New Web Site (2005)
We've spent the last few weeks
updating the
Berryware web site. There were a number
of reasons for changing the look and feel. The primary reason
is that the web site style has remained unchanged for about
five years now- so it was time for a change!
The goals for the new web site were:
- Improved usability
- Flexible architecture
- Modern style
- Search engine friendly
Improved Usability
To make the site easier to navigate
we've removed a lot of the clutter. In addition to that we've
provided explanations of the site content on the home page and
added
see also links at the top of many pages. The pricing
information is now displayed directly on the product pages with
links to download trial versions or buy the products. If you
have further suggestions about how we can improve just
contact us.
Flexible Architecture
The old web site was structured
as simple HTML pages. The new improved version is now a
collection of XML, XSL and CSS files instead. The XSL files
serve as the "templates" that determine the web site structure
(including such things as the javascript menu). The CSS
controls the look and feel at the micro level. The XML files
contain the actual page contents.
We have built a simple tool that we refer to as our "web site
compiler" internally. This utility monitors the web site folder
hierarchy and rebuilds the HTML pages on the fly the moment an
XML or XSL file changes. Changing the web site layout for all
the pages is now a simple matter of changing the main XSL
template file. This allows us to have a web site that is
structured as if it were implemented using framesets while
having the appearance of uniform pages once "compiled."
Modern Style
Our old web site had a fixed width layout.
On high resolution monitors this didn't look that great. The
web site was effectively designed to look good at an 800x600
resolution. Since most PCs now use a resolution of 1024x768
this gave the web site a "skinny" look. At higher resolutions
it looked even worse. Hence, the new site is no longer fixed
width- it scales as you resize the browser window.
The web site also has an edge-to-edge feel to it. There isn't a
white border around the page as there used to be. We've also
used PNG files for all of the images to give the site a crisper
look to it. If you're using a browser that supports it we've
even utilized a bit of transparency (see the "products" menu).
Internet Explorer doesn't currently support transparent PNGs
but if you're using
Mozilla,
Mozilla Firefox, or
Netscape 6.x or 7.x (any
Gecko-based browser) you should be able to see these
effects.
Search Engine Friendly
Frames are decidedly un-friendly
to search engines. So the simple fact that the site no longer
uses frames will help. Also, when users search for pages in
their favourite search engine (may we recommend
Google ;-) ) and click through to visit them they
won't see just the frame contents without any menu frame!!
That's what used to happen with the old layout- and we don't
feel that Framestuffer is a great solution to this problem
although it is a nice hack.
Closing Remarks
In closing I'd just like to wish our
current and future customers all the best for their current
endeavours. And enjoy using our web site and products!
Best Regards,
Kevin Berry.
