Welcoming the New Year with a New Look!

Sunday, December 30th, 2007

It is 2008 already, well not yet, but it will be before most of you read this. It will be January 1st at least in the Central Pacific Ocean island of Kiritimati (Christmas Island) , the first city to usher in the New Year…. I can’t believe how fast this year went. An year older and hopefully a tiny bit wiser… The only New Year resolution from last year that I stuck to was the No More Poker resolution. Those who know me personally will know what a major accomplishment that is for me! The big thanks goes to this blog, for keeping me occupied. I haven’t really thought of any new resolutions for the next year, other than the regular ones like eat healthy, hit the gym, save money etc.

As far this blog is concerned, I just finished an year of blogging. I already did the reminiscence post, this post is about looking ahead. There is a fresh look for Live To Eat, I was so bored with the old theme, the change was way overdue. I finally got the time to sit and code and customize to achieve what I hope is a unique look. I am so happy I switched to Wordpress, it is truly a powerful platform, you can customize the heck out of it.

The design change is as much about usability, as it is about the new fresh look. So, I want to highlight some changes that you might find helpful.

Homepage:- The home page is now a magazine layout, where only the latest article is featured. You can also see the last four recipes with thumbnails and the last three restaurant reviews on the home page. The regular navigation elements like the Recent Posts, Categories, Monthly Archives etc are available too.

If you want the old fashioned layout where the past 10 posts are visible in one page, select a monthly archive view from the Archives section on the sidebar .

Recipe Index - I have been working on a completely automated, user friendly categorized index for the posts here. And finally I have something I am really proud of. You can browse the recipes by cuisine, by type or by ingredient, along with the thumbnails of all the dishes. From a technical standpoint, making an automated thumbnail index is my proudest accomplishment. Any feedbacks or suggestions welcome.

Restaurant Index - Same as the recipe index, restaurant index is automated too, albeit the thumbnails. You can browse restaurants by neighborhood or by cuisine.

Other than this, you can select a category from the navigation bar on the right, to view all the posts from that category.

If none of these helps in finding what you are looking for, just type in a search term in the search box on the top right, that will show you all the posts with that search term.

Any feedback on the usability and design are welcome. I am sure there are small kinks I have to sort out, but hope you enjoy the new look.

Wishing everyone a fun-filled year ahead!

Sorry about another non-food related post. I will make up for it soon.

Don’t forget Monthly Mingle Grill It!

I am hosting Monthly Mingle this month. The theme is Grilling and the deadline is August 15th.

Check out the details here.

Comments

27 Responses to “Welcoming the New Year with a New Look!”

Raaga on December 31st, 2007 1:23 am

I’m the first here to comment. Love the new look Sig.

Happy New Year to Siv and you.

Hugs,
A

That you are Happy New Year to you too sweetie…
Raaga on December 31st, 2007 1:53 am

Nothing major planned… small get together at home… friends… cake will be cut at midnight… and only wine flows this time, nothing else

Sounds like fun… Let the wine flow by gallons
sra on December 31st, 2007 4:24 am

Looks nice, but I thought there would be brighter colours - that’s not to say the current look isn’t good. That line beneath the blog name is new isn’t it?

Siv thought the same, he thought it was a little too plain for me… I wanted a nuetral, simple look, where the content will make it colorful, not the template… Let’s see.

And the line, it was always there, it’s been the tagline for my blog for ever, but got lost in the previous “colorful” template I guess
Padmaja on December 31st, 2007 4:27 am

Sig!!! Amazing n Refreshing look!!! Love it sweetie!!!A very happy new year to you n Siv!!!

Thanks P… Hope you are feeling better! Happy New Year to you too…
Srivalli on December 31st, 2007 5:09 am

Sig, lovely template!..gives a cool and refreshed relaxed look!..

Wish you a great year ahead!

Thanks Srivalli… Glad you liked the template, wish you a happy new year!
Nirmala on December 31st, 2007 5:15 am

Looks lovely! Wish you and your family a great new year!

Thanks again Nirmala, I fished your comment out of spam :). Wish you a wonderful new year too…
sunita on December 31st, 2007 6:14 am

Sig, Love then new look wishing you all the best in the coming year.

Thanks Sunita, glad you like the new look… Wish you a joyous new year!
Pravs on December 31st, 2007 7:24 am

Nice work, sig! Wishing you the best for the brand new year!

