Critique This Site Layout and Structure, Please? - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

sadistikdreams · 10-13-2006, 11:57 PM

Okay, so this is a website I'm doing for this band in Bellingham.

What do y'all think? I was thinking there's a better way to execute certain things, but I just can't flash on to it... So feel free to look at the code and see if there's a better way to do things.

Thanks! If y'all have any questions, I'll answer em, but I'd like this to be more of a suggestions thread.

Glory's Sun · 10-16-2006, 09:05 AM

First Impression.. it feels old. No offense.

I hate the type face.. it just doesn't flow with the picture IMO. Another thing is that I'm not a fan of flash, unless it's really .. I mean <b>REALLY</b> done well. A small animation is often annoying so you may be better off not getting flash onto it.

Also, on your email/contact links.. take out the actual address from showing up. Someone told me it's actually illegal for the email address to show up when you hover over a mail link. I have nfi if that's true or not, but it's not the best looking cosmetically and it just tells people what your email addie is instead of just a random webmaster heading.

The picture menu is a tad tedious. Now I don't know how much time you have but it may be better just to gallery them and let each person pick what they want to see instead of just having to go through all of them. Also, I'm not a fan of the first menu detail of the picture gallery then having to read more text and then having to click yet another button to get to the pics.

I know I'm being negative but I'm just being honest about the layout in my eyes. I think the whole page would be better looking with some CSS in there. Did you use Front Page to build this? If so you may want to look at dreamweaver.

sadistikdreams · 10-16-2006, 11:02 AM

I appreciate it. After seeing that like, 20 people viewed this thread, I'm glad somebody replied.

Actually, none of it is flash. It's like, a navbar.

For the mailto link, you're saying that I should put the actual addresse in the alt field?

As for the photos, I really feel that thumbnails and galleries are outdated. This method makes it so that you have to look at all the pictures, as opposed to thumbnails, where you don't even have to look at the bigger picture.

You're really not being negative. You're giving some good tips, and I really appreciate it! I'm using dreamweaver, and I wanted to make the html as simple and efficient as possible. So I don't know what css would really do for me.

Glory's Sun · 10-16-2006, 11:17 AM

I know it's not flash, I thought I saw something in your OP about wanting to use flash in it or something. As far as thumbnails and galleries go, I don't want to have to pick through every picture. I want to choose the ones I think I'm interested in and leave the fluff behind.

I understand wanting to keep the code simple.. I just like the stylings of CSS better.. looks more uniform to me. I mean you can use CSS and HTML together and make a great looking page. Dreamweaver makes this crazy easy.

For the mailtolink when I hover over it it shows the actual email adress that is being used. Set up a generic contact form and then noone actually sees where that email is going.

You can have the submit button go to mulitple accounts if you wish but like I keep saying, the person filling in the form doesn't know any real email addies.

sadistikdreams · 10-16-2006, 11:27 AM

Oh, that's a good idea. Less spam that way, eh?

I'll take a look at what I can do with the CSS.

Glory's Sun · 10-16-2006, 11:35 AM

generally a contact form can help with spam.. of course people could spam you but it would be harder since the contact form is a manual thing.

Chamaeleontidae · 10-17-2006, 05:37 AM

An additional thought to guccilvr's good commentary...

Are you preloading the graphic images? I see a lot of image holders, like the browser is down loading the pic for the menu items. This shouldn't happen if you are preloading the images... Also, the home reversed image appears to be missing...

ngdawg · 10-17-2006, 08:44 PM

I agree about the pic links; thumbs give a better idea of what someone might like to see and there's many ways to get a good looking thumb-linked page going( just don't use the album builder in dreamweaver's sister, fireworks-it takes up a lot of mb's.). There's a super-quick way of making thumbs with Image Ready by shrinking an entire folder's contents to the size you want(be sure to copy the folder first!!), then it's just a matter of using or coding a 'browse to' to the original. One hint tho so the pix can't be 'taken': save them as web-ready(in PS, that's 'save for web'). I took one, checked the size in PS and it was a good printable size. Do you want that?
I would also space out the links on the home page. Looks like it says 'photo links' and 'home news', which a NJ newspaper

I also agree about the font; kinda small and not very hip. Check out font freak for some cool free fonts.

