DarkWater Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 I just decided to work on a new layout today, and I just finished it. Anyone want to critique it? http://phpspeaks.com/ By the way, this is by far the brightest layout I've ever made, so I'm not too sure on some parts of it, but tell me what you think. This site is going to be a personal blog kind of site and I hope to have the actual coding done in a few weeks. The post at the top is the "latest" post, then it goes down and displays a few (probably 3) of the most recent posts. The sidebar will contain categories, and I might add a paragraph above the latest post saying like, who I am and stuff. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/129122-new-layout/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
CroNiX Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 The white text against the light grey background is hard to read on my setup. I think you need more contrasting colors there. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/129122-new-layout/#findComment-669403 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkWater Posted October 19, 2008 Author Share Posted October 19, 2008 The white text against the light grey background is hard to read on my setup. I think you need more contrasting colors there. Yeah, I was going to change that just a bit. You're talking about the white text in the header area, correct? It was hard to read for me too, I just wanted to see what everyone else thought on that. xD Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/129122-new-layout/#findComment-669405 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maq Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 I would definitely change either the background or the font color of your links and the "Categories" header to a different color because they're almost invisible. I'm also not a fan of having the main navigation on top of the banner, I like it either right below the banner or on the lower part of the banner. Also your color scheme, is kind dull, white, gray, black text... You may want to think about adding some images or change the colors a bit. Other than that I like it. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/129122-new-layout/#findComment-669414 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkWater Posted October 19, 2008 Author Share Posted October 19, 2008 I changed the main tag image to a much darker one, and it looks much better. I think Categories and Latest are easy enough to read, I think, it was just that header one that was really torublesome. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/129122-new-layout/#findComment-669418 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkWater Posted October 19, 2008 Author Share Posted October 19, 2008 Now that tag overpowers the navigation text. I might make the nav text a dark color too. EDIT: Darkened up the nav text. Now the site is not so straining on the eyes and it looks a bit softer. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/129122-new-layout/#findComment-669423 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkWater Posted October 19, 2008 Author Share Posted October 19, 2008 I would definitely change either the background or the font color of your links and the "Categories" header to a different color because they're almost invisible. I'm also not a fan of having the main navigation on top of the banner, I like it either right below the banner or on the lower part of the banner. Also your color scheme, is kind dull, white, gray, black text... You may want to think about adding some images or change the colors a bit. Other than that I like it. The color scheme was intended to be sort of muted so that when I add photos or graphics, they really pop and look nice. This site isn't just going to be about PHP, it's more of a personal blog too, so yeah. The header image brightens it up just enough to not be too dull. xD Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/129122-new-layout/#findComment-669427 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkWater Posted October 19, 2008 Author Share Posted October 19, 2008 Oh, by the way, the CSS and XHTML validate if anyone cares. =P Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/129122-new-layout/#findComment-669434 Share on other sites More sharing options...
CroNiX Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 Since it was your site, I knew that without checking The darker colors work better, but I would also change the 1) #latest h2 2) images/categories.png darker as well. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/129122-new-layout/#findComment-669440 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkWater Posted October 19, 2008 Author Share Posted October 19, 2008 Since it was your site, I knew that without checking The darker colors work better, but I would also change the 1) #latest h2 2) images/categories.png darker as well. 1) I liked the white font color to make the latest post stand out even more. It adds a nice effect when visitors can see the latest post right when they open the main page, as they usually then go look around more once they see a new post was err...posted. 2) I might. I wanted to keep the Latest and Categories images the same color...and I personally don't think it's too hard to read, but idk. I'll play around with the colors in a bit. Anything else? Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/129122-new-layout/#findComment-669444 Share on other sites More sharing options...
