Site repaired

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Last night I did a WordPress update and in the course of the update I replaced the old version of the K2 theme with the most recent one. Things have been shuffled around a bit, the site has a new header graphics and you’ll now notice 3 instead of 2 columns.

Please let me know if you like it (hint: there’s a poll for that to the right) or if there’s anything that doesn’t work for you. Or maybe there’s even something missing?

Inputs? Leave a comment!

  • Rob Amour

    OOOPS – posted this against the last podcast by mistake…

    Hey Chris, I like the new header. Just a quick thought though, how about moving the monthly archive from the front page and adding a tab at the top? I think the three columns make it slightly too cramped. Just a thought, keep up the good work.

  • http://www.photography.paul-walsh.net Paul Walsh

    I like the look of the new site. :-)

    Keep up the great work.

  • http://www.nomorestars.com Tom Boucher

    I really love the new header picture, that’s great.

  • Richard Roehrkasse

    Chris, the right side of the new header is now truncated on my Safari browser.

  • babaloo

    Hi Chris,

    don’t know if it’s related to the replacement, but iTunes gives me an error when I try to update the tfttf podcast.

  • Alan Chao

    Let me preface what I’m about to say by firsting point out that I am trying to be as constructive as possible, and I want the best for the tfttf website! Also, I’m a graphic designer. Here is my somewhat brutal but hopefully useful criticism:

    There is WAY too much information on the front page, which the old design also suffered from. I have no idea where to look first, and you sort of get visual sensory overload. I like the new visually stunning header, but the placement of the “best of itunes…” and “PodcastAward…” distract from that, and you either don’t see the award badges or you don’t see the photo (they kind of cancel each other out). I also think the “double side bar” is kinda weird. The images used for workshops, concept car, and canyonlands are also extremely distracting, and you get distracted from the posts to the left. I understand the need for ads on a site, but in this case, they also make all the posts melt together into one continuous column of information. I think there needs to be a more defined way of separating the posts. Also, instead of having the workshops, concept car, and canyon lands being to the right, maybe it can be at the very top of the entry post area, or maybe along the side in the sidebar (if it was changed to just one column instead of two). Either that, or the images used for those links should go. Only the image for concept car makes me want to click on the link. The workshops and canyonlands images seem purely decorative. These are just a few ideas, and I understand that some may actually look terrible. In any case, the current design just doesn’t work the way it is now, and I think it needs some organization.

    My tip for making this site more approachable is to keep things simple and easy to understand. Keep it Simple!

  • http://www.picturechanges.com Joedaddy

    I like the new header a lot! Have you ever seen Cutline by Chris Pearson? There are two versions, I prefer the 3 column. The best part of that theme is the random images in the header. You always manage to keep it fresh, I like that!

    link to cutline: http://cutline.tubetorial.com/

  • http://www.alexander-schnapper.de/wp Alex

    Hi Chris,

    I like the new design better than the old one…

    But somehow now I’ve got problems with receiving the pocasts on iTunes. An error comes which tells me, that “TFTTF is no valid podcast URL – please check again..”

    So I did and the address I have is:
    “http://www.tipsfromthetopfloor.com/wp-rss2.php”

    But even clicking on the link on top of this site, there are no more entries for your podcasts…

    Do you know what’s happened? Or are you already trying to fix it?

    Greetings, and keep it up…
    Alex ;)

  • Erik Nørgård

    Having same problem as Babaloo and Alex

    Have a nice weekend-

    regards
    Erik

  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcummins Dan

    Hi Chris,
    I too am also unable to update the podcast. Juice is reporting there are no episodes in the feed. Earlier I got a database connection error when I was on the website here. Thanks.

  • Eric Fielding

    I also see the error in iTunes that it can’t connect to the podcast. When I went to the URL (same as what Alex listed) with Safari, it redirected me to:
    feed://feeds.feedburner.com/tftf

    This feed seems to have this article and a few others, but no podcasts, so something is broken in the update.

    The new header looks great. I am not sure I like the three columns, though. I agree with Alan that it seems too cluttered.

