More On iPad Compatibility
02/06/10 02:20 Filed in: RapidWeaver Themes Web Design
Since we've gotten some questions about when our themes will offer complete iPad compatibility, I made a short video that explains what we've been working on, including a demo with iPad so you know what to expect when we start rolling out theme updates.
Enjoy~!
Enjoy~!
iPad Theme Support
06/04/10 23:18 Filed in: RapidWeaver Themes Web Design
Over the past few days we've gotten a flood of emails asking if our themes are compatible with Apple's new iPad, and asking we release updates soon.
Well, good news - our themes are already iPad compatible! The special link tags and javascript we use to target iPhone and other mobile users will only detect iPhone, iPod Touch, and Android-based devices. iPad users will automatically see the full desktop version of any sites you build with our themes.
That being said, we do need to make some minor adjustments to ensure that larger format websites (those with a width of greater than 700px) display on iPad without any "overflow". Since iPad's screen width in portrait mode is only 768 pixels, there's a possibility that larger websites may stretch beyond the boundaries that iPad can display.
If you don't want to wait until our theme updates are ready, you can add a meta tag to your RapidWeaver site under the "Header" tab in the Page Inspector. The Name value should be "viewport" (minus the quotation marks), and the Content value should be "initial-scale = 0.8" (again, without quotation marks). This is the same approach we'll use with our theme updates (at least until we find a more elegant solution).
UPDATE: We have found a more elegant solution, but it requires adding a custom iPad stylesheet and changing the template index.html file that is included with each theme. The brand new theme we're currently working on will use this approach, and we'll release updates for our other themes shortly after this new theme is released.
UPDATE: If you add the above described temporary fix for iPad, and then remove the built-in iPhone support from your site, you may need to add another meta tag to make sure iPhones properly display your site. As explained above, create a new meta tag in RapidWeaver with the same Name value ("viewport") but with a Content value of "width=960" (minus the quotation marks).
Hope this helps, and Happy Weaving~!
Well, good news - our themes are already iPad compatible! The special link tags and javascript we use to target iPhone and other mobile users will only detect iPhone, iPod Touch, and Android-based devices. iPad users will automatically see the full desktop version of any sites you build with our themes.
That being said, we do need to make some minor adjustments to ensure that larger format websites (those with a width of greater than 700px) display on iPad without any "overflow". Since iPad's screen width in portrait mode is only 768 pixels, there's a possibility that larger websites may stretch beyond the boundaries that iPad can display.
If you don't want to wait until our theme updates are ready, you can add a meta tag to your RapidWeaver site under the "Header" tab in the Page Inspector. The Name value should be "viewport" (minus the quotation marks), and the Content value should be "initial-scale = 0.8" (again, without quotation marks). This is the same approach we'll use with our theme updates (at least until we find a more elegant solution).
UPDATE: We have found a more elegant solution, but it requires adding a custom iPad stylesheet and changing the template index.html file that is included with each theme. The brand new theme we're currently working on will use this approach, and we'll release updates for our other themes shortly after this new theme is released.
UPDATE: If you add the above described temporary fix for iPad, and then remove the built-in iPhone support from your site, you may need to add another meta tag to make sure iPhones properly display your site. As explained above, create a new meta tag in RapidWeaver with the same Name value ("viewport") but with a Content value of "width=960" (minus the quotation marks).
Hope this helps, and Happy Weaving~!
New Site Design
08/10/09 23:27 Filed in: Web Design
Welcome to the new NimbleHost RapidWeaver Theme site!
I must admit, I like this new design much more than the previous version. The overall feel is much smoother and more professional.
The best part? It was built entirely with RapidWeaver! In fact, we simply took one of our current desktop themes (Mirage, if you want to know), and retooled the underlying code. We added bits and pieces here, took out some stuff over there, and the result is here before you. :-)
Hopefully you like it as much as we do, but even if you don't make sure to leave us a comment with your impressions. We love to hear from you~!
I must admit, I like this new design much more than the previous version. The overall feel is much smoother and more professional.
The best part? It was built entirely with RapidWeaver! In fact, we simply took one of our current desktop themes (Mirage, if you want to know), and retooled the underlying code. We added bits and pieces here, took out some stuff over there, and the result is here before you. :-)
Hopefully you like it as much as we do, but even if you don't make sure to leave us a comment with your impressions. We love to hear from you~!
Mirage v1.4 Update
03/10/09 23:22 Filed in: RapidWeaver Themes Web Design
I'm a little late posting about this update here on the blog. Most likely you've already heard about this, so I'll keep it short and simple.
Lots of good stuff. Lots less of bad stuff.
Okay...I realize that's a bit sparse on details ;-) - here's the complete lowdown:
- Even better IE6 support (dare I say, nearly perfect?...Okay, maybe not, but pretty darn close!)
