Re: Website review sought - comments invited

Craig Cockburn wrote:
In message <55fso3lf1pd3pv8n34etrb2897sq80thvn@xxxxxxx>, Abrasha
<abrasha@xxxxxxxxxxx> writes
Craig Cockburn wrote:
I have recently updated a website I've set up for my wife's handmade
jewellery and for ease of access it is now available through
http://www.scotlandsilver.com and
http://www.jewelryscotland.com

Also, to save on bandwidth I'm using Flickr to host the new images of
sterling silver jewellery
http://www.flickr.com/groups/joscelin/ although the link is at the page
above.

Any suggestions on how to improve the appearance, functionality of the
site welcome.

thanks

Craig

1 Why do you have thumbnails on the same page as the larger versions? It
is redundant and quite frankly just plain wrong and bad design.

1. The thumbnails load first and you get to see them.
2. You also get to see the larger versions without having to click
around.
3. While you are looking at the thumbnails, the bigger images are
loading beneath the fold.


You don't understand the concept. Thumbnails are meant to be on one
page together. They are small, so the page loads very quickly.

the entire page yes, however waiting until the entire page has loaded is
often not necessary. Having them at the bottom of the page means that
the user is not waiting to see the relevant text at the top. Having the
entire page load very quickly is presumably only relevant if there is
text below the main images that doesn't make sense until the image has
loaded.

A
person can then click on a thumbnail and be taken to a different page
(or frame) that will have the enlarged image on it.

This is of course extra effort for the user and the other page then
doesn't begin to load until the user does something whereas with the
design I've used then the larger images are already available. One has
to balance the total load time in one page versus the total time for one
page + click + secondary page to load.

The way you are mentioning was entirely relevant in the 90s when most
people had modems but it is still relevant now?

2 Even though you say that the web site is http://www.scotlandsilver.com
and http://www.jewelryscotland.com, when one clicks on these URLs, one
is taken to: http://www.siliconglen.com/joscelin/jewelry.html

You obviously already own the virtual domains, now find an ISP that will
create aliases for you to host them that way.

I can host them that way, however google assigns a greater weight to the
redirected site as it's been around for 8 years.



Your reply reminds me of a friend and colleague who comes to my shop to
ask my advice from time to time. He will come into my shop, shows me a
project he is working on and asks me, "Abrasha, how would you do this?"
I then tell him how I would do it. Invariably he then starts to argue
with me, and tells me that my method is wrong, negating the fact that he
had asked me, how I would do it.

So why the hell do you come here to ask for "suggestions on how to
improve the appearance, functionality of the site", when you then argue
that your method is right? You already know the answers. After I had
posted my response, I noted that several other people had given you
pretty much the same response. And mbstevens directed you to a site
with a thorough explanation of how to properly implement thumbnails.

So let me be a little bit more blunt.

Your site is *** ugly, you do not begin to have a clue how thumbnails
are used, or how to design a good looking web site. And what's worse,
when a number of people give you good advice, you more or less tell them
to buzz off. You may think that "my way" is so 90's, and that your way
is the correct way. That's fine, just don't come here for advice.


--
Abrasha
http://www.abrasha.com
.