New website

[jrl2222]

Well I took the advice of everyone here and updated my website. I didn't go with wordpress exactly I downloaded the free html version of a wordpress theme and took the time to break down everything and learn how to get it how I wanted it.

The site isn't completed yet but it's close. I would like opinions on how it looks, works, what I may need to add or subtract, does it load in quickly, etc.


Please be honest I can take it, this time, I swear.

http://www.jlcomputersolutions.com

 

[PCX]

I do not have time at this moment to critique the site, but it looks relatively decent. Two things though:

1. Why did you not go with the wordpress version of this theme?
2. Are you hosting this on your personal computer? If so, consider spending $5 a month on professional hosting.

 

[Parkwaytech]

It does look much better. A couple of things. First, "locally owned and operated" - WHERE? You need to have this in there so people can find you. Consider adding it to your title to. Look at the title tag of my website to get an idea.

Second, the virus removal header is just too boring. Who cares what a virus is? As a customer, I want it removed. I don't care what it is, and I probably only care a little how it got there.

A lot of your links didn't work, but I imagine that is just due to you still setting up the site.

And, for the final time, why are you not using Wordpress? It will make site updates and redesigns simple, plus it will be much better for SEO and adding additional features. I'm sorry, but handcoding HTML is just not as useful to do (though still very helpful to know).

 

[Tab Alternatives]

Fix your Contact Us/Social div on the bottom right corner. The images are tiled and looks displeasing. Also, the font color is white and is lost within the images.

 

[jrl2222]

1. Why did you not go with the wordpress version of this theme?

Why use wordpress? I can open up an html page on my computer and have it updated or changed in 5-10 minutes then just ftp the new stuff up. Just because people are doing it doesn't make it right for everyone. I still have proper header tags, css and html tags. And if I decide sometime that I want to add a blog and all that stuff that isn't as easy using straight html I will pay for the wordpress theme and configure my site from there. For now html is fine for me.

2. Are you hosting this on your personal computer? If so, consider spending $5 a month on professional hosting.

It is hosted on godaddy.com is there something you noticed that caused you to think it was hosted on my own computer?

First, "locally owned and operated" - WHERE? You need to have this in there so people can find you. Consider adding it to your title to.

Good point and this goes towards another point you make I am still setting it up that is why some links don't work yet. I will be sure to add my location where you suggested

Second, the virus removal header is just too boring.

Do you mean the whole page? Yeah I kind of thought I may have went overboard on content with that page. I will shorten it.

Fix your Contact Us/Social div on the bottom right corner. The images are tiled and looks displeasing. Also, the font color is white and is lost within the images.

I am not seeing what you did. This is what it looks like to me on 3 different computers using IE and Chrome.

 

[Tab Alternatives]

I am not seeing what you did. This is what it looks like to me on 3 different computers using IE and Chrome.
View attachment 2378

I tested it on IE and it is working fine. I see that you didn't mention Firefox as a browser that has been tested, which is the browser I am using. Seems that it is having problems with only Firefox.



P.S. Sorry for the large image size.

 

[PCX]

Why use wordpress? I can open up an html page on my computer and have it updated or changed in 5-10 minutes then just ftp the new stuff up. Just because people are doing it doesn't make it right for everyone. I still have proper header tags, css and html tags. And if I decide sometime that I want to add a blog and all that stuff that isn't as easy using straight html I will pay for the wordpress theme and configure my site from there. For now html is fine for me.

It is hosted on godaddy.com is there something you noticed that caused you to think it was hosted on my own computer?

Alright, I am not going to get in a debate with you as to whether or not wordpress, dynamic websites, php, web 2.0 vs old crusty static html is better. I suggest that you do your own research. All I can tell you is that while I am not a web designer I have worked with all of the above and I can tell you that there is a reason why there is newer web code out there that is replacing and the old. Aside from all that, wordpress is way simpler to work with and quicker to update once you know how to use it. There are tons and tons of reasons why you should use dynamic code like php especially when its as easy as wordpress.

As for the hosting, it loads slow as crap. At least it did for me.

One final note . . . you know all these computers shops that are closing down around us? You know why? Because they can't keep up with technology . . . that an many of them are horrible business people. In any case, try not to make it a habit to stick with the old rather than educate your self on the new.

 

[Martyn]

One word Plugins...............

