[CMS Frontend] Plans to update the www.cmsmadesimple.org?

[Woudloper]

As I normally only visit the forum, since I discovered the CMS 'CMS Made Simple', I don't look anymore at the frontend page of CMS Made Simple.

But this morning I did. As my first experience was with CMS Made Simple version 0.10.0. I don't know how the older version of the backend, etc. look like.

When looking at the startpage I see a screenshot of a admin backend of CMS Made Simple with a complete different layout then I am currently using. Is this layout more or less outdated? Furthermore, if that is the case, shouldn't the complete frontend of CMS Made Simple be redesigned?

Maybe even port the website to a sematic correct version (without using tables).

Reference sematic development:

• Dive into mark: Won’t somebody please think of the gerbils?
• Stopdesign: On standards and Semantics
• Save money when using standards
• The sematic web (by: Tim Berners-Lee { inventor of the internet }

More references can be found on the internet. When using standards (and using the HTML tags correct) you also get higher ranks in Google. That would also be a great advantage, so more and more people will use 'CMS Made Simple'

[Ted]

Yeah, I agree that it's time for a new website.

I was actually given a comp for a new one by someone on IRC a few days ago, but I haven't heard back.  I'm not a web designer and never will claim to be.  So, if someone wants to make up a comp or two for a new site, I'd be happy to take a look...

And, yes, it should be semantic markup! 

[Woudloper]

@ wishy: If someone (from the forum) which has good designing skills can design a website what should the requirements be for a new design of the 'CMS Frontend'? Should it for example:

• It should contain a palm tree photo?
• It should use e.g. colors: blue, orange, etc.
• It should contain an area for the latest news
• etc. etc.

I also think designers can design a website (if they like to) with photoshop, and when they created a sliced HTML example of the page other users of the forum (with good HTML skill, like: sematics, etc) can create a sematic correct version for the website...

[trick]

Tim Berners-Lee { inventor of the internet }

Come on, we all know Al Gore invented the internet.

Anyways, I think this is a great idea. I'm no designer or anything, so when I want to do a website for someone, what I like to do is have my sister design what she thinks it should look like in Adobe Illustrator. She's a great designer, but doesn't have a clue about semantics. Then she gives it to me as an SVG, and I open it up with Inkscape, and I take the content, and put it into a semantically marked up web page.

[Ted]

Yeah, a designer and a web developer don't have to be the same person.

I would like it to have the same palm tree logo, but there isn't anything that says it's needs a tropical image on it.  Everything else can be left up to the designer, though keep the overall "theme" in mind.

And I think that if we get more than one design, we should leave it up to the community to "vote".  Even though I'll probably have the final say. 

[TNTH]

I was thinking of using a design with palmtrees for our companywebsite, but we changed the style, so now i've got a template which I'm not using.

It needs some work, but please let me know if you can use it. Of course with some changes, it's very general right now

Here's the link: http://tekstendesign.nl/klanten/templates/concept/

Just don't try the buttons, they don't work (you'll get an errormessage!).

[hman]

I really love what Shuan Inman has done with Mint. I know that it's not really appropriate for the CMSMS site, but the modern feel and cool color scheme is really attractive to the eye (at least my eye!). I'm also very fond of how the site for his product matches the interface of the product itself. The program has become so popular in the web community that I immediately think "Mint!" whenever I see those shades of green. Wouldn't it be great if the same were true for CMS Made Simple?

I think that a distinctive, modern-looking palm logo along with a disctinctive color scheme would look very nice. There's nothing wrong with the shade of orange currently being used on the site. I think the whole thing just needs a little cleaning up and updating.

[Ted]

That's an awesome looking site.  I would love a modern look like that and a whole distinctive color scheme like that.

Any of you web designers out there want to step up? 

[Woudloper]

Very nice and modern website indeed! This way of styling could be something for 'CMS Made Simple'. The style is more or less the same as Mozilla is using. They also have a great color schema:

• Mozilla Firefox
• Mozilla Developers
• Mozilla Wiki | Main Page

Furthermore you can go to some kind of way the CSS Zen Garden is being designed and take a look at one of the examples...

Another interesting website could be: SiteVista, but as wishy said the website of Mind (and in my opinion SiteVista) are also looking good.

For creating a color schema you can take a look at one of the following color mixers:

• Wellstyled.com | color schema
• Colormixers.com | CMR Mixer

[Ted]

Wow.  Sitevista's is amazing too.  Makes our site just look downright nasty, even though it's not.