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Fr. Z is Moderator of the Catholic Online Forum and the ASK FATHER Question Box. The WDTPRS columns appear weekly in The Wanderer. Fr. Z lives in Rome, though he is often in the USA. He is available for retreats and conferences. E-mail


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    • 11 May 2008

    Possible new blog style

    CATEGORY: SESSIUNCULUM — Fr. John Zuhlsdorf @ 2:40 pm

    Possible new blog style:



    UPDATE: 11 May 20:40GMT

    Based on some of your feedback and my own desires, I adjusted the theme.

    How about this.


    • • • • • •

    74 Comments

    1. Cool.

      Comment by Vincenzo — 10 May 2008 @ 1:23 pm

    2. I like the current design better. But who am I…

      Comment by Victor — 10 May 2008 @ 1:24 pm

    3. The links at the top of the page look a little unwieldy; clean it up a bit and I think it’d be quite nice.

      Comment by Tiny — 10 May 2008 @ 1:26 pm

    4. Call me stick in the mud, but I like the current one too. :D

      Comment by Mark M — 10 May 2008 @ 1:27 pm

    5. I like the potential, new look.

      It looks a bit “crisper.” And when I print out a posting, If I lose anything off the edge of the paper, it’ll be the static stuff.

      John

      Comment by John — 10 May 2008 @ 1:27 pm

    6. Not bad – though the links at the top do look a bit chaotic, and I personally prefer the black background at the sides of the current design. It adds to the balance, and eases the reading.

      Comment by Stephen V. — 10 May 2008 @ 1:34 pm

    7. If you change the design of the blog, can we gain an indult to continue viewing the old design ?

      Comment by a religious — 10 May 2008 @ 1:51 pm

    8. ALL: Part of the problem is that the present design is not widget friendly and I just can’t “widgetize” it. Would that I could. I must look for templates that are better suited to the new versions of Wordpress, which powers this blog. I want to add functionality, such as a useful search feature, but keep in readable, since this blog is pretty text oriented.

      Comment by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf — 10 May 2008 @ 2:01 pm

    9. I like the two sidebars. You have a lot of information here, Father.

      Speaking of great series you have posted, your “Mysteries of the Rosary” was a keeper.

      You might consider copying some of your “Hall of Fame” posts to an identical looking WDTPRS-II, without the sidebars, to make them easier to find and thus encourage more browsing. But maybe that would be too much work.

      Comment by Ray from MN — 10 May 2008 @ 2:03 pm

    10. I like it, but the sidebar seems a bit too wide.
      The color scheme is great, though!

      Comment by Alli — 10 May 2008 @ 2:06 pm

    11. I like the newer design. I always like a crisp white background but I can understand those who like the black.

      One thing I wish your blog would have is a “newbie” tag as opposed to the “Pages” tag. Maybe something that could stand out a little more. I admit when I first came to this blog, I was overwhelmed.

      My big wish would be for a search engine. Now that would be a huge help!

      Comment by Mary Rose — 10 May 2008 @ 2:09 pm

    12. I like the design! Although I’d miss the trademark black background, I’ll sacrifice my likes in favor of making Father’s life a little easier!

      Comment by Rudy B — 10 May 2008 @ 2:11 pm

    13. Father Z,

      Do whatever works best for you. The “look” of each is fine, and we are so lucky to have such a wonderful blog apostolate that we will adapt to any style of the hard work you do for us.

      Comment by Trad Tom — 10 May 2008 @ 2:12 pm

    14. I like the appearance of the new design, but as others have pointed out, the links at the top seem a bit chaotic. Also, while the sidebars offer help in organization, I dislike the article text being so narrow, making articles even longer.

