Post by Mike Andrews on Mar 10, 2018 10:37:03 GMT -5
Hello to our readers! I want to address some feedback that we've received regarding the layout of the site and a potential overhaul of the site's design. I’ve heard several comments and ideas about site design from numerous angles in recent months. I get it, most of the comments include really good ideas that could potentially improve the site.
Here is the situation. I originally designed the site back in 2002-2003. The web technology I had was different then, so the site wasn’t built using a lot of web templates or dynamic HTML that would allow you to make a change in one place and it magically makes the same change across the site. I started the site as a hobby because I was passionate about the Sox farm system. It snowballed into something WAY bigger than I ever intended it to be. Over the course of the last 15 years, we have added dozens of new features, all designed to fit into the original, somewhat flawed design. Fast forward to 2018. There are several members of the staff that know HTML and how to update the site, but I am really the only web designer on the staff.
We get regular requests for a redesign of the site, and I want to lay out why that is not really a viable option right now. First, I personally don’t have the time. In my estimate, a full site redesign would be hundreds of hours of work – most-to-all of which would need to be performed by me. I have a very time intensive full time job and a family that I would love to spend more time with. I don't really make money doing this other than the reimbursement of some expenses. The other alternative would be to pay a web designer. We cannot come close to affording that. Second, in my past experiences with redesigns of other sites I've worked on, half of the people end up hating the new design no matter what, and most readers instantly wish that you would back to the previous layout. No matter what. Then you also end up working out bugs for a good 6-9 months when you could be focusing on content.
Now, if there are tweaks here or there that could help freshen things up, I am all ears. But also keep in mind that if it’s a re-occurring element such as the layout of a player page, chances are high that we would need to go in by hand to update all of the player pages on the site, of which there are currently 1,535 such pages. So even if it’s 1 minute per page, that’s roughly 26 hours of tedious work. Complex changes might require 5 minutes or more per page.
At some point - not necessarily this year - I might have time to look at designing a new template for player pages. We would look at the font size and color schemes. If we move forward with that, it would likely be an update just for currently active player pages, but we would leave ex-player pages untouched in the old format. That transition would need to take place during an off-season.
Just throwing this out there so everybody is aware.
Mike
Here is the situation. I originally designed the site back in 2002-2003. The web technology I had was different then, so the site wasn’t built using a lot of web templates or dynamic HTML that would allow you to make a change in one place and it magically makes the same change across the site. I started the site as a hobby because I was passionate about the Sox farm system. It snowballed into something WAY bigger than I ever intended it to be. Over the course of the last 15 years, we have added dozens of new features, all designed to fit into the original, somewhat flawed design. Fast forward to 2018. There are several members of the staff that know HTML and how to update the site, but I am really the only web designer on the staff.
We get regular requests for a redesign of the site, and I want to lay out why that is not really a viable option right now. First, I personally don’t have the time. In my estimate, a full site redesign would be hundreds of hours of work – most-to-all of which would need to be performed by me. I have a very time intensive full time job and a family that I would love to spend more time with. I don't really make money doing this other than the reimbursement of some expenses. The other alternative would be to pay a web designer. We cannot come close to affording that. Second, in my past experiences with redesigns of other sites I've worked on, half of the people end up hating the new design no matter what, and most readers instantly wish that you would back to the previous layout. No matter what. Then you also end up working out bugs for a good 6-9 months when you could be focusing on content.
Now, if there are tweaks here or there that could help freshen things up, I am all ears. But also keep in mind that if it’s a re-occurring element such as the layout of a player page, chances are high that we would need to go in by hand to update all of the player pages on the site, of which there are currently 1,535 such pages. So even if it’s 1 minute per page, that’s roughly 26 hours of tedious work. Complex changes might require 5 minutes or more per page.
At some point - not necessarily this year - I might have time to look at designing a new template for player pages. We would look at the font size and color schemes. If we move forward with that, it would likely be an update just for currently active player pages, but we would leave ex-player pages untouched in the old format. That transition would need to take place during an off-season.
Just throwing this out there so everybody is aware.
Mike
