I updated my site [Archive] - Webmaster Forums

Anime_Lover

07-16-2003, 07:43 PM

Hi all,
Please go and see the changes that are there. Thanks to your suggestions there are links to and from each page and my web rings are up and well I am proud of it so please go and sign my book and tell me what you think of it.

Any and all are welcome to advise and give your thoughts.

Oh and Moose you are the best!!!!
Thanks

MikeParent

07-17-2003, 03:39 AM

Are you looking for a critique? I don't understand... there is no actual content here...

Astrolegoboy

07-17-2003, 05:16 AM

Nice rework!

Like the new sliding Nav Menu (javascript). Unobtrusive and keeps a majority of the site visible at all times.

General Comments:
Page transitions can be a cool effect but tend to become annoying after awhile. Also transitions significantly slow down the browsing process (increases page load time) and can discourage some users from browsing or returning to the site. Have to carefully weigh the benefits of an effect versus browsing experience. (Just MHO)

Flash Slide Show Page:
Nice interface - very slick!
Only drawback to this page was that part of the Nav Menu gets hidden and when you resize the main browser window the Nav Menu becomes totally obscured and unusabale. You may need to rework the Borders / Padding in order to fix.

Favorite Forum Page:
When you select the Favorite Forum on the Chi Menu the Nav Menu disappears and the only way to return to your site is by using the BACK button. You might want to open this page in a new window so that your site can still be accessed.

Finally
3 Errors on page (Done with Errors Summary)

#1
Line: 2
Char: 29
Error: Syntax Error
Code: 0

<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>Dam1120............Chihuahuas</TITLE>

Not sure why? but it doesn't seem to like all the periods in the title

#2
Line: 128
Char: 96
Error: Object Expected
Code: 0

</OBJECT>

You have a close object with no open object tab and the comment suggests you
remove the text anyway. Seems to be generated by the geocities server
and don't really know why any of the code that follows this comment is necessary? (probably has something to do with the popup windows/ads that geocities generates!)

#3
Line: 136
Char: 1
Error: Object Expected
Code: 0

Same as above.

HTH's
http://www.members.aol.com/teejaw/smilies/Face.gif

Anime_Lover

07-17-2003, 12:13 PM

Oh thank you Astrolegoboy for all the great tips and showing me the areas I need to improve on.

Boy you really worked hard to point all these out and I am very grateful to you for doing it.

I will talk with Moose about these and see if I can work out the favorite forum problem. As you can see this great site (evrsoft) is my favorite forum LOL.

I also love the nav bar and hope to use it on the anime site I am working on. As far as the Page transitions, I was so hooked on it but then thought about what you said about friends with slow computers getting tired of it. I guess I won't use it on my other site.

Mike to answer your question, I dont have an answer :-). All points, comments what ever are what I am looking for. I want to learn and the only way I can do it is by coming to you all and letting you into my work so to speak.

I hope to get as good if not better then then the avarage person. I know with all your help I cant help but grow while I am learning from the best this forum has to offer.

I hope this answers your question.

MikeParent

07-17-2003, 02:29 PM

Hmmm, I dont think I am looking at the right page - can you post a link?

Anime_Lover

07-17-2003, 02:37 PM

Hi Mike,
My site is here:
http://www.geocities.com/debra_ann1120/
Hope you like it.

Astrolegoboy

07-17-2003, 07:01 PM

Just some details on using the IP addres vs the full domain URL & the problems I was having. Basically when I used the IP address the forum would not cookie properly thus I'd have to log in everytime I wanted to perform an operation (ie post, PM, etc) very annoying an very subtle (took me a little while to figure out)

But as you can see, am back now.

Now for some additional suggestions:

If you want to use bg music (auto loads) I would suggest creating a splash screen and using the music on that screen only. At least when you embedded the midi file on your site you gave the user the option of turning off the music. This screen could tell the user what the site is about, explain the navigation system and can showcase different effects. The splash screen or intro could also give the user the option of browsing different versions of your site (ie HTML, JAVA, Flash)

Anime_Lover

07-17-2003, 08:04 PM

Hi all,
I too was having problems with the forum link and I had sent moose a mail on it. I couldn’t figure it out either and was always having to sign back in when I wanted to post.

