Website Version: 29.06.01
Website Version: 29.06.01

Website Version: 29.06.01

Overhauled UI, improvements to the Feeds, restructuring of the Blog content, and changes to my About Me and Home Pages.

Donald Louch
June 1st, 2024 at 3:30pm
Github Release

Overhauled UI, improvements to the Feeds, restructuring of the Blog content, and changes to my About Me and Home Pages.

Welcome to the latest update of my website! This release brings a significant overhaul to the user interface (UI), improvements to the Feeds functionality, a restructuring of the Blog content, as well as, major changes to my About Me and Home Pages.

User Interface (UI) Enhancements

  • Component Library Upgrade: I've migrated from ChakraUI to
    Mantine
    , enabling a smoother and more visually appealing user experience.
  • Interactive Header:
    • The header now collapses while scrolling down and reappears upon scrolling up, offering a cleaner layout.
    • Hamburger Menu: Navigation has transitioned to a hamburger menu located on the top right for better accessibility.
  • Icon Revamp: Upgraded icons to
    Hugeicons
    for sharper vector graphics across the website.

Feeds Update: General Availability (GA)!

The Photography and Videography Feeds are now officially out of Alpha and Beta stages and now flagged as GA! This means these features are fully functional and ready for your exploration.

  • Pinned Content: The Feeds homepage now showcases pinned photos, videos, and blog posts for a quick glimpse into my latest creations.
  • Enhanced Photography Feed:
    • New filtering options: Search by tags, albums, and locations for a more streamlined browsing experience.
    • Improved UI balance: Optimized information display while maintaining a visually stunning presentation of my photography.
  • Improved Videography Player:
    • Increased video emphasis with a larger viewing area.
    • Enhanced user experience with a more spacious space for video descriptions and metadata.
    • Embedding functionality: Videos can now be embedded within blog posts
  • Content Linking:
    • On my Photography, Videography, and Blog Content I have made the initial start for adding links within to internal content and external content.
    • In future versions I'll be expending this to include more rich-deep-linking with embeds and other capabilities.

Blog Restructuring

  • Content Migration: All blog content has been relocated to the dedicated Feeds section.
  • Category Revamp: Blog categories have been streamlined into:
  • URL Structure Update:
    • Blog categories now follow the format: /blog/C/CATEGORY (e.g.,
      /blog/C/life
      ).
    • Blog tags follow the format: /blog/T/TAG (e.g.,
      /blog/T/Donald
      ).
  • Website Change Log Posts:
    • Website change logs now follow the URL format: /post/websiteVERSIONNUMBER (e.g.,
      /post/website290601
      )
    • Website change logs now follow the naming format: Website Version: VERSIONNUMBER (e.g., Website Version: 29.06.01)
      • Websites version number format was changed a few years ago to follow the format: my current age, the month number (with leading zeros), the day of the month (with leading zeros) (e.g., 29.06.01)
  • Pinned Content Redesign: The pinned section within the Blog Feed now features a sleek new card format for a more visually appealing presentation.
  • Enhanced Blog Posts:
    • Introduction of a Metadata Header displaying relevant post information.
    • Implementation of a Table of Contents for longer posts with sections, ensuring easy navigation while scrolling.
    • Integration of some videos with the new Videography Feed for a unified viewing experience.

Home Page Revamp (Formerly About Me)

  • Welcome: Get greeted by my redesigned information page upon visiting the website.
  • Videography Showcase: Witness a captivating display of my Videography Portfolio playing in the background on desktop screens.
  • Content Highlights: Stay updated with the current number of photos, videos, and blog posts featured on the website.
  • Pinned Content Feed: Interact with pinned photos directly on the Home page, and see what some of the pinned videos and blog posts are.
  • Enhanced Links Section: Discover my primary and additional links with new icons.

Hero Sections Revamp

I have made a number of UI changes and revamps to my hero sections on my

and
Blog
home pages. Which now includes a more immersive view of the available content within those sections.

Resume Page Revamp

  • I have completely revamped my
    Resume Page
    with stunning new UI elements and more information at a glance upon first view.
  • I have also revamped the Accordion toggle elements to include more information like
    • How many position have been added per each work experience.
    • The companies logo when available (which is being pulled through the
      Clearbit Logo API Tool
      ).

Contact Information Update

The contact form has been relocated to a dedicated Contact Me page (

). Additionally, my resume and freelancing requests are temporarily housed on this page. A new portal view for these elements is planned for future updates.

Videography Portfolio Update

The previous Videography Portfolio page now serves as the video page specifically for "Donald Louch Videography Portfolio".

Pride Month Celebration!

In honor of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community and those allies; my logo, title logo, and certain background gradients have been changed with a special pride edition.

Happy Pride Month!

Note:

Due to the UI update, minor styling issues might appear on mobile breakpoints. These will be addressed in subsequent versions.

I'm constantly striving to improve your website experience. Stay tuned for even more exciting updates in the future! As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you have any issues with my website or feedback on the changes!

Please note that in this version I have not worried about having my code clean, as I was more focused on feature implementation. So in future versions my code will be much cleaner.

If you would like to view, download, or fork the latest version of my website code you may do so through the

.