another "critique my site, please" thread!
1 - 8 of 8 Posts
Joined
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13,016 Posts
Okay, don't mind if I will. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="smile"><br><br>
#1. <b>First, the color scheme and logo is fabulous.</b> I love simple, succinct lines - no fluff design in a logo ... this one is memorable and represents the QuirkyBaby name well. I can see it on business cards, invoices, letterhead, etc... Nice.<br><br>
#2. <b>Next, I appreciate the diversity of women and sizes represented.</b> When I click on <a href="http://www.quirkybaby.com/catalog.php" target="_blank">Browse Categories</a> I see women of all sizes wearing your product line. When I was babywearing, I was in a size 18/20 and struggled to find anything that would fit comfortably with my frame and breasts. This website, I feel, best represents women's frames in general ... and not just the pretty, thin, mommies we see all over magazine covers, articles and commercials. Not that I'm against pretty, thin women - it is just that having the diversity of women represented celebrates motherhood as a whole. Again, fabulous.<br><br>
#3. <b>I am a visual searcher.</b> Others like text links. In the Categories area it is nice to have both the text option (good for search engines and text-oriented clickers) and the photo option for clicking through to each category. I was surprised recently to stumble upon a site where I couldn't click thru the images. I believe most of the new carts are smarter than that, but now I'm noticing it.<br><br>
#4. <b>Again with the visual</b> - the extension of the circular "q" and "b" in the logo to the circular images below makes an excellent flow. And the upside down "i" is indeed, quirky ... love it.<br><br>
The business as a whole is focused. I know exactly what you sell when I get there - no confusion; very straightforward.<br><br>
***Oh, and kudos that it validates XHTML, making it highly compatible across all browsers. There are 19 Warnings, but no errors in the code.<br><br>
I like your approach ... it is very professional. I'd trust that you are a professional business and purchase products from you based on this website.<br><br><span style="text-decoration:underline;">There are a few things that I think need tweaking</span>.<br>
#1. On the contact page, you do not "show" the email for contact ... instead you have to click thru. Not everyone's browser or OS will draw up email in that way, so you may indirectly make it difficult for someone to communicate with you. It would be best to use an obfuscator like this <a href="http://alicorna.com/obfuscator.html?text=shipping%40motherofeden.com" target="_blank">free one here</a> to also offer your actual email address. This will keep you from getting shredded by spam bots, but at the same time, give visual contact information that is clickable on your site.<br><br>
#2. On your home page, your links are not all integrated with the CSS. The one that stands out is at the bottom of the breastfeeding graphic (right above the footer) where it say "Continue reading..." I see it in the standardized blue link color. I'm sure you intend it to match the others.<br><br>
#3. Some of your links below images need some padding. For instance, on the home page underneath your featured picture (the link is white to show up on the blue background). It is jammed up pretty close to the image. I noticed this on your Categories pages as well.<br><br>
#4. Your site is graphic heavy. I'm on high speed DSL and it took a bit of time for the images to all fall together. The more images that can be worked into the CSS of your site, the faster your download would be.
