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Posted on 12/02/07 1:24:25 PM |
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tank172
ThreeDee Thriller Posts: 692 Reply  |
My Webpage!
This thing has been nothing but a chore from the start! With more pitfalls, curveballs, and sheer confusion...webpage design is a rediculous necessity! Anyhow, I've finally uploaded what I have completed so far on my website. It's still not finished. I don't even have my contact page up yet. I'm not sure how it will display in different browsers, but the site layout is supposed to be centered. I really need to discover another method for displaying my gallery. Can anyone suggest an effective way to display the galleries? It's obvious that this is my first webpage. So any advice would be wonderful. Comments and Criticisms welcome! Chris http://www.chrismartindesign.com/ |
Posted on 12/02/07 4:33:31 PM |
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juliehollie
* Posts: 31 Reply  |
Re: My Webpage!
Wow great job Chris, it looks great! I really enjoyed the pics of the whales. It's not obvious to me that this is your first webpage, I have been wanting my own webpage for about a year but cannot figure out what it is I need because the webhosting sites options to me are confusing. LOL |
Posted on 13/02/07 05:16:29 AM |
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dave.cox
Marquee Master Posts: 518 Reply  |
Re: My Webpage!
Hi Chris, You have a good start, but a couple things that I would recommend that you watch. Be sure not to put buttons on your page until you have the link ready for it. Make the buttons transparent, or make box around the button match the back ground so it really looks like a button. Make sure your text stays within the bounderies of the button. Your button for "Small Business" overruns the button. I know these seem a bit nit picky, but this is the difference between professional, and not so professional looking pages. I think that your artwork looks great, and the layout is crisp and clean looking. Your choice of background colors is good, and the site is easy to read. Be careful going forward though, not to add too many more fonts. I usually try to keep a page to 3 or less fonts, and not counting the logo in the upper left, you already have 3, plus the small caps format in the upper right, and italics at the bottom. Not a problem, just keep it in mind. 
Also, a good place to look at about how to create web sites that work, and how not to create web sites that don't work is http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com |
Posted on 13/02/07 7:45:33 PM |
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tank172
ThreeDee Thriller Posts: 692 Reply |
Re: My Webpage!
Julie, Thanks for the kind comments. The whales are my favorite as well. I made the scene for my nephew's 1'st yr birthday gift. It was printed 24"x16" on plex and framed. The flattened final .tiff image at 240 dpi was nearly 90 mb! Huge file! A picture of the baby can also be found later in the same gallery, it's the image with the sepia effect. The website is hosted with godaddy.com. Surprisingly, setup was easy. I purchased the hosting for 1 yr = $45. Purchasing the domain name was $1.99 and it's reserved for 1yr through godaddy.com Dave, Thanks for the insights and advice. I should be able to update my page tonight and I'll make the revisions you suggested. The first thing on my list is to make the contact page! I still can't believe it's not done yet... 
I'll be sure to keep an eye on the font use. I'll also hide the unused links. I'm not sure how to fix the "small business" button. The button was a preset in Dreamweaver. I chose all the options availabe as far as fitting the text in there, but each option still caused the copy to bleed outside the button. I think I'll just have to use one word instead of two? Thanks for the link as well, yes...I certainly want to stay away from those styles. Very useful things to keep in mind. Thank you! --Chris |
Posted on 13/02/07 9:50:07 PM |
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David Asch
Tech Support Posts: 1913 Reply  |
Re: My Webpage!
Here are my views. Front Page 1. The block of space on the left pushes the the page off-centre. There should be some kind of border to keep the content from the edge but it should be uniform. 2. I like the header but the rounded edges could do with being a little thinner. There are also some registration problems between pages where it jumps a few pixels. Also, bring the Photography text's shadow in tighter. Visually, it is competing with the rest rather than complementing it. 3. The navigation bar needs work - lose the Flash buttons and use DW's Java based navigation. The text is uneven and bleeds out of the graphic on Small Business. Lose the background, too. 4. I would be tempted to put something at the bottom of the page; or make it smaller. It looks unfinished (OK, I know it is unfinished). Maybe text based navigation links. 5. Simplify the font for the intro text. It's bunched up and makes for difficult reading. Sans Serif will work much better and no need for bold. Gallery Page 1. Again, the text is overpowering. Simplify it and make the images larger. You want people to see them first, then read what it's all about. 2. Helicopter, not helecopter 
3. The gallery itself is nice but why a separate window? To me that disassociates it from site. Also, in Firefox it jumps out to fill the screen. Not keen on that. Real Estate 1. Just the text again really. Small Business 1. You need to add examples of the service listed, especially as they are all visual in nature. 2. TEXT! Personal Art 1. Split the galleries. 3D, Photo-manipulation, drawn, etc. Give people the choice. 2. Lose the 'goofy' reference, a little unprofessional 3. TEXT! Sorry if this appears harsh. I'd never be gratuitously vicious. You have to think of your target audience: they'll be people looking for a professional service; you can certainly give them that but don't scare them away before you have a chance to prove it. I noticed from the source, you used a tracing image. I assume you laid the site out in Photoshop first? Go with Photoshop all the way. Get it to generate the images and code then import it as a site into Dreamweaver for tweaking. _________________ A happy-go-lucky chap, always dressed in black |
Posted on 13/02/07 11:26:02 PM |
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tank172
ThreeDee Thriller Posts: 692 Reply |
Re: My Webpage!
Wow! Thank you, David! I don't feel your comments were harsh at all. If I was in a college class, I would hope for the same constructive criticism from my teacher...and to me, this website is quite the substitute  (Can't beat the price!  )
I'll have to look up "Dreamweaver's Java Based Navigation" in the help directory to figure out where it is in the program...(Webdesign is a foreign language to me) I can't stand the popup windows for the gallery. I used Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Beta for the gallery creation. And the program seems to write the code in such a way that forces the Flash gallery in a separate window. I would love to have the gallery play within the content area of the site. But everything I've tried so far to produce that effect has failed. I'm revising the layout at the moment and your help is definately pointing me in the right direction. Oh, I meant to ask...everything I've read so far regarding having Photoshop write the html code has said that Photoshop writes dirty/long-winded code. So, I've tried to stay away from that. Is this correct? |
Posted on 14/02/07 01:18:47 AM |
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David Asch
Tech Support Posts: 1913 Reply |
Re: My Webpage!
The navigation bars are found under Insert > Image Objects > Navigation Bar. You can only have one per page but that's generally all you need. You can also create rollovers and have as many as you want. It's all done with wizards. You might want to check out Lightbox JS as an alternative to the Flash gallery. It's a pretty cool effect. As for the 'dirty code', unless you're in fear of the wrath of the W3C, does it really matter what's going on behind the scenes? Keep at it. The best way to learn HTML is to to take it apart. _________________ It must be Thursday, I never could get the hang of Thursdays |