|
26 Aug 01 - 12:52 PM (#535545) Subject: maryrrf's Website From: Maryrrf I always enjoy seeing other Catters' websites, pictures, etc. so I thought I'd mention mine. Suggestions/constructive criticism always appreciated ! Sorry about those annoying banners but hey - it's free! Here's the address in case the clickey doesn't work: http://www.maryfsmith.freeservers.com |
|
26 Aug 01 - 02:57 PM (#535623) Subject: RE: maryrrf's Website From: GUEST,mudcatter Your site is OK, not great but a lot better than some of the 'efforts' I've seen here. A (hopefully) constructive criticism: If you really want a good web site, learn some html, read some stuff on web design, and be prepared to pay a (very few) dollars. Your site (as it stands) makes a few fundamental errors,the worst of which is that it's only 1024 x 768+ compatible If you're interested in learning more PM me (I'm only a temporary guest)
|
|
26 Aug 01 - 03:33 PM (#535652) Subject: RE: maryrrf's Website From: GUEST Mary, your site looks nice on MSIE, but just doesn't work on Netscape (my preferred browser). So it looks like you need to do some fixing. But keep up the good work. Cheers, S. in Seattle |
|
26 Aug 01 - 07:22 PM (#535759) Subject: RE: maryrrf's Website From: Jon Freeman I think the basic design looks quite nice but I've been having all sorts of problems with the site, e.g. my IE 5 (which is tempramental anyway) crashed a couple of times and reported some script error at some point. I switched to Netscape 4.74 and the first page I tried (I think "about me" first kept re-loading the same bit and on the second attempt gave me 404 file not found errors - something to do with style sheets I think. I notice there is a lot of JavaScript there and think it could be another case of needing to let simplicity rule, at least if you want to make your site compatible for more users. The resolution issue raised by mudcatter is another one on these lines. Jon |
|
26 Aug 01 - 07:56 PM (#535773) Subject: RE: maryrrf's Website From: katlaughing Mary, I don't know about some of the tech things the others have mentioned, but I think it looks pretty good. I did have to scroll sideways to see all of the righthand side, as it didn't fit in my browser IE5, but I didn't have any other problems with it. There's always more you can do, once you get started with a site. It's great that you've started and thanks for sharing it with us. kat |
|
26 Aug 01 - 08:07 PM (#535779) Subject: RE: maryrrf's Website From: GUEST,Mudcatter Kat, You're a lovely kind person, and I can but smile Sorry, but as someone involved in web design, 'horizontal scrolling' is (beyond cross browser incompatability) the ultimate sin Don't mean to sound patronising - hope I didn't As I said in my first message, there is NO substitute to learning a bit of HTML, and, particularly, understanding tables. Anyone who thinks, 'who cares, it's free' will by definition have a shite web page Sorry, but it's true |
|
26 Aug 01 - 08:21 PM (#535784) Subject: RE: maryrrf's Website From: Jon Freeman kat (and Mary), you may like to read Dick Gaughan's rant. Jon |
|
26 Aug 01 - 08:28 PM (#535790) Subject: RE: maryrrf's Website From: GUEST,brakn I enjoyed it Mary. |
|
26 Aug 01 - 10:04 PM (#535837) Subject: RE: maryrrf's Website From: Maryrrf Oops, Oh well. Had to get one (a website) for a couple of reasons so I got an acquaintance to do it for me. Sorry folks had trouble loading it. He tried to get some sound samples on it but they didn't work right. However, if you click on the pictures of the CD's it will take you to the pages on CD Baby, where you can hear sound samples and see some notes on the songs. I ended up with CD's on CD Baby because I have a performance coming up at Borders Books. They don't pay you anymore but they will sell your CD's at your performances - the catch was I needed a bar code. CD Baby will provide one quick for $20.00 per CD. I didn't figure the web page would be perfect but that it would be at least enough to provide an introduction of sorts. I'll try to improve on it as time goes by. |
|
26 Aug 01 - 10:25 PM (#535848) Subject: RE: maryrrf's Website From: katlaughing "Well, thank ye for trying to save me from my sins, but I think Mary was just posting a nice `hey guess what, take a look' and not asking for a complete techie treatise," she said with a smile. Of coourse, I could be wrong.:-) I do know a bit of html, didn't know the technical term for what I was trying to describe. I also don't think her site looks like shite, no matter how sorry you might be for saying freebies are going to look that way. No offense to Dick, but I hardly read anyone's rant that is that long! Mary, there are things I would change, but for a first effort, I think it looks good. kat
|
|
26 Aug 01 - 10:39 PM (#535855) Subject: RE: maryrrf's Website From: Justa Picker Ah...but has anyone clicked on the CD links and listened to this lady??? Lovely voice! |
|
26 Aug 01 - 10:39 PM (#535856) Subject: RE: maryrrf's Website From: Jon Freeman kat, let me try plainer English. The site crashed IE 5 twice on me and I couldn't veiw much with Netscape without getting errors. Most if not all the other "tech" comments are basically intended constructively (least I think so). Lets suppose 10% of Mary's target audience have my problems and give up and another 10% get pissed off as they have to scroll horizontally (bear in mind, a friend is likely to be more tolerant than a stranger when it comes to visit a site), that's a 20% loss to start off with. These things may sound petty but hopefully are of importance to the site designer (especially where constructive criticism has been asked for). Jon |
|
26 Aug 01 - 10:40 PM (#535858) Subject: RE: maryrrf's Website From: Jon Freeman Good point JP - I gave up before getting that far because of my problems. Jon |
|
