As this blog eventually will be containing loads of information, I have from the beginning had an ambition to make the navigation and structure as simple as possible. Therefore I have placed a global menu at the top of the site, so the user can easily get around. The most important thing about the site is of course the blog, so I placed this on the front page. The front page also contains links to all the categories, which are equal to our courses at ITU. The fourth category is called “Everything Else”, and this is where I post things that does not have anything to do with the courses.
Personally I am a huge fan of RSS-feeds, so when I saw that the RSS-button was placed in the bottom of the site when using this theme, I decided to move it to the top. It should be easy for the reader to subscribe to my posts.
As I mentioned earlier, the global menu shows links to all the pages. The “About Me” page is a static page telling a bit about the person behind the blog. The “Group 12″ and “Guerrilla” pages are imported feeds from my two group blogs. I have chosen to show these feeds on my website, because I want to show everything we do at ITU. The “Changelog” page is also a static page. If you want to read more about why I have chosen this solution, you can read this post.
I have placed a tag cloud on the front page, so that my visitors can get an overview of the blog content right away, when they enter the site.
One of the things I would consider changing some time on the future is the blog title. I think it looks a little too boring right now and does not match the rest of the design as well as it could. I would like to use a more untraditional font, that I could save as a jpg-file instead of just one of the standard web fonts.
I also meant to add a different color to the active links in the global menu. Unfortunately I did not have time for this due to my many, many troubles with the server at one.com. It was quite a pity that I did not have the time for this, because I think it is a very important part of the overview and usability, that the user at all times is able to see where he or she is.
If you are curious to see more about the structure of this site, take a look at the wireframe and blueprint.
I have chosen to blog in English, because I want to reach a larger target group. I am considering studying abroad for one or two semesters, and my plan is to continue with this blog through my entire education at ITU.
The blog is optimized for Firefox 3.5.5 and a 1440 x 900 px screen resolution. I know that some things look different in other browsers or on bigger screens, and I would like to solve that problem some time in the future. For now I do not know how to but hopefully I will learn some day…
