Web Design... :)

[Pheebs]

Hello people!

*wubbles*

As you all probably know I am a complete NOOB when it comes to webby designs.

I know I'm not going to be able to do it all myself (unless I want something that looks like it's been produced from google web page) and really am looking for as much help as I can get! *nudge nudge, wink wink* ;)

It's for my card designs so I really need something that looks superb! I've got a fair few ideas of how I want to set it up. So really, I need to draw out these ideas on CS3 - ie back grounds, button looks, pix and things... but this is where I become stuck.

The kinda webby I'll be looking at doing will be similar style to the Bang on the Door (http://bangonthedoor.co.uk/) webby, in the respect that I would like the page to be able to fit more or less onto one screen without scrolling too much (does that make sense?!) but without all they flashy-washy bits and things! There will hopefully be some animation but not like that! (bit too kiddiyish for what I want :))

I don't like the Juicy Lucy (http://www.juicylucydesigns.com/richtext.asp?page_id=1) look as it's all a bit too much and bitty.

So... what I need to know is if there are any standard sizes I need to take into consideration? Width of screens and height etc? Size of buttons?!! *confusing* :confused:

This thread is just the beginning of what I imagine to be a very very long thread of "I don't get it's" and "how'ds this work?" and "what does this do?" and "eh?!" :) So massive thank you's n advance for your help and mahoosiver apologies about my thickness! I'm a complete n00b so things may require uber dumbage downage :)


Thank you so so so SO SO much again! :) You guys have already done so much for me and I am so appreciative! I promise you all you will not be forgotten when I manage to get this lot up and running! ;D

*huggles*

[Davey_Pitch]

I think the most common size these days would be 1024*768, but ideally your website would be scalable up and down as there will always be people using smaller and larger resolutions.

What you could possibly do is to create a couple of versions of your website, perhaps one to work in lower resolutions and one to work in higher, then create a bit of javascript or something like that on your welcome page which detects what resolution the user is running and direct them to the appropriate web page. I did something similar years ago and it doesn't mean *that* much extra work when you've got your basis webpage sorted out. :)

[Pheebs]

Thank you muchly DP for the sizes - I was waaaaaay off!

Thanks for the offer Kitten - I shall keep you in mind :D

I think... after playing around all morning... I'm going to need Macromedia Fireworks and Flash to be able to produce something that doesn't look too shabby.

Just tried to remote access them from my school... but it was uber chug! So looking up prices now!

[Pheebs]

:jawdrop: :jawdrop: :shocked: :shocked:


How MUCH does it want to be?!!? £400 - £500! Blooming heck man. Stupid stuff. Stupid stupid stupid.

Well screw buying that for a laugh!


Heh. That leaves me royally stuck. Might have to do the work at school after work. Bah. BAH BAH Bah.
:'(

[Pheebs]

You don't happen to be on MSN at the mo are you Miss Kitten!? :)

[Joe 90]

whoo for web design :D

good to see the site's you've referenced use divs and not tables :D curse tables!

if you need any help with anything let me know :) and depending on how adventurous you get you might want to check out http://sampsonresume.com/forums/
i've been a member there for ages and theres brilliant web design video tutorials for everything, basic pages, javascript, php, mysql... etc...
plus plenty of decent web designers to help with general questions :)

[Mark]

I'll join you in putting a hex on tables. And, whatever, you do, please don't use Frontpage (or heaven forbid, Word). Though it looks like you already know that, which is good. :)

I agree with the resolution choice of 1024x768 too (still is my resolution of choice at work though the monitor upgrade at home has convinced me to go higher there).

And LOL at Kitten's subtle hints. :)

[Pheebs]

tbh... I'm not going to be able to do the website myself :). (As in... set it up or anything. I have tried and tried in the past and faaaaaailed miserably!)

My plan was to draw all the piccies (background, buttons, animations etc) and then put them together to show my webby design layout and things... and then try and find someone with much more knowledge than I and see whether they can make it work like a website! I think it's going to take me a while to get to that stage though!

I really am that pants at it :)

[Mark]

There's plenty of people around here that I'm sure will be glad to help. I could handle the coding side of things if necessary (I'm just poop at design), but there are people here with plenty more experience than myself. :)

[Pheebs]

Aww fankoo Mark! *huggles*

Picky just told me that the webby would be quite HTML-ie (*shrugs*) if I do it how I described. I dunno if I can create wee animations to put onto the webby or whether I would need to do it myself in code on the webby (make sense? It just about does to me! Hehehe!) As soon as I get my hands on fireworks I will have a play around and see what I can conjur up ... bit scarey tbh!

