Version 6 (2009-2011)

After all the work i had previously spent on both static and dynamic websites with various content management system i felt it was time to again try something new. With the recent outbreak of javascript library frameworks as the widely used Jquery i just had to try it out.

From the available built in functions and effects i soon realized the potential of a “one-paged” layout using dynamic content. I had previously used a lot of custom built ASP functions to fetch both data and content and this would turn out to be a great combination with Jquery.

With my own custom built system i called “Gurkomize” i found a way to setup multiple content windows i called “Plates”. These “Plates” could then be fully customized on a client base level using cookies to store the settings. Users could pick their own site background color, what “Plates” to be visible and their position on screen. All this creating a different experience for every visitor.

The “Plates” had all kinds of content ranging from simple RSS feeds from Twitter and Youtube to complex custom built game character statistics. Inside these “Plates” there where a lot going on with some comprehensive coding done. Using ASP i could refresh or post to get various results and data making it an even more interactive.

It was a technical achievement at the cost of rather high resource demanding and complexity. It did use a fully 100% dynamic content but it all depended on various external sources for retrieving that content. I was aware of those implications from the start and it worked out pretty good in the long run. There where a few occasions where the source material changed and i needed to go back and do further fixes to keep up.

Although it was a fun project and i was really happy with the end results, it all turned out to be a little stiff. Adding new content was a big project and the fact that it needed close attention and constant updates made me again think about new ways to redesign the site.

In August 2010 i left version 6 to begin construction of this “final” version 7. Almost a year later in July 2011, the new site was finished and version 6 was retired.