One thing stays the same... Change.

Here's a brief  overview of the history of the website.  In 1998, I took a screenshot of my website before I rolled out a new update that changed the site completely... from then, I started taking screenshots of my website when I made major changes.  Unfortunately, I'm missing the screenshots of the first couple of versions.  The first version of the site was set up where you could see the table borders, and another one played with the border formats to add "depth"... that was refined later, once I got a better understanding of the border settings, and CSS.   

Unfortunately, I lost the pictures to those first renditions, and I only recently found the early ones an an old website pictures backup folder I was about to delete.  But, you get the idea... There's been LOTS of changes have taken place since 1996, that's for sure..

For the most part, I'd roll out a new version around the end of the year, and start the new year off with a new look... its because I had a decent Holiday vacation to work on it!  =]

 

• Kept 900-pixel wide format for my mom
• More Color to break up page areas better
• Moved to .Net Framework 3.5
• Top banner improved
• Search utility

 

 

• Kept 900-pixel wide format for more content
• Moved to .Net Framework 2.0
• Reverted to same 'look and feel' as P8
• Cleaner color scheme
• Improved menus on header area
• Scrapped Dot Net Nuke

REPLACED BECAUSE

• Not really replaced, just incremental changes
• pages seemed to run together sometimes
• Wanted a more crisp look (no white borders, etc)

 

• Moved to 900-pixel wide format for more content
• Increased to 9 sections
• Moved site to my own hosted server
• Implemented Dot Net Nuke - content management framework

REPLACED BECAUSE

• The site was to large for the way DNN is set up
• DNN's formatting options weren't flexible enough
• Slow when adding content
• Folks kept commenting on the slowness of the site

 

• Kept 800-pixel width and 8-section format - works GREAT!
• Smaller header footprint
• "rounded" graphics in style sheet adds to crispness and brightness
• Dropdown menus makes more options readily available
• Lighter shades

REPLACED BECAUSE

• Moved site to my own hosted server to save money
• 'home grown' menus drew complaints
• The header would "forget" which tab it was on.
• Briefly Blog cost additional money.
• Switched support focus to IE7 because most of family uses it rather than Firefox.

 

• 800-pixel width - Wider screens for more content
• Smaller header footprint allows more content to display on home page
• Started saving "Briefly" comments
• Enhanced Top Menu - similar to Phase 3 (only better J)
• 8-section format allows for more layout options

REPLACED BECAUSE

• Criticism of "Dullness"
• The header would "forget" which tab it was on

• A bit more text, but still focus on pictures
• Refined "Briefly" area
• Simpler Menu
• Brighter colors - All in the blue format
• keeps the 640px table width
 
• Less Code, more action, quicker updates.

REPLACED BECAUSE

• Too narrow for increased content
• Difficult to navigate to some of the pages
• Picture format options were rigid
• New Domain

 

• Less text, more pictures
• Return of side bar, called "Greetings"
• No Frames
• Brighter colors
• 640px main table width for my mom
• Easier Top menu
• Return of the Side Bar
• User profiles

REPLACED BECAUSE

• Too slow
• Problems with XML reader caused site to not come up at times

 

• Back to frames
• Simplified graphics
• Programmatic Top Bar for Better Navigation
• Less Coding requirements for minimum functionality

Replaced because

 
• Too "formal" for a personal website
• Header design wasn't flexible enough
 
• It seemed to be difficult for folks to understand how to get around
• Wanted to get rid of the 9-11 image =]

 

• Simplified Include Structure
• Expanding left nav keeps links in same general location
• Contrasting colors made for easier reading

Replaced because

• Complaints about darkness of the site
• Slow load times on dialups
• lots of includes required significant coding just to put a page up

• Current block moved to top block, menu moved to side
• No ActiveX controls, which were in previous versions of the site
• Client could choose color scheme
• Include files replace frame structure of earlier sites

Replaced because

• Excessive coding requirements slowed additions and changes
• color scheme options were often 'forgotten' by site (cookie-based settings)

 

• Smaller graphic
• refined "briefly today" area

Replaced because

• ActiveX/VBScript caused problems with Netscape
• frames made it hard to bookmark

• Actual picture of Goble Creek on side bar, which was used for current info (sort of like what "briefly" became)
• Introduction of Frames to simplify coding on 'under' pages

Replaced because

• Goble Creek Graphic made the top bar look funny
• More of a 'refinement' than a 'replacement'.

• Buttons rather than pictures
• Cleaner - no visible table borders
• Very into the whole Mars Pathfinder thing!
• HTML Buttons to get to different sections - started storing pages rather than replace them

Replaced because

• Pathfinder picture took FOREVER to load
• Every page had header imbedded.  Changes were a pain.

• Preserved Pre-"Windows 95" look.
• "under" pages were pretty simple to design - "X" was back button

Replaced because

• Graphic Loaded slow - dialup
• Wanted more flexibility
• Wanted to go back to 'regular' website format
• the map for the links kept getting screwed up

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Added to the site in 2000