Notice anything different? Yep, a brand new look. I was really not liking the previous design. I tried too hard, and it didn’t come out the way I wanted. I’ve realized that I just don’t have a knack when it comes to graphical layouts. So I decided to stick with what I’m good at; keeping it simple, sleek, and neat. It only took me 4 hours to put together. There’s a few things I still need to go over, but this should be the final look of things from here on out.

Good Blimey! is now 1 years old (it was started on October 5th, 2003.) In a year, I’ve learned a ton, especially when it comes to design, met a lot of great friends online, and discovered that breakdancing midgets is a scary sight, indeed.

For this theme, I decided to give it a lighter, more humorous feel. I’m a person full of silliness and laughs, why not embody that in my own personal blog? The colors are soothing, and there is plenty of whitespace to ensure easy reading.

I hope you like it too. Any feedback is welcome.

Just spotted this CSS Optimizer service at Flumpcakes that should prove useful. It shaved off 2kB off my CSS file. While not a lot, it certainly adds up over time. Pretty nifty, although if you don’t use the pretty print feature (turning it off compresses even more), be sure you keep a local copy that is readable to edit.

Since I started reading about web standards, from Molly’s countless works, to Jeffrey Zeldman’s ‘Designing With Web Standards’ book, to near limitless guides and tutorials on the internet, I’ve noticed a few things that has changed not only my perspective online, but in the real world.

For one thing, web standards has taught me that it is important to keep everyone in mind. Web standards teaches us to follow a set guideline to achieve the best results. If you adhere to those guidelines, you please the majority of the people that view your website. It has taught me to care about what I do with my designs, and to pay attention to details that are usually overlooked. It has taught me to view a webpage, not as a designer, but as a visitor visiting for the first time with wide eyes. This alone has taught me that certain choices I make are not so wise, such as a preference to a certain color, or preference for a certain browser, and so on.

Web standards has taught me values of pleasing the demographics that you interact with. This has helped me in real life, as I’ve noticed things when visiting businesses and stores that I didn’t before. Usage of signs, for example. One store I visited, had a sign that was very hard to read, using fancy fonts that noone is familiar with, in a section of the store that didn’t see many customers (Mexican food isle). When I mentioned it to the manager, he fixed it and used a legible font, moved the sign near the front and in plain view as you walk in, and 2 weeks later thanked me as business for the particular product that he was selling has grown substantially.

Web standards has also taught me that there is a large community of people out there that feels the same way I do. That, to me, is what standards should be all about; beneficial to everyone.

I decided to return to 3DGPU, and not only return as an editor, but redesign the site from the ground up using just Notepad. Here are the technical details of the new redesign:

• Now complies to XHTML 1.0 Strict as much as possible (a few old articles may break validation.)
• Extensive CSS styling, complete with IE hacks in the “ihateiehacks.css” file.
• Tableless layout, where tables are only used for tabular data (mostly in articles for comparison purposes)
• The site uses WordPress for the backend to post news and articles
• Accessibilty is something I’ll be focusing on in the near future
• Fast load times, due to CSS being cached, and minimal use of graphics
• Works in all modern browsers properly
• Site benefits from web standard compliant browsers, which means all modern ones except Internet Explorer

That’s all I can think of for now, but I’m extremely proud of how the redesign of 3DGPU turned out.

Molly has her new book out today, 250 HTML And Web Design Secrets; her 32nd book now. I’m always hungry for new secrets of web design, so you can be sure I’m going to get this book. You can get it either from Amazon or from Wiley. Here’s the blurb on this book:

“Do more than you ever thought possible with HTML, the most commonly used language of the Web! Packed with insider tips, tricks, timesavers, and workarounds, this unique guide shows you how to make the most of the methods and techniques you need to make fun and exciting Web pages. From streamlining the design process to improving a site’s ranking through its dynamic content, it delivers all the secrets you need to get more done in less time, save money, and become a successful Web designer.”

My friend, Phy, pointed out how horrible Mozilla Update looks when using Internet Explorer, and man he was not kidding! Holee Crap! I bet the designer did that on purpose though. ;)

AllMusic.com has been redesigned with a new look. I got greeted by a lovely yellow message, and unfortunately they cover up their tail poorly. I reveal the truth in the message.

Waxy.org gives some straight criticism on the new redesign.