When I speak of this site, I call it my Vanity Site. The URL makes it so.

Lately, I've been getting back into creating web pages. I have some projects, and I need to get back into the swing. Next up, this site needs to be scrapped, and something new needs to appear.

The content will be the essays I write. As they pile up, I'll need to create some sort of navigation so you can find them.

Design and re-design of the user interface (UI) can be constant, and will not alter the essays. But, the essays can affect the design.

For the travel site, Wandering on Earth, I need to create such a structure. I have essays, I have a lot of pictures. Each page will be designed to display the content in the best way. This is not a new idea. It's been happening the whole time. The art of typesetting is to simply present the text in the best way possible.

I need to design each essay from scratch. Each page will have three (maybe four) designs, each for a specific sized screen. There will be countless tidbits learned.

So... home page. I'd say make the current doo-hickey the home page, and add a route into the essays. That's the only link off the home page. The other bits are the home page, just not everything is exposed at all times. I think the idea of pages with depth, can be very useful. But not every page needs depth.

Then, some sort of index. A table of contents. Easy to read, but not boring. Maybe a small logo to represent each title. Could be a collection of squares. One would image a collection of float lefts in the css. Stick them in a div that is positioned and constrained in size, so that the boxes never turn into a single horizontal line. (Think the cash register at any fast food place. They have pictured buttons of the stuff they sell.) This needs to be a simple and inviting UI. Of course, each of those logo buttons can be pointing to another index of logo buttons. There could be a larger story, that is made by several essays.

And I'll probably refine these ideas even before this essay hits the web.

A very important point should also be noted. Beyond the basic design, there will be no grand top-down design of the UI. A logo button will be created when an essay is written that requires it.

Content Drives Design

Why do any of this? I'm hoping this work helps me design Wandering on Earth. These new ideas can be worked and worked. As new content is created, the publishing process will evolve. One goal is easier publishing.

At some point, I can imagine that a new travel site will be a branch of this site, for prototyping purposes. As each is accepted, it can be copied to the actual website location. Just pick up the files, and upload. The Vanity Site can keep it's copy as a testing ground.

Yes, I love making plans.