D

What happened to the positive/negative rating system? Did its value go from worthless to pathetically useless? :rolleyes:

Still, I liked the ratings, it gave an overall sense to the story (sometimes).

Besides that, A+ on the site so far.

[arn]

Btw,

Here's what the noads version looks like

http://www.macrumors.com/downloads/noads.jpg

for those who contributed. I'm not really pushing the contributions at this time... since some of the features of it will be changing with the new forums.

At the basics, you get a no ad front-page and page2.

arn

[natey]

I don't like the colors. And too much info, looks bloated.

I like the old one better, simple and clean.

[Phil Of Mac]

I love it all. Except the loss of ratings. So, I rate this story "negative". ;)

Nice job Arn!

[zach]

Originally posted by arn
Btw,

Here's what the noads version looks like

http://www.macrumors.com/downloads/noads.jpg

for those who contributed. I'm not really pushing the contributions at this time... since some of the features of it will be changing with the new forums.

At the basics, you get a no ad front-page and page2.

arn

Sure.. but any chance you get to put the page back up.. I would love to contribute.. :)

[kb9000]

between this and the new Spymac... 2004 will feel so fresh!

I also just saw video snack bar menus at my AMC theater which totally made me feel like I was in the future! Hooray for new things!



Oh, and this new MacRumors design is coo... feels much more volumetric.

[Macette]

yay standards-compliance! it doesn't validate yet (although i haven't really looked at why it doesn't - check http://validator.w3.org:8001/check?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.macrumors.com%2F&verbose=1&fussy=1 to see the issues).

but am totally impressed. it's very hard to design information-based sites, and it's great to see macrumors evolve.

congrats.

[suneun]

Interesting. I mostly like the new design. I like the subtle shading here and there.

Would it be possible to have a customizable page for those who donate and such? Like, I'd choose to not have the left column at all.

Can you make the Ads by Google two columns so it's a little shorter?

[Awimoway]

Originally posted by kb9000
I also just saw video snack bar menus at my AMC theater which totally made me feel like I was in the future! Hooray for new things!

Mmmm yes. Nothing like sticking $5 into a machine to watch Pac Man eat your virtual nachos. :(

[kb9000]

Here's a little criticism for the designers or whomever.

I think the logo and title in the upper left corner could use a different treatment... something more dynamic and interesting. How about if the logo was larger, tilted a couple degrees counter-clockwise, and somewhat cropped at the bottom and top. The title could use some work too.

Does Anyone know what typeface the MR title is set in?

[Sabenth]

i like it no quams here great choice of colours and it all fits on my screen amazing..

Great work Arn

[SeaFox]

I like the new design (but now the forum pages look outdated).

It's funny because I've been popping over here off and on for the past few hours in my surfing and just now the new design came up.

The first thing I was gonna ask was what the big empty space at the top of the first page was... then I remembered.

[Phil Of Mac]

Originally posted by Macette
but am totally impressed. it's very hard to design information-based sites

Information-based sites?

As opposed to...?

[latergator116]

Originally posted by SeaFox
I like the new design (but now the forum pages look outdated).

It's funny because I've been popping over here off and on for the past few hours in my surfing and just now the new design came up.

The first thing I was gonna ask was what the big empty space at the top of the first page was... then I remembered.

lol. I was doing the exact same thing and I reloaded the page not expecting much, and to my surprise it was totally changed.:p

[JW Pepper]

The main problem I have is that there is a lot of wasted space between the banner ad and the rest of the page. On my screen it measures about 1/2" to the search box and over an inch to the top of the first news item. This means I have to scroll the screen to read the second article. I think you should put the search box next to the banner ad and move the whole of the rest of the page up to comperss it's vertical height. By doing this you can move the information up by over an inch.

[arn]

Originally posted by Macette
yay standards-compliance! it doesn't validate yet (although i haven't really looked at why it doesn't - check http://validator.w3.org:8001/check?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.macrumors.com%2F&verbose=1&fussy=1 to see the issues).

The front page validates with the exception for the banner ad code that is inserted... so I can't control that :)

arn

[arn]

Originally posted by kb9000

Does Anyone know what typeface the MR title is set in?

it's presently Myriad

arn

[LethalWolfe]

I like it. took me a second to find the link to the "forums" though. But I found it so all is good.

It definetly<sp?> presents more info, but I think it does it in a very clean, orderly way. I like it. :)


Lethal

[arn]

Originally posted by JW Pepper
The main problem I have is that there is a lot of wasted space between the banner ad and the rest of the page.

The space at the top was designed to accommodate both small and large (728x90) ads... unfortunately due to the design of the page, the extra space does not drop out when the smaller ad only is shown.

arn

[GeeYouEye]

No more MacApps forum links?

[arn]

Originally posted by GeeYouEye
No more MacApps forum links?

er.... yeah... hmm....

I'll get on it... ;)

arn

[rainman::|:|]

bravo! Love the new design, and the new masthead. Was long overdue but this is worth it :)

paul

[JohnGillilan]

It's funny. Even after all the time I've spent staring at the old page, now that it's changed I have no memory of what it used to look like. Does anyone have a screenshot of the old homepage??

[mrpuffypants]

Very nice. First thing that went through my mind when I saw the new look was how professional it looks. Great job :)

Everything also DOES seem to load a lot faster. Now I think this site will get a lot more of my traffic rather than that bloated black hole Spymac

[arn]

Originally posted by JohnGillilan
It's funny. Even after all the time I've spent staring at the old page, now that it's changed I have no memory of what it used to look like. Does anyone have a screenshot of the old homepage??

