Page 1 of 4 1234 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 39

Thread: My www.CurlyCords.com.au website is up. Is it OK?

  1. #1
    Paul Scott
    Guest

    Default My www.CurlyCords.com.au website is up. Is it OK?

    G'day.
    I Have just uploaded my updated version of my website,
    And I am concerned that the page width is too wide.

    What do you think? Do you think I'll get away with it?

    www.CurlyCords.com.au



    Any other other glaringly obvious problems that I have missed?

    I was having trouble with the link colours.
    Do they look OK?


    Thanks for your help.

    Paul.

  2. #2
    Charles Edmonds
    Guest

    Default Re: My www.CurlyCords.com.au website is up. Is it OK?

    On Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:40:38 +1000, Paul Scott wrote:

    > G'day.
    > I Have just uploaded my updated version of my website,
    > And I am concerned that the page width is too wide.
    >
    > What do you think? Do you think I'll get away with it?
    >
    > www.CurlyCords.com.au
    >
    > Any other other glaringly obvious problems that I have missed?
    >
    > I was having trouble with the link colours.
    > Do they look OK?


    Paul,

    Not meaning to be rude here, but the biggest thing I see that is suboptimal
    for you is that the site is VERY wide.

    On a 1024x768 view (the largest that I design for BTW), much of your
    premium web page content is cut off by the need to scroll right with a
    horizontal scrollbar.

    As much as I know you must like the animation on the left, it is dominating
    the page and taking up the most precious part of it.

    Here is something you should read about how visitors view web pages:

    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/reading_pattern.html

    I'd knock the page width down so that it fits a 1024x768 monitor without
    the need of a horizontal scrollbar.

    Then bring your animation down and beside the other image.

    Visitors with normal width monitors just won't scroll right for the most
    part (only if they are desperate to read the page contents).

    Plus people buy wide screen monitors usually so they can have more than one
    program open at the same time (or to work on something that requires
    property palettes - like NOF ... not to see pages stretch out full width.

    Your off to a good start and most likely the points I made were not
    something you knew about before.

    The good news is that such changes are easy to make in NOF!

    :-)

    Good luck on your projects!

    Charles





    --
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Charles Edmonds
    cjeByteMeSpammers@lansrad.com (remove the "ByteMeSpammers" to email me)
    www.clarionproseries.com - "Get ProPath, make your Clarion programs ready
    for Windows 7 and Vista!"
    www.ezchangelog.com - "Free ChangeLog software to manage your projects!"
    www.setupcast.com - "A revolutionary new publishing system for software
    developers - enhanced for SetupBuilder users!"
    www.pagesnip.com - "Print and Save the Web, just the way you want it!"
    www.clarionproseries.com - "Serious tools for Clarion Developers"
    www.ezround.com - "Round Corner HTML tables with matching Banners, Buttons
    and Forms!"
    www.lansrad.com - "Intelligent Solutions for Universal Problems"
    www.fotokiss.com - "World's Best Auction Photo Editor"
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  3. #3
    Paul Scott
    Guest

    Default Re: My www.CurlyCords.com.au website is up. Is it OK?

    Hi Charles,

    Yes, That is exactly what I was afraid of.

    I have read about the reading patterns, but was not sure to believe it
    or not.

    Actually I agree with you about it being too wide.

    I'm on a wide screen (actually two screens), and it looks pretty good
    here, but I don't know what the general population uses. That's why I
    ask.

    So you think 1024 wide is OK?

    Thanks for your advise.
    It is appreciated.

    Paul.


    Charles Edmonds wrote:
    > On Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:40:38 +1000, Paul Scott wrote:
    >
    >> G'day.
    >> I Have just uploaded my updated version of my website,
    >> And I am concerned that the page width is too wide.
    >>
    >> What do you think? Do you think I'll get away with it?
    >>
    >> www.CurlyCords.com.au
    >>
    >> Any other other glaringly obvious problems that I have missed?
    >>
    >> I was having trouble with the link colours.
    >> Do they look OK?

    >
    > Paul,
    >
    > Not meaning to be rude here, but the biggest thing I see that is suboptimal
    > for you is that the site is VERY wide.
    >
    > On a 1024x768 view (the largest that I design for BTW), much of your
    > premium web page content is cut off by the need to scroll right with a
    > horizontal scrollbar.
    >
    > As much as I know you must like the animation on the left, it is dominating
    > the page and taking up the most precious part of it.
    >
    > Here is something you should read about how visitors view web pages:
    >
    > http://www.useit.com/alertbox/reading_pattern.html
    >
    > I'd knock the page width down so that it fits a 1024x768 monitor without
    > the need of a horizontal scrollbar.
    >
    > Then bring your animation down and beside the other image.
    >
    > Visitors with normal width monitors just won't scroll right for the most
    > part (only if they are desperate to read the page contents).
    >
    > Plus people buy wide screen monitors usually so they can have more than one
    > program open at the same time (or to work on something that requires
    > property palettes - like NOF ... not to see pages stretch out full width.
    >
    > Your off to a good start and most likely the points I made were not
    > something you knew about before.
    >
    > The good news is that such changes are easy to make in NOF!
    >
    > :-)
    >
    > Good luck on your projects!
    >
    > Charles
    >
    >
    >
    >
    >


  4. #4
    Charles Edmonds
    Guest

    Default Re: My www.CurlyCords.com.au website is up. Is it OK?

