Broken Sidewalk News

As you have probably noticed, posting was a little slow last week. As you are now also likely noticing, the site looks a little different. We spent the better part of last week updating Broken Sidewalk’s design, all the way down to the core architecture. Hopefully the site should run faster, look cleaner, and offer more. If you’re reading this from an RSS reader, we invite you to stop on over and take a look around.

Here’s a rundown of some of the changes to the site:

• We’ve created a new branding identity which you can see up top in the header. There’s also a rotating series of panoramic photos from across the Louisville region that replace the static header of versions prior.
• The site design has been streamlined to push content farther to the top, reduce clutter, and create a more readable page. The general layout remains the same, but there are new, subtle design changes here and there. Despite the similar layout, the entire site was re-coded to run a little faster.
• The Twitter bar is gone. Broken Sidewalk still tweets, but we’re admittedly not very good at it. If you would like to see our Twitter feed, click the icon at the top of the page.
• Existing features are now improved. We finally started to make that “Map” tab up top actually do something. Right now, you can click on a neighborhood on the map and read our articles about the neighborhood. We’re working to get more information on the map soon.
• Your ability to filter posts is now fully functional. You can sort our articles by clicking on the links at the top of the page.
• Now you can learn more about Broken Sidewalk. The “About” tab up top has been re-worked to provide updated, more useful information.
• That’s the gist of the changes. There are more here and there, and several we’re finishing up as you read this. They’ll come online when they’re done.

If you find a bug, please tell us about it by e.mailing bs@brokensidewalk.com. We checked the site against the major browsers on a PC and don’t expect any major problems, but there may be one you find that we didn’t. If you have any suggestions for new features, please tell us about those, too. We want to create the best Broken Sidewalk we can.

Lastly, I will be back in Louisville next week updating the site with up-to-date information daily. An abstract itinerary is already in place and I’m excited to report the changes I see around town. Again, sorry for the slow posting last week, but Broken Sidewalk should pick up dramatically from here on out.