Squidgy Triangles.

[power fuse0]

Okay, not sure if this is the right section, but I'm currently setting up a minor web design thing, and I'd like some feedback on the website i've made for it.
(i know it doesn't make sense but i'm tired ^)

So yeah, what do you think of my website, (need feedback)

http://www.squidgytriangles.co.uk


We're trying to learn css to update it, but at the moment, we're focusing on making it appealing to people, and easy on the eye.

Also, it's our portfolio site for graphics so there might be stuff in the gallery before long.
lol

[SENTY]

it doesnt load :)

[Smifis]

Looks good however very green, not the best color,

A key to a good design is knowing the denotations of each element, so take a crash course in media and Semiotics. :D There are plenty or resources on the net about semiotics so swat up :D

I learned a large majority of my web coding from w3schools.com

[Rhys]

Images could be saved as JPEG's to improve quality.

Green looks a bit, bleh coloured lol.

font is a bit pixelated for it and the red web design in title is well not great on the green.

Im picky about my designs and unless its saved in high quality and fits right then i wont be using it.

Your portfolio is the most important bit, the more time put in the more customers will be intrigued.

Just look at the host website on your page.
Its Unique and in all honesty, if i wasnt getting free hosting from a friend atm then id be looking at going with them

[aspdend]

Not liking the fonts mate - they seem too large and blocky in the menus

The red text "web design" on the background looks lost

The news page doesn't seem to appear under the menu system

Not sure about "the home of triangles that are squidgy" tbh - what is that all about...

Not a bad site by any means, just needs some work imho

[power fuse0]

OKay well thanks for the feedback guys. Keep checking the link, i'll work some more on it tonight.
We kinda like the green, but we might try something else if really is that bad.

I'll re-size the menu buttons tonight, also, the font is supposed to be pixelated. lol.

We've been using w3schools for some of our coding too, it's pretty useful ^.^

[xMarkie76]

I'll re-size the menu buttons tonight, also, the font is supposed to be pixelated. lol.
^.^
If you're going for a retro computing theme then its perfect.

Although, I was expecting to find a fancy flash game, where I could squidge some triangles.... :)

[power fuse0]

made a gallery section, added a little more red so the web design on the banner doesn't look so out of place.

[Faz]

How much do you charge for a 5 page site, out of interest?

[Aaron]

Server not found













Firefox can't find the server at www.squidgytriangles.co.uk.








* Check the address for typing errors such as
ww.example.com instead of
www.example.com

* If you are unable to load any pages, check your computer's network
connection.

* If your computer or network is protected by a firewall or proxy, make sure
that Firefox is permitted to access the Web.
Thats what I get.... :|

[aspdend]

My updated comments:
The red text "Web Design" is still a bit lost on the background - maybe a but bigger?
When navigating the gallery images (good pics btw!) the mouse pointer turns to a cursor rather than a hand when you move it to 'prev next'
There are a lot of spelling mistakes on the news page.
On a widescreen monitor there is a lot of black border around the page when compared to on a normal 4:3 monitor.

[power fuse0]

How much do you charge for a 5 page site, out of interest?

Usually we would charge £100 for the main page (index) and the £20 per page after that. (sorry for late reply)

We've updated the website again and would like feedback again.

We decided to re-design the website again, but just before we do, we would like more comments on the look of it.

Also, here is our first happy customer : www.herefordbrickandstone.com (http://www.herefordbrickandstone.com)

[power fuse0]

Also excuse our host, they seem to want to stop hosting 3-4 times everyday

[nooble]

Really nice site good look and colours

[Delta Whiskey]

Didn't get passed the green, too much for my poor eyes.

[Lorem-Ipsum]

Why is the ******* annoying green triangle man behind the text so you can't read it?

[Smifis]

I'm loving the new website.

looks fab

[Rhys]

I like the new site but i think the triangles bit in the logo is a bit low quality.

seems a bit fuzzy round the edges.

just thought id say that xD

[cinek]

the copyright needs to be smaller and there should be some space at the top of it
links at the top (home etc) are too close together
services; headings should be centered

Warning: include() [function.include (http://www.squidgytriangles.co.uk/function.include)]: Failed opening 'Array.php' for inclusion (include_path='.:/usr/lib/php:/usr/local/lib/php') in /home/squidgyt/public_html/index.php on line 114

just my 2 pence

edit: you are also using the very old approach of putting everything in a table. You should consider positioning everything using css, in a separate css file

edit2: it doesn't validate: http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.squidgytriangles.co.uk% 2Findex.php%3Fpage%3Dhome&charset=%28detect+automatically%29&doctype=Inline&group=0

[power fuse0]

Okays, I got some moving stuff in there now, we're learning jquery.
Thanks for the comments guys :)

EDIT: also, as we're working on it now, we know that all the animation is not going to work properly. We're figuring it out.

