Stylegala and CSS Vault

April 17, 2005 | 28 Comments

Have you ever had to write an essay that compares and contrasts two things? I have and those were some of my favorite exercises from my school days. I always thought it was especially fun to compare/contrast two things that have quite a bit in common, or at least aren’t exactly “opposite” in a bunch of ways.

I thought it would be fun and probably entertaining to start a series of Web site comparison exercises here and let y’all chime in and talk about what makes two sites different, the same, better and/or worse than each other.

I do have a few pairings in mind and I think it’s logical to do this with sites that have, in some way at least, similar goals and audiences. First up is an easy one: Stylegala and the CSS Vault. Ready? I’ll get us started.

CSS Vault

The CSS Vault, originally conceived and designed by Scrivs was one of the first (maybe the first) CSS gallery site. It’s got a very clean and functional design that works fairly well to showcase the sites within.

Visually it’s not too stunning, but that’s just fine because it brings attention to the sites. I’ll admit, I’ve never really gotten into the resources part and I generally don’t read the comments. I just hit the site, and look at the sites in the gallery. This may have something to do with the way the site is laid out. It puts me right into a “go and look at” mode, thus taking me right off the site.

I don’t mind that, but I wonder if that is the intention.

Overall it’s a nice site, but nothing special design-wise. It’s a good gallery, but aside from that? Not sure.

Stylegala

Stylegala is the new k10k—the Web designer’s lunchbox—and it’s a very well done site on many levels.

The design is clear and functional, much like The Vault, but it’s got a bit more…style. It does a very good job of showcasing the sites in the gallery, but it’s more of a showcase itself. This, in general, is a good thing.

The thing I like the most about Stylegala though is the news. This is done very well. The multi-column layout allows me to dip in, read some news and exit at to a cool site. I never feel distracted or overwhelmed, and with the amount of information on the homepage, this is pretty amazing.

Compare/Contrast

Stylegala has a definite advantage content-wise, with it’s multiple authors and user contributed content. So, as far as that goes, I like it much better. The CSS Vault doesn’t seem like a “content” site to me, rather it’s more like a “link” site—not a bad thing.

I think The Vault does a very good job of “showing” me the sites in the gallery. It’s here that it’s got an edge on Stylegala.

Overall, they’re similar sites that both do things well. I visit Stylegala much more and find it a more complete site, but again, it’s got a bit of an “unfair advantage.” Design-wise the level of detail that Stylegala brings makes it a bit more of a “showcase” which adds to the overall user-experience in my mind.

It’s like Stylegala took the CSS Vault idea and bumped it up a notch and made it better.

These kinds of sites are great resources and it’s good to see they’re both still thriving. Is there room for them both in the community? Sure there is, but the other CSS gallery sites, to me anyway, are just too much.

It does to show that being first or being better are your best options.

So, what do you think?

Filed under: Web Design
Keyword Tags: css stylegala css+vault design Web gallery

Comments

1. Jon Hicks said:

I’m shallow - I prefer Stylegala, simply because its so well designed!

BTW - I love your new look - very sharp!

Posted on April 17, 2005 01:13 PM | #

2. Keith said:

Jon – Thanks! That’s not shallow at all. I prefer Stylegala in part because of the desgin and it part because of the content. I do still visit The Vault, mostly out of habit and because it does give me a nice preview of the featured sites.

Posted on April 17, 2005 01:15 PM | #

3. David Appleyard said:

I keep both in my RSS reader. Both offer good RSS feeds, with a preview image and a brief description. However, I often find myself bypassing StyleGala or the Vault altogether and just visiting the new submission!

Posted on April 17, 2005 02:01 PM | #

4. Geoffrey said:

I prefer Stylegala because of the level of attention paid to the design itself. I love simplicity in design, but there’s a certain point where you begin to sacrifice personality and character. Simplicity has never meant absence of decor, but making sure the decor belongs to the design. The Vault has always felt generic and plain. Stylegala, on the other hand, has always felt like it has been hand-crafted by someone. Some people probably don’t care either way. I do.

Posted on April 17, 2005 02:16 PM | #

5. marko said:

Stylegala is kind of small Mediterranean market square, with a lot of small coffee shops around. There’s always something going on-you hear new talks, you can fell the crowd. At the Vault I don’t have a felling someone else is around.

Posted on April 17, 2005 02:37 PM | #

6. Ryan Latham said:

I am in no position to state which one I like more. I have a biased opinion on several levels, and it will always remain that way. However; other than my own, I would have to give props to CSS Vault - before Scrivs sold it. I can say mean, yet honest things about the Vault as it is now; but I will just say that since the selling of it, it has taken a nose dive.

Posted on April 17, 2005 03:04 PM | #

7. Jeff Croft said:

I use and browse both regularly, and I’m glad they both exist. I agree that Styegala wins in terms of site design, but I’m not really going to these sites for their design – I’m going to find other people’s designs. Both sites work quite well in that capacity, I think.