Here's the old one in comparison

http://www.macrumors.com/downloads/oldmr.php


arn

[timdorr]

Good to see you've been reading AListApart:
http://alistapart.com/articles/slidingdoors/
http://alistapart.com/d/slidingdoors2/v1/ex9.html

Don't think you can steal a design and get away with it ;) :P

[mrpuffypants]

Originally posted by timdorr
Good to see you've been reading AListApart:
http://alistapart.com/articles/slidingdoors/
http://alistapart.com/d/slidingdoors2/v1/ex9.html

Don't think you can steal a design and get away with it ;) :P

ouch. Well, at least it's just the tabs.

[arn]

Originally posted by mrpuffypants
ouch. Well, at least it's just the tabs.

he was joking.... the tab code is freely available for use. :)

arn

[mrpuffypants]

Originally posted by arn
he was joking.... the tab code is freely available for use. :)

arn

Yup. the tabs look damn nice. I'm now thinking of using them on my site in some way once I redesign it.

Tom

[mara]

Nice work!

One suggestion: is it possible to move the banner ad at the top of the page to between the MR-logo and the search box (and yes, I know it is possible =)

Maybe it is aesthetically worse, but now it takes too much space all the upper stuff before you are able too see the actual content. And yes, I´m speaking of 900 and wider windows. But it wouldn´t make a big difference to 800*600 site because it is on two rows however.

[hugemullens]

I gotta say i really like it. and just in time for mwsf!

[arn]

Not that much can be done with the top banner space because it's designed to hold the large ads.

http://www.macrumors.com/downloads/largebanner.jpg

[Omad0n]

On the whole I'm going to have to say I don't care much for it. I agree, it just looks really cluttered now, and with a story being squished in the middle, but coming down a long way instead of running across the whole browser window it just feels off. Oh well, perhaps this will inspire me to contribute so the stories can look right again.

[bertagert]

The only complaint I have, and have had for awhile now, is the incorporation of macbytes and dailytunes. I understand that revenue needs to be generated for this site to continue but it really gets in the way of mac rumors/talk.

It use to be fun talking about hardware/software/etc in the forums. Now those topics are way down the page where no one scrolls to anymore.

I say make banner ads for those sites. Don't try and tie them all together. Is this site about mac rumors, itune songs or mac information? Starting to look like macmice.com.

Just a heads up, ever since these changes happened, I started to not come here as much. (Don't be lame and try to flame me on this).

[arn]

Originally posted by Omad0n
On the whole I'm going to have to say I don't care much for it. I agree, it just looks really cluttered now, and with a story being squished in the middle, but coming down a long way instead of running across the whole browser window it just feels off. Oh well, perhaps this will inspire me to contribute so the stories can look right again.

heh... not that anyone actually cares... since it is all based on feel.

The new design actually starts slightly higher on the page than the old design and the middle column story actually isn't significantly elongated.... at least in this sample resolution

Note: the Yellow Dots note the top-left and bottom-right of the first article in the old layout. While the Green Dots are positioned at the top-left, and bottom-right of the new layout. (same resolution, around 830pixels wide and then shrunk down 50%)

arn

[celaurie]

Sorry, but this sucks. I don't like the multi-themed colour layout nor do I like this explosion of what feels like disorganized text jumping out of the screen at me.

It also seems that commercial aspects of the site are now more important than the site itself, given the priority advertising space has.

[Gymnut]

Nice look. I have macrumors set as my homepage in Safari so imagine my surprise. Thought at first I was on another site.

[mrpuffypants]

Originally posted by celaurie
Sorry, but this sucks. I don't like the multi-themed colour layout nor do I like this explosion of what feels like disorganized text jumping out of the screen at me.

It also seems that commercial aspects of the site are now more important than the site itself, given the priority advertising space has.

given the importance of revenue to keep the site running, though, i think it makes sense

[arn]

Originally posted by mrpuffypants
given the importance of revenue to keep the site running, though, i think it makes sense

well, besides this, I don't actually think the new front-page design is more ad-oriented than the previous version.

If anything it's more information oriented.

arn

[Flowbee]

Looks great, but I've just started getting this freaky green box under the top of the left column. (??) Latest Panther, Safari.

[arn]

Originally posted by Flowbee
Looks great, but I've just started getting this freaky green box under the top of the left column. (??) Latest Panther, Safari.

should be fixed now

arn

[edesignuk]

I think it looks just fine, I always though the old one looked a bit plain anyway...though I never even visit the from page anyway, I am always straight to the forums :)

[Mr.Hey]

So now that MR is being discussed heavily around the net you guys/gals decided to redesign the site, huh(?) :D....looks very nice :). And congrats on all the press you're getting. But you took away the voting option (that sucks) it was one of my favorite features of MR.

[lucasraggers]

This new look is way better. But I really hate that big ad between the first and second article. With my 1280x960 resolution, I can only see the first article!

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by Mr.Hey
So now that MR is being discussed around the net you guys/gals decided to redesign the site huh? :D....looks very nice :). And congrats on all the press you're getting.

Got some links to what folks are saying?

[arn]

Originally posted by Mr.Hey
So now that MR is being discussed heavily around the net you guys/gals decided to redesign the site, huh(?) :D....looks very nice :). And congrats on all the press you're getting. But you took away the voting option (that sucks) it was one of my favorite features of MR.

