Date: 05/26/06     Keywords: css, html, web

I've taken quite a few classes on web design in school, and just wrapped up a class in XHTML. The classes do a great job of teaching you coding, the planning and design stages, and how to make the website clean, well coded, and not a pile of crap. But what most classes don't teach you is how to make your website look good.

I am not a good graphic designer. I used to fancy myself as being a decent artist, I used to draw a lot of still life, abstract, b&w pattern, and Escher-ish optical illusion pieces, but either I've lost my magic touch, or art on a computer is far different than art on paper, because I just can't work up the creativity to think up good designs for webpages.

Currently I want to make one or more webpages to practice my design skills with xhtml and css, but I can't think of what I want my site to look like, or what theme I want it to have.

My question for all you perfessional designers, those who do this for a living, is how do you figure out a design for a page? How do you determine what colors, what pictures, what borders to use? How do you decide where the pictures go on the site? How do you decide where to put the site navigation? How do you figure out the theme of the site?

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/webdesign/1116148.html

Date: 05/26/06     Keywords: web

I know my way around scripting only enough to tweak already-made scripts to my needs, and only some basic tweaks.

I'm currently working with a pre-written form mailer that uses the following line to trigger a user error message:

$error_required = "[p]You did not fill some of the required fields in properly. Please go back, refresh the form page, and try again.[/p]";
(carrats replaced with brackets because the "code" tag isn't working... not sure how to do that)

Because of the ridiculous way the website was written by another firm (it uses three different includes interspersed with partial table tags to make the menus), I need to point the error to a new page in order for me to be able to format it correctly.

Can someone help me with the language I could use to turn that $error_required line into a link to a new page instead of just text?

Thanks!


ETA:
Here's the rest of the code, if something needs to be changed here instead:
for($checkreq = 0; $checkreq < count($req); $checkreq++) {
if (empty($_POST[$req[$checkreq]])) {
if ($use_headers == 0){
echo $header_file;
}
else {
include($header_file);
}

echo "[h2]Error[/h2]" . $error_required;

if ($use_footers == 0) {
echo $footer_file;
}
else {
include ($footer_file);
}
exit;
} //endif
} //endfor

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/webdesign/1115215.html

Date: 05/26/06     Keywords: web

i emailed my client on march 21st (because i was unable to buy webspace with the information she provided me) & may 1st -- both no reply. i called my client on may 19th -- no reply. the client has already paid me $100 up front for her site. the site's done to the extent that i can't finish it completely because she needs to meet with me to provide me with additional information.

should i call again, continue to wait for a reply, and/or remind her that she is under a very detailed contract?

x-posted to graphicdesign

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/webdesign/1115093.html

Date: 05/25/06     Keywords: no keywords

I’ve been a member of this community for a while, but I’ve never been brave enough to offer my work up for opinions. After a recent re‑design I did on the Works Of Mart, I’m curious to know what you think of it.

The design is meant to be fairly simple, because I’m not a graphic designer, and I’ve concentrated on content rather than fancy animation and pretty background pictures. I’ve deliberately used standards in favour of quirks, and have ignored backwards compatibility where it doesn’t cause degradation of accessibility and usability (i.e. the broken fixed positioning in Internet Explorer ≤ 6). I tested it in Firefox 1, Firefox 1.5, Mozilla 1.7, Opera 8.5, Konqueror 3.5, and Internet Explorer 7, and it displays exactly how I intended it to. I also tested it in Internet Explorer 4, Internet Explorer 6, and Lynx 2.8. Oddly enough, Internet Explorer 4’s rendering wasn’t far off of what it was meant to look like! :oD

Anyway, I would be very interested in any comments you have to offer, particularly with respect to design, content, and usability.

Thanks!

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/webdesign/1114465.html

Date: 05/24/06     Keywords: programming, database, web

Are any of you familiar with Mason?

I've been given a task at work to build something basic, displaying items from a database and whatnot... and I have no idea where the hell to start! I'm just a designer who's never touched much programming...

Any tips would be helpful, or other web developper communities whether it's on LJ or a message board.

