Thinking about redoing the website layout again

There were very good reasons that the grays were chosen when the new website was rolled out.
Now that we have the big hurdles (launch, league, etc) are out of the way, I have the time (a little) and experience to take a better swing at this.
But still, I'm a guy who makes things work, not who makes things pretty.....but I can adapt an existing layout/design to our use...

Anybody have a website that would be a good model?
Anybody find a good candidate on Open Source Design?

oh yea...

I'm going to look around for a few weeks before making any change. I'd like to make the switch somewhere around the end of league or opening pre-registration for HFL.

I like:
http://www.oswd.org/design/preview/id/3569
http://www.oswd.org/design/preview/id/3134 (room for ads tj!)
http://www.oswd.org/design/preview/id/3268

and someone enterprising might think about integrating the HUC logo with some ultimate action...

Some more ideas

- 3569 isn't bad. I don't like the particular colors chosen (that shade of green?!?), but I assume that can be changed.
- I think 3134 looks too crowded. Maybe it can be made more sparse.
- 3268 is probably my favorite of the three you posted. It's clear and looks uncluttered.

Some ones I liked.
http://www.oswd.org/design/preview/id/3533
I like the use of the full width of the browser window. The colors aren't too intrusive. I'm not sure about having the navigation links horizontally across the top. I feel like having the navigation bar on the side suits HUC's needs better. Overall, this is the feel I like best out of all the ones I've seen, but the particulars (like location of nav. bar concern me).
http://www.oswd.org/design/preview/id/3098
Clarity and readability are good. It doesn't use the full width and it has a horizontal navigation bar.
http://www.oswd.org/design/preview/id/2868
Good readability here. The sidebar navigation seems good. I don't like the extra links at the top, but I could live with 'em.
http://www.oswd.org/design/preview/id/2696
I like this one a lot because it has color without being ostentatious. It's also navigable, and I like having the sidebar on the left. It also has a search bar! (but do we have a search capability?). It could be a little wider, but it's not bad compared to others I saw.
http://www.oswd.org/design/preview/id/2493
This template is very nice overall, particularly in the 2 column configuration. I could be convinced that the three column configuration is worth it, but the simplicity of the 2 column version is good. Navigability is excellent and clear.

I'd say 2493 and 3533 are my top two.

Clarification

Basically, I'm looking for the outline on which to put our information....example :
I mentioned http://www.oswd.org/design/preview/id/3134 above....
1) Everything from the top, down through "Layout 1" and "Extra Options" would be the header, where we currently have the logo, title and location (Home > Forums › Other › Website issues)
2) On the left side, "Menu", "More Menu", "My Templates" is where the menu and other navigation stuff would go.
3) The large middle area, the content.
4) The "info bar" is where we could put photos and/or sponsors.

By contrast, http://www.oswd.org/design/preview/id/3694 would not work as well.

So, we're looking at the basic flow and basic visual effects (edges or curves, colors, gradients)

comments on options

I definitely like the 2nd one that you put up there Greg. As I haven't really looked around OSWD myself I would say if you've done a lot of research, and came down to those three, go with the one you think will work best based on our needs. Of course if you don't know what those are, we should probably tell you :o)

aj

Could you ad this to your pick up map?

Could you ad this to your pick up map?

Clear Lake Park, 5001 NASA Pkwy, Seabrook, Texas
Wednesday 8:00pm to 10:00pm
CLUB MUD Since 1982, we are one of the oldest Houston area teams with some of its founding members still playing. We also have High School & College players. Join us for drinks at Boondoggles Pub when we finish.
Contact Info Eric Froeschner
emfroeschner@yahoo.com
281.236.1451