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Better late than never...

 
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All Forums >> Web Design >> Site Critiques >> Better late than never...
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bobby

 

Posts: 11394
Joined: 8/15/1969
From: Seattle WA USA
Status: offline

 
Better late than never... - 11/22/2002 14:14:30   
Hi all -

http://www.bdwebservices.com/new/index.asp

This is the first re-design my site has had in almost 3 years... oops.

Never mind the content... I' m still working on that, as well as the navigation structure, though everything seems to work just fine...

Looking for comments on overall look, feel, usability, browser issues, etc.

Lots of CSS2 positioning and styles, so probably cause some hiccups in NN<6. Haven' t tested there yet. If necessary I may @import a NN specific .css file...

Let me know what you think of my latest!

_____________________________

If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?


:)
Seventh

 

Posts: 1235
Joined: 8/4/2002
From: The Motor City
Status: offline

 
RE: Better late than never... - 11/22/2002 16:30:18   
General Info:

Internet Explorer 6.0.2
21" Monitor @ 1024 x 768 resolution and Millions of Colors

Critique:

#1. Well, the first thing I notice is that I have a scroll bar at the bottom and I' m at 1024 x 768 resolution.

#2. The title bar " Blue Dragon Web Services" seems offset. I' m not sure if it' s suppose to be over the content or all the way to the left. It' s currently over both the Navigation and Content sections.

#3. The box for the Navigation Section seems to sit a little higher than the box for the Content Section. Not sure if that was what you were going for or not.

#4. I' m a little put off by the colors - Rust(?), Bright Blue & Black - and the thick borders. Could just be me as I was partying heavily last night.[:j]

#5. I can' t believe you don' t have OutFront in your Resource Links.:) Bad Bad Overlord! That' s the reason you' re still in training.:)

I understand that this is a rough draft, and so are my opinions.:)


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"go forth and create."

(in reply to bobby)
bobby

 

Posts: 11394
Joined: 8/15/1969
From: Seattle WA USA
Status: offline

 
RE: Better late than never... - 11/22/2002 17:07:00   
quote:

Critique:

#1. Well, the first thing I notice is that I have a scroll bar at the bottom and I' m at 1024 x 768 resolution.

Interesting... I have everything done to 100% and I tested at rez from 640 - 1024... I' ll have to investigate this one... :)

quote:

#2. The title bar " Blue Dragon Web Services" seems offset. I' m not sure if it' s suppose to be over the content or all the way to the left. It' s currently over both the Navigation and Content sections.

That' s what it' s supposed to look like... :)

quote:

#3. The box for the Navigation Section seems to sit a little higher than the box for the Content Section. Not sure if that was what you were going for or not.

Kind of... I' m still playing with the border sizes, etc. They are actually positioned to the same top: value in px. It' s the border color and size that makes it look that way...

quote:

#4. I' m a little put off by the colors - Rust(?), Bright Blue & Black - and the thick borders. Could just be me as I was partying heavily last night.

The rust is a last minute addition... before that it was only black blue and white... I like it, but I' m not the one that needs to be pleased with it... :)

You should see what it looks like when you print it out... [:' (]

quote:

#5. I can' t believe you don' t have OutFront in your Resource Links. Bad Bad Overlord! That' s the reason you' re still in training.

LOL! :) You don' t think those 3 links are enough? [:p]
" There will be many change..."

quote:

I understand that this is a rough draft, and so are my opinions.

Your opinion is valued and your feedback is appreciated!

Thanks, Seventh. Great info as usual.


< Message edited by bobby -- 11/22/2002 5:07:45 PM >


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If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?


:)

(in reply to bobby)
erinatkins

 

Posts: 3072
From: Mechanicsville VA USA
Status: offline

 
RE: Better late than never... - 11/22/2002 17:22:57   
Bobby,

This is odd at home I have the scroll bar in both directions on 800x600.
I did not have this when I saw this site earlier this AM.

I asked Cassandra about new color combo & she likes it. She said a red might also be good unless you would do PINK. (not sure your opinion on that one)

I like the use at your own risk.:)

Erin

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All Hail Great Spooky - Master of the Outfront Forums. He can make you or break you.

(in reply to bobby)
bobby

 

Posts: 11394
Joined: 8/15/1969
From: Seattle WA USA
Status: offline

 
RE: Better late than never... - 11/22/2002 17:33:24   
Thanks Erin... tell Cassandra that she' s my new design/color consultant :)

Though I doubt if I' ll ever use pink on a website. (oops, now someone is going to demand it [:p])

I' ll check out this scrollbar deal when I get home... the vertical one doesn' t surprise me... but the horiz. scrollbar has no business being there... I' ll have to investigate my math and widths in CSS and find out what I' ve done...