[Smifis]

The animations doesn't work very well, i'd remove it.

[power fuse0]

The animations doesn't work very well, i'd remove it.

derp. did you read my post?
we were working on it, check it now.

[heavywater]

Why have the animations at all? They're not necessary and they're very annoying.

[aspdend]

I reckon the new format is a much nicer, cleaner website, but I would lose the animations, they are annoying.
On the pages, if you scroll down, you can scroll down and down so the website is off the top of the page and you just see a green screen.
I am not convinced with all the info on the front page - there seems to be too much about you two, including how little experience you have in doing this, rather than promoting what you have done more prominently...maybe you could move some info to an about us section or something? Make the front page look more attractive in terms of people wanting to use your services...

Good work tho!

[Smifis]

Derp.. There's only one other person I know that uses derp. wtf is it meant to mean!??1 lol.

[Gav]

http://i51.tinypic.com/2v80rpy.jpg

[Smifis]

ಠ_ಠ

I hate you...

[Gav]

Don't you Reddit eyes me young man.

[coiler]

love the triangle green man with hat on, that should be your new av!

[power fuse0]

love the triangle green man with hat on, that should be your new av!

I'll take that into account :D.


So, are the animations that bad?
We were looking for a way to show off that we could use no-flash, without stating it.
Also, The information on the front page is a little pooey, thanks. I guess I'll get started on an about us section, and re-make the front page.

the silly thing is, it was the other person who made the layout of all the content, and he was adamant on using tables at the time, and we really cba to re-make them haha. But, It has to be done I guess.
Thanks for backing up my decision.

Kepp the comments coming please, also if you check the site regularly then it'd be useful for us if you could comment on changes. (did SEO on our site yesterday, hopefully attracting more visitors within a month).

[Gav]

Just something I noticed.


Another complete redesign for the website, I feel this looks a hell of a lot nicer then the older. We are starting to get a few websites done now and our portfolio is growing! Our experience with webdesign is also growing, I also think our pages looking nicer and nicer.

I wouldn't use phrases like 'hell of a lot nicer' as it doesn't come across as very professional.

Also, trying to see what text I've highlighted on your site makes me cry.

[aspdend]

Just something I noticed.



I wouldn't use phrases like 'hell of a lot nicer' as it doesn't come across as very professional.

Also, trying to see what text I've highlighted on your site makes me cry.

+1 to Gav for that - both comments are spot on.

Also, if you click on the portfolio websites, it takes you to the website, but not as a separate tab. Personally, I prefer a link to bring up a new tab so I can look at it and then close it and still have the original page up rather than having to back click loads of times...

[gray.woodford]

I like the way it changes pages with the black bars coming up and down but i think after a short while this may get annoying for the user, looks pretty but is it needed?

The site on the whole is looking much improved now, keep up the good work.

[power fuse0]

Just something I noticed.



I wouldn't use phrases like 'hell of a lot nicer' as it doesn't come across as very professional.

Also, trying to see what text I've highlighted on your site makes me cry.

Ah good, we'll change that now.


+1 to Gav for that - both comments are spot on.

Also, if you click on the portfolio websites, it takes you to the website, but not as a separate tab. Personally, I prefer a link to bring up a new tab so I can look at it and then close it and still have the original page up rather than having to back click loads of times...

Ah yeh, good idea :D


I like the way it changes pages with the black bars coming up and down but i think after a short while this may get annoying for the user, looks pretty but is it needed?

The site on the whole is looking much improved now, keep up the good work.

Animations removed, the portfolio page still has one though, we're going to try and implement pretty animations that don't annoy visitors.

[gray.woodford]

just a thought, on the previous work section i would have the other websites open up in a new tab, keeps yours open for the user then all so.

[aspdend]

just a thought, on the previous work section i would have the other websites open up in a new tab, keeps yours open for the user then all so.

