personal websites - what is important ?

[mountainman]

Hey everyone. I am starting to redesign the Jumpinduo.com website and am trying to figure out what is important before I jump into this.

The things I am thinking is being clean and easy to navigate. What other things are important when going through a site ? I'm sure things like page size (kb) and how it looks are good, but I don't know what types of features to try and include are.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks !

:)

[Paft]

NO FRAMES!!! I cannot stress how important that this simple fact is. The sheer numbers of people who still use browsers that don't support frames is scary when you think about it.

Other than that.. try to stay recent (HTML 4.1 or higher).. but don't go overboard with fancy features. JavaScript is a bad idea, way too many security holes.. and if you're going to go high-tech (Flash + whatnot) make sure to have a page that older browsers can view.

That's just my personal preference though.. take it or leave it as you will. :)

[mountainman]

Originally posted by Paft
NO FRAMES!!! I cannot stress how important that this simple fact is. The sheer numbers of people who still use browsers that don't support frames is scary when you think about it.

Other than that.. try to stay recent (HTML 4.1 or higher).. but don't go overboard with fancy features. JavaScript is a bad idea, way too many security holes.. and if you're going to go high-tech (Flash + whatnot) make sure to have a page that older browsers can view.

That's just my personal preference though.. take it or leave it as you will. :)

Thanks for the thoughts, Paft. :)

Frames = the devil. LOL I hate those things with a passion. Not only do they not always look right, they are annoying when you can't tell where you are and sometimes they don't even let you out of their site. :mad: :)

I use Studio MX for making it and try to stay away from Flash because I suck at it. If I get a little better, I may put something on the front page with it. Or perhaps a small graphic or whatnot. However, a poll that was done shows that well over 90% of users have Flash installed their system, so that shouldn't be much of a problem.

JavaScript may just be "add to favorites" and perhaps a pop-up window sizer (such as for photos and info to pop up in a certain sized window).

Thanks again for the input.

:)

[TonyT]

1. The # of browsers that do not support frames is less than 5% of all internet users. Frames are great for certain types of sites, such as help sites, download sites, database sittes etc etc., even corp. sites. Most web designers never really learned how to code frame sets properly thus have a diminished outlook about them. A frame set site if coded correctly will load pages faster than indivual page sites. Plus, a large menu need only be downloaded once. All 4.x browsers support frame sets and most 3.x browsers support frame sets. Anyone with less than a 3.x browser will never see your site anyway, or at least they won't be able to view your videos and major content.

2. The vast majority of browsers have javascript enabled. There is very little security risk with a javascript enabled browser IF you don't do stupid things like click on alerts and prompts without reading them first and IF you steer clear of not-so-reputable sites like warez sites and hacker sites. On the contrary, javascript is almost a necessity nowadays. The top popup menu at SG is DHTML, and requires javascript.

3. Personal sites are a bit different than business sites in that the site content is there for a select audience, e.g family and friends. Therefore, you are less bound to the 'standards" used at commercial sites. Experiment and show off your skills! The advantage is that you can change the design at any time without risking losing your audience. (a corp or biz site must retain it's look once uploaded else it would confuse viewers and should only be redesigned yearly at most, or in accordance with current www trends)

4. Get creative and play around. Keep a backup of the previous desiign 'just in case'.

5. Important points are: (not arranged by seniority)
a. page size.
b. graphics size.
c. intuitiveness (ease of navigation and use)
d. color scheme (aesthetics and readability)
e. proximity of objects (use of space between objects and layout)
f. uniformity (same bg color, menus, theme throughout)
g. very important: knowlefge of your audience's needs and wants - design accordingly. After all, the site is really for them, not just your own pleasures! Best to survey them and find out what THEY would like to see at your site.

[mountainman]

Thanks for all the info, Tony. I'll keep it all in mind while going. Sounds like I will just start from scratch and see what I can do. LOL

:)

Originally posted by TonyT
g. very important: knowlefge of your audience's needs and wants - design accordingly. After all, the site is really for them, not just your own pleasures! Best to survey them and find out what THEY would like to see at your site.

You guys ARE my audience. :D

[ub3r_n00b]

XHTML look into it, its the future for XHTML and is the way to go...
www.schillmania.com is XHTML compliant and it ROCKZORS JOR BOXZORS!

-Preet

[zooner]

Originally posted by ub3r_n00b
XHTML look into it, its the future for XHTML and is the way to go...
www.schillmania.com is XHTML compliant and it ROCKZORS JOR BOXZORS!

-Preet

holy smokes!

that page rocks. how long do you think it would take to setup a page like that, not including content?

[ub3r_n00b]

tiz my friends, scott schiller.. he spent about hmmmfff


im guessing 50+-70+ hours on that
His websites are really crazy, he is actually my idol

my best friends brother he be ...

my current work (xhtml) is for armstrong pellets
www.armstrongpellets.com

any comments = advised

-Preet

[Chris]

This is where its at, this guy is amazing (http://www.htmlguru.com/)