Thanks Pravs, wish you the same!
Rajitha on December 31st, 2007 7:37 am

wowie!! very very nice ms.talented..wish you a year of success and happiness sig…waiting to see what 2008 brings to your blog

Thanks sweetie… Wishing you the same, and I too am waiting to see the same
shilpa on December 31st, 2007 8:24 am

This look is great Sig. Love it….

Wish you a very happy and prosperous new year

Thanks Shilpa! My new year wishes to you too!
Mishmash! on December 31st, 2007 8:59 am

Change is always good……and liked the new style too

Wishing you and Siv a wonderful year ahead

Take Care
Shn

Thanks Shn… I totally agree, change is always good… glad you liked the style… Wish you a Happy New Year!
richa on December 31st, 2007 9:47 am

coooooooool !!!
love the new look, the home page layout is gorgeous, great job sweetie
Best Wishes for 2008! Look forward to many more yummy posts in the new year.
hugs

Thanks Richa… I am glad you liked the homepage… Wish you the very best New Year!
Aparna on December 31st, 2007 10:58 am

Very nice look. A great way to begin the new year.
May 2008 bring you all that you wish for.

Thanks Aparna… Wish you a joyous new year…
Suganya on December 31st, 2007 11:37 am

Tiny bit wiser? Yah, Right ;). Home page looks fab. Happy New Year Sig.

one can surely hope, right? Thanks Suganya, and wish you a wonderful new year too…
Asha on December 31st, 2007 1:02 pm

A very happy new year to you Sweetie. Glad you stuck to last year’s resolution!
I usually don’t have any, but I will have few this year. Have a great time, see you in the brand new year tomorrow. Hugs!:))
Beautiful new look btw.I am scared to change anything!:P

:)Thanks Asha… Happy New Year to you too… Don’t be afraid of change…
Mansi on December 31st, 2007 1:37 pm

Looks great Sig!! couldn’t have been better:)

Thanks Mansi.
evolvingtastes on December 31st, 2007 4:18 pm

Lovely new look! Happy New Year to you too.

Thanks ET!
Lata on December 31st, 2007 4:38 pm

Sig,

I really love the new look on your site. I have been trying so much to change my site but nothing seems to be attractive. I hope I will change the look of it in the coming year. Wishing you a great New Year ahead and I hope to see more of your recipes.

Lata

Thanks Lata! I know, it is a hard thing to change the look, it takes a lot of work… Good luck… And Happy New Year to you!
Susan from Food Blogga on December 31st, 2007 6:12 pm

Two thumbs up on your new look! May 2008 bring you much joy.

Thanks Susan…
Revathi on December 31st, 2007 7:26 pm

New look is very very cool. I liked your header very much… Happy New Year to you and Siv !

Thanks Revathi… Glad you liked the header, that took me the longest time
Sudha on December 31st, 2007 8:55 pm

Love the new look!!! It looks so cool and sophisticated Wish you and your family a wonderful New Year!!!!

Thanks Sudha! Wish you and yours a wonderful 2008!
Ramya on December 31st, 2007 9:55 pm

The new template is gr8!!! New Year wishes to both of you

Thanks Ramya!
CW on December 31st, 2007 10:06 pm

Sig, the new layout looks smashing!!
This’s kinda freaky..but I was jus gonna comment here when I saw yours! Telepathy, eh?
Wishing you a gloriously happy, successful and fun-filled year ahead! Rock on!

that is telepathy indeed.. Thanks CW, hope you had a great new year’s eve bash…
Nags on January 1st, 2008 9:18 pm

lovely new look Sig. Am so jealous! But have a great year with the great new look.

Thanks N, glad you liked it..
Shantanu on January 1st, 2008 9:34 pm

Great job with the new layout, Sig! I love your choice of colors and images too.

Thanks Shantanu Hope you had a great New Year’s eve…
femila on January 2nd, 2008 12:19 pm

Hey Sig,

Its so long since I clicked on your blog. Totally Love this new look:-) Keep doing all the good stuff in 2008! Love it.

Femila.

Hey Fem, it is soooo good to see you here… Thanks
Mamatha on January 4th, 2008 8:19 pm

Very nice Sig! I really like the new look - very usable (not that the old one wasn’t) - and the automated thumbnail is a great feature.

Thanks Mamatha, I am glad you liked the new features