A problem with my service?

[smalljoshua]

I try my best but sometimes everyone misses something.

 

Josh

[berry120]

'For the Last 4 years' Referencing the first webiste I created for a Drama Group Here

 

'We' Refering to Me the Coder and My friend who Has helped me with the Colours and Graphics.

 

Josh

 

I wasn't disputing the facts, actually referring to the mis-spelling!

 

Edit: maybe someone younger than me can explain why teens these days seem to do the random Capital letter thing A lot in Stuff they write? Capitals should only be used for proper nouns and people or place names....

Sorry David, I've Got Absolutely No Idea.

[cfmonk]

As a web designer myself and a coder I would perhaps suggest that you have got a little caught up in the technical side of things and forgotten what your website is intended to be doing.

 

A web site is there to sell you and your product. If this means showing off your technical skills then I suggest creating a sub website which has all the wizzy bits on it.

 

Get hold of a copy of Frontpage and give up on hand coding for now (even top web design and coding companies rarely bother with hand coding these days).

 

I might also suggest seperating your events and your other Multimedia business areas onto two different websites.

 

Chris

[PYROmaster]

hey guys,

just got back and finished reading your comments, they are very helpful, I will start working on the site to improve as you have suggested when I have some free time, which should be next week hopefully

 

Josh, is there an easy way of learning PHP and SSI and all of that other complicated dynamic stuff, it just goes over my head, thats why the site is a simple basic HTML

 

thanks again guys, if you have any more comments I will gladly take them on board and improve

 

EDIT: oh and someone mentioned the logo not fitting in with the rest of the colour scheme?? what do you propose?

[berry120]

oh and someone mentioned the logo not fitting in with the rest of the colour scheme?? what do you propose?

I honestly couldn't tell you what exactly to change it to, but perhaps something a bit more light / warm? Additionally, it might just be me, but after seeing a lot of "black background white text" websites from youngsters trying to make a website look better, it doesn't strike me initially as the most professional of choices. I'm not saying you're not professional, just that personally I'm not the biggest fan of the white on black thing. Not sure if anyone else can agree / disagree?

 

There's no easy way of learning PHP - it's really just like anything else, you've gotta sit down and work at it. That said, some guides are better than others. I suspect there's lots of good ones floating around online, there used to be some good links at beginnerscode.com but I think that site's down at the moment. It's the same with learning any computer language though, the best way to learn is practice, and you've gotta work at it gradually - it'll take a while from first really trying to learn it to actually being able to build a website. I'm a java person rather than PHP so I can't really point you to anything specific, but I'm pretty sure those general principles will still apply.

[nickb12345]

Let’s not take this too far off topic and away from the theatre aspect but with regards to the learning of PHP then Google is your friend! The best way I found was to search for what you actually want the script to do but include key words like PHP SCRIPT CODE etc. Then copy & paste but also put words you don’t understand (functions etc) into the PHP manual on php.net and read about it. Then you will know what that function does for future use!

 

I would read up on the basics first, structured English and all that... if or and then equals blah blah blah.

 

That’s my two pence!

 

Nick

[cfmonk]

Also ask yourself why you are wanting to learn PHP! You don't need it for most websites! Only for dynamic stuff.

 

When I first learned ASP I made everything dyamic. Now I have gone back and only have tiny little bits of dynamicism on sites unless they are completely based around user management systems etc.

[berry120]

A bit more back on topic to the OP's website - one thing about the paying invoices section. It's a neat idea to have a link to it on the site, it makes it easy and I think it's a good idea.

 

BUT I really wouldn't nest it in a frame, I'd open the paypal website in a seperate window. From a security aspect it's much easier to check that that's the actual paypal site if it's in the seperate window, that it's secure over SSL and valid etc. When it comes to payment and I've clicked a link that's opened a site such as paypal or something similar, I often like typing the address in the website bar myself just to double check that everything's ok.

 

Besides that, personally I think it's just more professional / easier that way.

[smalljoshua]

As a web designer myself and a coder I would perhaps suggest that you have got a little caught up in the technical side of things and forgotten what your website is intended to be doing.

I may have done just that.

 

 

A web site is there to sell you and your product. If this means showing off your technical skills then I suggest creating a sub website which has all the wizzy bits on it.

I don't like this idea so much.

