[thelist] OT:Website makeover

[rudy]

>  ... I want to redesign [ www.mastuco.net ] almost completely
> especially because most of my users are AOLers on 640x480.

hi bill

a "redesign" can be a daunting undertaking

congrats for wanting to take it on, and for having an awareness of the
resolution issue

the fact that they're on aol has other implications, too, but these
shouldn't matter for the moment

> Since it is for student council many people will be visiting
> from schools, and hence, I will have more of a mac
> percentage than the usual webpage.

that shouldn't matter either, because the differences in mac versus other
system browsers viewing your site will not be noticeable if you (re)design
it right

> I want to create a simple uniform layout for the whole site.

that's a great idea

there are effective sites where different subsections have a different look
and feel, but they'll all have the same logo and navigation, in other words
it's obvious they are subsites

try to be generous in what you will allow subsections to look like, and not
too restrictive in all that they must adhere to

then delegate the subsections

> There are many things wrong currently, but I would like
> suggestions as to what to fix first.

i am so all over that one

i'd say fix the thing that people complain about the most first

if you run outta them, then start on the things that bug you the most next

after that, the only thing i noticed was there were some images that had
text in them -- don't do that

i mean, don't put text into images, not don't have images

logo and site name are the only exception, everything else (nav bar, etc.)
should be text

(i got nothing against images, contrary to what some may think -- heh, i
love images, eh)

anyhow, bill, don't worry about your code -- i hope nobody tells you to
ditch your tables for css, but anyone who knows about the flash of unstyled
content can probably take that in stride...

hey, if you get a critique from aardvark, be prepared for possibly harsh
criticism, but realize that his is one of the best reviews a site could
possibly get

if you get him in a generous mood (which is, like, almost always), he will
tell you in words of gold what needs fixing and how to approach it

for my two cents, just establish who your audience is, and what they want
to get from your site...  stuff it appears you have already started doing

oh, and your question was not OT, so you didn't have to submit a tip

  ;o)

rudy