azahar-sevilla
When I chose a new theme for Sevilla Tapas last month I had no idea how much work it was going to be, as quite a few changes needed to be made. I’ve been very fortunate to have Kim helping me get things set up there and I think her work is almost done, though we keep coming up with more ideas for changes. And so, as if I didn’t have enough to do already, yesterday I decided that the main azahar-sevilla website needed to have a new theme as well…
And that’s basically what I did yesterday. Kim was off the hook this time as it’s kind of a do-it-yourself theme and, aside from a few “uh oh, now what?” moments, I was able to make all the changes I wanted. It also helped me focus on what I wanted to do with that site, other than use it to link to my various blogs & websites. I think I’m going to turn it into an “about Seville” info place, which could be fun. Plus it’s another place to put advertising, which may help generate some much needed income.
So, what do you think? The theme originally had three header images that rotated whenever you refreshed the page. I was going to stick with just one image, but after trying out the orange blossom and orange slices headers I couldn’t decide which one I liked better so I’ve decided to keep them both for now and have them rotate.Ā Who knows, I may end up with no image there at all. And that poster in the centre of the page is going to go once I start writing some content, so it won’t look quite so “cluttered” as it does now.
Sevilla Tapas should be finished in another couple of weeks. I still have to put map links in and rewrite most of the reviews, plus re-upload most of the photos so they have the watermark on them and get more affiliate stuff happening. And I’ve decided to maintain the Spanish version as well, which will mean even more work but I think it’ll be worth it. I’ve never worked so hard and had so much fun. It looks like I’ve finally found the work I truly enjoy and would do whether I got paid or not … though of course getting paid is definitely part of the plan.
Time to start using hmh’s mantra, I think.Ā š
casa azahar 
I like the blossoms myself, but then I thought wouldn’t it be neat if those were just the spring header, then later in the year it could be oranges on the tree, and later the orange slices.
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I like the oranges, they have more apeel. (I know you’re laughing in the inside)
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Then again, maybe you should use these flowers in the spring:
http://public.fotki.com/clzoomer/sevilla-2008/dscn0109.html
š
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Groan….
Hey, Zoomer, you managed not to post the link to your H2G2 space!
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looks great Az
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I got a comment from someone elsewhere saying the theme was “awfully busy” (which will change) and that it also “looked old”. Then I was asked if it mattered what they thought of it, and yes, it does matter. Which was why I’ve asked for feedback.
I mean, it doesn’t really matter if anyone but me likes this casa az theme, because it’s just my personal blog (though of course I hope it doesn’t put people off). But the other webpages are supposed to attract people, and so if there are things that people don’t like about them then I should listen to those opinions and make adjustments.
This new theme comes with an extensive “theme options” page and is quite easily adjustable. For example, I can have only one sidebar and make it wider. I can change the set width of the page or make it fluid, change the style of posts and pages, and lots of other stuff, without having to go into the CSS editor (and pester Kim).
I expect that the fotki and amazon widgets are going to end up a bit further down the page once there is some content, as I’ll be putting page links, categories, recent comments, etc near the top. That’ll cut down on the “awfully busy” visual you get now when the page first opens. And I think I’ll get rid of the little click-on images under “casa az”, “azahar natural clothing”, “travelblog”, etc, on the righthand sidebar. Also, the posts in the centre of the page will mostly be text, though I’m not sure how I’m going to organise that yet.
Any other suggestions? Does the rotating header work for you or would a fixed one be better? Should I add a third with oranges on trees?
Oh, well done on not posting your h2g2 link, zoomer. š
And thanks for posting the mantra, hmh. š
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A mi definitivamente me gusta mĆ”s el del azahar, puesto que es el nombre de la flor, mĆ”s congruente, mĆ”s original y menos visto. AdemĆ”s el de la naranja parece de un anuncio de zumos š ĀæRecuerdas Shawn aquel anuncio del primo de Zumosol? Bezitos.
