a web design quandry...

[Wayne]

Good morning fellow Whyzzaters..

I'm sitting here thinking about things on the web and wondering really why I bother. I seem to have an incurable disease of wanting to register fun-sounding domain names, but no idea what to do with them.

Duhly.com, duhlynews.com, newsoftheduh.com, ipadico.com and my latest and greatest, "flusterduck.com" as good examples..

I sincerely want to build a site for the iPad, because I truly think I could make a difference and enjoy that community as much as I did with the Amiga way back in 1995. To that end, I was planning to build a site using the cheap route of Wordpress and BBPress (the built-in forum software) to recreate a site not dissimilar to arstechnica, or wprecipes.com (or catswhoblog.com / catswhocode.com)..

Simple, straight forward hints and tips with a great little niche community to play with.

The quandry is on the design of the site itself. As you may have noticed, I no longer really and truly enjoy getting my hands dirty with HTML / graphics and theming of various systems. With HTML growing into XHTML / CSS / DHTML ad nauseum and trying to make sure it all works with 10 different browsers, I have quickly become somewhat... well... Blah...

Branding I do still enjoy, but design work? Nah..

To that end, I can either buy myself 2 or 3 CSS tutorial books for about $80 - $100 then eek through the creation of a Wordpress theme by sheer blood, sweat, and loads of swearing. Please note that online tutorials are good but not as helpful to me. It's a mental thing. Book in hand, versus having to leave the screen I'm on to read something...

OR... I can buy then modify an existing theme (which usually runs around $55 or so per) which already works but just needs my own modifying touches to make it unique.

OR... I can also, for about $100 USD plus $15 per month, join one of the "theme site clubs" (check out woothemes.com) which offer about 100+ themes plus two or three new ones per month.. The advantage of the "club" motto is the sheer amount of examples, code, backgrounds, graphic sets, etcetera which are provided.

Such would truly allow me to quickly develop not only the one site, but several (noting all the currently unused domains I own). Want a magazine style mac site? Pick a theme, change the graphics. Want a blog-style video sharing site? Pick a theme, change the graphics. You get the idea...

I just don't know which path would be best as of yet. There was a time when I wouldn't think twice about spending $100 on my whimsical nature. This really isn't that time though, so if you wanted to build a site (or five), and if you were in my place, what would you do?

 

[ilwrath]

I really don't have anything to add here, as I haven't run any type of computer site since the dark ages, and really other than an occasional pang, I don't have any itches to scratch on that front.

I just wanted to say that "flusterduck.com" is 100% pure AWESOME!

 

[Glaucus]

Hey, I think an iPad site similar to Amiga.org or even Ars is a great idea and you should go for it. Strike while the iron is hot! Obviously you'll need the right tools for the job, but even more so, you'll need to be genuinely committed to the project.

As a developer I have tons of great ideas for things. I even pirate expensive development tools to give me all sorts of opportunity. But by the time i get home from work, the last thing i want to do is code. So you'll have to figure out for yourself how much drive you have for this sort of thing. Unless you're talking about making this your full time job, in which case, then go for it.

 

[FluffyMcDeath]

Hey, I think an iPad site similar to Amiga.org or even Ars is a great idea and you should go for it.

I don't think apple would be quite a lackadaisical as Amiga was use of its brand.
I can see the apple lawyers knocking on the door in short order.

Still, doesn't mean it's not possible to get something going and then let them take it over for a small consideration.

 

[Glaucus]

Hard to say. You gotta be careful about trademark laws, so iPad.org would probably get shot down quickly (if it hasn't been snatched up already). But aside from that, I'd be surprised if Apple went out of it's way to take down a fan site for one of it's own products. Example: http://www.iphoneincanada.ca

 

[JoBBo]

OR... I can buy then modify an existing theme (which usually runs around $55 or so per) which already works but just needs my own modifying touches to make it unique.

This appears to be the most cost-efficient option. WooThemes offers 3 themes for the price of 1. Prices start at $70, that would be $23.33 per theme. That is of course a tiny fraction of what any web designer would charge for a theme. Plus, any subscription plans for theme clubs would likely end up to be more expensive as well.

The only "downside" is that you need to decide what type of websites you would like to work on when you order the three themes. You cannot just buy one and then pick two other themes later.


That being said, having a good design is nice but it has limited influence on the success of a free community-driven website. Content is king. You can always concentrate on design matters once the website has established itself and you have sufficient advertising revenue to spend on eyecandy.

 

[Wayne]

That being said, having a good design is nice but it has limited influence on the success of a free community-driven website. Content is king. You can always concentrate on design matters once the website has established itself and you have sufficient advertising revenue to spend on eyecandy.

Thanks very much for the input.

In general what I've come down to is a combination of the three choices. I will more than likely buy the 3 for 1 deal and pick three of the best options considering all my current needs, THEN pick up a few books on CSS design when I get the iPad to learn how to write my own, then I may come back later and join the club as revenues permit.

I agree about content being king though. It always has been. My only issue with that right now is having the time to build content, which -- even if I spent every non-working, waking hour, gives me about 16 hours per week (considering I drive home for the weekend to check on the cats and clean house) to build and create content.

Right now is great because all I can post is historical releases and pictures. Later it might become a more difficult thing, but then again, things like "how to's" and app reviews will become easier once I have the thing in my hand.

Wayne

 

[Wayne]

Hard to say. You gotta be careful about trademark laws, so iPad.org would probably get shot down quickly (if it hasn't been snatched up already). But aside from that, I'd be surprised if Apple went out of it's way to take down a fan site for one of it's own products. Example: http://www.iphoneincanada.ca

In regards to trademark laws and such, you're right. They would have every right to come after me, as did Amiga Inc. The absolute key in this case would be whether I was operating within the boundaries of "good faith" as well as "fair use". As long as those two items were being met and I was actively and sincerely promoting their product in a "not for profit" manner (profit's ok for hosting, just don't sell iPads and stuff) then it really wouldn't be in their best interest to take action. In other words, don't pull an Amiga.org and start promoting/covering competing products or software on a branded site.

Wayne

 

[Wayne]

The first step has been taken.

PLEASE take a look at http://ipadico.com which is the starting base and give me your thoughts, noting the word "beta" in the title please?

Wayne

 

[JoBBo]

Obviously, it would be nice if the website looked and worked well on an iPad by default (no browser zoom, etc.). Since the iPad has a comparably small touchscreen and no stylus, you might want to make sure that all important buttons and links can be easily accessed via the press of a commonly sized finger.

I realize that testing the website's usability is difficult without having the actual target hardware in your hands, but it is likely that you might have to downsize the big splashy headlines a bit to gain additional space for bigger and / or more isolated buttons / links.

 

[Wayne]

Obviously, it would be nice if the website looked and worked well on an iPad by default (no browser zoom, etc.). Since the iPad has a comparably small touchscreen and no stylus, you might want to make sure that all important buttons and links can be easily accessed via the press of a commonly sized finger.

Great points, and I'm sure I'll have to re-adjust everything once I have one in my hands, but right now, since I have a theme installed for the moment -- even if I completely replace it later -- that lets me forget about that part and concentrate on generating content for now. I believe I'll go back and post all the historical press releases and junk under the "Pre-release" category which will also let me fiddle with and decide the layout a bit better as I go.

Wayne

 

[Wayne]

I backed up and started yet again. Since time isn't a pressing issue, I had forgotten a previous purchase in the "Thesis" theme set (diythemes.com) which is supposed to be a be-all, end-all framework. By thunder! I bought the damned thing, I'm going to use it!

Wayne