View source for UOGuide talk:Test Main Page

==Main Page Update==
Initially I was only going to add in the 3 new sections (Featured Establishments, Featured Guilds and Skill of the Week) but now it is turning out to be the full revamp I mentioned a short time ago. I've figured out how to remove the redundant "Main page" header and now there is a bit more room up top. A new graphic needs to be made where I have put the temporary one used in the corner (which by the way, if anyone wants to make a new one of that also it would be good).

In addition I am changing the Featured Guilds to a Point of Interest category. Same weekly rotation but it will feature locations around Britannia. The first location I have in mind is the Lost Lands lighthouse. This will be a good way to add in-game locations to UOGuide and show them off.

I really want to get this whole revamp done in about a week because I will be including it in a press release to all UO websites. So if anyone has ideas or suggestions now is the time to get them in. - [[User:JC the Builder|JC the Builder]] 10:26, 28 January 2008 (PST)

: My first pass at this. See if you like it any. If nothing else, I cleaned up the code and removed some of the...artifacts...from where you got the...idea...for that layout. *cough* I figure I'll try out a few other design changes this week, so this isn't my final contribution. --[[User:Cogniac|Cogniac]] 19:27, 28 January 2008 (PST)

:: I don't really like it. It is really boxy and I wanted to keep that image at the top right for now. Eventually I will update the style and probably move that into it somewhere. Also I think UO News should take precidence over Featured Content because (ideally) it will be changing more often.

:: I was really liking the design that I had setup. If you could tell me what you didn't like about it then I can try and change it. - [[User:JC the Builder|JC the Builder]] 19:46, 28 January 2008 (PST)

::: Well, Flamekill.png has always struck me as wasted space. And I wasn't a fan of the choppy divisional border running down the middle. I like the new top area, though. --[[User:Cogniac|Cogniac]] 19:59, 28 January 2008 (PST)

:::: I thought I pressed the save button. The flamekill graphic is to liven up the page a bit. The current style is bland and until I get time to update it I would like to keep it on the main page. As for the breaks in the divider I fixed it so that does not happen. The spacing will probably need to be tweeked a bit more. - [[User:JC the Builder|JC the Builder]] 21:15, 28 January 2008 (PST)

==Section Icons==
Something I thought up today. I didn't really put much thought into them all so if anyone wants to suggest a better one for a specific section feel free. - [[User:JC the Builder|JC the Builder]] 10:19, 29 January 2008 (PST)
: I like them, but maybe they'd look better on the left side of the section titles instead of the right? --[[User:Cogniac|Cogniac]] 11:44, 29 January 2008 (PST)
:: That is what I was thinking. But all the image widths would have to be the same or it would look funny. I'll look into it a bit later. - [[User:JC the Builder|JC the Builder]] 11:57, 29 January 2008 (PST)
==Header Changes==
I don't like the look of the section links. When the page is 1024 wide there is a lot of space between them, when it is ~1600 they are all the way on the right. Wikipedia's looks a bit cleaner. Also the sections that are being linked and the order in which they appear needs to be worked out still. 

Also I think it will look nice if I swap the bullets for the that small blue UO button graphic. Not just there, but everywhere on the site.{{Line Break}}- [[User:JC the Builder|JC the Builder]] 03:12, 16 June 2010 (UTC)
: I test out 3 choices of image and settled on dark blue button. Maybe the arrow one could be used for a special list or something in the future. Here are the 3 options. There is also an arrow that faces the other way I didn't bother with [[File:Blue button right arrow.png]] [[File:Blue button dark.png]] [[File:Blue button light.png]].{{Line Break}}- [[User:JC the Builder|JC the Builder]] 04:15, 16 June 2010 (UTC)
: The new bullets are a nice touch, however, they seem to sit a few pixels too high within the text line. Looking at the images, it's clearly not due to any sort of invisible border within the pictures themselves, so I'm not really sure how to fix it.{{Line Break}}--[[User:Cogniac|Cogniac]] 19:00, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

== More Possible Layout Changes ==

I have a couple of ideas in mind so I went and made some preliminary edits to remember them. The featured location section is virtually never updated, so that is likely being removed. While it is important to have the latest publish and patch versions available, it doesn't really warrant its own section. I think it could be moved somewhere else or maybe to near the header link section. One new section I would like to add is a featured video. I am doing more videos now and it will be a lot easier to feature good ones than writing up an article for featured location.

The biggest change I want to make is to create a new section which will feature, at least at first, original UO articles. As I mentioned when I unveiled the new calendar, I have taken a liking to some features on the Starcraft [http://www.teamliquid.net/ Teamliquid website]. Each day they have a new story about a variety of topics. Whether it be announcing site updates, game news, funny commentary, etc. They currently update every day, but I would strive for an update every 3-4 days right now. Hopefully there will eventually be multiple people writing stuff or creating other things like a UO comic to put there on a regular basis. I have several article ideas in mind already and will likely do the first several myself. 

I would like to roll out the Main Page redesign a couple days before the [[Adventures on the High Seas]] booster is launched. That is currently scheduled for October 12. - [[User:JC the Builder|JC the Builder]] 18:07, 28 September 2010 (PDT)