Busy — Thu, 21 Nov 2002 23:26:01 +0000

I think the resize question was answered, thanks gals

Irfanview is a great little program for resizing, enhancing, cropping, viewing ... (freeware)

Check out my site in my sig for learning HTML

Megan — Thu, 21 Nov 2002 18:26:24 +0000

Quote: Originally posted by scnorman
Megan- Do you know of a cheap graphics program?

It depends on your definition of cheap PaintShop Pro from Jasc software and Adobe's Photoshop Elements are two options that sell for under $100 US (*I think* - not entirely sure but it should be somewhere around there). Adobe Photoshop is the best (and priciest) graphics program available - the full version sells for $600 but you can get "lite" versions (Photoshop Elements and Photoshop LE) for a lot less. I think those two are the same thing (not entirely sure about that one eitehr) and are roughly equivalent to Photoshop 5.0. I've even heard of people getting copies of these free with purchase of a scanner or printer. I got a copy of Photoshop Elements with my graphics tablet.

I did a quick search on e-bay and found a copy of Photoshop Elements for $23.63 (well, that's the bid right now). Paint Shop Pro v. 5 is on there for $25, so that's a route you could try. Or you coudl look around at computer stores in your area that might sell older or used software for cheap. You don't need the latest versions of everything if you're just starting out.

scnorman — Thu, 21 Nov 2002 18:11:41 +0000

Thank you all for your great advice. I will be working on a simple Logo, as this seemed to be the common thread amoung your posts. I had no idea that I shouldn't resize images like I did. I am glad to know i can do something about the pages loading slow. I can see how the order form is not what is expected. I will work on that.
Hope this question doesn't bring on the spam but I need some advice on a good host. Price is my main concern as my site is not yet making money. I know there are hosts out there that provide shopping carts (at least I think I know:). Anyone have any ideas on a good one?
I will try to make all the changes you all suggested. I need to research more on some of them, as I do not have a site building program. Trying my best to learn HTML.....emphasis on TRYING:)

Oh yeah! I have tried to change my CGI form results but have been unable to make it work. Anyone know of a good place to go to learn more about that?
I'm just full of questions aren't I?

Megan- Do you know of a cheap graphics program?
Disaster-Master- Thanks for the "test order"
Rad-man - I will look into flatface.net I really hate those pop-ups!

taff — Thu, 21 Nov 2002 17:48:14 +0000

I always jump in to these too late, most of what I'd say has been said already

It *is* nice and clean (which I like) but in a few places borders on naked. I'll re-emphasize that a logo would be a tremendous addition and add that you should have a page footer with alternate navigation so that your users can move on to the next page without having to scroll back up first.

On the coding side: I'm not sure what you are using here but if you are just learning, I'd suggest that you focus on the newer standards (at least HTML4.x) and utilize stylesheets instead of the font tags. You *do* have a style block but then there are a whack of font tags anyway - some empty and some nested improperly. Trust me, CSS is your friend!

radman — Thu, 21 Nov 2002 17:38:17 +0000

hello
your website is a nice clean lookin site which loaded very fast.
But there are a few problems area's like - think of a logo to make the site more attractive, dont have "page" after each link and freeservers may be a reliable freehost BUT those ads just give your customers the impresiion of a unrelaible and amateur site. If u go to flatface.net they give u 200 megs, cgi, forum, no ads or pop ups, fast server and great support for a free host. I have been using them for a while now without problems.....

BUT altogether is a good site and a great start for a newbie....

The Webmistress — Thu, 21 Nov 2002 17:14:24 +0000

The reason you should never resize an image to be smaller with html tags is that the actual file size of the image remains the same and you are creating an unnecessary large download time and it can make the page jumpy. On the other way, never increase the image size as you will just create a blurry image, even if you are keeping the proportions the same.