The voting is not dead yet.... we shall see how it returns.

arn

[edesignuk]

Originally posted by arn
The voting is not dead yet.... we shall see how it returns.

arn
w00t! There's hope yet :D

[Veldek]

I like the new design, though it's very much information indeed. What I really miss is the news preview. I could see before, if it's worth to look at "Page 2", because the newest article was shown. Now, I will have to take a look.

Edit: Oh, I just saw, that I can see it on the left side, so forget about it.

[pianojoe]

I like the new design although:

I'm losing some screen real estate on my 12" PB. The first quarter of the screen is just the top ad, the logo, and the search field.

It should be possible to make that more compact.

If this is my own private HTML rendering problem, I'll gladly provide a screen shot.

Go out and party!

[awulf]

Originally posted by Waluigi
As a professional web designer here is my input, take it for what it is worth:

Pros:
-Improved, more modern look with the tabs
-Compatibility
-Size of HTML file

Cons:
-Too much information coming at you at once with three columns instead of two
-Larger Google Ads
-Still not remotely consistent with the mac fourms in terms of style
-Addition of additional color (light blue), which makes 4 (red, tan, white, and now blue)

Overall, a good start, but there is still a lot more asthetic work to be done.

--Waluigi

I totally agree with you, the page needs to be simple, one look and you should get the jist of the whole site. The graphics look much better but layout needs to change, only have one column on the side (like on the old layout)

[Fahd]

Suggestion!

Move the logo and the search above the leaderboard (728x90) ad, so that it looks like

Logo___________________________________________Search
____________________Leaderboard AD___________________

(I tried! :o )

[Wuddel]

Looks nice. Maybe the header is to high. I would prefer it if you squeeze the ad between the logo and the tabs for less scrolling.

[backspinner]

I'm not very happy with the left column, but overall it looks good.

Three mentions of page 2 articles on the front page though is too much I think. Maybe you can leave off the page 2 forum box at the right?

[Tiauguinho]

I like the redesign, but as a lot of you have said, I dont like the left bar too, cause it seems to clutter the page a lot.

[danielgrenell]

god, i much prefer the old site design, please put it back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! oh god please! this won't keep me from visiting, it'll just make my visits more solemn. p-p-p-please put back the old site.

[mrpuffypants]

Originally posted by danielgrenell oh god please! this won't keep me from visiting, it'll just make my visits more solemn.[/B]

well, i don't know why you still can't have fun while visiting :D

[xelterran]

looks great!

[true777]

I appreciate arn's hard work, and think standard-compliance is great news.
I have to admit, though, that in terms of look-and-feel, I prefered the old design, due to its less-is-more approach and clean, minimalist design. Like others have stated, I, too, feel the new design is too dense and information-laden. I would prefer it if the new left column weren't there, for a cleaner, less cluttered look.

I also don't care too much about the dark brown color (this was there before, I know) and think grey might fit nicer with the blue hues on the site, but that's a personal preference.

I also don't see why the new tabs have to be pseudo 3-d. Sure, Apple is using their trademark aqua look for tabs on their website, but aside from them, many are going back from the 90s 3-d look to cleaner, contemporary 2-d, such as in the iPod campaign (I also don't get too excited about the tan tab color, but again, that's just me).

I hope I'm not sounding too negative here, as I overall very much appreciate the re-design efforts and important changes and think on balance it's a great job.

[ionas]

i very much like the new design - just two points of critique

1. the header is MUCH to big (height) to display on low resolution; you have to scroll down to see more content/advertisement.

there is just a lot of clear space - reduce it by maybe 1/3

2. the search button looks like - huh we gotta place it somewhere - but dont know where.

put it either down below in the first left navigation boxes or in the gfxbar that holds the 4 menu items (not as a menu item but below them - yes you have to make the menubar bigger (height) a bit.

else - great work.

and yes - i hope the forums follow soon, AND i hope you mix the mac os x style forum (you can chose that when you register) with the current design as well (so you got a mac rumors header but mac os x style forum)

greetings - a pc nub. (who wants a 2.4-6ghz or 3ghz dual :p)

[rdowns]

Figured I'd give it some time before I posted my opinions. For what it's worth, I am responsible for a few web sites for my company (not the designer but have much of the say in the look).

My first impression was very negative but after reading the thread and spending some time really looking at the home page, I'm less negative. I think it's a bit busy and could stand a little tweaking. I think there are too many colors for headings. IMO, keep the dark blue and one color (I like grey) and lose the others.

FYI, I'm running at 1024 x 768; the price compare ad and google box both cut off about half of the last line of the ad.

I understand the need to provide as much information as possible on the home page but maybe some of it could be moved elsewhere and an additional tab or two added at the top. Might reduce a bit of the clutter.

Overall, a very good start. A site is constantly evolving. I know how much work goes into a site change, let alone a new design. Great job!

Sign me up as a contributor. Couldn't find out where to do that. But please, I don't want to be known as a demi-god, I'll stick with my lowly rating.

[iChan]

i think while you are redesigning the site, you may as well redesign the logo, that is getting a bit old now...

however, I guess it is part of your identity... I don't know, no offence, i just never thought much of it. the rest of the site is top notch, esp the content, i will definitely be contributing!

