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windchimes
Posts: 10
Joined: 8/26/2005
Status: offline
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Website critique appreciated! - 8/26/2005 14:07:42
Our website has been online for 4 years or so. We rank first or second with Google search results when searching on our keyword "wind chimes". I have recently realized that our website is not compliant (built in Frontpage) so I am trying to figure out what I have to do to make it so.
Seems like a good time to get feedback on our website design since I will likely have to redesign our website to make it compliant. Any feedback would be GREATLY appreciated. ... Our website is www.windchimespavilion.com
Thanks!
Windchimes
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Tailslide
Posts: 6046
Joined: 5/10/2005
From: Out here on the raggedy edge
Status: online
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RE: Website critique appreciated! - 8/26/2005 14:50:09
Hi
First thing you need to do is to decide which standard you want to code to - if you see what I mean. I'm guessing you're going to stick with a table layout rather than venture down the CSS layout path so I'd say that you want to be looking at either HTML 4.01 transitional or HTML 4.01 strict depending on how precise you want the coding to be. You could always start out with transitional and then see what it needs to go strict later on.
Once you've decided this then you need to get yourself a DOCTYPE declaration which goes at the top of your HTML page before anything else. This page: Alistapart/doctypes will explain why and it lists the various ones you can use (just copy and paste either the transitional or strict one).
Once you've got yourself a DOCTYPE then you need to start trying to get your code to validate. Go to the W3C and check out their HTML validator and submit your site page by page. Don't be disheartened if you get lots of errors - just work your way through them (post them here if any are too obscure). Sometimes if you clear an error all the rest are cleared up too so the list can disappear quickly. Once your code validates then you could say that you have coded to that standard.
Next on your list of things to do could be to ensure that your site is as accessible as you can make it. There are loads of sites out there that can help you - have a look at the Accessibility forum here for a list of useful ones. This will help everyone see your site whether they are using "normal" browsers or text browsers etc.
Finally - you need to download Firefox which is a free standards compliant browser. Check your site in FF as you re-code to ensure it looks ok. IE is a "broken" browser - it's non standard compliant and can give you a false sense of security about how your site looks. Code for Firefox, check in Opera (free version too) and then fix for IE. If you try to do this the other way around you'll drive yourself mad!
If you run into problems then post back here and we'll help you out.
Good Luck!
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"My strategy is so simple an idiot could have devised it"
Little Blue Plane Web Design | Blood, Sweat & Rust - A Land Rover restoration project
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womble
Posts: 5528
Joined: 3/14/2005
From: Living on the edge
Status: offline
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RE: Website critique appreciated! - 8/26/2005 15:36:28
Hi, and welcome to OF! 
As Tailslide's already undoubtedly told you, the first thing you need is a doctype. 
If accessibility is also important, you need to run your site through one of the online accessibility checkers - you've got a number of accessibility problems in there. Head on over to the accessibility forum for advice and links on accessibility.
That said, onto the site, which generally I like very much. It's nice a clear and gets straight to the point - which is selling windchimes. The big problem I have with it is that in Firefox (my default browser) for some reason the whole site is h u g e l y wide with an enormous amount of horizintal scroll. It displays fine in IE, wich okay is the major browser, but a growing number of people are now using Firefox. In Firefox there are also headings that slightly overlap text, and things generally appearing where they shouldn't. That may be something to do with the lack of doctype, or with the width issue you could have got a table width that's set at more than 100% - I'm afraid I didn't look too closely at the code.
Getting the site standards compliant should iron out a lot of the problems.
As I already said, generally I like the feel of the site. All the information needed is there and the site looks very professional. Just a couple of minor niggles. Personally I'd make the navigation more obvious. It sort of looks just like ordinary text as it is and the hover effect isn't very obvious. Also, you've got a few different font styles, serif and sans serif scattered throughout the site. It looks more professional if you choose a font style and stick with it. Personally I always feel sans serif fonts look better on business sites, but that may just be personal choice.
You've got a good start there though, and making your site standards compliant will improve it too - good luck with the redesign!
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~~ "A cruel god ain't no god at all" ~~
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d a v e
Posts: 4087
Joined: 7/24/2002
From: England (but live in Finland now)
Status: offline
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RE: Website critique appreciated! - 8/26/2005 16:37:17
to be honest i find the colour scheme very confusing and disorientating - basically i think it's horrible and doesn't do anything to show off your wind chimes.
something more i keeping with windchimes maybe? something more neutral and definitely warmer would be welcome. you may want to consider a slight variation on a theme for each category - so something more metallic for the gold and crystal section, etc. but only a subtle change so that users still know they are on the same site! (the fairly neutral light beige you have behind the "click image to enlarge" would be a good starting point and the make say different colour headings for the different sections - for example something calm and gentle for the whispering winds chimes (a soft sky blue perhaps??)
don't underline text unless it's a link - use the headings (h1... ) to make the er, headings
too much space is wasted - how about 3 wind chimes per row?
don't like the borders on the tables - too heavy and 80's/90's looking
a single line border around images (particularly the thumbnails) would make them stand out a bit more and lend some definition to them, rather than making them look like they are floating on the page
is "warrantee" American English for "Warranty"?? i've never noticed that before :)
you seem to have good products (though i'm not a big windchime fan ;) but your site lets them down badly. in my brutally honest opinion i think your site doesn't look at all professional or matched to its theme - but with some careful thought about colour scheme, sorting out the width problem and paying some attention to fonts and headings you could be onto a winner!
edit: as an idea something more like this,
http://members.tiscali.fi/dave_pirjo/test-area/windchimes_layout.png
though i'm not so sure the colours still match the slightly more 'mystical' feel you could be going for
< Message edited by d a v e -- 8/26/2005 18:42:42 >
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David Prescott
Gekko web design
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windchimes
Posts: 10
Joined: 8/26/2005
Status: offline
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RE: Website critique appreciated! - 8/27/2005 13:58:29
Thanks folks!!! I really appreciate the feedback! ...I loaded the Firefox browser as suggested and many problems became apparent that didn't display when using IE. I will use Firefox from now on! ... The feedback detail you folks provided really impressed me. It will make my difficult job easier. I especially appreciate the honest critique by Dave. No fluff or candy, just the truth. I like that. Dave even bothered to create a sample HOME page for my site to give me a better idea of what he thinks would improve on my design. Thanks for the volunteered labor! ... I have known for some time that my website lacked a professional look and feel and that has bothered me. Looks like it's time to get the hammer and nails and build something that has a more professional appearance to it. ... Thanks folks!!!
Regards,
Windchimes
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Nicole
Posts: 2831
Joined: 9/15/2004
From: Nambucca / Kempsey, Australia
Status: offline
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RE: Website critique appreciated! - 8/28/2005 0:22:51
Hi,
I agree with the comments others have made so far, but would also like to reiterate dave's comments re: the colour scheme. It just doesn't work for me either. Y'now the mail-order catalogues you get from time to time? To me your site looks like an online version of one of those, but realising the number of products you have i can't really imagine how you're not going to make it look like a catalogue.
I feel that there's two main areas your site needs to achieve higher levels of, and they're consistency (fonts, colours, navigation etc), and a very structured navigation. On your opening page alone you have links leading everywhere, which i'd assume would quickly confuse site visitors. Two obvious remedies to these problems would be CSS and Includes, it may take a long while to achieve but in the end it will mean that you as site manager have a far more manageable site to work with.
Nicole
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