Re: Critique of my website

pixelmeow wrote:

http://pixelmeow.com/afhpics/

"you have to say something really clever to make sure everyone else
ignores your typos"

LOL

The navigation menu takes you to pages both at your domain and off site.
I think you should separate them, or - here's an idea - stick all the
off site links on the Links page. If you really want them all in the
left column, categorized them better. Try using a multi-level list
(<ul>) instead of just a string of <a> elements, or a subhead
identifying the category with a list under it.

The background is different on every page. This is not good for
usability. You want your site to be a cohesive whole and recognized as
*your* site. A different design on every page makes it fragmented and
unprofessional. I realize it's a personal site, but that doesn't mean it
doesn't have to look polished.

You should also validate your code. You have a few errors, including
missing Alt text on images.

--
Berg

pixelmeow wrote:

On Fri, 08 Dec 2006 15:42:05 -0600, Bergamot <bergamot (AT) visi (DOT) com
wrote:

pixelmeow wrote:

http://pixelmeow.com/afhpics/

"you have to say something really clever to make sure everyone else
ignores your typos"

LOL

Sure, yeah, you laugh, but you started out as a n00b too! ;-)

Actually, I was quoting from one of your own pages:
http://pixelmeow.com/AFH/antifaq.html

Way down at the bottom. It made me laugh when I read the associated post
about content vs form. :-)

What I forgot to mention is that this page is the second on the site
that I'm redesigning right now,

Understood. Going back to your home page, though, there are a few things
that should be changed before you plow ahead with the rest of the site.

Your home page uses a DOCTYPE that triggers "quirks" mode rather than
"standards" mode. This will result in some unpredictable and varying
results across browsers. If you're rewriting old code, stick with HTML
4.01 Strict, not Transitional. You'll get more consistent results.

There are a bunch of empty paragraphs in the content area. I presume
this is to try and "force" some minimum height to the page. That's the
wrong way to go about it. There happens to be a CSS property called
"min-height" that is ideal for that job. IE doesn't support it, but
there are tricks to make IE behave.

There are other less-than-ideal CSS rules as well, such as using
Verdana, font-sizes in px units, an absolute height for the navbar, and
absolutely positioning all the main page elements. These things will
only cause you trouble.

You might want to try out one of the ready-made 2-column CSS templates
from http://css-discuss.incutio.com/?page=TwoColumnLayouts
and maybe look at some of the vertical lists (i.e. navigation menus)
from http://css.maxdesign.com.au/listamatic/
Or try out this tool
http://www.accessify.com/tools-and-w.../list-o-matic/
Just modify the generated code to better suit your color scheme and
graphic preferences.

HTH

--
Berg

on the menu links rollover - is that color pink or salmon?

pixelmeow wrote:

On Sat, 09 Dec 2006 08:13:17 -0600, Bergamot <bergamot (AT) visi (DOT) com
wrote:


Understood. Going back to your home page, though, there are a few things
that should be changed before you plow ahead with the rest of the site.

Your home page uses a DOCTYPE that triggers "quirks" mode rather than
"standards" mode. This will result in some unpredictable and varying
results across browsers. If you're rewriting old code, stick with HTML
4.01 Strict, not Transitional. You'll get more consistent results.

There are a bunch of empty paragraphs in the content area. I presume
this is to try and "force" some minimum height to the page. That's the
wrong way to go about it. There happens to be a CSS property called
"min-height" that is ideal for that job. IE doesn't support it, but
there are tricks to make IE behave.

Okay, I've re-done *only* the main page, http://pixelmeow.com/. I
took your advice and used some things I found at the links below, and
I think it looks much better. I really want the background I have; is
there *any* way to make it work?

Also, the "min-height" didn't work for some reason, maybe you have an
idea on that?



You might want to try out one of the ready-made 2-column CSS templates
from http://css-discuss.incutio.com/?page=TwoColumnLayouts
and maybe look at some of the vertical lists (i.e. navigation menus)
from http://css.maxdesign.com.au/listamatic/
Or try out this tool
http://www.accessify.com/tools-and-w.../list-o-matic/
Just modify the generated code to better suit your color scheme and
graphic preferences.

HTH

salmon.

pixelmeow wrote:

On 22 Dec 2006 13:34:16 -0800, "liamo" <liam.lorigan (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote:

on the menu links rollover - is that color pink or salmon?

That's a very good question. What do you think it is?