[edesignuk]

Originally posted by rdowns
Sign me up as a contributor. Couldn't find out where to do that. But please, I don't want to be known as a demi-god, I'll stick with my lowly rating.
http://macrumors.com/contrib.html ;)

[kettle]

Originally posted by jimthorn
Looks nice, and more importantly, it's standards-based. I'm glad to see MacRumors standing in the XHTML/CSS camp.
That's the Badger!:)

[foniks2020]

Quickly... too much white space while blocking the content in with borders... in general white space is good but if you ruin it with borders it is the opposite.

Everything is too bold... pick a focus. Secondary text should be lighter than primary text... use a dark grey instead and use lighter versions of your other colors for secondary stuff...

[slowtreme]

I read arn's reason, but it's severely large and annoying, so much so it feels like nothing exists below the first article except adverts. It needs to be in a sideblock.

[rdowns]

Originally posted by edesignuk
http://macrumors.com/contrib.html ;)

Paid!

Thank you

[Macmaniac]

Cool, a redesign is always good! Just in time for new Macs;)

[bwintx]

Very nice!

There a few things I'd have done differently, and that's probably true for many of us who do this stuff for a living, but I don't think any of it is wrong at all. The HTML and CSS code appear to be logical and reasonably well commented, both of which are admirable.

[iversys]

The site really pops out. Nicely done.

[Sonofhaig]

everybody is a critic.

Arn, the important thing is.... do you like it?

For me: As long as the information on the site is as consistant as it has been.. I'm happy!

You've got a great site. (period!) :)

[lem0nayde]

Arn -
I love the new design (and I'm a web designer, so I'm not just saying that). I think it really gives the site much needed structure and organization.

I also like your streamlined logo - and appreciate that you switched your font to Myriad to mirror Apple's new look.

Everyone is complaining about the ad space - I say BRAVO to you for being an entrepreneur and making money off of your site. Take as much space as you need.

I look forward to seeing the new look/feel for the forums. They are very much in need of a facelift. I've fooled around with bulletin software before though, and I know how challenging it can be to change forum templates - especially all the configurations are in perl.

Since I love your site and use it all the time - if you need any pro-bono ideas or design, give me a holler! I'll send over my resume and links to my work - joe@bitterlemonstudio.com.

I look forward to using the site and seeing how it holds up in the real world.

Joe Rivera
www.bitterlemonstudio.com

[CmdrLaForge]

Now really a lot of information comes at first sight. I have to get used to it to find what I am looking for really fast. But the overall impression is good.

Again. Good work.

I hope that the forums redesgn keep a OS X look. Metal or not.

Cheers

[sonofslim]

"sliding doors" tabs can be problematic under older Mac browsers... here's what they look like under OS 9/IE 5.0:http://www.hypnagoggle.com/macrumors.gif

ignoring that, i like it. and standards compliance makes me tingle.

[Photorun]

Geez, ease up on Arn peeps, it's new, he'll get it working.

Nice start Arn, keep up the great work!

[jZilla]

Quality redesign homes!

(from another web designer)

[BKB]

Very nice!!!

[yamabushi]

I like it. No complaints.:)

[briansanderson]

Nice Job. Keep it up.

[jelloshotsrule]

arn- is there a way you can set up a different style for every member so that when we each sign in we can see the site exactly as we want it? i personally am all about neon

think how much less bitching you'd get if everyone could have their way! it'd be great!

[3rdpath]

i like the new layout...very clear and easy to navigate.

thanks for the continued hard work.

man, where/how do you find the time?:)

[Steven1621]

very suave and a nice improvement. great job

[true777]

I have no problem under OS 9.2 and IE 5.1.
Everything works well. What an impressive job, arn!



Originally posted by sonofslim
"sliding doors" tabs can be problematic under older Mac browsers... here's what they look like under OS 9/IE 5.0:http://www.hypnagoggle.com/macrumors.gif

ignoring that, i like it. and standards compliance makes me tingle.

[primalman]

nice! much nicer!

:)

[sonofslim]

Originally posted by true777
I have no problem under OS 9.2 and IE 5.1.

must be a 5.0 thing then. not surprising.

[gwuMACaddict]

i dig it... its layed out much like my other forum... ridemonkey.com... go arn

[Chealion]

Nice job!

Only caveat is that it most definitely feels as if the amount of information is a tad overwhelming. Would it be possible to make it simpler? Its a hard job, but possible.

Nice job on making it XHTML Standards compliant!

[voicegy]

Originally posted by iChan
i think while you are redesigning the site, you may as well redesign the logo, that is getting a bit old now...

I'll reserve my critique of the new look and feel of the site after I get used to it for a few days...right off the bat, I concur with a lot of folks regarding the somewhat squished feeling of the middle column and the "busy" factor...but change has a way of growing on people, so perhaps it won't be such a big deal to me later on...it DOES help if one has a cinema display (which I have at work);)

But I've never had a problem with the logo...it's playful, artsy, and somewhat "cheeky"...which, to me, is just right for MacRumors. So, no logo change for at LEAST another year...if ever.:D

[sonofslim]

tabs seem to be working in IE 5.0 now, and now that i see the whole thing as it was meant... i still like it.

[Jerry Spoon]

Nice way to start out the new year....fresh look. I think I like it.

Thanks for all you do on this site Arn.

[barbaloot]

I like the new design. The only problem I have, is when I came to the site. The first thing I saw was a Microsoft ad!!!!! Scary!

[greenstork]

While I know that I am suggesting something that's already been done by Dave Shea (http://www.csszengarden.com/), I think that in order to quell the critics, you should post a copy of the XHTML code (including your CMS tags) and allow folks to submit their own CSS stylesheets to the site. That would offer readers many different choices for their CSS styles of the site while showcasing the talents of some of your frequent readers who happen to be web designers.

While I like the new design better than the old one graphically, I agree that the third column makes it a little more "info heavy."

All things considered, it's a great move. standards compliance is huge move. Throw in a few additional style sheet options and I'd be thrilled. I think some of your readers could have a lot to offer in terms of CSS expertise and I for one would welcome those options.

[esome]

1st off, I like the new design aesthetically speaking. It looks more professional and elegant despite having so much content.

One problem for me however is that the left and right columns are of fixed width while the center column is of variable width.

This is superior when I'm viewing the site in a very large browser window on a desktop set to very high resolutions. However, at 'normal' sizes (I'm defining 'normal here as a browser window that takes up about 2/3 the width of an 18" screen set to 1024x768) the center column is unbearably narrow. In fact, when I make the browser window a bit smaller the center column completely dissappears (being wholy eclipsed by the side columns)!

I should note that I'm viewing the site from a Win2K box using IE6 (a fairly common setup even for a Mac-centric website I should think).

Anyway, thanks and keep up the good work.

[SeaFox]

Originally posted by arn
Not that much can be done with the top banner space because it's designed to hold the large ads.



I just think it's too big to be at the top. It reminds me of all those cheap shopping sites (the kind you'd hesitate to put your CC# on).

What if you moved it down to the body of the site between the first the second stories?

I just think it's odd when you feel the urge to scroll down to read the header graphic. I can't see the ad, though. So all I see is a big empty space at the top so may I interpret it differntly.

[sethypoo]

Originally posted by Phil Of Mac
Information-based sites?

As opposed to...?

Entertainment sites?

[reader50]

Since the table layouts were pulled and the page is now heavy with CSS, iCab no longer renders Macrumors correctly. Specifically, the sidebars both get rendered at the bottom of the page, below the main content zone.

Please note, this is not a complaint! The advertisements in the sidebars were distracting, it's nice to only see the top banner now, go right to the stories. :)

iCab 2.82 for OSX.

[IJ Reilly]

The new front page looks awful, when I set the fonts to +1 in Safari. Unreadable, actually. I'd post a snapshot if I could in this forum.

[bertagert]

Arn,

Drop the top banner below the tab section. Make sure you have no padding so the ad isn't over barring like it currently is. Also, put the search form in the tab area. This will make your page look a whole bunch better. Take a look at News.com (http://www.news.com) to get the idea.

Take a look at this pic. I didn't do all the code work to make all thigs line up but you should be able to see the direction to go with.

http://metrickmethodz.com/mr.gif

[alset]

Much appreciation for the hard work, but I agree that this design is cluttered and disorganized. If nothing else, I believe a unified color scheme is crucial. Presently, the new front page is difficult to view.

Dan

[autrefois]

Originally posted by alamar
can't vote anmore?

Votes are back, I see. :)

I really like the new design! I'm not a web designer, but I think the info is presented in a more easily-accessible format than the old one.

Thank you for putting up the old version so we can compare. I think this new one is clearly better, altho I agree with previous posters that the google ads take up a bit too much space.

I think it would be impossible to come up with a format that pleases everyone, and I'm sure in time the people who don't like it now for various reasons will get used to it.

[autrefois]

Originally posted by bertagert
Arn,

Drop the top banner below the tab section. Make sure you have no padding so the ad isn't over barring like it currently is. Also, put the search form in the tab area. This will make your page look a whole bunch better. Take a look at News.com (http://www.news.com) to get the idea.

Take a look at this pic. I didn't do all the code work to make all thigs line up but you should be able to see the direction to go with.

http://metrickmethodz.com/mr.gif

Again, I'm not a designer, just an average user, but I like the ad the way it is now. It is visible but not in the way. Just my two cents.

[Powerbook G5]

The only problem that I've seen with the new site are the random glitches I get involving differently colored boxes around the borders and such. Besides that, it seems really nice. I like the more modern look, I just fall into that camp that isn't as thrilled with the addition of the third column because of space/readability reasons, but I am already getting more used to it and within a few days I am sure it will be like second nature to browse the site for the information I am looking for.

[SeaFox]

Originally posted by reader50
Since the table layouts were pulled and the page is now heavy with CSS, iCab no longer renders Macrumors correctly. Specifically, the sidebars both get rendered at the bottom of the page, below the main content zone.

Please note, this is not a complaint! The advertisements in the sidebars were distracting, it's nice to only see the top banner now, go right to the stories. :)

iCab 2.82 for OSX.


Version 2.82 seems to be one of the last decent versions of iCab. I downloaded the latest version a little while back (2.97) and iCab has suddenly gotten a lot slower. It does seem to render pages better than past versions and it has tabs now, along with a search box like Safari. But it was just too slow for me.

But I was using the Classic OS version on a 7300/200. Maybe the OSX version is much better, since Claus keeps talking about how much faster the new versions are. :rolleyes:

iCab 3 (if it ever arrives) is supposed to support CSS2. I was wondering if Macrumors rendered better under iCab in the new design since it's so "standards compliant" now, but hadn't had a chance to try it.

[arn]

Originally posted by SeaFox
What if you moved it down to the body of the site between the first the second stories?

It has to be able to hold 728x90 pixel sized banners. The space below the first story will not do this.

arn

[arn]

Originally posted by bertagert
Arn,

Drop the top banner below the tab section. Make sure you have no padding so the ad isn't over barring like it currently is. Also, put the search form in the tab area. This will make your page look a whole bunch better. Take a look at News.com (http://www.news.com) to get the idea.

Take a look at this pic. I didn't do all the code work to make all thigs line up but you should be able to see the direction to go with.


It has to be able to hold 728x90 pixel sized banners. The space below the first story will not do this.

So, in your example there would have to be significantly more "empty space" around that 468x60 banner. If you are willing to do the coding work, I'll look at it. But I experimented with it... it looked best/less intrusive on the top.

For anyone who thinks they can improve it:

Requirements: Must hold 728x90 banner ads.

arn

[arn]

Originally posted by IJ Reilly
The new front page looks awful, when I set the fonts to +1 in Safari. Unreadable, actually. I'd post a snapshot if I could in this forum.

You mean when you hit View -> Make Text Bigger?

It works for me. Let me know if this is not what you are talking about.

arn

[Matrix9180]

Just dropping the height: 200px; should do the trick... it should automatically expand to hold the entire image, and when it's not a 200px image it would be smaller... give it a try... maybe try playing around with min-height and max-height, but I think IE/win has problems with those (what a shock)

[Matrix9180]

Just checked it out, and it works fine... Simply remove the height properties from #banner and #banner_topad and it scales automatically without wasting the space on smaller ads.

[Doctor Q]

Something just occurred to me. People who happen upon this site from a Google search or following somebody else's link might not necessarily know what "Mac" means. I don't see the word "Macintosh" anywhere on the home page. Maybe the byline should be "Macintosh news and rumors you care about".

Same for MacBytes: "Macintosh News, Headings, and Links".

An aside: The Apple home page, hot news page, and hardware and software pages together use the word "Macintosh" only once! But people browsing Apple's site probably know what Mac stands for.

[autrefois]

Originally posted by Doctor Q
Something just occurred to me. People who happen upon this site from a Google search or following somebody else's link might not necessarily know what "Mac" means. I don't see the word "Macintosh" anywhere on the home page. Maybe the byline should be "Macintosh news and rumors you care about".

Same for MacBytes: "Macintosh News, Headings, and Links".

An aside: The Apple home page, hot news page, and hardware and software pages together use the word "Macintosh" only once! But people browsing Apple's site probably know what Mac stands for.

Good thought, but I don't think this is necessary. When I search in Google, I get this:

"Mac Rumors: Apple Mac Rumors and News You Care About [...]

Description: Apple news and rumors with user contribution and commentary."

People who are looking for Mac things should be able to figure it out, in my opinion. If they're looking for something else, they should be able to figure out that it's not the right place.

Also, when I searched "macintosh rumors" in Google, it was the second site listed

[autrefois]

Since people are offering suggestions--one thing I think would be nice is an easier way to get from the forums back to the main macrumors.com site. I know the forums will be updated later, but I hope it's OK to offer it as a suggestion now.

Unless I'm missing something, there isn't a quick way to get back to the front page from the forums. After I read the posts on one story/topic, I often go back to the main page to look at other news. (I know that Safari has snapback, but sometimes I come directly to the forums from an e-mail notification instead of the main site).

btw, Happy New Year to All! And thank you Arn for updating the site and reading our comments even on holidays.

[arn]

Originally posted by Matrix9180
Just checked it out, and it works fine... Simply remove the height properties from #banner and #banner_topad and it scales automatically without wasting the space on smaller ads.

but the sidebars do not "slide up" automatically due to absolute positioning.

arn

[Indiana Mac]

Looks Great, nice refresh for a new year. Seems to load faster for me as well. all in all great job!!

[Squire]

Originally posted by scem0
It look great Arn, nice work.

Keep up the good work :).

I like it, too. It looks much more modern. There is a lot of info but as arn mentioned, that could be good or bad. Once I get used to it, it'll be good.

Happy New Year.

Squire

[Potus]

I liked the old page but I'm enjoying the new design.

Congratulations, Arn. I'm astounded that you say you are an amateur because the page looks great

[SeaFox]

Originally posted by autrefois
Since people are offering suggestions--one thing I think would be nice is an easier way to get from the forums back to the main macrumors.com site. I know the forums will be updated later, but I hope it's OK to offer it as a suggestion now.

Unless I'm missing something, there isn't a quick way to get back to the front page from the forums. After I read the posts on one story/topic, I often go back to the main page to look at other news. (I know that Safari has snapback, but sometimes I come directly to the forums from an e-mail notification instead of the main site).

btw, Happy New Year to All! And thank you Arn for updating the site and reading our comments even on holidays.

It's down at the bottom of the page:

Return to Macrumors [linked] or MacBytes[linked]

Show printable version.....

I used to have the same problem until I noticed the tiny type.

Unfortunately, there's no link to get back to the DailyTunes home page when you've crawled into the forums.

[Doctor Q]

Look farther down, and it says

< Contact Us - Mac Rumors - Mac News - Daily Tunes >

with links to all three.

[autrefois]

Originally posted by Doctor Q
Look farther down, and it says

< Contact Us - Mac Rumors - Mac News - Daily Tunes >

with links to all three.

