SitePoint.com

Mark Harbottle · Feb 23, 2003, 18:43

Today is a huge day for SitePoint.

If you're a regular you would have noticed that we've just launched a brand new site with a new logo, new information architecture, and a refined color scheme for both sitepoint.com and sitepointforums.com

The new site is representative of where SitePoint is heading. We are totally focused on Web Professionals, i.e. Web Developers and Designers who make their living from building Websites.

You will notice that our network sites (WebmasterBase.com, PromotionBase.com, eCommerceBase.com) have all been consolidated to SitePoint.com. Some of our content has been removed (because it wasn't relevant to Web Developers or Designers) and some content has been consolidated and/or re-categorized into new sections to make it much easier to find. The result is a much more focused and usable SitePoint.com

You will also notice only 3 tabs at the top of the site (articles, our books, and forums). These tabs represent the 3 types of content we will be offering to Web Developers and Designers moving forward. You can read our free articles, buy our books, or chat with your peers in our forums.

To keep you up to date of course we still have our 3 popular newsletters (SitePoint Tribune, SitePoint Tech Times, and the Community Crier).

The new site is compliant with the latest W3C Web standards, having been completely re-designed using CSS. The only place you'll find a table is where a table makes sense, i.e. where there is content to display in rows and columns.

One cool feature of the new site is the collapsible navigation bar on the left hand side. If you are reading articles and you wish to expand the content across the page simply close the sitepoint navigation bar. Open again when you wish to find another article to read or keep it closed, it's totally up to you. Check it out, it's a nice feature.

You may also like our sliding information bar on the right hand side. This was designed so that most pertinent information is always by your side as you read through our articles and browse the site. The information changes depending on what level of the site you are on.

I would like to thank the following people in no particular order for their enormous contribution to the new site: Alex Walker, Jason Donald, Georgina Laidlaw, Julian Szemere and Wayne Luke. Of course there were more people involved, but these guys deserved a special mention.

We hope you like it.

Cheers,

Mark.

JulianD · Feb 23, 2003, 19:02

Thanks Mark.

The new design is very clean, and the articles are very well organized.

Keep the good work!

iFroggy · Feb 23, 2003, 19:08

Well. Its new, I'll give you that.

Good to see all 5 of my articles passed inspection.

Geof Harries · Feb 23, 2003, 19:21

Congrats on the new design. I will assume the sitepoint logo is representative of a set of tags <|>? Very cool.

Looks good and works well on Mozilla 1.3b on Mac OS X 10.2.4. But there is an issue with Safari v60. I cannot get the Hide Nav link to work; in fact it's not even a link according to Safari, although I do plainly see the graphic. I assume this is because the new browser is not quite up to snuff standards-wise, and it is also possible of course you may not have tested it here. But just thought I'd let you know. Its a good feature; hopefully in time that will change.

geof

r937 · Feb 23, 2003, 20:26

Quote:

The new site is compliant with the latest W3C Web standards, having been completely re-designed using CSS. The only place you'll find a table is where a table makes sense, i.e. where there is content to display in rows and columns.

congrats on the site design, it looks great

i really love the site, especially the forums, where i'm an active participant in several database forums

but i'm also a web developer, and i'm quite familiar with the w3c standards, and i can assure you that the following is not compatible with them:

 

The new site is compliant with the
latest W3C Web standards, having been 
completely 
re-designed using CSS.
The only place you'll find a table is 
where a
table makes sense, 
i.e. where there is
content to display in rows and
columns. 
 
 

okay, maybe that's a cheap shot, because it's content, and not part of the actual site code, i.e. it was probably pasted into a textbox from some evil, odious, ancient, and reprehensible wysiwyg editor

still, it made me smile

by the way, tables abound in the layout

but that's cool, totally eliminating tables for layout is a herculean task

rudy
http://r937.com/

anode · Feb 23, 2003, 20:30

I'm sure they mean the main site, not the forums.

z0s0 · Feb 23, 2003, 20:35

Yes only the content site is striving for compliance currently, not the forums. There are still a couple of issues that need to be ironed out within the site, compliace-wise, too. But we're getting there!

RussellG · Feb 23, 2003, 20:42

It's fantastic. Great work Team Sitepoint!

