My new site

[dan_t]

www.shoppingpointmall.com

[dan_t]

I had another post about a friend getting a phishing warning on the site.

Please let me know if you get that warning, or how to report it not being one of those sites(phishing that is).

Thanks

[dezkit]

amateur site

[dan_t]

Hi,

Yes, that's true. I have only been using PHP for about 2 months.

But what does it need. More color? More motion? My last site was static. The complaint was it was hard to navigate in.

I don't have, and cannot afford Dreamweaver or any thing like that. I checked on ebay, and people want alot of money for those authoring systems, so I guess I'll stick to my note pad. I did just buy Fireworks, but I don't know how to use it yet. I do this merely for fun. It's a hobby, not a living. I do appreciate the reply. A main concern is the warning it was giving people about being possibly a phishing site. Hopefully it is not doing that anymore, but who knows.

Thanks

Dan

 

[ILMV]

Motion == bad!

 

There is no reason to use flash / GIFs to add any kind of activity to your site, it will make it look pants.

 

 

The site is amateur, keep working on it The colour scheme is not good, consider using www.colorblender.com to pick a decent colour scheme (its free!).

 

Also, religiously use the W3C Validator (google it) to check to make sure the code behind your site works to standards, this is an excellent way to make sure your code is top notch.

 

 

ILMV

 

 

 

[ILMV]

One more thing...

 

When I started using PHP the first thing I did was have dynamic pages running off of an index page...

 

http://www.shoppingpointmall.com/index.php?content=tools

 

Whilst this is a great way to save a few KB of server space, it is not totally evident as to what page I am looking at, for example www.mysite.com/tools.php is easier to identify.

 

Also, if the URL variable is changed, your web page falls over, this is obviously not very pretty, but could expose flaws in your sites security.

 

Example: http://www.shoppingpointmall.com/index.php?content=jajaja

 

 

 

Now I know why you have done this, to make your life easier, but it would be better to have a single links.inc.php, a header.inc.php and have seperate files for home, about, contact etc, which then call the single links, header etc.

 

 

ILMV

[ILMV]

One more more thing...

 

Add some validation to your register page. I just registered with the email 'g'

[dan_t]

One more thing...

 

When I started using PHP the first thing I did was have dynamic pages running off of an index page...

 

http://www.shoppingpointmall.com/index.php?content=tools

 

Whilst this is a great way to save a few KB of server space, it is not totally evident as to what page I am looking at, for example www.mysite.com/tools.php is easier to identify.

 

Also, if the URL variable is changed, your web page falls over, this is obviously not very pretty, but could expose flaws in your sites security.

 

Example: http://www.shoppingpointmall.com/index.php?content=jajaja

 

 

 

Now I know why you have done this, to make your life easier, but it would be better to have a single links.inc.php, a header.inc.php and have seperate files for home, about, contact etc, which then call the single links, header etc.

 

 

ILMV

Thank you very much for the help! I really do appreciate it.

Actually that's just the way I learned in the class I took to do it. I know I have a long way to go.

But currently I am not sure if I know another way to do it.

If I change the URL, I don't want to change it being in the middle column.

I'll work on it, and hope I don't screw something up!

Thanks

Dan

 

[dan_t]

One more more thing...

 

Add some validation to your register page. I just registered with the email 'g'

Great advice! I'll do it, but it may take some time. I'm more than a little slow at this.(understatement!)

Thanks again.

[dan_t]

Motion == bad!

 

There is no reason to use flash / GIFs to add any kind of activity to your site, it will make it look pants.

 

 

The site is amateur, keep working on it The colour scheme is not good, consider using www.colorblender.com to pick a decent colour scheme (its free!).

 

Also, religiously use the W3C Validator (google it) to check to make sure the code behind your site works to standards, this is an excellent way to make sure your code is top notch.

 

 

ILMV

 

I just checked out colorblender.com, That it very cool.

Thank you very much. I'll change my colors asap. Please let me know if there no good.

[dan_t]

Motion == bad!

 

There is no reason to use flash / GIFs to add any kind of activity to your site, it will make it look pants.

 

 

The site is amateur, keep working on it The colour scheme is not good, consider using www.colorblender.com to pick a decent colour scheme (its free!).

 

Also, religiously use the W3C Validator (google it) to check to make sure the code behind your site works to standards, this is an excellent way to make sure your code is top notch.

