A couple of weeks ago, I wanted to fix the column headings for the directory. This turned into a week-long coding adventure involving PHP and CSS.

Previously, each game version had its own static page with a query to pull in all the information from the database. I decided to create one dynamic page that would pull the information depending on what was requested in the URL. It took a few days to finally get it set up and squash the bugs (getting the page to display the number of breeds was the most difficult part I swear!). Now all the listings (except for the new and view-all pages) use one dynamic PHP page instead of the 19 pages I had before. Plus, the column headings have been fixed.

Once that was completed, I decided I wanted to change the color palette for the site. After a few days of staring at a solid white background, my eyes were tired. The solid white background and red title and menu have been retired. In their place is a toned-down grey background with a blue and gold color scheme. The title image has been updated with a new font which feels more Petzy. I learned a few new tricks to make the wavy line in the heading and the striped background in the header using CSS instead of graphics, which look really nice. The directory tables have been redesigned to be easier to read.

While this new layout is easier on my eyes, I thought adding a Night Mode to the site would be really good for users. The directory is all text and the light colored background does make it hard to look at for a long period of time. Now you can click the little purple moon in the top right corner of the header to switch to a slate blue background. You can click the sun in the top right corner to go back to Light Mode. This little feature requires cookies if you want the selection to stick around the next time you visit the site.

Now that the layout and scripting are done, it’s time to start adding breeds to the directory again. Now that Sue has reopened Fleabagz, I’ve begun adding the breeds to the directory once more. Hope to finish that in a few days. If you ever want to add breeds, I will be ever so grateful!

Check out all the changes at the Petz Breedz Directory.