- Added support for the brand new IE Google Chrome Frame Plugin
- You can now display your site logo, title, and slogan above a CrossSlide slideshow in the header
- Stylesheet management has been improved - All the default styles have been moved to Mirage’s base stylesheet. Mirage v1.4 now only loads ~7 stylesheets by default, and this means you can add more plugins to the same page without worrying (so much) about IE compatibility
- Increased the fade out speed of the drop down menu to improve overall menu performance
- Fixed a small bug that may have incorrectly displayed ExtraContent areas in the header image
- Fixed a small bug that incorrectly displayed the site logo, title, and slogan on the iPhone if you chose to display the header image below the main menu in the desktop version
Enjoy and Happy Weaving~!
Lots of good stuff. Lots less of bad stuff.
Okay...I realize that's a bit sparse on details ;-) - here's the complete lowdown:
- Even better IE6 support (dare I say, nearly perfect?...Okay, maybe not, but pretty darn close!)
- Added support for the brand new IE Google Chrome Frame Plugin
- You can now display your site logo, title, and slogan above a CrossSlide slideshow in the header
- Stylesheet management has been improved - All the default styles have been moved to Mirage’s base stylesheet. Mirage v1.4 now only loads ~7 stylesheets by default, and this means you can add more plugins to the same page without worrying (so much) about IE compatibility
- Increased the fade out speed of the drop down menu to improve overall menu performance
- Fixed a small bug that may have incorrectly displayed ExtraContent areas in the header image
- Fixed a small bug that incorrectly displayed the site logo, title, and slogan on the iPhone if you chose to display the header image below the main menu in the desktop version
Enjoy and Happy Weaving~!
Glide v1.7 Released
19/09/09 23:05 Filed in: RapidWeaver Themes Web Design
By now you probably know that the monstrous Glide update has officially been released.
*Whew!*
There's so much good stuff packed inside, what with the new drop-down menu version, support for CrossSlide and Pulse, and better IE and 3rd party plugin compatibility, that upgrading really is a no brainer.
So now that the update has been released, what's next?
*Gleeful cackle* Well, let's just say that I'm literally bursting with good ideas. And not just new and awesome themes, but also a new and even awesome-er Plugin. That's right, I'll be taking the leap down deep into the world of RapidWeaver 3rd party plugins here in the near future.
That being said, don't expect anything real soon - there's a learning curve to be had, and though the web-design portion of creating a plugin can be knocked out fairly simply, actually building the plugin involves some heavy duty Mac OS X programming skills.
I'm also considering putting together a monthly extended support program. Not really sure quite yet if this is going to happen just because of the tremendous time investment required, but there are so many people who ask me for custom css help and theme customization, that I'd like to make this available. Still thinking about that....
As a final tease, I took a break from working on the site redesign to write this...which means, you'll see the new design in the next few days if nothing drastic happens (fingers crossed). Stay tuned!
*Whew!*
There's so much good stuff packed inside, what with the new drop-down menu version, support for CrossSlide and Pulse, and better IE and 3rd party plugin compatibility, that upgrading really is a no brainer.
So now that the update has been released, what's next?
*Gleeful cackle* Well, let's just say that I'm literally bursting with good ideas. And not just new and awesome themes, but also a new and even awesome-er Plugin. That's right, I'll be taking the leap down deep into the world of RapidWeaver 3rd party plugins here in the near future.
That being said, don't expect anything real soon - there's a learning curve to be had, and though the web-design portion of creating a plugin can be knocked out fairly simply, actually building the plugin involves some heavy duty Mac OS X programming skills.
I'm also considering putting together a monthly extended support program. Not really sure quite yet if this is going to happen just because of the tremendous time investment required, but there are so many people who ask me for custom css help and theme customization, that I'd like to make this available. Still thinking about that....
As a final tease, I took a break from working on the site redesign to write this...which means, you'll see the new design in the next few days if nothing drastic happens (fingers crossed). Stay tuned!
Glide Update Coming
13/09/09 01:29 Filed in: RapidWeaver Themes Web Design
When I started working on this update to Glide, my biggest concern was making sure it could work with all the various plugins that our customers use, while still looking fantastic on all the various browsers out there. And that presented a problem because IE compatibility is a factor, which means we're limited in the number of theme options we can provide. IE only supports 30 stylesheets per page, and typical RapidWeaver themes serve one stylsheet per theme option.
A sticky problem.
Even so, I steeled myself against the challenge and significantly altered the underlying code that handles Glide's theme options. The result is an updated version of Glide will only serve about 11 stylesheets by default. Considering that v1.0 serves over 20 stylesheets by default, this is a huge improvement, meaning more plugins can be used on the same page, and IE compatibility is greatly improved (it was pretty good already).
Just to be clear, if Glide's defaults are changed, more stylesheets will be added - but we've also changed how some options are applied, so changing certain options will also reduce the number of stylesheets on the page. Pretty smooth~!
And if that's not enough, we've decided to include a brand new, drop-down menu version of Glide in this update free of charge.
Holy cow!
Of course, there is a catch to all this awesome theme update goodness - the price of Glide will go up to $24.95. The good news is that there's still time before the update is released, so if you get a copy now you'll get the update for free. A HUGE bargain.
Happy Weaving~!