 

 

ILMV

 

Sorry on that reply I meant to say, that is very cool, not that it.  I have two validators saved in my favorites, But i was not sure if thay validated PHP.

[dan_t]

One question,

PHP is supposed to be a server side language, and look the same no matter who is looking at it. But if you look at it with foxfire, it takes my right side column and puts it on the bottom left-hand side.

Why? I used PHP and CSS. It should be the same in every browser, shouldn't it?

Thanks

Dan

[Maq]

amateur site

 

Maybe that's why he's asking for a critique cause he knows it needs it.  Why don't you give him some pointers and suggestions instead of 2 word replies that are useless.

 

-The color scheme is a poor choice.  Use one of those color generator sites to find something that fits your site.

-The head needs some work.  You have a blue/gray background in the header with a red block that has the title of your site.  Doesn't look too good.

-I like how you utilize the full page but you need to add more content.

 

What kind of feedback are you looking for?  Design?  Layout?  Everything?

[trq]

Why? I used PHP and CSS. It should be the same in every browser, shouldn't it?

 

No, you used PHP, Html and CSS. PHP simply sends html to the browser, your browser then interprets that html to make the page. And no, not all browsers work the same unfortunately.

[nrg_alpha]

dan_t, just to give you a heads up, feel free to check out this webcrit's resources page. Lots of valuable links to help you out. Also read the responses within that thread, as others have posted other links as well.

 

Cheers,

 

NRG

[nrg_alpha]

Why? I used PHP and CSS. It should be the same in every browser, shouldn't it?

 

No, you used PHP, Html and CSS. PHP simply sends html to the browser, your browser then interprets that html to make the page. And no, not all browsers work the same unfortunately.

 

@ dan-t: More definitively, when a browser (user) asks for a php page, the server (most likely apache) recieves the request. This file is in turn handed to the server-side php interpreter (due to the php extension in the file name), which in turn examines and executes the code within the php tags, and replaces this content with the end result (in the form of html), which is in turn handed back to the server, which is finally handed over to the browser with all php code parsed.

 

So depending on how old the browser is, and how old the code in the php page is, will determine any issues from that standpoint.. but as a rule, with a modernized browser and good clean up-to-date php code, there should be no issues. As for CSS, this is a different ballgame altogether, as CSS is not server-side technology.. this is entirely dependant on the broswer, and thus can have major ramifications if the user uses CSS code that the browser does not understand. It is fairly safe to code in CSS 2.1 these days, as most browsers support this... if you start using some CSS 3 code however, don't expect any smooth sailing anytime soon

[dan_t]

amateur site

 

Maybe that's why he's asking for a critique cause he knows it needs it.  Why don't you give him some pointers and suggestions instead of 2 word replies that are useless.

 

-The color scheme is a poor choice.  Use one of those color generator sites to find something that fits your site.

-The head needs some work.  You have a blue/gray background in the header with a red block that has the title of your site.  Doesn't look too good.

-I like how you utilize the full page but you need to add more content.

 

What kind of feedback are you looking for?  Design?  Layout?  Everything?

 

I'm afraid everything would be the best answer.

Thanks for the help, I tend to have a bit of trouble picking colors, slight color deficiency, I'll keep trying.

[dan_t]

Why? I used PHP and CSS. It should be the same in every browser, shouldn't it?

 

No, you used PHP, Html and CSS. PHP simply sends html to the browser, your browser then interprets that html to make the page. And no, not all browsers work the same unfortunately.

 

@ dan-t: More definitively, when a browser (user) asks for a php page, the server (most likely apache) recieves the request. This file is in turn handed to the server-side php interpreter (due to the php extension in the file name), which in turn examines and executes the code within the php tags, and replaces this content with the end result (in the form of html), which is in turn handed back to the server, which is finally handed over to the browser with all php code parsed.

 

So depending on how old the browser is, and how old the code in the php page is, will determine any issues from that standpoint.. but as a rule, with a modernized browser and good clean up-to-date php code, there should be no issues. As for CSS, this is a different ballgame altogether, as CSS is not server-side technology.. this is entirely dependant on the broswer, and thus can have major ramifications if the user uses CSS code that the browser does not understand. It is fairly safe to code in CSS 2.1 these days, as most browsers support this... if you start using some CSS 3 code however, don't expect any smooth sailing anytime soon

 

Wow, most of that went over my head!

I don't even know what CSS 3 is.

But thanks for that info.

