Feedback Please - My "Improved" Writing Site

[waldenwriter]

I "improved" my writing site for my Internet Presence class final project. I thought I'd post the link here to get your guys' feedback. So anyway here it is:

mat.miracosta.edu/cis191/W7025488/final/Site%20Improvement/default.html

For reference, here is the original site:

www.reneedlevine.com

You will notice they are not the same URL. I don't want to make the "improved" version fully live (i.e., at the proper URL) yet, because I already know it needs a lot of tweaking - adding back the pages with my written work on them would be a start (I had to take them out of the project because they weren't displaying with the correct formatting). I'm also going to figure out how to use a Content Management System to display site news and probably combine the "products" and "order" pages (which were required for the project) by using some sort of store program like Cafépress (which I've seen some writers do). Then maybe I can actually sell the fake t-shirts I listed up there (I had to come up with some sort of product to list).

Anyway, critique away!

[waldenwriter]

Huh? No critiques?

[catofninetales]

Aw, it's just a test to see how long you can hold your breath. ;-)

Couple things: I would put your social media connection points (FB/Twitter/LinkedIn) on every page somewhere tidy, including your front page (maybe a footer there). Also, maybe give your home page some live content -- blog headlines, twitter feed (maybe not @'s because they tend to be out of context). Rumour has it that the fresh content aspect does help keep people coming back and engaging. It really depends what kind of web content you're generating, I think. But stuff that can be interacted with is generally a good thing.

[ryain]

Very interesting, Waldenwriter!
One thing I would post picture of the symbols or the words on the tee shirts so we know what they look like. (if you did it didn't load and I'm sorry)

And I want the one that says "I invoke the right of kurinache" on it!

[waldenwriter]

May 28, 2010 2:36:28 GMT -5 catofninetales said:

Aw, it's just a test to see how long you can hold your breath. ;-)

Yeah I guess.

May 28, 2010 2:36:28 GMT -5 catofninetales said:

Couple things: I would put your social media connection points (FB/Twitter/LinkedIn) on every page somewhere tidy, including your front page (maybe a footer there). Also, maybe give your home page some live content -- blog headlines, twitter feed (maybe not @'s because they tend to be out of context). Rumour has it that the fresh content aspect does help keep people coming back and engaging. It really depends what kind of web content you're generating, I think. But stuff that can be interacted with is generally a good thing.

I did originally have my social media points on my home page. I just didn't have a chance to work it into the new layout. I'm not sure how that will work. I do want to have site updates too; I just have to figure out how to do it. I was thinking of using a Content Management System, but I still want to be able to code the site as much as possible. So I have to figure that out.

May 28, 2010 10:41:17 GMT -5 ryain said:

Very interesting, Waldenwriter!
One thing I would post picture of the symbols or the words on the tee shirts so we know what they look like. (if you did it didn't load and I'm sorry)

And I want the one that says "I invoke the right of kurinache" on it!

Sorry I did consider putting even placeholder pictures with that page, but at the time I was in a hurry. I do intend to have pictures of them; I will probably set up a store via Cafepress, as aforesaid (or Zazzle, which The Pallet Tribune uses), to actually make the shirts. They don't actually exist as of yet. It's just when I had to make a form for an Internet Presence assignment I had to come up with some products to list, so I made up some T-shirts, and I used that same form for the required web form for the final project.

I'll let you know when the Kurinache shirt gets made, then. I realized when writing the description that kurinache is a "rite," not a "right," but I checked the line in the manuscript and it is "right" there so I'm keeping it that way for now. I guess since it was inspired by the line from Pirates of the Caribbean ("I invoke the right of parlay") then it should be "right."

[Spokane Flyboy]

When you say you want to be able to code the site as much as possible, do you mean the layout? If you're pretty savvy with PHP, several of the blog apps are pretty flexible. I know WordPress allows me to do enough to quickly get in over my head.

[waldenwriter]

Yes I do mean the layout. I suppose I could control the content easily enough, but if I wasn't doing the layout the site would start to feel like it wasn't mine anymore. At least to me, anyway. Call me selfish or sentimental, but that's how I feel.

Sadly, PHP is like Greek to me. I managed to change the banner on a Wordpress site I have, but it took a lot of looking through very scary PHP code to find the thing that I could change to allow that. I would like to learn it, but just looking at it when I've tried to work with a couple PHP scripts kind of terrifies me. The fact that I don't know Photoshop (since I have never bought it because it's so expensive) is another minus. I'm planning to take classes in Photoshop and Flash this fall for my web design certificate though so that might help (though I probably won't use Flash in my site because I want to make it mobile-friendly, and you probably know where Apple stands on Flash). There is a PHP tutorial on the W3Schools site as well which might help. But I might need to improve my CSS skills before even touching the big bad PHP, since they're pretty minimal as well (and if that wasn't bad enough, they just released CSS3).