Got there first mate...:D

[gray.woodford]

How are you creating your website if you dont mind me asking?

I have had to learn quite a bit for a work website i have overhauled and made look better than it was. I have been using drupal for mine as i was a complete website noob until i started playing around with it. Quite pleased with it now tho.


Got there first mate...:D
lol, awesome dude sorry

[power fuse0]

How are you creating your website if you dont mind me asking?

I have had to learn quite a bit for a work website i have overhauled and made look better than it was. I have been using drupal for mine as i was a complete website noob until i started playing around with it. Quite pleased with it now tho.


lol, awesome dude sorry

Do you mean what program? or what language?

[gray.woodford]

Do you mean what program? or what language?
sorry, are you using a program for it?

[power fuse0]

sorry, are you using a program for it?

You'll probably hate me, but dreamweaver.

[aspdend]

Yes - we do hate you for that...

[cinek]

Okays, I got some moving stuff in there now, we're learning jquery.


you should start with javascript.... but before you do that, make sure you learn the basics of css first....
it goes HTML, CSS and then what ever you want e.g. PHP, Javascript Then jQuery

[aspdend]

you should start with javascript.... but before you do that, make sure you learn the basics of css first....
it goes HTML, CSS and then what ever you want e.g. PHP, Javascript Then jQuery
I agree with Cinek here - I learnt HTML and C+ at Uni and then some CSS myself but out of touch with it now. if you don't learn the basics, you won't be able to produce anything with a lot of depth and configurability imho

[power fuse0]

http://squidgytriangles.co.uk/index.php?page=services

does anybody know by any chance why the scroll bar so far down?
I want it to be somewhat like the portfolio page, (but it will have a scrollbar because there is more content).

[InvaderGIR]

Looks to me like you've managed to set the page height manually rather than dynamically.

[power fuse0]

ah no, I was being dumb for a minute, haha. Fixed it now.
Thanks anyway

edit:

Are those animations less annoying than the shutter one we put in?

[InvaderGIR]

Personally, I hate animations like that. :p

In honesty, the look and feel of the site is very much HTML and not dynamic php which I'm guessing you're trying to do.

[Toonshorty]

I think it looks slightly too amateur for a professional company, I'd be developing something like this:

http://i54.tinypic.com/2q8a58y.png

[cinek]

I think it looks slightly too amateur for a professional company, I'd be developing something like this:

http://i54.tinypic.com/2q8a58y.png

agree, that looks much better... the current site looks like play work of a child. If I was looking for a website, I would close the site as soon as I'd see it, w/o even looking at any prices. Sorry but this is the truth, there's no point kidding yourself here..... this website is basically your advert. It should be your best work. Let me ask you this, you're working for e.g. BT and you want a new website done. Would you even consider contacting some1 looking at your current site?

P.S a website should load w/o any animations. You can add animations etc (jQuery) for the gallery (portfolio) or something.... either way, the contact link doesn't stay inline with all other links (home etc)....

[power fuse0]

You guys are harsh, but evidently so true. I like it :).

Right, well, i'll suggest a re-design graphicly.
I can see a way to make that with animation included, blergh. expect a re-design lmao.

We'll try and think of something a little more pro.

If any one is interested, it will be in squidgytriangles.co.uk/new
probably wont do it tonight.

[cinek]

cool

let us know when you have it up and running. Also forget the animations atm, focus on getting everything done professionally, that includes using CSS to position everything on the site :)

[power fuse0]

cool

let us know when you have it up and running. Also forget the animations atm, focus on getting everything done professionally, that includes using CSS to position everything on the site :)

Yeah, I know how to do that now.
But i'm going to work on showing off everything I can in a professional manner.

Thanks for all your help guys, I seriously love this community

[Smifis]

loving the new site so far ::D

[power fuse0]

loving the new site so far ::D

what this?
http://squidgytriangles.co.uk/new/index.php


How do you make links not purple once you've visited them in css?

[Rhys]

a:link, a:href, a:hover, a:visited, a:active {
text-decoration: none;
color: #.... or blue/green;
}:D

a:visited is the main one.

[DoubleTop]

hmmm, I shall still stick with my rule of seperation.

Website coders make what website designers draw. I keep them seperate on projects, I have a designer and a coder.

For an advert for a business, that's quite bland, take a look at something along these lines for inspiration :) http://www.pixelbeach.co.uk/

DT.