[edit] Megan just beat me to it!! [/edit]

Megan — Thu, 21 Nov 2002 17:14:06 +0000

(Hi, sorry, I'm not Busy )

There are a couple of rasons for this. The first is that when you resize an image downwards (making a big image smaller), the browser has to download that whole big image yet it only needs to display a smaller one. So, what you should do is resize the image in a graphics program, optimize it for the web and use that instead. The file size will be much smaller and the whole page won't take so long to download.

If you resize an image the other way (making a smaller image big) you will see the difference. Screen graphics are made up of pixels - little specks of colour. If you use a graphics program you can zoom in to see each individual pixel. When a graphic is enlarged, the computer has to sort of "make up" the extra pixel infromation it needs to expand the image. This does not look good at all.

Oh, and adding 50 to each side isn't proportional. You'd (hypothetically) have to think in terms of ratios, which you probably studied in school. i.e. 1:2 is not equal to 3:4 (adding two to each side, right? not so)

fiesty_01 — Thu, 21 Nov 2002 17:03:58 +0000

Quote: Never use the width and height tags to resise images...

Busy, may I ask why? I'm assuming it has something to do with browsers again.

Also, would it be okay to resize an image with height/width tags IF you were to keep the values proportionally the same as the original values? For example, if the original values were 100 x 200, would it not be okay to resize it to 150 x 250 (proportionally adding 50 to each dimension)?

Re: Review Request: www.uniqueyetclassic.com

Megan — Thu, 21 Nov 2002 16:42:54 +0000

Quote: Originally posted by scnorman
Are the reviews of newbies welcome here as well?

Yes, of course! Don't worry about that at all (and we'll be gentle, I promise )

This is a very good design for a first effort. You've done a great job of creating a clean, pleasing interface that isn't overly cluttered. Most newbies tend to put everything but the kitchen sink on their pages, but this might be one of the first newbie sites I've seen that really did keep things to a minimum.

I agree about changing the names along the navigation bar and developing a logo. All you have to do for a decent logo is find a unique font, and use it to type your site name in a graphics program. Then save the graphic in a web format, and you're all set. You could also look around for wedding-related clip-art or dingbat fonts. A little graphic can do a lot to spice up a logo.

The first thing I was wondering when I visited your site is what exactly your products are. The information on the front page isn't very specific, so you should probably do more to make this obvious on the front page. A good idea would be to replace the dancing couple photo with a picture of one of your products (or even better - one of your products in use!). Logos are really good for branding - making people remember who you are so that they'll come back later or tell their friends about you. Good for business

When I went into the products page, I found the pictures to be rather small. When I clicked on them I expected to get a bigger version of the same, but it actually sent me to the order form page. I think the general convention on the web is to link small "thumbnail" images to larger versions of the same - that would be what most people would expect to see. It's also a good idea to let people see more detail of your products.

When I got to the order form I was really confused as to what I was supposed to do. Most of the time, when I buy something online, I expect to be set up differently. Normally you see an itemized list of what's you've purchased, a price tag, and some payment options to choose from. Here I just see a text box and I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to put in there. That shold be made more clear - you should probably add to your form set up to have people enter their address, prefered payment method, the item they wish to purchase etc. individually.

Once I submitted my order I just got an ugly list of the CGI form results. Most sites make this a lot prettier by including only what the user needs to know ("Thank you, your order has been processed....", what they have to do next, when they can expect to receive the product etc.) You might want to look into shopping cart softwhare which will make all of this easier and much more professional looking.

Overall I think you've done an admirable job with this site. The design looks nice and it's easy to navigate through it.

Oh, one more hting - you should indicate what currency your prices are in and where you ship to. As a Canadian, I find it really frustruating when sites won't ship to me and don't say so first.

Renegade — Thu, 21 Nov 2002 09:33:48 +0000

Quote: Originally posted by Busy
Get rid of those pop ups, most of them are spy/scum ware adverts

I definatly have to agree with that part! hehe

...ummm the box in the midle with all the information has a curved top what would it look like if u did that same to the bottom part?

and that counter at the very bottom looks very out of place :S