First Website - C&C Needed!

[Becca]

I just published my first website and I could really use some feedback. I'm very new to web design and publishing so I can use all the help I can get. Thanks!

https://home.comcast.net/~beccawilliamson/

[Woolburr]

Very nice...simple, yet effective layout. Easy to navigate...loads very quickly....Looks very good.

[Becca]

Thanks, Dan! That's exactly what I was going for... simple and easy! Mostly because I don't know enough HTML to do much more than that! :)

[condyk]

Using mailto: addresses will guarantee you lots and lots of spam. Better to have a contact form ;-)

[Becca]

Thanks, Dave! I thought of that. I found a site that encodes email addresses to put in the HTML so that any bot that scans HTML for email addresses wouldn't find one on my site. Or doesn't that work? ???

[Woolburr]

For my site, the contact information is a .jpg of my business card...no spam problems from that.

[condyk]

For my site, the contact information is a .jpg of my business card...no spam problems from that.

Also makes it harder for people to contact you ... and online one click can make the difference!

[Becca]

For my site, the contact information is a .jpg of my business card...no spam problems from that.

Now I just need to get a business card! :confused:

[Woolburr]

Also makes it harder for people to contact you ... and online one click can make the difference!

Like everything...we sometimes end up just making due with the best compromise. I actually can be contacted via one click...if a person takes the time to read the directions. Which leads to the grand question....does anyone even read directions on a site?

Now I just need to get a business card!

A few minutes with MS Publisher or similar can give you a basic card in no time at all.

[stoneylonesome]

Looks great. Like others have said easy to navigate and loads quickly.

[Becca]

Thanks Sandy!

[gdl357]

Now I just need to get a business card! :confused:

go to www.vistaprint.com (http://www.vistaprint.com).

You can even get 250 free cards. I dealt with them many times.

.ca for canadian site

[Bob_A]

Thanks, Dave! I thought of that. I found a site that encodes email addresses to put in the HTML so that any bot that scans HTML for email addresses wouldn't find one on my site. Or doesn't that work? ???

I don't believe that these work particularly well. I use a free product called FormM@iler . You'll still get spam, but not as much as with other methods.

http://www.dbmasters.net/index.php?id=17

[Bob_A]

By the way, I like the site because it's simple and to the point :) One thing though, you will need to enter some metadata and some relevent text if you eventually want people to find you via a search engine.

[asysin2leads]

I especially like the picture on your homepage. My only suggestion would be to get rid of the top frame. Other than that, very nice.

[mhardy]

being a designer I loathe frames, a simple 2 class CSS layout and it would be great, other than the frames I like it.

[Becca]

Thanks everyone for the feedback!

One question... why the problem with the top frame? I thought it made navigation easier with all the links on the top (definately made it easier for me not having to put the links on every page!) I know nothing about web design, so I'm interested from a learning standpoint.

And... I forgot that I put my email address on every subject page. I will remove that and just leave the contact me on the home page.

[Ferrari 1]

I like everything about your website. It is super easy to navigate, and the images are just awesome! I have very little patience with sites that are cumbersome to navigate. I usually get frustrated and click out after about 10 seconds. Yours is awesome. Really nice job!

[KoiBoy]

i like your site, as a web/graphic designer.. i would recommend either to remove the frame or have the frame boarder set to "0+ (zero), this would give a nice clean look with the frames but without showning the frame.

if your work becomes in demand by others, i would recommend making the main page, with a short description of your passion or work, plus a small/medium sample picture of your best work, this is if only your heading towards that direction.

but if this is just your own personal website for friends and family this will be good, but like it more if frames are hidden but still there. i think a white background looks much better, but once they click on your thumbnails, it can open a new pop-up window with a black background.

here is a sample of what i mean, but do keep up the good work! ;)

http://img53.imageshack.us/img53/1985/test001lk0.jpg

[Becca]

Thanks Ferrari and KoiBoy for the feedback.

Koiboy, I like what you did with the main page. Thanks for the tip about the frame border. I'll take some time to revamp it when I have a free afternoon. :) I really appreciate it.

[rraman]

You have a very good collection of photographs! I liked the navigation, the only thing I would like to suggest is to add next/previous button on the top right of the page as well. If I use it on a smaller screen (like laptop), I always need to scroll down a bit to find the next button.

[kpiela]

Great site Becca! Hope all is well and you're staying warm... loved those ice shots :)

[Becca]

Thanks Raman!

Great site Becca! Hope all is well and you're staying warm... loved those ice shots :)

Thanks Kristine! Doing well here, hope you and your family are the same. :)

[Chris]

I like the home page very much. It was interesting and comfortable to view. It made me want to click around and it was very easy to find things. Great job!

[ctribble]

What about a "about me page" or a "equipment page"

[joegolf68]

At the top, the words Home, Family, Still, etc are all cut in half and I can't see the lower portion.

[Elizabeth44]

Maybe this is common knowledge, but I was getting tired of having tons of emails, all from spammers. I finally tracked down a tip my professor gave me when I took my web design course. To stop email harvesters their are ways of
"munging" or cloaking your email address.
For the colon after mailto use : and for the @ symbol use @ and for the period use .
It will still display the same and is still clickable but email harvesters will ignore it.
I've just installed it so I cannot say how effective it is yet.

[Becca]

I like the home page very much. It was interesting and comfortable to view. It made me want to click around and it was very easy to find things. Great job!

Thanks! I appreciate the feedback!

What about a "about me page" or a "equipment page"

I have been meaning to do that, but I have no idea what to write. I'll have to visit some other sites and see if I can get some ideas. Thanks!

At the top, the words Home, Family, Still, etc are all cut in half and I can't see the lower portion.

Hmmm... I wonder if it's a screen resolution thing or something. Looks fine on both of my monitors. I'll have to test it with some different settings. Thanks for the heads up!

Maybe this is common knowledge, but I was getting tired of having tons of emails, all from spammers. I finally tracked down a tip my professor gave me when I took my web design course. To stop email harvesters their are ways of
"munging" or cloaking your email address.
For the colon after mailto use : and for the @ symbol use @ and for the period use .
It will still display the same and is still clickable but email harvesters will ignore it.
I've just installed it so I cannot say how effective it is yet.

I think the codes you entered got converted, but I get what you're saying. I'll do some more research. Thanks!

[Elizabeth44]

LOL! I just noticed...
I'll try to word it differently.
For the colon after mailto use & - # - 58 - ; ( without the dashes)
For the @ symbol use & - # - 64 - ;
For the period use & - # - 46 - ;

Lets see if that makes sense now.:oops:

[Elizabeth44]

Okay, that posted correctly. I'll let you know if it's successful in stopping the 20 to 30 spam mails that I get a day. Even with a spam folder, it's really annoying. I still have to read through them because I've had emails that are legitimate go to my spam. :evil:
I wonder if it's too late. I mean once they harvest it, they have the address on record I suppose. Maybe it will just keep new harvesters at bay.

[joegolf68]

As for the words being cut off on my monitor, I don't know why. A very few sites, and I mean rarely, are a little odd for me. I have my monitor settings set on "old man" meaning extra large fonts, that type of thing, and low resolution to also make icons and stuff larger. If others don't have the same problem, don't worry about it, as it is probalby only a small percentage of people like me, and I was still able to navigate. Good job and thanks for reading my feedback.
Je

[Mike R]

Nice layout and easy to navigate. Have you thought about a "sales" page w/prices?