Bills Zone's new look

[northernbillfan]

What do you think? http://www.billszone.com/

First of all thanks to Bedard for the hours he put into the redesign of our front page. And thanks to the amazing admin team who put this together.

Secondly no more news, just originals. Enough news gets reported on several sources and many of you don't even use the front page for news, so we decided to go in this direction.

We feel that it's more important to promote the great writing team we have here at the Zone than it is to republish the Wawrow article for the millionth time.

Want to write for the Zone? Then drop us a line or a PM.

[Mr. Miyagi]

Not working for me. :idunno:

[Skooby]

It's clean & classy, nice work.

[Mr. Miyagi]

Works now.

For not having done anything on it, I won't be critical.

For the most part I like it a lot. Maybe the header banner a bit smaller but I like it.

Great work King! Thanks!

[imbondz]

the teams icons and header seems a little pixelated :couch:

[The King]

It's a work in progress... It'sgoing to take some getting used to after seeing our FP over the years but the fact of the matter was a lot of our FP was out of date and really difficult to edit. Alot of things from 08-09 that never got swapped out... this new format will allow us to get in and out quickly and effeciently.

I'd like to add more media over time... things like photo's avatars and desktops. This new platform gives us great way to roll that stuff out.

[Dujek]

It's a work in progress... It'sgoing to take some getting used to after seeing our FP over the years but the fact of the matter was a lot of our FP was out of date and really difficult to edit. Alot of things from 08-09 that never got swapped out... this new format will allow us to get in and out quickly and effeciently.

I'd like to add more media over time... things like photo's avatars and desktops. This new platform gives us great way to roll that stuff out.

Yeah, the only thing I would suggest to make it better would be a few photos, but overall I like it, it's a good look and it's got the right colours...

[THATHURMANATOR]

Looks good boys!

[BAM]

Header is pixilated and a bit large, perhaps a result of resizing it. Also seems to be a bit much space between "original" heading text and first article and generally a lot of empty space, but overall much better than before. And the schedule is updated!

[ajsdx]

The design looks great overall and is a big improvement...but it looks like a blog. I'm not sure if that's what you're going for, but I feel like a more traditional format with links to articles grouped by type might be more appropriate. Maybe a sidebar with all the featured writers as a kind of archive?

[The King]

Header is pixilated and a bit large, perhaps a result of resizing it. Also seems to be a bit much space between "original" heading text and first article and generally a lot of empty space, but overall much better than before. And the schedule is updated!

We're kind of forced into a template... these are areas we can't control.

[hydro]

The design looks great overall and is a big improvement...but it looks like a blog. I'm not sure if that's what you're going for, but I feel like a more traditional format with links to articles grouped by type might be more appropriate. Maybe a sidebar with all the featured writers as a kind of archive?

I don't believe this was a thread intended for a bunch of ideas. Unless you are farming out your services?

[ajsdx]

I don't believe this was a thread intended for a bunch of ideas. Unless you are farming out your services?

No? NBF's first sentence in the OP is "what do you think?"
Am I just supposed to say good, bad, or indifferent?

[BAM]

I don't believe this was a thread intended for a bunch of ideas. Unless you are farming out your services?

Hmmm... The question "What do you think?" kind of opens things up for suggestions, constructive criticisms, etc. don't you think?

[hydro]

Alright :sorry:

[Michael82]

Great job, Bedard! I understand how hard it was to keep the stuff from the old front page, but this came out very nice. I like the banner and also like the idea of keeping only originals on the main page now. Seeing how that's the case, I will try to start writing some more of those again.

[imbondz]

I'm fine w/ the format, just have small issues w/ the pixelation. I'd rather it all be smaller, and cleaner, than larger and pixelated.

[northernbillfan]

The design looks great overall and is a big improvement...but it looks like a blog. I'm not sure if that's what you're going for, but I feel like a more traditional format with links to articles grouped by type might be more appropriate. Maybe a sidebar with all the featured writers as a kind of archive?We used a blog template for our new look. It's easier to edit and very cost effective (free). We decided to now inundate folks with news as every other fan site out there reposts the same news over and over again. We want you to spend time reading our originals, not the same AP report you read on other sites.

[zone]

looks good, I love wordpress, nice and easy to create and maintain.

[BAM]

We're kind of forced into a template... these are areas we can't control.

Gotcha. You can still change margins and padding though with the internal style sheet you're using (in the H1 class "entry-title") Looks good though, Bedard! Clean and simple. Not cluttered at all like it used to look.

[Michael82]

You guys are also more than welcome to use any of my photos for the front page if you wanted to add some graphics to it. Pat Moran uses some of them on Buffalo Sports Daily. All I ask for is credit with the photo. :up:

[The King]

Thanks Mikey... I definitely think some of the articles could use a little visual aid.

[Michael82]

Thanks Mikey... I definitely think some of the articles could use a little visual aid.
I've been saving a lot of AP photos too, if you need any of those. We used to store those in our old gallery.

[bf1]

a lot less cluttered, which is good.

[northernbillfan]

I've been saving a lot of AP photos too, if you need any of those. We used to store those in our old gallery.We are going to try to stay away from copy written material. We want to avoid lawsuits.

[justasportsfan]

Want to write for the Zone? Then drop us a line or a PM.

If you want BZ to be the best MB in the world, Palladin Warrior should be BZ's top writer and editor.

[thesquirrelking]

We're kind of forced into a template... these are areas we can't control.


