REVIEW REQUEST: www.EldarOnline.com (and advice please)
OK,
So I recently moved servers and switched hosts ... my site gets roughly 3 million hits a month (thanks to a thriving forum) ... and so I recently did a complete makeover...
Unfortunately, I'm not too happy with it... and now I'd like to know what shall I do? Suggestions? CONSTRUCTIVE criticism please?
Here are a few things I know I want changed, but just can't get around to it now... as I'm very busy updating articles, etc...
a) CSS ... sigh, had I learned about these earlier, I would have done so... but to switch over now, seems to be quite the task... it does make my life a heck lot easier, so I'd first have to learn how to do this, then apply it...
b) more Flash ... i like flash, and have a flash artist working on an intro...(hey, it's a gaming site, we need that! =)...
c) easier updates ... I need to find a better way to update the site... we are growing rapidly, with current staff somewhere around 10-15...and about 5-10 more joining soon (I can't keep track)... the amount of articles I'm getting are just out of control... since I'm the only admin, it's quite tough to do all the coding and updating...
d) Either a centered site, or a full-screen / adjusting site... what do you think? I just don't know how to do a full-screen one with two includes (left / right bar) that are of a fixed size...
Hence for all of this, I'll be looking for some webdesign guru to help me out... probably a budding company that is willing to do something free, in exchange for something in their porfolio and a link ...
Anyway... please let me know what you think, what you would do to improve this, etc!
Thanks
The Webmistress posted this at 10:18 — 25th February 2002.
She has: 5,586 posts
Joined: Feb 2001
I think the site is very good as it is. You have mentioned the things that need changing so I have nothing more I can add really.
mairving posted this at 13:27 — 25th February 2002.
They have: 2,256 posts
Joined: Feb 2001
Well there are two sets of tags not sure what that is about. CSS would be great since if you wanted to tweak or change a tag or an indentation, you could just change it in your external stylesheet. For instance, say you wanted to change this: . Well now you would have to change every line with that code on it, a daunting task. If you had it in a stylesheet, you could change every line at once. It would also help to remove all of the font tags and some of the IE only stuff (font face=IE only).
As far as the easier updating, you should use some kind of system like SSI or PHP that would allow you to build the page in sections. Have a header, a left menu, a right menu and a footer. Then you would just drop your content in and go. You may also want to consider a database to really make your site easier.
As far as centering or not, it is personal preference. I would keep the site left aligned.
Mark Irving
I have a mind like a steel trap; it is rusty and illegal in 47 states
disaster-master posted this at 14:33 — 25th February 2002.
She has: 2,154 posts
Joined: May 2001
Nice site but I'm thinking it needs to be centered. Not too crazy about the light blue that you have for your mouseover color on the links.
I saw three sets of html, head, title, meta, and body tags on the news and editorial page so I assume that all of your pages have these extras. They don't seem to be hurting your layout in IE 6.0 but you still should get rid of those. There are also some extra font tags scattered about.
You may consider somehow highlighting (underline or different color) the link of the page that you are on.
raine posted this at 18:26 — 25th February 2002.
They have: 34 posts
Joined: Feb 2002
disaster-master:: I know what you mean about being centered. It's just that it looks funny when it's centered, so I figured it's probably better if the site is just full screened (resizable)... I don't know what other color to use for the links... I guess I'll try orange or something.
Regarding the multiple tags, I think it's because I'm using SSI... i must have accidentally added them on all the includes... there are 4 includes on the page. top / bottom / left / right
mairving:: Look above regarding the multiple tags ... I am currently using SSI, a lot of it =)... there are 4 html includes, 3 cgi execs on the page... but it still takes a long time to update pages =)
AHA! The words I was waiting to hear! How do I do this?
PLEASE POINT ME IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION! =)
mairving posted this at 18:38 — 25th February 2002.
They have: 2,256 posts
Joined: Feb 2001
What kind of server are you on? If Apache then PHP/MySQL. If Windows then SQL/ASP. You could use a database very sparingly or use it quite a bit, it just depends upon how often pages are updated.
Here are some links for PHP/MySQL:
http://www.codingclick.com/
http://www.devshed.com/
http://www.phpbuilder.com/
http://www.weberdev.com/
http://www.php.net
Mark Irving
I have a mind like a steel trap; it is rusty and illegal in 47 states
hub_floride posted this at 04:40 — 27th February 2002.
They have: 3 posts
Joined: Feb 2002
the moving logo is pretty good !
Megan posted this at 14:53 — 27th February 2002.
She has: 11,421 posts
Joined: Jun 1999
This is a really nice site. I can't find much to complain about here at all. On a front-end level there aren't many changes to make here. I also think that the site should be centered or flex-width.
I like the way you've created a suitable look with graphics and such to represent your topic.
Megan
Connect with us on Facebook!
Johnboat posted this at 19:11 — 13th March 2002.
They have: 23 posts
Joined: Mar 2002
Hey that is a cool site. I love the Flash movie for the logo. The menu is very clean and easy to navigate. I guess I think the background color could be changed in the table that says, "Welcome to EldarOnline" but it's fine that way too. But other than that, it's a very nice site.
Doh! I better watch my grammar.
John Peters
nextfxdesigns.com
Want to join the discussion? Create an account or log in if you already have one. Joining is fast, free and painless! We’ll even whisk you back here when you’ve finished.