 

 

Get hold of a copy of Frontpage and give up on hand coding for now (even top web design and coding companies rarely bother with hand coding these days).

I have to say I hate Frontpage, even if I didn't find it counter Intuitive and slow, It doesn't support any form of PHP and also forces proprietary Microsoft code into your site.

 

 

I might also suggest seperating your events and your other Multimedia business areas onto two different websites.

If you're suggesting putting the two tab groups as different sites I will try that.

 

 

Josh, is there an easy way of learning PHP and SSI and all of that other complicated dynamic stuff, it just goes over my head, thats why the site is a simple basic HTML

I learnt a lot of what I know from both computer shopper magazines and http://www.w3schools.com/PHP/default.asp

 

Also PM sent.

 

Josh

[karl]

Josh, is there an easy way of learning PHP and SSI and all of that other complicated dynamic stuff, it just goes over my head, thats why the site is a simple basic HTML

 

There's nothing wrong with using straight forward HTML. In fact often people get carried away with fancy tricks and over look the important stuff like clear concise language, good grammar and correct spelling.

 

If you're promoting a business the important thing is to tell people what you have to offer and give the impression that you have the knowledge and resources to back that offer up. Few people are going to take a chance on using a business just because the website looks flashy (unless they're looking for a business to build them a flashy site of course :) )

 

I would suggest you look at some sites belonging to reputable, successful businesses and take note of how they present themselves. Don't rip off their style of course but just look at how they word things and lay stuff out.

 

With regard to the logo it is an impressive piece of art work but most logos are simple, easily recognised symbols that are easy to reproduce in various forms (letter heads, signs, tee shirts, banners, etc.) Again, have a look at what other people are using.

 

Having said all that I'll just contradict myself by saying don't get too hung up on producing a corporate style site, there's always room for a little individuality to make you stand out from the crowd. Just don't forget the important stuff as well!

 

And good luck with the business.

 

Edited to correct their to they're - I can't believe I did that, it drives me mad when people mix up their, there and they're!

 

Edited again to fix a punctuation mistake in the note about the first edit!!

 

Edited a third time to remove a superfluous word - I'm really not having a good day today!!!

[berry120]

I have to say I hate Frontpage, even if I didn't find it counter Intuitive and slow, It doesn't support any form of PHP and also forces proprietary Microsoft code into your site.

I'd have to agree with you there, I'm not frontpage's biggest fan by any stretch. I'd point you in Dreamweaver's direction instead - it's much more professional and much more widely used.

 

I wouldn't say give up on hand coding entirely though. It's a useful skill to have. Personally I'd use a template from somewhere such as Dreamweaver to get things started, and then from there on I'd probably do things manually. Since you've already got things up and running manually and you're just looking to make some improvements, I'd suggest using templates and existing sites as ideas, and modifying your site to fix some problems people have outlined here and perhaps finding ideas you like better, then using them.

 

It might seem like a lot of work and trial and error, but IMO if your site looks a bit unprofessional or a bit dodgy to someone, that's what can offten turn them away.

 

Just my 2p.

[smalljoshua]

I am saving for Dreamweaver CS3 Education but can't afford it at the moment.

 

I love the software and have used Version 7 and 8 before and found it very easy and intuative but becuase by default it uses tables for layout and encourages bad practaces that would mean the site wouldn't be XHTML or CSS or anything else compliant.

 

I like my sites layout becuase it is different and also the same for the background.

 

Josh

[Andrew C]

Proof Reading.

 

Cover the whole page, slowly reveal a word at a time, starting at the bottom. This way you don't read the word you expect, but the one you have written!

[AndyJones]

Proof Reading.

 

Cover the whole page, slowly reveal a word at a time, starting at the bottom. This way you don't read the word you expect, but the one you have written!

 

That really is brilliant advice! I'm off to proof my own site...

[berry120]

Proof Reading.

 

Cover the whole page, slowly reveal a word at a time, starting at the bottom. This way you don't read the word you expect, but the one you have written!

 

That's a really neat idea! Usually when I'm proof reading things that are important (such as websites) I'll have a look through it to correct anything I think's obvious, then get someone else to read through it as well. That's usually my method of getting round the "reading what you expect to read" problem, and also gives you a second opinion on what might be a better choice of grammar / wording :)