Thank you in advance.

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/webdesign/1114204.html

Date: 05/24/06     Keywords: no keywords

This may be a stupid question, but how do search engines spider sites that are entirely constructed in Flash?

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/webdesign/1113979.html

Date: 05/23/06     Keywords: no keywords

im using dreamweaver 8, and trying to get text/pictures to scroll in a table layout. the solution i came up with was putting a layer within my table cell so i could use the auto scroll feature. does anyone think this will cause any problems for me in the long run or should this be pretty safe?

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/webdesign/1113803.html

Date: 05/23/06     Keywords: web

So I just officially entered the world of professional Web development (yay!) and am now maintaining a Web site for the museum located at my university. The site is ugly, so I won't link it until I've made it pretty :).

So I have two questions for you guys:

1. Do you guys know of a Web site where I can run my site for ADA compliance? I've searched on the Web and heard that they exist, but I can't find it anywhere.


2. Is there a tool that I can use to build a site structure? What I mean by that is that I want a visual map of the location of all the files on the Web site ... a way that I can both visualize and conceptualize the site map. I know exacly what I'm thinking of but having trouble describing it ... maybe you know what I mean?

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/webdesign/1113511.html

Date: 05/23/06     Keywords: html, hosting

I'm having an odd Dreamweaver/HTML problem. I want to have two images appear one after another on the same line. This is the code i'm using:


Pretty standard. But in Dreamweaver and in the site itself the images (Featured and Project) are showing up stacked instead, on both Firefox and IE. I've tried doing the same thing on a new blank html page and it works fine. I can't see anything in the stylesheet that would cause this. I've included it below a cut anyway.


body {
font-family: Tahoma;
}

h1 {
font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 16px;
font-weight: bold;
color: #e14000;
}
h2 {
font-family: Tahoma;
font-size: 12px;
color: #E09E45;
border-bottom: 1px dotted #D3D3D3;
margin-bottom: -10px
}

h3 {
font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 11pt;
color: #E14000;
}
.footertext{
font-family: tahoma;
font-size: 10px;
}
hr{
color: #E09E45;
padding-bottom: -3px;
padding-top: -3px;
border-style: outset;
}
.tdMain {
text-align: left;
vertical-align: top;
font-family: Tahoma;
font-size:12px;
color:#7C8387;
}
p {
font-family: Tahoma;
font-size: 12px;
color: #7C8387;
}
.tightText {
font-family: Tahoma;
font-size: 12px;
color: #7C8387;
line-height: 12px;
}



.Sidebar {
border: 1px solid #A9A9A9;
font-family: verdana;
font-size: 10px;
letter-spacing: 0;
background-color: #ededed;
width: 80%;
margin-left: 15px;
text-align: center;
}

form
{
margin:0px;
}
a {

text-decoration: underline;
color:#7C8387;
}
.y
{
color:#E09E45;
}
a.y
{
color:#E09E45;
text-decoration:underline;
}
a.yn
{
color:#E09E45;
text-decoration:none;
}
a.red
{
color:#E14000;
text-decoration:underline;
}
a.0
{
color:#71777A;
text-decoration:none;
}
a.1
{
color:#E14000;
text-decoration:none;
}

.red
{
color:#E14000;
}
.t11
{
font-size:11px;
}
.tdMain ul{
list-style-image: url(../LayoutImages/arr2.gif);
}

.tdMain li{
padding-bottom: 5px;
}

.tdMain a {
color: #696969;
font-weight: bold;
text-decoration: none;
}

.tdMain a:hover {
color: #E14000;
}

.ImagePadRight {
padding-right: 10px;
}

.ImagePadLeft {
padding-left: 10px;
}

.tdquote {
font-family: verdana;
background-image: url(../LayoutImages/QuoteBackground.jpg);
font-size: 10px;
letter-spacing: 0;
padding: 5px;
border: 1px #F7D393 outset;
}

ul {
margin-left: 10px;
padding-left: 10px;
line-height: 15px;
}

.TableMenu {
text-indent: 6px;
}


.TableMenu a {
display:block;
text-decoration: none;
font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
color: #333333;
border: 1px #333333 outset;
padding: 2px;
background-color: #F0F0F0;
}

