New Look!
It seems like the look of so many things in the parks is changing lately: from Condor Flats becoming Grizzly Peak Airfield to Disney’s Hollywood Studios losing its hat to the new hub in the Magic Kingdom. Now, you can count the design of DisneyTouristBlog.com among those changes (okay, probably not quite as big of a deal as those changes to…well, anyone).
I spent the better part of the day yesterday working on the new design, prepping the existing framework of the site, launching it overnight, and then staying up really, really late fixing some of the bugs. You’ll notice there are still some (okay, a lot) of bug remaining. I have a good amount of tweaking still to do.
What do you think? The purpose of this change was to address the many comments we’ve received from readers about reading on mobile. I was reluctant to change to a “responsive” (mobile-friendly) design because I, personally, didn’t mind how the old layout looks on the phone, but I realize that’s the direction the internet is going…so it was time for a change. Keep that in mind. Otherwise, any comments or feedback? I’d love to hear what you think, as well as other ideas.
Note that I’m not totally sold on the current look, so we’ll see how it goes for a couple of days and then decide if additional, larger changes need to be made. Also note that I have absolutely no experience in web design or any of this stuff, so literally everything I do here is a matter of reading about how to do something, trying to change it, breaking it, then going onto Google and frantically trying to figure out how to change it while freaking out that I’ve ruined the site. Point being that it’s been a time-consuming and slightly stressful process, so please be kind (yet still completely honest). 🙂
UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who has left a comment here or on Facebook. A lot of the things you have suggested are things I plan to address. I don’t have the time (or knowledge) to make all of the fixes right now, but they will come soon. Here are some of them, point by point:
- The old logo will be back in an altered form. I made it myself and forgot some of the steps of how to do it in Photoshop, but there will definitely be something to give the page character. I want this blog to be personable, not professional or sterile.
- The text color in the posts will be changed to black.
- The post titles will be bolded, enlarged, or something so that they stand apart from other text.
- Dead space will be eliminated; in particular, I think there’s way too much empty space around post titles. I’m not sure if I can kill all the dead space around the edges, but I’ll see what I can do.
- The multitude of problems with the menu bar will (hopefully) all be fixed.
- I’ll see what I can do about images displaying larger (a common complaint), but on a normal screen, photos are larger with the new look–849px v. 614px before. (This new size will only be visible going forward, so starting with this post.)
UPDATE 2: If you saw the website on Sunday (3/22), you might have noticed a lot of the issues above were addressed. Unfortunately, it came to my attention that a number of older, almost exclusively long posts were not consistently loading with the new site, so I’ve reverted to the old site. Aesthetics are nice, but content is key. I still want the website to be responsive, but in a manner that doesn’t cause issues with content. So it looks like I’m heading back to the drawing board. In case you missed it, here’s a look at the new logo I created:
These are just some of the changes that will be implemented once I have time and can figure out how to make the changes. Just thought I would address this now for those comments to which I haven’t responded, or future comments you might consider leaving.
Again, thank you all so much for your feedback!
-Tom
I like the new design, I just wish the pictures were bigger! You take incredible photographs for them to look kind of small in the posts. Something like what you have in Travel Caffeine would be nice 🙂
New look is great Tom. “Old” look felt dated. The banner just needs your favorite thumbnail.
I never read this site on my phone, in large part I come here for the photography and the small phone screen doesn’t do it justice.
My major complaint on my desktop would be the 5-6″ of blank white space on either side of the screen. I’m staring at a wall of white with a small bit of text with tiny photos in the middle.
Can’t go wrong with blues, but I kind of miss the previous happier/warmer color palette. My only issue is that the photos are quite small. Otherwise, I know quite well that even the most minor or seemingly simple tweaks can end up taking ages (but hopefully not!). I think you’re off to a great start.
It is definitely easier to navigate on a mobile device but it I’d bland. Use your pictures to make it more lively? Maybe some thumbnail links as an additional way to browse?
I don’t mind this new layout. I like the colour scheme of this one. I just found that the headings for the posts got a bit lost while scrolling down the page. I kept missing them then wonder what article the text belonged to. Maybe some thing I a bold font and a little darker.
