Website Update 2021-11

The old website felt stale, so I did some dusting. I cleared some of the cobwebs from nooks and crannies. Applied a little bit of paint. I’m feeling good about it.

I thought about doing a full redesign with a new theme. I looked at some of the more popular themes out there, and I wasn’t feeling anything. I got a few ideas from window shopping. Luckily, Mantra is pretty flexible. It’s the same old theme I’ve been using for… eight years? No, wait! I’ve been using WordPress for nine years. Time keeps on chugging, and Mantra continues to allow me to do what I want.

I updated quite a few things. I changed from full posts to excerpts on the main, archive, and category pages. I added featured images to all of the posts that have images. I did not like the pages scrolling forever, even with only five posts per page. There are now ten posts per page, and I think it scrolls a lot nicer.

I consolidated the main navigation for the blog; I wasn’t using the Tutorial and Shout Out pages. The WordPress part of the site is only hosting a blog, and a portal for other projects. With that, I decided to jump on the category train. I have over fifty posts, so I figured I’d categorize all of them, and add a category section to my side bar.

Speaking of the side bar I updated it. WordPress switched to a block editor long ago, while the side bar continued using the old style. There’s some minor spacing changes, but I think it looks nicer. I wanted to do my headings like this (except in blue), but I can’t figure out how to do it. I even tried to do a fresh install of WordPress and Mantra on a test system.

While I had to the test system up I noticed Mantra defaulted to a little wider content space. I decided to change my website to the new default. Unfortunately, my banner isn’t big enough. I slapped a band aid on it by changing the background color of the header to match the image. I think it looks okay. I can always whip up a new banner if I want to go back to the old style.

I updated Games of Remaster and Appendix pages. They match the blog, so hopefully it is less jarring for readers. Also, I think the blue is a little tough to read on. I will probably update my older archives to match, but I am going to wait on it a bit.

Right now, I am working on Games of 2021. I am really excited about! I have been using a new database, plus lots of scripts for formatting the stats. It is fun to see my hard work pay off. I need to slow down, because I need to finish the game I am playing before finalizing my list. There is also a possibility that I can slip in another game.

I am also going to put up another review for another game. I’m hoping it turns out better than the Halo one. That one isn’t my best writing. I still agree with the general sentiment, but I feel like it needed a little more time in the oven. A couple more passes through the editing machine (me) would have done wonders. I’m not taking it down; it’s there for the world. However, I might revisit it with a different post.

I think you are caught up. Bye.
-Royfuss