SohoLab by Conram.it
Hardware, software, infrastructure experiments and notes on systems that actually run here.

Site log

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SOHOLAB / SITE HISTORY

Site Log

A log of significant changes to SohoLab's structure, content and functionality. It provides a technical reference for tracking the site's evolution, tracing changes when issues arise and documenting how the project develops over time.

PURPOSE

Why keep a site log?

  • Self-tracking: Helps document updates and remember past changes alongside internal project management.
  • Transparency for readers: Visitors can see what changed and how it may affect navigation or content.
  • Technical reference: If issues arise after an update, changes can be traced back to a particular stage of the site's development.
  • Site evolution: Provides a historical overview of how SohoLab has changed over time.

CHANGELOG

Work Timeline

Significant structural, technical and publishing changes to the site.

2026-10 SohoLab dashboard rebuild

  • Rebuilding the SohoLab front page from Publii's standard post-oriented layout into a dedicated homelab and infrastructure dashboard.
  • The new front page now presents operational status, compute/storage/protection summaries, a simplified public architecture view, current lab work under On the Bench, and recent posts under From the Lab.
  • The CSS is being restructured around reusable layout, panel, content and status classes instead of page-specific styling. This should make the site easier to extend without accumulating one-off component rules.
  • A small custom Publii plugin has been developed to provide a [ soholab-posts ] shortcode inside ordinary page content.
  • During static site generation the plugin retrieves recent Publii posts, reads the configured Posts per page value and renders the resulting post cards directly into the dashboard.
  • This allows the SohoLab homepage to remain an ordinary editable Publii page while dynamically incorporating post data without modifying the Simple theme's Handlebars templates.
  • The rebuilt dashboard has replaced the standard post listing as the live SohoLab index page.
  • The rebuild remains in progress. Existing posts, project sections and additional infrastructure/status information will be revised and incorporated as the new structure settles.

2026-05 Initial SohoLab build

  • Site created by duplicating CONRAM.IT in Publii and pruning the content to focus on the homelab.
  • Custom header implemented with SohoLab logo, title and subtitle, replacing the Simple theme's built-in logo and hero.
  • Navbar height variable overridden to eliminate excess vertical space after hiding the built-in logo.
  • Simple theme's native navbar re-enabled after an earlier experiment with a fully custom menu was abandoned because of submenu and mobile behaviour issues.
  • Navigation restructured. About and CV & Résumé now link to CONRAM.IT instead of maintaining local copies.
  • Content audit completed. Articles unrelated to the homelab, including career reflections, gaming, general IT commentary and CMS material, were removed from SohoLab and retained on CONRAM.IT only.
  • Articles retained on SohoLab included The SohoLab #1, Gjallarform, A Firewall Journey, Installing LSI/Avago MegaRAID, Digitus Label Template and SFTP with Installatron and Bitvise.
  • Custom four-column footer implemented, replacing Simple's default footer. Responsive layout uses four columns on desktop, two on tablet and one on mobile.
  • Legal pages for Terms of Use, Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy link to CONRAM.IT's shared versions. A SohoLab-specific Terms of Use page was created with technology acknowledgements and technical content disclaimers.
  • An About This Site page was created describing the site's purpose, technical implementation and content scope.
  • A Web Presence section was planned to replace the former Web Projects page with an expanded portfolio of hosted sites.
  • SohoLab link added to the CONRAM.IT root navigation.
  • CONRAM.IT backlink added to the SohoLab navigation.
  • Site remained in staging with noindex, nofollow during the initial buildout.

EOL