The version of DetroitHockey.Net that launched in November of 2008 was intended to clean up several problems that had started happening on the site in the two years since its last redesign.
First and foremost was that the Invision Power Board software was intended to be used with a wider site template, so in the site’s forums there were overlapping content areas.
Secondly, I had been forced to ad banner advertisements to the site and the 2006 redesign didn’t take those into consideration, which meant the ads appeared to be forced into the content area on each page.
The new site design used a semi-fluid layout, with widths defined absolutely in pixels but heights defined in ems so as to allow sections to grow if the browser font size was adjusted. Areas in the template deemed to be more graphical than textual were defined entirely with pixels to keep more control over the look of those spaces.
The content from the right-hand column of the old design of the site was moved up into the header of the new template, having the added side-effect of making it more visible.
Additionally, drop-down menus were added to the site’s navigation bar, providing an easier method for users to find content across the site.
The above text and image were copied directly from my original portfolio as I imported it over to the blog. It was not updated for re-publishing.