Forums | MacLife

jdapple · 2003-02-10 3:23 pm

Hello,

I would like some constructive comments or critism on a site that I'm working on. The site is not even close to being done but I will post the url anyways. Any comments would be helpful. http:/ … 147.7

DuncanDoughnuts · 2003-02-11 11:32 am

when I tested it on 56k the opening page took forever to load....I would get rid of that page cause it serves no purpose ( the youth are part of the church link to them from the nav bar in the main site.) The layout of the main site is nice... however the appleish feel is kinda wierd for a church... it doesn't feel much like a church and I think the most important part of the church is the congregation and a site should be focused around them and that aquaish design might take away from the focus

Og · 2003-02-11 1:50 pm

1) Brushed metal is questionable as appearance on macs. makling it the central design element is horrid (sorry, but you can't fix what people perceive as bad design without being told... take this in the helpful spirit intended.)

2) the massive table is going to (as noted) obliterate load times on dial-up.

3) the content pages are a different width than the home page. This is a Bad Thing. People don't want to resize their browsers every time a page loads. Pick a width and stick with it. the original page width seemed fine.

4) Make absolutely certain of your spelling, i.e. "So please bare with us." should be "So please bear with us." Web pages with simple misspellings look amateurish. Same-same with grammar.

Other misc stuff: I know it's under development, but the information for the marriage retreat has nothing to help people actually register. Contact information?

Make a form-based contact page. Never assume that the average user has (correctly) configured their browser to support mail-to links. Take the responsibility for handling feedback off the user entirely. Certainly provide a mailto on the pages, but that should be secondary.

Basseq · 2003-02-11 7:20 pm

(see above)

Also, don't use images - use text instead. I *hate* text images. It's also easier to update and easier to make the design compatible to all resolutions.

jdapple · 2003-02-11 9:11 pm

Thanks for the comments. The site is diffently a prototype. I like the brushed metal look, but I will change the splash for those who have dial up. I will eventually get rid of it all together. As for a contact form, that is on my list of things to do. I have an asp script that I have used on other pages for collecting info. There is one question that I have that maybe someone could answer. Is there a way to tell if someone is using a mac browser or a pc browser? and if so is there a way to make the font appear smaller on the pc browser than the mac. The reason why I am asking is when I look at the page on my work pc or my laptop the font looks jagged. Or is this one of the nice features of Quartz Extreme? cool

Og · 2003-02-11 11:03 pm

(see above)

Also, don't use images - use text instead. I *hate* text images. It's also easier to update and easier to make the design compatible to all resolutions.

Ah, good point which brings me to another.

Search engines don't index the text if it's in an image. So your site has lees of a chance getting good indexing. Someone might hit it on a search, but if there's no text, they won't have a clue about the site (except that it's for a church).

and another rule: NEVER use an image where text will serve the purpose. And most critically, as above, NEVER place your content text as an image. Bad ju-ju.

Don't rely soley on meta tags (you were planning on using them, yes?) big_smile

Og · 2003-02-11 11:06 pm

I will change the splash for those who have dial up. I will eventually get rid of it all together.

If you're going to dump that page, don't waste time developing it. tongue

jdapple · 2003-02-12 12:43 pm

How does the layout of the main page look? All the other pages will appear in the same fashion except the titles will be different in the headers. Otherwise everything will be the same size. I do plan on using meta tags. The biggest reason for the large logo with the brushed medal on the splash page was the pastor likes alot of visual things. It is hard to sway from this. Thanks for the info on the text images vs real text. I'm trying to find the time to come up with content for the site and I plan on adding more items under the quick links menu. I have made request to the leadership for them to write down what they want, but so far there has been very little response. :?:

jvini · 2003-02-12 5:52 pm

To add to what has already been said...

This site doesn't look well at all on 800 x 600. The side scroll kills me! I can't stand sites that you have to use the horizontal scroll to get the rest of the site. mad

Set the table size to 100% and make all screen resolutions happy.

Also, I love the design, but not for a Church site. Go to other church sites and check out their designs...you may get some better ideas.

Overall though, great start!

My 2 cents.

DuncanDoughnuts · 2003-02-13 6:32 pm

Yeah I think you should look into another theme for the design..... but don't think that just because it's a church site it has to be boring.... check out
http://www.lote.org/
or their church
http://santacruzbible.org/graceland/
or willowcreek
http://www.willowcreek.org/

You can go all out but let the design take a backseat to the church

Forums | MacLife

#1 2003-02-10 3:23 pm

New Site Under Construction (need comments)

#2 2003-02-11 11:32 am

Re: New Site Under Construction (need comments)

#3 2003-02-11 1:50 pm

Re: New Site Under Construction (need comments)

#4 2003-02-11 7:20 pm

Re: New Site Under Construction (need comments)

#5 2003-02-11 9:11 pm

Re: New Site Under Construction (need comments)

#6 2003-02-11 11:03 pm

Re: New Site Under Construction (need comments)

#7 2003-02-11 11:06 pm

Re: New Site Under Construction (need comments)

#8 2003-02-12 12:43 pm

Re: New Site Under Construction (need comments)

#9 2003-02-12 5:52 pm

Re: New Site Under Construction (need comments)

#10 2003-02-13 6:32 pm

Re: New Site Under Construction (need comments)

Board footer