Mike · Feb 23, 2003, 20:44

I do love the new navigation

Mark Harbottle · Feb 23, 2003, 20:46

Quote:

Originally posted by r937
congrats on the site design, it looks great

i really love the site, especially the forums, where i'm an active participant in several database forums

but i'm also a web developer, and i'm quite familiar with the w3c standards, and i can assure you that the following is not compatible with them:

 

The new site is compliant with the
latest W3C Web standards, having been 
completely 
re-designed using CSS.
The only place you'll find a table is 
where a
table makes sense, 
i.e. where there is
content to display in rows and
columns. 
 
 

okay, maybe that's a cheap shot, because it's content, and not part of the actual site code, i.e. it was probably pasted into a textbox from some evil, odious, ancient, and reprehensible wysiwyg editor

still, it made me smile

by the way, tables abound in the layout

but that's cool, totally eliminating tables for layout is a herculean task

rudy
http://r937.com/

As you said the content you're referring to was entered ages ago via a wysiwyg editor, so it's probably not compliant. We didn't have time to re-format all the content in the articles in the database. However we will get around to this soon.

You mentioned there are tables in the layout. As I said there are only tables where they are needed to display data. There are no tables for the purpose of design.

But I guess everyone wants to prove us wrong, right?

r937 · Feb 23, 2003, 20:53

oh heck no, that was not my intention, i don't usually go around looking for flaws, i just thought that it was ironic, all those FONT tags in a paragraph talking about w3c standards

anyhow, you are fighting the good fight, and that's what counts

rudy

iFroggy · Feb 23, 2003, 20:53

Not me. I don't particularly care about compliance. As long as it looks good as far as attention to detail and works in most/all browsers, it is a winner.

I'll get used to it.

nuno · Feb 23, 2003, 20:53

Looking great guys.

suzkaw · Feb 23, 2003, 20:56

Two thumbs up from me!

GamerZ · Feb 23, 2003, 20:59

Cool, Love it

Andrew-J2000 · Feb 23, 2003, 21:08

Quote:

Originally posted by Mark Harbottle

The new site is compliant with the latest W3C Web standards, having been completely re-designed using CSS. The only place you'll find a table is where a table makes sense, i.e. where there is content to display in rows and columns.

Quote:

Line 180, column 66: non SGML character number 150 (explain...).
...w2"><a class="sublink" href="/article/1025">Review – Microsoft FrontPage 2002</a></td> ^
Line 217, column 52: cannot generate system identifier for general entity "id" ...***='feature' href="/click.php?fid=3&id=3&issue=59">The New SitePoint / mod_g ^
Line 217, column 52: general entity "id" not defined and no default entity (explain...). ...***='feature' href="/click.php?fid=3&id=3&issue=59">The New SitePoint / mod_g ^
Line 217, column 54: reference not terminated by REFC delimiter ...s='feature' href="/click.php?fid=3&id=3&issue=59">The New SitePoint / mod_gzi ^
Line 217, column 54: reference to external entity in attribute value ...s='feature' href="/click.php?fid=3&id=3&issue=59">The New SitePoint / mod_gzi

etc...

This is a giant step for sitepoint Mark, hopefully many more of them will be yet to come

Adam P. · Feb 23, 2003, 21:09

I just want to give a big congrats to whole SitePoint Team and everyone that worked on the new design. I'm sure that none of us can imagine how much work you guys put into it.

If we come off as being picky, sorry - we truly appreciate all of your hard work and it clearly paid off.

geiger · Feb 23, 2003, 21:17

If SitePoint was a stand-up comic, it'd be saying, "Tough croud!" Well, that's exactly what we are. Members here have experience, knowledge, and an opinion with plenty of backing. I'm sure there's plenty of people who can find a hundred things they don't like about this new design (including me!), but with the skill here I'm sure it'll all be put to good use and our thoughts won't go in vain.

Congrats with the overhaul; it's a big step!

