suggestions for this layout?

[TheCandyman]

I'm working on a layout and wanted to get some other eyes on it. I'm not fond of the blue color, but that's the one it has to be.

Every so often i get some menu jumping where it opens and closes continually, not sure what that's all about.

http://www.westernregional.org/2011/

.

 

[kjv1611]

On the color, do you think they will allow for a mild variation in the shade of blue? If so, you might be able to at least better match it up to the title image, assuming that's going to stay.

Take my opinion for what it is, b/c I'm definitely far from a web guru. I personally like the overall layout of the site. If the hopping menus get fixed, then I think it could be a real winner. Overall, it looks like a clean layout, and the color scheme seems to present a cool/calming effect which may be desired if it's for a hospital.

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me

 

[kjv1611]

On the other hand... it seems kind of odd to me to use an image such as the one there along with the phrase, "it's wild out west.." in it.. Just doesn't quite give the idea I'd like to see, if I were a medical customer...

Who will be the audience for the site? Will it be the doctors/dentists themselves, or patients? So far, I'm thinking the doctors/dentists. In that case, you can probably get away more with the theme in the image.

Again, this is all my personal opinion... so take it for what it's worth.

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me

 

[TheCandyman]

thanks kjv1611! Audience are those on the dental profession, the theme changes ever few years and so this is one we are running with. Good suggestion of a shade color!

 

[BillyRayPreachersSon]

I dislike the menu because it's so badly designed and implemented: the sub-menus never collapse unless you roll off of them in a specific way, so once you've rolled over the parent items, the only way to see the content underneath is to refresh the page or spend ages titting around with the mouse.

That immediately makes me never want to visit your site ever again.

This is clearly not how it should be - they should work regardless of how the user rolls off of them.

Dan



Coedit Limited - Delivering standards compliant, accessible web solutions

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[TheCandyman]

BillyRayPreachersSon, any suggestions on a nice large dropdown menu? I have searched around for a while trying to find one that will work nicely but just can't find to many places to download one.

 

[BillyRayPreachersSon]

Sorry, no... I normally roll my own (that's half the fun!).

If I do need a menu system in a hurry, I normally go with Suckerfish, but I don't think that has all the fancy animations you want.

Dan



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[TheCandyman]

Okay, just wondering if you knew of something.

I had asked in the JavaScript area about two weeks ago for some help on the way the menu handled mouse overs but never had any responses which is why it's still funny. JS is not my thing.

 

[johnwm]

The other major problem with JS menus is that they don't work if the client browser has javascript disabled. Google may or may not be able to deal with a JS menu, so your site probably won't be properly indexed. You should be able to hack suckerfish as Dan suggested to provide what you are looking for.

If you want the best response to a question, please check out FAQ222-2244 first.
'If we're supposed to work in Hex, why have we only got A fingers?'
Drive a Steam Roller

 

[darryncooke]

That layout is painful to look at.

1. that light blue background is a tough one with all that white. either make it MUCH lighter or MUCH darker.

2. the layout is very simple and plain it honestly looks like you need a designer if you want your site to be a bit more appealing and you are asking for sponsors to give you money but with how your website looks, good luck

3. i mean i clicked on hotels.asp and all i can say is between the buggy drop down and the look of the site (and I hate to be this harsh) but start over

You are selling a convention but your website looks like one I would have made 12 years ago fresh out of high school. Its a very unprofessional image that your site is portraying. Ive worked in tradeshows and I know they can rake in the money, and sponsors. But the sponsors need to feel as though they are getting value.

Darryn Cooke

http://www.darryncooke.com

| The New Orange County Graphic designer and Marketing and Advertising Consultant

http://www.bloobie.com

| Marketing and Advertising blog

 

[TheCandyman]

Be honest/brutal, that's why i posted here. I also personally hate the colors, as mentioned before, and i have thought about a new design darryncooke. One main annoyance is that 20% of my users still use IE6 I'll mess with a new design and see what you guys have to say. Thanks for the help!

 

[darryncooke]

i hate to say this but who cares about IE6. as long as you pander to them they will never update.

Darryn Cooke

http://www.darryncooke.com

| The New Orange County Graphic designer and Marketing and Advertising Consultant

http://www.bloobie.com

| Marketing and Advertising blog

 

[BillyRayPreachersSon]

One main annoyance is that 20% of my users still use IE6

i hate to say this but who cares about IE6

While we might not like IE6 because of its lack of standards compliance, and need for certain hacks (e.g. Alpha PNG fixes, :hover on non anchor elements, etc), the reality is that many users - including big corporations - still use it for their everyday surfing.

Understanding and accepting this reality, and therefore learning to work with it and learning how to overcome these issues is what keeps me as a well-paid front-end developer.

It may be something that many think unnecessary, and thus don't pander to... but they're the ones that are going to lose out on the 'cross browser' contracts.

Dan



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[traingamer]

If 20% of your users really have IE6, then you need to actually look at your design in IE6.

It is not pretty. The main content floats beneath the right hand Sponsorship2Div. Likely due to margins / padding and IE's horrible implementation of the box model.

If your users need to attend for classes and certification, make that findable without JavaScript.

Did you purposefully put the wild out west image below the main image or is that simply another IE6 bonus?

I could live with the colors - dentists and dental labs are a strange bunch anyway.

Greg
People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use. Kierkegaard

 

[BillyRayPreachersSon]

I had a play with your JS code over at thread216-1591685, and have posted some modifications that will get you on the right track.

Note: the code works, but isn't perfect. For example, you can get into a situation where the menus flick between each other if you happen to roll over the other heading and then back onto the original menu (not menu heading) before the original has finished hiding. This could easily be solved by disabling any one menu's mouseenter code while it is in the process of hiding.

The other major problem with JS menus is that they don't work if the client browser has javascript disabled. Google may or may not be able to deal with a JS menu, so your site probably won't be properly indexed.

The first sentence raises in interesting point. You should consider this... perhaps you can re-style suckerfish and add the JS on top for the best of both worlds?

The second sentence is irrelevant, as your menu still exists in HTML, so you should have no worries regarding SEO.

Hope this helps,
Dan



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[kjv1611]

Wow! I hadn't looked at it in IE6, just in Firefox here. I just looked at IE6, and have to concur for sure! In Firefox, it's not anywhere NEAR as bad as in IE6. So yeah, if they're using IE6, it needs some changes for sure!

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me