Need your input on my web site please

stitch · 08-28-2009, 12:25 PM

I’d like to ask you all for some input and help concerning my web site.
I built this site back in the late 90’s And it’s time for a major upgrade.
My computer is old and my monitor is small and the site is laid out relative to the old 800 x 600 format ( That’s the resolution I use ) but when I look at the site in higher resolutions it just doesn’t look right.
So please help an old cowpoke out here and give me some input as to what you think I should do here, What resolution I should gear it for and so on.
I have a ton of work to do, and a lot of stuff to add to the site and I’d really appreciate everyone’s input.
Thank you much everyone !
My Web Site :http://www.mountainhomeleather.com

kydsid · 08-28-2009, 12:45 PM

1024x768 is more or less the industry standard for website size, AFAIK. Might be some designers around to say otherwise.

But if'in you send me your computer model info I can find out if you can support a higher resolution and therefore a bigger monitor so that you can work on the new site.

08-28-2009, 12:49 PM

I really can't see that much wrong with it. You have some text that needs a little attention and I would make it fit better on a larger screen but that's about it.

It's simple and easy to navigate and to me that's KEY.

I really look forward to the day when you can make me a holster for my 1911. Beautiful work!

csbrewfisher · 08-28-2009, 12:58 PM

The only comment I have is that the site WORKS! That's better than about half of them out there.

I also think you're a damn good craftsman!

stitch · 08-28-2009, 01:06 PM

Thanks ya' all ... Now for you big screen users, Is it normal when using a higher resolution for the site's to seem like they are squished to one side?
I know my system can support a bigger better monitor ... But with Wifey's job ending in two weeks that just aint gonna happen.
I Appreciate everyone's help and input here !

Kreth · 08-28-2009, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ahc4353

It's simple and easy to navigate and to me that's KEY.

You could do some tweaking with the text and colors, but why mess with a clean, easy-to-navigate layout? I think too many sites now are crammed with widgets and cascading menus and pop-ups that just clutter up the screen.
Posted via Mobile Device

G G · 08-28-2009, 01:25 PM

The site looks pretty good to me, easy to navigate. I hope to buy a holster for my Glock from you someday.

Footbag · 08-28-2009, 01:41 PM

It looks nice to me, but having designed a few websites I will make a few suggestions. I'd love to see a nice closeup of either the tooling or the stitching in the header of the website. Perhaps even overlay your logo on top of it. You would need to take a bunch of photo's and do some photo-shopping, but it could look great. Or if you could tool your logo into a piece of leather, and just take a detail picture of that and use it as a header.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of textured backgrounds. I'd prefer the contrast of your product off a solid background. That said, it's all personal preference. So ignore my advice if it's more effort then it's worth. If you're designing in HTML, consider testing the waters with a wordpress blog. Very easy to design and set up E-commerce, and they don't all look like blogs.

This is my business blog... http://www.pennfurnitureonline.com/Blog/ It is a events and news blog, so it is cluttered by nature. You wouldn't have to add so much content.

08-28-2009, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Footbag

It looks nice to me, but having designed a few websites I will make a few suggestions. I'd love to see a nice closeup of either the tooling or the stitching in the header of the website. Perhaps even overlay your logo on top of it. You would need to take a bunch of photo's and do some photo-shopping, but it could look great. Or if you could tool your logo into a piece of leather, and just take a detail picture of that and use it as a header.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of textured backgrounds. I'd prefer the contrast of your product off a solid background. That said, it's all personal preference. So ignore my advice if it's more effort then it's worth. If you're designing in HTML, consider testing the waters with a wordpress blog. Very easy to design and set up E-commerce, and they don't all look like blogs.

This is my business blog... http://www.pennfurnitureonline.com/Blog/ It is a events and news blog, so it is cluttered by nature. You wouldn't have to add so much content.

I agree. I'm not a fan of crazy fonts as well (not that you have any). My point is that all the focus should be on your work.

kydsid · 08-28-2009, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stitch

Thanks ya' all ... Now for you big screen users, Is it normal when using a higher resolution for the site's to seem like they are squished to one side?
I know my system can support a bigger better monitor ... But with Wifey's job ending in two weeks that just aint gonna happen.
I Appreciate everyone's help and input here !

Stitch I have a 30" at home. Everything is on one side!

But yes you get used to websites being centered left once you go beyound a 1200x1080 resolution.

As for the monitor. How big is yours? I have a couple just laying around the house and while shipping costs a lot for even and LCD once you package it right my family lives in Tucson and if you would be willing to meet at least in Phoenix area I'll just give you one.

stitch · 08-28-2009, 01:59 PM

Good input here! ... I knew I could count on you guy's

I'm going to do just a teeny bit of tweaking then ask your input again.
Jason, My monitor is a 16" ... yeah I know, I know ...
There is no way I'd just let you "Give" me a monitor, I'd be willing to drive to Tucson and buy one from you ...And smoke some stogies with you

My Schedule is pretty screwed up for the next couple of weeks with my gun show I put on comming up .... But we'll talk ... We might be able to work out something.

