Help Noob CSS

It's very like the geocities sites from 1996. Could you cut down on cheesy graphics so it doesn't take so long to load and look ... well garish. You will just put off visitors at the moment. In addition, could you please review 3 other sites as per the posting agreement, as this means that it is fair for everyone and everyone gets a turn.

David

I just started learning html last week, then I delved into javascript about a week or so... I red somewhere that CSS is the future, so I learned it too in the past two days, anyways.
My site has three alternative version, one being is the present which was based in CSS and html...
I dont know why the loading time is quite long for your browser but the page itself loads in 10 seconds by broadband and about 30 seconds in dial-up... The long preload time is due to the banners... so please elaborate... how long it takes for you...

skip it by proceeding to http://demonhale.tripod.com/halestorm2/index3.html

Any moderators out there... could you please direct me to pages or threads I could review as for the agreement??? thanks.

The other threads are right here in this forum

Got it, and ive been reviewing them like an addict...

Thanks for doing that, demonhale! We appreciate it.

Your site looks really messed up in Opera 8.0. You say it's best viewed in W3C compliant browsers but not in this case! It looks the same in Firefox too, and these are the two most standards-compliant browsers available. I think it's admirable that you're getting into CSS right away but you really need to take things slowly. Start simple and move up from there. Using positioning for layout is a really tricky thing to do, and the layout you're attempting is not exactly condusive to CSS layout methods.

Wait, but it looks the same in IE6 too. So maybe it's supposed to look like this? I can't imagine that's the case. Part of the background image is thoughing through in spots, the "What???" text is strangely overlapping an orange 3D button, and there's more text coming down from there. It looks very strange.

I think that you should start from scratch. Get the basics down first before moving on to things like complex postitioned layout and javascripts. I would also say that it might not be the best idea to start with a real site. I've suggested this to others in the past, but I think it would be really good to do a personal/blog on the topic of learning to be a webmaster. I'm doing this with another thing that I'm learning (yoga), and I'm finding it to be really rewarding. Writing about what you're learning is a good way to solidify what you've learned, and this way you could share it with others, get some feedback from more experienced webmasters, and help teach beginners at the same time. You can also use your archives to look back on what you've learned and remember little tidbits that you may have forgotten. Just an idea

I'd agree with Megan on this one. There are a number of blogging utilities out there that are free, but very customisable (especially with regard to css). Also, CSS is the future in a way that doesn't involve using tables for layout!

Thanks for reviewing the other sites demonhale, and good luck with your blog (if that's what you decide to do).

The background hurts my eyes :freak: and I don't like the way that the content moves and the background doesn't.

I went to your photo re-touching page then when I clicked home, it took me to a different homepage....try to only have one homepage it makes your site seem more organised.

I hate dhtml too, so I would get rid of the dhtml menu, but some weird people like it so keep it if you want, I just won't come back *storms off in a huff*

I agree with Megan that you should take things ssssssssllllllllloooooooowwwwwwwwwwwlllllllllyyyyy. I remember It took me a while to get the hang of HTML and I'm still tinkering with it. I began to learn HTML just before last Christmas and only started CSS about a month ago. But CSS isn't that complicated. I would visit a few more HTML tutorials to learn a few new tricks. Also, try to go to some other beginner sites and see what they are doing wrong. Try to use the comments people have submitted about their sites to your advantafe too. But don't go being hypocritical in your reviews, I hate when people do thath...

thanks a lot guys, thats why im asking professional help coz I aint got someone to talk and share with what I do... What really bugs me is that at work we use a different resolution computer with 5 browsers (which i installed) netscape, firefox, opera, ie, ielite... and my site looks ok in all of them. At home I have higher resolution setting with the same five browsers and its also viewing ok. On my friends PC it still looks ok but whats the problem???. Anyways for the alternate homepage where you saw when clicking home at the pic restoration page, that was my mistake coz i havent change the home link yet... But thanks a lot, I just need more feedback so I can figure out why my text overflows down... oh and before I forget what megan said is the what text overlapping an orange button, is it the button where the circle is split and a grey between or the orange button way down on the page itself???

corny and ametueristic. Sry, but it's true. You need to rethink color schemes and learn to place text properly so that it is easily readable. Most points to keep in mind when designing a website:
1. Is my content readable? A white page with black text is better than the freaking mona lisa with red text.

2. Will anyone want to click my links? a very simple mouse over works nicely. Removing an underline from underlined text, or adding one to plain text, changing the color of the text is nice too. Changeing the background color of the text is kind of tacky unless it's a tab or something.

3. Are my graphics attractive and well placed? Rounded corners are nice, but they can't interfere with or cut off content.

