new site

[bloo_fish]

Ok, i've been working a website over the last couple of weeks, it's been fully designed with php, mysql, css and xhtml

every page validates, and as far as i know it looks fine in most browsers and resolutions

if anyone is on a mac i'm very interested in what you see, if anyone sees anything funny/odd a screenshot would be much appreaciated

bassicly i'm just looking for comments, improvments etc..

and one thing, ignore the spelling on the site, my grammer is bad

site: www.epicstudios.co.uk

Thanks people

EDIT: after the overwhelming response to the similarty of colours used, i have created a more contrasting solour set. The site now reflects the new colours[/url]

Thanks again

[MacRankin]

I just can't fault this site; It's excellent in every department. In fact, I'd already had a little look at this website seconds before I realised it was listed in this forum. Anyway, I will go back and look to see if stuff is working ok in the comment's fields.

I'm currently viewing it with Mozilla 1.2.1 & I.E. 5.1.7. (800 x 600) for the Mac OS 9 platform. There is almost no difference between the two browser views, although having stated that it does look only very slightly better in I.E. 5.1.7.

Where this difference occurs is in the "10 Latest Tutorials" column. When I run the curser down the lengh of this list it leaves a trail of lines, and when I run the curser back up it wipes them away. These lines do not mar the effect of this listing, in fact they are completely in line with each separate listing. So, really this is just a minute detail that shouldn't really concern you, hopefully.

I also want to state what wonderful little detail you have included in that same said listing of above. I just love those little paws it makes when you run the curser up and down the listing.

I suppose the only downside to viewing this stuff in Mozilla and I.E. is not having enough memory to also open up some of the other dodgy and downright crap browsers that I have at my disposal.

[bloo_fish]

Hey MacRankin, thanks for the reply, and thanks for the comment on the site, the comments needed testing, and it's shown me a couple of problems in older browsers, if you could reply to my comment, that'd be great

[godsfshrmn]

Very nice design. I really love the logo and color scheme. Thumbs up all the way around =)

[littlewhite]

fine design.In my view,it's nearly perfect.I just wonder on which day can I reach your lever ?That's my dream now!

[DCS]

it's a little blue, would be nice to see some contrasting color in there. as is, it looks washed out

[Cheeser]

it's a little blue, would be nice to see some contrasting color in there. as is, it looks washed out

I agree, but everything else is near perfect if not perfect. I love the rollovers too! I'd suggest making the header logo a link to the home page. Also, you have many spelling errors throughout the site. (Tutorials page, "glimps" is glimpse, etc.) Also DO NOT make your "Contact" link a direct link to your email address. It is VERY annoying to click on it and think you are going to a page only to have to wait for your mail client to load (which on my machine takes...hours ) Instead, create a contact page, or even better a contact form in php so you don't get spammed!

Good Job!


Mozilla Firefox 0.8
1152x864

[bloo_fish]

I agree, but everything else is near perfect if not perfect. I love the rollovers too! I'd suggest making the header logo a link to the home page. Also, you have many spelling errors throughout the site. (Tutorials page, "glimps" is glimpse, etc.) Also DO NOT make your "Contact" link a direct link to your email address. It is VERY annoying to click on it and think you are going to a page only to have to wait for your mail client to load (which on my machine takes...hours ) Instead, create a contact page, or even better a contact form in php so you don't get spammed!

Good Job!


Mozilla Firefox 0.8
1152x864

Thanks for the reply, the funniest thing though, is about the logo, i said the exact same comment on somebody else’s site, and I thought to myself, I haven’t even done it! So I’ll get onto that

Yea the contact page was just me being lazy I suppose, I will create a decent one, and the email is also i problem, as i need to make them spam proof in my comments section, think i may have to resort to a JavaScript solution that’s floating about.

As for my spelling, I know, its particular bad, so is my grammar. I do try to run everything through M$ word just for the diction, and my spelling is horrendous; I think i try to type to fast half the time.

I will look into to contrasting colours

Thanks for the comments guys, very useful indeed

[gnat1134]

you might want to try slightly darkening the background colors, there's not enough contrast between it and the text. also for the menu on the right you might want to try having the buttons go to the edge instead of leaving the gap for the paw prints. the empty space on the side just looks a little akward to me. other than that your site looks good! good layout easy to navigate

[Rackasaur]

Like it alot mate, looks great !

