redbullmarky

in all, i don't think it's bad. there are some good elements in there. but it needs a bit of shifting around, and needs to remain more consistent across pages. for example, this page: [a href=\"http://www.b-reality.com/ProfRedirect.html\" target=\"_blank\"]http://www.b-reality.com/ProfRedirect.html[/a] moves away from the browser border, compared to your other pages. i also don't like your 'pill' buttons. not yours specifically, just pill buttons in general always seem to look like the free ones you can get that are designed for people who host on free space. otherwise, just pay attention to your font, to make sure it doesnt chop and change throughout your pages - a few of them (ProfRedirect.html again as an example). maybe a full CSS stylesheet is called for, as it'll sort out your font and border problems and tonnes of other stuff to keep some consistency going. Cheers Mark

[!--quoteo(post=345630:date=Feb 14 2006, 01:13 PM:name=jcombs_31)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(jcombs_31 @ Feb 14 2006, 01:13 PM) [snapback]345630[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--] The blue one looks pretty decent, but I don't really like the others. [/quote] yeah i'd agree with that. my order of preference for the skins is in the order they're in. best=water one, worst = pink one. green one is ok. only thing i don't like about the blue one is that the content seems a little far down the page. as there's only about 3 or 4 'links' in your nav that fall off the bottom of my screen, i reckon you could safely shift the whole thing up slightly to bring the main content more into view.

[!--quoteo(post=345727:date=Feb 14 2006, 04:55 PM:name=jcombs_31)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(jcombs_31 @ Feb 14 2006, 04:55 PM) [snapback]345727[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--] I don't like it, it is very confusing. [/quote] Fair enough. Just out of curiosity, is it confusing because it's not what youre used to, or because it literally is confusing full stop? obviously either way there's a problem. i'd like to make them as easy to use as possible, but as before without actually going down the 'normal forum' road. [!--quoteo(post=345727:date=Feb 14 2006, 04:55 PM:name=jcombs_31)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(jcombs_31 @ Feb 14 2006, 04:55 PM) [snapback]345727[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--] There is a reason that forums are structured the way they are. [/quote] how can i break the mould? what's the compromise that will keep things friendly for regular forum users, but also to keep within the 'theme', aside from just getting a copy of phpbb or whatever and changing the skin? Cheers for your comments. [!--quoteo(post=345731:date=Feb 14 2006, 05:07 PM:name=wildteen88)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(wildteen88 @ Feb 14 2006, 05:07 PM) [snapback]345731[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--] I like the layout of the forums. I dont see it as confusing at all. It all matches in with the rest of the site too. A forum doesnt have to be like any other forum out there. Theres no standard to what a forum should look like. I like it! Good work redbullmarky! [/quote] hey wildteen thanks for your comments! what you said about matching the rest of the site is more important than anything. if you take a look at the 'classified' section, you'll see that those are laid out using exactly the same theme. i am gonna stick to my guns as far as the theme goes, but i do to an extent agree with other posters too - i think there could be a good compromise that wouldn't mean me 'giving in to the trend' totally. the forums are based on the intranet staff forums of an airline company my girlfriend works for.one of the other main reasons i decided to write the forums myself is that i just loved how easy to use they were - not just for computer experts and people who use forums all the time, but for literally anyone. Cheers Mark

[!--quoteo(post=345706:date=Feb 14 2006, 03:58 PM:name=Lorian)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Lorian @ Feb 14 2006, 03:58 PM) [snapback]345706[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--] I don't like the way the forums/topics are laid out, at first I was like, where the @#&$ are the forums? It should be laid out like they usually are [/quote] Hi Lorian thats a fair comment. again, like most of the stuff on the site, it seems like a 50/50 love it/hate it. i'm just trying to keep a different spin on all the stuff in the site, which is purposely why i didnt do it like a proper forum. it's a valid point though - i'm sure i could have it laid out better than it is - but i'm fairly adament that i'm gonna stick to my guns and not lay the main forums/topics out like a proper forum. if anyone's got any ideas on the best way to do it, but still keeping the 'theme' the same, i'd be very keen to hear your thoughts. Cheers Mark [b]EDIT:[/b] oh - not sure who it was that tried to access an invalid forum by changing the URL, but thanks - you helped me find something that coulda been a major problem. Cheers Mark

