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Microsoft MVP

 

Site critique please

 
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All Forums >> Web Design >> Site Critiques >> Site critique please 		Page: [1]
 
Dodabby

 

Posts: 35
Joined: 12/9/2004
Status: offline

  		Site critique please - 1/25/2005 7:20:07   
hi all

i would be most grateful if you all could take a look at http://www.raging-dwarf.com/erio/

it is due to be launched on thursday but still needs some work. how can i improve this site?

thanks in advance
karen
d a v e

 

Posts: 4064
Joined: 7/24/2002
From: England (but live in Finland now)
Status: offline

  		RE: Site critique please - 1/25/2005 8:32:47   
logo should be gif or 8-bit png

navigation would be better at the top

slight horizontal scrollbar at 1024x768

what's the phsyical location of the company? American? state office address?

what's with the double space after the period (. )? looks weird...

your list bullets are greatly misaligned in firefox and if you're listing points then use proper list markup (i.e. UL, LI)

site could do with a good css makeover if only for fonts, list styles, etc
http://www.w3schools.com/css/default.asp


apart from that the site looks clean and presentable enough

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David Prescott
Gekko web design

(in reply to Dodabby)
Dodabby

 

Posts: 35
Joined: 12/9/2004
Status: offline

  		RE: Site critique please - 1/25/2005 9:04:42   
the navigation is on the left. i am using allwebmenu's which is supposed to be cross browser ok, but obvioulsy not. i was silly, should have tested it - but i tested it the other day in the various browsers and it came up ok. when i tested it just now, the left navigation doesnt show.

will put in the physical location - thanks!

um... what double space do you mean?

im working on the css - will hopefully have that done later on.

thanks a mil

(in reply to d a v e)
Donkey

 

Posts: 3864
Joined: 11/13/2001
From: Blackfield United Kingdom
Status: offline

  		RE: Site critique please - 1/25/2005 9:05:27   
quote:

what's with the double space after the period (. )? looks weird...

I strongly disagree, when I first started using a keyboard (probably a typewriter) I was taught that you use a single space after punctuation marks inside a sentence, and two spaces after punctuation marks that end a sentence because it makes the copy easier to read. I know in some circles this convention is now ignored, but IMHO this should not be celebrated because it does make the resulting copy more difficult to read. Surely there is an accessibility issue here?

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I have a higher and grander standard of principle than George Washington. He could not lie; I can, but I won't.
Samuel Clemens

(in reply to d a v e)
d a v e

 

Posts: 4064
Joined: 7/24/2002
From: England (but live in Finland now)
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  		RE: Site critique please - 1/25/2005 9:06:58   
I mean this by the double space. Two spaces after every fillstop. So the text looks disconnected. Maybe

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David Prescott
Gekko web design

(in reply to Dodabby)
d a v e

 

Posts: 4064
Joined: 7/24/2002
From: England (but live in Finland now)
Status: offline

  		RE: Site critique please - 1/25/2005 9:09:49   
donkey - that's because typewriters use monospaced fonts and it made it clearer to see where sentences end. now we have variable width fonts and proper kerning methods it is undesirable to use 2 spaces.

Of course if you prefer to use 2 spaces you can do but i think it makes the text look a little weird and it isn't considered the best way.

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David Prescott
Gekko web design

(in reply to d a v e)
Dodabby

 

Posts: 35
Joined: 12/9/2004
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  		RE: Site critique please - 1/25/2005 9:12:10   
oh ok, that is how the content was sent to me so i just slotted it in. i was also taught that two spaces is correct so i have always done it like that. interesting though, i would never have seen the difference :) im going to leave it though for now.

i need to sort out the navigation - should i just put in text links for now on the left? evidently in some browsers it is not showing up. drat. likno.com says it is cross browser supported.

(in reply to d a v e)
d a v e

 

Posts: 4064
Joined: 7/24/2002
From: England (but live in Finland now)
Status: offline

  		RE: Site critique please - 1/25/2005 9:14:35   
there are some simple css lists that you cna use in your site and change with a basic amount of css knowledge
http://css.maxdesign.com.au/listamatic/

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David Prescott
Gekko web design

(in reply to Dodabby)
Donkey

 

Posts: 3864
Joined: 11/13/2001
From: Blackfield United Kingdom
Status: offline

  		RE: Site critique please - 1/25/2005 9:21:34   
quote:

now we have variable width fonts and proper kerning methods it is undesirable to use 2 spaces.

I'm interested in how that works. How can a space width be variable?
If you don't use 2 spaces after your full stop (period in USA) printed or on screen you might as well use one long sentence.

_____________________________

:)

I have a higher and grander standard of principle than George Washington. He could not lie; I can, but I won't.
Samuel Clemens

(in reply to d a v e)
d a v e

 

Posts: 4064
Joined: 7/24/2002
From: England (but live in Finland now)
Status: offline

  		RE: Site critique please - 1/25/2005 9:41:56   
because the spaces between the letters is variable (not fixed as in a typewriter font like courier) then the space between the words is more distinct.