David I am a bit confused about the same verses the 2nd window. Animgirl suggested the 2nd window but you feel it’s not wise. Sorry but I am so confused as to when or when not to use windows.

As far as the nav bar I thought it was a good idea being it didn’t take up much room and it allowed traveling between pages. Again I thought this was what you and animgirl thought was a good idea instead of the box links I had that didn’t allow traveling between pages.

Oh and about content on the home page. I thought of that too but the more I visited other Chi sites the more I saw the same ole same ole being said. So I figured I would just have nav bar and music and web rings so not to copy others. I wanted to tell all about these great creatures but as I said its been said before what can I possibly add to what is very out there :-(?

I know the site is a never-ending story on its own. I hope to change the pictures each month and perhaps add a page for comic type cartoons when they apply to dogs. I have some now but haven’t had a chance to create a page for the funny side of being owned by a chi.

Oh can you explain more on the "splash screen". I don’t understand what that is. Sorry.

Also please keep in mind this is a 1st. A guinea pig site. I will of passed the fancy stage when I make the anime site. I really just wanted to explore and see what to use and not use and will most likely revamp in a few months time when I finish basking in my small light. Sorry but I know it sounds silly but I am so happy I took the classes and found moose and you guys and I want to be able to contribute to the forums so I am jumping in and trying to learn and grow fast :-)

So please keep giving me your thoughts and ideas. I am hungry for it and if I do not understand it I will be back asking for you to clear it up some. So be patient with me and some day I may be able to help someone as you are helping me.

Thanks to you all. See you later.

MikeParent

07-18-2003, 05:51 AM

Warning, what follows is some tough love :-/

Embedded midi is not nice - it usually sounds bad and annoys surfers (like me) who are already listening to something when they are surfing. I have always cancelled loading the quick time instruments
Textured backgrounds and cute animated gifs, while you might like them, were considered very cool.... in 1996. Now? Not so much. Ditto the water java effect.
Echoing other comments, the nav needs to be more prominent... you are concerned about it being "in the way", but currently there is nothing for it to be in the way *of*. Even worse, lots of folks wont even realize there is content to be had because it is hidden in a very hard to notice menu.
The banner along the outside edges I found to be a little misleading - I wanted to click on them like buttons
I have page transitions turned off in my browser (only IE supports these AFAIK)
The webring stuff I would move to the very bottom which is where it traditionally is.
Overall the first page is pretty "busy" considering that there really isnt any content there...

... the more I visited other Chi sites the more I saw the same ole same ole being said. So I figured I would just have nav bar and music and web rings so not to copy others. I wanted to tell all about these great creatures but as I said its been said before what can I possibly add to what is very out there :-(?

Well I can tell you that adding cheesy music and web rings *is not* the solution. If you really feel you have nothing to offer then this page only serves as a web experiment, a first step in your skills development (which by the way is perfectly ok :-)

Please do not take any of this personally - we all made these same mistakes when we first started (including yours truly), trying use all the neat bells and whistles. But in short, most of the things mentioned above have novelty value only, once your visitors have seen them once or twice (and trust me yours will likely not have been the first site they have seen with them either), the novelty wears off.

After that you will only get them to return if :

1) You have interesting and or useful content
2) You provide them a clear and easy to use navigation system.

Dig deep. Surely you can bring something uniquely *you* to this page. David had some really good ideas on that, he's pretty smart for a teenager ;-)

Coreyp_1

07-18-2003, 10:19 AM

I love Strong Bad.

Astrolegoboy

07-18-2003, 11:03 AM

http://www.members.aol.com/teejaw/smilies/ROTFL.gif

Anime_Lover

07-18-2003, 03:02 PM

Hi Mike,
I read your caring notes on improving the site. Let me say right now I am one tough cookie and nothing said will ever upset me. If I didn't want to hear the answer I wouldn’t ask the question. That is the 1st thing one learns in the law business. Never ask what you don’t want to know.