I like the "Collylogic" links that you used , I'm thinking of using a version of that also now...

[Rynoguill]

what else can be said about such a great site? very nice. how long did it take you to get where you are?

[bloo_fish]

you might want to try slightly darkening the background colors, there's not enough contrast between it and the text. also for the menu on the right you might want to try having the buttons go to the edge instead of leaving the gap for the paw prints. the empty space on the side just looks a little akward to me. other than that your site looks good! good layout easy to navigate

Thanks, I was thinking of the exact same thing, i am going to leave colour changes till later tonight / early tomorrow morning I think. As for the links i was again thinking the same, I might put a different image for just the link state, which should solve it.

Like it alot mate, looks great !

I like the "Collylogic" links that you used , I'm thinking of using a version of that also now...

Thanks a lot. Yea Simon's ticked off technique was very impressive.

what else can be said about such a great site? very nice. how long did it take you to get where you are?

Well I have been making website for, I donno, 5 years or so, although it’s only a hobby so I cant spend too much time on it. Over the last year I have spent quite a lot of time on web design, learning about XHTML and CSS along with more powerful things such as PHP and MySQL.

I’m glad to see such an overall positive response from you all, its such a strange feeling, never really asked for any comments on my work before

[ajshades]

os x
IE 5.2.1

loaded very fast
great site, love the colors
great flow, easy to understand

for some reason there is a little flutter (a little flicker of white on the other linkts) when you do mouse over on the top menu

other than that it looks great!

[deronsizemore]

loved the site. I've been looking for a site with xhtml tutorials for a long time...also the css tutorials are great. Thanks

[bloo_fish]

loved the site. I've been looking for a site with xhtml tutorials for a long time...also the css tutorials are great. Thanks

Thanks m8, hope they're useful to you, be sure to post a comment of your opinions on the site (links at the bottom of every tutorial) and refer people in need to them

[witched]

Well, I have a few critics/suggestions;
I've tested in Opera 7 in Win XP, didn't even validate the code since all the structure of the website seems VERY good.
I would say that if you made everything alone (I mean PHP and XHTML design) you should consider to work seriously on the web design area not only as a hobby because you've got talent.

But, I didn't like the contrast of the colours, even if it's valid this website is not what you could call "accessible".. you know probably what I mean...
As I've wrotten the code is nearly perfect and brings all the pros and cons of this kind of XHTML website.
Pros: loading speed, simple to navigate, etc.
Cons: these websites looks all the same, 1 header, 1 content + menu , 1 footer... yeah, the menu is bigger but it reminds me a lot these 'blog' styles websites with dotted lines... I appreciate that the menu is on the right side thought

The graphic (where it is) is nice but I would personally change/add something... all the pages seem to look the same sometimes.

Of course with Opera works well, I didn't even test it with other browsers, it's clear this website is fully compatible.
Hope my suggestions will help you!

[bloo_fish]

Well, I have a few critics/suggestions;
I've tested in Opera 7 in Win XP, didn't even validate the code since all the structure of the website seems VERY good.
I would say that if you made everything alone (I mean PHP and XHTML design) you should consider to work seriously on the web design area not only as a hobby because you've got talent.

I've tested it in all mainstream browsers (except mac browsers) and it all appears normally, the code does validate on every page, i did have a problem with my CMS but i fixed it so that it generates special HTML codes for characters such as '''' and """

Yup, all made by me, PHP MySQL, XHTML and CSS, and Graphics (although i didn’t use much graphic work as I ant brilliant at that although I wish I was, just not an artistic sort of person.)

I do hope to further this into a career at some stage, but in full time education atm (only 17, 18 on Oct though) so I’ve got a year to go until I finish school and start looking for a job. I would like to do some freelance work, but I’ve had to turn down the few offers that I’ve had due to the amount of work and personal projects i have going on, as well as leading an active social life.

But, I didn't like the contrast of the colours, even if it's valid this website is not what you could call "accessible".. you know probably what I mean...
As I've wrotten the code is nearly perfect and brings all the pros and cons of this kind of XHTML website.
Pros: loading speed, simple to navigate, etc.
Cons: these websites looks all the same, 1 header, 1 content + menu , 1 footer... yeah, the menu is bigger but it reminds me a lot these 'blog' styles websites with dotted lines... I appreciate that the menu is on the right side thought

The graphic (where it is) is nice but I would personally change/add something... all the pages seem to look the same sometimes.

