www.le.ac.uk

Plone Redesign

Michelle HeapSenior Multimedia Designer (Web)IT ServicesUniversity of Leicester

Why redesign the website?

• Websites date and design evolves

• Consistent quality across the University’s website

• Attract more visitors and potential students

• Communicate with the audience more effectively

• Make the site easier to use, help the audience find what they want

Fixed width design . . .

All sites will become fixed width:

• Fluid layout - the webpage's actual width is determined by the visitor's monitor resolution and how large their browser window is set

• Fixed layout - have a "fixed" number of pixels determining the width of the site

Why fixed width?

• The website owner has more control over the layout of their site. It will look the same to all who visit

• Multiple style sheets and graphics aren’t required to cater for different resolutions – e.g. banner images

• The main disadvantage is scrolling for users with monitor/browser settings smaller than the site's minimum width (800 x 600 only 1.5% of visitors last year)

1024 x 768

1280 x 1024

Who will be affected?

• All magazines – Alumni, Business, Research, Staff, Study with us

• ‘Information’ pages – maps, indexes, directories etc

• Office and Service sites

• Departmental, College, Project, Institution, Group and Centre sites (all use same template at the moment)

. . . everyone in Plone

Redesign highlights . . .

• New position for the title (H1)

• The entire width of the banner image will be visible.

• All departments will need a banner image/s

• Default orange and grey will become lagoon (blue)

• ‘only search in current section’ will be replaced by advanced search

Redesign highlights . . .

• Streamlined table options – new colours that reflect the visual identity colour palette and a reduction in available finishes (no shadow or glossy options)

• Tables used for layout (no borders) will have a key line visible in edit mode

• More colours will be available in the visual identity colour palette. Plus 50% versions of the more popular colour schemes

Possible problems . . .

• Banner images with content concentrated in the left-hand might be covered by the new location for the H1 - departmental heading

• All banner graphics have been resized but I might not have caught them all

Possible problems . . .

• Image sizes - in the central column (three columns) is 540px, anything any larger will be hidden. Portlet images will automatically resize

• Issues with readability of text due to the lack of contrast

How we can help . . .

• Make the most of your content – formatting and layout, banner images, image slideshows, portlet usage etc

• Skins – match with printed material

• Image library & Streaming Media Service

• Brand identity, design guidance and usability for anything screen-based