Site Redesigns

February 22, 2004 | View Comments (8) | Category: CSS Vault

Summary: How to handle the issue of redesigns in the Gallery.

Over the past couple of weeks a few sites in the Gallery have been redesigned. Of course I have no problem with that since I don't own the sites, but I am having trouble figuring out what I should do with the redesigns. If a site redesigns, should it get "re-entered" into the Vault or is there another method that I could use to allow people to know that the site has been redesigned?

I have been keeping 800x600 screen captures of every site and eventually will have to start using these for the redesigned sites.

On another note, everyone has 7 days till the deadline for Version 2 - February Edition arrives.

Trackback URL: http://9rules.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/155

Comments

#1

change the thumbnail and maybe add a date?

huphtur (http://www.huphtur.nl)

#2

I'd just attach a timestamp under the thumnail.

David House

#3

Instead of re-entering it, maybe just swap out the thumbnail and change the date posted? Or if it's not valut worthy, ditch it?

Keith

#4

But with all of these you see that the people are still not aware of when the site has been redesigned. A year from now if a site was first posted November 2003 and changed November 2004 who is going to go back and realize the change?

Scrivs (http://www.9rules.com/whitespace/)

#5

Yes, with this archive rapidly expanding it would be a task in itself to keep it up to date.

Maybe if you introduced a rule stating if the showcase item did change in appearance with a re-design then the owner would need to contact you. Or, link to the old design by giving you an updated link.

Ian (http://www.e-lusion.com)

#6

A toughie. Linkdup notes when a site has been updated on their frontpage along with their new site entries - which is pretty valid method. I'd be interested, if, say, Keith updates the design of his website. ;) But might never realize it unless I kept tabs on your archives. I'd view, in most circumstances, a redesign as a pretty big thing, as big as any new site. Such as k10k.net -- when they change their site layouts, its big news. So, yes, what I'm saying, I'd like for the new redesign to be featured along with the new sites...

But the method of doing this... would be interesting. If you update the timestamp of the entry, then a user may think that this is the first time that website has appeared on CSS Vault, when the site may actually be one of the initial pioneers. Might be a bit of toe stepping and bruised egos related to doing that. Plus, it would be interesting to see a sites old layout, even if it is just a screenshot...

Would it work, perhaps, keeping the entry with the old screenshot as is... but in that old entry with the old screenshot, link to the new redesign entry which would appear listed alongside the new entries? That sounds more confusing then what I'm trying to say...

Or perhaps having an "updated" category that appears on the frontpage would suffice. But that would still bring up the time issue, as an updated category would still display the entries by their timestamp, not when they were added to the "updated" category. So if you have something that entered the CSS Vault last week, then redesigned and was added to the "updated" category, they would most likely always appear on the top of the list of "updated" websites, even if somebody like to "two-thirty" updates a week after the newer site. So, not an ideal solution...

Too bad MT doesn't allow for multiple timestamps, eh? Perhaps there is some plugin somewhere out there...

Alanna (http://www.expio.net)

#7

Hi Scrivs,
Would it be possible to use some type of numbering system i.e., v1 v2, etc. so that all versions of a site may be viewed? The web is such a fluid medium and its history gets erased as sites evolve and designs change. (Analogy - think of the ocean erasing sand drawings as the tides change.) Although there is a certain beauty in that in and of itself, it would be nice to be able to go to a single clearing house to be able to see how the web and effective design evolves over time. The web has no museums, per se. CSS Vault could be the first.

Krista (http://www.kristastevens.com)

#8

Krista: That is very possible and I have no problem doing it. However, I need to workout a way to make people aware that the site has indeed been updated.

Alanna: As usual excellent suggestions and I am sure I will work one of those into the site. Thank you.

Scrivs (http://www.9rules.com/whitespace/)

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