UI Improvements and Site Refinements
I made several important refinements to the Track[keep] journal site, focusing on improving user experience and preparing the site for production. Here’s a summary of the changes:
Social Links and Site Header
I improved the header layout to integrate both the site title “Track[keep]” and social media links in the top padding area alongside the dark mode toggle button. This creates a more cohesive and accessible navigation experience while freeing up space in the footer.
The updated header now properly displays all elements with appropriate spacing and alignment in both desktop and mobile views.
Footer Improvements
Compact Footer
I streamlined the footer by removing redundant social links (which are now in the header) and reducing its vertical footprint. This gives more screen real estate to the content while maintaining necessary copyright information.
Reveal-on-Scroll Behavior
Following the success of the header’s reveal-on-scroll feature, I implemented similar behavior for the footer. Now the footer intelligently:
- Hides when scrolling through content
- Reveals itself when the user scrolls near the bottom of the page
- Stays visible when at the very bottom
- Automatically hides after a brief period of inactivity
This creates a cleaner reading experience while keeping navigation elements accessible when needed.
Back-to-Top Button
Added a convenient back-to-top button in the footer that appears when the footer reveals itself. The button features:
- Smooth scrolling animation to the top of the page
- Visual feedback on hover with subtle animation
- Consistent styling with the site’s design language
- Accessibility features for all users
Content Organization
Organized the sample posts by setting them to draft mode, preserving them as formatting references while ensuring they don’t appear in the production site. This keeps the live site focused on actual journal entries while maintaining valuable examples for future content creation.
Post Date Styling
Fine-tuned the spacing between post titles and their corresponding dates, creating clearer visual hierarchy and improved readability. The dates now have consistent positioning relative to post titles across all pages.
Next Steps
With these refinements complete, the site is now ready for production deployment. Future improvements might include:
- Additional content categories or taxonomies
- Enhanced search capabilities
- Reading time estimates for posts
- Related posts suggestions
Overall, these changes have significantly improved both the aesthetics and functionality of the Track[keep] journal, creating a more polished and user-friendly experience.