I Can Take It - [insert cringe, here]

[LJK]

Hi -
Just kidding.
Think I'm getting better at this after 1.5 years of learning,
but it's always good to post for a reality check, don't you think?

A Room 4 Art - http://elsite.net

Thanks in advance,
El

[Sanim]

Nice website. No tables, just divs and CSS. :)

[Vladdy]

You sure you can take it???

Not a bad starting point, but there is room for improvement.

Text represented by images - bad for SEs and accessibility and a sign of a lasy developer who does not fully comprehend CSS and font scaling. On the front page you have "Website for art classes... " that has no reason to be an image - put it in a block that has your banner in the background. Same goes for menu items - leave text as text and have those images in the background. Going to student galeries your navigation is again represented by images of text - leave text as text, put image into background - there you will need just one image instead of four, improving download speed.

The headers with the lines in the background are next to impossible to read due to poor contrast - they are supposed to stand out.

Header tags are all over the place-you do not use <h3> unless you already have <h1> and <h2>

Guestbook page is missing DOCTYPE and valid markup. With audience in mind I was kind enough not to test for profanity filter...

There are no links back to the site from the guestbook page, same for the games pages. The quiz is very user unfriendly and lacks rudimentary error checking (not that I would expect any quality from the scripts picked from a garbage can known as javascriptsource.com)

Overall the site lacks consistent navigation

:D:D Change the version from 11 to 0.11 and keep plugging :D:D

[dragonfighter60]

On the guestbook, you need to move your boxes to the left.... i dont know about anyone elses view but my 17in monitor at 1280x1024 cuts off the boxes and the words on the right. The boxes dont close at all. There is more than enough room though on my screen to move it. Thats just mine though. thats all i can find wrong with it aside from the comment above

[pmhauer]

I'd have a site-specific header on all of your pages, including the games pages. Don't want to get lost on your site. Like to navigate without having to use the back button on my browser.

I'd also shorten the pages like the students' art page. You could save space by having a javascript scroll or fade-in images.

I also think that the header is a little large for what's likely your intended browser resolution size.

Hey, review mine... http://www.pmhauer.com

[LJK]

Hi -
It's great you took the time for feedback - much appreciated.

This site is re-made about every month since my students make a LOT of things...and each time I get to play with a new layout. I'll consider your tips in future versions.

Vladdy -
sign of a lasy developer who does not fully comprehend CSS and font scaling
Well, it could also be a desire for styled fonts - or speed.

scripts picked from a garbage can
It'd be great if your opinions had more to do with content or layout, but don't take that as a sign of encouragement. ;-) If this were a commercial site, I'd be more choosy about script quality.

Guestbook page is missing DOCTYPE and valid markup
Yes, sadly I am not confident enough with tweaking .cgi's - without breaking the script. Perhaps after my Flash Learning Cycle has run its course, I'll get back to it. At least I am notified via e-mail about new posts, so can omit them as needed.

Thanks again,
El

[p1hop]

I'm so amazed how fast you images appear ...

How did you do that?

However, you banner was very slow to appear.

It is obvious that you have a lot of passion for these kids at this school.

[LJK]

Hi -

p1hop:
If you meant the larger versions, it's using progressive .jpgs at about 80% quality. What sucks is that I use an old-school [school] camera - Sony Mavica 1 mgpx - so the quality is initially pretty bad. And what doubly sucks is that after 11 years of teaching, web design is fast becoming my *new passion...;-)

El