    On Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:16:50 +1000, Paul Scott wrote:

    > I'm on a wide screen (actually two screens), and it looks pretty good
    > here, but I don't know what the general population uses. That's why I
    > ask.
    >
    > So you think 1024 wide is OK?
    >
    > Thanks for your advise.
    > It is appreciated.


    I design at 990 pixels wide.

    That allows any page to display without the horizontal scrollbar on a
    1024x768 resolution monitor (even if there are vertical scrollbars which
    are expected).

    But to be fair, you really have to consider what sort of hardware you
    visitors may have.

    If the target audience were expected to have older hardware, that might
    drop your design resolution down to where it would fit on 800x600.

    REALLY old hardware would be at 640x480, but thank goodness most of us
    don't have to deal with that anymore<g>.

    I used to design to 800x600 until about a year ago when the stats changed
    to show that most people were using 1024x768.

    Wide monitors are on the rise, but I suspect I'll stay at 1024x768 for a
    long time.


    The other factor to consider is the length of a line.

    If it is too long, it becomes harder to read and people tend to skip
    through it.

    So even if you do design wider pages later on, you'd be better off to use
    multiple columns to keep the line length short and easy to read.


    Lastly when organizing your content, remember that the web is upside down
    from printed media in how people use it.

    In printed media, people tend to read it like a novel.

    You have a great intro, a long drawn out series of details that paint a
    vivid picture and a dramatic ending.

    With the web, visitors are scanning.

    When they first see a page or a section of content, they are looking for
    the big finish FIRST.

    IOW - when they land on a page, what they want to immediately get from it
    is the answer to the question: "Is this what I was searching for?"

    If the answer looks like a "yes", then they will read further down the
    page.

    This gives you a chance to lure them deeper into the content.

    At that point your saying "Yes this will do what you want ... and here is a
    top level statement that tells you WHY it will do what you want it to do".

    Then (and only then) can you get into the gory (or sometimes dull<g>)
    details about the content.

    In fact often your better off to take them to a detail page about the
    content with a "more..." link so that the rest of the content does not
    overwhelm the user and force them to leave the page before you set the
    hook<g>.


    There are lots of good articles out there about writing for the web and
    designing content for the web. Some are good, some are not so good, but
    there are generally jewels that you can use in most of them.

    Like most things in life (including advice from this group<g>) the best
    plan is to ask for advice, listen to what folks have to suggest, follow the
    leads and read up on it for yourself, then figure out what is relevant to
    your situation and will work for you.

    Then do only that<g>.

    :-)

    Charles





    --
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Charles Edmonds
    cjeByteMeSpammers@lansrad.com (remove the "ByteMeSpammers" to email me)
    www.clarionproseries.com - "Get ProPath, make your Clarion programs ready
    for Windows 7 and Vista!"
    www.ezchangelog.com - "Free ChangeLog software to manage your projects!"
    www.setupcast.com - "A revolutionary new publishing system for software
    developers - enhanced for SetupBuilder users!"
    www.pagesnip.com - "Print and Save the Web, just the way you want it!"
    www.clarionproseries.com - "Serious tools for Clarion Developers"
    www.ezround.com - "Round Corner HTML tables with matching Banners, Buttons
    and Forms!"
    www.lansrad.com - "Intelligent Solutions for Universal Problems"
    www.fotokiss.com - "World's Best Auction Photo Editor"
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  5. #5
    Carl Kruck
    Guest

    Default Re: My www.CurlyCords.com.au website is up. Is it OK?

    G'day Paul

    Yes 1024 width is the absolute minimum to design for now, so make your pages
    1000 pixels wide to compensate for the vertical scrollbar. Make sure you
    tick Center in Browser on the layout properties for all pages, and any wider
    pages will automatically centre the page at 1000px

    Carl

    "Paul Scott" <PaulNOSPAMScott@premiumNOSPAMproductions.com> wrote in message
    news:haul76$t39$1@DailyPlanet.news.netobjects.com. ..
    > Hi Charles,
    >
    > Yes, That is exactly what I was afraid of.
    >
    > I have read about the reading patterns, but was not sure to believe it or
    > not.
    >
    > Actually I agree with you about it being too wide.
    >
    > I'm on a wide screen (actually two screens), and it looks pretty good
    > here, but I don't know what the general population uses. That's why I ask.
    >
    >
    > So you think 1024 wide is OK?
    >
    > Thanks for your advise.
    > It is appreciated.
    >
    > Paul.
    >
    >
    > Charles Edmonds wrote:
    >> On Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:40:38 +1000, Paul Scott wrote:
    >>
    >>> G'day.
    >>> I Have just uploaded my updated version of my website,
    >>> And I am concerned that the page width is too wide.
    >>>
    >>> What do you think? Do you think I'll get away with it?
    >>>
    >>> www.CurlyCords.com.au
    >>>
    >>> Any other other glaringly obvious problems that I have missed?
    >>>
    >>> I was having trouble with the link colours.
    >>> Do they look OK?

