Main site design ideas

[Destructionator XV]

I have been thinking about some potential ideas for the main site design.

Get this: a CMS (Content Management System) based around phpBB. It would share data and code with the boards. It would have a few advantages:

1) Updateing the affected sections of the site would be as easy as posting on the board.

2) The main site and the board's styles would mix in more seamlessly.

3) You could appoint main site staff simply by adding them to a phpBB usergroup.

4) You could ban people from the main site in the same way you ban them from the board.

5) You could back up much of the site's data by backing up the board database.

Things like recent site news would simply be a thread in a hidden forum.

The downsides are: if someone hacked an admin password you would be in deep poo. It limits some of the more advanced things you can do with web design. Also, it will be more diffucult to add styles to the board because they will need extensive mods to fit in to the overrall site style(unless the other thing shares the database but not the code.... fascinating. I'll work on it when I am back at my devlopment machine.)

OR make the entire site able to change styles with the board! I like it... it still will need extensive mods for new styles, but after the first one much will be cut n paste!

The limitations in design, however, are easily overcome by simply making it so you don't have to use the CMS for everything. Maintaining the look of the site will be easy: simply use some common header and footer files for the entire site.

I'll whip up a prototype on my box when I get back to my computer and have the time.

[Dark Silver]

Interesting idea Adam.

If it can do most of what I wanted with the site, and keep our database usage relatively low, I'd like to see the prototype.


I'm still working on getting XHTML, as there is some noticable difference (the DOCTYPE tag for one) and then going onto XML, hopefully that'll be by tonight.

[Dark Silver]

As soon as we hammer it out a bit, We'll be going with a tghree column design for the main site, for easy of access with the forums and any news articles we may have there for upcoming projects and things of the like.

Adam is doing the design testing on his site, since it'll be combined and using the phpbb code anyway, and it looks good for the setup in so far. A bit more work will be required to get it perfect. Then I can send him the final files, and he can adjust it to accept the new CSS code.


I'm working on the new logo, I'll post the various modifications to it, it's a complete redesign, tell me what you think. Adam helped me get the filesize down

Test One


Test Two


Test Three

[Destructionator XV]

Amazing how much work can be done when I dont have to go to damn work.

I have sucessfully integrated CMS aspects into phpBB and have created a new board style. There is still some work to be done, but it is now functional.

http://arsd.dyndns.org:8080/phpBB2/viewtopics.php?t=135

(Note that that link leads to my PC. When I shut down my computer for bed or work, the link will not work; just try again later)

Feel free to login as "Administrator" with the password "a" (no quotes, f course) to play around.

Note that I just yanked the database from my little forums to create that board quickly.

It has a 3 column design. On the left is the most interesting aspect that I have altered.

Under the navigation menu, there are entries (currently Rules and News). These are editable from a special admin panel that you can get at from the link at the bottom of the page (when logged in as admin).

Each link points to a modified view thread code. When you click it, it displays the text of the thread as if it were HTML, with the newest post first. That modified code can read any thread in its special database. That means that thread can be in a staff forum where only admins can edit it, but anyone can view it through that page.
<edit>Just changed this: now, the permission for READ in the admin panel must be set approiatly for the user. VIEW can still restrict access to it though.

For example: lets say there is a staff forum. It has VIEW set to moderators and READ set to all.

Through the real phpBB page to view the threads and forum, only a moderator can get to it because the VIEW is the first check there, and if you cannot view it, you can never get to it. But through my special page, anyone can because it ingnore the VIEW permission and looks at the next one: READ. This allows us to maintain security of usergroups etc while still allowing the front pages to show up.
</edit>

I also altered it so if you try to view an unauthorized thread through it it will call you a n00b.

In the special admin link, you can see all the threads that can currently be viewed through it and its menu name. You can also add new things to it. Once submitting something, you will get a blank page (it is a work in progress). Just press back then referesh to see the changes.

