Critique my Pet Boutique! (Full Version)

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petquarter -> Critique my Pet Boutique! (5/30/2005 4:23:36)

Hi everyone! I am trying to tweak a few things on my site and was hoping you all could help identify any problems you see. I've come here for advice in the past and everyone has been so nice and helpful.

I am sure the coding needs some help, so please let me know what problems you see. The navigation is boring, so I could use some advice. And I know I need to add content for SEO purposes, but I'm afraid of taking away from the feel of my site.

I would love to hear all of your ideas and suggestions!

Thanks!

The Pet Quarter Boutique



Kitka -> RE: Critique my Pet Boutique! (5/30/2005 6:48:35)

Hi,

Welcome to OutFront!

I don't have time for an in-depth analysis, but the first things that hit me are:

  • I suggest you change the font from the default serif (Times New Roman or derivative) to a sans-serif font e.g. Verdana or Arial. It is much easier to read on screens.
  • lose the hit counter, they are tacky (too easy to fake) and generally detract from the professionalism of a site.
  • tighten up the width of the copyright notice so it occupies the same width or less than the main table.



Tailslide -> RE: Critique my Pet Boutique! (5/30/2005 8:01:32)

Hi Cherie

I like the pink stripes on your site - very cute looking!

I have a couple of points that you might want to look at.

Firstly, I agree totally with Kitka on all three of her points - a sans-serif font such as Verdana would be much easier to read on all the pages (you have a sans-serif font on some sections - you need to make it uniform throughout.)  Counters serve no real purpose on a business site and as Kitka said are easy to fake.

Other points:

On the Lagniappe (hey I've learnt a new word!) page the green and purple graphic jars somewhat with the more gentle pink and white of the page - I'd look at toning it down at the very least if not changing the colours to match more.

Some of the graphics on the Boutique page are a little blurry - while it's important to get file sizes down as low as possible with graphics,  it becomes counter-productive if lowered too far.  Also (this is personal opinion so feel free to ignore!) I'm not keen on the street sign link thingies - or at least them taking up so much room in the centre of the page - maybe put them in the side columns and have whatever is your latest stock or special offer in the main part?  Just a thought that bit!

Finally, because it's my thing to nag about - you need a valid doc type - have a look a this site to see an explanation of what they are and why you should bother.  http://www.alistapart.com/articles/doctype/

My guess is you'll want this doc type (stick it in every page before anything else even the <html> tag)
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">

You mention that you're not sure about your code in general - there are loads of on-line tutorials try googling HTML and see what you get. Also a good idea is to have a look at the W3C HTML validator at http://validator.w3.org/ which will tell you if you use invalid code. Be aware that if you're using some of FP's "smart" features then that particular bit of the code may never validate properly. But have a look anyway, you should be able to distinguish what's your general code and what's FP weirdness. There is a school of thought that says as long as it works so what if it's not "valid" code - and if you've got 50 other things to do as well as writing a website then this view has merit. But if you can get your site code as "valid" as possible then you ensure that your site will work for as many people as possible for as long as possible (it's a long-term view thing really).

Good luck with the site!




d a v e -> RE: Critique my Pet Boutique! (5/30/2005 9:49:35)

i disagree about the serif font in this case (usually i would be with the others) though you might prefer georgia or then use trebuchet instead (ok so those without georgia or trebuchet would see a serif font but i think that would be fine) 



Tailslide -> RE: Critique my Pet Boutique! (5/30/2005 10:06:35)

Trebuchet is sans-serif isn't it?



d a v e -> RE: Critique my Pet Boutique! (5/30/2005 10:22:35)

yes i meant as a sans-serif alternative if they didn't like georgia...



Tailslide -> RE: Critique my Pet Boutique! (5/30/2005 10:26:22)

sorry Dave, misunderstood (didn't read properly).



d a v e -> RE: Critique my Pet Boutique! (5/30/2005 10:37:14)

no problem - it was a bit ambiguous ;)



petquarter -> RE: Critique my Pet Boutique! (5/30/2005 12:59:34)

I am so grateful for you all taking the time to help me with this!

I removed the counter. Good point! It was never accurate and I use online stats.

I moved the copyright text into a table.

I need you all to help me with the font. I don't understand why it's difficult to read. I opened Internet Explorer, Firefox and MSN browsers and it doesn't seem hard to read. I don't like any of the other fonts except Georgia, but I don't see a big difference between the two, except for boldness and size. Would it be better to change to Georgia or change the Times New Roman to a larger size and make the serif uniform throughout the site. I want to make it easy to read, so I'm definitely willing to do what it takes, I just don't quite understand. If you look at my home page now, I've changed to Georgia to test it out.

I am going to work on the Lagniappe page and probably remove the green circle. That is an artist's graphic that I placed there and you are right, it does kind of jump out.

