We could follow the clues in the TrumpLand with more gusto. They know their numbers are bad and likely to get worse, they did the things that made it the numbers bad. And at the same time they don't seem to care? If this were a mystery show, like Dallas or Succession or Severance, Lost perhaps, what would you think?#
Here's a prototype of what a story page might look like on our baseline site for WordLand. I did this off on the side as input for the WordPress theme. I find it easier to work on style in a standalone page without much tech that can get in the way of fast iteration. #
We're working on the "baseline" theme for WordLand, the default -- the one that shows the user's writing in a WordPress context. I did a survey of news sites and blogs to see how they show their titles:#
Gothamist puts the name in the upper left corner, leaving room for some buttons and a menu in the right corner.#
Ars Technica does something similar, name of site in upper left corner, with an array of buttons flush right.#
Empty Wheel does the same thing. (I sense a pattern here.)#
Missouri Independent centers the title in much bigger type than the previous examples, the buttons are arrayed above it (more buttons).#
EV Grieve puts the name in the upper left corner without much fanfare. Proves that it doesn't have to be eye-catching, it's the attitude and the content I love. One of my longtime favorites. It's an East Village neighborhood blog, running in Blogger for ages.#
Seth's Blog is a WordPress site, managed by Automattic. The left sidebar includes the title of the blog, and has a list of things he wants you to read, and how to get on his mail list, etc. So effectively the title is in the upper left corner, and the equiv of the buttons are arrayed vertically in a column. The functionality of his blog is probably closest to what I have in mind for WordLand, but into spartan beginnings. It's easy to add stuff, impossible to take away.#
Simon Willison's Weblog, another great example of the kind of writing I want people to do with WordLand. He puts the title in the upper left corner, with a single button flush right. He deals with the recent articles thing by putting a list of three posts, linkblog style, at the bottom. I like this placement, btw. Positioned as an afterthought. If you're lingering here, you might like this? I pretty much always ignore this kind of stuff.#
Manton Reece does the same thing everyone else is doing. Title at the top left, an array of buttons flush-right at the same level. What's uncommon about his style is that the name of his blog is tiny, 13px. But it also is very visible.#
Kottke does not include the title of his blog on a story page. This is remarkable. But he does have the author name very prominently placed, it's the very topmost text on the page, impossible to miss. So amazingly the title is visible, even though it isn't there.#
Pluralistic puts the title in big type flush left, with a subtitle, and the buttons are below the title, before the headline of the post (lots of white space separating).#
Last update: Wednesday April 30, 2025; 5:56 PM EDT.
You know those obnoxious sites that pop up dialogs when they think you're about to leave, asking you to subscribe to their email newsletter? Well that won't do for Scripting News readers who are a discerning lot, very loyal, but that wouldn't last long if I did rude stuff like that. So here I am at the bottom of the page quietly encouraging you to sign up for the nightly email. It's got everything from the previous day on Scripting, plus the contents of the linkblog and who knows what else we'll get in there. People really love it. I wish I had done it sooner. And every email has an unsub link so if you want to get out, you can, easily -- no questions asked, and no follow-ups. Go ahead and do it, you won't be sorry! :-)