A Simple Task Turns Into A Huge Project
June 19th, 2008 by ComputerBob
My mind is reeling — going off in 6 different directions at once.
The relatively simple task of adding WordPress to this web site has EXPLODED into a long series of complicated procedures that would challenge an experienced project manager.
I found a multi-column technique that appears to fit my needs — at least it works for this web site without WordPress. You can find a description of it at HTMLSource.co.uk and at
PositionIsEverything.net. I created a test page using it and then visited BrowserShots.org to make sure that it displays correctly in all major browsers in Linux, Windows and the Mac.
So far so good.
However, I’m concerned that all of the WordPress themes that fit my needs also have 2 or more columns of their own. Will those existing WordPress columns “play nicely” if I embed them into an existing multi-column layout? I’ve been too busy to even test that possibility yet.
Another issue that I’ve run into is that the names of this site’s major layout divs conflict with the names of the WordPress divs. It makes perfect sense to name your site’s header div “header” and name its footer div “footer” — until you add someone else’s script to your site (like WordPress) and you discover that its designers also thought it was a good idea to give their divs by those exact same names.
So now I’ll have to rename all of this site’s layout divs to cb_name, to make sure that they are unique. That wouldn’t be such a big deal, except that this site uses many divs that will have to be changed in thousands of different pages. Search and replace works, but I know from hard experience that it needs to be done EXTREMELY carefully, since the slightest typo can easily mess up thousands of web pages. It also has to be done in such a way that this site’s web pages will display correctly even while they’re being uploaded with their new div names.
In addition, for SEO reasons, the multi-column layout technique that I’ve chosen to use puts the XHTML code of my left navigation column div after the XHTML code of my primary content div, and then uses CSS floats to display the navigation column div before the primary content div. That means that I’m going to have to design a way to do multiple search and replaces that will move the XHTML code of my left navigation column div after the XHTML code of my primary content div on every single one of this web site’s thousands of web pages.
On top of all of that, I’m very quickly coming to the point where — despite how much work it’s going to take to do it — it will probably be easier to start all over again with a brand new, minimalistic CSS file, and add new styles to it, instead of trying to make strategic changes that would require me to surgically remove or totally rewrite many sections of its huge, existing CSS file.
Of course, all of these issues are intertwined in myriad ways, so any change to one of them can cause unexpected domino effects. And they also all affect other things on this web site, like my Survivors Forum. So every time I make even the tiniest change, I have to test and retest, to see if/how it messes anything up — while at the same time, try to keep this web site’s pages up and running normally, so that its visitors won’t see my “construction mess.”
It feels kind of like I started to add a new stereo to my car, but I ended up trying to replace its engine, transmission, doors and windows — while I’m driving it down the highway. I had exactly the same feeling several years ago when I completely redesigned this site to use XHTML code and CSS layout. If I remember correctly, it took four months of careful planning, followed by a couple of weeks of intense marathon coding sessions — including one 37-hour session — to finish that redesign.
This is going to be a whole lot of work — and it’s very difficult work that takes a lot of planning, mental juggling, testing and concentration — but in the end, I’m confident that this site:
- Will have more powerful features.
- Will be much more interactive.
- Will run faster.
- Will be much easier to maintain.
I hope that it will be worth all of this work.
Until I get everything all worked out — which I’m sure will take many more days — you can find my most recent Journal entries in the temporary “ComputerBob’s Journal” section of my Survivors Forum.
So don’t be surprised if you see anything that doesn’t quite look right, as this site starts to “evolve” into its new simpler look. Just remember, I’m working on it.
I have a feeling there’s going to be lots more fun ahead. Stay tuned!
P.S. For the past few years, I’ve repeatedly tried to figure out why this web site’s pages scrolled VERY SLOWLY in my Firefox browser in Linux. Yesterday, I finally fixed that problem! When I removed the background “cloud” image, scrolling suddenly became instantaneous. But I discovered that the problem wasn’t that I was using a background image — the problem was that I had configured the background image to be “fixed.” In other words, the clouds stayed in one place while the rest of each web page scrolled up and down “in front” of the clouds. I thought it was a cool effect, but I bet hardly anyone else even noticed it.
Anyway, all I had to do to fix the slow-scrolling problem was delete the following line from several places in this web site’s CSS file:
background-attachment:fixed;
After that, I could scroll up and down all of this web site’s pages instantaneously, even though they still have their background image!
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Coding, Internet, Personal, Software, Web Development