As for the boutique page, I just added the content on the sides with the small graphics. Which image is blurry? I'll try to fix it. I know the signs are kind of large, but I really love them. It's the look of the French Quarter and I've used them in all of my advertising. It's actually a miniature of my actual building sign. I changed the font on them recently because I was using Edwardian script and it was very difficult to read, like on the homepage graphic wall.

I'll add the doctype too and check it.

Do you have any ideas for better navigation links? Are there any Frontpage effects that my make it nicer?

I need to add some content to my home page, but I can't decide if I should add tables on the left and right like on the boutique page. I'm afraid it would be too much. I intend on adding content on my About Me page too.

I really appreciate these critiques! They are very helpful and I'll keep working on getting it right.




Tailslide -> RE: Critique my Pet Boutique! (5/30/2005 13:31:21)

Hi again Cherie!

As far as the font goes - in the end you have to go with what you like and can live with.  There's no point making changes if you hate them!

The thing with the fonts is that - oddly - Serif fonts like Times New Roman are physically easier to read in Print than Serif ones.  On screens it's the reverse.  No idea why!  Some of the sans-serif fonts can look a little boring - Verdana and Trebuchet are prettier, but in the end you have to be comfortable with your choice or there's no point (Georgia's quite pretty anyway).  I'd get rid of the itallics on the copyright as they really are hard to read!

I can't help you with the FP menus I'm afraid (I'm sure someone else will chime in) as I usually use CSS ones instead.

I find the cat photo on the Boutique page a bit blurry - if you've got the original you may need to save it with a bit less optimising to increase the sharpness.

I wouldn't add tables to the side on the Homepage because if the window is resized to 800px wide (which is still the most common width) you need to scroll horizontally which according to all the studies is a big no-no - people hate doing it (although they're quite happy to scroll vertically!).  Besides it's quite pretty as it is!  Just maybe add a bit more text if you want to.

Just a word about getting your site validated - don't panic (ok that's 2 words) When you start trying to do this you'll get loads of errors coming back at you from the W3C validator - just work through them as and when you can and recognise which ones are caused by FP (as you can't fix 'em) and which ones you can do something about.  It seems quite daunting at first... Also sometimes if you fix something and go back to re-validate - it'll have cleared up loads of problems in one go.

I like a lot about your site - I like the stripes (said that already sorry) and I like some of the details like having a privacy statement which a lot of people forget - you're doing load right so don't worry about the other stuff - it'll come right with a bit of time.

PS Do you mention whether you ship overseas on your shipping page?



petquarter -> RE: Critique my Pet Boutique! (5/30/2005 14:51:57)

Thanks Tailslide!

I am working on changing everything to Georgia. Do you all like it better than the Times New Roman on your various browsers and resolutions?

Obviously my site is both static and dynamic. I have a problem with a couple of pages of the dynamic (cart end) that I cannot figure out. The cart people say it's Frontpage. Look at this page: other pets

See the navigation and how it's bold, even though it does not appear this way in FP, it does live. How can I change it?

Thanks!



Tailslide -> RE: Critique my Pet Boutique! (5/30/2005 15:11:08)

Cherie

I see what you mean - I had a look and can't see anything obvious that might be causing it - but I don't use FrontPage so I'm not sure which of it's tricks this is.  Hopefully one of the other FrontPage Gurus will help.  If you don't get a reply on that in this thread within a day then I'd start a new thread specifically about it as I've noticed that sometimes they get answered quicker than adding queries on to the end of long ones (does that make any sense - it sounded sensible in my head...)

As far as the font goes - I think Georgia's quite pretty - but I am slightly biaised against serif fonts - so your best bet would be to pick a really text-intense page like the shipping page and have a copy in Times and a copy in Georgia next to each other and see which you prefer. Not a straight answer I'm afraid!  The non-itallic copyright looks lots better - I'd get rid of the itallics on the links page too.

Sorry I can't be more helpful!



Kitka -> RE: Critique my Pet Boutique! (5/30/2005 15:24:45)

quote:

Do you all like it better than the Times New Roman on your various browsers and resolutions?


Georgia looks miles better than the Times New Roman to me. Do try to ensure that you standardise your body font and font size right across the whole site - consistency is very important.

quote:

See the navigation and how it's bold, even though it does not appear this way in FP, it does live. How can I change it?


If you look at it in Preview mode in FP it does look bold. I believe the problem is caused not by FrontPage per se, but a stray <h4> tag that has somehow become orphaned just before your second <div> on that page. If you delete that, everything seems to look fine.

Once you have incorporated a Doctype into your pages (I'd recommend sooner rather than later), you can find errors like that by validating the pages at W3C: http://validator.w3.org/

quote:

The cart people say it's Frontpage


Lots of people like to rubbish FrontPage (and FrontPage users) and as soon as they know FP is involved, rather than look for a real answer, they simply blame FrontPage instantly. FrontPage does have drawbacks and quirks, but doesn't deserve the reputation it seems have in the web building world.



petquarter -> RE: Critique my Pet Boutique! (5/30/2005 15:36:00)

AWESOME!!!!!