With that said thanks for the hard work you put into your response. Okay I understand the midi issue all too well. It does drive me nuts when I visit other sites. I will ask Moose to show me how to make it so that the visitor can play it should they choose.

Quote:
Textured backgrounds and cute animated gifs, while you might like them, were considered very cool.... in 1996. Now? Not so much. Ditto the water java effect. quote:

Okay I understand that and it is a personal decision. I fell head over feet when I saw it and I just had to have it. I know you old pros frown on it but for this site only I will not change the waterpic. Sorry to disappoint anyone but change is what I plan on doing but there are certain aspects of the site that I am not willing or able to give up at this time. I know each of you will respect that as I respect your thoughts on them.

Quote:
Echoing other comments, the nav needs to be more prominent... you are concerned about it being "in the way", but currently there is nothing for it to be in the way *of*. Even worse, lots of folks wont even realize there is content to be had because it is hidden in a very hard to notice menu. quote:

Here again I am trying different things with the nav bar as I type this. I do so want to keep it I just have to as you all said find the balance between it and the site.

Quote:
The banner along the outside edges I found to be a little misleading - I wanted to click on them like buttonsquote:

Okay here I am confused. What banner? The web tech one? I am trying to move them lower as was suggested. Same with the web rings. Again no excuses but being new to this I am not sure what is "right" and what is "wrong" for pages so with your advise I will pick and choose what I can use and store all the other advises away for later needs.

Unless I am totally confused I thought the transitions were removed in favor of open windows? I will have to go back and look again.

Oh David I went to Strong Bad and watched and at the risk of sounding like a newbie what is that all about? Is it like the George and Bob or 8 bit or dirty powers sites my daughter goes to? It showed what not to do while saying do it. So I see the parody of the whole thing but was wondering if there was more to this strong bad?

Okay enough of that it was fun to see and yes I kind of did see myself in the beginning sounding like James. So point is taken, not liked but taken. :-).

Seriously I don't know if I told you but I only took so far the Basic XHTML 101 and INTERMEDIATE CLASSES for Tables, Forms, and Frames. I still have to take the ADVANCED CLASSES such as XHTML 201 and CSS. As well as PSP.

What I have attempted to do I did by reading up on CSS and other stuff so if my codes are off or my look is off its due to I haven’t had the guts to take the harder classes yet. Ya I know as Moose said it ain't rocket science, but for me it might as well be.
So you can see why the site isn't perfect yet. I haven’t mastered the advance parts yet.

Thanks and I will get back to the drawing board. If you think of anything please post and I will as I always do digest it and work with it.

Anime_Lover

07-18-2003, 09:24 PM

Hi David,
I didnt get insulted really. I just didnt like seeing myself in that character. I didnt know how I sounded till I heard James. It had nothing to do with you its a me thing if you can understand.

I have the site now and I think its funny someone went out of their way to create this and answer peoples mails.

Well I am trying to figure out what type a page to make for these cute cartoon stuff I have from the newspapers with Chihuahua's featured in them.

Plus still working on the wording for the home page. Such is life.

The classes start on the 1st so I had a break from the ups and downs of the other ones. Oh I need to make a page for my walking Deb man and my certificates that I earned from each class.

So the site is going to be not only about my chi babies but of me thrown in there somewhere :-).

MikeParent

07-19-2003, 10:28 AM

Okay here I am confused. What banner?
Sorry poor choice of words perhaps, I am referring to the repeating chiuahua (sp?) pic with DAM 1120 under it that repeats down both side of the page.

Unless I am totally confused I thought the transitions were removed in favor of open windows? I will have to go back and look again.

They may have been, because I couldnt see them either way, I had no idea if thay had been ditched or not :-)

Anime_Lover

07-19-2003, 01:02 PM

Hi Mike,

the DAM1120 with the Chihuahua is I guess a kind of logo showing that I am original. It was supposed to stand out and say hey this is Debra's site and no one else’s. DAM1120 is my name all over the web and for years that has been how I am known.