    >> Paul,
    >>
    >> Not meaning to be rude here, but the biggest thing I see that is
    >> suboptimal
    >> for you is that the site is VERY wide.
    >>
    >> On a 1024x768 view (the largest that I design for BTW), much of your
    >> premium web page content is cut off by the need to scroll right with a
    >> horizontal scrollbar.
    >>
    >> As much as I know you must like the animation on the left, it is
    >> dominating
    >> the page and taking up the most precious part of it.
    >>
    >> Here is something you should read about how visitors view web pages:
    >>
    >> http://www.useit.com/alertbox/reading_pattern.html
    >>
    >> I'd knock the page width down so that it fits a 1024x768 monitor without
    >> the need of a horizontal scrollbar.
    >>
    >> Then bring your animation down and beside the other image.
    >>
    >> Visitors with normal width monitors just won't scroll right for the most
    >> part (only if they are desperate to read the page contents).
    >>
    >> Plus people buy wide screen monitors usually so they can have more than
    >> one
    >> program open at the same time (or to work on something that requires
    >> property palettes - like NOF ... not to see pages stretch out full width.
    >>
    >> Your off to a good start and most likely the points I made were not
    >> something you knew about before.
    >>
    >> The good news is that such changes are easy to make in NOF!
    >>
    >> :-)
    >>
    >> Good luck on your projects!
    >>
    >> Charles
    >>
    >>
    >>
    >>
    >>


  6. #6
    Peter Eisenburger
    Guest

    Default Re: My www.CurlyCords.com.au website is up. Is it OK?

    Charles Edmonds wrote:
    >
    > I used to design to 800x600 until about a year ago when the stats changed
    > to show that most people were using 1024x768.


    For now I stay with 800 x 600 because mobile devices become more
    important and they have small monitor resolutions.

    Peter

  7. #7
    Paul Scott
    Guest

    Default Re: My www.CurlyCords.com.au website is up. Is it OK?

    Hello Carl
    Thank you for your help.

    Paul.

    Carl Kruck wrote:
    > G'day Paul
    >
    > Yes 1024 width is the absolute minimum to design for now, so make your
    > pages 1000 pixels wide to compensate for the vertical scrollbar. Make
    > sure you tick Center in Browser on the layout properties for all
    > pages, and any wider pages will automatically centre the page at 1000px
    >
    > Carl
    >


  8. #8
    Paul Scott
    Guest

    Default Re: My www.CurlyCords.com.au website is up. Is it OK?

    Hello Peter.
    Good Point.
    Thank you for your help.

    Paul.

    Peter Eisenburger wrote:
    > Charles Edmonds wrote:
    >>
    >> I used to design to 800x600 until about a year ago when the stats
    >> changed
    >> to show that most people were using 1024x768.

    >
    > For now I stay with 800 x 600 because mobile devices become more
    > important and they have small monitor resolutions.
    >
    > Peter


  9. #9
    Paul Scott
    Guest

    Default Re: My www.CurlyCords.com.au website is up. Is it OK?

    Hello Charles.

    Wow...There is a LOT to think about there.

    I Certainly appreciate your time you have taken to help me here.

    Best regards
    Paul.

  10. #10
    Charles Edmonds
    Guest

    Default Re: My www.CurlyCords.com.au website is up. Is it OK?

    On Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:41:49 +0200, Peter Eisenburger wrote:

    > For now I stay with 800 x 600 because mobile devices become more
    > important and they have small monitor resolutions.


    I don't worry about it except on sites where the target audience is one
    using pocket devices.

    The NetBooks run at a 1024x??? resolution, so the 990 px works fine on
    them.


    IMHO websites that need to support smaller devices need to either be built
    with a fluid layout that will adapt to the mobile device specifications, or
    better yet have entirely separate pages of content that are laid out
    especially for such devices.

    I think it really comes down to knowing who the target visitor is expected
    to be and designing accordingly.

    A general purpose website that will do well on everything from a pocket
    device to a regular computer is a difficult task to achieve.

    But even there (issues like banners and images aside) it really comes back
    to remembering to layout the site so that the "F Pattern" holds the most
    valuable content.

    Are we having fun yet<g>?

    :-)

    Charles





    --
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Charles Edmonds
    cjeByteMeSpammers@lansrad.com (remove the "ByteMeSpammers" to email me)
    www.clarionproseries.com - "Get ProPath, make your Clarion programs ready
    for Windows 7 and Vista!"
    www.ezchangelog.com - "Free ChangeLog software to manage your projects!"
    www.setupcast.com - "A revolutionary new publishing system for software
    developers - enhanced for SetupBuilder users!"
    www.pagesnip.com - "Print and Save the Web, just the way you want it!"
    www.clarionproseries.com - "Serious tools for Clarion Developers"
    www.ezround.com - "Round Corner HTML tables with matching Banners, Buttons
    and Forms!"
    www.lansrad.com - "Intelligent Solutions for Universal Problems"
    www.fotokiss.com - "World's Best Auction Photo Editor"
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •