![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cssdeck.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/11\/cssnewbie-facelift.jpg\" "\\"CSS")
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Welcome to the new and improved CSS Newbie! This new version of the site has been a long time in the making, so I\u2019m very excited to finally have it ready for its grand unveiling. And to make things extra auspicious, today is also the eight month anniversary of the site’s official launch on February 1, 2008.<\/a><\/p>\n Before I go any further, I\u2019d like to thank Jeremy Harrington of crawlspace|media<\/a> for designing the page you see before you (or, if you\u2019re reading this in your RSS feed, you should really click through to the site proper<\/a>). Jeremy was extremely patient with my incessant tweaking, and I think the result is a very beautiful and functional site.<\/p>\n Now, the main focus of CSS Newbie hasn\u2019t changed. I\u2019m still going to strive to produce quality articles on all matter of web development, with a focus on CSS in particular, but also including XHTML, JavaScript, and related frameworks, templates, and technologies. After all, CSS by itself isn\u2019t much use without those other disciplines. <\/p>\n That having been said, there are a few changes to the site that I\u2019d like to take some time to point out. Hopefully, you\u2019ll find them all beneficial (or at least not overly annoying). The homepage of the new and improved CSS Newbie has a lot more information than it did previously. Before now, the homepage has always just featured the most recent article in its entirety. However, that sort of a layout assumes you either visit the site often enough to catch every single article I publish, or have some sort of a burning desire to go digging through the archives to see if you\u2019ve missed anything recently.<\/p>\n No more!<\/p>\n The new homepage features a total of five recent articles instead of just one. However, to keep the page compact, I\u2019ve shortened the amount of each article shown. The most recent article will generally get several paragraphs on the front page, with easy access to the rest of the article either by clicking on the title or the \u201cread more\u201d link below the content. The other four articles will feature descriptive excerpts, helping you decide which articles are most worth your time.<\/p>\n Of course, there\u2019s always the possibility that you really are one of those people that enjoys digging through website archives to see what you can find. To that end, I\u2019ve built a CSS Newbie Table of Contents.<\/a> Every article I\u2019ve ever written is available, organized by category. If the article is listed under more than one category, it\u2019ll be listed more than once for increased findability. So go ahead \u2013 see what CSS Newbie has to offer!<\/p>\n I\u2019ve also added a search bar to the site\u2019s sidebar \u2013 a search bar was a major oversight of mine in the last design. So if you have an idea of what sort of information you\u2019re looking for, but can\u2019t find it by article title in the table of contents, give the search bar a whirl \u2013 you might get lucky.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve always enjoyed getting comments on the articles I\u2019ve written \u2013 the feedback is almost always beneficial in some way. And comments are still around, with the added benefit of gravatars<\/a> (Globally Recognized Avatars). If you have a gravatar associated with your email address, your photo will now appear next to your comment, making the whole process a lot more personable.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve also added mini-surveys (i.e., polls) to the website. Every once in a while, I\u2019ll post a new survey to the site. It\u2019s a chance for you to offer feedback on a wide variety of questions. The most recent survey will always be featured in the footer of the website, and I\u2019ll try to remember to announce when I\u2019ve released a new survey. Right now, you can offer feedback on what you think of the new design. Be sure to check it out and let me know!<\/p>\n And if I\u2019ve written an article that you\u2019ve really found helpful, please consider submitting it to the social media site of your choice. To make that easier, I\u2019ve added a ShareThis toolbar to the top of every article in the site. Save your favorite articles to Delicious, Ma.gnolia, or dozens of other social networks with the click of a single button.<\/p>\n And speaking of social networks, if you\u2019d like to take the conversation off CSS Newbie entirely, be sure to follow me on twitter.<\/a> I\u2019ll warn you \u2013 I talk about things other than web development. But twitter is a great way to get to better know the person on the other side of the screen. I\u2019d really like to get to know you-all better, so if you feel the same, send a follow my way.<\/a><\/p>\n Many sites these days have a community news section \u2013 a portion of the website set aside to allow the users to circulate new and interesting articles within the community. The new CSS Newbie is no different, but our community news section has a twist. I\u2019m conducting what I\u2019m considering an experiment in social media. Instead of coming to my site, filling out a form, and awaiting moderation to get your news published, all you have to do is bookmark the page in one of the popular bookmarking sites (currently Delicious <\/a>or Ma.gnolia<\/a>, possibly more to come), give it a short description and a tag of \u201ccssnewbienews\u201d and voila! Your article will appear on CSS Newbie within an hour.<\/p>\n So, if you have an article that either you\u2019ve written or you\u2019ve found and really enjoyed, and you\u2019d like to see it reach a wider audience, be sure to add the \u201ccssnewbienews\u201d tag when you bookmark it. If you use a different bookmarking service, contact me and let me know what it is, and I\u2019ll see if I can get it added to the mix.<\/p>\n Redesigning the site allowed me to take some time to reconsider the advertising options available. I\u2019ve made some tweaks that I think will benefit all involved… including reducing the cost of advertising. So if you have a message you want to get noticed, consider sponsoring CSS Newbie.<\/a> <\/p>\n Those are the highlights of the new site design, but there are of course many, many other tweaks and improvements scattered throughout the site. Let me know what you think! Leave a comment on this article, take the survey in the lower-right, send me a shout-out on twitter… I\u2019m waiting to hear from you.<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\nA Home Worth Coming Home To<\/h3>\n
Find What You\u2019re Looking For<\/h3>\n
Enhancing the Conversation<\/h3>\n
Community News<\/h3>\n
New Advertising Options<\/h3>\n
And Much, Much More<\/h3>\n