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michaelea
Posts: 105
Joined: 11/9/2007
From: Cannon Beach, US West
Status: offline
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New Websites... - 10/6/2008 16:23:10
Wow, looking over some of the other new websites in this forum makes me feel that the bar for a new site is high indeed. Well done to everyone for coming so far down the webby road with so much understanding.... (ya know, not making sites in publisher or, filling 'em full of tables, and using css well and, being aware of cross-browser compatibilities and ignoring IE6 users(bad joke!) etc..)
Anyways, how do I get my new site looking twice as sharp please?
I think I need more highlites and better colors (sounds like I'm going for a haircut - my gawd!) and better use of space.... and, most of all, your comments :)
What do you think?
http://testing.northcoastcomputerservices.com
Thank You.
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Tailslide
Posts: 6294
Joined: 5/10/2005
From: Out here on the raggedy edge
Status: offline
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RE: New Websites... - 10/7/2008 2:44:27
Hi there
Personally I wouldn't use the navigation menu that you've got - it's not accessible if you don't use a mouse plus if you have your security settings up high it fails. There's nothing particularly fancy about it (i.e. dropdowns etc) so you might as well have it as a normal list and just use css to style it.
Likewise the slidey thing doesn't work with high security or for non-mouse users. There are lots of javascript libraries out there that employ graceful degradation techniques so that they should work better without JS or with high security settings. Some are better than others but have a look anyway.
Also, if you're going to use scripty stuff that won't always work as planned I'd use Javascript to write it - that way if javascript is off then users aren't irritated by stuff they can't use - it's just not there.
Font-sizing - you start of well by using % and ems but then constrain the text by using PX on the paragraphs. I'd personally stick with declaring 100% on the body element and then around 76% on the main content area to get around "normal" font sizing. Seems to work best cross-browser for me.
Don't particularly like the wider fixed width thing - many users will get a scrollbar. You'll be amazed how many people still use 800px wide resolution - even if they have big wide screens (yuck!). Plus even if you know that 99% of your viewers have screens that are X wide - you'll never know if they have it maximised or not so best to go for the fluid look if possible. I now tend to stick to hybrid fluid designs that expand to (for instance) around 1200px wide and down to 760px using min/max-width.
Looks-wise. Hmmm... I think I'd increase the margin of the main content away from the edge of the container area a bit. I think that there's a bit of a "flatness" to the look which I think is caused by the flat grey area behind the logo. I think maybe having the logo bigger and a subtle gradient put through the background might lift it a bit.
_____________________________
"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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michaelea
Posts: 105
Joined: 11/9/2007
From: Cannon Beach, US West
Status: offline
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RE: New Websites... - 10/7/2008 12:37:41
Tailslide, Thanks for the helpful and constructive comments. Truly.
Re: ems vs. px:
I started the whole thing in ems and %'s but then there became width differences (measured with jRuler) between FF and IE's page width interpretations (the right margin was originally set at 24em). So, mid-webdev-stream, I started changing some elements to fixedpix. Thank you for the idea of the 100% on body and 76% on content - I will give that a try.
Also, your observation on "...you'll be amazed by....800px wide...." and the "cure" of hybrid fluid is well noted.
And your last paragraph is, as the rest of your post, right on the money! Thanks for such valuable and well thought out feedback. I appreciate it.
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