Jeremy W. · Feb 23, 2003, 21:22

Just want to say to the team: feel free to take a day off. I realise you've just woken up and all, but still, don't feel you need to "hawk" the forums all day. Work out the kinks, have a beer, and we'll see you all in a few days

Jason Donald · Feb 23, 2003, 21:36

Quote:

Originally posted by Jeremy W.
Work out the kinks, have a beer, and we'll see you all in a few days :)

Thanks, Jeremy :) It was certainly a small mission to get it going. Alex has become a cross browser CSS guru in the process :)

We'll work on the kinks and see you in a few days :)

Hierophant · Feb 23, 2003, 21:38

Quote:

Originally posted by Jeremy W.
Just want to say to the team: feel free to take a day off. I realise you've just woken up and all, but still, don't feel you need to "hawk" the forums all day. Work out the kinks, have a beer, and we'll see you all in a few days

Great thanks... 8:38 p.m. here and I think I will go eat dinner and spend some time with my wife.

Mark Harbottle · Feb 23, 2003, 21:41

Quote:

Originally posted by Jason Donald
Thanks, Jeremy It was certainly a small mission to get it going. Alex has become a cross browser CSS guru in the process

We'll work on the kinks and see you in a few days

Nobody is going anywhere until we sort out the kinks.. We'll have a beer at the end of the week. Of course the beer we had before on launching the site doesn't count because it was before lunch on a Monday

JeremyL · Feb 23, 2003, 21:52

Oh please tell me there is a way to turn off the sliding bar on the right. That is the MOST ANNOYING thing I have seen. If I want to click on something on the right, I think I can scroll to where it is clickable. I don't need the thing stalking me (yes I feel I'm being followed).

Other then that, from what I see, VERY nice and clean design.

Dan_K · Feb 23, 2003, 21:52

The content architecture is great!

geiger · Feb 23, 2003, 21:55

Is it just me, or is the text on the main site HUGE???

Not only do I have to turn my text setting to "smallest" for it to look normal, but the line spacing is excessive, as well. I'm not blind!

Feb 23, 2003, 18:43	#1
Mark Harbottle SitePoint Co-founder Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 665	NEW SitePoint.com and SitePointForums.com Today is a huge day for SitePoint. If you're a regular you would have noticed that we've just launched a brand new site with a new logo, new information architecture, and a refined color scheme for both sitepoint.com and sitepointforums.com The new site is representative of where SitePoint is heading. We are totally focused on Web Professionals, i.e. Web Developers and Designers who make their living from building Websites. You will notice that our network sites (WebmasterBase.com, PromotionBase.com, eCommerceBase.com) have all been consolidated to SitePoint.com. Some of our content has been removed (because it wasn't relevant to Web Developers or Designers) and some content has been consolidated and/or re-categorized into new sections to make it much easier to find. The result is a much more focused and usable SitePoint.com You will also notice only 3 tabs at the top of the site (articles, our books, and forums). These tabs represent the 3 types of content we will be offering to Web Developers and Designers moving forward. You can read our free articles, buy our books, or chat with your peers in our forums. To keep you up to date of course we still have our 3 popular newsletters (SitePoint Tribune, SitePoint Tech Times, and the Community Crier). The new site is compliant with the latest W3C Web standards, having been completely re-designed using CSS. The only place you'll find a table is where a table makes sense, i.e. where there is content to display in rows and columns. One cool feature of the new site is the collapsible navigation bar on the left hand side. If you are reading articles and you wish to expand the content across the page simply close the sitepoint navigation bar. Open again when you wish to find another article to read or keep it closed, it's totally up to you. Check it out, it's a nice feature. You may also like our sliding information bar on the right hand side. This was designed so that most pertinent information is always by your side as you read through our articles and browse the site. The information changes depending on what level of the site you are on. I would like to thank the following people in no particular order for their enormous contribution to the new site: Alex Walker, Jason Donald, Georgina Laidlaw, Julian Szemere and Wayne Luke. Of course there were more people involved, but these guys deserved a special mention. We hope you like it. Cheers, Mark.

Feb 23, 2003, 21:52	#23
JeremyL Who Me? Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 318	Oh please tell me there is a way to turn off the sliding bar on the right. That is the MOST ANNOYING thing I have seen. If I want to click on something on the right, I think I can scroll to where it is clickable. I don't need the thing stalking me (yes I feel I'm being followed). Other then that, from what I see, VERY nice and clean design. Last edited by JeremyL; Feb 23, 2003 at 21:54.

