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dori oconnell

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please, have a look at my website I am just working on. It has two sections: textile art and photography. I would like to get comments on the later one.

It will need more pages (ie. site map, contac me, likns...), but am I going to the right direction in terms of presenting a clear portfolio?

Thank You
Dóri
 
Hi Tremint, could you be a bit more specific, I am looking for constructive criticism, not bashing.

Dóri
 
Several issues:

1.a. You're making assumptions on the screen size of the viewer that may or may not be valid. For example at 800x600 the images require scrolling to see and the next links are off screen.

1.b. Not resizeable. If you aren't going to make the content resizeable to the browser size you need to aim toward the lowest common denominator to ensure that everyone will see the information.

2. This brings up the usability problem you've created by having the user forced to hover over the thumbnail to see the image. Doesn't allow someone to tab/enter to select links. People with disabilities may not be able to use your site at all.

3. Frames and Flash. I personally dislike framed sites and those that require Flash should have a very good reason to use it. You've used Flash for nothing more than a menu that does nothing other than change color when you hover over a link. Something that you could have done much quicker, easier, and with less bandwidth by using standard HTML and CSS. Also, it defeats the ability to open a link in a new window or tab, something many people do to when viewing sites.

4. Bad code. On some pages there is no DTD statement and on others it is written incorrectly. A few tags are missing required elements and others are deprecated or using elements not intended for use with the tag.

5. You could have done the whole thing without javascript and Flash and had a nice site. You could also use CSS and make the site easier to update and change and in the process lighter because you don't have things like bgcolor, height, and width sprinkled all over the place.
 
I like the simplicity of the layout, it really brings all the attention to the photographs.

But I do not like how much I must move my mouse to go trough the pics. Not so nice ergonomics...

Rob.
--
shoot!
 
I should have also added....

6. You've only placed a few thumbs on each page. This doesn't help the layout in my opinion. Too much negative space in the prime viewing areas and the large photos are shoved off to the side.

While it's true people have short attention spans and if there is too much information they tend to leave it's also true that if people don't find something they're interested in they leave as well. Breaking up the information, in this case photos, into too small a block makes people have to do excessive clicking to find an image they want to view and they'll just leave.
 
dori oconnell said:
Thank You for the very valid points! I have a lot to learn still.

Dóri
Click to expand...
dear dori...i didn't have any trouble with your site...my monitor is 19" and i had plenty of room all around so i'm not sure why the complaints...maybe i'll try and open it on my ibook...

i don't find moving the mouse around a lot of extra work, jeez, some people are really lazy...

i've never heard this complaint about using the hover instead of a click to view the larger images...i like the hover, i'm not handicapped so maybe i don't know what i'm missing...

if you like negative space i say use all you want, unless you're trying for some kind of design competition with your site i'd just enjoy the space as you like...besides, i'm assuming you're not done yet with these pages...will you be adding more images to each page?...

by the way, i like your photos, they're great, so are the rugs, man, they are beautiful...if i wasn't broke i'd buy some...

lastly, i'm no web designer, but i kept checking the source for coding on your pages and there isn't much there...i wonder why, and i didn't see any sign of flash use, again, i'm assuming the color changes for type are rollovers...i'd like to be informed about how you built these pages...i'm in the process of redoing my own site and this click/hover decision is about to come, maybe by tomorrow...

lastly, here is a website that does a bit of what you did with tons of images...click on botanicals and see how you like the design...but life is short, if you want to use negative space i say go for it..i think these guys were a bit hard on you...

http://www.studiocyberia.com/index.php

best regards...mo
 
Dear Mo, You are the first who had comment on the actual content of the portfolio and it is greatly appreciated. I am a complete novice when it comes to website building but I am trying.

I used Dreamweaver 4 for putting it together and I inserted layers then added behaviours (Show or hide layers) to their thumbnails on the pages.

I am hoping to figure out where the mistakes are in the code. Thank You again and good luck with your own site

Dóri
 
Just to point out a few things.
momo said:
dear dori...i didn't have any trouble with your site...my monitor
is 19" and i had plenty of room all around so i'm not sure why the
complaints...maybe i'll try and open it on my ibook...
Click to expand...
Monitor size, resolution, and hard coding the dimensions of a web page are all separate yet interrelated things. Setting a specific size in pixels for a web page may make layout easier but it can hobble usability. After all not everyone may have a resolution high enough to see your design the way you intended and not everyone uses their browser full screen. It's much more common to have multiple windows open at a time often all occupying at least some of the available desktop real estate.
momo246197 said:
i don't find moving the mouse around a lot of extra work, jeez,
some people are really lazy...

i've never heard this complaint about using the hover instead of a
click to view the larger images...i like the hover, i'm not
handicapped so maybe i don't know what i'm missing...
Click to expand...
It's not just the disabled, although they will be especially affected. For example my grandfather has vision loss yet he is still able to see. He also has arthritis. He still enjoys viewing photos. It's difficult for him to use a mouse both due to arthritis and due to the cursor having to be large enough for him to see. Tabbing, the original way of navigating websites, is the best option he has. Without the ability to select the photo and have its position remain static as he scrolls to the right to see the photo he will not be able to see it.

Also, he can't navigate 99% of websites that use Flash for navigation as designers don't take accessibility into consideration. In websites with poor color contrast it's often easier to have the text read aloud. Flash makes this virtually impossible most of the time even with the latest software.

For the non-disabled it's often just very convenient to be able to tab and enter to navigate a website. The hands never have to leave the keyboard. People have many different ways of using websites. Perhaps the would want to take a look at two images side by side. Ordinarily it would be as easy as opening two windows each with a different image. Using hover to display makes this impossible.

The point, in the end, is to make websites that your target audience, all of them, can use the way they want.
momo246197 said:
lastly, i'm no web designer, but i kept checking the source for
coding on your pages and there isn't much there...i wonder why, and
i didn't see any sign of flash use, again, i'm assuming the color
changes for type are rollovers...i'd like to be informed about how
you built these pages...i'm in the process of redoing my own site
and this click/hover decision is about to come, maybe by tomorrow...
Click to expand...
Flash is used for the navigation. The only thing it's currently doing is changing the color of the text when you hover. This is something that really should be done with CSS. Simply creating an external CSS file defining the properties of the anchor psuedo class... a:hover { color: #CC9900 } ...would do the same thing.
momo246197 said:
..i think these guys were a bit hard on you...
Click to expand...
I hope you're not referring to me. Being constructive shouldn't be considered a negative.
 
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