Poor Webmaster Personal Sites

[Norman L. DeForest]

On Sun, 20 Mar 2005, Stephen Horrillo wrote:

[snip]

[...] Being that Microsoft is the standard, why not mimic
the XP colors and style Microsoft uses? [...] [snip]
BTW I'm also a hypnotherapist so I know from experience people are
predominantly visual and known to respond well to the XP choice of colors.
MS sites seem to invoke a sense of relaxation and trust. Not that I do trust
MS, but their sites give me that sort of feeling.

What? XP only allows one choice of colours?

On Windows 98 I can go to "Start" > "Settings" > "Control Panel" >
"Display" > "Appearance" and change the colours of almost *everything*
on the screen. For a while I had to because I had such a dim monitor that
nothing was visible or readable without bright colours. When I got my new
(for me, it was second hand) monitor about three weeks ago I nearly had to
wear sunglasses to look at my screen. Now I no longer have to lighten
images with an image editor to see them.

Or do you mean that 99% of the users never figure out how to change the
default settings?

Norman "who uses Lynx most of the time" De Forest

 

[scorpion53061]

It is true it is that large but there is a javascript on teh page that is
loading images (the slideshow) on the fly - not all at once.

In your opinion, how can I do this differetnly and maintain the feel of the
site?

 

[Norman L. DeForest]

Don't I get a chance to sleep? Sheesh!

sleep n. -- a slightly inadequate substitute for caffeine.

Links to sources of Nomex (tm) underwear can be found here:
http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/~af380/Antispam.html#NOMEXU

 

[Saint Firk]

There's something that's been bothering me and I hope it's not taken the
wrong way. Why is it that the Web Designers on these groups have such
amateurish personal (and professional) websites. They sound so knowledgeable
in what they say but most sites look like a 10 year old designed them. Is it
because they're working so hard on other people's sites they neglect their
own? Sort of like the gourmet chef that eats TV dinner when he gets home
from work. I've known some maids and house cleaners whose home's were as
dirty as can be. Is it that sort of syndrome of are these people just full
of it?

i dont have one as such. i prefer word of mouth and i hate the phrase 'networking'.

"cobbler's bairns are worst shod"

--
liquidcat dot net
_
0
\|/
/ \

 

[Steve Easton]

programming on the backend? I'll take that bet any day.
FP could do the programming on the backend - ASP, PHP, PERL. But, if you are
talking about Database creation and management, Compiled binary Services
(dlls), used by the web app and other such periphery, then *NO* program can,
or should, beable to do that.

Visual Studio .NET can.!!

You can also write scripts with FrontPage using the VBsript or javascript editors.

;-)

--
Steve Easton
Microsoft MVP FrontPage
95isalive
This site is best viewed............
........................with a computer

 

[Beauregard T. Shagnasty]

It is true it is that large but there is a javascript on teh page
that is loading images (the slideshow) on the fly - not all at
once.

But they still are all downloaded. The slide show wasn't the problem.
Without js, a visitor still gets to see them. There are hundreds of
lines of JavaScript on the page, for that slideshow.

In your opinion, how can I do this differetnly and maintain the
feel of the site?

Get rid of the JavaScript-only menu - use regular HTML links - and
make that massive music download a link (with size of file noted) so
that a visitor has a choice.

Your band images are a bit large, and could be optimized into files
probably half the current size, too.

 

[Bob Lehmann]

Steve,

I'm on your side but, Visual Studio only connects to some of the
applications doing the heavy lifting - SQL Server.

John is still an idiot, though, suggesting that a single program can do it
all.

Bob Lehmann

 

[Bob Lehmann]

Come on. You replied to what I said, and I was talking about coding.
Yes, but I didn't modify or qualify anything you said.

I've been a techie for a long time,

blah, blah, blah... And I've been sitting down to poop since I was 1 year
old.

Now please explain how any single program can recreate amazon.com without
doing any backend programming. I mean, the inference you created when you
said FP couldn't do it, was that there was some magical tool that could.

Bob Lehmann

 

[Bob Lehmann]

John is still an idiot
Whoops! I , meant Steve (Sobol). John's the dumbass in asp.general.

Bob Lehmann

 

[Murray]

There are those who would say you are still off - javacsript is not
programming it's scripting. C++ is a program. JS is just a scripting
language, as is the ActionScript in Flash.