      Comment by Bill — 10 May 2008 @ 2:13 pm

    15. Ray: I simply don’t know how to do that.

      Comment by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf — 10 May 2008 @ 2:19 pm

    16. I vote for the new look.

      Comment by Joseph — 10 May 2008 @ 2:23 pm

    17. continuity Father, continuity ;>)

      Comment by David Osterloh — 10 May 2008 @ 2:42 pm

    18. Fr. Z,

      I like the potential of the new look. It’s crisper, cleaner, and easier to view.

      HOWEVER, I have to agree with some of the comments above. The header links seems a bit chaotic and the sidebar is a bit too wide.

      I also think that the sidebar would be better positioned on the left. Most websites that use a 2 column layout have the smaller column on the left. I think it’s an industry best practice.

      Anyway, that’s my .02…

      Comment by JM — 10 May 2008 @ 2:44 pm

    19. The current style is distinctive. I wouldn’t change it.

      Comment by Paul — 10 May 2008 @ 2:46 pm

    20. Fr. Z: Whatever blog style you choose to publish, we will be there reading it! May the Holy Spirit guide your choice for the glory of God and the salvation of souls!

      Comment by FloridaJohn — 10 May 2008 @ 2:47 pm

    21. Fr. Z-
      I like the new one a lot. I do agree with the comments about the links at the top, though—they should be reduced a bit. And the red color will take some getting used to.

      Comment by Quantitative Metathesis — 10 May 2008 @ 3:22 pm

    22. I like the new look. It does not seem as busy.

      Comment by Marc — 10 May 2008 @ 3:29 pm

    23. +

      I like it -with the simple suggestion of inverting the right and left column placement.

      Pax,

      Comment by Julie — 10 May 2008 @ 3:39 pm

    24. While I do like the way you have it set up now, I will still read the blog no matter what. You could print it on a ricola wrapper and I would read your blog.

      Comment by Paul — 10 May 2008 @ 3:59 pm

    25. If you Blog it we will come.Do what you have to do.

      Comment by AnnaTrad — 10 May 2008 @ 4:12 pm

    26. Love it – big improvement. Just do it Father!

      Comment by Mark — 10 May 2008 @ 4:16 pm

    27. Kool! :P

      Comment by Syriacus — 10 May 2008 @ 4:18 pm

    28. I like the new one. It’s really a 3-column format – and puts important things like the links and the calendar closer to the top (for easy reference). It slightly de-emphasizes our beloved Fr. Z – which I don’t think he’s mind in the least.

      Overall, it looks crisper and cleaner – more professional (admittedly, this is only a matter of impresions – but the world works off impressions). The lessening of color block seems to be the biggest contribution to this “feel”.

      As for the links, it should be easy to clean them up a bit – perhaps with button or a grid or some playing with fonts. I agree that as presented, it’s a bit hard to pick out the particular link. Perhaps some bullets or number lists might organize it a bit.

      Good job.

      Comment by Tzard — 10 May 2008 @ 4:30 pm

    29. Fr Z:
      I am a recent reader – I have been getting your RSS feed for about a month now. The new design looks a lot better to me than the current one – cleaner, more visually appealing, gentler on the eyes. Go for it!

      Comment by Jean — 10 May 2008 @ 5:52 pm

    30. I like it! :)

      Comment by Lu — 10 May 2008 @ 6:55 pm

    31. Father Z, it’s a nice change but don’t let it look like a newsletter. Our local community-events ditty we get in the mail looks something like that. I think maybe that’s why I don’t want WDTPRS to look like that. LOL.

      If it’s truly a technical issue concerning widgeting then you do what you have to do, and can always tweak the presentation later on.

      God bless.

      Comment by Matt Q — 10 May 2008 @ 8:57 pm

    32. Father,
      Call me a “traditionalist,” but I prefer the current format. However, if you decide to change it, two suggestions: – flop your photo (which has moved to the right side of the page) so you are are facing left, looking “into” the page rather than off of it (common publishing layout); and – arrange the sub-title so your little typewritten priest cartoon is under your name, not over on the right hand margin all by itself.