    ++Eric

  • http://www.tipsfromthetopfloor.com/ Administrator

    @Alan Chao

    I understand your concerns about the design and believe me, if I hadn’t had to do all this a) at 5am, b) on my own, c) in emergency-mode and d) without a separate set of eyes, it would have turned out differently. The 3 column layout will stay for now, our screens are growing wider and wider over time and a 1- or 2-column layout just isn’t keeping up with current technology anymore.

    Other than that, expect to see some changes over time.

    On that note.. hey, you’re a graphic designer, wanna develop a WordPress template for TFTTF that takes some of the things you wrote into account?

  • http://www.tipsfromthetopfloor.com/ Administrator

    @babaloo, Alex, Eric, Dan, Erik – is it working again? I made a change right now that should help you get the feed back.

  • http://www.tipsfromthetopfloor.com/ Administrator

    @Richard: what size screen are you using?

  • http://www.alexander-schnapper.de/wp Alex

    Hi Chris,

    me again. Somehow it’s strange. I’ve got the same problems like the others, sometimes though the RSS-link leeds me to feedburner.

    Screenshots:
    – http://www.alexander-schnapper.de/wp/tfttf_itunesnovalidurl.png
    – http://www.alexander-schnapper.de/wp/tfttf_nofeed.png
    – http://www.alexander-schnapper.de/wp/tfttf_withfeedshow.png

    Hope you can get it fixed.
    I once had a problem similar to yours (of course my (video)podcasts on tü tv aren’t as popular as yours..) and i deinstalled the new update (backup done before) and then updated nearly every file by file, until the problem was solved… But that was when WordPress was version 2.3.1.

    Greetings,
    Alex :)

  • Greg

    When I tried to get the latest podcast the iTunes store is telling me your podcast is no longer a legit address. Please check this out and correct any problems I am sure that I am not the only fan experiencing this problem.

  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcummins Dan

    Still not working for me. I’ll try again later.

  • Richard Roehrkasse

    I’m using a 24 inch iMac set at a resolution of 1920×1200. Perhaps there is some preference or display setting I should change? I cannot find one that will display the header correctly. Thanks.

  • http://www.alexander-schnapper.de/wp Alex

    Hi Chris,

    me again. Somehow it’s strange. I’ve got the same problems like the others, sometimes though the RSS-link leeds me to feedburner.

    Screenshots:
    - http://www.alexander-schnapper.de/wp/tfttf_itunesnovalidurl.png
    - http://www.alexander-schnapper.de/wp/tfttf_nofeed.png
    - http://www.alexander-schnapper.de/wp/tfttf_withfeedshow.png

    Hope you can get it fixed.
    I once had a problem similar to yours (of course my (video)podcasts on tü tv aren’t as popular as yours..) and i deinstalled the new update (backup done before) and then updated nearly every file by file, until the problem was solved… But that was when WordPress was version 2.3.1.

    Still not working: Now it tells me about an error: “Interner Serverfehler aufgetreten / Interal Server error”-..

    Greetings,
    Alex

  • http://www.offwingphoto.com Allen

    Chris,

    I am using the Safari browser for Mac, ver 3.0.4. What I see is 2 columns, not 3. The right side of the header graphic is cut off, I don’t see “p floor.” The navigation that would be on the right hand side has truncated to the left hand side.

    I posted an image on the FLCKR group.

  • http://www.TAYLOR-WARREN.com Jason

    I like the new header and graphics, but not diggin’ on the third column, too much. Probably just needing to get used to it still! Keep up the great work, Chris!

  • Mike

    Chris; I must admit that I’ve been a lurker until now, but I wanted to let you know that I love the new header image. I think the deep blue of the background and the orange in the lense optics work well together. However, I must agree with Alan Chao; the site does lack organization (I know, you’re not a professional designer). I think that the site could be as AMAZING as the show with some professional design help.

    Keep up the amazing work and Thank you for all you do.

  • http://www.tipsfromthetopfloor.com/ Administrator

    @Mike: It’s not so much the design, it’s the implementation. I need someone who’s really good with CSS and can transform a good design into that. I could do it myself, but then I’d have to stop tfttf due to bandwidth reasons. And to be honest.. paying someone to do it is out of the question at the moment, tfttf doesn’t yield enough yet.