#1. <b>First, the color scheme and logo is fabulous.</b> I love simple, succinct lines - no fluff design in a logo ... this one is memorable and represents the QuirkyBaby name well. I can see it on business cards, invoices, letterhead, etc... Nice.<br><br>
#2. <b>Next, I appreciate the diversity of women and sizes represented.</b> When I click on <a href="http://www.quirkybaby.com/catalog.php" target="_blank">Browse Categories</a> I see women of all sizes wearing your product line. When I was babywearing, I was in a size 18/20 and struggled to find anything that would fit comfortably with my frame and breasts. This website, I feel, best represents women's frames in general ... and not just the pretty, thin, mommies we see all over magazine covers, articles and commercials. Not that I'm against pretty, thin women - it is just that having the diversity of women represented celebrates motherhood as a whole. Again, fabulous.<br><br>
#3. <b>I am a visual searcher.</b> Others like text links. In the Categories area it is nice to have both the text option (good for search engines and text-oriented clickers) and the photo option for clicking through to each category. I was surprised recently to stumble upon a site where I couldn't click thru the images. I believe most of the new carts are smarter than that, but now I'm noticing it.<br><br>
#4. <b>Again with the visual</b> - the extension of the circular "q" and "b" in the logo to the circular images below makes an excellent flow. And the upside down "i" is indeed, quirky ... love it.<br><br>
The business as a whole is focused. I know exactly what you sell when I get there - no confusion; very straightforward.<br><br>
***Oh, and kudos that it validates XHTML, making it highly compatible across all browsers. There are 19 Warnings, but no errors in the code.<br><br>
I like your approach ... it is very professional. I'd trust that you are a professional business and purchase products from you based on this website.<br><br><span style="text-decoration:underline;">There are a few things that I think need tweaking</span>.<br>
#1. On the contact page, you do not "show" the email for contact ... instead you have to click thru. Not everyone's browser or OS will draw up email in that way, so you may indirectly make it difficult for someone to communicate with you. It would be best to use an obfuscator like this <a href="http://alicorna.com/obfuscator.html?text=shipping%40motherofeden.com" target="_blank">free one here</a> to also offer your actual email address. This will keep you from getting shredded by spam bots, but at the same time, give visual contact information that is clickable on your site.<br><br>
#2. On your home page, your links are not all integrated with the CSS. The one that stands out is at the bottom of the breastfeeding graphic (right above the footer) where it say "Continue reading..." I see it in the standardized blue link color. I'm sure you intend it to match the others.<br><br>
#3. Some of your links below images need some padding. For instance, on the home page underneath your featured picture (the link is white to show up on the blue background). It is jammed up pretty close to the image. I noticed this on your Categories pages as well.<br><br>
#4. Your site is graphic heavy. I'm on high speed DSL and it took a bit of time for the images to all fall together. The more images that can be worked into the CSS of your site, the faster your download would be.
Joined
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11,770 Posts
<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/yikes.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="EEK!"><img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/bow.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="bow"> Heather, thanks! I have to admit, I don't know half of what you're talking about, but I will muddle through what I can and I will discuss the rest with my designer!<br><br><div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">#2. Next, I appreciate the diversity of women and sizes represented. When I click on Browse Categories I see women of all sizes wearing your product line. When I was babywearing, I was in a size 18/20 and struggled to find anything that would fit comfortably with my frame and breasts. This website, I feel, best represents women's frames in general ... and not just the pretty, thin, mommies we see all over magazine covers, articles and commercials. Not that I'm against pretty, thin women - it is just that having the diversity of women represented celebrates motherhood as a whole. Again, fabulous.</td>
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I have to say, I give a lot of credit to the companies I sell for finding models who make babywearing look great in a range of sizes (and colors, and both genders). One particular company that I sell has only pictures of super-skinny, hot models who look like they've never birthed or bf'ed and although I know there are mamas out there who actually look like that, I wish that this company would diversify their images so that women who aren't a size 2 with perfect skin and hair would feel that this product would look good on them, too.<br><br>
Now off to figure out the rest of your comments if I can <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/blush.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="blush"><br><br>
THANKS!!!
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">#2. Next, I appreciate the diversity of women and sizes represented. When I click on Browse Categories I see women of all sizes wearing your product line. When I was babywearing, I was in a size 18/20 and struggled to find anything that would fit comfortably with my frame and breasts. This website, I feel, best represents women's frames in general ... and not just the pretty, thin, mommies we see all over magazine covers, articles and commercials. Not that I'm against pretty, thin women - it is just that having the diversity of women represented celebrates motherhood as a whole. Again, fabulous.</td>
</tr></table></div>
I have to say, I give a lot of credit to the companies I sell for finding models who make babywearing look great in a range of sizes (and colors, and both genders). One particular company that I sell has only pictures of super-skinny, hot models who look like they've never birthed or bf'ed and although I know there are mamas out there who actually look like that, I wish that this company would diversify their images so that women who aren't a size 2 with perfect skin and hair would feel that this product would look good on them, too.<br><br>
Now off to figure out the rest of your comments if I can <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/blush.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="blush"><br><br>
THANKS!!!
Joined
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13,016 Posts
If only companies understood that in order for a mom to want to buy she has to feel good about herself. I've spent countless hours in a dressing room nearly next to tears when I couldn't pull a shirt around my bulging breasts or belly - if I received a baby carrier I was excited to wear and it cut across my back and breasts, leaving no room for baby ... I would be upset with myself and that is just not a good time for mommas to be beating themselves up for exra poundage..<br><br>
Having realistic photos also will reduce the amount of returns. I'll put up kudos for those companies with you!