 

[William Tasso]

blah, blah, blah... And I've been sitting down to poop since I was 1 year
old.

thank you for sharing that image

time for this again: http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?GhostOfUsenetPostingsPast

 

[Bob Lehmann]

Yeah, like I'm really worried about missing a job opportunity working for
someone who would take a sentence out of context and/or support a dumbass
like Steve Sobol's position.

That's the problem with you altards - You can't even get that the jist of
the statement was that Steve's blah, blah I have x years experience blah,
blah, blah is about as relevant to his stupid amazon.com remark - which he
has still not defended - as my bathroom skills claim is.

thank you for sharing that image

You're welcome. Perhaps, someday, you and your alt.* buddies may also be
able to master those fundamental life skills.

Bob Lehmann

 

[Stephen Horrillo]

What an ignorant thing for you to say.

Yes, everyone should mimic Microsoft.

*thwap*

Why not tell us which sites you have a problem with, Bunky?

I would comment on your site but I can't see it. I block flash.

--
Warmest regards,

Stephen Horrillo, Realtor / C.Ht.
For MLS & Computer Training: http://www.BrokerAgentTraining.com
Realtors Earn Over 100% at EXIT: http://www.over100percent.com

 

[Stephen Horrillo]

I'd offer to give you some advice, but I don't believe
you'll take it because you think we all suck.

My portfolio isn't online at stevesobol.com right now because I'm
revamping my
personal website, but perhaps you could look at a couple sites I've
designed:

http://www.spiritualcare.org/ (one of my all time favorites)

http://www.justthe.net/ (It's ok, needs to be reworked, but I think it
looks
pretty good)

The only major thing about these sites is that they probably won't pass a
HTML
validator test, but I've gotten more anal about stuff like that on the
projects
I'm currently doing.

Never said you all sucked. Just your home pages. I like spiritualcare.org.
Flash on the other hand looks impressive but I wonder how many are blocking
it being that most adverts are now in Flash.

--
Warmest regards,

Stephen Horrillo, Realtor / C.Ht.
For MLS & Computer Training: http://www.BrokerAgentTraining.com
Realtors Earn Over 100% at EXIT: http://www.over100percent.com

 

[Tim Chmielewski]

There's something that's been bothering me and I hope it's not taken
the wrong way. Why is it that the Web Designers on these groups have
such amateurish personal (and professional) websites. They sound so
knowledgeable in what they say but most sites look like a 10 year old
designed them. Is it because they're working so hard on other people's
sites they neglect their own?

Some people who design/maintain websites for a living want to make a site
where the aim is not to sell anything at all and will deliberately do
things that will prevent that such as not updating the layout for years.

Others just get annoyed that the people who always seem to give advice
never produce anything themselves.

Thanks.

 

[Stephen Horrillo]

So.. check out the sites I gave you, tell me what you think... am I worth
hiring? (Be brutal. I can handle it)

There's nothing about the Church site that turns me off, but there was
nothing that compelled me to read on either. But I guess that's more the
fault of the one who provided the content. I'm a sucker for blue so I liked
the look however.

--
Warmest regards,

Stephen Horrillo, Realtor / C.Ht.
For MLS & Computer Training: http://www.BrokerAgentTraining.com
Realtors Earn Over 100% at EXIT: http://www.over100percent.com

 

[Toby Inkster]

[http://www.brokeragenttraining.com/CMS]
er, FF reports it at 40kb, where do you get 260kb?

Smaller now. The design seems to have been changed overnight.

 

[Fat Sam]

Hmm... would that purpose be banner ads, pop-unders and pop-ups then?

The free sharing and spreading of information....Much as I loathe popup
adverts, I understand that Matt has bills to pay and a family to feed,
just like the rest of us, and as such, he's just trying to earn a living....

 

[Fat Sam]

To survive a nuclear Holocaust?

That was one of the design criteria when the original model was thought
up, but it was a criteria put in place to protect the primary goal which
was the rapid exchange of information....Of course, when it became
de-militarised, that exchange of information changed to represent the
free sharing of information and knowledge....

 

[Charles Sweeney]

Matt Probert wrote

The adverts pay for the site. It's a business. People don't want
ad-free information they pay for directly through subscriptions, they
would rather have free information with adverts - like commercial
television versus the license fee debate here in the UK.

With more people blocking pop-ups and banners, have you noticed a downturn
in advertising revenue?

Does your advertising supplier, supply text ads? Might be the way to go
for them.