Even if you're not a Wordpress developer, there's a program called Artisteer that you can use to generate a WP template with lots of customizations. Might be worth checking out if you don't like to be limited by 3rd party or stock templates.

[Dude]

We're always looking to improve the site, so thanks for the suggestions.

[The King]

I'd love to bring on some more weekly contributors... someone creating Zone Power Rankings, 10 things to watch, etc...

[paranoid]

Nice. Less cluttered and more user friendly.

[TMu11]

Looks a bit clunky, but very clean.

The mobile version seems a bit strange but is very easy to navigate.

I like it... better

[Extremebillsfan247]

What do you think? http://www.billszone.com/

First of all thanks to Bedard for the hours he put into the redesign of our front page. And thanks to the amazing admin team who put this together.

Secondly no more news, just originals. Enough news gets reported on several sources and many of you don't even use the front page for news, so we decided to go in this direction.

We feel that it's more important to promote the great writing team we have here at the Zone than it is to republish the Wawrow article for the millionth time.

Want to write for the Zone? Then drop us a line or a PM.It's not too bad. It would be great if your color palette matched that of the Bills new uniforms, or helmet like Example: #333377, #ffffff, #cccccc, #aa0044 with more of an emphasis on your Whites, and Blues, less on your Reds, and Grays. It would make the site look more updated. But that's my opinion.
If I may be allowed to tinker with your logo and background to create a rough example of what I mean, I could show you.

[Dujek]

I'd love to bring on some more weekly contributors... someone creating Zone Power Rankings, 10 things to watch, etc...

I could run with the Totally Scientific Power Rankings if you want.

I stuck them on their own blog because I couldn't think of anything else to do with them, but I can submit them here too if you want.

[G Wolly]

I'd like to add more media over time... things like photo's avatars and desktops. This new platform gives us great way to roll that stuff out.

Since I couldn't really assist with the page design, I'd like to be kept in mind for those when the time comes.

[The King]

Since I couldn't really assist with the page design, I'd like to be kept in mind for those when the time comes.

You're exactly who I had in mind.

[The King]

I could run with the Totally Scientific Power Rankings if you want.

I stuck them on their own blog because I couldn't think of anything else to do with them, but I can submit them here too if you want.

I didnt realize that was you... I'll send you a PM.

[acehole]

:bf1:




What do you think? http://www.billszone.com/

First of all thanks to Bedard for the hours he put into the redesign of our front page. And thanks to the amazing admin team who put this together.

Secondly no more news, just originals. Enough news gets reported on several sources and many of you don't even use the front page for news, so we decided to go in this direction.

We feel that it's more important to promote the great writing team we have here at the Zone than it is to republish the Wawrow article for the millionth time.

Want to write for the Zone? Then drop us a line or a PM.

[Michael82]

It's not too bad. It would be great if your color palette matched that of the Bills new uniforms, or helmet like Example: #333377, #ffffff, #cccccc, #aa0044 with more of an emphasis on your Whites, and Blues, less on your Reds, and Grays. It would make the site look more updated. But that's my opinion.
If I may be allowed to tinker with your logo and background to create a rough example of what I mean, I could show you.
It looks good, but what do you mean? How would your idea work? Just changing some colors?

[BigZ]

Looks nice and clean.

There should be a way to customize the template to add a sidebar. I use Microsoft Expression Web and create my own Dynamic Web Templates. We could talk sometime......

[Johnny Bugmenot]

Here's my advice. No offense intended, and I know I'm just Johnny, the anonymous guy who posts stuff here, but...

Ditch the Arial. That's the first major problem. It screams "default," just like Times New Roman did back in the late 90s/early 2000s. Perhaps switching to Verdana like the MB uses would help that situation. It's a font that looks good at the default 11-point text that the software seems to use, although I think it looks best at 10-point. Another option is to use something that's seriffed, since it reads more easily. Something along the lines of a TNR, Georgia or Palatino Linotype.

I'd also tweak the headlines. Instead of plain blue-on-no-background, perhaps set the headline on a very light blue or cyan background, add a narrow, slightly darker blue/cyan bottom border, and perhaps a subtle text shadow (alas, IE doesn't support the shadow yet, and it's a crying shame). Or, if you wanted to get a little bold and sacrifice printability, you could set the white text on navy background with a blue bottom border and a subtle black shadow. Either way, I'd also put the title in italic, especially if you use Verdana, it works great for sports headlines.

Can you tell I've worked with CSS quite a bit?

[YardRat]

The schedule/logos looks good.

[Electrici]

Looks real nice guys. Just wanted to say good work.

[X-Era]

I think everyone should understand the amount of hours and dedication Bedard and the staff (not me) put into this. It's just another example of why we are the best Bills board on the internet.

Great job guys!

[Mr. Pink]

Looks much better now than in years past.

Much cleaner.

Good work! :up:

[DraftBoy]

I like it! Well done to the staff! :bf1:

[trapezeus]

put me down as another person who likes the cleaner look. it just feels more navigable. Good work.

[Mski]

i like it alot, much better than the old one, however, i would have liked to see the color scheme updated to match the new unis... i know that can be a major pain in the back side though
over all :10:

[PromoTheRobot]

It's much improved over the graphic explosion the old main page was.

PTR

[The last buffalo fan]

Great job, and just like old Michael says, some pics could make it to look even better. You guys rock, thank you for your time and effort!