Having realistic photos also will reduce the amount of returns. I'll put up kudos for those companies with you!
Joined
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11,770 Posts
<div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">
<div>Originally Posted by <strong>HeatherSanders</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7930154"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;"><br>
***Oh, and kudos that it validates XHTML, making it highly compatible across all browsers. There are 19 Warnings, but no errors in the code.</div>
</td>
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<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/blush.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="blush"> Are Warnings important? Should I let my designer know about them?<br><br>
I like your approach ... it is very professional. I'd trust that you are a professional business and purchase products from you based on this website.<br><br><div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">#1. On the contact page, you do not "show" the email for contact ... instead you have to click thru. Not everyone's browser or OS will draw up email in that way, so you may indirectly make it difficult for someone to communicate with you. It would be best to use an obfuscator like this <a href="http://alicorna.com/obfuscator.html?text=shipping%40motherofeden.com" target="_blank">free one here</a> to also offer your actual email address. This will keep you from getting shredded by spam bots, but at the same time, give visual contact information that is clickable on your site.</td>
</tr></table></div>
I am working on trying to figure this one out for myself without pestering my designer. My "back end" is Splashcart (based on Mal's) so I have a WYSIWYG editor I enter text into rather than html.<br><br>
#
<div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">2. On your home page, your links are not all integrated with the CSS. The one that stands out is at the bottom of the breastfeeding graphic (right above the footer) where it say "Continue reading..." I see it in the standardized blue link color. I'm sure you intend it to match the others.</td>
</tr></table></div>
Changed this. I guess it's not part of my CSS so much as it is the color choices I selected in my WYSIWYG editor.<br><br><div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">#3. Some of your links below images need some padding. For instance, on the home page underneath your featured picture (the link is white to show up on the blue background). It is jammed up pretty close to the image. I noticed this on your Categories pages as well.</td>
</tr></table></div>
Changed the "featured item" box but I'm going to have to talk to my designer about the rest, because the way it works in Splashcart is I upload the image I want and enter the caption I want in separate boxes but I don't see a way to put in a line break.<br><br><div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">#4. Your site is graphic heavy. I'm on high speed DSL and it took a bit of time for the images to all fall together. The more images that can be worked into the CSS of your site, the faster your download would be.</td>
</tr></table></div>
Again, I think this is one of the limitations of my back end/cart. I've uploaded all those images into categories/products, so I can change them at any time, but I guess that means they're not part of the CSS.<br><br>
(And I'm embarrassed to admit I had to google CSS to figure out what it means! Shows you how non-techie I am!)
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">
<div>Originally Posted by <strong>HeatherSanders</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7930154"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;"><br>
***Oh, and kudos that it validates XHTML, making it highly compatible across all browsers. There are 19 Warnings, but no errors in the code.</div>
</td>
</tr></table></div>
<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/blush.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="blush"> Are Warnings important? Should I let my designer know about them?<br><br>
I like your approach ... it is very professional. I'd trust that you are a professional business and purchase products from you based on this website.<br><br><div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">#1. On the contact page, you do not "show" the email for contact ... instead you have to click thru. Not everyone's browser or OS will draw up email in that way, so you may indirectly make it difficult for someone to communicate with you. It would be best to use an obfuscator like this <a href="http://alicorna.com/obfuscator.html?text=shipping%40motherofeden.com" target="_blank">free one here</a> to also offer your actual email address. This will keep you from getting shredded by spam bots, but at the same time, give visual contact information that is clickable on your site.</td>
</tr></table></div>
I am working on trying to figure this one out for myself without pestering my designer. My "back end" is Splashcart (based on Mal's) so I have a WYSIWYG editor I enter text into rather than html.<br><br>
#
<div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">2. On your home page, your links are not all integrated with the CSS. The one that stands out is at the bottom of the breastfeeding graphic (right above the footer) where it say "Continue reading..." I see it in the standardized blue link color. I'm sure you intend it to match the others.</td>
</tr></table></div>
Changed this. I guess it's not part of my CSS so much as it is the color choices I selected in my WYSIWYG editor.<br><br><div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">#3. Some of your links below images need some padding. For instance, on the home page underneath your featured picture (the link is white to show up on the blue background). It is jammed up pretty close to the image. I noticed this on your Categories pages as well.</td>
</tr></table></div>
Changed the "featured item" box but I'm going to have to talk to my designer about the rest, because the way it works in Splashcart is I upload the image I want and enter the caption I want in separate boxes but I don't see a way to put in a line break.<br><br><div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">#4. Your site is graphic heavy. I'm on high speed DSL and it took a bit of time for the images to all fall together. The more images that can be worked into the CSS of your site, the faster your download would be.</td>
</tr></table></div>
Again, I think this is one of the limitations of my back end/cart. I've uploaded all those images into categories/products, so I can change them at any time, but I guess that means they're not part of the CSS.<br><br>
(And I'm embarrassed to admit I had to google CSS to figure out what it means! Shows you how non-techie I am!)
