The blog redesign that was planned for this month consists of two stages: aesthetical and structural. The first part focuses on changing the blog design to make it more usable across different form facotrs of devices, including phones, tablets, computer, and laptops, with responsive design and several changed elements as key changes to the blog site, and the second part focuses on introducing new subcategories to organize our blog posts to make them easier to access with a single distinct topic rather than multiple topics in one category, while re-categorizing existing blog posts in batches from the newest posts to the oldest posts.
Now, we are so excited to announce that the first part of the Aptivi blog redesign is complete as of June 4th!
Blog design in mobile phones
This redesign took a lot of effort, because we needed to consider many factors when performing this kind of redesign to make it more readable and accessible in different form factors we’ve explained above. With the help of responsive design, we’ve managed to tackle the usability problem when it comes to trying to come up with a usable look and feel in mobile phones.
We have also adjusted how the cover photos for our articles, including those on the sidebar and the list of blog articles, appear, with the aspect ratio now being consistent to make sure that the uniformity of our blog’s design becomes more apparent. With the usage of dynamic sizing of elements, they are now more adaptive to different form factors, ensuring that all users have a comfortable experience when viewing our blog, be it on a phone, a tablet, or a computer.
We have tested the redesign to ensure that our ideas and implementations of responsive design, which we’ve already previously implemented on the official Aptivi website, work great on those form factors. The following devices were used during our evaluation:
- Tablet: Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 (SM-X700): 2560x1600, 16:10, ~274 ppi
- Phone: Samsung Galaxy A57 (SM-A576B): 1080x2340, 19.5:9, ~385 ppi
- Laptop: ASUS ROG STRIX SCAR 16 (G635LX): 2560x1600, 8:5, ~144 ppi
We have also taken the High DPI display support into account to ensure that our blog is readable across different display panels that have different DPI values, with sharp visuals.
Changed elements for better appearance
In addition to the responsive blog design in mobile phones, the design of the elements have been changed to give you a more comfortable experience when reading our articles. Additionally, we have gotten rid of unnecessary elements in some pages and used a bold, modern design language to ensure that it remains consistent with the main Aptivi website.
We’ve also added some of the elements to the blog’s home page, including a more clear representation of the 5 most recent posts from Aptivi Newsroom, as well as the acknowledgements and a brief history of Aptivi in bullet points. Various element colors have also been changed to be more consistent and harmonious. Additionally, WordPress 7.0 has introduced a new set of blocks, including the Breadcrumb block, which shows you the current place, including the post’s categories, and the Icon block, which shows you one icon from more than 80+ icons.
What’s next?
As the first part of the blog redesign is now complete, here we are with the second part of the plan, which is introducing new subcategories in our blog to allow you to find blog posts that are related to a topic, such as Linux news. This part of the plan is expected to finish by June 13th.