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Feb 23, 2003, 19:02	#2
JulianD SitePoint Enthusiast Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Colombia Posts: 37	Thanks Mark. The new design is very clean, and the articles are very well organized. Keep the good work!

Feb 23, 2003, 19:08	#3
iFroggy SitePoint Podcast Team Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Harbinger, NC, U.S.A. Posts: 4,524	Well. Its new, I'll give you that. Good to see all 5 of my articles passed inspection.

Feb 23, 2003, 19:21	#4
Geof Harries SitePoint Addict Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Whitehorse, Yukon Posts: 242	Congrats on the new design. I will assume the sitepoint logo is representative of a set of tags <\|>? Very cool. Looks good and works well on Mozilla 1.3b on Mac OS X 10.2.4. But there is an issue with Safari v60. I cannot get the Hide Nav link to work; in fact it's not even a link according to Safari, although I do plainly see the graphic. I assume this is because the new browser is not quite up to snuff standards-wise, and it is also possible of course you may not have tested it here. But just thought I'd let you know. Its a good feature; hopefully in time that will change. geof

Feb 23, 2003, 20:30	#6
anode Sidewalking Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Philadelphia, US Posts: 2,241	I'm sure they mean the main site, not the forums.

Feb 23, 2003, 20:35	#7
z0s0 There is no general chat Join Date: Aug 1998 Location: Melbourne Posts: 251	Yes only the content site is striving for compliance currently, not the forums. There are still a couple of issues that need to be ironed out within the site, compliace-wise, too. But we're getting there!

Feb 23, 2003, 20:42	#8
RussellG is getting back into webdev Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Gold Coast, Queensland Posts: 451	It's fantastic. Great work Team Sitepoint!

Feb 23, 2003, 20:44	#9
Mike SitePoint Genius Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Canada Posts: 6,270	I do love the new navigation

Feb 23, 2003, 20:53	#11
r937 SQL Consultant Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 31,012	oh heck no, that was not my intention, i don't usually go around looking for flaws, i just thought that it was ironic, all those FONT tags in a paragraph talking about w3c standards anyhow, you are fighting the good fight, and that's what counts rudy

Feb 23, 2003, 20:53	#13
nuno SitePoint Enthusiast Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71	Looking great guys.

Feb 23, 2003, 20:56	#14
suzkaw SitePoint Addict Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: North Carolina Posts: 348	Two thumbs up from me!

Feb 23, 2003, 20:59	#15
GamerZ SitePoint Guru Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Singapore Posts: 615	Cool, Love it

Feb 23, 2003, 21:09	#17
Adam P. Former Staff Member Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: San Francisco Posts: 3,761	I just want to give a big congrats to whole SitePoint Team and everyone that worked on the new design. I'm sure that none of us can imagine how much work you guys put into it. If we come off as being picky, sorry - we truly appreciate all of your hard work and it clearly paid off.

Feb 23, 2003, 21:17	#18
geiger Volconvo.com Join Date: Jul 2001 Posts: 3,133	If SitePoint was a stand-up comic, it'd be saying, "Tough croud!" Well, that's exactly what we are. Members here have experience, knowledge, and an opinion with plenty of backing. I'm sure there's plenty of people who can find a hundred things they don't like about this new design (including me!), but with the skill here I'm sure it'll all be put to good use and our thoughts won't go in vain. Congrats with the overhaul; it's a big step!

Feb 23, 2003, 21:22	#19
Jeremy W. 32,817 Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 10,496	Just want to say to the team: feel free to take a day off. I realise you've just woken up and all, but still, don't feel you need to "hawk" the forums all day. Work out the kinks, have a beer, and we'll see you all in a few days

Feb 23, 2003, 21:52	#24
Dan_K K, Dan K Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Perth - Western Australia Posts: 947	The content architecture is great!

Feb 23, 2003, 21:55	#25
geiger Volconvo.com Join Date: Jul 2001 Posts: 3,133	Is it just me, or is the text on the main site HUGE??? Not only do I have to turn my text setting to "smallest" for it to look normal, but the line spacing is excessive, as well. I'm not blind!