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Firstly, this isn't a "site critique" post just to clarify.
anyways, i'm relatively new to CSS but i've been reading on it abit and worked on examples etc although i haven't any experiene creating a full website from scratch.
anyways as a way to extend my skills i was thinking of trying to redesign my old school's website.
http://www.cis-edu.dk
well right now you can see, it's terrible, with heavy use of javascript for the navigation which could easily be done in CSS, and broken links, unprofessional looking front page, etc.
i thought i might try a new design and then once it looks ok, email back to them asking if they like the idea of changing it.
anyways, i was just hoping to get some ideas, tips on the layout, design aspects, something that you would have done if you were redesigning the site
for example, i was thinking of making a vertical navigation, but i thought that with so many sub-lists, that it would be ideal to stic to the horizontal navigation with a sub-manu bar as it is now.
other stuff i wondered would be where the address (as it usually shows up in the mainpage for school websites) should be placed, etc
also, i generally think its a good idea to leave space in the content pages for pictures to make the visitors visualize the school.
etc.
any tips would be helpful,..
(ie, it's a good idea to have this, put this there..., etc etc)
thanks in advance -
just as a note, i'm doing this as a voluntary thing, and not gettng paid. (infact i might even give up in between and it won't matter).
so please no comments such that i am being unprofessional etc (ie i shouldn't be seeking help if i'm doing this for money etc)
i'm still in the learning process and i'm hoping to get help learning! -
It's a good way to improve your skills. Indeed, this version does look bad. I would suggest to forget everything that have been done in this version(except the content) and make your own style. If they have a logo or some exact colors they want to use - use that, but other than that a new design would be the best.
Good luck! -
- CommentAuthorWardLarson
- CommentTimeJul 22nd 2006 edited
Great way to practice if you've got the time. Feature it in a portfolio under miscelanious or practice work and someone might relate and ask for work.
I agree that this current design is bad. It's not the worst school site I've seen but certainly not the best. I'd go with a whole new color scheme and definately use CSS for the navigation. I think horizontal navigation looks good on this site, but the vertical nav on my highschool's site might look good (without the ass-ugly yellow rollover color). -
- CommentAuthorPettyRider
- CommentTimeJul 22nd 2006
I would just forget about doing the flyout navigation. Have a horizontal main navigation, then vertical for related content/sub-sections.
Talking about how it's coded, where JS should, shouldn't be used doesn't pertain so much to "design." I would suggest starting with the information architecture. Take all the pages on the site and order it into a logical structure. It might end up being exactly the same as it is now, but take a good look at it. Think about who the site's audience will be, and how they might expect to find the content their looking for. -
while i'm probably thinking wayyyy ahead.
but for a site like a school website, where about 80% of the content is relatively static (updated unregularly through the year. and perhaps one big update once a year), and 20% dynamic (weekly newsletter, headline etc)
would there usually be an implementation of some sort of a CMS ?(not that it matters 100% for me right now but i was just curious for other situations)
also, for the color sheme, our school color is (not surprisingly) blue/white... but it's quite boring colors which 90% of the websites online are. is there any blends of other you might suggest that go well with the blue/white but makes the page stand out more? perhaps some links to useful use of color blends would be helpful.
(ideally, the blue would be more of the conservative blue to maintain the image of prestegious education, although it would have been wicked if it was the CSSBeauty blue, but that's probly not the case)
finally as for the layout...PrettyRider, you mentioned vertical for content sub-sections? just wondering if you could suggest me some sites which use this well.
because usually i would have thought that it would be more ideal to use fly-out horizontal nav as it would reduce the number of clicks required to get somewhere...
anyways, i'll be helpful if people showed me some inspiring sites which could be relatively helpful :D -
- CommentAuthorPettyRider
- CommentTimeJul 22nd 2006
I've just heard of usability issues involving flyout menus. But you're right, they do reduce the amount of clicks. It's not a deadly sin to use them though. I'd get a friend who might be someone who would get on a school website, like a mother or father, and do some quick usability testing.
As for the samples you asked for:
http://www.alistapart.com
http://www.headscape.co.uk
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