Hi all A few times in the past i've tried to integrate forums into my sites, but never managed to get things looking as good as i'd like. this time around, i decided to write my own from scratch. obviously they're not as feature packed or 'glam' as say vBulletin or invision, or even phpbb, but i reckon they fit nicely and follow the same style as alot of my other sections in the site. Any thoughts? [a href=\"http://www.thedinnertimes.com/forum/index.php\" target=\"_blank\"]DinnerTimes Forums[/a] Cheers Mark

whilst i'm sre that there are a million ways to detect javascript, here's a way i've used before. the following is 'include'd in all my files in my site. basically it does a quick check by using javascript command to submit a form, then logs the result as a session variable. the check is only carried out once, unless someone has javascript turned off (just incase they turn it back on after the warning). i'm sure you could modify it your own way: <?php // jstest.php // javascript detector for php. ideal to be placed in a script used commonly through a site. session_start(); // check that the test hasn't already been done // test will be repeated if either it's not been done before, or if javascript is off to check // if a user has turned it on during a session. if (!isset($_SESSION['js_on']) || $_SESSION['js_on'] == false) { // check for post values - if we have post values, it means the form was submitted by javascript. if (isset($_POST['jstest'])) { $_SESSION['js_on'] = true; } else { // first time - construct a form and submit it with javascript echo '<form name="jstest" method="post">'; echo '<input name="jstest" type="hidden" value="js_on" />'; echo '<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">'; echo 'document.jstest.submit();'; echo '</script>'; echo '</form>'; // if we get here, it means javascript is OFF $_SESSION['js_on'] = false; } } // rest of script goes here.... // // // // etc // // // echo "javascript is ".($_SESSION['js_on'] ? "on":"off")."<br>"; echo 'normal script here'; ?>

in terms of its style and choice of colours, it's very neat and polished. the only main criticism is just that it needs more content. the whole thing is something you can literally jump in and out of in less than 30 seconds, and have read everything. i'm sure tho that as this is a new re-design, that the content will increase over time... otherwise, i'd just be nit-picking. i'll do it anyway tho - but these are more my own opinions rather than actual critique... 1) i really don't like sites that say 'best viewed in...', 'best viewed at 1600x800, etc, etc'. the way i see it is that, if done and tested properly, it should work in any browser. as this is quite a simple site, i can't see any reason why it wouldn't work. i'm currently on Safari (Apple Mac). the 'phppowered' and 'get firefox' buttons are fine. 2) sites that lends most of its content to explaining how the site was made, etc. people generally come along to find certain information (unless they're your friends, in which case they'll come anyway), and if all they find on the homepage is stuff about how the site was made, how the sidebanner was removed, etc, it seems a bit of a waste of the space you have. having said that though, i do generally (on some of my quirkier sites) have a 'geeks' page, where i stick loads of stats, what technology it uses (php, etc), how firefox is great, how well the site validates (hardly ever with alot of my own sites lol), etc. but never on my homepage as the first thing new visitors will see. 3) unless it's an image gallery, porn site, etc people generally don't come to see pictures. the one i'm on about here is the one just above your nav. it's probably a touch too big in terms of height, as it pushes the main content (including the pictures in your gallery which you DO want people to see) too far towards the bottom of the page. maybe cutting this down a little may just bring the content into view a little better. otherwise, i think you've done a grand job. this is the first time i've seen the colour Brown used in a site, and actually liked it. nice work! Mark

[!--quoteo(post=344400:date=Feb 10 2006, 10:43 AM:name=Prismatic)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Prismatic @ Feb 10 2006, 10:43 AM) [snapback]344400[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--] Actually, hes using the same menu style as the Xbox 360 :D [/quote] oh cool i think the main difference then looking at that is that the text on the xbox360 page contrasts a lot more with the background, so it makes it easier to read.

