The First Strip
Listen (I say that to make sure you’re paying attention), all webcomic sites are poorly designed for one specific reason. No, it’s not because of the fold. Listen (remember, when I said that before?).
To travel through the archives of a webcomic, you need a “next” button and a “previous” button. That way, you can travel back one strip if you missed it, or travel forward from a point with ease.
What you do not need is a button to the very first strip ever made prominently displayed on every single page. You don’t need it! How many times in your life have you clicked that “first comic” arrow on purpose? It should only be once! So, why is it wasting space on every single page of your site?
I know we’re fighting convention here. And I know it’s confusing. We’re up against a decade of bad design here. On the Blank It front page, in big friendly letters to the right of the “previous” button, we have a link that says “Lost? Click here to start from the beginning.” And that’s it. It isn’t there on every page of the archives. It’s right there on the landing page, for your convenience.
And if you really really really need to get to the beginning from another page, there’s a small “first comic” link in the left hand gutter on every page.
But you don’t need a “first comic” button right next to your “previous” button on every page. Who decided this? Where are they now? Rolling in their button money, I bet. Just a tool of the button conspiracy.
So let’s change it up. Let’s get rid of these extra buttons that nobody needs. We can do it together! Webcomic artists, this is a movement. Let’s join together and finally eliminate these lumbering dinosaurs of navigation.
August 14th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Why did no-one think of this before?
I’m almost tempted to start writing a bunch of scripts for Greasemonkey to yank out those buttons for those people who don’t like them. At least until the comic authors remove them, anyhow.
August 15th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
You guys should jump on the big, sexy trend of making the comic panel into one big, sexy NEXT button. That way your drunken readers don’t even need to be fully conscious to click through the strips. It’s pretty convenient.
It doesn’t have to actually say next of be a button, of course. Just magically be clickable to have the desired effect.
August 17th, 2008 at 3:12 am
I’m actually not opposed to that idea.
August 18th, 2008 at 12:27 am
Only because you’re John Allison’s bitch.
…Stay away, he’s mine! Our love is everlasting!
August 21st, 2008 at 2:28 am
This implementation works for me. I’m a big computer-interface guy, and 99% of the time websites tick me off. This is simpler, cleaner, and easily as functional. Keep it.
As to the image-being-’next’ idea, I usually like it. I have a distinct preference for links on the outside quarter-ish widths pointing next AND previous, though. For example: |back|____|____|next|.
If you want to make the links obvious, a bit of CSS trickery can give semitransparent hover effects, indicating the link (despite my preference for PNG, use GIF if you do this. Not all browsers support PNG properly, and even fewer for the more advanced CSS capabilities).
September 4th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Honestly if it bothers you that much, the comic doesn’t hold your interest. I just started reading this comic last week, and you know what….I used the same button “Lost? Click here to start from the beginning”. I think that it is in a premo spot…it is large and easy to read. No searching for the tiny print. And guess what…I am no longer “lost”. Just ignore it and take it with a grain of salt. If it bothers you that much….make your own site the way that you want it.
September 14th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Who invented this? I want to know because this is the most convenient webcomic I have ever seen.
The only thing it is missing is the “comic button” that was already stated above.