My website - need a little advice [Archive]

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JohnL

04-09-2006, 02:00 AM

Hey there...I submitted my website a little while ago and asked for feedback. Thanks for the honesty. I have now done a new one but I would like some advice please.

As you will notice I have used frames so as to keep all the main links on the one page. Can someone please tell me how to do a couple of things:

1. I wnat tio increase the frame size so that you dont have two pull down bars on the left. I have mucked about with it but cannot get it to do what I want. I would like the user to get the impression that there are no frames.

2. I have a little java script running where it changes images to show different flags. I would like to adjust the title so that it is further up, alongside the flags.
I managed to adjust the postion of the flags from the left to the center(just running the script in it own page), but cannot get them to display on the left. Is there an absolute seeting that I can use?

Thanks
John
www.topblokeday.com

greasonwolfe

04-09-2006, 09:56 AM

Before worrying about those little tweaks to the code, I would worry about getting the code straightened out fist. w3c shows 25 validation errors

http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.topblokeday.com%2Fintro.html

Some of them have to do with the fact that you have multiple <body> aned <head> tags in your code and the fact that you are not using a doctype.

As for the frames question, I cant help you there since I dont use frames. However, based on the amount of content in the frame, I would hazard to guess that most visitors are going to see a scrollbar regardless of how large you make the frame.

I'm not going to touch the flag issue since they are appearing on the left for me rather than being centered.

I will take a closer look when I have time, but as I said, the first thing I would do is concentrate on fixing the validation (and general coding) errors first then go after the trickier stuff.

JohnL

04-09-2006, 10:47 PM

Thanks very much for your feedback, help. I will fix up the tag errors in the next few days.

The reason that I used frames was because that is what was recommended to me. I wanted people to click on the link and not have a seperate page open. I am no guru at this that is for sure.

As for the flags, they are on the left hand side. When first entered the script - in its own page - I could center the flags, but could not get them to the right. Once I placed the script in with the rest of the code, I left it as defualt, which is on the left. No big deal but would like to have them on the right.

Thanks again. Forums like these are excellent and the people that bother to help those less clever are bloody champions. Some might even say that you are "Top Blokes"......

JohnL

04-10-2006, 12:48 AM

If you don't use frames, what is the best way to display the page and increase the search engine matches? Thanks again people.....

Pennimus

04-10-2006, 04:08 PM

If you don't use frames, what is the best way to display the page and increase the search engine matches? Thanks again people.....

You answered your own question there - the best way is to not use frames.

I'm not sure what you've been told, but normal links don't cause seperate pages to open. Sure they replace the current page with new content, but there is nothing wrong with that, that's the way the Internet works, generally.

A few points - red text on a yellow background is difficult to read. Remove the borders from your image links. The animated beer is distracting and gets tired very quickly. The background... eesh, I'm not keen on that tiled texture thing.

The splash page doesn't really serve any function, and will also annoy people - especially as the flaming buttons were designed to sit on a dark (black?) background, they look particularly sketchy on your orange/yellow wallpaper.

JohnL

04-11-2006, 04:18 AM

_Aerospace_Eng_

04-11-2006, 05:12 AM

Thanks for the feedback. So can anyone....or everyone put their 2 cents worth in...

Is it good or bad to use frames?
Is CSS the way to go?
Should I use columns instead?

As you can tell, I am just a begginer and I would like to know what you gurus reckon.

On ya.
Generally yes frames are bad to use both from a usuablity standpoint and a search engine standpoint. From the usability side, it makes it hard for users to book mark certain pages. Search engines tend to not index too many sites that use frames. Yes CSS is the way to go. The whole reason behind CSS is to seperate style from structure. HTML to structure the page meaning the way it should be without CSS, and CSS to move things into position. Yes a two column layout would work best for you. Iframes however aren't too bad, they can be useful but I don't see them being useful for your site.
Two column fluid CSS layout: http://bonrouge.com/2c-hf-fluid.php
Why tables for layout is bad (http://www.hotdesign.com/seybold/index.html)
And yes lose the splash page. Its not serving any real purpose, it could be offensive, and its not like you have some amazing graphics you intend on showing.

JohnL

04-11-2006, 09:51 AM

Thanks very much. I have got myself a couple of books as it will help a little better me thinks.

As for the splash page is just a bit of a joke. As is most of the content. I am going to change the "Enter" buttons as they do not fit.

Thanks again and when the new site is done, I will ask you guys to have another look???

On ya

NeilKelty

04-13-2006, 02:52 AM

Well - like its been said before. Dump the frames. I don't like the site at all - nothing really stands out to me it just looks like another begging site - but we all start somewhere.

Anyway I did score a 79 on the nerd test hehe.

Rachy06

04-13-2006, 11:08 PM

the only thing i don't like is the colour of the text in the frame. It clashes too much with the background and its hurting my eyes.