26 Aug 01 - 10:46 PM (#535865) Subject: RE: maryrrf's Website From: Justa Picker Mary, Wee suggestion. Speak to the person who designed the website for you, and ask him to create a table approximately 55-60% of the width of the screen (centered) and place all pertinent text and graphics within the table...and repeat for each page. Then, regardless of what size monitor is used to view the page, the alignment will be correct, and everything will be centered, and the need to scroll horizontally would be eliminated. Have him download a copy of Netscape, Opera and IE Explorer, and view the completed web pages through each browser just to ensure consistency. |
|
26 Aug 01 - 10:51 PM (#535870) Subject: RE: maryrrf's Website From: Jon Freeman Hey JP, thanks! Just went back and got inot the songs - listening to "Hill's of Donegal" - lovely Mary. Jon |
|
27 Aug 01 - 09:22 AM (#536034) Subject: RE: maryrrf's Website From: GUEST Good thing I posted this because I had no idea it wasn't working for some browsers. I will speak to the guy that did it. He is just starting at this kind of thing, too so he may or may not be able to fix it. As for me learning HTML or stuff like that - I don't think that will happen - it may be beyond my capabilities at this point so I'll have to depend on others in that department! |
|
27 Aug 01 - 09:23 AM (#536036) Subject: RE: maryrrf's Website From: GUEST,maryrrf (cookie's gone!) That last guest was me at work - something happened to the cookie! |
|
27 Aug 01 - 02:35 PM (#536196) Subject: RE: maryrrf's Website From: Nynia Seems like ages since I agreed with Jon (sorry mate). Mary, I am having the same problem Jon detailed, the page just keeps reloading for me (Netscape). Unfortunately it won't allow me to follow the link to your recordings (or any other link). This is a shame as the website looks quite attractive artistically, I'd really have like to have a look around and hear your music. I know how dissapointing this must be for you right now but don't give up. If, as I presume, the webpage is to promote yourself and your music it is imperative to get the site working properly though. With so much on the internet these days surfers are becoming far more choosey. For instance a report I was reading the other day said that viewers will not wait any longer than 15 seconds (on average) for a web page to open unless its a pornographic site. As more and more individuals and organisations use your website as an introduction to you and your work, and, bearing in mind, that they may be viewing many other peoples sites, first impressions are going to be vital. Having authored a couple of websites I know how exciting it is when you get them up and running. Don't give up or even get down about this. You've got some friends here who found a few gremlins now at the start rather than letting you think that all was ok only to find out the worst later (when it may have cost you how many bookings). I look forward to seeing your site up and running properly in the near future. All the best, Nynia. :-) -) ) |
|
27 Aug 01 - 10:31 PM (#536514) Subject: RE: maryrrf's Website From: Maryrrf Yes, it appears that something is very wrong if that many people can't view it properly with their browsers - the main culprit seems to be netscape. If I may prevail upon the techies (they can pm me if they don't want to take up mudcat space) how would one go about fixing this? The guy who did it doesn't have much experience but he was thrilled to do my website. I think he may not be able to solve the problem unless he has some pointers. He was not able to resolve the fact that originally he had set it up with clickable songs to listen to - but they didn't work for most people (they did work on his computer, however). That's why I suggested he just link up to CD Baby where the song files play properly. I know I could go to somebody else but I'd rather give him a chance to fix it. Thanks! |
|
27 Aug 01 - 11:07 PM (#536533) Subject: RE: maryrrf's Website From: Jon Freeman Mary, the whole thing seems erratic and I eventually got some things to load on Netscape but the thing again came to a grinding halt. I noticed that during some of the process, it tries to connect to m.doubleclick.net and I noticed another site, I think adverts. I've had other pop up windows on IE, etc. This time round, IE hasn't crashed on me... I know this seems an unlikely one but is there any chance of you trying to host the site elsewhere, maybe on Tripod for example? Jon |
|
28 Aug 01 - 09:34 AM (#536693) Subject: RE: maryrrf's Website From: Maryrrf Yes, that might be it. I think there are too many adverts. I thought there would just be a banner, but there are those pop up ads that I think are jamming things up. That may be the solution - to get it hosted elsewhere. Anyway, thanks for the feedback. |
|
31 Aug 01 - 06:46 PM (#539326) Subject: RE: maryrrf's Website From: Nynia Mary, you could try "topcities" there is only one very unobtrusive banner per page. It's free and gives 150MB of webspace. If you want to see what their service is like try looking at http://seanachaidh.topcities.com (no wwww). I have found them to be very reliable. All the best Nynia. |
|
01 Sep 01 - 05:55 PM (#539839) Subject: RE: maryrrf's Website From: Maryrrf Definitely have to investigate other alternatives and I think I'll consider paying something to have it hosted for me. I think the obtrusiveness of advertising has become a problem all over the net - I've started noticing it a lot. Especially those ads for the tiny spy cameras! Thanks to all for the advice. |
|
01 Sep 01 - 05:57 PM (#539840) Subject: RE: maryrrf's Website From: Justa Picker Mary, If you end up hosting it on a server that supports Frontpage extensions (as in using the MS Frontpage program) I'd be happy to help you re-design and rework the web site. (PM me, if you're interested.) |
|
02 Sep 01 - 10:11 AM (#540152) Subject: RE: maryrrf's Website From: Roger in Sheffield It looked OK to me 'til I clicked a link and it crashed (IE5.5), so far everytime I tried it does that. Wish me luck I am going to have another go |