I call it, Spearmint
Another day, another new site. I’ve been slowly working on a new site for a while now, and today it’s finally finished. Rather than “refactor” it again, I scratched it completely. It’s been a while since I’ve done that—it was long overdue.
Eating my own dog food
Before, I wasn’t using many (or any?) of my plugins on this site. With this version, that’s far from the case. I’m using all that apply (which is how it should be). I guess you could say I’m now eating my own dog food.
Unobtrusively unobtrusive
Of course, I’m referring to jQuery. It’s now the default in all of the applications I build, but it has been missing from this one for a while. And when I say unobtrusive, how’s this for “ajaxifying” the comments:
1 |
$('#post-comments').ajaxify()
|
No sir, you won’t find any inline javascript ‘round these parts. Thanks to jQuery, writing the javascript for this site was close to the best part.
Code highlighting
GitHub is amazing. We all know that. But I also happen to love their syntax highlighting (example). Having said that, I added line numbers and some new CSS love to mimic their syntax highlighting. I’m digging it so far. It makes me want to post code. In fact, I think I will (from my Post model):
1 2 3 4 | # named scopes are awesome! def self.recent(limit = nil) published.live.all(:limit => limit, :order => 'id DESC') end |
Ahhhh, isn’t it beautiful?
So long, Internet Explorer 6
I didn’t even attempt to make this site work in IE6. I haven’t even checked yet. It’s time to move away from that horrendous browser. Besides, Google Analytics tells me that only 11% of my visitors use IE, and of that 11%, only 24% use IE6.
Rather than go through the nightmare of making this site work in IE6, those users get a little pop-up message to go download a new browser. I’ve even provided links! Don’t say I didn’t do my part.
That’s all for now
There are several things that I might post about later on, one being where, how, and why I’m using Hpricot (can you guess?). But for now, I’m going to let you two get acquainted. You, meet Spearmint.
Nick Thursday, 23 Oct, 2008 Posted at 06:20PM
I like the new design. :-)
Chris Friday, 24 Oct, 2008 Posted at 02:09PM
The name fits well ;-) Looks pretty cool, though I have one suggestion and one question: I’d drop the shadow on “Who is Ryan Heath” because it makes it feel blurry; is there a reason for the reverse text on the homepage?
Please ignore me if you want :-p
Ryan Friday, 24 Oct, 2008 Posted at 02:44PM
I’m on the fence with the shadow, too, and for that very reason. I like the idea, but there’s not nearly enough contrast there to make it work. We’ll see if it stays or goes.
There’s absolutely no reason for the reverse text on the homepage. It’s just one of those things. I wanted something right-justified against the stripe to the right, but having the capitalized letters to the left felt wrong. So I took it off. Then I thought about reversing it (as it really serves no purpose, anyway—just a pointless background).
After launching a new design, it usually takes me another week or so to work out the kinks. Both of the things you’ve mentioned are on on thin ice.
Just curious, how clear does that reverse text read on your screen? On the Mac Pro at work, I can barely see it (which is what I want), but on the iMac it’s crystal clear (I guess HD will do that). The MBP is pretty clear, too. The simple fact that it’s actually that readable is almost reason enough for me to take it off, despite how oxymoron-ish that may sound.
Ryan Friday, 24 Oct, 2008 Posted at 02:54PM
“Who is Ryan Heath?” is now a bit clearer (adjusted the shadows). Now it looks like text you might find on a geocities site… lol. I still don’t know…
Luke Sunday, 02 Nov, 2008 Posted at 10:13AM
Good on you my friend for submitting to that horrible browser’s eccentricities, and Im glad to see you kept your portfolio design, good stuff as always mate :)