Joined
·
6,938 Posts
LOVE the logo and colors!<br><br>
I'm giving you info as a consumer, not a WAHM with experience (I have none!).<br><br>
I'll go back and look more, but the only things I'd change so far is maybe a little more differentiating between the babywearing and breastfeeding on the home page so that people know these are the main 2 categories. I think if you take out the "featured item" and the "fun and functional" part it would be easier to get what your site is all about.<br><br>
The other thing is the Kozys -- you may want to alert customers that they should click on the pics to see the fabric samples. They (esp. people new to babywearing) might think they only have 2 fabric choices as shown in the pics.<br><br>
It looks great, though! I love the sidebar on the home page with the carriers!
I'm giving you info as a consumer, not a WAHM with experience (I have none!).<br><br>
I'll go back and look more, but the only things I'd change so far is maybe a little more differentiating between the babywearing and breastfeeding on the home page so that people know these are the main 2 categories. I think if you take out the "featured item" and the "fun and functional" part it would be easier to get what your site is all about.<br><br>
The other thing is the Kozys -- you may want to alert customers that they should click on the pics to see the fabric samples. They (esp. people new to babywearing) might think they only have 2 fabric choices as shown in the pics.<br><br>
It looks great, though! I love the sidebar on the home page with the carriers!
Joined
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13,016 Posts
<div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">
<div>Originally Posted by <strong>Quirky</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7941685"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;"><img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/blush.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="blush"> Are Warnings important? Should I let my designer know about them?</div>
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Yes, the warnings are important - it just cleans up markup from WYSIWYG editors (which are wiser NOT to use). These types of conversion tools will bloat your markup. In other words, they add in unnecessary code. Plus, by cleaning up all warnings your site will be accessible across the board - from the average Joe Shmoe to someone with special needs or disabilities using software to help them search the web.<br><br>
You can <a href="http://validator.w3.org/docs/why.html" target="_blank">read this</a> to find out why validating 100% is so important. It basically holds your website to a standard. You will notice that many designers will now say that they will create a site that will validate XHTML and CSS.<br><br><i>Speaking of CSS...</i><br><br><div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">
<div>Originally Posted by <strong>Quirky</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7941685"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">I am working on trying to figure this one out for myself without pestering my designer. My "back end" is Splashcart (based on Mal's) so I have a WYSIWYG editor I enter text into rather than html.</div>
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I "believe" that with Mal's you can select to work in html and NOT use the WYSIWYG editor. Even with WYSIWYG editors you can enter code through an html tab or some such area that allows you to edit in hard code.<br><br>
If you aren't sure, ask your designer about this. I can see that CSS was built into your cart for your design. If they worked your site in CSS you can inadvertantly effect the design if you start using a WYSIWYG editor to make changes.<br><br><div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">
<div>Originally Posted by <strong>Quirky</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7941685"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">Changed this. I guess it's not part of my CSS so much as it is the color choices I selected in my WYSIWYG editor.</div>
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So, you've entered all your text using the WYSIWYG editor then? Because I don't see that they have assigned any standard CSS for your hyperlinks.<br><br><div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">
<div>Originally Posted by <strong>Quirky</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7941685"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">Changed the "featured item" box but I'm going to have to talk to my designer about the rest, because the way it works in Splashcart is I upload the image I want and enter the caption I want in separate boxes but I don't see a way to put in a line break.</div>
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Right ... that's the way it is with dynamic shopping carts and blogs, etc... it will be within the CSS/code they wrote for your design.<br><br><div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">
<div>Originally Posted by <strong>Quirky</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7941685"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">Again, I think this is one of the limitations of my back end/cart. I've uploaded all those images into categories/products, so I can change them at any time, but I guess that means they're not part of the CSS.</div>
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When I was talking about download time I was talking about the home page. Your category/product images, etc... won't be in the CSS. They aren't supposed to be. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="smile"><br><br>
The background images or images next to your text in all those boxes. However, there are some situations where a designer has to double up on images and they can't all be placed in the CSS or if they can, it isn't feasible.<br><br>