Chamaeleontidae · 10-18-2006, 07:46 PM

There are also programs like Eyelevel WebGallery Creator 1.2.0 There are multiple layouts to choose from, and it scales the original for the thumbnail, and the display image. You can also modify the templates, if you desire... (and it's free...

)

hunnychile · 10-19-2006, 05:05 AM

...and please don't use the word "howdy" in the News text. It's a bit too corn pone. I wouldn't mention in your text that you really don't know much about them. My point being this: if you haven't bothered to check them out musically and live then why would any one else who stumbles upon their site. Right?

I'll admit this site is a decent start though. At least you are creating something! carry on...

sadistikdreams · 10-21-2006, 07:38 PM

That's kind of prejudiced, don't you think?

I probably should've made this clearer in the OP, but I want the suggestions to be how I can make the HTML more efficient, as opposed to how I can change the overall layout. That's why I said structure.

While I appreciate your opinions, I'm not going to change the way the photo page is set up. I like it, and more importantly, the band likes it. If I get complaints when the site goes public, maybe I'll change it. But in the meanwhile, this is how I'm going to do it.

What you're looking at is just a beta. I haven't made it public yet. Everything that isn't content is just a placeholder.

So if anyone, after looking at the source code, has any suggestions on making it more efficient, I'd really appreciate them. Thanks!

Glory's Sun · 10-23-2006, 04:25 AM

Ok in order for us to help you with "efficiency", we're going to need some information. What exactly do you want with this page? Is it just an info page on a band? A basic fan site or are you trying to do something unique? I know you like your layout.. but sometimes you have to change the layout to get better efficiency

So unless you're equating efficiency with faster, I don't know what you want. Chamael already told you one way to make it more efficient ( preloading images). I've told you one way with the pictures. So.. now let's get down to the gritty..

10-13-2006, 11:57 PM	#1 (permalink)
sadistikdreams lonely rolling star Location: Seattle.	Critique This Site Layout and Structure, Please? Okay, so this is a website I'm doing for this band in Bellingham. What do y'all think? I was thinking there's a better way to execute certain things, but I just can't flash on to it... So feel free to look at the code and see if there's a better way to do things. Thanks! If y'all have any questions, I'll answer em, but I'd like this to be more of a suggestions thread. Last edited by sadistikdreams; 10-21-2006 at 07:31 PM..

10-17-2006, 05:37 AM	#7 (permalink)
Chamaeleontidae aka: freakylongname Location: South of the Great While North	An additional thought to guccilvr's good commentary... Are you preloading the graphic images? I see a lot of image holders, like the browser is down loading the pic for the menu items. This shouldn't happen if you are preloading the images... Also, the home reversed image appears to be missing... __________________ "Reality is just a crutch for people who can't cope with drugs." Robin Williams.

10-17-2006, 08:44 PM	#8 (permalink)
ngdawg peekaboo Location: on the back, bitch	I agree about the pic links; thumbs give a better idea of what someone might like to see and there's many ways to get a good looking thumb-linked page going( just don't use the album builder in dreamweaver's sister, fireworks-it takes up a lot of mb's.). There's a super-quick way of making thumbs with Image Ready by shrinking an entire folder's contents to the size you want(be sure to copy the folder first!!), then it's just a matter of using or coding a 'browse to' to the original. One hint tho so the pix can't be 'taken': save them as web-ready(in PS, that's 'save for web'). I took one, checked the size in PS and it was a good printable size. Do you want that? I would also space out the links on the home page. Looks like it says 'photo links' and 'home news', which a NJ newspaper I also agree about the font; kinda small and not very hip. Check out font freak for some cool free fonts. __________________ Don't blame me. I didn't vote for either of'em.

10-18-2006, 07:46 PM	#9 (permalink)
Chamaeleontidae aka: freakylongname Location: South of the Great While North	There are also programs like Eyelevel WebGallery Creator 1.2.0 There are multiple layouts to choose from, and it scales the original for the thumbnail, and the display image. You can also modify the templates, if you desire... (and it's free... ) __________________ "Reality is just a crutch for people who can't cope with drugs." Robin Williams.