It's quite easy to see where the sentence begins. And ends if you only use one space. Like in this sentence that i just typed.

this guy
http://www.evolt.org/article/Two_Spaces_After_a_Period_Isn_t_Dead_Yet/25/213/
agrees with you, for screen use at least, and i must confess he has a point but i will continue using 1 space.

with black text on a white background i think 2 spaces looks wierd :)


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David Prescott
Gekko web design

(in reply to Donkey)
Donkey

 

Posts: 3864
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  		RE: Site critique please - 1/25/2005 10:00:42   
If you compare the two I submit that the second is clearer.

I had to use an image because outfront seems to automatically convert the double space to single. So obviously Spooky agrees with you.:) (or whoever wrote the default setting for the forum software).

I still believe it's an accessibility issue. It will make life easier for the millions of older surfers without the benefit of young sharp eyes.



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_____________________________

:)

I have a higher and grander standard of principle than George Washington. He could not lie; I can, but I won't.
Samuel Clemens

(in reply to d a v e)
Dodabby

 

Posts: 35
Joined: 12/9/2004
Status: offline

  		RE: Site critique please - 1/25/2005 10:05:03   
seems i have sorted out the slight horizontal scroll problem. any ideas as to what i can do for the navigation on the left? it shows up in IE and Opera, but not the other browsers.

(in reply to Donkey)
d a v e

 

Posts: 4064
Joined: 7/24/2002
From: England (but live in Finland now)
Status: offline

  		RE: Site critique please - 1/25/2005 10:55:44   
dodabby - did you look at the css menu i mentioned?

donkey - it's default html behaviour to have one space, no matter how many 'spaces' are in the code. you have to insert a non-breaking space in to get the second space.

i still prefer the first so we'll have to agree to disagree on that one :)

IMO it looks a bit disjointed like that.

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David Prescott
Gekko web design

(in reply to Dodabby)
Donkey

 

Posts: 3864
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From: Blackfield United Kingdom
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  		RE: Site critique please - 1/25/2005 11:14:40   
quote:

donkey - it's default html behaviour to have one space, no matter how many 'spaces' are in the code. you have to insert a non-breaking space in to get the second space.

I am embarrassed by my stupidity.:)

_____________________________

:)

I have a higher and grander standard of principle than George Washington. He could not lie; I can, but I won't.
Samuel Clemens

(in reply to d a v e)
d a v e

 

Posts: 4064
Joined: 7/24/2002
From: England (but live in Finland now)
Status: offline

  		RE: Site critique please - 1/25/2005 11:33:11   
don't be:)

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David Prescott
Gekko web design

(in reply to Donkey)
Nicole

 

Posts: 2830
Joined: 9/15/2004
From: Nambucca / Kempsey, Australia
Status: offline

  		RE: Site critique please - 1/25/2005 15:24:01   
Hi Karen,

I think it's a nice site, but a few changed i'd make would be:

  • Your letter spacing should be increased or use a different font. It's very hard to read that much information with a white background and very bunched lettering. Maybe you could use a different font, different font colour (like dark grey), or a different page background colour (like very light grey).
  • Your banner looks very spaced, with one part of it on the right and the other on the left. I guess you've done this so it fits at 800 x 600, but to me there's just too much blank space in the middle. I'd also use a solid border for the banner, unlike the dashed or dotted one you have at the moment.
  • Home, Contact and Site Map at the top also need a little padding as they're hard up against the left page border.


Hope that helps

Nicole

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(in reply to Dodabby)
Dodabby

 

Posts: 35
Joined: 12/9/2004
Status: offline

  		RE: Site critique please - 1/26/2005 1:14:34   
thanks Nicole :) i have changed the font which does make it easier to read now i think. i am not sure what to put in the banner - i have thought about it over and over again, but dont know what would be suitable. am still thinking lol! have moved the links in the banner a bit so it is not so pushed against the edge.

do things look better now?

thanks again

(in reply to Nicole)
Nicole

 

Posts: 2830
Joined: 9/15/2004
From: Nambucca / Kempsey, Australia
Status: offline

  		RE: Site critique please - 1/26/2005 5:00:20   
Hi Karen,

Yes the page looks better now, but i'm not sure for the banner either. I'm not very good with abstract artwork, i usually go with a photograph in the banner, and usually very meaningless ones like trees, plants, clouds, beaches etc.

Nicole

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(in reply to Dodabby)
Dodabby

 

Posts: 35
Joined: 12/9/2004
Status: offline

  		RE: Site critique please - 1/26/2005 5:22:17   
thanks a mil Nicole, much appreciated :) will see what i can come up with. thanks again :)

(in reply to Nicole)
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