Anyone interested in doing me a website?

[Squiggs]

No offence to web designers, but I had a web designer do my website at quite a cost and although the design is brilliant, it's totally user unfriendly. I have no knowledge of html and therefore haven't got a clue how to update it - which you need to do regularly if you're using it to sell things. He now wants to charge me £25 for every minor update.

 

So, after some research I have now created a new website at a much cheaper cost and one which I can update myself at any time... for free! Sometimes it pays to look around and do things yourself. PS. It wasn't that difficult either and I didn't have to learn html.

 

I'm guessing your "web designer" was more into the designing (styling) than the coding, took an open source content management system, bolted on some relevant plug-ins and freely available modifications and made it look pretty.

 

Some of these OS CMS systems are great but their administration panels are not always simplicity (despite claims that is where their power lies - no prizes for guessing which one I refer to!) for the non computer-savvy end user to navigate

 

I do think it is reasonable for a designer to charge if the end user wants updates doing for them - however the end user should have been considered in the initial design so that the paid updates are a choice rather than necessity.

[Squiggs]

 

keep the feedback coming as its always appreciated afterall if people dont give their opinions things wont be changed.

 

Okay...

 

Styles are for styling

Tables are for tabular data

 

Seriously - Tables seem easy, I did the same thing and I know from my own mistakes that the more you use tables for layout the harder a habit it is to break when you finally realise that styles, divs and spans do a far better job and allow for easy tweaking in an external stylesheet. Also makes it easier to keep a uniform look to pages and make navigating/reading easier.

 

Other thing is that little animated gifs for "mail" etc screams "lyk, OMG teh n0000000b suXors!!" (or something to that effect) - very reminiscent of "Wow - look what Windows 3.11 for Workgroups can do!". Animated gifs and clipart = tacky, tacky, tacky. If you need the occasional image, try some free stock photos from somewhere like http://www.sxc.hu

 

These things I would say are extremely important, given what you are trying to achieve with your web presence.

[monomiel]

re http://www.woodysden.co.uk

 

keep the feedback coming as its always appreciated afterall if people dont give their opinions things wont be changed.

 

I didn't give an advice saying that the site is basic, i just said my opinion.

 

If you don't mind i can give you some advice now:

 

I agree with Squiggs about css.

 

I would start for the distribution of the content. Text in every where without order. It's is difficult to "read". This and the design are the main problems.

 

if you want to show a gallery, it's better to make another page for that. you could use flash , css or AJAX to make that gallery.

 

You could use UCD to ensure that your website will be easy to use by the user.

 

There is not reason for that flash menu ( in my pinion ). Also when i make Show all, the menu appears 10pxX100px ( firefox ).

 

Try to integrate your forum, it is not enough to upload your logo on you PHPBB system.

 

I hope you don't mind:cool:

[Squiggs]

Agree with the flash menu.

 

CSS (again) can make nice menus, with search-engine readable text. Not everyone has flash, not everyone wants to wait for flash content to load. Text is king of the web.

 

Have a look here for menu ideas if you want something nice looking but cross-browser compatible, and readable by search engines (and trust me, your menu wants to be search engine readable).

 

http://www.cssplay.co.uk/menus/

 

In the course of building your site, you'll no doubt come across other things that you think look "neat" and many of these will use javascript. No harm in using javascript but if you do, then look up the noscript tag and within it, if the javascript delivers something essential, provide a plain non-js alternative.

 

I surf with javascript turned off and it's annoying to have to switch it on for a site just to actually get to a page I want to view.

 

PS. you're using HTML 4.01 attributes in an XHTML Transitional doctype - that's just me being nitpicky about semantics though, but still, worrth popping over to w3c.org and having a look

 

I didn't look at your source before now, I assumed that you weren't using css. I see now that you are, and using styles and spans. Similar use of divs will help clean it up, then maybe later you can jazz it up a bit with rounded corners and the like from cssplay - it's all a learning experience!

[jezzyjj]

re http://www.woodysden.co.uk

 

thanks for the feedback lol but to advise that the site is basic at this stage as the main design is being completed as we speak.

 

yes the sites basic lol and as we`ve only been running a short time the main concentration is to put the whole system in place in the technical area and plenty of time doing that will build a great foundation......so

 

keep the feedback coming as its always appreciated afterall if people dont give their opinions things wont be changed.

If you are offering a paid for service then you have to provide something a lot better than people can do themselves. As others have commented on the coding side of things, I'll comment on the design.

:gag::gag:

And you say this on your site - "we will design and provide you with

a stylish website", judging by how remarkably awful your own site is, that's really not likely. It wouldn't have looked good 10years ago.

[floyd77]

Just to point out - I did the appliance site (i'm nothing to do with the woodysden stuff)

 

It was delivered to an extremely tight budget, the client got the site (designed to his specs), a CMS, hosting and a bit of training for a price I should never really have agreed to! (but I had time, and it was a 'forum' special!!) Due to the cost there were some design constraints, but the client agreed, and was happy with the result.

[MontyBurns]

maybe i should have said "constructive" feed back instead of childish comments from people hiding behind the safety of their keyboards.

 

 

theres a familiar trend on this forum, people all too willing to attack and judge.

 

Im certain that the same people would never dare say such things to someones face through fear of retaliation which is why is always easy (and cowardly) to bitch and make unhelpfull comments against others from the safety of your computer.

 

 

hope you feel like big men. lol

[MontyBurns]

except for squiggs, much appreciated mate.

[Jam1e]

except for squiggs, much appreciated mate.

 

Sorry but theyre completely right. It looks like an utter bag of sh*t.

 

They stated quite clearly the reasons why it looked bad and gave you ways to improve, instead of taking it in, you spit your dummy out.

 

The site looks appalling, it looks like something from 1995.

 

If its under construction id have put a placeholder there instead.

 

There is no way on this earth id ask you to make the website for my business. I think you should find a new line of work.

 

have a nice day!

[jezzyjj]

maybe i should have said "constructive" feed back instead of childish comments from people hiding behind the safety of their keyboards.

No hiding behind keyboard here as my website is in my signature.

You were given also some good advice above, though sadly ignored as it wasn't kiss-ass enough it seems. BTW, if you don't want honest opinions, don't ask for feedback.