ExpressionEngine 2

Yes. Once you log into Ellislab.com, click on Account -> Manage Purchases. You can then download your EE 2.x licenses. If you have purchased a EE 3.x license, you have the option to also download the latest version of EE 2 (currently 2.11.1)

Hey Guys, So ExpressionEngine 3 has been released, but I truly dislike the interface..

I’d sure love to hear your feedback on how we can make the UI better.

Hey,

I think with version 3 there is very little contrast between elements. Having same background colour for elements such as sidebar and content makes it hard to distinguish which is what, they are different elements which should have a clear visual separation. This is a good resource for contrast and visual representation of elements http://contrastrebellion.com/

It could be just me but its pretty hard to read text that is in light grey and colours of links are in bright blue. I can see what you guys are trying to do here by trying to give importance to links etc but if description of a link or a box is hard to read when there is bright blue link next to it people will not click that link because the link keeps taking your attention away from the description and the user will not know what that link is.

Don’t get me wrong I love ExpressionEngine and it is my choice of CMS but honestly to say you really do have to get used to version 3 of EE and it is a very very big change from v2. But few extra tweaks to colours I’m sure could make it a lot more usable.

Thanks,

Hey, I think with version 3 there is very little contrast between elements. Having same background colour for elements such as sidebar and content makes it hard to distinguish which is what, they are different elements which should have a clear visual separation. This is a good resource for contrast and visual representation of elements http://contrastrebellion.com/ It could be just me but its pretty hard to read text that is in light grey and colours of links are in bright blue. I can see what you guys are trying to do here by trying to give importance to links etc but if description of a link or a box is hard to read when there is bright blue link next to it people will not click that link because the link keeps taking your attention away from the description and the user will not know what that link is. Don’t get me wrong I love ExpressionEngine and it is my choice of CMS but honestly to say you really do have to get used to version 3 of EE and it is a very very big change from v2. But few extra tweaks to colours I’m sure could make it a lot more usable. Thanks,

Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it.

Can I ask what type of monitor and computer you are accessing eecms on?

I’m consistently working on the contrast and making the CP easier to read and interact with.

I’m concerned that you mention bright blue links and light gray text, as we’re not using either bright blue or light gray for text in the CP, so it makes me wonder if perhaps your monitor is older or has the brightness or contrast tweaked in a way that might make the CP look different to you than to me.

I’ve run the CP through accessibility grayscale tests, and other contrasts tests and nothing came back as low contrast. But I will check the contrast checker you mention, and see if there is something I’m missing.

Hi James,

I’m using MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch).

Every other website seems to be working fine for me. Anyways I’m including a screenshot of CP. Again as I mentioned to you before this could be just me, but blue links always takes my attention away when trying to read other text.

Maybe during the installation I did something wrong when prompted whether to install an EE theme or not I cannot remember which option I picked.

Thanks,

Hi James, I’m using MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch). Every other website seems to be working fine for me. Anyways I’m including a screenshot of CP. Again as I mentioned to you before this could be just me, but blue links always takes my attention away when trying to read other text. Maybe during the installation I did something wrong when prompted whether to install an EE theme or not I cannot remember which option I picked. Thanks,

Hi,

OK thanks! That screen shot is showing what you should be seeing, so you didn’t do anything wrong. I’ll keep your feedback in mind for future updates and I’ll try to improve the contrast.

I’m getting used to the interface. It is clean and light, which I like. Though, I do agree that a bit more contrast could be useful. What I really dislike are in internal scrolling windows throughout.

Areas like the create and edit menus, template groups, file upload directories, etc. Anyplace there are scrolling elements inside an already scrolling page are a huge pet-peeve of mine.

Adding a couple of screenshots to show.

I’m getting used to the interface. It is clean and light, which I like. Though, I do agree that a bit more contrast could be useful. What I *really* dislike are in internal scrolling windows throughout. Areas like the create and edit menus, template groups, file upload directories, etc. Anyplace there are scrolling elements inside an already scrolling page are a huge pet-peeve of mine. Adding a couple of screenshots to show.

Thanks for the feedback. I’m not a huge fan of scrolling elements either, but there are limitations to responsive, in browser applications, so the scrolls are in place for when users have too many items than can be reasonably shown on a variety of screen sizes. I’m experimenting with better ways to handle these interfaces.

The goal of the CP is to keep it moving forward and iterating on the UI, nothing is set in stone, but everything requires compromise as well.

I’m getting used to the interface. It is clean and light, which I like. Though, I do agree that a bit more contrast could be useful. What I *really* dislike are in internal scrolling windows throughout. Areas like the create and edit menus, template groups, file upload directories, etc. Anyplace there are scrolling elements inside an already scrolling page are a huge pet-peeve of mine. Adding a couple of screenshots to show.

Thanks for the feedback. I’m not a huge fan of scrolling elements either, but there are limitations to responsive, in browser applications, so the scrolls are in place for when users have too many items than can be reasonably shown on a variety of screen sizes. I’m experimenting with better ways to handle these interfaces. The goal of the CP is to keep it moving forward and iterating on the UI, nothing is set in stone, but everything requires compromise as well.

Yep. I agree with you on that. Maybe you can just implement the scrolling/height limited elements on small screen devices?

If anyone is really bothered by the lack of perceived contrast, you can quickly grab and install the free Spruce plugin to alter the CP styles: https://github.com/croxton/spruce