You will be glad to know that I am working on my website! (You ARE glad!! Yes you are!)
Since I, for the exception of a failed Calvin and Hobbes site, am a novice at it. Is there anything I should know that would help me along the way?
Tahnks,
REd
Posted by First of Two (Member # 16) on :
1. Spelling counts.
2. You CAN have too many flashy gimmicky bits.
3. Punctuation counts.
4. Give credit where credit is due, or some night you'll be murdered in your sleep.
5. Legibility counts - pick colors that don't clash.
Posted by Colorful Cartman (Member # 256) on :
6. Substance over form.
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
Substance over form, absolutely.
Also, getting the word out about your site is important. But by no means am I at all endorsing or encouraging useless spam on message boards. The only advertising I've done on message boards is to have a link to my website included in my signatures. That's all. Otherwise, I've listed my site at a couple of Trek search engines, and Bernd was kind enough to give my site a mention or two on Ex Astris Scientia, from which a large number of my visitors came in the first few months.
Getting my site listed on Google was the biggest boost, though. I went from 6,000 visitors in February 2001 to 12,000 visitors in March 2001. Google doubled my hit count in only one month.
However, you can't expect to maintain the kind of steady visitors that you'd hope for unless you have fairly regular updates. Bernd (this may sound silly, but he's my role model ) hasn't missed a single week that I can recall (maybe one or two at most) -- he's always got something new to add, even if it's just a page or two.
A website is more than just a one-off project. It should be a long-term hobby. If you want to be "successful," you've got to give it constant attention and updates.
If you want to stand out, I strongly suggest some decent graphics editing of some kind. Take a look at these three versions of my site:
July 2000 with images created exclusively in AppleWorks, which was never intended for web design.
July 2001 with some improved graphics that I got using Photoshop 5.0 LE.
July 2002 (current), which was released only a few days ago and designed using Macromedia Studio MX.
Interactivity (like rollover buttons) aren't a necessity, or even desirable if you've got a simple page. I only decided to add the rollovers in order to enhance the effects a little bit (and I only used it in a few places). In fact, on simple pages like what you're probably going to start with, I'd say that rollovers and other advanced stuff like that would be pointless and make things look worse. (Unless done perfectly, I mean.) Start out simple, and then build on the foundation later. Once you've got the hang of the basic web site down, I'd also strongly recommend that you ensure that your HTML (or XHTML) code is validated. There's a free validator service provided by the World Wide Web Consortium that allows you to link to or upload web pages and it will tell you whether the code is correct, and what needs to be fixed. Perfect coding is not always essential (I lasted for two years with some horribly non-standard code created by my original editor, Claris Home Page), but it shows the extra effort that you put into your site, and also pretty much ensures that your site is going to be viewed properly in any recent browser.
There's all sorts of other stuff I could tell you, but I won't ramble on. I will, however, point you to the Web Page Design for Designers site, that's got some pretty useful articles about how to develop and publish your site. Check it out!
Posted by Red BWC (Member # 818) on :
Bump 1:
I am trying to get all my graphics together, such as my starships, and I want them to be quality images, and all I have is Paint. I dont have a vector program, much less want to learn to use one. Dern. Oh well, let the visitor beware.
(You would like to retrace them for me, wouldn't you? Please? Ah dern...)
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
The LCARS format is overdone. Unless you know how to do something really fancy (but not to the point of non-useability), don't use it.
Posted by Red BWC (Member # 818) on :
Joy, only 37 ship to draw up.
TSN, I am just going to have it basic, nothin fancy. Like a title logo, the a little thing with updates and a welcome message (help with that, please?) and then the links.
The links will go to a page, with the class name in really big letters, then links to specifications, schematics, and stuff. Which goes to ask what should I put besides the schematics and specs...
Posted by The359 (Member # 37) on :
I don't know what is wrong, but whenever I click on your site, MinutiaeMan, all I get is code.
Posted by Colourblind Harry (Member # 265) on :
Perhaps you 'browser' isn't capable of viewing SHTML.
Be an obedient customer and download Internet Explorer!