Posted on April 17, 2005 03:25 PM | #

8. Zelnox said:

It’s weird, but I’ve stopped browsing the Vault for a while. I sometimes looked at Stylegala, but I don’t know. I guess I am lazy now. Hehe.

Posted on April 17, 2005 03:51 PM | #

9. Andrew said:

@ Ryan

The vault has been going down hill for a few months before it was sold, but I am excited to see what Jacob is going to do with it. There are plans to redesign the vault and so farthe look pretty good (it needs some work). Everyone is right though, Stylegala kicks ass.

Posted on April 17, 2005 04:41 PM | #

10. Tom said:

Stylegala is the daddy, its way more professional.

Posted on April 17, 2005 04:48 PM | #

11. Clips said:

The vault will always be around… they were the first… even if no innovation is seen, it will still be the father. I think Stylegala is waaaay better than the vault, in every way. The vault is overrated IMO.

As far as “showcase” sites, I belive CSS Beauty still does a great job of displaying the sites, and its archives are well organized.

Posted on April 17, 2005 07:45 PM | #

12. Yannick L. said:

I too like and visit both but I definitely give Stylegala the edge in terms of design and news.

Posted on April 17, 2005 08:09 PM | #

13. Miha said:

My top 3 are StyleGala, CssBeauty and CssVault. But I also think that the last one is not as good as it use to be.

Posted on April 18, 2005 01:08 AM | #

14. Jeff Werner said:

I’ve monitored both sites for a few months now (mainly via feed) and can say I prefer Stylegala, esp. its quick and painless rating system (and design, as mentioned).

But I didn’t even realize Stylegala’s news section was so good until you mentioned it. I wish they included it in their feed, or offered a second feed for it.

Posted on April 18, 2005 01:16 AM | #

15. Blair Millen said:

Keith, what a great idea doing a comparing and contrasting feature. I’ll be looking forward to the next few…

In terms of what each site is trying to do, there is a vast difference. While CSS Vault showcases beautiful CSS design, Stylegala offers so much more and as a result I’m attracted to the latter more often.

What might be interesting to know is visitor statistics and the main reason people visit each site. I find myself using the Stylegala “Bullet Madness” feature a lot.

Posted on April 18, 2005 05:17 AM | #

16. Scrivs said:

Guess Rundle and I should’ve shown everyone the redesign we had for the Vault before I sold it…

Posted on April 18, 2005 06:36 AM | #

17. David / SG said:

Nice article Keith and congrats on the redesign. I love the vault and has done so for a very long time because of the no-bullshit approach. It’s super-fast, clean and serves a good purpose. SG has grown really fast this year and I’m flattered by the feedback i get daily - even though I don’t think it’s fair to say that one is generally better than the other.

The most exciting part of the news section is the public news, I am really surprised how clean it is and the low amount of moderation it needs. People are (mostly) posting some really interesting and relevant news in there so keep it up!

Someone mentioned stats, and I can say that we serve about 20k daily visitors and roughly 60k pageviews per day at this time. These numbers have quadrupled since january this year. Bullet madness is still our most popular one-page feature.

Posted on April 18, 2005 09:26 AM | #

18. Yannick L. said:

Scrivs said:
Guess Rundle and I should’ve shown everyone the redesign we had for the Vault before I sold it…

That doesn’t mean you still can’t show us Scrivs. hehe ;-)

Posted on April 18, 2005 10:02 AM | #

19. Jenni said:

Scrivs! You can still show the redesign! I’m dying to see it! :)

Posted on April 18, 2005 01:58 PM | #

20. Mike D. said:

Jenny: It was very simple. It looked a little something like this:

Posted on April 18, 2005 02:48 PM | #

21. Scrivs said:

Sorry peeps, it no longer exists. And we all must stop listening to that vile creature known as Mike D. He is from Siberia and knows nothing. Silly ol’ Klondike Mike.

Posted on April 18, 2005 05:51 PM | #

22. Derek Nelson said:

I like Stylegala quite a bit, but I can’t visit until it’s stops putting a horizontal scrollbar in Safari.

Posted on April 18, 2005 06:25 PM | #

23. Mike D. said:

Scrivs baby, the dollar sign is prettier than any stable of Photoshop comps as far as I’m concerned. Oh, and did I mention it’s pure CSS?

But seriously, designs don’t disappear like Rundle into a sorority house… they either exist and cannot be revealed, or they never existed. :)

Posted on April 18, 2005 11:06 PM | #

24. Lori said:

While I do like the Vault, I feel I get “more out of” Stylegala. It is very usable, and feels full of “goodies” - both “eye candy” and knowledge base… It is where I go first, and probably always will.

I am an avid user of your site Keith (though I have never posted until today) - and like your new UI a great deal :)

Posted on April 19, 2005 09:01 PM | #

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