The New Asteroid G

As you have probably notices, Asteroid G had gotten a makeover. By my current count this is the fifth redesign the site has gone through across its many iterations (and that doesn't even count the times it spent as The Domain and Musings of the Jewpacabrda). So why the redesign?

Well, for starters, the front page needed work. Admittedly I'm a serial website re-designer and once a site has sat long enough (read: about a year) I start to get annoyed by it. The previous (as of today) design of the site sat for over two years, which is some kind of record for me, but it wasn't the overall look that motivated the change so much as the desire to do something better with the front page of the site. it wasn't working for me, but it was close, and I wanted to try and make it better.

In my head Asteroid G fits into the same niche as other, much larger sites (like The AV Club and Giant Bomb). Obviously there's only one person working on this site most days, and our traffic is nowhere as big as those other sites, but it's always been my belief that if you want to play with the big boys you have to do what they're do, at least as well (if not better). I regularly go to those other sites and study what they do with their layout so I can see what works, what doesn't, and optimize Asteroid G accordingly.

Much of the basic layout of this site makes me quite happy. The last redesign, in 2019, saw a revamp of the article layouts and since then I haven't felt much need to touch them. They're the meat and potatoes of this site, and from the basic layout to the sub-navs that will lead you deeper into the archive, I'm happy with everything overall. I may do minor tweaks here or there but nothing I would consider substantial enough for a new redesign of the whole layout.

The front page, though... wow, it needed work. It was basically just a list with some banners that would show up and it didn't really feel cohesive. The new front page, though, sees priority given to the newest items, highlighting them properly at the top in nice, big format links. Newest entry (especially those that are part of a regular feature) get the top banner of the site, followed by three "widgets" that highlight the next three newest items. That way if you come to the site the four newest entries are all right there, up front and "above the fold" in an easy to find format.

While I was at it I did also put a Podcasts link in the menu. That was one addition I knew was needed as we're now into the fourth season of the 'cast and it was hard to get right to the podcasts in general if you didn't know which item on the index to click. A menu button that takes you right there is much better.

And, of course, I gave everything a new coat of paint. Redid the stars and planets design, added a little splash and flair, and made it all sing the way I wanted, on desktop and various mobile layouts. And, as a bonus, everything (except the podcasts pages, which have their own players) is free of Javascript; it's just HTML and CSS here, the way I like it for the smoothest (and lightest) browsing experience.

Anyway, that's enough blowing smoke up my shirt. Enjoy the next layout and I'll see you in another year when I inevitably decide I have to redo everything all over again.