CroNiX Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 No...looks good. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/129122-new-layout/#findComment-669485 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkWater Posted October 19, 2008 Author Share Posted October 19, 2008 No...looks good. Thanks. I can't wait to get my code finished for content. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/129122-new-layout/#findComment-669486 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maq Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 I would definitely change either the background or the font color of your links and the "Categories" header to a different color because they're almost invisible. I'm also not a fan of having the main navigation on top of the banner, I like it either right below the banner or on the lower part of the banner. Also your color scheme, is kind dull, white, gray, black text... You may want to think about adding some images or change the colors a bit. Other than that I like it. The color scheme was intended to be sort of muted so that when I add photos or graphics, they really pop and look nice. This site isn't just going to be about PHP, it's more of a personal blog too, so yeah. The header image brightens it up just enough to not be too dull. xD Gotcha. I would really like to see it with the pictures then I could probably give you some better feedback. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/129122-new-layout/#findComment-669489 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkWater Posted October 19, 2008 Author Share Posted October 19, 2008 I would definitely change either the background or the font color of your links and the "Categories" header to a different color because they're almost invisible. I'm also not a fan of having the main navigation on top of the banner, I like it either right below the banner or on the lower part of the banner. Also your color scheme, is kind dull, white, gray, black text... You may want to think about adding some images or change the colors a bit. Other than that I like it. The color scheme was intended to be sort of muted so that when I add photos or graphics, they really pop and look nice. This site isn't just going to be about PHP, it's more of a personal blog too, so yeah. The header image brightens it up just enough to not be too dull. xD Gotcha. I would really like to see it with the pictures then I could probably give you some better feedback. Oh yeah, I'm definitely going to post back once I get my content system all coded so it can be evaluated too, and I'll hopefully have some more stuff for you guys to actually look at. xD Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/129122-new-layout/#findComment-669493 Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetname Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 Hey DarkWater. I think you should center your layout. It only takes up the left third of my screen at 2560 x 1600. **edit: It doesn't center in IE7 but does in firefox 3 Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/129122-new-layout/#findComment-669554 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maq Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 In FF it's centered but not IE6. Not sure about any other browsers... Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/129122-new-layout/#findComment-669558 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkWater Posted October 19, 2008 Author Share Posted October 19, 2008 It is centered. Oh wait, are you using internet explorer 6? I need to apply a hack for it, and I forgot to. >_< (browsershots.org has been down, so I wasn't sure how it was looking in IE). EDIT: OMG I just looked at it in my brother's IE7 and it looks like crap. I gotta fix that. >_< EDIT2: Centered it now, I just need to fix the sidebar (it seems to be pushing the posts down in IE). Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/129122-new-layout/#findComment-669564 Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcombs_31 Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 It's not bad, but it needs more contrast. All of the colors are pretty light. I personally like to see a clear separation between the background and content area. The site looks like a blog but then you have a blog link, so what is the main purpose? Try incorporating some images, they really help bring a site to life. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/129122-new-layout/#findComment-669565 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maq Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 I would definitely change either the background or the font color of your links and the "Categories" header to a different color because they're almost invisible. I'm also not a fan of having the main navigation on top of the banner, I like it either right below the banner or on the lower part of the banner. Also your color scheme, is kind dull, white, gray, black text... You may want to think about adding some images or change the colors a bit. Other than that I like it. The color scheme was intended to be sort of muted so that when I add photos or graphics, they really pop and look nice. This site isn't just going to be about PHP, it's more of a personal blog too, so yeah. The header image brightens it up just enough to not be too dull. xD Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/129122-new-layout/#findComment-669568 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkWater Posted October 19, 2008 Author Share Posted October 19, 2008 It's not bad, but it needs more contrast. All of the colors are pretty light. I personally like to see a clear separation between the background and content area. The site looks like a blog but then you have a blog link, so what is the main purpose? Try incorporating some images, they really help bring a site to life. It is a blog, but the Blog link would most likely display more posts. I haven't sorted out where all the content will be placed yet; I just made this design today. Can anyone think of a way to fix the sidebar thing in IE7 before I go hacking around? >_< Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/129122-new-layout/#findComment-669569 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkWater Posted October 19, 2008 Author Share Posted October 19, 2008 Okay, I had to make an IE-only stylesheet and play around with some widths and heights, but I fixed it. Would anyone mind checking it out for me if they have IE? Also, anyone have an idea of how to fix those damn bullets for the Categories list in IE? P.S: This is only reminding me of how much I hate IE. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/129122-new-layout/#findComment-669579 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkWater Posted October 19, 2008 Author Share Posted October 19, 2008 I also made a few fixes to some margins and stuff so the latest post was snug against the header in IE. Also, I decided to completely remove the folder icons in the sidebar in IE because I didn't feel like fixing them. =/ Any other comments? (I also changed the color for the main content border, but I don't like it too much. I'm probably changing it back.) EDIT: Yeah, changed it back, and also made it thicker (3px -> 5px). Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/129122-new-layout/#findComment-669585 Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetname Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 The side bar is fixed in ie7 now. Check out http://crossbrowsertesting.com/ You can test in all browsers there Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/129122-new-layout/#findComment-669593 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkWater Posted October 19, 2008 Author Share Posted October 19, 2008 Yeah, I fixed everything in IE I think. >_< Anyway, just so you guys can see, I replaced the main content with a picture so you can see what I mean. The photography really pops with the color choices. I'll leave it up for like 10 minutes so you can see. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/129122-new-layout/#findComment-669596 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkWater Posted October 19, 2008 Author Share Posted October 19, 2008 The side bar is fixed in ie7 now. Check out http://crossbrowsertesting.com/ You can test in all browsers there browsershots.org does the same thing except it's free. It just happens to be down right now (which is weird, it's never been down for me before). Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/129122-new-layout/#findComment-669597 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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