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zoomer, I am a sucker for puns and I liked that one! I obviously don’t spend enough time thinking in terms of making money on the internet. I feel certain that this will end up being a very good thing for you.
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I’ve just added a third header with oranges on the tree. I think once the sidebar gets less cluttered the rotating headers will work just fine. What do you think?
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Quite a few changes made today. And I quite like those ‘share this’ buttons!
Oh, and no, I don’t remember those Zumosol ads, Pablo. I think if the orange slices were the only header then they might not work so well. But as you navigate around the site, every time you click on a new page or post you get a different header (well, one out of three) which I think I’ll try out for awhile. So with blossoms, oranges on the tree (thanks for the idea, hmh) and then orange slices, it kind of comes full circle. And fits in with my name.
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Hmm. I’m liking it better now, still don’t like all the movement from the two widgets. If you have to have stuff like that jumping around, maybe you could put it on just one side, so your eyes don’t have to keep jerking back and forth. Makes me nuts. Or more nuts than usual.
Love the pretty oranges banner picture.
Lot of work, isn’t it? Do you like doing it, or is it a pain? It seems like a very creative process, larded liberally with tedious bits.
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“a very creative process, larded liberally with tedious bits”
That actually describes it very well, Beth. And I admit that doing a new theme for azahar-sevilla was a bit of an escape from some of the drudge work I still have to do on Sevilla Tapas.
I agree with you about the two moving widgets. I tried them both on one side (like I have them on Sevilla Tapas) but that didn’t work either. Maybe I’ll change the Amazon one to a static widget for the new theme.
I’m liking it a lot better than yesterday too, now that I’ve toned things down a bit.
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All I see is that lovely blue sky and think: why do I live up here in a permanent netherworld of grey?
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I meant to ask, are those orange blossoms in the header? I have yet to see them.
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There are three rotating headers, zoomer.
One is of orange blossoms (azahar).
One is of oranges in the tree.
One is of orange slices.
So when you click on a new post or page you get a different header image. The concept is growing on me…
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I like the idea of rotating headers. It always makes a person sit up when they see the new picture even if they saw it last rotation, or at least I do.
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Did you take down the orange blossom header? All I’m getting is orange slices and oranges in the tree. I want to see orange blossoms (pout). Not only that, the two headers aren’t rotating on any kind of predictable basis. You might get one or the other of them two or three times in a row. That’s jarring to me, I either want a static header, or I want on that rotates in some semblance of order. But that’s just me.
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The orange blossom header is still there, Silverstar. I agree with you that it would be better if the headers rotated with some semblance of order, but I don’t know if that’s possible or it’s just random. It seems to be more “orderly” if you click on different pages or posts, rather than just refreshing the page.
Anyhow, the first blog post is up!
The plan is to do a weekly post there (every Sunday) on a Seville-related topic. The post that is there now will remain “sticky” for the time being, as it is also being used as a suggestion box for future topics.
If you have any suggestions, please drop by and leave a comment.
http://azahar-sevilla.com/
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Having the three headers rotate in an orderly fashion is certainly possible . It would require judicious use of cookies. How feasible that is within the WordPress framework I don’t know.
That’s not the only option, of course. You can have all three all the time. Compare http://offalysports.ie/Programmes (there’s only two images there, but the javascript code will work just as well with many more).
And, if you had more images (anything over six would be my judgement) it might be worthwhile doing a little more clever stuff with javascript so that when you move from one page to the next you don’t start back at the beginning of the array. You carry on where you left off.
All things are possible. The simple fader might be the easiest to implement. The memory fader would be far more fun to code, but would probably take ages.
TRiG.
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With Kim’s help I’ve got the changing images thing happening over on Sevilla Tapas, TRiG, but I think I prefer headers that rotate when the page is updated on the other website. There’s already a lot going on there, and I’ve even changed the Amazon widget to a static one.
So far nobody seems to like the orange slices header except me. š
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I do, too!
Like the orange slices, I mean.
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