So until I get more skills, it will be hard for me to do much with the layout.

[jdogink]

I'm a fan of your new layout. It's sleek and simple. I have some thoughts on the colors. I think they tan background is a little too dark, and I'd like to see the text pop out more in the header. Your name kind of gets lost for me. There's a bit too much green for me too. I personally prefer grayish text. A few steps up from black, but not too light.

Are you coding in straight HTML/css?

I don't know much about PHP. I agree, it looks scary, but don't be too intimidated. My blog is a wordpress blog. I chose a boring template and tweaked it to match the theme of my site. Most changes I made were to the css. What little changes I made to the PHP were additions, i.e. pasting in my menu bar. I really didn't delve into the PHP, nor did I have to understand it really. Just needed a general idea of what parts of the script were driving the different sections on the page.

Here's my blog if you want to take a look. www.jdog-ink.com/blog

My site is mainly HTML/css but with some java thrown in: www.jdog-ink.com

[waldenwriter]

Jun 4, 2010 6:47:47 GMT -5 jdogink said:

I'm a fan of your new layout. It's sleek and simple. I have some thoughts on the colors. I think they tan background is a little too dark, and I'd like to see the text pop out more in the header. Your name kind of gets lost for me. There's a bit too much green for me too. I personally prefer grayish text. A few steps up from black, but not too light.

I'm glad you like the layout. I went with tan because I thought it would be good to have a neutral color. Tan also makes me think of old paper (kind of like how the background of this forum and Jeff's site is). But I didn't want the tan to be too brownish-red, so I went with something darker. My main issue has been finding colors that show up both in IE and Firefox (some of them don't, for some odd reason).

I'm not sure why I went for more muted color in the header. I guess I liked it that way. I could change it; Fireworks (the program I used to make the header) makes quick changes pretty simple.

I had green in my previous layout and I really wanted to keep it, so that is why there is still a lot of green. I used violet also because it is a complimentary color to green. But I guess the purple needs to stand out more. I think I tried more bold purples and they just didn't look right to me. I know it should stand out more but I don't want it to detract either.

Jun 4, 2010 6:47:47 GMT -5 jdogink said:

Are you coding in straight HTML/css?

Yes. I don't have any PHP, Flash, or even any Javascript in the layout at present.

Jun 4, 2010 6:47:47 GMT -5 jdogink said:

I don't know much about PHP. I agree, it looks scary, but don't be too intimidated. My blog is a wordpress blog. I chose a boring template and tweaked it to match the theme of my site. Most changes I made were to the css. What little changes I made to the PHP were additions, i.e. pasting in my menu bar. I really didn't delve into the PHP, nor did I have to understand it really. Just needed a general idea of what parts of the script were driving the different sections on the page.

Here's my blog if you want to take a look. www.jdog-ink.com/blog

My site is mainly HTML/css but with some java thrown in: www.jdog-ink.com

I'll check those out. It's always good to see what others have done. I just read a really good book called The Web Designer's Idea Book that basically did that.

I think if I just calm myself down and think about this, I can get it looking right. I did ask for feedback, after all.

Edit: I just realized the original link I gave for the improved site doesn't work anymore, so I uploaded the files to my writing site server in their own folder. You can now view the site here:

www.reneedlevine.com/improvedsite/default.html

[waldenwriter]

I felt I might as well start a new post for this.

I finished the "improved" version of the site, adding all the content I wanted, minus a couple things for the "unpublished works" part that I don't have stuff for yet. You can check it out here: www.reneedlevine.com/improvedsite/default.html. Feedback is welcome.

For anyone wondering, the site is still basically just HTML and CSS, though I did add a string of Javascript to the "Last Updated on" line that changes the date automatically, so that every time I update the site I don't have to go into every page and change the date (since all the pages have the same header and footer code).

Also, as you will see on the products page of that site, I opened a Cafepress store and put some shirt designs up there, made using their design maker. In retrospect, I don't really like the way they look. One flaw of the Cafepress design maker is they don't let you put stuff on the back of the shirt. Plus, they give you a very small area of the shirt in which you can put your design. So prospects are limited there. I'll have to read their guides for store owners (which include useful tips like "how to design for dark colors") to see if I can make things better on that end.

So, critique away. Again.