Carter-Designs - SP

[Carter7]

Ok, I have been working on a website for a client, please ignore the text as i am just texting the db with test names. So take no notice of the text:


[url=http://www.carter-designs.com/stauntonpark]www.carter-designs.com/stauntonpark[/url]

Thanks.

[AndyB]

Pretty sad.  The top of page image is mis-proportioned; the html is awful (where are the html, head, title, and body tags - to name but a few?); having links that change size on mouseOver is distracting; and why do all those tables have borders??  Why is it all made with tables anyway?

[Carter7]

I liked, the look of the tables making it, althought, what do you suggest, this is my first rough layout design. :P And i was using Dream Weaver, what do you suggest to make the layout look better?

[Ninjakreborn]

I suggest stop using dreamweaver.  If you are using dreamweaver you have no business, in this business.  I am not that good at design, I admit that, I try my best, I can build layouts from scratch, but most of the time they look good to me and no-one else, so they suck.  90% of the time I use free templates, I am good at modifying those, if you have to use dreamweaver then don't use dreamweaver, learn XHTML/CSS, buy some templates rewrite teh code.  I found that when I started learning photoshop, and started making graphic layouts first it enhances your design skills 100 fold I have gotten a lot better with design from making mockup layouts in just photoshop, now I am redesigning my site yet once again.
As for this site.

1. Andy was right the top of the page looks horrible.
2. Andy is right again the html looks stupid, you didn't even fully code the page.
3. Andy is also right the on mouse over's are annoying, on mouse over's should be used to help the pages not detract from them, in this situation it detracts from them.
4.  Another thing I don't like the coloring, I like the color red, My favorite theme's are
dark, demonic, hellaciously even looking layouts, with LOTS of dark colors, but using red, with black text and a white background look almost blinding.
5. With the exception of the tabular data, you are very brave to use it, but I think if you mixed the look of the tables FOR TABULAR DATA ONLY, then that would look very good if you other colors were changed around DRASTICALLY.
6. The bottom part of your logo is cut off, it's pixelated and chopped all to hell.
7. The pictures at the top on the left hand corner, look like total and complete shit.  They can't be seen, they are in the wrong place, they are pixelated, and so small you couldn't make them out if you tried.
8. The copyright looks retarded, copy right is spelt wrong, it's suppose to be copyright.  Also you have the font there too big, and the link beside it, looks annoying, it goes from a bad site to a good site, I Will admit(I didn't look at it much) but on first appearance the other one didn't seem too bad.
My advice
1. Recode it
2. Recode the css
3. When you make that contact page put a form not an email(just a suggestion for when you build it
4. Learn xhtml
5. Learn CSS
6. Drop the tables, with such a simple layout, you could easily convert it from tables to css div/span tags
7.

[steviewdr]

businessman - I actually quite like using dreamweaver! the latest version does a good job with css.

Carter - you will have to get out of the habit of using tables. The are slower to load and require more maintainance.
The layout is good - the implementation needs work.
Keep the images to a higher quality - That top image could easily be done with 2 images and css using float properties.

If you do some looking - you will get some css layouts to suit.

-steve

[jcombs_31]

You can use dreamweaver and write all you code. There are two layouts, graphical and coder.  I use the code layout and really like dreamweaver 8. Sometimes I'll even use the graphic side to update a large table of data.