The New Site Design is Here, The New Site Design is Here. First let me apologize to all the people I typically come read your blog. As you can see this is what has been keeping me up at night for the last week and away from visiting my friends on the net. I am NOT NOT NOT a web designer nor a web coder. But I am muddling my way through.
I still have a bunch to do on the back end like creating a “Get Mugged” page to highlight caricature commissions and other commission work. But this is the new look for now. I must have changed it 100 times as I looked at other sites and kept wishing mine was as clean as theirs but I liked having my own identity. Between design and trying to learn CSS and what it does I was either not sleeping because I was constantly thinking of changes or dreaming of coding issues.
The big deal was the theme I have been using for years called Frugal. Well two years, the maker created Catalyst Theme and I was supposed to upgrade. Well I didn’t until today so hopefully everything works out. Please let me know. The beauty of the theme is that you can design pretty much whatever you want. That is the drawback as well. Too many choices for the amateur like me to screw up.
Big thanks to InstantWP which allowed me to actually load the Catalyst Theme on my flash drive and create all the elements you see here before bringing it to a live site. As someone who doesn’t get the backend stuff, InstantWP was a life saver. Also my social media buttons on the home page were created with the help of a tool available at Image-Maps.com. I know there probably was a way to do it via CSS easier with only two images but using HTML with five images wasn’t bad.
EDIT – A big shout out to my Google Plus buddy Kenneth Poveda Mata (wordpress coding genius) for letting me know my site was mobile ready and looked like shit on it. Thanks to him I fixed some stuff that should make it look all pretty and nice.
Comments
81 responses to “New Web Design”
Great job! As useful as HTML/CSS are to learn, you can’t help but have these nightmares, lol.
Thanks Kim….Today my RSS feed didn’t work right away so I was freaked I screwed something up.
Coding while sleeping, lol that is the last nightmare i want to have 🙂
Wonderful design, i love it 🙂 🙂
Thanks Hermes….it’s scary
Even though I cheated and used WordPress/Easel/Comic-Easel for my site, I still had to do a bit of php tweaking and a ton of css (how else do you think I got my glorious black and white motif?). And, yes, you can do the icon images in one image and css (no java needed); see my prev/next buttons.
Give me a holler if you have any questions (but, beware, I have a day job and a response is likely to be delayed).
Very cool how you did that. AAAAAAACk don’t even say java. I got to avoid that completely as well as having to tweak any php….I would ruin everything with that.
I think you have done an amazing job on your page! I like it!
Thanks Tammy!
I like it lots! You did Good Bman 🙂 Only one suggestion, if I may…howz about some kind of Google + logo at the ‘find me on Google’ link…..
Definitely on the list. Going to replicate my social media buttons at top of sidebar.
Glad to hear you’ve been having a hard time wrestling with a new site design – would hate to think you haven’t been visiting madhatters as often as you once did because you found a more enjoyable way to spend your time 😉
No…as much as visiting the MH is like going to the dentist, it is much better than what I have been doing hahah
Job VERY well done, Bearman! It looks so nice and clean and done by someone who knew what he was doing!!!
🙂
That’s good because it was definitely done by someone who doesn’t know what he is doing.
Looks Nice =)
Thanks Ray…appreciate it.
Coolness. Love the new look <3
Thanks Laura
Bearman! Your site is beautiful! I love it, it is clean and fresh. We all need something new once in a while, and kudos to you for coding.
Looking forward to your posts.
Gail
Thanks so much Gail….hoping to get some drawing done soon haha
Clean and fresh, like a spring breeze. But is it soft and absorbent?
Put it up to your face and let me know.
Looks particularly sharp on mobile (Android on Galaxy S4).
Great job.
Thanks Tim. Should look even better now that I fixed a few things
The new design looks good. I don’t understand all the technical stuff. You may remember when I “Broke” a previous site beyond repair once bi fiddling about too much. Now I leave all that stuff alone.
From your mouth to….
You are the king of theme changing. I couldn’t figure out half the stuff you do.
What? You mean there is a way to change the way a page looks? Yours looks great. I have enough trouble lately just posting regularly.
Me too…that’s why I figured I would distract you with something shiny and new.