Rabidsquirrel · 08-28-2009, 02:11 PM

If you're going with a rebuild, go with something that scales to different sizes/resolutions. It's easier than it sounds. I'm a fan of a centered layout. I like how your site now is easy to navigate. Nothing is more frustrating that trying to navigate a horribly layed (lain??) out website. I like solid colors instead of a patterned background. Tables and CSS are easy to work with. PHP makes making updates easier. I would add an option to view more pictures, close ups, backs, etc.

Again, as others have said, simple/easy is best. I don't want to have to go to 16 different pages to have to order. Try not to completely change the structure to avoid confusing returning customers.

-edit-

Oh yeah, when testing, don't just use IE. Use Firefox, Opera, Safari, Chrome. Change your resolution and see how it looks too. The days of "This site is designed for IE and 800x600 resolution" are over (not that I saw it on your page).

kelmac07 · 08-28-2009, 02:15 PM

Stitch...looks good to me. Simple and easy to use, nice pictures, and it WORKS!! I am of the old school "keep it simple stupid".

stitch · 08-28-2009, 02:22 PM

How in the heck do you make it scale to different resolutions?
I'm not doing a major rebuild ... The site has worked well for me since 98'
Just trying to tweak it a little so it looks good.
Good input here ... Some stuff I never thought about

Rabidsquirrel · 08-28-2009, 02:31 PM

I'm not a hard ore programmer, so there's probably an easier way, but I always set widths in CSS with a percentage, so it doesn't really matter what resolution you use, it adapts to the situation. It would require a start from scratch though.

I'd just leave your site the way it is. Maybe experiment with a few backgrounds or something.

JE3146 · 08-29-2009, 01:33 PM

I've done a number of sites... The only thing I would suggest would just to redo the table settings to percentages instead of fixed dimensions, then to redo the buttons with something called a CSS sprite. Something graphically appealing and professional. Those 2 things would add a lot of life to a very simple and easy to use site. Redoing the tables with CSS div containers would be optimal, but highly unnecessary.

It's not a bad site, but the oldschool buttons detract, and adding multidimensional support would be a welcomed thing.

That and make the subpages follow a consistent pattern. A navigation bar must be a consistent thing. Hitting 'back' is a thing of the past.

08-28-2009, 12:25 PM	#1
stitch Saddle Maker And Cowboy Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: The Diamond K Ranch Posts: 720 Trading: (34)	Need your input on my web site please I’d like to ask you all for some input and help concerning my web site. I built this site back in the late 90’s And it’s time for a major upgrade. My computer is old and my monitor is small and the site is laid out relative to the old 800 x 600 format ( That’s the resolution I use ) but when I look at the site in higher resolutions it just doesn’t look right. So please help an old cowpoke out here and give me some input as to what you think I should do here, What resolution I should gear it for and so on. I have a ton of work to do, and a lot of stuff to add to the site and I’d really appreciate everyone’s input. Thank you much everyone ! My Web Site :http://www.mountainhomeleather.com __________________ Cowboy Wisdom: Ifin' ya get to thinkin yourself a might bit important, Try tellin someone else's dog what to do.

08-28-2009, 12:45 PM	#2
kydsid Ditat Deus Join Date: Apr 2009 First Name: Jason Location: Among the Pines Posts: 2,361 Trading: (46)	Re: Need your input on my web site please 1024x768 is more or less the industry standard for website size, AFAIK. Might be some designers around to say otherwise. But if'in you send me your computer model info I can find out if you can support a higher resolution and therefore a bigger monitor so that you can work on the new site. __________________ Check out the Cigar Asylum Newbie Sampler Trade

08-28-2009, 12:49 PM	#3
ahc4353 Guest Posts: n/a	Re: Need your input on my web site please I really can't see that much wrong with it. You have some text that needs a little attention and I would make it fit better on a larger screen but that's about it. It's simple and easy to navigate and to me that's KEY. I really look forward to the day when you can make me a holster for my 1911. Beautiful work!

08-28-2009, 12:58 PM	#4
csbrewfisher Welcome to my nightmare Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Jerry Location: Colorado Springs Posts: 676 Trading: (10)	Re: Need your input on my web site please The only comment I have is that the site WORKS! That's better than about half of them out there. I also think you're a damn good craftsman! __________________ http://www.facebook.com/csbrewfisher

08-28-2009, 01:06 PM	#5
stitch Saddle Maker And Cowboy Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: The Diamond K Ranch Posts: 720 Trading: (34)	Re: Need your input on my web site please Thanks ya' all ... Now for you big screen users, Is it normal when using a higher resolution for the site's to seem like they are squished to one side? I know my system can support a bigger better monitor ... But with Wifey's job ending in two weeks that just aint gonna happen. I Appreciate everyone's help and input here ! __________________ Cowboy Wisdom: Ifin' ya get to thinkin yourself a might bit important, Try tellin someone else's dog what to do.