I guess my attempt at showing uniqueness wasn't quite right. What do you suggest I do to show its mine and not someone else’s idea?

Astrolegoboy

07-19-2003, 01:35 PM

I think MikeParent's point was that the graphic looked very similar to a clickable button and is placed where the Nav Menu buttons are traditionally placed. I have to admit the temptation to try & click on these logos was almost irresitable when I 1st visited your site.

MikeParent

07-19-2003, 01:39 PM

Originally posted by Anime_Lover
Hi Mike,

the DAM1120 with the Chihuahua is I guess a kind of logo showing that I am original. It was supposed to stand out and say hey this is Debra's site and no one else’s. DAM1120 is my name all over the web and for years that has been how I am known.

I guess my attempt at showing uniqueness wasn't quite right. What do you suggest I do to show its mine and not someone else’s idea?

Hey, don't get me wrong - I am not saying there is anything wrong with having a logo, especially one that identifies you uniquely (that's pretty cool actually). I am just saying that the way it has been designed it looks clickable, and making it repeat down the page distracts from the rest of the page. I think I want to click on it because there is nothing else that stands out from the rest of the page that is obviously taking me somewhere else in your site... Oh btw, I am seeing it scroll down both sides because my resolution is set to 1280 X 1024. I just realized that you might only be seeing it down the left side if your resolution is 800 X 600 or less.

I think maybe I can sum up all my comments this way:
There are so many "strong" elements on the page - the logo repeated down the left and right sides, the java title graphic at the top, the "dancing" dogs, the webring logos, the animated email icon, caution logo, the guestbook logo - that the page appears cluttered and confused. There is nothing that jumps out at me and unequivocally says "here is the way to more content". Instead, the element that does serve this purpose (the sliding js menu) is tucked away to the side, nearly invisible. While I agree it is pretty cool, the page is so busy that the menu just isnt obvious. And if there is one thing that needs to be painfully obvious to a user, its the navigation.

Anime_Lover

07-19-2003, 08:36 PM

Hi Mike and Astro
Okay but other sites have on the home page the email, the web rings, the midi which btw I changed to false so the visitor can either play it or not. As well as the nav bar and maybe a logo and or graphic such as the waterpic or something else. So why doesnt theirs look busy?

You know what... I will search sites and bring a site here that has it all so you can see I wasnt the only one doing it that way.
Should the web rings and mail and guetbook be on another page? Perhaps one I create to talk about the dogs?

Here is an idea what if I leave the backgrond alone and have the screen scroll up and down? I can have all everything move while the background stays?

Anime_Lover

07-20-2003, 12:30 PM

Okay all this is the site I 1st saw that I used as a planning tool for mine. Before you ask yes I asked permission to use the background but never got a response.
http://www.mattlake.com/ponchopg.htm

Please look at it and tell me if you feel its a bit busy also.

As far as my home page, I have picked a plain background and wrote a intro and moved and made smaller the web rings and totally revamped my page. Its not ready for you to see yet but please let me know if you feel the "parent" site I modeled the look after not the wording is too busy as mine was.
Thanks all

MikeParent

07-20-2003, 06:02 PM

Trying to be as objective as I can about that site:

Negatives:
* Too many animated gifs
* Page is too long, perhaps should have been broken into several pages with links
* Clip art (and page overall) looks "dated"

Positives
* Decent content
* Fairly decent layout (with regards to text, images and whitespace)

Less subjective observations:
* Sites where pets have paragraphs written in the third person make me question the sanity of the owner /:|
* The chihuahua recipes link made me do a double-take :)
* I would think it remiss if I didnt point this site won the cool pet site award of *1997* (refer back to my textured backgrounds and animated gifs comment) - More constructively, keep in mind you are basing your design on a page that is nearly as old as the web itself... a lot has changed since 1997

The big thing here is the page has *content*. It's content, not bells and whistles that will keep people coming back. This page has some which helps keep it from degenerating into a confusing mess. You get some content on your page and that will help give the page more focus, and it should feel less jumbled as there is something obvious for people to focus their attention on.

