A photoshop "enriched" site

[Neczy]

Well I posted here (http://forums.webdeveloper.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=31673) and was told this forum is best for the question so i came here :D

Alright this is my current site. Now it is all in tables x_x which i am told isnt good..so i need some opinions of how i can improve it.

I have photoshop 7 if that gives me any more options.

My site is located

here (http://aw2-forum.tripod.com)

tell me what i should change, whats good, etc.

I take constructive critisism very well :)

[Sam]

#1 thing you need to do is change the font color. A black background with slightly less black text is just no good.

[Daniel T]

Originally posted by Neczy
#1 thing you need to do is change the font color. A black background with slightly less black text is just no good.
Yes, that is AWFUL!
Originally posted by Neczy
Now it is all in tables x_x which i am told isnt good..so i need some opinions of how i can improve it.
You kind of answered your own question there. Tables: :( CSS::D
-Dan

[Jona]

Hello Neczy,

The site design is decent enough to look at, but does need improving. First, I'd suggest a light gray text, instead of a dark one (as already mentioned); and your links would probably be better if they were white and turned blue on hover or something (just some ideas there). I'd suggest also using anti-aliasing on your graphics and logo as well, so that they are more readable and not so etchy like a dot matrix printer. :p

You also should redesign the site in CSS, as you may have guessed - it is not as hard as you might think. If you designed that site manually using tables, it's probably easier! If you need more help, just ask about it. You should be able to find some useful links in my personal blog link area (http://cmm.rgabbard.com/blogs/jona/links.php) (which is still heavily under construction, I might add, and uses no tables for layout). :)

Hope this helps,
[J]ona

[Heavy]

The fatal flaw of your site is in defining its purpose.

What is "Advance Wars 2?"

Are you assuming everyone who goes there knows what this game is? (I assume it's a type of game)

It is a natural problem many developers and even businesses fall into where they are so close to the subject, they over look how to introduce it to someone.

Also, I agree with everyone else here that -2 sized grey text and -2 sized blue-grey text on a black background is the worst thing you can do to the viewing public.

It wouldn't take much to improve the site by making some minor style changes. Think usability and it will work!

[Ben Rogers]

Yes... the site needs some redoing. I'd have the links white, with border: 0; text-decoration: none;, then :hover to border: inset 2px gray or something like that. Also, there's no need to use an image for the header of the content area. You could make it 1px wide, then using css, set it in the background, repeat it, and have the text as text on top of it. In addition that layout can very, very easily be rectreated in CSS, the navigation could just float: left and clear: left; with postion: relatives for spacing. Same with the content areas. As for the content areas, You might want to create more pages, rather than jamming everything in on the same one.

[Neczy]

thanks for the help y'all. Okay, now if i was to make a hovor color change in the menu area would i need to make each link a new table?

Also, there's no need to use an image for the header of the content area. You could make it 1px wide, then using css, set it in the background, repeat it, and have the text as text on top of it.

what does that mean? i am a little confused on that.

And that totally slipped my mind on the whole saying what it is thing ^_^''

thanks for your help.

Now i gotta figure what this CSS think is...i know its cascading style sheets :D

[Ben Rogers]

What I mean is the thing proclaming "My new site contact me" could be done by taking a 1px wide strip of the background, and making the img into a header with the text in it, then centering the text, and repeating the background.

[Jona]

Originally posted by Neczy
Now i gotta figure what this CSS think is...i know its cascading style sheets :D

Allow me...

http://www.w3schools.org/CSS/
http://www.w3.org/TR/CSS2/
See http://cmm.rgabbard.com/blogs/jona/links.php for more links...

[Ben Rogers]

A tad more human definition is thus: CSS is a faster loading, more reasonable, extensive, accesible (to the writer), and better overall choice for webmasters. It's very easy to learn, although maybe repetitive, and it will make things go much, much smoother in the long run.

But check out Jona's linkage, that;ll teach you how to actually do it.

[akadis]

i agree that u should go with css and for a good site to learn from i would start at w3schools (http://www.w3schools.com/css/default.asp)
(its also one of the links on Jona's site)