Spaghet.io Website Improvements: A Comprehensive UI/UX Overhaul

Introduction

This post documents a comprehensive UI/UX overhaul of my personal website, Spaghet.io. The changes were focused on improving visual consistency, fixing dark mode conflicts, and enhancing the overall user experience while maintaining our signature spaghetti-themed aesthetic.

Goal of This Session

The primary objective was to enhance the website’s visual design by:

1. Resolving dark mode conflicts with prose elements
2. Ensuring consistent theme application across all components
3. Fixing text color issues in selected menu items and buttons
4. Making sure the spaghetti theme is consistently applied throughout the site

Key Improvements Made

1. Fixed Dark Mode Conflicts with tw-prose Classes

Problem: The website had conflicts where prose elements (blog content) were not respecting our custom theme colors in dark mode, resulting in poor readability.

Solution:

• Updated tailwind.config.mjs to properly customize typography styles
• Added CSS overrides in global.css to ensure spaghetti-themed colors are applied consistently in prose elements

2. Enhanced Theme Consistency Across Components

Problem: Various components had inconsistent color usage, particularly in text and hover states.

Solution:

• Updated Header component to use proper text-spaghetti-brown colors for hover states
• Fixed Footer component with consistent text-spaghetti-brown colors for legal links
• Applied consistent theme classes throughout ArrowCard, Blog, Projects, StackCard, Search, Counter, and Drawer components

3. Implemented Spaghetti-Themed Color Palette

Color Scheme:

• Main color: #FDE68A (spaghetti-yellow)
• Accent color: #FECACA (spaghetti-red)
• Background: #FEF3C7 (spaghetti-cream)
• Text: #78350F (spaghetti-brown)

4. Fixed Selected Menu Items and Buttons

Problem: Selected menu items and buttons had light red backgrounds with white text, which was inconsistent with our theme.

Solution:

• Updated Header navigation items to use text-spaghetti-brown instead of text-white for selected states
• Updated Drawer navigation items to use text-spaghetti-brown instead of text-white for selected states
• Updated Search button in header to use text-spaghetti-brown instead of text-white for selected states
• Updated mobile drawer button to use text-spaghetti-brown instead of text-white for selected states

5. Enhanced Hero Section with Spaghetti Theme

Improvements:

• Applied consistent text-spaghetti-brown colors throughout the hero section
• Styled call-to-action buttons with spaghetti-red background and spaghetti-yellow borders
• Maintained consistent theme application throughout the entire hero section

Technical Implementation Details

CSS Customizations

The following changes were made to src/styles/global.css:

/* Override default prose styles to respect our theme */
.prose {
  color: var(--spaghetti-brown);
}

.prose a {
  color: var(--spaghetti-red);
}

.prose h1, 
.prose h2, 
.prose h3,
.prose h4,
.prose h5,
.prose h6 {
  color: var(--spaghetti-brown);
}

/* Ensure dark mode respects our theme */
.dark .prose {
  color: var(--spaghetti-brown);
}

.dark .prose a {
  color: var(--spaghetti-red);
}

Component Updates

All affected components were updated to use:

• text-spaghetti-brown for text content
• bg-spaghetti-red for selected states
• border-spaghetti-yellow/50 for borders
• Consistent hover effects with appropriate color transitions

Before and After Comparison

Navigation Menu

Before: Selected items had light red background (bg-spaghetti-red) with white text (text-white) After: Selected items have light red background (bg-spaghetti-red) with dark brown text (text-spaghetti-brown)

Prose Elements

Before: Default Tailwind prose styles were overriding our theme colors in dark mode After: Custom CSS ensures consistent spaghetti-themed colors across all content

Hero Section

Before: Inconsistent color usage throughout the hero section After: Cohesive spaghetti theme with consistent text-spaghetti-brown colors for all content

Future Improvements

While these changes have significantly improved the website’s UI/UX, there are always opportunities for further enhancement:

1. Implement more sophisticated animations and transitions
2. Add more interactive elements with our spaghetti theme
3. Continue refining the dark mode experience
4. Explore additional theme variations that maintain the spaghetti aesthetic

Conclusion

These improvements represent a significant step forward in creating a consistent, visually appealing, and user-friendly website that truly embodies the spirit of spaghetti - structured, well-organized, and satisfying to use. The site now maintains a cohesive design language while providing an enhanced user experience across all device sizes and themes.

The changes ensure that our signature spaghetti theme is consistently applied throughout the entire website, from navigation elements to content presentation, creating a unified and memorable user experience.