need help choosing which method: [Archive]

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lejon

11-22-2003, 08:05 AM

i'm redoing this site: www.atmospherecreative.com. i use flash more than anything else, but this company wants it all done without flash. should i use html with css? or what other options are there? would it be dumb to do this in php? since there is no database info. i want it to be fast. the guy who made it before made it look all framey with tables. i know html, tables, a little css(not enough to do a site), but any suggestions would be really welcome.

Mhtml

11-22-2003, 12:38 PM

Well, if there is no reason to use php don't. I mean it's only serverside, it doesn't do anything but process data which isn't your main problem.

You need to use html (preferably xhtml), css is not required I guess but it makes it so much easier (and better) if you do.

My advice to you is that if you don't think that you can handle what they want, don't! It's best to get out quick then let it drag on and on and say "I'm sorry, I just can't do it!" after months, which will leave them angry because they would have wasted time.

However we are here to help so if you have any problems with html or css don't be afraid to ask, and search of course ;).

Also www.w3schools.com has some excellent tutorials that can have you using xhtml and css like the best of them in a matter of hours, worth a look! There is also a sticky thread at the top of this forum which has many references contributed by members.

lejon

11-22-2003, 01:33 PM

Thanks a lot. Here's what I have so far:

www.jmparsons.com/atmosphere/ . I did the atmosphere site in html with css, and made sure it was w3c valid (for the most part, only the first two pages). I have no clue what xhtml is, but I'll definitely look into it now that you bring it up. could you give me any feedback on how i'm doing? i'm having trouble with forms because i think its the only way to use post for onclick buttons ex: /service page. the last thing i can't figure out is whether it is possible to have two different css styles for font on one page. My paragraph text I want to keep black while the bottom portion where the phone number is i want to make blue. The reason why i'm using css is to stay w3c valid. thanks again!

oracleguy

11-22-2003, 05:53 PM

I'd lose the splash page, or at least make the bottom enter button actually take you into the site.

Mhtml

11-23-2003, 12:39 AM

Yeah, the splash is a little over the top I think. You can really make it much more pro looking by having it smaller. It also doesn't fit on 1024x768 in mozilla.

lejon

11-23-2003, 06:28 AM

is it possible to do the page without tables? my client wants the page to stay in the top left hand corner, so no auto stretching. i read people saying that tables are a thing of the past. if not tables then what else?

me'

11-23-2003, 01:59 PM

divs, styled with CSS. Here's an example to get you started:<html><head><style type="text/css">
#box1 {
width: 200px;
border: 1px solid #000;
float: left}
#box2 {
border: 1px solid #000;
width: 130px;
margin-left: 20px}
</style></head><body>

<div id="box1">Lorem Ipsum</div>
<div id="box2">Dolor Sit Amet</div>

</body></html>Also, on that page of yours, you need to set the background-color of the page. I use a Mozilla with a custom background colour, so that I can easily see when I've forgotten to set the background colour of the page.

lejon

11-24-2003, 01:22 PM

Thanks very much for all the help. Here is the semi finished product:

www.jmparsons.com/atmosphere/

It's was done with xhtml/css/and some javascript, and it validates. I only have two questions left.

1. In a textform is there a way to prevent people from typing or tampering with what is in it? - since i fill it with information already. ex: the portfolio page, after clicking on one of the pictures it creates text in the hidden textform, but the text can be altered.

2. Is there a better way of producing text in a certain area of the page by clicking a link other than the form? or textform? Maybe a way to just fill in a layer with an id by pressing a button?

Thanks again for all the help, and the reason why i didn't know there was any light after the tables was because I always used the layout view in dreamweaver, stupid me.