.TableMenu a:hover {
background-color: #CCCCCC;
text-decoration: none;
font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
border: 1px #333333 outset;
}

td.highlightrow {
font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 16px;
}

td.quoterow {
font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 16px;
}

.ClientTestimonial {
color: Gray;
font-size: 11px;
font-weight: normal;
background-image: url(../LayoutImages/QuoteStart_yellow.gif);
background-repeat: no-repeat;
background-position: left top;
margin-top: 0;
margin-right: 2em;
margin-bottom: 1em;
margin-left: 0;
padding-top: 0px;
padding-right: 0;
padding-bottom: 0px;
padding-left: 35px;
}
.ClientName {
margin-top:0;
color: #999999;
text-align:right;
}

td .hosting {
background-color:#F5F5F5;
}
.yellow {
color: #e09e45;
}

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/webdesign/1113098.html

Date: 05/22/06     Keywords: microsoft

I've just recently switched from Microsoft Frontpage to Dreamweaver.

I'm trying to update one of the sites I work on, and every time I try to publish the changes, I get the error message "The file "/main.htm" was skipped because the old remote file could not be deleted."

Any ideas on how to solve this problem?

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/webdesign/1112716.html

Date: 05/22/06     Keywords: web

I'm a sorta "new" web designer, I've only made a few sites.. and with this last one I made I have run into a problem. It seems the buttons on the page are prompting the "Click to Run ActiveX Control on this Webpage". 

I have no clue why this is happening or how I can stop it. The buttons were made in frontpage, the easy way, no images or codes of my own. 

I was just wondering if anyone knows why it does this and most importantly how I can fix it. A few people told me its been happening and I want to fix it before more people notice or just leave the site because its annoying. 

Heres the page : http://www.xlentlowriders.com/Pages/000000.htm  

Any help would be very very much appreciated! Thanks ~ Dae

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/webdesign/1112408.html

Date: 05/22/06     Keywords: web

Hey, is there anyone who can tell me (or point me to a site that will tell me) how to make a quiz on a website? You know, like those cute personality tests everyone's putting in their journals. I don't want to do it on someone else's website, I want it on my own.

If anyone can help, thanks in advance!

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/webdesign/1112258.html

Date: 05/21/06     Keywords: asp

Anyone have a good ASP script for telling a friend about an article or a page on a site? I've found a few that either don't work or are $50.

One I found that did work was making you pass thru their script on their site - not good for people to be giving email addresses to someone else like that.

I don't need something that just says "Hey, check out www.domain.com" but what I do want is something that reads the page info of where the link is at and sends an email that says "Hey, there's this great article at www.domain.com/article.asp"

Anyone able to help?

Thanks,
Chris

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/webdesign/1111979.html

Date: 05/20/06     Keywords: no keywords

i am pretty much beyond frustration with this project, so anything to help would be appreciated.. and, just let me add that i am using iframes and all that happy horseshit, so if you have something to say about that, fine, too.


so, why does this look sorta nice in firefox and then looks all wrong in ie?
http://www.nerdydeeds.com/goodnessgrows

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/webdesign/1111598.html

Date: 05/20/06     Keywords: web, hosting

hi
i need help,, i'm a graphic designer and want to make a portfolio website,,
i have made the website using dreamweaver, but i'm having a few probs getting it on the net,,
i have all the files etc and i thought there would be a hosting site where i simply upload the folder and away you go..
but i have found out its not that easy..
i also have bought a domain name..\
whats the easyest simplest way to do it?
cheers

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/webdesign/1111377.html

Date: 05/19/06     Keywords: virus, web, hosting, spam

A pal recommended DotEasy for my webhost and I'm happy with their service but I just got the following info from them because it's time to renew. Almost another $100/yr for spam/virus protection? Also, can I do better than 100MB for storage? Thanks for the advice. This community is most helpful!