A sticky problem.
Even so, I steeled myself against the challenge and significantly altered the underlying code that handles Glide's theme options. The result is an updated version of Glide will only serve about 11 stylesheets by default. Considering that v1.0 serves over 20 stylesheets by default, this is a huge improvement, meaning more plugins can be used on the same page, and IE compatibility is greatly improved (it was pretty good already).
Just to be clear, if Glide's defaults are changed, more stylesheets will be added - but we've also changed how some options are applied, so changing certain options will also reduce the number of stylesheets on the page. Pretty smooth~!
And if that's not enough, we've decided to include a brand new, drop-down menu version of Glide in this update free of charge.
Holy cow!
Of course, there is a catch to all this awesome theme update goodness - the price of Glide will go up to $24.95. The good news is that there's still time before the update is released, so if you get a copy now you'll get the update for free. A HUGE bargain.
Happy Weaving~!
Site Redesign Coming...
15/08/09 22:52 Filed in: Web Design
I’m not going to say it’s been a long time coming - especially since less than 6 months have passed since we launched the current version, but I am tremendously excited about this new design! True to our nature as a premier desktop and mobile RapidWeaver theme developer, the new site will look great on your iPhone (and those irksome IE browsers, too).
We’ve also got a new theme coming soon. If you like discounts (who doesn’t?) then make sure to join our mailing list - only previous customers and members of our mailing list get a 3 day head start and 25% discount on our new themes! Time’s ticking...
We’ve also got a new theme coming soon. If you like discounts (who doesn’t?) then make sure to join our mailing list - only previous customers and members of our mailing list get a 3 day head start and 25% discount on our new themes! Time’s ticking...
Unity v1.8 Now Available
30/05/09 18:36 Filed in: RapidWeaver Themes Web Design
This major update brings Unity up to par with Glide - pushes beyond it, actually. Here’s what changed:
- Fixed a lingering bug in IE 6/7 so that the sub menu displays properly
- Rewrote the FancyZoom script so it doesn’t conflict with 3rd party plugins (obviously we can’t test all possible scenarios, so let us know if you’re still running into any problems)
- Fixed formatting issues that caused TabLoom and WP-Blog pages to not display correctly
- Fixed the CSS sprite graphic used with blog icons - no more overlap or disembodied icons
- Increased the number of page headers from 10 to 30
- There are now options to hide both the page header and the sub menu located below it
- Added a more height options for the page header
- Added a Content Width Declaration option - for use when you hide the sidebar, you can use this option for any 3rd party plugins that need a declared width to fill the entire width of the main content area
- Changed some footer design elements so Unity displays well on larger resolution displays
- Added a couple of footer text/link color options
- Switched placement of the Menu and Sidebar buttons on the iPhone version
You can download the update installer from Unity’s features page. Keep in mind, you must have a copy of Unity installed on your mac already for the installer to work. As always, make sure to backup your data first before running the installer.
Happy Weaving~!
Theme Development Hurdles
22/04/09 21:15 Filed in: RapidWeaver Themes Web Design
It’s now been almost a year since we started developing themes for RapidWeaver. As many of you are aware, we focused on making mobile themes first, as there were no RapidWeaver themes specifically designed to be viewed on mobile devices at the time. There’s no doubt that everything is trending towards the mobile web.
Mobile web design is a different animal than your typical desktop variety. There are so many different and limiting factors that you really can’t compare the two at all, but I always thought the mobile space would remain the most challenging by far....
That was before we started working on desktop themes and had to build in compatibility for IE 6. I can now say, without pause or even the slightest bit of doubt, that developing with IE 6 compatibility in mind is a nightmare.
Take, for instance, our newest theme (which is currently out to our beta group). We were having a incredibly frustrating problem I’d never seen before. When hovering over one of the split level navigation menus, IE 6 (and 7, in this case) cut off the bottom portion of the content area. After hours of testing, applying various hacks, and googling until my eyes bled, we still hadn’t figured out what the problem was.
Next day we start afresh. Checked to see if any other coding gurus out there had come across similar problems...and just by chance stumbled across what is called the Guillotine bug. Bingo! The fix was simple, and IE 6/7 now play nice.
Mobile web design is a different animal than your typical desktop variety. There are so many different and limiting factors that you really can’t compare the two at all, but I always thought the mobile space would remain the most challenging by far....
That was before we started working on desktop themes and had to build in compatibility for IE 6. I can now say, without pause or even the slightest bit of doubt, that developing with IE 6 compatibility in mind is a nightmare.
Take, for instance, our newest theme (which is currently out to our beta group). We were having a incredibly frustrating problem I’d never seen before. When hovering over one of the split level navigation menus, IE 6 (and 7, in this case) cut off the bottom portion of the content area. After hours of testing, applying various hacks, and googling until my eyes bled, we still hadn’t figured out what the problem was.
Next day we start afresh. Checked to see if any other coding gurus out there had come across similar problems...and just by chance stumbled across what is called the Guillotine bug. Bingo! The fix was simple, and IE 6/7 now play nice.