[!--quoteo(post=344356:date=Feb 10 2006, 07:37 AM:name=FLD)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(FLD @ Feb 10 2006, 07:37 AM) 344356[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--] I now about the problem with the position of going from the contact page to one of the other pages, I presumed that it was an Opera bug, I have tested in IE, FF and made screenshots in Safari from [a href=\"http://danvine.com/icapture/\" target=\"_blank\"]http://danvine.com/icapture/[/a] to check the design in Safari. I don’t get it, the HTML and CSS code is 100% valid and I cant find the problem, but I will continue looking as a guess, without looking at your code, i would say it's your <FORM> tag on the contact page. whilst they're invisible, they actually still take up a little space on a page. sometimes tricky to sort out, but not impossible. cheers Mark

[!--quoteo(post=344236:date=Feb 9 2006, 10:01 PM:name=FLD)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(FLD @ Feb 9 2006, 10:01 PM) 344236[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--] jcombs_31 you say it ;~) I have made an total redesign and removed most of the flash and JavaScript and found another and better domain for the Danish people ;-) [a href=\"http://www.modelfotograf.dk\" target=\"_blank\"]www.modelfotograf.dk[/a] i wasn't quite sure about it until i saw the first woman that cropped up on the gallery. she could make a site with marquee text, flashing banners and comic sans font look good! anyway... i think things look quite nice. whilst white, gray and black on their own normally don't make an ideal look, for a photography site (i think!) I think you've matched the concept very well. things are neater and better than previously anyway. only two grumbles (nothing major - might just be my browser which is Safari on an Apple Mac) - going through the site, it looks as if you're trying to keep the main content rectangle the same size all the way through, only the Contact (Kontakt) page shifts itself in position and size. also - the contents on the 'produkter' page fall outside the bottom boundaries. otherwise, it's clean, nice and easy to get around (even tho I don't understand most of it) and to the point.

[!--quoteo(post=343919:date=Feb 8 2006, 10:07 PM:name=moberemk)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(moberemk @ Feb 8 2006, 10:07 PM) [snapback]343919[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--] You mean that says 'PHPFreaks' on it, right? ;) I'll take that under advisement. Thanks for the help! [/quote] no, the one just below where it says: PHP Help Forums > General Discussion > Website Critique.

[!--quoteo(post=343763:date=Feb 8 2006, 12:12 PM:name=moberemk)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(moberemk @ Feb 8 2006, 12:12 PM) [snapback]343763[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--] So, as for that link to a forum, you seem to have forgotten to post it. [/quote] sorry, my bad. i meant the actual PHPfreaks forums. look at the heading at the top of this particular page, the one that says 'moblog' on it.

[!--quoteo(post=343669:date=Feb 8 2006, 02:21 AM:name=moberemk)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(moberemk @ Feb 8 2006, 02:21 AM) [snapback]343669[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--] I really don't like the font choice. It's both too big and too curly. Rule of thumb I've learned: Serif fonts never go over well. Meanwhile, your menu system could use some work. It's a huge grey block-kind of ugly, really. As for your classifieds, it may be a good idea to take them and make them moderator-approved before posting them. [/quote] lol the classifieds ARE moderator approved lol (they just kinda take on a bit of an adult theme). this one about font choice has stumped me as i've had very mixed opinions on it - from feedback from here and friends i've passed the site onto, some like it, some hate it. the idea was trying to pick a good font that would sit in with the theme of a newspaper. the choice of grey is also pretty much the same reason - just to give it a bit more of a 'newspaper' feel. but points taken. i'll prob have a look at the colours in the nav like you say, but the font is something i'm gonna really need to do some digging about. Cheers Mark

[!--quoteo(post=343666:date=Feb 8 2006, 02:12 AM:name=moberemk)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(moberemk @ Feb 8 2006, 02:12 AM) [snapback]343666[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--] Nah. I think that I'll stick with what I know-editing in Photoshop. Thanks for the offer though. So, aside from the light blue text, and the google ads, does it look good? Oh, and I fixed the rollover menu like you suggested. You're right-it does look a lot better now. Once the menu expands a little though, I probably will make it a rollover again. [/quote] I think it it's ok. i can almost see the sun through the storm but there are appearance issues that need to be addressed. we definitely aint brothers lol as i think you prefer the larger fonts and brighter setting whereas i prefer smaller fonts and darker settings, you use the ads loads and i hate them, etc, etc. It IS the sort of thing that as long as there's a 'theme' I'd probably stick around and read, but I think you're just missing a few CSS tweaks (mostly use of colours) that could turn it into a nice output. Look at the dark blue colour on this forum page at the top (where it says moblog) - i thing that's more the sort of shade you need as opposed to really harsh light blue. and as i said before, i think you'd be better using a darker background for the quotes instead of the light blue text altogether. yes the nav is better opened like that. it's ok to have it spring out of nowhere when you click on something to make it do it, but as a rollover i think it falls flat. so yes, the way you got it now is better. anyhows. i think as a blog, the hard works already been done. now it just needs some polishing in terms of how it looks. Hope that helps Cheers Mark