08-28-2009, 01:25 PM	#7
G G BR549 Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Greg Location: Taylor, FL. Posts: 12,731 Trading: (10)	Re: Need your input on my web site please The site looks pretty good to me, easy to navigate. I hope to buy a holster for my Glock from you someday.

08-28-2009, 01:41 PM	#8
Footbag I Need My Space Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Adam Location: NEPA Posts: 1,216 Trading: (7)	Re: Need your input on my web site please It looks nice to me, but having designed a few websites I will make a few suggestions. I'd love to see a nice closeup of either the tooling or the stitching in the header of the website. Perhaps even overlay your logo on top of it. You would need to take a bunch of photo's and do some photo-shopping, but it could look great. Or if you could tool your logo into a piece of leather, and just take a detail picture of that and use it as a header. Personally, I'm not a big fan of textured backgrounds. I'd prefer the contrast of your product off a solid background. That said, it's all personal preference. So ignore my advice if it's more effort then it's worth. If you're designing in HTML, consider testing the waters with a wordpress blog. Very easy to design and set up E-commerce, and they don't all look like blogs. This is my business blog... http://www.pennfurnitureonline.com/Blog/ It is a events and news blog, so it is cluttered by nature. You wouldn't have to add so much content.

08-28-2009, 01:59 PM	#11
stitch Saddle Maker And Cowboy Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: The Diamond K Ranch Posts: 720 Trading: (34)	Re: Need your input on my web site please Good input here! ... I knew I could count on you guy's I'm going to do just a teeny bit of tweaking then ask your input again. Jason, My monitor is a 16" ... yeah I know, I know ... There is no way I'd just let you "Give" me a monitor, I'd be willing to drive to Tucson and buy one from you ...And smoke some stogies with you My Schedule is pretty screwed up for the next couple of weeks with my gun show I put on comming up .... But we'll talk ... We might be able to work out something. __________________ Cowboy Wisdom: Ifin' ya get to thinkin yourself a might bit important, Try tellin someone else's dog what to do.

08-28-2009, 02:11 PM	#12
Rabidsquirrel Moderately Confused Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Pennsylvania, US Posts: 576 Trading: (5)	Re: Need your input on my web site please If you're going with a rebuild, go with something that scales to different sizes/resolutions. It's easier than it sounds. I'm a fan of a centered layout. I like how your site now is easy to navigate. Nothing is more frustrating that trying to navigate a horribly layed (lain??) out website. I like solid colors instead of a patterned background. Tables and CSS are easy to work with. PHP makes making updates easier. I would add an option to view more pictures, close ups, backs, etc. Again, as others have said, simple/easy is best. I don't want to have to go to 16 different pages to have to order. Try not to completely change the structure to avoid confusing returning customers. -edit- Oh yeah, when testing, don't just use IE. Use Firefox, Opera, Safari, Chrome. Change your resolution and see how it looks too. The days of "This site is designed for IE and 800x600 resolution" are over (not that I saw it on your page).

08-28-2009, 02:15 PM	#13
kelmac07 Resident Maduro Whore!! Join Date: Apr 2009 First Name: Mac Location: Newport News, VA Posts: 27,322 Trading: (218)	Re: Need your input on my web site please Stitch...looks good to me. Simple and easy to use, nice pictures, and it WORKS!! I am of the old school "keep it simple stupid". __________________ Dom in the MLB thread "I could probably get you to wear a Yankee hat for a Maduro!"

08-28-2009, 02:22 PM	#14
stitch Saddle Maker And Cowboy Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: The Diamond K Ranch Posts: 720 Trading: (34)	Re: Need your input on my web site please How in the heck do you make it scale to different resolutions? I'm not doing a major rebuild ... The site has worked well for me since 98' Just trying to tweak it a little so it looks good. Good input here ... Some stuff I never thought about __________________ Cowboy Wisdom: Ifin' ya get to thinkin yourself a might bit important, Try tellin someone else's dog what to do.

08-28-2009, 02:31 PM	#15
Rabidsquirrel Moderately Confused Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Pennsylvania, US Posts: 576 Trading: (5)	Re: Need your input on my web site please I'm not a hard ore programmer, so there's probably an easier way, but I always set widths in CSS with a percentage, so it doesn't really matter what resolution you use, it adapts to the situation. It would require a start from scratch though. I'd just leave your site the way it is. Maybe experiment with a few backgrounds or something.

08-29-2009, 01:33 PM	#16
JE3146 Jordan #2 Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Jordan Location: Tigard, OR Posts: 2,115 Trading: (26)	Re: Need your input on my web site please I've done a number of sites... The only thing I would suggest would just to redo the table settings to percentages instead of fixed dimensions, then to redo the buttons with something called a CSS sprite. Something graphically appealing and professional. Those 2 things would add a lot of life to a very simple and easy to use site. Redoing the tables with CSS div containers would be optimal, but highly unnecessary. It's not a bad site, but the oldschool buttons detract, and adding multidimensional support would be a welcomed thing. That and make the subpages follow a consistent pattern. A navigation bar must be a consistent thing. Hitting 'back' is a thing of the past.