Love the new design. I agree that the header needs some enhancement, maybe the old Disney Tourist Blog logo incorporated somehow, and it seems a little sterile or clean, but I think that’s what appeals to me. As far as the several criticisms about it being difficult for ‘old eyes’ to read, I think that this is an upgrade from the old site in that the new design seems to be less distracting when scrolling from article to article. This might be because you have removed the bright colors and moved the sidebar advertisements and quick links to the bottom of the page. I also tend to read the individual trip reports, reviews, etc. with the Safari Reader mode on my iPad anyways. I can adjust the size of the font if I want, and it’s black and white, much easier on my ‘middle aged eyes’ to tolerate. At the end of the day, we’re gonna keep reading and coming back to your site because of the way you present your info, not how the site looks aesthetically. Embrace the change people.
Tom, I really like the new look. Modern, light, airy. I see a few minor things needing tweaking which others have mentioned. My biggest dislike is the smaller size of the photos. Your photos are stellar and deserve wall to wall space.
This is really the BEST blog on Disney, Tom. Keep up the great work. Oh, I also like your podcast – hope to hear a new episode soon!
I always read your awesome blog on my desktop. I enjoy the content, tips, comments & little jokes. I love your photos. I guess it’ll take some getting used to. But, change is good they say. I will still read your blog no matter what style you choose 🙂
Interestingly, I just experimented by turning my iPad into “portrait” rather than “landscape” orientation. The overlapping share button issue didn’t occur! So perhaps it’s a simple programming solution.
Hi Tom,
My husband and I love your site and it has been invaluable to us in planning our November trip! I particularly love the dining reviews and the photos – he loves the ride reviews!
I loved the old format and had no problems with it. I came to look around today and got a shock…I’m sorry, but I hate it! I’m viewing on an iPad and scrolling is really clunky – the top bar keeps disappearing and reappearing and makes the text jump every second or two. Also, the “share” options constantly override the text of the articles so the main text is limited to the middle third when I zoom in….but it isn’t really, so I keep having to move it away from the share icons. I think the previous top bar gave much more of an indication of the breadth of information available – if I were to randomly come across the site anew, I’m not sure I’d stay.
I hope this is helpful – I don’t want to criticise without being constructive! I’d like the top bar to be more informative, for it to stay at the top of the age and not follow me down, disappearing and reappearing, and I’d like the left hand side (ie share icons) to stay out of the frame if I zoom into the main text! I also agree with past posters that the grey-on-white is harsh on the eyes. I believe there is evidence to suggest that people with dyslexia find black text on coloured paper easier to read from, so in terms of inclusiveness you may wish to consider this.
Good luck and thank you!
I’m going to be blunt: Your header comes across as “boring” to me, and I’ve always found your blog to be so much fun to look at. I feel that you definitely need a logo/header to invite me in more. I also feel like your photos look smaller which would be a shame because they are one of the main draws.
I only look at your site on my laptop so I have never had a problem with the format. Good luck as you try and restructure the site!
I preferred the old look. I find this one to be a bit generic and “sterile” as well.
Any chance you can make the main text font “black” instead of “gray”? I’ve got an older pair of eyes and need all the help that I can get.
Have poured over many Disney info websites lately and keep coming back to yours. The vast amount of information is delivered beautifully in word and picture … KUDOS!!
As for the new look … The “seaglass” colored lettering on a white background (and the reverse) is harder to see for me. And the royal blue link in a paragraph turn that seaglass color if my mouse happens to be over it making it harder to spot on a quick scan. Just my two cents.
On the main page, the article titles are kind of light in color and spaced far away from the photos. At first glance, I thought they were ads. But… I’ll still keep coming back.
Oh, and the photos are much smaller now, which makes me sad. I know I could click the image to see it larger, but I liked having large images throughout the posts. Weird comment, but it is something I’ve noticed.
As someone who never views on mobile, I really prefer the old look for the same reasons others have already mentioned (too “sterile,” too much white space, etc). But I guess I’ll be patient if it’s truly a work in progress… 😉
You know what they say about opinions… everybody’s got one! I typically read your blog on a computer or a tablet, so I can’t comment about viewing your blog on a phone. And even right now I have only viewed it from a computer, so that’s where my opinion comes from. The site is a little sterile, as others have mentioned. Also, too much white space. Too much distraction for the eye is a bad thing, but here there isn’t enough.
This has the makings of an epic battle. Dole Whip vs Citrus Swirl! New site vs. old site!
Just as long as my avatar is still a monster uterus, I’m happy.
Seriously though, I probably do most of my viewing on mobile now, so I’m happy for that. Although I could manage with the text, the pictures never fit properly on my phone screen.
Do what you can to improve the look of web…but people will eventually get used to it.