[NicoR44]

Hi all,

I'm building my new website and would like your opinion / first impression.
My goal is to make a clean easy to use website to show my work and of course attract potential customers.

There are no functions yet, more will follow later.
http://www.renderguy.com

Thanks for looking,

Curt.

[KurtS]

Nice and clean looking layout, but dropshadows are a little bit 1999 IMHO....

[ab]

use flash. The best piece of software I have ever worked with. Fast learning curve, very intuitive, great results (you don't have to overdue it) and actually works as advertised.

ab

ps:started with html editors and wasted my time, hence the remarks

[jdp]

use flash. The best piece of software I have ever worked with. Fast learning curve, very intuitive, great results (you don't have to overdue it) and actually works as advertised.

ab

ps:started with html editors and wasted my time, hence the remarks

really arguable. flash got a lot of drawbacks:

1. it requires an extra plugin not shipping with your browser
2. it's not crossplatform (even though is more and more compatible with every platform)
3. it can be blocked for security reason.
4. it requires to work on the source over and over to get it updated
5. it doesn't allow to save content, which could be good (copyright protection) and also bad (eg, one cannot save images to show to the boss).
6. it's very unlikely to be listed fast and properly by search engines.
7. it's definitely not accessible (eg. for visually impaired readers using not visual browsers)

that said, it is still a great piece of software, and can produce really stunning results. But must be used when no other option is possible.
Building a website in a modular way with scripts linked outside, it's the best solution, but it requires a lot of knowledge, good scripting skills and a strong design. It's really not the fastest-efficient solution for low-end or simple websites.

of course this is my humble opinion.

[jdp]

kurt, about your website. I think the layout is clean and well designed.

My only suggestion here is to use more text as possible: it's really important for search engines spiders, if it's in the 1st part of your code is even better.

Another thing you might want to try is to use a table-less layout: this is probably the best solution nowaday to keep your content separate from your layout. You should look for CSS layouts. Main advantage of this in your everyday life is updating the content/layout keeping the rest as it is.

aside from this, use more meta tag in the header of your html. It's gonna provide more precise results from search engines.

[NicoR44]

Thanks guys!!

I've lowered the drop shadow to a minimum, just to accentuate the thumbnails a little bit
I actually never used flash, I'm sure it's great, but for now I'll stick to Fireworks and Dream weaver

Hi Jdp,
Yes I think you're right about a css layout, my brother has build his complete website like that, and now it's really easy to maintain/change/add new content using a simple web interface. I'm sure I will need his assistance to do this.

Of course I will fill it with all the info people need to set their first step to contact me


A new version has been uploaded! http://www.renderguy.com

[Leonardo]

I didn't see the drop-shadows before... but now they look really nice.


But then again a I love drop-shadows

[ivox3]

But your so 1999 Leo .....

Curt, ...... renderguy.com was available ?? ...amazing. Anyway, .. simple and sweet.

[NicoR44]

Thanks guys!!

Hi Chris, yes it was, can you believe it! just got lucky I gues

[ivox3]

All this time if was just waiting for you to come along --- It's about time. ........ lol.

[KurtS]

But your so 1999 Leo .....

It was just a little bit 1999, like late '99 - maybe December.

Now it's a lot better!

[ivox3]

Oh, ..well ....that makes a huge difference. No problems then.....

[NicoR44]

Hey guys, I've updated some sections, Portfolio is partly working now, Thumbs are not click able yet but Portfolio pages are working: http://www.renderguy.com/portfolio.html

Also thanks for the tips via P.M. MR_user!!

[NicoR44]

Thumbs are not click able yet but Portfolio pages are working

they are now on page one of the portfolio pages

[jjs]

Nico - just a small comment

The horizontal spacing is fine for most screens, however the vertical number of pixels is too much.

I can see you are trying for a page that does not need scrolling up or down and all the navigation is from the menu at the top.

However for most people they will have a couple of additional plugin software bars open at the top of their browser, limiting the vertical space remaining on the page.

On you page you get the annoying requirement of having to scroll down to see the bottom 2cm of the page and that then loses the top menu off the screen. Maybe just squige things a bit in the vertical dimension a bit to get it all in without having to scroll.

Regards


Jonathan