[cinek]

I'd chose a different logo

[aspdend]

hmmm, I shall still stick with my rule of seperation.

Website coders make what website designers draw. I keep them seperate on projects, I have a designer and a coder.

For an advert for a business, that's quite bland, take a look at something along these lines for inspiration :) http://www.pixelbeach.co.uk/

DT.
I think DT has a valid point here - separation of roles to play on the strengths of the contributors...don't try and code what you think will look good, but design it first then make it happen...

[gray.woodford]

dam it i cant view the link at work, filtered!! gutted.

[cinek]

I think DT has a valid point here - separation of roles to play on the strengths of the contributors...don't try and code what you think will look good, but design it first then make it happen...

I agree here too, there's no point of you coding the website now, as it's a waste of time. Make a nice design, post us the jpg of it and we'll let you know where you can improve. If there'll be nothing/not much to improve, you can start coding it. Same goes for when you work with clients, you first show them the design you made, if they are happy, you move onto coding.... if not, you make some changes and go back to step 1

[andyn]

Also fully agree with DT. I've been a web developer since the mid-90s and from my experience design and implementation require completely different skillsets (and indeed mindsets). Sites which have been designed by someone with design skills, and then implemented by someone with programming skills, are very much the norm.

Of course, having said this, it's down to what is appropriate for the scale of the project. In my early days I was part of a company which did a lot of cheap websites for small companies; in these cases cost was a major factor, and getting a website which looked perfect was less important than getting SOME kind of presence up on the web for that company at minimal cost. There was more of a market for this back then however, as this was the stage where the web was just becoming a requirement, and there were a lot more companies needing starter websites set up; nowadays everyone and his dog has a website, and there is less of a market for such sites.

The wording of the site does seem a bit too 'homely' still; I would keep it more impersonal, and refer to yourselves more as a development company and less as a 'couple of students looking for work', as while this might be fine for friends and acquaintances the lack of a more professional corporate image will put off many companies, even small ones.

[scottmac]

Also fully agree with DT. I've been a web developer since the mid-90s and from my experience design and implementation require completely different skillsets (and indeed mindsets). Sites which have been designed by someone with design skills, and then implemented by someone with programming skills, are very much the norm.


Agree with this. Years ago I used to develop sites on the side, just for people I knew. I was self taught and reasonable at coding and the graphics, but a jack of all trades rather than a master of any. One of the projects I worked on involved collaborating with a University and I couldn't believe how large their web development team was, it was like a full on magazine publishers, with different people acting as editors, layout designers, graphic designers, coders, database managers and more. I remember thinking how nice it would be to be able to just concentrate on a single skill set.

It seems a lot of the smaller guys are now are just concentrating on Joomla, Drupal, Magento etc. then customising. Which I understand as they have great functionality and why re-invent the wheel when you can get an impressive, interactive/e-commerce site up and working really quickly. Ultimately the customer doesn't need to know that the starting point was an open source package and with a CMS that they can update content themselves they are usually happier.

[power fuse0]

The wording of the site does seem a bit too 'homely' still; I would keep it more impersonal, and refer to yourselves more as a development company and less as a 'couple of students looking for work', as while this might be fine for friends and acquaintances the lack of a more professional corporate image will put off many companies, even small ones.


That's useful, neither of us are exactly, english graduates, so it'd probably help us a lot if anyone could help us with text formatting, and grammar ect.

Jake seems to agree that we are to finalise everything in graphic design before any coding, so I guess i'll dust off Photoshop.
lol

[power fuse0]

http://www.squidgytriangles.co.uk/new/index.php

WHY IS THERE A MASSIVE BOX AT THE BOTTOM IN FIREFOX?!

[Smifis]

The black one?

Also, there a big gap underneath the page

[cinek]

place all the css in a separate file, it's hard to see with all that css in html

in css... lose the POSITION: RELATIVE! you're using that for everything def not the way to do it....

why is the height of the copyright box set to auto?

edit: you could easily lose at least 20% of that css code

edit2: you're also not specifying alt attributes for images which fails the validation

edit3: validation result: http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.squidgytriangles.co.uk% 2Fnew%2Findex.php&charset=%28detect+automatically%29&doctype=Inline&group=0
correct the errors and see if it goes away(the box that is)

[Smifis]

Indeed,

I've just been looking through the html and it is very messy,

For fixed layout, i normally go something along the lines of,

<html>
<head>
<title>Title</title>
</head>
<body>
<div class="wrapper">
<div class="header">
<a href="index.php">Home</a> etc...
</div>
<div class="left">
</div>
<div class="middle">
</div>
<div class="right">
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>

and then the css to go with it, cant remember that part atm,:D

[cinek]

you mean this? :



<link rel="stylesheet" href="locationOfCSS" type="text/css" />
^ this should go in the header

[power fuse0]

place all the css in a separate file, it's hard to see with all that css in html

in css... lose the POSITION: RELATIVE! you're using that for everything def not the way to do it....

why is the height of the copyright box set to auto?

edit: you could easily lose at least 20% of that css code

edit2: you're also not specifying alt attributes for images which fails the validation

edit3: validation result: http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.squidgytriangles.co.uk% 2Fnew%2Findex.php&charset=%28detect+automatically%29&doctype=Inline&group=0
correct the errors and see if it goes away(the box that is)

Holy moly. That's a lot to do, i'm sure i'll get better, this is my first shot at a css based site really.



The black one?

Also, there a big gap underneath the page

I meant the big box but ive fixed it.

[cinek]

yeah the box is gone now, @power fuse0 (http://forums.aria.co.uk/member.php?u=15333) that's just a few things that are wrong with it... you'll get it sooner or later

edit: the html validation, sometimes you'll find that by fixing one error, you actually fixed multiple

[Toonshorty]

Do I spot a bit of my design there?

I'm going to make the website myself.

It'll allow you to compare your code to my code, and you'll be able to see how I've pieced it together.

[Smifis]

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<title>Title</title>
<meta http-equiv="Content-type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8" />
<style type="text/css">
body {
margin:0px;
}
div {
margin:0px;
}
.wrapper {
width:700px;
margin-left: auto ;
margin-right: auto ;
}
.body .col {
float:left;
}
.body .left {
background:red;
width:33%;
}
.body .right {
background:red;
width:33%;
}
.body .middle {
background:blue;
width:34%;
}
.body .footer {
background:green;
width:100%;
float:left;
text-align:center;
}
.header {
background:pink;
vertical-align:text-bottom;
height:200px;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div class="wrapper">
<div class="header">
<a href="index.php">Home </a> etc...
</div>
<div class="body">
<div class="left col">
Left column.<br />
Left column.<br />
Left column.<br />
Left column.<br />
Left column.<br />
Left column.<br />
Left column.<br />
Left column.<br />
</div>
<div class="middle col">
Centre column. <br />
Centre column. <br />
Centre column. <br />
Centre column. <br />
Centre column. <br />
Centre column. <br />
Centre column. <br />
Centre column. <br />
Centre column. <br />
Centre column. <br />
Centre column. <br />
Centre column. <br />
Centre column. <br />
Centre column. <br />
Centre column. <br />
</div>
<div class="right col">
Right column. <br />
Right column. <br />
Right column. <br />
Right column. <br />
Right column. <br />
Right column. <br />
Right column. <br />
Right column. <br />
Right column. <br />
Right column. <br />
Right column. <br />
Right column. <br />
Right column. <br />
Right column. <br />
Right column. <br />
Right column. <br />
Right column. <br />
Right column. <br />
Right column. <br />
Right column. <br />
Right column. <br />
Right column. <br />
Right column. <br />
Right column. <br />
Right column. <br />
Right column. <br />
Right column. <br />
Right column. <br />
Right column. <br />
Right column. <br />
Right column. <br />
Right column. <br />
Right column. <br />
</div>
<div class="footer">
&copy; Thomas Smith, 2010
</div>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>



CSS included in doc so you can see it, and it validates beautifully,

[power fuse0]

Do I spot a bit of my design there?

I'm going to make the website myself.

It'll allow you to compare your code to my code, and you'll be able to see how I've pieced it together.

bah, yeah a stole a little layout stuff, but i attempted to try to make something myself.
Dw, i'm sure the final thing will be different to your final.

Also, we're students and we're learning :knock:

[cinek]

bah, yeah a stole a little layout stuff, but i attempted to try to make something myself.
Dw, i'm sure the final thing will be different to your final.

Also, we're students and we're learning :knock:
that's a good point, but you're making false statements on your site :knock: everyone has to learn, but don't charge/play with peoples money & time

[Toonshorty]

bah, yeah a stole a little layout stuff, but i attempted to try to make something myself.
Dw, i'm sure the final thing will be different to your final.

Also, we're students and we're learning :knock:

I'm also a student (15 years old).

Feel free to use whatever you like from my design, it's yours to keep.

[cinek]

I'm also a student (15 years old).

Feel free to use whatever you like from my design, it's yours to keep.

w00t and there I was, thinking it was you in the sig :eek:

[Toonshorty]

w00t and there I was, thinking it was you in the sig :eek:

Nah, that's my girlfriend :ninja:

:chairfall:

[power fuse0]

lmao,


that's a good point, but you're making false statements on your site :knock: everyone has to learn, but don't charge/play with peoples money & time

You might want to take into account that we're not a business.
We're students, learning something new, adding to our portfolio.

We're able to make people websites, & the reason they are cheap is because we're learning.

The site isn't purely for business, it's also an online portfolio to show off to unis things like our graphics skills.
Because i'm applying into uni for a graphic design course, i'll be looking to get this ready for then.
I know it still has to look professional and nice, but we don't want to be formal and boring.

[cinek]

here's something you can play around with... the goal is to create the exact replica of the site http://www.csszengarden.com/

[gray.woodford]

dont know if this will help you guys but check this out
http://themegarden.org/drupal6/

You can click on the different themes on the left hand side and it will change the web page to the new theme for you.

All based on drupal of course
http://www.drupal.org.uk/

check it out

[power fuse0]

http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/8057/rsur.png

What do you think?

That's within the 960 boundaries, the background will probably carry on out

[Smifis]

Maybe a tad wider,

perhaps if you could set it to 70% so you still get that page like feel but it's not tiny on larger screens

[power fuse0]

you realise that will be in the centre of the browser?

960 is standard width, it's what we're using atm.

[Rhys]

loving the web 2.0 design to it.

should be easy enough to code in css if u know ur stuff :D.

good luck with the business.

i need to sell one of my layouts sometime :/...

[Smifis]

I do realize that it's centered but it's half annoying when you have a skinny **** thing down the middle, just my opinion.

[power fuse0]

I do realize that it's centered but it's half annoying when you have a skinny **** thing down the middle, just my opinion.

But, look at your website?

Update:

Made some changes

-It's wider, moved the links down, and changed the triangles so the site seems less 'placed'


http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/9106/rs4ur.png

[Speed]

But, look at your website?

Fight Fight Fight! :clap

Looks good, although the square is a bit odd consider the name! :thumb:

[power fuse0]

Fight Fight Fight! :clap

Looks good, although the square is a bit odd consider the name! :thumb:

Ah yeah. I guess I could blur him & fade him out a little, to make him seem a little less important :D

[aspdend]

Fight Fight Fight! :clap

Looks good, although the square is a bit odd consider the name! :thumb:
I'm with you there - it's called squidgy triangles, plural, but there is one triangle and one square....

[scottmac]

Looked at this thread a while ago when it first started then again just now. I think the new design looks great, top job there mate !

[cinek]

I like the new design, but I still think you should make a new logo

[Smifis]

I didn't make the one in my sig, I just work there.

I'm currently making a new one with some eCommerce software.

T&R's Current website is dire.

[Speed]

I'm with you there - it's called squidgy triangles, plural, but there is one triangle and one square....

Sorry what? I just lost a few minutes of my life there.... something to do with your sig! :thumb: :surprised:

[HecklerUK]

I'll be honest... I wouldn't consider hiring you based on that website... If your own website is that bland, it doesn't inspire confidence in your abilities to create them for others.

You need something extra special to lure people in, and you don't have it.

[power fuse0]

I didn't make the one in my sig, I just work there.

I'm currently making a new one with some eCommerce software.

T&R's Current website is dire.

Lol, well at least you agree.
Ahwell, thanks for you help :)


I'll be honest... I wouldn't consider hiring you based on that website... If your own website is that bland, it doesn't inspire confidence in your abilities to create them for others.

You need something extra special to lure people in, and you don't have it.

Thanks for your honesty, are you saying this looking from the new design?

Or the one we have currently?


__

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/9106/rs4ur.png

Made a few more changes, added a couple of images, changed some text, and changed the square into a triangle :)

[cinek]

Thanks for your honesty, are you saying this looking from the new design?