Thanks Doctor Q and Sea Fox. I was puzzled at first since I don't see those things, and I finally figured out why you see it and I don't--you must both be using the default style sheet [I checked and sawwhat you mentioned].

In the Mac OS X style sheet, at the bottom of the page, it has this:

< Contact Us - chaosmint >

as well as icons for emailing, printing, or subscribing to the thread (if you're in a thread), the forum rules, etc. But no link to the main site either on the top or on the bottom (clicking on the MacRumors.com logo brings you to forums.macrumors.com).

I did discover a link to the main site on the very first page of the forum (forums.macrumors.com) in the upper right-hand corner where it lists the Newest Member, etc., but it doesn't appear when you're in a thread.

It's not a problem, just something I've noticed.

[mkjellman]

after looking at the new version I felt that it was great but the ads just really killed it. The space at the top was really hurtful of the overall design. I forked over a whopping $20 for a year and got the member version and look at how nice it looks! Plus think of how good the money can be used by Arn to make this an even better site!

[Freg3000]

Originally posted by mkjellman
after looking at the new version I felt that it was great but the ads just really killed it. The space at the top was really hurtful of the overall design. I forked over a whopping $20 for a year and got the member version and look at how nice it looks! Plus think of how good the money can be used by Arn to make this an even better site!

Well, I paid nothing and the "largest" ad problem has just disappeared. Am I special :).....or did Arn just change it?

noads.jpg (http://homepage.mac.com/freg3000/noads.jpg)

btw. every single time I want to upload a picture to MacRumors within a reply, it is always over the limit, and I can never get it down. Tried exporting it in Preview in low quality, tried to do the same in photoshop. Nothing. how does everyone else do it?

[arn]

Originally posted by Freg3000
Well, I paid nothing and the "largest" ad problem has just disappeared.

Move to the sidebar... for now. ;)

arn

[arn]

Originally posted by Freg3000

btw. every single time I want to upload a picture to MacRumors within a reply, it is always over the limit, and I can never get it down. Tried exporting it in Preview in low quality, tried to do the same in photoshop. Nothing. how does everyone else do it?

Preview

Export -> Options -> Target Size (100,000)

arn

[Freg3000]

Originally posted by arn
Preview

Export -> Options -> Target Size (100,000)

arn

You know, I always do that. Of course, I never saw the checkbox to the left of it. Figures. :rolleyes:

Thanks.

[Phil Of Mac]

Originally posted by mkjellman
after looking at the new version I felt that it was great but the ads just really killed it. The space at the top was really hurtful of the overall design. I forked over a whopping $20 for a year and got the member version and look at how nice it looks! Plus think of how good the money can be used by Arn to make this an even better site!

See? If you pay, they'll stop it with the intrusive ads. Extortion is always a good business model for a website ;)

[arn]

Originally posted by Phil Of Mac
See? If you pay, they'll stop it with the intrusive ads. Extortion is always a good business model for a website ;)

things are still in flux... :)

arn

[manitoubalck]

You can please everyone. Get use to it

I don't and never have even bothered looking at the actual macrumors web site, so I don't really care how it looks. I just use the fourms, and at the time of this post are yet to be up dated. The current fourm is easy to use and is easy on the eyes. I have no quarms.

[alset]

Originally posted by manitoubalck

The current fourm is easy to use and is easy on the eyes. I have no quarms.

I have no quarms as well. Where did they go? I keep them in a box. Box is empty. Where are my quarms? Luckily, I still have lots of qualms. They'll get me through.

Dan

[MrMacMan]

Small Problems...


Along with 100 people I wish we could find a way to move the 'smaller' adds down and stop wasting all of that space!

:(

Tho on some of the adds I have found... Are small... but SOMEHOW then Expand with this weird White Background... for no reason (see pic below)

Also I just noticed... on the about page (http://www.macrumors.com/site.php?mode=about) MacRumors offers reasonable rates for Banners, Buttons, and other custom ads for vendors.

For more information on advertising rates and packages, please email Links to nowhere.

And This section of the forums Doesn't allow me to add a picture... How did everyone else do it?

:confused:

[arn]

Originally posted by MrMacman

Also I just noticed... on the about page (http://www.macrumors.com/site.php?mode=about) Links to nowhere.


fixed.

to include images, you use "attach file" when replying.

arn

[rdowns]

Originally posted by mkjellman
after looking at the new version I felt that it was great but the ads just really killed it. The space at the top was really hurtful of the overall design. I forked over a whopping $20 for a year and got the member version and look at how nice it looks! Plus think of how good the money can be used by Arn to make this an even better site!

Hey, I forked over my $20 on 12/31 and still haven't received my link for ad free home page. I though maybe it was the holidays causing the delay. Maybe Arn is runnig some big scam. :D

[rdowns]

Originally posted by rdowns
Hey, I forked over my $20 on 12/31 and still haven't received my link for ad free home page. I though maybe it was the holidays causing the delay. Maybe Arn is runnig some big scam. :D

Arn sent me the link. Thanks.

The new home page looks great ad free.

[kjwebb]

Is there a possiblity that the news page can have an option (saved by cookies) that users can change the time to there local time so that the times on the news can be worked out eaiser for users outside of america.

[Grimace]

I think it looks fantastic.

[sonofslim]

the tabs on the homepage are back to being weird on IE 5.0 under OS 9.2.

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by sonofslim
the tabs on the homepage are back to being weird on IE 5.0 under OS 9.2.