I just went and viewed your CSS and I really think they've packed a good deal of images into it to allow for a quicker download. It is just an image heavy front page. And I don't mean that badly - just a matter of fact. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/wink1.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="wink1"><br><br><div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">
<div>Originally Posted by <strong>Quirky</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7941685"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">(And I'm embarrassed to admit I had to google CSS to figure out what it means! Shows you how non-techie I am!)</div>
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Do NOT be embarrassed. There are a few on this forum that could probably bury me with their knowledge. We're all on the learning curve somewhere! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/winky.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Wink">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">
<div>Originally Posted by <strong>Quirky</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7941685"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;"><img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/blush.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="blush"> Are Warnings important? Should I let my designer know about them?</div>
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Yes, the warnings are important - it just cleans up markup from WYSIWYG editors (which are wiser NOT to use). These types of conversion tools will bloat your markup. In other words, they add in unnecessary code. Plus, by cleaning up all warnings your site will be accessible across the board - from the average Joe Shmoe to someone with special needs or disabilities using software to help them search the web.<br><br>
You can <a href="http://validator.w3.org/docs/why.html" target="_blank">read this</a> to find out why validating 100% is so important. It basically holds your website to a standard. You will notice that many designers will now say that they will create a site that will validate XHTML and CSS.<br><br><i>Speaking of CSS...</i><br><br><div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">
<div>Originally Posted by <strong>Quirky</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7941685"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">I am working on trying to figure this one out for myself without pestering my designer. My "back end" is Splashcart (based on Mal's) so I have a WYSIWYG editor I enter text into rather than html.</div>
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I "believe" that with Mal's you can select to work in html and NOT use the WYSIWYG editor. Even with WYSIWYG editors you can enter code through an html tab or some such area that allows you to edit in hard code.<br><br>
If you aren't sure, ask your designer about this. I can see that CSS was built into your cart for your design. If they worked your site in CSS you can inadvertantly effect the design if you start using a WYSIWYG editor to make changes.<br><br><div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">
<div>Originally Posted by <strong>Quirky</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7941685"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">Changed this. I guess it's not part of my CSS so much as it is the color choices I selected in my WYSIWYG editor.</div>
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So, you've entered all your text using the WYSIWYG editor then? Because I don't see that they have assigned any standard CSS for your hyperlinks.<br><br><div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">
<div>Originally Posted by <strong>Quirky</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7941685"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">Changed the "featured item" box but I'm going to have to talk to my designer about the rest, because the way it works in Splashcart is I upload the image I want and enter the caption I want in separate boxes but I don't see a way to put in a line break.</div>
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Right ... that's the way it is with dynamic shopping carts and blogs, etc... it will be within the CSS/code they wrote for your design.<br><br><div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">
<div>Originally Posted by <strong>Quirky</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7941685"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">Again, I think this is one of the limitations of my back end/cart. I've uploaded all those images into categories/products, so I can change them at any time, but I guess that means they're not part of the CSS.</div>
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When I was talking about download time I was talking about the home page. Your category/product images, etc... won't be in the CSS. They aren't supposed to be. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="smile"><br><br>
The background images or images next to your text in all those boxes. However, there are some situations where a designer has to double up on images and they can't all be placed in the CSS or if they can, it isn't feasible.<br><br>
I just went and viewed your CSS and I really think they've packed a good deal of images into it to allow for a quicker download. It is just an image heavy front page. And I don't mean that badly - just a matter of fact. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/wink1.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="wink1"><br><br><div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">
<div>Originally Posted by <strong>Quirky</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7941685"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">(And I'm embarrassed to admit I had to google CSS to figure out what it means! Shows you how non-techie I am!)</div>
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Do NOT be embarrassed. There are a few on this forum that could probably bury me with their knowledge. We're all on the learning curve somewhere! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/winky.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Wink">
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