The whole page is contained in a layer set to 100%...

I have more browsers at home than I do here... only IE5.5 now. I' ll check it out on some others this weekend...

Thanks for the feedback!

:edit:

Red might give it a really patriotic look..? :)

< Message edited by bobby -- 11/22/2002 5:34:31 PM >


_____________________________

If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?


:)

(in reply to bobby)
erinatkins

 

Posts: 3072
From: Mechanicsville VA USA
Status: offline

 
RE: Better late than never... - 11/22/2002 17:38:57   
Bobby,

LOL - No Pink - She says pink is in now in lots of stores.:)

Red would give it a little more patriotic look.

Will keep checking for revisions.

Erin





< Message edited by erinatkins -- 11/22/2002 5:39:39 PM >


_____________________________

All Hail Great Spooky - Master of the Outfront Forums. He can make you or break you.

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mar0364

 

Posts: 3221
Joined: 4/5/2002
From: Florida, US
Status: offline

 
RE: Better late than never... - 11/22/2002 19:49:06   
Good start! Did you try making the brew yet. Dame get your priorities inline.

(in reply to bobby)
john40004

 

Posts: 1346
From: Bardstown KY USA
Status: offline

 
RE: Better late than never... - 11/22/2002 20:06:05   
Hi Bobby,
Looked at your site with IE 6.0, 28.8 connection and resolution at 800 X 600.

(1) I too received a horizontal scroll bar.

(2) Pages loaded fast.

(3) http://www.bdwebservices.com/new/index.asp
" Services" and " Portfolio" links returned me the index page. There was a link to " Services" on another page which also returned me to the index.

(4) http://www.bdwebservices.com/new/t_asp9.asp
" Next" link resulted in page not found.

(5) All other links worked.

Hope this helps.



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If you lead a good life and say your prayers at night, when you die you' ll find yourself in Kentucky. The home of fast women and beautiful horses!

(in reply to bobby)
Seventh

 

Posts: 1235
Joined: 8/4/2002
From: The Motor City
Status: offline

 
RE: Better late than never... - 11/23/2002 0:25:47   
quote:

#2. The title bar " Blue Dragon Web Services" seems offset. I' m not sure if it' s suppose to be over the content or all the way to the left. It' s currently over both the Navigation and Content sections.


I think I may not have made myself clear on this point. I' m not talking about the one at the top but the one that sits directly underneath it. Here' s a picture.

:)

Attachment (1)

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"go forth and create."

(in reply to bobby)
Seventh

 

Posts: 1235
Joined: 8/4/2002
From: The Motor City
Status: offline

 
RE: Better late than never... - 11/23/2002 0:27:17   
And since I' m posting, here' s a screenshot of the horizontal scrollbar.



:)

Attachment (1)

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"go forth and create."

(in reply to bobby)
bobby

 

Posts: 11394
Joined: 8/15/1969
From: Seattle WA USA
Status: offline

 
RE: Better late than never... - 11/23/2002 4:08:57   
Okay... just finished playing.

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

Seventh, I fixed the H scroll... my fault, bad math in my CSS. I haven' t checked at 640 rez, my pc doesn' t have it as an option... will check that at work.

At 1024x rez it looks okay, but the bg image is too small (I switched to the image because in IE6 the background color of the layer wasn' t expanding to 100% height like it did in the others..?

I may try a browser detect script for the screen rez and swap another image in for the 1024. Never tried that tho... anyone have luck with something along those lines?

Also, Seventh - that is what it' s supposed to look like. The logo box is skewed to the left a bit, and the header box is skewed right. You were pleanty clear :)

John - great stuff man!

I fixed those links on the index page already... hadn' t gone in to proof my text since that was the template page. [:p]

I hope the pages still load fast. I think the background image is going to add a couple seconds to that time :)

I' ll have to see about that Next link... I probably left out a page. Or maybe I never got around to writing the next page... I' ll have ot see... :)

Mar - Thanks! Nope, no home brew yet. Too busy for new hobby. Must build website. Must pamper pregnant wife. Must go to work...

Erin - Tell Cassandra she was right about the red... but the pink can stay in the stores. Pink belongs on bubble gum and jail cell walls and the bumpers of rookie drivers... :)

Thanks again everyone. I really appreciate the help!

B

_____________________________

If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?


