Need help making 7.1 layout look like Wells

Hi all,

7.1 website: https://sawfish-dragonfly-bfsj.squarespace.com/
password: PM

7.0 website: https://www.palomamcclain.com

I'm on a personal plan and use my website as an art portfolio.

I'm aiming to switch to a 7.1 layout because of the portfolio feature and the other lovely new features. Wells doesn't allow for project/index pages and I want to be able to use both a gallery and portfolio.

I love the Wells layout because the navigation is fixed on the left and users can scroll through my art on the right. This allows for easy access to the nav without having to repetitively scroll back up to the top to click a different category. It was disappointing to learn that the header and nav in 7.1 stays horizontal.

It was also frustrating to learn that 7.1 doesn't support summary blocks for galleries which means I can no longer separate my art by category. I wish to use the Universal Filter plug-in but I am a complete novice at CSS and don't understand the instructions or what I'm looking at. I contacted the developer on this matter but I welcome other help on this problem too.

Is it possible to create the navigation/header in 7.1 as a sidebar like Wells, where my gallery section displays on the right?

Thanks for your help!

Still need help, please let me know if this is possible.

20 hours ago, palomamcclain said:

Need help making 7.1 layout look like Wells. I love the Wells layout because the navigation is fixed on the left and users can scroll through my art on the right.

Hi Paloma.

As you've mentioned, version 7.1 doesn't have a vertical navigation like the Wells template. It would be possible to create one with some JavaScript but the Personal Plan doesn't support this so you'd be limited to what you can achieve with CSS, which doesn't offer the same flexibility.

That said, there are things you could do with CSS to creatively move your navigation on desktop. For example:

As a vertical nav doesn't translate for mobile users, it may be worth checking your 7.0 site analytics to check the percentage of visitors who are using desktops and who would benefit. 

Btw, I love your illustrations; they're fantastic.

Paul

Thank you so much for the kind words and info @paul2009! I checked my analytics and it appears that 70% of visitors use desktop and 30% use mobile. I actually really like what you did with the CSS. A couple questions:

1. Could the navigations words on the side be flipped to sitting horizontal to be read left to right, while staying on the sidebar?

2. Would there be be way to keep links like "About" "Contact" on the top, and in the sidebar put categories like "Portraits", "Pets", "Landscapes"?

Thanks so much! I honestly am considering upgrading my plan if Javascript can easily create the sidebar identical to Wells.

@palomamcclain I'd love to help you build your website, answer any questions that you have, and/or provide my services. I'd very much like to see your art be displayed in the best ways possible (I'm an artist as well) -- I understand your budget restrictions, so... please consider this an early Holiday gift. Message me if you'd like.

@Wolfsilon That is so kind of you, thank you so much! Love seeing other fellow artists. 🙂  I'd really appreciate your help and would definitely want to compensate you fairly for your time. I'll send you a message!