[ July 30, 2002, 02:08: Message edited by: Colourblind Harry ]
Posted by Magenta Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
Step 1: Think. Step 2: Think some more. Step 3: Map it out. Step 4: Design it. Step 5: Get your graphics. Step 6: Code it.
Posted by Red BWC (Member # 818) on :
Gotcha Aban, I have already designed the graphic, the logo. Now I need to find a server, finifh the ships, write up the stufff for them, and then code it. Is that right?
Posted by Magenta Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
If it were me, I'd do all the ships first... or at least while you're working on the design of the site. No point in having a bunch of "coming soon" pages.
And please tell me that graphic you linked to is just a layout sketch. If you're planning on doing all your type and borders as one big graphic, you need to do some more reading.
There's all kinds of relatively simple things you could do to spruce that design up. You could use a background color (as opposed to an image). You could use a font other than helvetica, or whatever it was, for that title block. You could use an image as part of your header graphic.
This is where the thinking and designing stage comes in before you actually start coding anything. The point is to figure out how it's all going to work and what all information you're going to need before you go and start making your tables and such.
I have no idea how "pure coders" do it... but that's how I, as a WYSIWYG coder, do it.
Posted by Colourblind Harry (Member # 265) on :
That's exactly the way pure coders would do it. Think about what you want, especially how your tables/frames will work, and then start the fun bit: coding! In my case, though, the endresults hardly look like the initial plans, since I make new stuff up as I code.
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
BWC, it's not always necessary, but generally some careful use of "Star Trek"-style fonts in your graphics can give your site a "Trekkian" theme without going overboard into something as crazy as a full-out LCARS layout. There are plenty of fonts out there if you take a few minutes to look. (I've got a collection of them myself, but they're not up on my new server yet.)
If you take a look at the front page (and then at a couple of inside pages) to see what I mean -- I've got Trek fonts for the title and a couple of other header images, and only a bit more for the home page interface. But other than that, I rely on simple, plain text.
Posted by Captain = Mike (Member # 709) on :
btw, my site is an example of a subtle Trek look. there isnt much star trek stuff on the front page, but i use the Fleet font and a slightly movie era lcars look, but without any overt trek references until you get down to the content links
Posted by The Red Admiral (Member # 602) on :
I'm always wary of using Star Trek fonts on my site, text-wise that is. The user has to have those fonts installed on their computers otherwise it's just going to show up as Times New Roman, or something equally bland and ghastly. Gif logos and banners excepted though, obviously...
Red BWC: Like what others have said, keep it simple at first, and compile as much information and material as possible before going online.
If you're anything like me I wasn't very impressed with the first version of my site. I started very small in '99. But it's grown massively, but of course steadily. It will evolve slowly, don't think you can run before you can walk. Patience is the key, pouring over every page, every word before going live. Like always, as has been said, don't forget the copyright notice, and credits... Good luck.
Posted by Captain... Mike (Member # 709) on :
yeah i thought that went without saying.
i deplore times, and try to stick to arial, arial narrow or verdana for everything that is loaded as text. but i like to use my trek hull font for graphic banners.. its not even exclusively trek.. originating in eurostile, its a nice readable technical font.
Posted by Red BWC (Member # 818) on :
Aban - It's just an image showing where everything will go. And the background is black. I am doing the ship first.
Mike - Which one is the Movie Era LCARS? I think I have the package on my computer...
Aban Again - What does WYSIWYG mean? Is it some program?
Anybody - I can do good looking ships in Paint, but have now downloaded PSP 7.4, and want to have vector images, but Have no idea how to make them look good. Should I draw them in paint and then retrace them in PSP or what???
Posted by Magenta Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
What You See Is What You Get. It refers to the use of programs such as Dreamweaver and Frontpage. Programs that write the code for you and allow you to see the tables and such being created.
Posted by Red BWC (Member # 818) on :
PSP Bump 1 - I try to fill a selection, yet it fills the whole image. ANybody know how do curcumvent that???
Posted by Colorful Cartman (Member # 256) on :
Try F1.
Posted by Red BWC (Member # 818) on :
No help.