      Comment by Former Altar Boy — 10 May 2008 @ 11:42 pm

    33. I like the extraordinary form of the Fr. Z Page, but I would also attend the ordinary form. (Wink.)

      Comment by lks — 11 May 2008 @ 2:00 am

    34. One suggestion, if possible, is to have
      comments load in a new window that opens
      rather than in the same location.
      See, for example:
      http://thenewliturgicalmovement.blogspot.com/

      It makes things quicker and easier to read,
      because after you are done reading the comments
      you can immediately return to the main page
      without having to reload it.

      Comment by Goofy — 11 May 2008 @ 4:38 am

    35. My only issue is with the comments. For some reason your (and yours alone) blog takes FOR-EV-ER to post the comments.

      Comment by Scott W. — 11 May 2008 @ 5:59 am

    36. The present design is perfectly suitable….so why change? The important thing is the content, and changing might bring some unforeseen distractions to the content. It might be like adding extra ornamental items… flowers, extra candles.. etc..in the Santuary. The additional items can distract from the essential focus of the Liturgy itself. So if there is a strong reason to change, it might be O.K., but if not, better to leave things as they are. Moreover, even in the business world changes are rarely made to trademarks.

      Comment by A.Williams — 11 May 2008 @ 6:08 am

    37. Perhaps you could keep the black in somehow, Father?

      Comment by Kevin — 11 May 2008 @ 7:02 am

    38. As someone who runs two blogs myself, it’s important to make a change every once in awhile. It tends to shake up the mind of the poster, and get him to think outside the box. It’s healthy.

      Count me in for a blog change according to your liking, provided it’s done in the hermeneutics of blog continuity.

      Comment by Rellis — 11 May 2008 @ 7:11 am

    39. The black is really nice, I’d hate to loose it. Could you make it so that users can change the background color for themselves?

      Comment by Jack — 11 May 2008 @ 7:40 am

    40. I shall be leading a breakaway sect into schism as a result of these un-necessary modernist inventions (out of necessity mind!). We shall aim to restore (read impose) the traditional layout on the whole church, and advocate a return to even more rad-trad customs such as having all text in latin (including scripture qoutations) and use of hand written caligraphy on scrolls. Of course, anyoe not in holy orders will be prohibited from actively participating in the new-old usus antiquitous blog.

      Comment by big benny — 11 May 2008 @ 7:45 am

    41. non placet

      Comment by Fr Ă“ Buaidhe — 11 May 2008 @ 8:11 am

    42. One suggestion, if possible, is to have comments load in a new window that opens rather than in the same location.

      I think that is a feature of Blogger. I visit a few other sites that use Wordpress, and none of them have a separate comment window. That’s not to say that is isn’t possible, but if no one else is using that feature, then it may take some mad programming skills.

      Other than the busy subheadings, I like the new look.

      Comment by Brian Day — 11 May 2008 @ 11:53 am

    43. I prefer the “traditional” view. Speaking of which…. Father, shouldn’t your photo be “ad orientem?” :^D

      Comment by Guy Power — 11 May 2008 @ 11:54 am

    44. Based on some of your feedback and my own desires, I adjusted the theme.

      How about this.


      Comment by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf — 11 May 2008 @ 2:43 pm

    45. My two cents: I like this much better than with the white background. The red and black hearken to your famous saying, and the black makes reading the burgundy header text easier on the eyes. With the white background, the burgundy looked a little harsh, but this was potentially due to the large links at the top of the last version.

      Comment by Jim — 11 May 2008 @ 3:02 pm

    46. Im assuming the “Save the Liturgy Save the World!” image is further down the page?

      Comment by TJB — 11 May 2008 @ 3:20 pm

    47. Dear Father Z:

      The second version is great. Much better than the first and more attractive. The black background is much easier on the eyes than all the white background where everything gets lost. Good job. Use this version. :)

      Comment by Matt Q — 11 May 2008 @