urbanMamas Facelift
A new year, a new us. Do you like? We've been meaning for a long time to overhaul the urbanMamas site, to create a fresh yet sweet and simple identity. We were inspired by a photo that Shetha took nearly a year ago. But alas, urbanMamas is a labor of love for us; something we try to fit into our busy schedules. Over the last year as we tended to our children, spouses, careers, and to the craziness of maintaining a somewhat balanced family life; the site redesign has sat simmering on the back burner. We are thrilled though that our vision has finally come to fruition, and that we can continue to be a community for parents in Portland, both on-line and in real life. We hope that you continue to visit often, and to let us know how we can make urbanMamas more useful and beneficial!
It's looking good to me! Thanks.
Posted by: Becky | January 21, 2008 at 08:28 AM
Great job ladies!
Posted by: Melissa MM | January 21, 2008 at 08:30 AM
I love this website, and the changes look great! Thanks for all that you are doing to bring together the communities of Portland and parenting!
Posted by: kathy | January 21, 2008 at 09:02 AM
at first glance it is lovely! thank you for continuing to be a great (and pretty) resource! aarin
Posted by: mama without instructions | January 21, 2008 at 09:17 AM
It looks really nice - simple and relaxing! And what mom doesn't need some simplicity and relaxation?
Posted by: Makeshift Mama | January 21, 2008 at 09:25 AM
lovin' the colors! looks really great. you go. one thing: the all caps titles are hard for me to read when they are long, maybe it's the dark black? not sure.
Posted by: Lisa | January 21, 2008 at 09:43 AM
Looks good! I like the logo. Also, this is the first time in a year where the page renders correctly on Safari, so somebody did some good codin'.
Posted by: lisa | January 21, 2008 at 11:56 AM
I love the new look! Thank you all for your hard work, your site is such an amazing source of info. The menu across the top is really helpful.
Posted by: Molly | January 21, 2008 at 02:28 PM
I'm new to Portland and am SO glad that I have found out (through other PDX mamas) that this website exists -- I'm still exploring all that it has to offer! Thank YOU!
Posted by: Lisa | January 21, 2008 at 03:27 PM
The new look is great and so is the top menu. I love this blog. I do have to admit, the new body font is tough for me to read. I loved the old font - so clean and easy to read, Perhaps this mama needs new glasses...
Posted by: SarahM | January 21, 2008 at 09:54 PM
Love the UM. Not so crazy about all the pink.
Posted by: phil | January 22, 2008 at 02:49 PM
It is a lovely design. But one problem - when you click on some of the links - example, when you click on a month in the "archives" menu to the left - you don't see all the posts. If you click on December 2007, it says there are 33 posts, but only ten are shown. I didn't see a "next" prompt or any other way to reach the rest. Is it a solvable problem?
Posted by: catmom | January 22, 2008 at 08:14 PM
Thanks for all of the lovely comments and suggestions for improvements. The aesthetic ones we may address, time permitting, which according to the pace at which things actually get accomplished means it will happen in another year :-) As for catmom's comment, If you scroll to the bottom, you'll see some very small clickable arrows >>. Just click on those and you'll be taken to the previous set of posts. We'll have a look-see to figure out if we can resurrect the "Next" prompt.
Posted by: urbanMamas | January 22, 2008 at 09:10 PM
Yark. I tried it on December, but I can't find any arrows - maybe it's my browser?
Posted by: catmom | January 23, 2008 at 12:04 AM
I'm not seeing any arrows either (using Firefox on a Mac)
Posted by: jj | January 23, 2008 at 07:59 AM
I guess I'm the only one who liked the quirky old logo better. I find the blocky look of the new one not as attractive.
But hey, as long as the content is the same, I'm happy. And I can't tell you how much I appreciate all the work you UMs do to keep this place going!
Posted by: Zinemama | January 23, 2008 at 10:55 AM
I love it. If I was to nitpick I would want the left side "um" block to be a touch larger so, to me, the banner feels more balanced. Love the block itself. Love the colors. I dig it.
Posted by: Monica in Cali | January 23, 2008 at 12:16 PM
Today I've got a "more" and some arrows - thanks!
Posted by: catmom | January 23, 2008 at 09:26 PM
I'm not getting any more or arrows. Specifically, I'm trying to read all of the college savings entries. Any suggestions?
Posted by: mom22 | January 24, 2008 at 02:03 PM
I don't know if this helps, but I use both safari and firefox as browsers on a mac, and I'm getting "more" and arrows with both browsers now.
Posted by: catmom | January 24, 2008 at 07:51 PM
I am a creature of habit and don't love changes, so, I'll be in the minority and say I liked the old look better. I love the content so it doens't matter, but I'm not into the pink/orange.
But either way I love the Urban Mamas!
Posted by: Laura | January 25, 2008 at 09:38 AM
I've loved the site, but I guess I'm destined to read only the first page of things now. I don't get any "more" or arrow prompts. I do on Activistas entries, but not on the main site. I won't be able to read any response to this, since it's beyond the first page, but I'll keep checking back periodically to see if the situation changes.
Posted by: mom22 | January 27, 2008 at 08:23 AM
mom22 & others that cannot see the arrows (which are very small), you can also follow any specific post that you want to keep tabs on by clicking on the "comment feed" under the post, and then bookmark it in your browser or save it as a favorite. We're looking into the navigation link issues and it might just be a bit longer before they are fixed. Thanks for your patience.
Posted by: Hau | January 30, 2008 at 07:55 AM