I see what you mean, and i will decently think about that in my next design (along with another thing I’ll mention further on). This version was just me trying to make it look pretty without giving a thought to visual implications of accessibility, only coding wise.

The other thing i am going to take into mind is creating different styled pages, i was looking at the new StopDesign layout and at first i thought, hey all the pages look different, that’s strange, but know i just love that site, it is my favourite of all time tbh, and my next aim will to try and do something similar, in the way of creating a similar but unique feel for each page.

Of course with Opera works well, I didn't even test it with other browsers, it's clear this website is fully compatible.
Hope my suggestions will help you!

Tested with other browsers as I’ve just said up top of this post, and yup all validates too. Thank you very much for the suggestions. Very good points and will impact my next design a lot

/me goes to make some notes so I don’t forget.

Thanks again to all how have taken the time to look at my site and comment.

[Bootboy]

Sorry to break from the positive line going on here but I don't like this site very much. I appreciate that it validates, is fast-loading (but it should be without graphics if it validates) and is easy to navigate but the design is boring, it just doesn't say 'read me' or invite me to move on to other pages. I agree with DCS, I think its the too 'bloo' feel, a bit more contrast would be nice, a bit more depth. It's like looking through a mesh or mist. The header graphic doesn't mean anything to me, certainly not 'Epic', more like looking up at a derelict roof, and I don't like the title type face or the naff leaf. I do like the little paws. I realise it's a blog but more graphics would liven things up.

I'm currently viewing on a PC with XP and there's a problem with Netscape 7.02 and Opera. There's something on the home page that knocks it off centre (to the left) by a noticeable few pixels (about 10 I guess) it also happens on the Tutorials page. Also, a few pages don't reach the bottom of the browser; index, tutorials.php, tut.php?tid=13, tut.php?tid=7, /tut.php?tid=10 and others are cut through the bottom row even in full screen view in NS7.

Your spelling and grammar are really bad and I found that distracting. I think it compounded my negative feelings about the site design. Why make so much effort over two weeks and not bother to check something as basic as spelling, it's sloppy and will turn people off.

I didn't notice some of the other problems (above) with 'white flickers' or cursor trails, they sound like memory problems. I like the general layout which is clear. Overall, I think you've done a competent job, just bland.

[Pouchman]

Cool blue design. Its a little buggy on my eyes though. If you see some of my other posts you'll notice I'm big on contrast with text vs. background color. The more contrast the better I always say. There's a reason why books are still printed in black and white I would just suggest making it more obvious for someone to figure out what the site is about by inserting a descriptive tag line or introductory text at the top of the site.

Ok, i've been working a website over the last couple of weeks, it's been fully designed with php, mysql, css and xhtml

every page validates, and as far as i know it looks fine in most browsers and resolutions

if anyone is on a mac i'm very interested in what you see, if anyone sees anything funny/odd a screenshot would be much appreaciated

bassicly i'm just looking for comments, improvments etc..

and one thing, ignore the spelling on the site, my grammer is bad

site: www.epicstudios.co.uk

Thanks people

[pannick]

This is another one of the I like the layout but don't like the colors. The layout is fast and clean but the colors make it hard on the eyes. The dark and semi dark colors just don't do it for me.

[N.E.R.D.]

The content is great and informative, but the blue is too much for me, but over all it’s a cool and professionally looking site.

[bloo_fish]

Thanks to N.E.R.D., pannick, Pouchman, Bootboy for the replies, only just saw this thread had some new replies to it. I am some what disappointed to see the objections to the colours I have used. But i do see where you are coming from. So today I’m going to have a long play around with new colour schemes, and hopefully find one that suits.

Thanks again for the replies, there much appreciated

[agnsmt]

cool site, i like the content

but i dont like the side menu. not teh entire thing just the way the tabs look, u need to add soemthinga round them to make them standout more, they all merge together to well.

also more space after teh tuturial pages would look nice, tehy just kinda stop at teh bottom of the browser. i liek teh color scheme alot though

[Delia]

Verrrrrrrrrry Smooth Website!

I think it looks rather sharp and crisp. It must have taken you ages to create it. I wish I had the time & knowledge to do something like that....

[tmcw]

Not bad! You might want to add some variation to the color scheme, though. Shades of orange work well with blue (look at this site, or the default skin of phpBB for reference)