HeadsetOptions Web Design, SEO, WordPress, Etcetra

When I started helping wpSnap on some of their technical issues last year, I realized that there was a lot of room to improve with the way conditional tags were written and addressed to produce the site that has among other things, featured listings, blogs and other WP themes all meshed into one pile of data in the backend. So when I was asked to redesign¹ the site last month, I went a step ahead and offered to redo the backend as well.

The most prolific of issues on wpSnap (and other multi-author sites) seem to have stemmed from a new feature that was rolled into WordPress version 2.6, which was the creation of a new database table “per edit” to allow the option to rollback in the event the edit was made accidentally. What this does is that it clutters your database and loses the continuity that one would hope with your post ID numbers.

The clean up was a hack of a sort since it is not (yet) an option within the WP Admin panel that lets one turn off the auto save feature, also, since it is not a security issue, there is no reason why this feature/function might ever be reverted.

Aside from that, the conditional tags used were outdated and numerous loose ends that were not tied together, especially in pagination and navigation.

In all, there is no code on wpSnap now that existed per-reboot. We did recycle some graphics, logo, favicon and such. One major addition was the introduction of “OIO Publisher” advertisement management system to the main site and blog.

wpSnap Old and New Design (Click to enlarge)

Also, wpSnap now sports a fresh new grid based visuals using the Blueprint CSS framework, which we have used on all commissioned work this year. Check the screenshot of the old design and compare it with the new look. Also, visit wpSnap and show some love, let them know what you think about the redesign while you are there!

¹We are a Richmond VA based web design studio and accept work online and in the Greater Richmond Metroplitan Area!