Paradigm Shift: Squible Wordpress Theme
My friend Brian and I have been discussing blog layouts and usability lately, talking about things like essential elements, page order, etc. We’ve also been talking about non-standard ways of presenting blogs, a conversation that was spurred by the discovery of the Squible Wordpress theme. Squible deviates almost completely from your standard “chronological” blog frontpage. It starts at the top of the page with a fairly standard title and menu bar, but from there things change considerably. First, an excerpt from the most recent post is presented, along with a box of related post links and info (comments, tags, etc.) Below that, the layout splits into 2 columns of equal width that feature blog summary information (search, latest 10 post titles, latest comments, asides, about, etc.)
The Squible theme doesn’t get everything right. There are a few minor niggles that I have with the page order of some elements, but there is one glaring problem (in my opinion) with the current Squible theme: it uses tables for the two column sections! Why why why? The same thing could easily be accomplished with some CSS floating and clearing. Indeed, I just assumed that it was using CSS and didn’t even think to check until I happened to glance at the source. In a layout that otherwise has good CSS, why use tables for this one part? The theme is still in alpha, so maybe that will change.
I like the idea of using this kind of layout as the frontpage of a blog. It’s like a snapshot of your blog and all related information at the current moment in time, providing the visitor with a quick overview without a lot of scrolling. Additionally, the visitor isn’t presented with the full text of countless posts unless they decide that the blog actually looks interesting, which seems like a nice thing to do.
One thing you might notice about this style of layout is that it presents almost all of the same information as a traditional chronological view. It just uses a different arrangement and hides some things (like the bodies of older posts.) Can you see where I’m going? A single page with one XHTML base could display both views just by using Javascript links to change some CSS around! I’m looking into adding more AJAXy type things to my interface, so I might try doing this. Maybe it will evolve into a publicly released theme itself? Who knows…
Comments (7 So Far)
1
Oskar Syahbana says:
I was once considering using Squible as a base for my current blog but later on I gave up because there’s too many things that needs to be changed.
Might look into it later when it’s out of alpha.
2
Theron Parlin says:
Thanks for the post, I’m glad that Squible can generate this kind of dialog. The only reason I can give you as to why I chose tables rather than using CSS to accomplish the layout is that I’m lame. The problem is an inherent part of my personality, so I’m not sure if it will be solved anytime soon, but I’m working on it (the lame part that is). As for the CSS, that’s a little easier to fix, so I’ll look into it. Thanks again for the write-up.
-Theron
3
Sean says:
Hey Theron,
Thanks for the comment! I hope I didn’t sound too harsh. I am well aware of the frustration that can be encountered with getting CSS to do your bidding, especially when it comes to keeping adjacent columns equal height. Keep up the great work!
4
Theron Parlin says:
No, you didn’t sound harsh at all, subjectivity is what this whole blog thing is about, right? Great design by the way, maybe you can join my logo contest…
5
Karrde says:
Tables? What tables? There ain’t no tables in Squible… not anymore, anyways..
I’ve fixed it up for the upcoming beta version.
6
Sean says:
Hooray! Less tables in the world makes me a happy person.
7
Theron Parlin says:
Karrde, you’re an animal!
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