Can you post a screenshot?

[arn]

The big google ad is under the main story again.

If you don't like this, use this url

http://www.macrumors.com/site/adstyle.php

and it will toggle them back to the left-column. It's cookie based and will remember your settings.

arn

[Doctor Q]

How do you toggle it the other way?

[arn]

Originally posted by Doctor Q
How do you toggle it the other way?

same url

arn

[sonofslim]

Originally posted by Rower_CPU
Can you post a screenshot?

rower,

they're fixed now (as of sometime between friday and sunday afternoon) but for reference, here's the snap i took when the redesign first went live. this is identical to their appearance fri. afternoon.

http://www.hypnagoggle.com/macrumors.gif

[irock]

Just curious...

Your Shopping links in the 'Compare Prices' box are now missing. Did your webmaster notice that?

http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2004/01/20040112233003.shtml

Thanks!

[sonofslim]

10:15am EST, OS9 & IE 5.1 -- both left & right columns not displaying on the front page. their space is still there, but empty. there's just white space flanking the middle column.

also, is this the best way to alert the powers that be of these design issues? (and, more importantly) do the powers that be need/want to be alerted about this stuff?

[MacRAND]

Originally posted by arn
things are still in flux... :)
arn Okay, this is strange. All the other MacRumors (front page) and Forums pages "wrap" and "scale" properly, EXCEPT this thread! I'd have to have a 23" Display to get it all in. Why only these pages on this thread? Anyone else have the same problem in Explorer and Safari (tried them both, they act the same for me)?
:confused:

[sonofslim]

Originally posted by MacRAND
Okay, this is strange. All the other MacRumors (front page) and Forums pages "wrap" and "scale" properly, EXCEPT this thread! I'd have to have a 23" Display to get it all in.

i think that's actually my fault; i posted a couple full-width screenshots that are expanding the column widths.

although it seems to me that in other threads, the extra-wide posts don't stretch the others with them, but rather expand independently... yes? no?

[Rower_CPU]

sonofslim-
Speaking for arn, yes, we absolutely want to be notified if things aren't working for you. The best thing you can do is continue to provide screenshots of the page - a picture is worth a thousand words. ;)

I just checked IE 5.0 in OS 9 and I didn't see what you described, only the tab issue you already alerted us about. IE 5.1.7 has the tabs right and it shows the left and right columns.

MacRAND-
That's due to the large image embedded in sonofslim's post.

[arn]

yep... send a screenshot, browser information and platform.

Without this information, it's very very very hard to figure out what's going on.

send to webmaster@macrumors.com

arn

[gataca2004]

Yep ! Nice job, the site looks great ! Keep on the good work !

[erik1975]

I like the fact that the site navigation tabs are now in the forums!

Great touch Arn!

[FatSweatyChimp]

Very nice work :cool:

[Hemingray]

Looks good! Only thing I'm not fond of are the bigger avatars (although I will be making mine bigger to fit in), the huge text capabilities (I think this will be abused) and the different colored smilies. But that's just IMHO! ;) The rest of it looks great. Good job!

[Doctor Q]

Here's something I find odd. When you click the Post Reply button at the bottom of a thread display and type the text of a new post, you have buttons labeled Submit Reply and Preview Post. If you click Preview Post, you see the preview, followed by a Submit Message button, then the text box, then the same Submit Reply and Preview Post buttons. The Submit Message and Submit Reply buttons do the same thing.

So we have three nouns for the same thing: Reply, Post, and Message!

I think the nouns should be the same, i.e., instead of
Submit Message and Submit Reply and Preview Post
the three buttons should be
Submit Reply and Submit Reply and Preview Reply
OR
Submit Post and Submit Post and Preview Post
OR
Submit Message and Submit Message and Preview Message

Of these three choices, I prefer
Submit Reply and Submit Reply and Preview Reply
because you clicked Post Reply to start the process.

[Raid]

I've noticed in the last day that all the links on the left and topics on the right are now in italics (and they maybe bold as well). I use opera & explorer here, and I'm not sure how it looks on safari, but it's hard to read on both of those browsers.

[Powerbook G5]

They don't look italicized to me unless I am looking in the wrong place.

[Raid]

They don't look italicized to me unless I am looking in the wrong place.
Oh my bad, I didn't clarify! :eek: It's the links and fourm topic on the main page of macrumors. I'll check tonight on my Mac and see if it's just the (PoS) PC I'm using.

[arn]

[QUOTE=Raid]I've noticed in the last day that all the links on the left and topics on the right are now in italics (and they maybe bold as well). I use opera & explorer here, and I'm not sure how it looks on safari, but it's hard to read on both of those browsers.[/QUOTE

browser, screenshot?

arn

[Powerbook G5]

I am not seeing it, I'd check to see if your browser's text settings are set to bold or italicize text somehow.

[kjwebb]

On Internet Explorer on Windows XP, the left and right side bars have a smaller font (ie. Way smaller) than the rest of the site.

This is at medium font size in IE's settings.

[Raid]

[QUOTE=Raid]I've noticed in the last day that all the links on the left and topics on the right are now in italics (and they maybe bold as well). I use opera & explorer here, and I'm not sure how it looks on safari, but it's hard to read on both of those browsers.[/QUOTE

browser, screenshot?

arn
Well I was going to try and post a screen shot, but today it looks normal for IE and Opera... did you change anything? :confused: