June 04, 2004 | View Comments (46) | Category: CSS Vault
Summary: v.3 of the CSS Vault launches.
Well it's up and I would say about 93.54% complete. New features include:
I like the refreshing feel this gives over the previous version. No more darkness, only light now. Some things still need to be filled in like dates on the news items and submission guidelines, but I thought that with this much done already it would be safe to let it loose upon the world.
I am sure more than enough of you will be unhappy that the homepage does not include a long list of recently entered sites and I am thinking of ways to integrate that. Besides that you will see less sites entering the Vault, but the quality should increase. With CSS Beauty around (keep up the excellent work Alex) there is no longer a need for me to post every CSS that looks decent. Now the Vault can become more of a designers site that allows for (hopefully) quality discussions on CSS and design.
Also with this redesign the visual branding of the 9rules Network is almost complete. And yes I am working on integrating screenshots into the feeds.
Well now its time for you to dissect and breakdown the redesign. What do you like? What don't you like? What could be added? As always constructive critcism is welcomed. Just watch the tone please :-).
Trackback URL: http://9rules.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/256
Well like I said Jason there will be less sites coming into the Vault and there definitely will not be a case where I put 4 up at once (unless I get really behind). Reason is to improve the quality of the sites and also it takes a small amount of time to write a better analysis of each site.
Also I should have asked this in the entry, but is anyone aware of an MT plugin that shows a randome entry. I think I would like that more than the recently commented site. Allows for sites from say November or something to get recognized again.
Scrivs (http://businesslogs.com)
First thing I noticed is with the thumbnails on the front page... At first glance I thought all six of them were just the last six entries. Then after I scrolled all the way down and back up for a second look, I noticed the Featured Site, Commented site, etc.
If you put a shaded box around those bottom three thumbnails to separate them from the "most recently added" ones, I think it would help with that a little. Especially since the contrast is so subtle between the headings and the background color.
Derek (http://www.twotallsocks.com/)
Nice job. Here's what my contructive thoughts would be:
1. Under NEWS - What goes there when this is no longer new? Perhaps it might be cool to put instead "active discussions" occurring across the whole network, WS, CSSV, FG, V2...marketing strategy, know what I mean?
2. Under RESOURCES would be nice to see a "more" link directing one to the resources page, instead of forcing them to scroll back up to the main menu
3. Also, just as a thought, since all of the resource information is at the bottom of the page, perhaps put the search field down there as well. Maybe (not sure about this) put the menu down there as well?
Mark (http://www.lightpierce.com/ltshdw)
Very nice work, Scrivs!
One question about the Vault -- how would I go about getting an updated thumbnail of my site? The one that exists is a bit old. :)
Thanks for all your hard work on the Valut!
Jeff
Jeff Croft (http://jeffcroft.com)
Very nice work! I'm liking the look you're giving to the 9rules Network, with the desaturated pastelish colors. Brings it all together.
The IA work on the Vault is top-notch, something you seem to have a good grasp of.
The only improvement I might suggest is to make the Featured, Redesigned, and Commented sites a little more obvious; when I first looked, I overlooked them thinking they were no different from the three recently added above them. Then I realized that Blogger was added some time ago, and that's when I saw the headers.
Anyways, excellent job on the redesign! I like the direction you're taking the Vault.
Chris Vincent (http://dris.dyndns.org:8080/)
It's probably better that entries get added less often. This would lead to sites staying on the front page and give more people a chance to join in the discussion.
I really like the new layout. All parts of the site are accessible without having to scroll or looking too cluttered.
Just a question: While most of the site looks consistent across my browsers (Opera, Firefox, IE), why is the footer noticably different from one browser to the next?
Jack (http://boxofjack.com)
Yes, I'm liking this. Also, I'm fairly happy how you are keeping your 9rules network brand consistent and indentifiable. I also like how now it seems there is proper emphasis on the different sections, and now more can be open for discussion.
Lea (http://xox.lealea.net/01/)
Scrivs, great design! Somehow you took that all over the place discussion we had a few days ago and came up with something very usable and clean. I love it...
On the random entry thing, here is a link to a plugin...
Brad Daily (http://bradleyboy.com/blog)
Mark and Derek made some good points.
The featured site etc. could use a little more distinction. Maybe a different colored border or a little background color like what you do with the previous entries on whitespace.
The resources could definitely use a more link. You could place another search box specific to the resources underneath the latest, but i'm not too sure if thats entirely necessary if you use the more link.
The search box at the top of the page could benefit from a couple radio buttons or a drop down to direct your search through the galleries, resources, or the entire site.
The only other thing I can think of right now is the info link below each thumbnail. I think the link needs to be a little more prominent. It's kinda hard to notice and maybe a little difficult to click for some people as it's so close to the name (which is also another link).
Jason Marble
Trying to get most of these suggestions implemented as we go along.
Brad: Do you know where the actual plugin can be found?
Jack: I have no idea. I will play with some later.
Jeff: Screenshot updated.
Mark: News should stay relevant, but some other features like you said could very well be added below that. Resources link added under resources.
Derek: Working on separating the boxes.
*phew*
Scrivs (http://businesslogs.com)
Oops, didn't check the link...my bad...
Looks like he changed his permalinks, I found it here:
It is almost to the bottom of the page....
Brad Daily (http://bradleyboy.com/blog)
You know a php solution might be better here, that way a random entry would come with every page refresh, not just when MT rebuilds...what do you think?
Brad Daily (http://bradleyboy.com/blog)
If you'd be willing to code it, I would be willing to try it ;-)
Scrivs (http://businesslogs.com)
The content areas are running a little close to the top of the navigation on IE6/Win. You're probably relying on Firefox's margin/paddings which don't exist in IE.
It looks great, though. I just wish there was a little more consistency between the three sites (whitespace, version2, and cssvault). The logos are great and very consistent, but other than that ... I think a little interlinking would be good, too. I see you have the version2 site linked from here, but whitespace isnt linked from there.
I think that it would be cool if the logotypes for the two other sites were on the current site (perhaps greyed out), and they were clickable. Would add to a lot more traffic I think. The sites are probably very understandably connected to you, but the sites are really confusing for first-time visitors I think.
I know I'm not being very helpful, but ... more consistency will add to easier understanding for first-time visitors, so that they'll visit all three of your sites in one session, and of course like at least one of them enough to come back.
thomas (http://gendes.elivy.com)
Nice and simple... Looks good scrivs...
There's a problem though... the site doesn not display right on ie6
screen shot here: http://www.giron.us/stuff/cssv.png
Alex Giron (http://www.cssbeauty.com)
I may not be too typical a visitor, but there has previously been nothing making WANT to go from WS to CV to Roe to FG (in any order). Small links in footers, even small links in headers, because of their size tell me they are not important - so I ignore them.
The new v2 logo on ws made me WANT to click it. It looked important or inviting in some way. Therefore, I would replace the small links in the footer with the new logos instead. I would also make it clear that this is 9rules by putting the 9rules logo on every page at the top.
The new logos are nice recognizable attractive images that help to unify the site but I would just go that little bit more to make it OBVIOUS to anyone that they are on part of the 9rules network.
Hope that helps.
01 (http://www.01010.org/)
Further to my last comment, I would also put all the logolinks at the right as well, as on ws now. The thinking being that the further down the page the less important. I think it is important for you that visitors go to all sections of your site, so if is important, put the links further up the page, as well.
01 (http://www.01010.org/)
I have to say that it confuses me a little. Perhaps, it's just my browser.
I see three latest entries, but then to the right of the third one is the word "News." It's not a link it's just hanging there. On the next row, there's two empty areas (that line up with the first two latest entries), then the featured site. Below the featured site, is something that resembles news, but the word "News" is, as I mentioned before, hanging out on the first row.
I think I get what you're going after...maybe it's just my rendering (XP/Firefox)? Hmm.
Nicole (http://nicoleswan.com)
Well obviously there are some bugs :-) The joys of IE. I will be looking to squash these this weekend while also preparing to launch another site next week.
Thomas and 01: Great points and will definitely be used.
Scrivs (http://businesslogs.com)
Scrivs,
You might try renaming the css file. When I first went there I had to clear my cache to see the new design (using FireFox 0.8 with basically standard settings). Maybe it was just me though. I sat there looking at a slaughtered of your old design and wondered what in the world you were thinking.
Andrew (http://kempt.org/blog)
Wow, I really was seeing a tangled mess. I followed Andrew's advice (one would think I would have thought to do that), and am now enjoying the new design. Now I must say that it's very well organized and not at all confusing. :)
Nice work.
Nicole (http://nicoleswan.com)
"great work", really the version 3 of the the site really hits the sweet spot in the eyes and i think is a good enough change from the version 2.
Try and include snapshots of the best CSS sites that you think are designed on the web and let them keep changing daily.
Sunil
Sunil Shenoy
Scrivs:
What font are you using for all the logos in the 9rules network? I mean like "forevergeek", "whitespace" et all.
WhatFont
Hi Scrivs,
very nice work. The 9rules corporate identity is now also used by the cssvault. I think the new sections and the upcoming search engine continue the good work.
br (http://www.tvvaihingen-faustball.de)
Along the lines of Nicole's comment in #20, there's a weird rendering in Opera 7 (in XP) as well: rather than the featured / redesigned / random entries lining up nicely below the three most recent entries like they do in IE (which looks great!), they turn into one column below the first recent entry, with tons of whitespace (haha) on the right below the other two recent entries. Like you need more work to do this weekend ;)
Liz (http://hiptobeasquare.com)
Very nice redesign. It's very clean and easy to find things. I do however have one major problem:
There is no border-left or border-right on both the navigation and the footer. Although this may have been used for effect, it tends to make my eye drop off the side of both features. I feel like both the footer and navigation should have full borders to emphasise it and to keep my eye on it.
The web site works in the following browsers for me:
Mozilla Firefox
Internet Explorer 6
Internet Explorer 5.5 (Everything works but the thumbnails on the index page)
Internet Explorer 5.0 (Same for 5.0)
Opera 7 (Thumbnails are aligned to the right hand side).
I can submit screenshots if you need them.
Robert Lofthouse
Hmmm, it looks fine for me in Opera 7.5...maybe you people should upgrade :-P But I will continue to crack at it. Another major new feature to be added this weekend will be a section with sites that almost made it. This might just be a feed, but we will see.
The font used for the logos is Myriad Pro.
Scrivs (http://businesslogs.com)
I see you added more links, but I still think that the IA of the 9rules network as a whole could be improved. Perhaps make some sort of flowchart, analyzing the sites you have (whitespace, cssvault, the roe, forevergeek, version2) and which are or should be linked together. Which sites should be linked more prominently and which are best-off left on their own more?
I think something like this would really help you add links and solidify the network of sites into a cross-referencing community. Traffic can then be transferred much more easily and will find what they like (and come back!). New visitors will be able to understand the heirarchy (IMO its a mess now), which is of course a good thing.
But since there are so many sites, a flow chart or some sort of visual representation might be helpful. And if you make it look good, you can post it, as well as why you chose different links (read: correlations) between sites, etc. and people can comment on it.
I might even make one, just for the fun of it. :P
thomas (http://gendes.elivy.com)
I'm having a problem with the middle "screenshot" sections on the main page. Because I use 18px font, the header of each section overlaps the bottom of the previous section, making it impossible to click on the "info" and "comments" links for any overlapped entries.
(Actually, I have a similar problem with this site... the list of links at the bottom "spills over" into lower sections.)
I'm not really sure why the sections aren't just made able to stretch as long/high as they need to be, since they seem to be placed linearly.
I'm used to designs being slightly broken because I need a slightly larger font than most, but this is broken a bit badly.
Liz Calkins (http://alienharmony.com/)
*edit to my previous post*
I meant the thumbnails were aligned to the left in Opera 7 :P
Robert Lofthouse
Scrivs: yup, looks great!
Oh, and I'm glad you added that "past entries" buffer zone between the recent entries and featured / redesigned / random, it's good for those days when you add more than three entries and I don't have to accidentally miss something :)
Liz (http://hiptobeasquare.com)
I love it. I love it. I love it.
It always amazes me how simple and clean your sites always are. Great job.
Sazzy
Hmm, your site fails horribly in Safari. Floats are all off to the right and its simply not working. You should probably take a look at it
Aaron Egaas (http://www.digitalphlame.com)
Excellent work Scrivs - obviously staring at hundreds of CSS sites in the last few months has given you plenty of inspiration.
I am interested in the "tougher guidlines", can you expand?
seriocomic (http://www.seriocomic.com)
Yes, it looks much better now. Wow! Very clean-looking now, I like it.
Liz Calkins (http://alienharmony.com/)
Thanks. Btw, I just noticed that the new CSS Vault deserves being featured in the CSS Vault ;). Really nice redesign.
Federico
Echoing everyone else - Great redesign!
I am not sure if this will help or if I am just being a pain in the ass, but anyway...
I don't use the vault much but noticed the Thinking Woman's Diary last month which is a great site. I thought I'd see what people had said about it but I had difficulty finding it. At first I looked around the bottom for "more" or "archives" or something, then I looked at the top and tried Gallery and found it.
My suggestion is to have a Gallery Archives link straight after the screenshots. It wouldn't fit nicely with your present layout, so the only thing I thought might work would be to give it a separate section right above the News and Resources sections, going right across similar to the Basecamp thingie with something like this in it:
Gallery archives >> June|May|April|March|more
Oh well, you said you were looking for suggestions :-)
01 (http://www.01010.org/)
I like the branding a lot now - especially the stripe of color at the top of the page.
Jennifer Grucza (http://jennifergrucza.com)
I like the new look but I miss the old one a lot... I liked how there were more screen shots of the sites featuring and the new links that you added to the resources. Now I have to scroll all the way down... (I guess I will have to get used to that…) still keep up the good work with the vault... its a great inspiration to me. Thanks.
Enej
Keep track of comments to all entries with the Comments Feed
©2003-06 9rules, Inc. | Thoughts Feed | Notes Feed
Amazon Stores: Powertools | Jewelry | Books | Health | Landscaping | Kitchen | Movies
#1
Very very nice. Very nice Scrivs. I really like the new design. The IA is very nice.
The featured site, recently redesigned and recently commented is nice feature.
The only thing I see that may cause a problem is the latest entries. If you upload more than 3 new entries at once, like 4 or something, it might mess with the layout. You know what I'm saying? You would have a second row with just a single thumbnail. It might look a little odd. I guess you could always just keep it three and throw the rest into the month's gallery. If you do that, I think you should throw up a link like "More latest entries" that sends you to a page with the other latest entries.
Otherwise, if you keep your entries to a total of like one a day or three a week, I think everything will work and look great. I just pointed it out for that sake of a little constructive criticism.
I love the CSS Vault. Thanks Scrivs :)
Jason Marble