If you want to know more or have some suggestions, ask me any time.

[Dark Silver]

ok, I've thrown up the splash page in design atm.....

Scott's expressed dislike with the current logo I have designed...if anyone has a better suggestion, I'm open to it.

the URL for Librium Arcana v2.0 Preview will be:
http://webpages.charter.net/alnthib/libv20/

Again, only the front splash page is ready, so don't go further. Design notes and ideas are appreciated.

[Ace Pace]

I've seen the PHPbb merged with website idea done before, its great, but makes some ideas harder to implement, but overall its very advantegous, UG's carry over into the site, as do news announcements. Its a great system.

[Destructionator XV]

I was talking to Ace yesterday and he said how it would look better if the forums had a seperate page than the main page.

Well, I decided to make it happen. I cut and pasted code from the original header files to make seperate header files.

Seperate, but equal. I can now change the main site without affecting the forums. Or we can still keep them together: it will be dependent on the user's preference.

Working model is in the works.

[B4UTRUST]

An interesting point was brought to me tonight... Something to consider when we move to our own server.

Recoding paths as parameters. Google and other search engines have a tendency to ignore lots of links with ?'s in them and as a matter of course don't delve too deeply into the site. We could improve our search engine hits like that and draw more visitors and such.

[Dark Silver]

As Scott is well aware, I have a new design up, different URL than above, I've gotten a full CSS layout, three column, and two "template" pages we can make use of to base other pages on.

I also redesigned the LA logo, making it a bit more gothy (Scott wanted gothic styling, this was my compromise).

As always, suggestions posted here would be appreciated.

http://webpages.charter.net/alnthib/sitev2

Once we hammer out everything concerning the page, we'll be in business to put it on the server when we're going gold.

Adam, thoughts on it primarily, do you think we canget away with our earlier discussions with this design?

[Ace Pace]

NICE design, personally the links on top look a weird color on Opera, but thats easily changeable.

[Destructionator XV]

I think it is merging rather well.

Since that link only works when my computer is on, here is a screenshot that you can use when I am sleeping (WARNING: HUGE):



Another thing to remember is the look may be different on your computer too if you use a different resolution or text size or whatever than me. But, in my tests it is doing fine.

I think it is looking pretty good. Shamelessly stealing from your page and altering the php to accomodate, I created this. I also have created a a special admin panel for controlling the side links now. And all that content is great because it is just a thread in the forums (with HTML)!

I am open to any and all suggestions and comments.

[Dark Silver]

Oh yeah, I wanted to post to you the location of the zip file for you to steal outta all that Adam, which had the code for you to fiddle with

http://webpages.charter.net/alnthib/sitev2/Website.zip

I'd prefer using the CSS colors I have mentioned in there, but maybe you could fuck with it and modify the code using that.

I like how it looks though

[Destructionator XV]

I've integrated your colours into my design. It is looking fine.

I've also made a better admin page which is nice.

Here is what I want to still do:
1) Organizing the links from the admin panel
2) more link ideas.....

I noticed you had global links across the top and some special links on the bottom then section links on the side.

The questions are:

1) Should the global links be edited from the admin page or the file itself?
2) Should the global links appear on the top of the forums section?

And a few general tips I learned from the MSN bot that hit my server ti help search engines:

We should put a link to the site map on the splash screen. Or the site map itself in the welcome screen. This helps bots get quickly to the content. Then often don't go more than 3 links deep into a site.

We should be links to the forums themselves in the site map. Not to the forum index, but to the actual forums. Again, because, search engines don't take many clicks to go deep and saving them some travel will actually get to more content.

[Dark Silver]

For the Global Links, If you could make this editable from the Admin Page, that'd be ideal, since we would not have to constantly upload a new file everytime we wish to add or remove a new link.

Other link ideas, pages, etc would be nessacry, I need these ideas people, we should be going gold within the next week, and those in the group really should help put forth the ideas.