10-19-2006, 05:05 AM	#10 (permalink)
hunnychile Alien Anthropologist Location: Between Boredom and Nirvana	...and please don't use the word "howdy" in the News text. It's a bit too corn pone. I wouldn't mention in your text that you really don't know much about them. My point being this: if you haven't bothered to check them out musically and live then why would any one else who stumbles upon their site. Right? I'll admit this site is a decent start though. At least you are creating something! carry on... __________________ "I need compassion, understanding and chocolate." - NJB

10-16-2006, 09:05 AM	#2 (permalink)
Glory's Sun Registered User	First Impression.. it feels old. No offense. I hate the type face.. it just doesn't flow with the picture IMO. Another thing is that I'm not a fan of flash, unless it's really .. I mean <b>REALLY</b> done well. A small animation is often annoying so you may be better off not getting flash onto it. Also, on your email/contact links.. take out the actual address from showing up. Someone told me it's actually illegal for the email address to show up when you hover over a mail link. I have nfi if that's true or not, but it's not the best looking cosmetically and it just tells people what your email addie is instead of just a random webmaster heading. The picture menu is a tad tedious. Now I don't know how much time you have but it may be better just to gallery them and let each person pick what they want to see instead of just having to go through all of them. Also, I'm not a fan of the first menu detail of the picture gallery then having to read more text and then having to click yet another button to get to the pics. I know I'm being negative but I'm just being honest about the layout in my eyes. I think the whole page would be better looking with some CSS in there. Did you use Front Page to build this? If so you may want to look at dreamweaver.

10-16-2006, 11:02 AM	#3 (permalink)
sadistikdreams lonely rolling star Location: Seattle.	I appreciate it. After seeing that like, 20 people viewed this thread, I'm glad somebody replied. Actually, none of it is flash. It's like, a navbar. For the mailto link, you're saying that I should put the actual addresse in the alt field? As for the photos, I really feel that thumbnails and galleries are outdated. This method makes it so that you have to look at all the pictures, as opposed to thumbnails, where you don't even have to look at the bigger picture. You're really not being negative. You're giving some good tips, and I really appreciate it! I'm using dreamweaver, and I wanted to make the html as simple and efficient as possible. So I don't know what css would really do for me.

10-16-2006, 11:17 AM	#4 (permalink)
Glory's Sun Registered User	I know it's not flash, I thought I saw something in your OP about wanting to use flash in it or something. As far as thumbnails and galleries go, I don't want to have to pick through every picture. I want to choose the ones I think I'm interested in and leave the fluff behind. I understand wanting to keep the code simple.. I just like the stylings of CSS better.. looks more uniform to me. I mean you can use CSS and HTML together and make a great looking page. Dreamweaver makes this crazy easy. For the mailtolink when I hover over it it shows the actual email adress that is being used. Set up a generic contact form and then noone actually sees where that email is going. You can have the submit button go to mulitple accounts if you wish but like I keep saying, the person filling in the form doesn't know any real email addies.

10-16-2006, 11:27 AM	#5 (permalink)
sadistikdreams lonely rolling star Location: Seattle.	Oh, that's a good idea. Less spam that way, eh? I'll take a look at what I can do with the CSS.

10-16-2006, 11:35 AM	#6 (permalink)
Glory's Sun Registered User	generally a contact form can help with spam.. of course people could spam you but it would be harder since the contact form is a manual thing.

10-21-2006, 07:38 PM	#11 (permalink)
sadistikdreams lonely rolling star Location: Seattle.	That's kind of prejudiced, don't you think? I probably should've made this clearer in the OP, but I want the suggestions to be how I can make the HTML more efficient, as opposed to how I can change the overall layout. That's why I said structure. While I appreciate your opinions, I'm not going to change the way the photo page is set up. I like it, and more importantly, the band likes it. If I get complaints when the site goes public, maybe I'll change it. But in the meanwhile, this is how I'm going to do it. What you're looking at is just a beta. I haven't made it public yet. Everything that isn't content is just a placeholder. So if anyone, after looking at the source code, has any suggestions on making it more efficient, I'd really appreciate them. Thanks!

10-23-2006, 04:25 AM	#12 (permalink)
Glory's Sun Registered User	Ok in order for us to help you with "efficiency", we're going to need some information. What exactly do you want with this page? Is it just an info page on a band? A basic fan site or are you trying to do something unique? I know you like your layout.. but sometimes you have to change the layout to get better efficiency So unless you're equating efficiency with faster, I don't know what you want. Chamael already told you one way to make it more efficient ( preloading images). I've told you one way with the pictures. So.. now let's get down to the gritty..