4. Is my color-scheme adhesive to the amount of time that I want visitors to stay on my site? If they're reading text, a white background with black text, or a light grey backgound with black text is great. If they'll be on for a couple of articles you can use a darker or lighter scheme. Never use text that doesn't heavily contrast with the background (for content anyway). Limit red text, it's hard to read.

5. Rules are meant to be broken, but only when they are broken for a purpose that is promotes rather than degrades the page.

As of recently I removed the background and changed it to a subtle gradient one... Now the What??? text is definitely intended to be placed on that little band there at the right side... the contents are properly linked now. What else would be better??? I got suggestions on text colors, which part of the page or the text do you think needs to be changed??? Well I was tired with squared block layout making my page look like a forum or a yahoo clone. So I decided on an irregular shaped kinda funky skin... So if you suggest making the page look like it came out of a word processing document please say so... And please browse the contents too so I could differentiate... Thanks Again...

First I hate sites with loading pages, DROP IT. I usually just leave when I see one of these. Second I don't know what is going on with this orange drop down thingy, it seems to be longer than the body of the page.

Active objects slow down page loading, and are not as attractive as you might think. I agree with the guy who said, "anybody can learn html, but not everybody knows how use it correctly".

I have been working with html for eight years now, and still don't know it all. And still have a lot to learn, much less a month!?.

I get it guys, I didnt say I learned it all, but I say ive been learning this processes yep... Ive been Programming in VB, and Delphi for 4 years and I dont know all, but I commited much of my time, enrgy, money and effort learning All that I could Learn about web page making... I red a lot and get feedback from you people, I tried different layout schemes from different type of codes, and I think CSS is the best... Thats why out of spurt I posted a new layout for my page which has a poor version before located at http://demonhale.tripod.com/halestorm/index2.html now I was asking if I correctly used CSS right... It seems what I needed was answered by Megan, my page looks the same in all browsers albeit the poor look. But I guess what i get positive is that i made it crossbrowser compatible successfully. So Thanks A Lot... Ive been scouring TOP AWARDED Websites and guess what I found out? The Top 5 (most) is flashed based... the next are plain looking (CSS based) designs which are simple to read and functional... Now that I get that most visitors dont like funky designs, expect a huge change on my website soon (the front i mean) the contents would follow....

Thanks...

Now how about my content???

Hope I'm not breaking any rules here...

Anyways, I have just built a new version of my page,
I have taken into account all of your suggestions, thanks guys...

Please post new comments here to make it better...

My Site: http://demonhale.tripod.com

BY THE WAY i have redone the site and added new content as of yesterday, I posted a new thread for that one I hope its ok, its still at http://demonhale.tripod.com

I hope you didn't do it in 1 day, take your time and do it

Merged threads to keep all comments together. There is a point in the posting agreement about not starting new threads about the same site. We prefer to keep all comments together for reference, especially when the old thread is still active.

Hopefully this will explain any confusion going on re: old thread/new thread.

Your welcome

Quote: So Thanks A Lot... Ive been scouring TOP AWARDED Websites and guess what I found out? The Top 5 (most) is flashed based... the next are plain looking (CSS based) designs which are simple to read and functional... Now that I get that most visitors dont like funky designs, expect a huge change on my website soon (the front i mean) the contents would follow....

I'd like to know what awards you are looking at here (I don't put too much stock in that sort of thing actually), but you're right about the simple part. In some cases it's okay to get a little funky, but usually, especially when you're a beginner, it's best to keep thiings simple.

I don't think I mentioned this in the first review but you're still doing too much with backgrounds. The black lines through the content section are just distracting from the content. I also really don't like the grey bakcground. It looks very drab. You've got a good theme going with your graphics, but you really need to learn how to anti-alias. Check the "help" in your graphics program or do a google search to learn more. If you tell us what program you're using we might be able to help you out.

Another simple design trick you should know is that cetnering text generally doesn't work on screen. It works well in print sometimes, but not on the web. Left align the text, and make it a little bigger so people can read it more clearly.

Thanks for the TWF link on there

Wooh dude, you gotta cut back on the HTML

The lesson for today, the section, HTML IS NOT TO BE USED IN THERE, you have about 33 lines of   which is messing up your display, your page is very lonnnnnnnnnnng.

no tables, very good
I think the columns style is outdated but done correctly nothing is. You say you'll be focusing on gadgets, mainly stereoset ups etc, maybe use that as a theme (dont go overboard thou).
I remember you saying you are new to this, you've done pretty well but you need to get the colour phase/ texture phase out of your system, we all went through it. Most sites use white backgrounds for a reason (easier to view, fast to load ...) but colour also has a place if used wisely, the golden rule is KISS (keep it simple stupid)

red on blue is real hard on the eyes

demonhale wrote: Heres Something For Megan

Click the Link

http://www.webmaster-forums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=91&stc=1

Thanks Megan... Ive updated my site already...

huh???