Or the one we have currently?


tbh I'd say both, the new one is a massive improvement, but there's nothing that makes it stand out. And "examples of our work" makes the site look even worse.... I'd expect 1m% more from art/graphics students (can't remember which one you are doing)

if someone wanted a site done exactly like the ones in your example work, I would never put my name under it.

[aspdend]

Sorry what? I just lost a few minutes of my life there.... something to do with your sig! :thumb: :surprised:

:D:D:D Glad you like it!! Boobs and rugby - only thing missing from the sig is a PC and beer and it would be perfect...

[power fuse0]

tbh I'd say both, the new one is a massive improvement, but there's nothing that makes it stand out. And "examples of our work" makes the site look even worse.... I'd expect 1m% more from art/graphics students (can't remember which one you are doing)

if someone wanted a site done exactly like the ones in your example work, I would never put my name under it.

Well, what sort of look are you expecting?

Also, businesses aren't looking for art portfolios, they're looking for a website that's easy to understand. Not one with complicated navigation and needless animation.

Look at aria for example (the site not the forums), it's not presentably beautiful, but it's easy to look at so that computer idiots don't get lost and the company looses potential customers.

[Speed]

Indeed, I think that is pretty key to be honest. A lot of websites are overally complicated or far too "busy" for their own good. Especially important like you say with a retailers website where these issues could cost the company sales.

[aspdend]

I like the newer design - it feels more crisp, but there is something missing from the front page - it seems to be more about you than it is about the services you can perform...it's not selling the business enough.

The examples of our work section - could that be replaced with an automated/user controllable scrolling snapshot of the websites in question with closeups of certain areas of the sites to entice people rather than a flat overview of the entire front page of each?

[HecklerUK]

I'm not sure what version I saw, I only clicked the link for the first time yesterday.

From a technical point of view, you seem to have it covered and from a design point of view you seem to have some reasonable knowledge.

However... it lacks creativity, it doesn't sell you and your abilities as a product people might want to make use of.

Perhaps you could look at bringing another person on board who more of an artistic flair to go with your technical abilities.

[power fuse0]

I like the newer design - it feels more crisp, but there is something missing from the front page - it seems to be more about you than it is about the services you can perform...it's not selling the business enough.

The examples of our work section - could that be replaced with an automated/user controllable scrolling snapshot of the websites in question with closeups of certain areas of the sites to entice people rather than a flat overview of the entire front page of each?

i guess it could be. I think that images needed to be on the home page, but I didn't really know how to include them.
I'm not liking it a great deal myself, perhaps a image scroller of the websites or something.
But we didn't want to engulf the whole page with images, more examples would be under the services tab.



I'm not sure what version I saw, I only clicked the link for the first time yesterday.

From a technical point of view, you seem to have it covered and from a design point of view you seem to have some reasonable knowledge.

However... it lacks creativity, it doesn't sell you and your abilities as a product people might want to make use of.

Perhaps you could look at bringing another person on board who more of an artistic flair to go with your technical abilities.


We don't really know anyone with much more of an artistic flair than ourselfs that would be interested in joining really. Plus we don't want the whole thing to get overly complicated. Splitting costs & fees 3 ways would probably get out of hand and awkward.
You might change your mind when we get the new design hosted, using jquery we can add a lot of nice effects and probably make some changes that will overall improve the design as a whole.
Thanks for the suggestion :D

Also, I am sad that you don't think I've got dem artistic skeels :(

[HecklerUK]

I don't know if you have that 'artistic flair' or not as I've seen one little website.

Art is an very individual and personal thing... what I think is art might be totally different to yours.

[cinek]

Well, what sort of look are you expecting?

Also, businesses aren't looking for art portfolios, they're looking for a website that's easy to understand. Not one with complicated navigation and needless animation.

Look at aria for example (the site not the forums), it's not presentably beautiful, but it's easy to look at so that computer idiots don't get lost and the company looses potential customers.

What I'm trying to say here is that your websites look like they were done 10 or 15 years ago. There's nothing modern about them, nothing that would make me want to look any further. I see it this way when looking for something on the internet, if the website s.... there's no point looking further. The website is basically your advert and any1 elses advert who uses you so it needs to be the BEST. If the site doesn't stand out, they'll/you'll lose customers....