I am so relieved to finally get that ugly bold font off of my navigation! All I did was delete the H4 like you said!

I need to work on getting everything uniform like you suggested.

I am going to start on the doctype as well.

Thank you so much!

Do you have any other suggestions?




petquarter -> RE: Critique my Pet Boutique! (5/30/2005 21:46:36)

Hi!

I am trying to add the doctype to my site and I'm using the one you referenced above, but when I go to validate, this is the message I am receiving.

I used on my aboutus page: <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">

Here's what the validator gives me:

DOCTYPE Fallback in effect!
The DOCTYPE Declaration in your document was not recognized. This probably means that the Formal Public Identifier contains a spelling error, or that the Declaration is not using correct syntax. Validation has been performed using a default "fallback" Document Type Definition that closely resembles HTML 4.01 Transitional, but the document will not be Valid until you have corrected the problem with the DOCTYPE Declaration.
This page is not Valid HTML 4.01 Transitional!



Kitka -> RE: Critique my Pet Boutique! (5/30/2005 22:12:10)

Hi Cherie,

I suspect that you may have put a hard return (enter) in the middle of the declaration, it should all be on one line. If it wraps automatically because of page width that is ok, but it should look like this to start with: 

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">


Try copying and pasting the above and see if it helps.



petquarter -> RE: Critique my Pet Boutique! (5/31/2005 0:06:32)

I copy and pasted it, but it still doesn't work. Also, once I pasted and viewed, it changed the format of my text to "center" and now the mouse over effect doesn't work on my navigation.

I know I must be doing something wrong. I have it on my aboutme page if you have time to take a look at the code.

About Us page



Kitka -> RE: Critique my Pet Boutique! (5/31/2005 0:37:24)

quote:

I copy and pasted it, but it still doesn't work.


That's odd - it does for me. W3 validation is not now complaining about a lack of Doctype it's complaining about: "No Character Encoding Found! Falling back to UTF-8." See here:
http://validator.w3.org/check?verbose=1&uri=http%3A//www.petquarter.com/aboutus.htm

You do have a meta tag for encoding, but it seems to be the wrong one for this doctype.

Instead of this: <META HTTP-EQUIV="CHARSET" CONTENT="ISO-8859-1">

try this:

<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">

The problem with your Hover disappearing is in the syntax you have:

a:hover { color: #513731; text-decoration: underline; background=#FAF0E6 }

The = sign is never used in CSS styles, a colon is required in that place for it to work correctly:

a:hover { color: #513731; text-decoration: underline; background-color:#FAF0E6; }

You can check your CSS for validation at W3C also:
http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/validator?profile=css2&warning=2&uri=http%3A//www.petquarter.com/aboutus.htm

quote:

it changed the format of my text to "center"


I don't see a problem with your text centering? The body is left aligned in IE and Firefox on my screen. Can you be more specific about what shouldn't be centered?



petquarter -> RE: Critique my Pet Boutique! (5/31/2005 1:33:03)

Thanks!!

Originally when I added the doctype to the aboutus page, it changed to center position, but I changed it back. Sorry about the confusion. I've added and changed the code on some of the other pages, like the boutique, favorite links, index.html. When I validate, there are tons of errors. This is a bit overwhelming. I guess everyone goes through this. So do you think I'm okay for now with making these changes on the main pages, or should I worry much about all the errors, like on my index.html (home page)?

Thanks so much for taking the time to help!

Cherie



Kitka -> RE: Critique my Pet Boutique! (5/31/2005 2:09:01)

Personal preference, but I would work on standardising the appearance of the site first. Then if you have access to your logs, determine which page is acting as the entry point for the majority of your visitors and work at validating that one first.

It looks very daunting to begin with I know, but you will probably find that many error types are repeated multiple times per page and throughout the whole site. Once you know how to fix that error, doing other pages will be much easier and faster.

Being willing to try new stuff and learn from mistakes is the main requisite, and so far you are doing well on both counts! [:)]

quote:

Thanks so much for taking the time to help!


You are very welcome! It is pleasure to see people learning and getting the results they want and like.



petquarter -> RE: Critique my Pet Boutique! (5/31/2005 3:07:06)

Great idea. From what you can see, does my site seem like most of the pages are consistent with the fonts?

I am going to remove all of the italics from my site, but that will definitely take some time because they are in each individual item description within the cart system. I know that some have bullets and some do not, so that needs to be uniform as well.

Well, it's 2 am here and as usual, I need to get SOME sleep. I have to get up at 7 am, so I better get to bed.

You've been so helpful. I'm sure I'll be back to ask more questions. I am so happy you were able to identify the problem earlier with the H4 causing the bold text. As I'm sure you've guessed, I'm a bit of a perfectionist. I like uniformity and that is what I'm striving for. You are so right...it makes a huge difference!

Cherie



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