Hi, I've created this site entirely by myself. http://www.backyardproductions.org/ I didn't know any HTML when I made, so I just sorta learned as I went. It took me a while, but I think I'm pretty happy with the result. It's been up for a while, and I thought I would ask what other people think. Please leave suggestions/comments. [smile] Thanks, Levi

Quote:Original post by KimmoA
"This page is not Valid HTML 4.0 Transitional!"

What does that mean. : )

Can you not load the page at all?

What KimmoA is saying (in a rather rude way I might add) is that your html does not conform to w3's standards and recommendations.

Basically, if you try validating your site using this, then it will give you all the 'errors' in your markup much like when you compile some c++ source.

This is far from the end of the world, as your site loads and renders fine in both the browsers I have (firefox and ie only on this machine), but if you are interested in making your html valid (according to w3 standards) then you could consider making the necessary changes to the lines the w3 validator flags.

All that said and done, your site looks fine. The colour scheme is easy to read and the layout works well enough.

Keep it up [smile]
Regards,
ViLiO

Oh ok, I understand. That's actually really helpful to have a site like that where I can check for errors in my HTML.

Thanks for the feedback ViLiO

This probably belongs in the Web-Development forum. Can a moderator move it there please.
Levi

Hi,

I think it belongs here- Your announcing that your site is the best on the planet and if anybody says different they must die painfully (in a rude way).

Anyway it's a nice site and I like your blog.

Looks ok if you ask me, but the default link colors and default fonts and all won't make it stand out. It all feels too much like a quick Frontpage site, and with the ads the sidebars look cluttered.
You can do much more with the font tag and css. Read up on css, it's much easier to change your sites colors, fonts and other visual properties if you use it well.

About the sidebar, I'd take out the Google search, since almost everyone has it bookmarked already anyway and it only clutters your design. The same for the image links below it: their various sizes make them look odd. I'd say, make them more uniform to give the site a more solid look.

The menu is different on many pages, which makes it feel very inconsistent and makes navigating confusing. Try to keep each page consistent in terms of layout and mind your navigation system. For example, the tutorial doesn't even have that navigation menu, only a back link, while other pages miss the link to your blog and some refer to 'More about Me' while other pages use 'More about Us'.

As for screenshots, use thumbnails so people know what they're going to see. It's also important to show them something immediatly if your sites goal has something to do with visuals.

And about contact links, personally I hate it when it's a mailto link. It opens Outlook automatically here and that disturbs my browsing. I'd prefer a contact page on the site with ideally a form I can fill in and submit, or otherwise an email link or adress on that page.


All in all, good start, but there's many things to work on. Good luck. :)