[HecklerUK]

What I'm trying to say here is that your websites look like they were done 10 or 15 years ago. There's nothing modern about them, nothing that would make me want to look any further. I see it this way when looking for something on the internet, if the website s.... there's no point looking further. The website is basically your advert and any1 elses advert who uses you so it needs to be the BEST. If the site doesn't stand out, they'll/you'll lose customers....


I agree with some of these points, it needs to stand out more... but there's also the risk of going too far.

[cinek]

I agree with some of these points, it needs to stand out more... but there's also the risk of going too far.

you know what they say.... less is more

[HecklerUK]

you know what they say.... less is more


Are these are the same people who think minimalism is the ultimate in chic/cool?

To little = crap. :)

[cinek]

To little = crap. :)

true, but there's a fine line between too little and too much :) you need to know where that line is :)

[power fuse0]

Started making the new design in css last night.
It can be found at http://www.squidgytriangles.co.uk/new

Not all of the pages work yet, and we're working on getting it perfect before putting it onto our main page. The FAQ page has caused a few problems, and we're working on a way of fixing it at the moment. But it's the for you guys to see.

I also want to say that in the place of the placeholder image will be a flash image, and the content will have jquery animation and movement put in to help with the style of the website.

[cinek]

you should add some space at the bottom of the page

your html doesn't validate - http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.squidgytriangles.co.uk% 2Fnew%2Findex.php%3Fpage%3Dhome&charset=%28detect+automatically%29&doctype=Inline&group=0

[heavywater]

Started making the new design in css last night.
It can be found at http://www.squidgytriangles.co.uk/new

Not all of the pages work yet, and we're working on getting it perfect before putting it onto our main page. The FAQ page has caused a few problems, and we're working on a way of fixing it at the moment. But it's the for you guys to see.

I also want to say that in the place of the placeholder image will be a flash image, and the content will have jquery animation and movement put in to help with the style of the website.
Looks good, I'd left align the right side text though, right align is notoriously unnatural to read, alright for bullet points but not for prose.

Also, your navigation section is going a bit odd for me, the text is very small but the slider goes to the large positions.

[power fuse0]

add some space?

Also, why is it so important to have it validated?


Looks good, I'd left align the right side text though, right align is notoriously unnatural to read, alright for bullet points but not for prose.

Also, your navigation section is going a bit odd for me, the text is very small but the slider goes to the large positions.

I don't quite understand what you mean about the navigation, but I'll fix the right aligned text. I just thought it separated it nicer.

[heavywater]

I don't quite understand what you mean about the navigation, but I'll fix the right aligned text. I just thought it separated it nicer.
Seem's it's just Gecko based browsers that don't like it.

http://i55.tinypic.com/2qkl093.jpg

[Smifis]

Validation is very important, it makes sure that your website is coded properly and improves compatibility across browsers.

[cinek]

Validation is very important, it makes sure that your website is coded properly and improves compatibility across browsers.

+1
and search bots will have an easier job to index your site....

[heavywater]

Do you have to self-close break tags for it to validate?

[Smifis]

Everything has to be closed in xhtml, so items can be self closed such as <br />, <hr /> etc...

so you, <br />

[power fuse0]

Would that work with divs aswell?

Also i think we'll do the validation once we get everything sorted. We usually check everything over after anyway, and it'd be nice to neaten it up a little.
Thanks

[Smifis]

Why would you want an empty div?

If you want a gap, either have the div wrap and use margins/padding or use <hr /> and style it.

In anycase, I'm not sure you can self close divs, i shall try and see what the validator says,

Added after 4 minutes:

This actually validates


<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<title>test</title>
</head>
<body>
<div />
</body>
</html>

[power fuse0]

Seem's it's just Gecko based browsers that don't like it.

http://i55.tinypic.com/2qkl093.jpg

I see, well that's more of a problem then the validation thing to us at the moment.

[cinek]

you should focus on getting the site done properly first (HTML + CSS) before adding animations etc.... you're jumping around too much

edit: maybe try setting a fixed font size for that menu?

[Smifis]

Validation should fix the majority of errors.

If it's not valid, different rendering engines will interpret it differently.

[heavywater]

Validation should fix the majority of errors.

If it's not valid, different rendering engines will intemperate it differently.
Intemperate, get out of that sentence.

You are not a verb.

You cannot correctly describe an action or state of being.

[Smifis]

Shhh...

Change now.