It is shiny and it is new. I’m distracted. Wait…I’ve been distracted for almost 63 years. I don’t think I have ever been “tracted”. How can I become distracted if I have never been “tracted”.
Is that a tractor reference?
No the tractor is a Farmall. I didn’t know Reference made tractors.
I feel your pain man, I’ve been through a few redesigns….actually planning one right now. Having learned to code a few years back I understand. Having to make design choices can be fun and excruciating at the same time. You’ve done a great job! Keep it up, it only get’s easier from here. 🙂
Easier? You think I plan to do this AGAIN anytime soon? HELL NO!!
Congrats Bearman, trying to change mine too. Glad it was a success, I am not a technical guru either.
Not that I know much but if I can any help let me know
Thanks Bearman, I am hoping to have mine updated soon…you never know I may be a asking, lol. Thanks for the offer.
Back in my day, we used to count sheep! Yikes!! 🙂
Ever since I saw that Blondie comic where Dagwood tried to count sheep but the kept sneaking under the fence I can’t do it without that popping in my head
I like it very much. Messing with this code can make anyone crazy. You also need to look at it on the the browsers too. Some look okay and others sometimes not so much.
Have a terrific day. 🙂
So which ones don’t look ok? Haha
The visual ones.
ouch
Just kidding. Have some chocolate and you’ll feel better. Oh, you don’t like chocolate. Well have some ?? and you’ll feel better.
Coding nightmares…burrowing into your brain…reprogramming you while you sleep…turning hair green….
But hey, the new site looks fine!
No it turns green hair gray
Like I said in another place, good job on the changes.
A couple of months back I migrated to a new domain. Since I didn’t know what I was doing it took me two days. I was shooting in the dark. Coding and anything on the back end is not my specialty either.
Yours looks great so it worked out
omg I can feel your pain! ahah poor Bearman!!! 😀
Good. Misery likes company
Nice clean design. It’s just so different, it doesn’t seem like you yet.I take a while to get used to things.
I know…I come across as trashy
I pass no judgement.
Since when?
OMG…. what the hell happened here?
I tidied up the place
I like it. Clean and easy to read.
I admire that you were willing to redesign your site to make it more of what you wanted it to look like even though you’re not a web designer. I’m not a web designer so I try not to touch anything if it’s working properly. 😉
Well as I said I was about 4 upgrades behind on my theme and because of it, it wouldn’t do a clean upgrade so my hand was kind of forced.
I like it. I have heard good things about Catalyst. I feel your pain about dreaming in code. I do it every time there is an update to the RP theme. I am really tempted to break ties with the theme developer as I have changed the original so much it is hardly recognizable. (Last time I asked for help, the owner asked me whose theme I was using.)
Time to scroll around. Like you, I have been missing for a couple weeks.
Your site looks sexy. Now, when will the work on YOU begin?!? [smirk] [fleee]
My wife thinks I am sexy….and your wife doesn’t think I’m half bad either haha
Yer right, my wife doesn’t think your half bad… thats because you’re half the man I am! [wink-wink] [measuring tape]
Word is that you have 12 inches but don’t use it as a RULE
Thats because the RULE, doesn’t do me justice! [grin]
snerk
Hey man, thanks so much for the mention!! Glad I was able to help, and let me know if I can do anything else for you. 😀
Just let me know when I screw something else up
You mean on here, or in real life? Because that could be a long list.
Just keep a count.
You did really good and did everything, proud of you man!!
It’s lookin’ good, Bearman! All the hard work was worth it!
Thanks Mark
Approved.
Thanks…btw saw someone shared your stuff on G+
Time to get a profile I think haha
Looks pretty clean and user friendly so far.
Thanks GB
Nice site redesign Bearman, I really like it! Maybe I’ll try something similar with my WordPress install. 🙂
Well then you have to buy catalyst which lets you do all the things I was able to do an much more I couldn’t figure out
<h1 style="cool-toon" class="website"
Looking good Bearman.
MJ
Whatever that means hahah j/k Thanks Mike
Very cool, thanks for sharing!
What a cool cartoon. When you try to design a website on your own without help, it can get really frustrating. It usually takes longer than people think, too.