By the way my generic and jaded hate-on for textured backgrounds notwithstanding, text generally is harder to read over a textured background. If you must, try to use a background on which the pattern is faint or slightly blurred so it doesnt detract as much from the page text.

Anime_Lover

07-20-2003, 08:30 PM

[/B][/QUOTE][QUOTE]Originally posted by MikeParent
* Fairly decent layout (with regards to text, images and whitespace)

Less subjective observations:
* Sites where pets have paragraphs written in the third person make me question the sanity of the owner /:|

Hi Mike,
Please explain what whitespace means. Also its funny you said what you did about 3rd person speaking. I have drafted my intro and I too spoke as if my dogs were doing the talking. If that means we pet people are a bit off then I wear that label proudly :cool: :crazy:

Well I am off to revamp yet another version of my intro thanks to Mike ROFLMAO.

If nothing else you all give me so much practice so when I get this one done I will really know what I'm doing with the anime site and then no one will have anything for me to correct. Ya right! :p :hehe:

MikeParent

07-21-2003, 08:41 AM

Basically whitepace is unused space - the areas between and around content elements (images and text)

e.g. margins etc.

MikeParent

07-21-2003, 08:52 AM

Finally found a link: http://graphicdesign.about.com/library/weekly/aa030900a.htm

Anime_Lover

07-21-2003, 11:54 AM

Well kind of. Just the home page LOL

Thanks Mike for the link and all.

Okay I have revamped the home page. So please see if I am getting close to what you mean a page should be.

http://www.geocities.com/debra_ann1120/

Before you say it I will...yes I love the color, yes I love the bells and whistles but at least its toned down and last but not least.......I am a cushion for pushinment :tongue: :crazy: :messedup: :ouch: :smack: :(

MikeParent

07-21-2003, 04:35 PM

*Now* you're getting it :-)

Much better!

Anime_Lover

07-21-2003, 05:12 PM

Hi guys,
Okay can I say you both dont know what you want ROFLMAO. When I had the waterpic logo up there with the dancing chi's it was a no-no. To me that was to do just what you are saying needs to be done here:
quote:

You also need some of the body text up there also. That first screen is called the "top fold" since it is the first thing that people see (that comes from the top fold of a newspaper), and you need to entice people as much as you can with the "big headlines" of your website there (much like a newspaper puts the headlines and big stories on the top fold to draw people into the newspaper.)

Why wasnt that logo a good eye catcher? it caught my eye :-). Ok moving on......I really didnt center the text. It did it all by itself. To me in order to center I would of had to use <center> and I didnt so I have no idea why its doing it. I guess I have to put <left> in front of each paragraph?

Oh I am so shocked that no one commented on the menu again. Is that cause it looks better when the page is clearer?

Oh and about the midi I have it or thought I had it for the vistor to play not auto? Okay back to the coding. Hey I havent had the CSS yet and wont have it till the 1st so help me out here. What kind of code do I use to make the text justify and the darn midi to not play unless asked LOL.

Okay back to the drawing board. Just when I think its safe to make the comic page the critics come out and make me work some more on the home page. geeze give a gal a break here

:rolleyes:

Anime_Lover

07-21-2003, 05:22 PM

Before I forget I still want to use this logo on my home page and maybe look into getting it registered to me LOL. Are you all going to have a problem with me stamping my uniqueness onto the page and where can I so that you look upon it favorably?ROFLMAO!!:D :hahaha: :OO :tongue: :crazy: :hehe:
BTW what does the smiley WTF mean?????

animgirl

07-21-2003, 05:25 PM

BTW what does the smiley WTF mean????? Well, umm it goes something like this...
What the Fudge?
But instead of the "dge" it's a "c" and a "k"....

Anime_Lover

07-21-2003, 05:47 PM

OMG my daughter just told me what it means. Why is it in here. Well I'll be damned.

