Ben
Ben is a lifelong Nintendo fan who likes to build websites, and make video games. He buys way too much Lego.
Websites versus Blogs
Whilst working on my update to Binary Moon I’ve been thinking about the differences between websites and blogs. One of the things I am trying to do with the updated design is steer slightly away from the stereotypical blog layout and use lessons learnt from more traditional website design.
Since blogs first came about the designs have evolved considerably but the basic structure seems to remain the same. You have article pages (the blog posts), normal pages (contact, about etc) and archive pages. It’s almost like there is a set of defined rules that you have to follow – and it’s become so formulaic that I sometimes get confused as to what site I am on. Please don’t get me wrong – there are loads of wonderfully designed blogs out there, but as a rule they are often pretty graphics on top of the same old structure.
Recently there has been a move towards magazine style layouts, which makes things considerably more interesting, but once you get past the homepage things are generally back to normal.
I don’t think that having pages of content laid out in the same way every time is always the best way to do things. A standardized article layout is fine, since they will generally follow the same format, but is it helpful to have archives that are laid out the same way as your main pages? Is it helpful to have your Projects page look the same as your About page?
Also I am focusing on blogs here but with the prevalence of WordPress and it’s flexibility there are sites being created using the software (which is more than fine) that are then designed as blogs, where a traditional website format would be much better.
I have always treated Binary Joy as more of a magazine than a blog – for example different posts have different layouts – and I intend to continue along a similar path. The differences are relatively minor but there’s no reason they couldn’t be increased. To see what I mean you could compare a normal news article with a review. Within WordPress they are both normal posts, but on the site they are laid out differently based upon their category. It’s a simple change technically but I think mixing things up based upon the content makes the pages more useful for the readers and helps make the site more interesting.
So what about content outside of the normal blogging structure. Is there any reason not to add more dynamic stuff? How about a link directory or maybe a forum? These things can help pull your visitors together and make your website more interesting and helpful.
With the Binary Moon update I am trying to pull away from preconceived notions of blog design and hope that the changes I implement will make the site easier to use, more interesting to use, and more like a website. Binary Moon will continue to be largely a blog, but hopefully it will be a bit more as well.
This is a concept I’ve been thinking about too for my site. Now I’m getting more work, I want the feel of the site to reflect a more professional ‘web developer’s website’ aura rather than a blog with a few extra bits. The blog will still be included, since it provides a means for me to update the site, but the navigation, style, etc neednt necessarily be blog-like.
Well written article too 🙂
Luke – I’ll be interested to see what you come up with.
I’ll keep a close eye on what you’ll both be doing.
Ben: I’ve read this post a couple of times with great interest, since I’ve always wondered about this myself. I haven’t put forth the time or the effort to create an elegant solution, nor am I good on the designer or programmer front, so I can’t say I can add anything to the conversation. But what you state here makes a lot of sense.
Looking forward to see what you come up with.
Wow, weird timing.
I’m currently redesigning my site as well. I’ve completely changed the front page layout and now I guess you can say it has that more “magazine” type look and feel. Though I’ve never heard that term before, it does make sense.
I also agree with you about the standardization layout. It’s not good to have the same layout on every page. For me, the home page is ususally the most diverse, with lots of items here and there. While the article/post page is more simple and clearly shows off the article itself.
Anyways, like the people above me, I’m looking forward to see what you come up with. 🙂 My new design should be live the beginning of next week sometime. It’s always exciting releasing a new design.
While it’s interesting in terms of layout configuration, I doubt the usual blogger is in need of a WP magazine theme.
There is a good amount of content necessary to get the best use of it, and not only posts, link directories like you mentioned, or a pickup of the best videos, articles and so on.
Categorizing of past posts to give them the article look is another point.
Your design is really eye-cathcing. I probably wouldn’t have dropped a comment if your design hadn’t puled my attention. The colours really compliment eachother.
Totally agree with you there.
I’ve had similar thoughts for quite a while now, so when it came time to redesign my site a couple of months ago, I tried things differently. Take a look at my site. Notice a few things:
* non-blog pages don’t use wordpress’s “pages”. They’re just pure HTML I wrote, but use the wordpress header/footer templating system. Far more flexibility this way, while still maintaining a consistent look-and-feel across the site.
* the main Projects page has that “magazine” layout. I wanted a way to effectively summarize all the work I’ve done, while highlighting my best stuff. Very important when prospective employers look at my site.
* finally, the blog pages are all quite different, and are actually sensibly designed! 🙂 The archives, search and tags pages are separate and distinct. I always get confused on blogs with regards to what page I’m on … archives, latest, tags … they all look the same! Here’s I’ve gone out of my way to make each page look different. It also means I didn’t need to waste screen real estate on the rather useless sidebar.
Of course, WordPress is rather stubborn about it’s layout, which is why you don’t see many changes. Indeed, a lot of time, effort and hacks were required to get my site looking the way it is. If you don’t have too much “legacy data”, I’d try looking at other blogging/content-management packages when redesigning your site. I’m sure there’s got to be something out there which isn’t as rigid as WP.
Mo
I agree, like many others. I am a web designer also working primarily with WordPress. If you’re okay with digging into the code it’s actually VERY flexible, but design based upon content is imperative for an interesting site.
Regarding extra content you mentioned, such as forums and link directories, etc. I have been doing this for wuite some time. Some examples are http://www.woodiescreativegroup.com and a site I did for a church arts group called The Fuse, which has since been taken down. For a forum I have tried BBpress and (I think it’s called xForum) but have always settled upon using RSdiscuss – though it’s not very powerful, it’s design and implementation are perfect for a light user forum, and it integrates well with WordPress registered users. An example implementation of this is at http://www.woodiescreativegroup.com/forum/
I’ve also had a plugin developed for smaller sites that is a sort of user-list for registered members, which can be found at http://woodiescreativegroup.com/members/
@Mo – there are systems more flexible than WP, Joomla is one I’ve been looking into.
I like this idea it didn’t relay hit me until i read this post but i understand most of them have say 4 basic pages. Most post are positioned out in the same way image at top lines n lines of texts. Mixing it up a bit will i think get more involvement with the user and your bloggy website :d I like the idea of a change to break away from the blog rules as it is put. I’m just about to start blogging and i am going to do it the interesting way, maybe you should make a name for it .