For those FasterSkier readers who frequent the blogs section, you may have noticed that we have redesigned the FasterSkier Blog Homepage, bringing the overall look in line with the main site and providing more useful information. In the past the Blog Home merely listed all the blogs in order of most recent post, with the title of that post, and the blog’s description. The new design still features a list of blogs in the center of the page, but instead of the never-changing description, each blog now displays an intro to the most recent post. This means you can quickly scan the page to see what has been updated, and get a quick idea of the content. Our top featured blogs are shown in wide format at the top, and all blogs are listed below. Order is still based on most recent post. Not all blogs are listed in the center – only the 20 blogs who have published a new post within the last two weeks are displayed. The complete list of blogs can still be found on the left.
The left column has a box displaying Recent Comments from all blogs. This makes it easy to quickly see new comments, without having to check a blog specifically. Underneath the comment box is another text list of recent posts. This may seem redundant, but this list shows multiple posts per blog – the 10 most recent posts from any blogs are displayed here. This means that have Andy Newell has 5 of the 10 most recent, they will all be displayed. The center column only shows 1 post per blog. The center area also features some blogs over others – not all blogs show up in the wide format top spot. But the list on the left is completely egalitarian.
We are hoping to add another box that lists the most popular posts from the previous week.
The top navigation now matches the main site and is nearly identical. The search box has been configured to search all blogs. This is a useful feature and can allow a visitor to quickly search for keywords across all blogs.
Individual blogs remain relatively unchanged. The banner and background have been adjusted to match the rest of the site, and the links to return to the FasterSkier Homepage and the Blog Homepage are now located beneath the headshot in the left column. And of course clicking on the top blog banner will always return you to the Blog Home.
The goal is to make the Blog Home a useful page where a visitor can quickly see an overview of all new posts and comments. Check it out and let us know what you think! As always, if you encounter problems, don’t hesitate to contact us.
Visit the new FS Blog Home at http://blogs.fasterskier.com