Anime_Lover

07-21-2003, 05:55 PM

I did make the midi false and I didnt use a editor. I did it without thinking and I used my notes so maybe I need to look at it again and see what I did. Oh I was doing it on my lunch time at work so I may of typed and did something else at same time. I cant do more then 1 thing at a time I guess.

Oh my notes dont tell me about the class part but I do have the others. So if I didnt close something chances are I was interrupted and lost my place.
Comes with old age you young ones LOL

Thanks for telling me. Oh the logo I was talking about wasnt the one I have here it was the water pic one. I thought that would catch peoples eyes but you all said remove so as you see I removed it to the picture of the dogs LOL. I still had to have it (water effect) lol.

Hey can I put the chi logo with the water effect back now???? and my DAM logo

Anime_Lover

07-21-2003, 07:26 PM

Oh thank you great wise ones. I do so hope it wont look so "busy".
Let me play with it and see.

Anime_Lover

07-22-2003, 11:14 AM

Dearest David even in my most creative stage in life I would never of been able to stand up to your work at 11 or 16 heck not even if you were at age 5.

Now with that said cute site for an 11 yr old. I guess you knew what you wanted to do even back then. I applaud your ambition. Now use that power of yours to direct my brat in the direction she claims she wants to go and that is in creating games. Yes she is so into computer graphics and animation and game creating that I sometimes wonder why she isn't making sites herself.

Well anyway I am still working out the last of the pages for the pet site and I am working on my anime site. I guess I am having more fun working on the anime site. The anime site will be a playground for me so when you all see it don't even bother to tell me what’s wrong cause I wont care. Its fun to make, look at and it's an all around play area for my playful side. Yes I have a playful side and it comes out when Sci Fi or Anime or EBay boards are involved :-).

Anyway back to the pet site and I was joking about the anime site. You can tell me what is wrong and all but I can't promise I will adhere to advise for that site ROFLMAO!!!...Just kidding!

azlatin2000

02-01-2004, 07:44 AM

The reason that geocities puts the </OBJECT> tag is because if you put and <OBJECT> tag after your page content it will hide ads in Internet Explorer.

thawebman

02-02-2004, 05:53 AM

goecities are the wrrst thing ever hapend

azlatin2000

02-02-2004, 11:52 AM

On your site in Mozilla i get a java error:
java.lang.NullPointerException

at sun.plugin.net.proxy.WNetscape4ProxyConfig.getNSVersion(Unknown Source)

at sun.plugin.net.proxy.WNetscape4ProxyConfig.getBrowserProxyInfo(Unknown Source)

at sun.plugin.net.proxy.PluginProxyManager.reset(Unknown Source)

at sun.plugin.AppletViewer.initEnvironment(Unknown Source)

Then if you refresh the page Mozilla crashes.

sarab

02-03-2004, 04:03 AM

I should state straight away that I'm not the person to help you with any technical aspects of your website. I can only comment on how it looks to me as a (typical or otherwise) Internet browser.

I agree with the others who've commented on the content of your site. If you think all other 'Chi' sites have said it all, why not have a site about something else? (Personally, I can't believe that you couldn't come up with a personal slant on something about which you're passionate - but that's only an opinion).

I'm impressed with what you make the pages do, and your obvious skills, of which I can only be envious. But does the site hold my attention? Not really -- and that's where the content has to work for a living.

Some other comments that you might like to consider:

One of the pages is mainly upper case text. I'm in agreement with those who don't enjoy reading text in that format, so I tend to skip it. This doesn't help to make your site 'sticky'.

There are quite a few spelling mistakes and grammatical bloopers for a site with so few pages ('anyhting' for example). It's a shame to have worked on the site's visual appeal, only to spoil it with that lack of a 'ha'porth of tar'. You must have access to a spell checker, right?

In conclusion, while I can only admire your Web skills, I don't know why you did the site. It doesn't 'give' me anything to take away from it.

I agree with the other comments to the effect that if it's just a 'work-out' like a gym session, then don't sweat it, but if you want the site to achieve something, then you need to be clearer about what that is.

Please accept these words in the spirit in which they're offered - out of a sincere desire to help, however inept.

Sara