[!--quoteo(post=343653:date=Feb 8 2006, 01:06 AM:name=moberemk)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(moberemk @ Feb 8 2006, 01:06 AM) [snapback]343653[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--] Well, at the moment, this is the "mess-around" stage of the site. Once it's done, I'll see what I can do about paying. Unfortunately though, I still need to get some money for that. That's why I need the adverts-without them, I basically don't have the ability to put it up. Also, none of these images are resized-they're just badly compressed. [/quote] fair enough. most of mine are badly compressed. pop together a little script anyway, and regardless of compression, it'll whip them into shape and size (filesize as well as dimensions). i hate pissing around with pictures before i upload them, so i let my scripts do it for me. i got a couple of little scripts i use myself if you want them.

ok i've updated a few things going by some suggestions, and added some new sections including the 'classified ads'. anyone have any comments on any of the changes?

[!--quoteo(post=343556:date=Feb 7 2006, 09:16 PM:name=moberemk)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(moberemk @ Feb 7 2006, 09:16 PM) [snapback]343556[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--] The ads aren't really my choice here. It's have ads or no hosting. As for expanding the menu, you're right-I probably should. That was really more of an experiment in CSS rollovers that I never got around to getting rid of. Now, the light blue against the white, that doesn't really occur anywhere outside of the quotes-I probably should fix that. But for the borders too? And as for image filesize, I'll try optimizing them some more. Just something to keep in mind: This is only step 1 of a much larger project. [/quote] fair comments. - the ads will depend on how far you wanna take the project. if you want it as a 'proper', professional looking site, then i'd prob look at either a new host that don't require adverts (ok,so you have to pay, but depends how you see your site - as a mess-around, or as a proper site). - the blue - you're right, it only appears in the quotes. maybe you could use an off white/light grey background, but still keep black text ? - when i can't be arsed to sort images, i just use the GD library to do my dirty work for me. you just need a script that uses imagecreatefromjpeg, etc, etc, which will automatically thumbnail some of your bigger images and shrink it to a reasonable size. again, it'll still take time, but it's quicker to let your server/hosts server shrink an image than let your browser load it.

[!--quoteo(post=343283:date=Feb 6 2006, 11:09 PM:name=moberemk)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(moberemk @ Feb 6 2006, 11:09 PM) [snapback]343283[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--] I have to agree with what he said. The navigation is simply stupid, because it makes your site hard to read without whiplash. [/quote] i wouldnt go as far as stupid, but otherwise i agree to an extent. rework it using a very similar concept, as it IS original. i'd automatically say try and do the nav horizontally, but i'm not sure that would have the same unique effect. otherwise, the whole thing is tidy, if a little 'bare' sometimes. Cheers Mark

[!--quoteo(post=343297:date=Feb 6 2006, 11:37 PM:name=moberemk)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(moberemk @ Feb 6 2006, 11:37 PM) [snapback]343297[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--] I had a little spare time so I decided to make a blog. Still working on why. Here's the link: [a href=\"http://mobblog.byethost2.com/\" target=\"_blank\"]http://mobblog.byethost2.com/[/a] Just something I felt like doing. No idea why. None of the links work yet, so I'll have to work on that. Aside from that, any comments? And yes, I know that it doesn't validate. Personally, I blame the fact that my blog posts don't have valid XHTML 1.1 in them-whoops. Thankfully, this is just a stopgap measure until the real site is complete. Not sure when that happens... [/quote] it needs alot of work in terms of the general style. 1, the light blue on white background makes it very difficult to read comfortably 2, the images are too big (filesize) for what they are, so it takes too much time to load a relatively sparse page. 3, on some of the other sections, there are FAR too many google ads. i can appreciate the odds of someone clicking them greatly increases by having so many, but google ads in my opinion nearly always ruin a sites design. 4, you have enough space in your left column surely that you could keep the menu expanded, rather than having it as a rollover popup. having 2 or 3 lines for a navigation menu, and then filling up the rest of the column with ads, just seems a little off-balance to me.