*but then he goes and tries again*
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
quote:Originally posted by The Red Admiral: I'm always wary of using Star Trek fonts on my site, text-wise that is. The user has to have those fonts installed on their computers otherwise it's just going to show up as Times New Roman, or something equally bland and ghastly. Gif logos and banners excepted though, obviously...
Oh, absolutely. I've never, ever done it otherwise. Because the chance of another Trek fan browsing your site having the exact same font with the exact same name installed on their hard drive is pretty small. First, these Trek fonts are not widely distributed aside from webmasters. Second, they often have altered names, and so they can end up not being used even if the font is the one intended, because it doesn't have the name that the website specifies.
One thing that I've started to do is specifying multiple "backup" fonts in my CSS style sheet. I prefer Arial, but if the visitor doesn't have that for some obscure reason, there are alternatives that can allow for an approximation before they have to resort to the horrible (for Trek websites) Times New Roman.
quote:Originally posted by Red BWC: You would like to retrace them for me, wouldn't you? Please?
BWC: I didn't say this before because I was EXTREMELY annoyed by this comment. If you want to do something for your website, you should do it yourself. If you want to be able to add a major set of well-done images using vector illustrations, then learn how to draw the damn things yourself! This is a personal hobby, and there is absolutely no reason why other people should do your stuff for you.
There are plenty of handy vector-based programs out there. I'd recommend Macromedia Freehand 10, because I've been very impressed with Macromedia's products (I recently bought Studio MX), though I haven't delved into Freehand yet. If you're a college student enrolled at a university, you can buy Freehand for $99.
Posted by Captain... Mike (Member # 709) on :
yuck.. whatever you guys do, don't type 'lcars' into Google Image Search.. its not pretty.
ill upload a movie era lcars pic tonight when im on my home comp..
Posted by Red BWC (Member # 818) on :
MMan - I got PSP 7 a while ago. It was a joke, relax.
Posted by Masao (Member # 232) on :
MinutiaeMan: How do you like Freehand? If you need any help, just ask. (I'm still using version 7, however).
Posted by Red BWC (Member # 818) on :
(BUt I think it's good for the first thing I ever did in PSP 7. Only I had 23 layers...)
Posted by Magenta Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
No kidding it's going to take a long time. When you start off not knowing how to use the program and with a list of dozens of starships to do... did you really expect to get them drawn up in a few days?
Most of the people who make graphics and cool shipy drawings spent years learning how to do it.
Posted by Colorful Cartman (Member # 256) on :
I've messed around with various versions of Photoshop for years, and I *still* discover new features on a regular basis. Don't expect to master the program in three days.
Posted by Treknophyle (Member # 509) on :
The best thing about Freehand (aside from it wiping Illustrator's ass) is that it copies perfectly into Fireworks.
Posted by Red BWC (Member # 818) on :
Not a few days, but I thought less that 8 years...
Posted by Red BWC (Member # 818) on :
I know this can;t be good, but I am rushing to get this done before I have to work more than I do. So I was thinking of putting out the ships in Paint first, and then when I have less work to do come back and gradually make them vector images. Would this be a good idea?
Posted by Dat (Member # 302) on :
It's your site, so do what you feel would satisfy the viewer. So, I don't see that as a problem. Just tell that to your viewers and when you do update a design, tell them of the update in a "what's new" or "updates" section or page.
Posted by Invisible Red BWC (Member # 818) on :
By the way, if you all have an idea you want to throw at me, just send a PM!
(Please? I'm really desperate because everything I think of has been thought up already.. )
Posted by Magenta Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
That tends to happen after 6,000 years of human history.
What kinds of ideas are you looking for? Design ideas? Content ideas? Noone's going to design the site for you or write the content. As far as I can tell, you're talking about making a site to showcase various ship designs. Cool. Do that. Yes, it's been done before. No, as someone just learning the programs, you're not going to be making cutting edge graphics or websites. But you've gotta start somewhere...so start.
And guess what... 8 years is just about right. 4 years of school plus going on 4 years experience... there are no shortcuts.
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
) hasn't missed a single week that I can recall (maybe one or two at most) -- he's always got something new to add, even if it's just a page or two.![[Frown]](frown.gif)