Welcome to version 3 of MotoGP Report. Version 2 was short lived, going live in September of 2008 and falling to the archives in January of 2009. It was too constrictive in layout, having only a thin page available for articles and a sidebar that never really fit in with the rest of the layout. I spent the last two nights reworking the design, creating graphics, and playing with the layout. This is what I’ve come up with, and I hope you enjoy it. For those that are interested in this sort of thing, keep reading for details on the future direction of the site and its design, including a brief trek through its past.
Unconstrained
The new layout is a bit of an experiment. There is nothing on either side of the content. No sidebar, no annoying ads, just nice blank space. This is by design. I tire of websites that try to add every single option for every single function right to the side of what I’m trying to read. It’s a distraction from the core reason I’m on that site, to read their article. By leaving the sides blank you can enjoy the content distraction free. There is nothing for your eyes to flick to at the end of a sentence, nothing flashing, trying to get you to click away before you finish an article. Just fresh, blank space.
Subscription Options
Dealing with the modern internet has never been easier. You can follow websites through any number of methods, and designers can clutter up their interface with any number of options for your subscription. If you want to subscribe to MotoGP Report, you can use the RSS icon located in the address bar of most modern web browsers. I’ve also included a small row of buttons in the upper right hand corner in case your browser is missing that button.
Included in that corner is an option to subscribe via email if you prefer that, though I suggest RSS as it’s much faster. In addition is the new option to follow MotoGP Report on Twitter. We’re set up to notify twitter of an article shortly after it gets posted, and I semi-regularly post my thoughts on MotoGP in the Twitter stream. It’s a great way to stay in contact and I plan to use it more in the coming season. More on that later.
What’s Missing?
Not much, really. There isn’t a list of categories, they wouldn’t be very useful for most readers and just clutter up the interface. Same goes for tag clouds and the like. The search box at the top of the site is much more useful than a list of tags or categories anyway, and should be used in place of lists. Information about the site and me can be found where it belongs, in the footer, out of the way unless you need it.
The case of the missing header image? Nah, I just don’t have the rights to enough photographs to do the layout justice. MotoGP changes so fast it’s too easy to get behind on the current motorcycle design or riders numbers. Imagine a photo permanently showing Jorge Lorenzo’s old number 48 machine while he’s now number 99, or Nicky Hayden still on his old Repsol Honda, stuck to the top of a site designed to keep up with the latest news and trends from the sport. It may not be obvious what the sites intention is at first if you don’t know what MotoGP is, but on a targeted site such as this, if you don’t know what MotoGP is you’re probably not going to learn the basics here. Though you could check out our FAQ to try and get up to speed.
What’s To Come?
In place of a row to the side of the content we’re going to add columns in the footer. These should make an appearance over the next few days. There will be one for recent articles and news items that have slipped from the front page. And another, more important one that contains recent results from practice sessions and races. Over a race weekend there are usually six posts just to cover session results. Things get pushed off of the front page quickly and these lists will help you find what you need.
I have some pretty exciting plans for the official MotoGP Report twitter feed in the coming season. I encourage you to follow the feed, and if you don’t know what twitter is, give the button a press and find out. As the season gets closer I will reveal more details on our Twitter plans, but in the mean time it is alerted on every posting. It’s also where I add site news and thoughts that don’t justify a full article.
A Look Back
Version One: It was just a WordPress theme that I found somewhere. Heavily modified to fit the needs of the site at the time. It served it’s purpose well and was a lot of fun working with. Click here to see an image of it.
Version Two: Short lived, but fun to build. I learned a lot by making that navigation bar at the top. It’s one image across with CSS controlling the hover, pressed, and active state. Designed after the navigation bar that Apple uses on their site, here it is in full. For a look at the design of the whole site, click here.
That’s It
I hope you enjoy the new design and all future refinements. 2009 should be an exciting season with the new rules and cloudy outlook on some manufacturers’ futures. Valentino Rossi is going to try to retain his recently regained crown. Casey Stoner wants it back, though Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa have plans of their own. Guys like Nicky Hayden and Sete Gibernau are going to get acclimated to their new machines quickly to battle as hard as they can. And nobody will be able to complain about unfair tire advantages. That’s unless the worsening economic situation doesn’t kill off the rest of the teams.