:)

(in reply to bobby)
_gail

 

Posts: 2876
From: So FL
Status: offline

 
RE: Better late than never... - 11/23/2002 11:26:47   
I like your site, bobbie, including the colors though find the blue a bit bright. Consider ever so slightly reducing the brightness and/or contrast of the blue fields (rather than change the color since you want it to match the color in your logo).

About that Blue Dragon Web Services title bar offset. There is something about it that Seventh alludes to that' s hard to put your finger on. Here are my thoughts.

Consider extending the left side of the title bar all the way left to the left edge of the red color field. I don' t have time to play with it now here which I try to do before making a suggestion. But I don' t think so much needs to be offset in the site and that particular area of the page seems to be overly offset, imho. If the suggestion works visually, you' ll no doubt have to adjust the text heading within the field (is that an H1 tag? :)).

Otherwise, the offsetting adds a nice dimension to the overall look. You' ve made good use of " white space" (which doesn' t necessarily refer to an area which is white).

I don' t generally read actual content when doing a site review (unless that was the request) but I' ve read most of it at yours with the exception of the tutorials. I have a few thoughts and suggestions from a business perspective and will share them with you via email.

gail

< Message edited by _gail -- 11/23/2002 3:16:00 PM >

(in reply to bobby)
bobby

 

Posts: 11394
Joined: 8/15/1969
From: Seattle WA USA
Status: offline

 
RE: Better late than never... - 11/23/2002 15:51:45   
Thanks Gail...

next " playtime" I' ll fool around with that offset and the blue shade... I actually overplayed the blue in the logo, which is what I was trying to match on the page.

It originally was to match the blue in my little dragon graphic... but it' s much deeper and brighter... so I' ll probably tone it down that way...

I look forward to your input on my content. (Always been my weak point...)
This was all written off-the cuff - more to fill up space and try to get a feel for where I want to take the text... so any input before I sit down to finalize it would be great!

Especially from you :)

Personally, I find non-fiction to be the most difficult genre... :)





_____________________________

If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?


:)

(in reply to bobby)
bobby

 

Posts: 11394
Joined: 8/15/1969
From: Seattle WA USA
Status: offline

 
RE: Better late than never... - 12/2/2002 13:54:56   
Context and phantom links aside...

I have changed the red (a little less dramatic) and the blue (a lot less drastic).

Also made a couple of other changes to <h2> and a couple of other minor changes...

Also, got NN4.8 back on my box and got it working again (finally)...

My site looks like poo-doo in NN<6... but I think I' ll leave it. I rely too heavily on CSS2. If I get ambitious I may place an @import-.css file for older NN, or just a " Dude you need to upgrade" message for older browsers in general... depends on my mood :)

Any feedback on new color scheme? I think the blue is too whimpy now, too much like the Seahawks new uniform colors... [:p]

_____________________________

If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?


:)

(in reply to bobby)
_gail

 

Posts: 2876
From: So FL
Status: offline

 
RE: Better late than never... - 12/2/2002 14:00:16   
quote:

ORIGINAL: bobby

Any feedback on new color scheme? I think the blue is too whimpy now, too much like the Seahawks new uniform colors... [:p]



If you call me " darling" too, I' ll make some additional comments. [:p][:p]

LOL

As usual, just jesting with my virtual buddy. Some input on the color scheme later.

gail

< Message edited by _gail -- 12/2/2002 2:21:00 PM >

(in reply to bobby)
bobby

 

Posts: 11394
Joined: 8/15/1969
From: Seattle WA USA
Status: offline

 
RE: Better late than never... - 12/2/2002 14:41:51   
LOL!

I' ll call you anything you like... darling :)

Although, that was a reference to her forum name :)

_____________________________

If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?


:)

(in reply to bobby)
_gail

 

Posts: 2876
From: So FL
Status: offline

 
RE: Better late than never... - 12/2/2002 17:11:43   

quote:

ORIGINAL: bobby

Although, that was a reference to her forum name :)


Yes, I know.

I couldn' t decide whether to jest with you, or tell your wife. :):)Actually, gail is just fine to call me. I' ve been called a lot worse. :)

bobby, I really do like the new blue color A LOT! I don' t think it is " whimpy" at all but quite lovely. It balances and subdues the red which contains more brightness.

Nice job.

gail



(in reply to bobby)
bobby

 

Posts: 11394
Joined: 8/15/1969
From: Seattle WA USA
Status: offline

 
RE: Better late than never... - 12/2/2002 17:32:03   
he he

Your jest and jibes are always welcome!

Thanks... that' s what I thought when I first re-did the graphic... but now that I go back and look it' s just not the same (but that was the point, right?)

I think i' ll leave it alone... so I don' t mess it up real good...



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If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?


:)

(in reply to bobby)
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