- Unlimited Hosting: $119.40 / 12 Month(s)
- Free 100MB Storage Upgrade (option will auto renew)
- Spam & Email Virus Protection: US$41.70 / 6 Month(s)

TOTAL : US$161.10 (plus another $41.70 for the full 12 months of spam/virus protection) so $202.80

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/webdesign/1110976.html

Date: 05/19/06     Keywords: no keywords

I'm doing the graphics for an organization that helps people get off of drugs and alcohol. I got through the first one just fine, but I'm a little hung up on what they want next. They said to include alcohol, pills, and a needle, but to design them so that they look like they're being discouraged instead of encouraged. How would I go about that? Nothing really comes to mind, and what does seems corny.

x-posted

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/webdesign/1110741.html

Date: 05/18/06     Keywords: asp, web, hosting

So I have a question -- can you guys recommend to me a good Web host service and/or domain name registration service? I've been designing for awhile but I've never had my own domain, so I'm (somewhat) clueless as to what makes a good service and a good price. Right now, I'm looking Shieldhost.com to host the site and at IPower to register the domain.

I like the aspect of the free domain for life with Shieldhost's Webplus Year-long purchase, but I wonder if it is worth spending $20 extra for 3 GB of space and 50 GB bandwidth (over their beginner level). How many hits (give or take) is 100 GB bandwidth per month?

Also, a couple old imacs have come into my possession, and I was debating just hosting the Web site off my own ISP ... though I am wary about this idea because I do not know how reliable they are, and I'm also aware that my upload times are much, much slower than download times. Has anyone had a good/bad experience hosting their own Web site?

The site will be a portfolio site, so I don't anticipate high volumes of traffic but I do plan to post larger files on the site. Any advice you could give me is very much appreciated :).

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/webdesign/1110315.html

Date: 05/17/06     Keywords: web

I would love to get some general feedback on my portfolio website as well as help on a specific page. http://www.akiree.com

I am a very amateur web designer/builder - as in I just build sites for my stuff and must use a design program. I built this site using a combo of dreamweaver 4 and 8 (updated in the middle) I am personally thrilled with it, it "looks" like I wanted it to. But I am sure that there is some coding stuff that could be fixed, changed etc. I am up for any constructive criticism although bear in mind there are many thing I just don't know how to do.

The advice I would like is on my resume page. http://akiree.com/pages/Resume.mht As saved from word, it is a mht file. This makes it not viewable or alterable in Dreamweaver and apparently not viewable in firefox or I think mozilla. I use IE and so can see it fine. What can I do about this? I want to have something alterable through Dreamweaver so that I can add a "PDF version" button. Which will then raise a whole other set of questions about making PDF's but I'll do that later.... Should I just type everthing into Dreamweaver and if so how do I keep the formatting?

Third question - I am considering adding a background to the whole shebang, a nice woodgrain something so that it looks like the book is on a table. Does there happen to be a place I could find something like that or will I have to work on making my own. (Semi proficient in photoshop)

Edit: The site is not truly finished - the "everything else" link goes to a section of the site that has not been uploaded.

Thank you for all your help
Akiree

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/webdesign/1110135.html

Date: 05/15/06     Keywords: no keywords

I've been lurking here for awhile, but haven't posted any of my own work before. I'd like a critique of this site:

http://www.wdancestudio.com/

The main index photo and the "Birthday Boogie" photo take awhile to load on dial-up, but I didn't want to sacrifice quality for speed; plus, we live in a booming area where many people have broadband. (Ironically, I'm still on dial-up!) The studio cultivates a fun, friendly but professional environment. The professionalism is making this studio stand out from the rest in the area. Any tips on loading time vs. quality would be appreciated.

Also, the top of the Current Schedule page feels a bit jumbled or choppy to me. What do you think of the readability? I've been looking at this far too long to be objective any more. Even tips on code organization are welcome. Thank you!

Edit: I've reworked the Current Schedule page a bit.
New: http://www.wdancestudio.com/schedule.htm
For comparison, old: http://www.wdancestudio.com/sched.htm

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/webdesign/1109783.html