Wesbite for College

[Fusion101]

Here is a website i put together for college. The website is a little "flat" in terms of the images but because it was for college that is what my plan looked like so that is how the final site looks like. The website look best in FireFox because in other browser some of the alignments mess up.

Oh i did skin the forum too, took awhile as i never did it before :|

Some feedback would be good :)

Edit : Helps if I include a link :)

http://www.fusion-ice.info/CrazyImages/index.html

[Marcel T]

The look of the site might have changed over time but you could have achieved the same overall look with only a couple of <div>s and background/border CSS declarations.

[Merter]

Design isn't bad.

Couple things i might suggest to you, i assume that you are manually updating the HTML files for new news items, if this is the case, consider setting up a PHP news program (or writing yourself one), PHP News is a simple one which should get you started.

Also your image display when i thumb over is very annoying, blocks other images and doesnt look great, consider using Lightbox or something similar for your images, again quite simple to use.

And indeed you could have achieved the blue with orange border look using just CSS, no need for images (would load much faster)

Overall though (Y)

[CrispCreations]

Looks ok. Needs a link back to the home page from the forums though. You could also do with some grammar and spell check proof reading, as that always makes a site look bad, esp on the home page. Aside from that, as mentioned, style could have been much simplified with css instead of images. Otherwise (Y)

[Azured]

i like it, simple and to the point anyone who visited my sample site would notice the same, there are a bunch of tools you could use to enhance your site i could point them out if you like.

[Fusion101]

I could of used a number of different things but then it would not have been my own work.

To be honest i am not 100% happy with it but like I said earlier it matches the plans I did so I just kept to them for the sake of the coursework. At one point i did change the look of the site by using different images, may put them back in to show you guys. (If only I could remember where i put them...)

Thanks for all the feedback, might make another one soon :)

[Marcel T]

http://nz.neopages.org/help/crazyimages/

See how the layout images have been replaced with CSS. This is just stock standard CSS, nothing too tricky.

[Fusion101]

Yeah i knew it could be done with css but at the time as i used to make a template in PS and then slice it (which i know isnt the best way)i just went with the images as the backgrounds for the divs. Thanks for putting together an example page :)

I try and make another page soon which i hope will be better in terms loading, design and etc.

[duritz]

you could use Cutenews to set up your news section with php. look it up it is VERY easy. all you do is insert 3 lines of php into your main content box and woala, you have updated news. if you know css and html you can make your own template for the news. Cutenews has one of the easiest template creator built INSIDE the internt client.

[Fusion101]

thanks thats good to now for future projects!

I doubt i will change the one here as it was only for college, i will start on a new project soon :)

[MasterC]

Centered text = big no no. Makes it hard to read since both sides are ragged. Also, it messes up your bullets on the right.

[Nicholas-c Veteran]

doing a small website course myself i can say its basic that wins... i tried going too fancy and failed. good design and good luck :)

[Fusion101]

cheers, good luck with your course.

My website was part of a bigger course (BTEC National Diploma for IT Practitioners) and I got the highest grade I could get for the website stuff :)

[Fusion101]

Sorry couldnt edit previous post :|

I have made some changes to the website.

>> Added a new image gallery

>> Changed text aligned (thanks for the advice MasterC)

>> Changed the layout images

>> Fixed spelling (My spelling is really bad and I don't proof read, which I should)

New URL - http://www.fusion-ice.info/CrazyImagesv2/index.html

PS forum isn't linked or skin, it is just the main site!

[Popcorned1]

Using tables is a big no. Design is better. Tweak the line height and have some more contrast between the font and the background. Also, I am suprised you got the highest grade for that web site, then again Examiners in England don't have bloody clue when it comes to web design.

[+StevoFC MVC]

Using tables is a big no.

Why? If it looks right in all browsers then what is the problem?

[Popcorned1]

heh, I used to think exactly like you a while ago, but it's not the correct syntax for page layouts. The exactly same thing can be done with div tags and I can assure you, you will not run into any issues if you code properly. Using tables just because they work is a crap excuse for your lazy coding style.

[Rob Veteran]

Why? If it looks right in all browsers then what is the problem?

There are times when tables may be the only option in order to achieve a certain design. But the HTML specification contains elements that are designed for constructing layouts, and as such it's recommended that elements are used for their semantic purposes.

Ultimately the web is about communication, and if you communicate your message effectively then the way you code it is largely irrelevent. But for compatibility with screen-readers, ease-of-styling, accessibility etc. it's recommended that the standards are followed.

[Fusion101]

I am suprised you got the highest grade for that web site, then again Examiners in England don't have bloody clue when it comes to web design.

Because it was not just about the website, it was about planning, creating and other stuff which was all part of a report which built up to the final grade.

Why are tables so bad? if they do the job and are easy to do, what's the point in doing something else? yeah divs may help create a better design but at the end of the day it is up to the coder whether to use divs or table, to achieve the same result.

Other advice was helpful tho :)

[tom01]

Examiners in England don't have bloody clue when it comes to web design.

Correct, my level 2 course teacher didn't know sweet F.A when it came to html...So after 2 month I had enough...packed in using the Imacs at college and took my sh*t home and finished it all on Expression web.

I simply can not write CSS on a mac, I don't want to press more than one key to get the hash key.

[Echilon]

The colour scheme is... interesting. Not exactly what I'd chose, but the layout looks Ok.

The image widths in your gallery are invalidating your markup though.

[Fusion101]

yeah i kinda forgot to use the validate tools, will fix this later. Thanks for the heads up.

[ShMaunder]

I just completed a ND in computing. I had 2 units of web; web design and website managment. Both of these units i enjoyed. The website that i created for website managment is here (most of the links inside the site doesn't work). But the design would never get you anymore marks. It was the documentation that got you the marks!

Good luck on the rest of your course!

[Popcorned1]

But the design would never get you anymore marks.

Kinda defeats the purpose of "web design" :)

I just finished a course doing website management and agree. It's the documentation and written work that generates the marks. It's a shame because some people think they are web designers, when in fact their designs are horrid, I could name a few from my class.

At the end of the day, the certificates are nice to have, but if you have a nice portfolio you shouldn't be short of having any work in the future.

[p858snake]

In version two i personally would vertically center the text in the footer and in the welcome statement i would justify the text (although thats a personal thing with how i like text aligned).

Why? If it looks right in all browsers then what is the problem?

accessibility for visually impaired or blind people.....

[Fusion101]

@ShMaunder. First off hope your course was okay, I finished my course last week. are lecture ran both web design and web management together as some of the information is intertwined into both units. most the the work was based on documentation. Also you website had to work and match the plans which where put together at the start of the unit.

@Popcorned "At the end of the day, the certificates are nice to have, but if you have a nice portfolio you shouldn't be short of having any work in the future." Exactly

@peachey Website are normally where people go when they require a service, so if your website is accessible to all then you are increasing your chances of being the company/person who provides this service.