I don't know whether to do a simple one to begin with and then work on a bigger better one whilst the simple ones up! I personally think I need as much exposure as possible... but Picky seems to think I need to get the licensing sorted first?! *confuddled*

We'll see!

[Mark]

Having a design in mind now doesn't sound like a bad idea to me, but I'd agree that it'd be a good idea to know where you're going with licensing before launching a public website.

[Burble]

The offer of webspace is still there if you want it Pheebs :)

[Pheebs]

I have been awake most of last night thinking about blooming website designs and things. And I have finally decided I will give it all a bash myself using fireworks.

God help me!

I figured a) I'm a fast learner b) I have super dooper amounts of patience for these things c) I will be able to get it exactly like I would like it!

Without a doubt I will still need a massive load of help though! :D

Does anyone know any good online tutorials/helpful hints pages for website design using fireworks 8 and flash? Or any books? I'm popping into town later so may have a browse in the book section and see what they look like :)

[Dymetrie]

Who'd have thunk it! Adobe have a tutorial here :D (http://www.adobe.com/support/fireworks/tutorial_index.html)

[Haly]

we've got some dvd tutorials on web design (dreamweaver/macromedia suite) that are really good (lynda.com). Leo will have a look later and list what he's got so I can bring them along on Friday (too many to upload really!).

I'd quite like a copy of that too if it's going :)

[Jasper]

I think that if you've never touched web design before, throwing yourself in at the deep-end and making a flash site would be way over your head.

I also abhor flash websites, and would urge you to have a think about design (rather than an interactive gimmick) and make an accessible website using html, css and degradeable javascript.

also, if you want to do it right, ignore Dreamweaver like the plague - get some tutorials and build from scratch - it's really not that difficult once you get going.

with regards to screen resolution, I would think about your target market - it's *pretty* safe to assume 1024*768, but I wouldn't go any bigger than that.

[iCraig]

Ideally, letting your site squeeze on at 800px width will earn you extra accessibility points.

I agree with Jasper about Flash. Flash is easy to learn, but hard to master. These days Flash needs to be professional and innovative for it to not look gimmicky. I think a fun vibrant HTML/CSS design will be a much better starting block. You could then add some subtle flash elements in if you think the site still needs them.

A couple of general design tips when creating the site:

1.) Keep it simple and clean. Simple sites load quicker and are easier to digest. Open space also calms a design, so don't worry about trying to fill areas of the design for the sake of it.

2.) Stick to a colour scheme. Your drawings are already going to carry a lot of colour into the site, so try and limit the usage in the main body of the design. A more subtle colour scheme will not only showcase your work nicely, but will also keep the site clean and tidy.

3.) Have a maximum of 2-3 fonts throughout the entire site. It keeps the site consistent and lets your information flow properly.

4.) Take your time. Good designs take time to whittle out, so don't get frustrated if after 5 hours of playing around you haven't got anywhere. You'll hit the eureka point sooner or later, so just keep trying until you get there.

5.) Look at other sites, even ones that aren't necessarily along the same lines as yours. Obviously not to steal, but for inspiration.

[MarcLister]

Perhaps I should get in on this thread. I'm in my final year at Uni and I've got a final year project of re-designing one of my lecturer's site. Its a cool project and I'm very happy to have secured it. I haven't had a meeting with him about it yet but this thread looks like a cool one to keep an eye on and perhaps also for me to supply any tips or books/links etc that I find whilst doing this project.

[Feek]

Perhaps I should get in on this thread. I'm in my final year at Uni and I've got a final year project of re-designing one of my lecturer's site. Its a cool project and I'm very happy to have secured it. I haven't had a meeting with him about it yet but this thread looks like a cool one to keep an eye on and perhaps also for me to supply any tips or books/links etc that I find whilst doing this project.

I have a very nastily made web site, badly Frontpage designed with tables and some java but with just a few pages. Fancy redesigning it for fun? ;)

[MarcLister]

You yanking my chain? Or serious? If you are, then yeah don't mind giving it a go. I don't claim to be the best but I'll be learning stuff quickly for my project.