The first pass of our portal design will be ready by tomorrow, most likely. We will probably redesign the frontpage, but the basic elements will remain the same. As a starting point, it is something that Colin can use to get a sense of the html structure we are going to require. Thanks.
Colin, this is still a work in progress, but I wanted to show you the latest version of the portal frontpage. Thanks.
Where does the styling of the portal stand? If you want to truely be "using" the portal by today, I'd suggest getting that style, and images, to me as soon as possible.
I'm still trucking..
Greg, thanks for the update. I'm almost done with all the HTML for the portal, and I am now going to make the appropriate changes so that its more in line with the above.
After that though, it will be all styling.
You'll notice by visiting AnimationBlogspot.com that Mark has started the styling for the portal. Our designer should hopefully be done with the latest (and perhaps final) version of the frontpage by end of today. Meanwhile, per the Task List, we should be able to review all of the backend functionality - site search - and so on.
Ok, as promised, here is the most recent incarnation of the frontpage. There are some temp placeholders, like the gray box (top of page) for member sign-up and the newsletter graphic (bottom of page).
We are also playing with different colors. We will want to use the blue font for the links. You'll also notice, now, three columns in the categories. We're still refining. Let's talk on Monday.
Quick update: Our designer, Deron, was out of the office yesterday for health reasons. Myself, I am traveling during the next few days, as well. However, we can still keep in touch via email/forums to review progress. Once I have something to share regarding the portal frontpage, I will post it here. Hopefully today or tomorrow.
Greg: Thanks for the update. I'm currently working on the customization of the administration while Mike is traveling and subsequently working on some of the theme options we spoke about. I'll keep you informed.
quick note
We are going through design passes of the blogspot frontpage on our end. We are pushing to get that up on the forums in the next day or two, so you can see what functionality we are going for -- even if we decide to change the look of it.
Thanks.
Mark and Deron, on our team, are going to help with the css styling -- hopefully tomorrow (Thursday).
We are working on the next iteration of the blog portal frontpage. We are trying to have that posted by tomorrow, as well.
We are adding a couple more elements, such as a general Search Box; an Upcoming Events feed from the AWN site; RSS feeds; newsletter sign-up; and such.
Things are coming together nicely. It will be good once everything is in place, and we can begin to use the portal from front to back. Then we can really begin the process of fine-tuning.
This is Not the Design
Hi, Colin.
As you requested, I am showing here a look at what content the portal frontpage may be displaying. This is not our Animation Blogspot design. We will be reworking the look and layout. This is only to give you an idea of what underlying html structure we will need.
Most everything is self-explanatory. Some points to make:
1. We still need to discuss and clarify the site search feature. When a user inputs a keyword into the frontpage search box, it will likely return results on a separate search homepage -- with the option for advanced searching/filtering. (As an aside, one question has come up regarding the ability to distinguish between posts about someone, and that someone's own blogs. For example, if I type in "Colin Devroe", perhaps the blogs by Colin pop to the top of the search results, whereas content involving "Colin Devroe" displays beneath.)
2. Does WPMU allow avatars for each user? If not, we will do away with that element, and more blog content can be displayed on the frontpage under each section.
3. In the system admin, we will need some way to tag a user's blog as being a "Featured Blog".
4. "Most Popular Blogs" is based on views -- for the day, week and month?
5. The "Staff Picks" section is something whereby AWN's editors may be reading through the blogs and see some post that is interesting or provocative, and we can tag it as being a "Staff Pick" and it will display in this frontpage section.
6. The "Rumor Mill" is just an idea, nothing specific. If bloggers create a category on their blog titled, for example, "Rumor Mill," then any posts under that heading in their blog will be tagged to possibly display on the frontpage in this section.
7. The image-links at the bottom of the frontpage is a placeholder. We will want to pull visual content from our other sites (such as our magazine articles, or AWN Showcase), just as we link to our industry news and job postings in the right-hand column.
8. For the CATEGORIES, as we discussed, those will be created in the system admin, and display on the frontpage accordingly. When users sign up (or manage their profile), they will decide the categories for their own blog -- but they will only be able to choose 2 or 5 or some predetermined limit. When clicking on a category, it will take a user to that category's "homepage" (total number of blogs parenthetically noted) with a list of the blogs in that category. Alternatively, if a user clicked on the top level "Blogspot Categories" link, it would go to an inclusive homepage with all of the categories listed (number of blogs in each category parenthetically noted), with a list of, say, 10 blogs under each category heading... "Click for more..." beneath the list of ten... That kind of thing.
9. The black boxes are for ad placements on the frontpage, if that needs mentioning.