[!--quoteo(post=342390:date=Feb 3 2006, 02:19 PM:name=Forge102)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Forge102 @ Feb 3 2006, 02:19 PM) [snapback]342390[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--] Hi all, I've made some changes to the [a href=\"http://www.kingsands.com\" target=\"_blank\"]http://www.kingsands.com[/a] I've changed the menu as well as some other colours. Please tell me what you think. thanks Forge [/quote] css rollovers give a bit more of a nice touch. they always seem to have that effect. however, comic sans still stands as one of the ugliest fonts ever, even for 'quirky sites about comics'. i'd personally change the comic sans font to match the other font you have. cheers Mark

[!--quoteo(post=342093:date=Feb 2 2006, 06:14 PM:name=jcombs_31)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(jcombs_31 @ Feb 2 2006, 06:14 PM) [snapback]342093[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--] simple is an understatement. It's just a bunch of text. I also absolutely no idea what this site is about. There really isn't much of anything going on. [/quote] i'd have to agree with jcombs on this one. it's far too plain, and i end up searching for ages to suss out which of the text is links and which is 'content'. i must say though, that whilst i like simple sites, i don't think you need to be this simple - you could do alot more without it being complex at all. i think it'd be better to take a closer look once there's more content on there, so at least then we'll get a clue of what it's all about and what you're trying to achieve. cheers Mark

[!--quoteo(post=341532:date=Jan 31 2006, 06:11 PM:name=Forge102)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Forge102 @ Jan 31 2006, 06:11 PM) [snapback]341532[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--] Hi all, I've created another website that can be found at [a href=\"http://www.kingsands.com\" target=\"_blank\"]http://www.kingsands.com[/a] I wanted to know people's opinion on three things: 1) The banner 2) The colours that are in use already 3) Is there a more suitable background colour than white for the main content area, if so what? thanks - oh and I will make changes to mediacritic.co.uk as soon as I get a chance! Forge [/quote] 1, the banner is partly ok, partly horrible. the backdrop of it (the books) look quite cool, but the font you've used over the top (King Sands as well as the main font) just look a bit cheap. and it might just be my opinion, but because the banner is not as wide as your site, it just kinda looks thrown on there. keep the books in the backdrop, but do some more work on the fonts you use. 2, best way to get colours? check out your competitors or similar sites to yours and what you wanna achieve. if you don't wanna go down that road, then the colour scheme link here: [a href=\"http://www.phpfreaks.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=79168\" target=\"_blank\"]http://www.phpfreaks.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=79168[/a] has DEFINITELY helped me along the way on numerous occasions. 3, white is not a bad colour in general, as it makes text easier to read, but it's probably too bright for the rest of the site. i can't really comment on what the alternatives are, as i tend to find very dark/black sites very very hit and miss in terms of actually nailing it or making it look a bit too much like a free page. whilst it's not on your list of things to get feedback on, i'd definitely look at employing some rollover CSS effects on the nav, and then lose the underlines. it'll just add a bit of a professional touch. also, if you're gonna use 'ads by goooogle', make them a bit more subtle than on mediacritic. sometimes they have a habit of further ruining what could be a good, tight, clean site. Hope that helps Cheers Mark

ok i've altered the width and a few other bits and am currently looking around for a few suitable 'built-in' images to replace one or two of the ones i've got at the moment. any more thoughts?

[!--quoteo(post=338329:date=Jan 20 2006, 10:22 AM:name=chris_davidsonuk)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(chris_davidsonuk @ Jan 20 2006, 10:22 AM) [snapback]338329[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--] If I was you I wouldn't use images that aren't yours you could get into trouble. Let me guess, for that little kid scratching his head you typed confused into google images? Hey, I am not the Internet Pollice I am just talking out of experience, and people don't like you taking their content. For cheap images I use [a href=\"http://www.dreamstime.com\" target=\"_blank\"]http://www.dreamstime.com[/a] where images are $1. You can't say fairer then that. [/quote] that's a very very fair point mate. i think i'd just been a bit lazy and not yet updated the actual pictures. there's a few other sites too with free images and stuff so i'll definitely be looking round those. thanks for the reminder! Mark

ahh ok i get you. i think the whole think is about 900px wide at the moment, so i guess losing a bit off the sides won't hurt. i get what you mean though - it's mad tho how easy it is to forget that some people have smaller sizes and slow connections when you're so used to it yourself. i wasn't aware that the size of it stretched the screen width tho, as when i resize my browser, the content gets squashed together rather than clipping off the screen. thanks for your help, i'll look into it. Cheers Mark