[dan_t]

Why? I used PHP and CSS. It should be the same in every browser, shouldn't it?

 

No, you used PHP, Html and CSS. PHP simply sends html to the browser, your browser then interprets that html to make the page. And no, not all browsers work the same unfortunately.

 

Yes, I forgot about that.

Thanks, I guess it will never look the same in all of them.

[xtopolis]

It can look pretty damn close, you just need to learn proper coding techniques, and the well documented bugs for certain browsers (such as IE).  It's not that hard, it just takes practice.

 

As for my critique:

It looks like you've just started learning html,css.  There's no harm at looking at other sites for inspiration and reverse engineering how they do things.  Find something you like that might fit what you're trying to present and look at how they do things.  Doesn't mean their way is best, but an alternative view might enlighten you.

[dan_t]

It can look pretty damn close, you just need to learn proper coding techniques, and the well documented bugs for certain browsers (such as IE).  It's not that hard, it just takes practice.

 

As for my critique:

It looks like you've just started learning html,css.  There's no harm at looking at other sites for inspiration and reverse engineering how they do things.  Find something you like that might fit what you're trying to present and look at how they do things.  Doesn't mean their way is best, but an alternative view might enlighten you.

Actually, PHP is the new one, and quite a bit more complicated, at least for now. Possibly for a long time to come. I'm a fairly slow learner, it takes quite a while to sink in. My last site was 95% HTML, and I really overdid it.  I am trying to keep this one simple and NOT over do it. But to simple is boring. Where is the proper stopping point? If it is a natural born talent, I'm afraid I don't have it.

[nrg_alpha]

 

@ dan-t: More definitively, when a browser (user) asks for a php page, the server (most likely apache) recieves the request. This file is in turn handed to the server-side php interpreter (due to the php extension in the file name), which in turn examines and executes the code within the php tags, and replaces this content with the end result (in the form of html), which is in turn handed back to the server, which is finally handed over to the browser with all php code parsed.

 

So depending on how old the browser is, and how old the code in the php page is, will determine any issues from that standpoint.. but as a rule, with a modernized browser and good clean up-to-date php code, there should be no issues. As for CSS, this is a different ballgame altogether, as CSS is not server-side technology.. this is entirely dependant on the broswer, and thus can have major ramifications if the user uses CSS code that the browser does not understand. It is fairly safe to code in CSS 2.1 these days, as most browsers support this... if you start using some CSS 3 code however, don't expect any smooth sailing anytime soon

 

Wow, most of that went over my head!

I don't even know what CSS 3 is.

But thanks for that info.

 

As for everything that went over your head, have a look at this, as it will explain in very simple terms what is going on when dealing with PHP.

 

As for CSS 3, this is the next step in CSS (currently supported version is 2.1).. Don't need to worry about it for now. Just get the CSS basics down pat, and everything will click from there.

 

Hope that helped..

 

Cheers,

 

NRG

[dan_t]

While I'm trying to learn what seems to be 100 years of stuff, here is a burning question that I just can not figure out.

Although I know where to use it (sort-of), I don't know why or what.

Here is the piece of the code:  if (!isset($_REQUEST['content']))

The question: If WHAT isn't set? Above it, below it, What am I looking for? I just don't get it.

[xtopolis]

$_REQUEST deals with things posted to a page, usually by a form, also by a url.  The two common types (only types?) of requests are:  GET and POST

 

GET requests ($_GET) are sent via a URL

http://yoursite.com/index.php?name=dan&status=noobie

$_GET is an array.  It now contains the associative array:

$_GET['name'] = 'dan';
$_GET['status'] = 'noobie';

 

POST requests ($_POST) are sent via.. headers?

they are sent the same way: name=dan&status=noobie, but don't show up on the url etc

$_POST is the same, it will contain the values POSTed from the previous or same page (you can post back to the same page)

 

$_REQUEST was an older method for when you weren't sure, or were lazy about what you were getting (GET or POST).  I wouldn't use it, I think it's depreciated... also it could cause a conflict if you have get and post vars of the same name.. (not that you should, but still).

 

that statement just says: if a form input of the name 'content', or there is a url append of &content=something, retrieve that value.  in code:

 

<form action="nextpage.php" method="post">
  Content: <input type="text" name="content" />
  <input type="submit" />
</form>

or just on the url:

http://www.yoursite.com/nextpage.php?content=something

[dan_t]

Thanks, That helps quite a bit.