 

[16k_zx81]

Im not sure that wordpress is the b-all and end-all of web design. Its a cool system, but its only one option among many. I think the tools people choose are a personal choice - and something that will depend on each individual's skills and needs.

I think its also good to respect that not everyone works the same way.

It would be a very boring world indeed if we did

 

[PCX]

Im not sure that wordpress is the b-all and end-all of web design. Its a cool system, but its only one option among many. I think the tools people choose are a personal choice - and something that will depend on each individual's skills and needs.

I think its also good to respect that not everyone works the same way.

It would be a very boring world indeed if we did

I completely agree, wordpress is only one choice and just happens to be a great example of taking complicated code (not really that complicated I guess) and simplifying it for the average person. Gives you the best of both words in many cases.

 

[jrl2222]

While my site uses html it is using the same end code that any wordpress site spits out. Some of the stuff in mine has been moved over to some of the css pages.
And my javascript stuff is spread out through the whole pages code not just at the top but it is still there.
As an example here is grab from your code PCX:

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" dir="ltr" lang="en-US">
<head profile="http://gmpg.org/xfn/11">

<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />

<title>Computer Repair – Jacksonville NC – The PC Exchange  &raquo;  </title>

<link rel="stylesheet" href="http://www.thepcexchange.com/wp-content/themes/devision/style.css" type="text/css" media="screen" />
<link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="RSS Feed" href="http://www.thepcexchange.com/feed/" />
<link rel="pingback" href="http://www.thepcexchange.com/xmlrpc.php" />

<link rel='stylesheet' id='superfish-css'  href='http://www.thepcexchange.com/wp-content/themes/devision/lib/scripts/superfish/superfish.css?ver=1.4.8' type='text/css' media='all' />
<link rel='stylesheet' id='prettyPhoto-css'  href='http://www.thepcexchange.com/wp-content/themes/devision/lib/scripts/pretty/css/prettyPhoto.css?ver=3.0' type='text/css' media='all' />
<script type='text/javascript' src='http://www.thepcexchange.com/wp-includes/js/l10n.js?ver=20101110'></script>
<script type='text/javascript' src='http://www.thepcexchange.com/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery.js?ver=1.6.1'></script>
<script type='text/javascript' src='http://www.thepcexchange.com/wp-includes/js/comment-reply.js?ver=20090102'></script>
<script type='text/javascript' src='http://www.thepcexchange.com/wp-content/plugins/vslider/js/vslider.js?ver=3.2.1'></script>
<link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" title="RSD" href="http://www.thepcexchange.com/xmlrpc.php?rsd" />
<link rel="wlwmanifest" type="application/wlwmanifest+xml" href="http://www.thepcexchange.com/wp-includes/wlwmanifest.xml" /> 
<link rel='index' title='' href='http://www.thepcexchange.com/' />
<link rel='next' title='Contact Us' href='http://www.thepcexchange.com/contact-us/' />
<meta name="generator" content="WordPress 3.2.1" />
<meta name="generator" content="deVision 0.9.1" />
<link rel='canonical' href='http://www.thepcexchange.com/' />
<link rel='shortlink' href='http://wp.me/P1zRbg-2' />
<!-- HeadSpace SEO 3.6.34 by John Godley - urbangiraffe.com -->
<meta name="keywords" content="jacksonville, nc, computer, repair, laptop, 28540, 28546, services, virus, removal, pc, exchange" />
<meta name="description" content="Jacksonville NC local computer repair shop for desktop and laptop computers. We service and repair all PC and Mac computers both in-store and on-site. 28540 28546" />
<!-- HeadSpace -->
<script charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript">var switchTo5x=true;</script><script charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript" src="http://w.sharethis.com/button/buttons.js"></script><script type="text/javascript">stLight.options({publisher:'wp.7854a43b-4c11-46b2-ad1d-1ede9530d993'});var st_type='wordpress3.1.2';</script><style type="text/css">
body { background-color: #000000; }
</style>

<!--[if IE]>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="http://www.thepcexchange.com/wp-content/themes/devision/lib/css/ie.css" type="text/css" media="screen" />
<![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="http://www.thepcexchange.com/wp-content/themes/devision/lib/css/ie7.css" type="text/css" media="screen" />
<![endif]-->
<!-- Place this tag in the <head> of your document -->
<script type="text/javascript">
window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en'};
(function() 
{var po = document.createElement("script");
po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true;po.src = "https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js";
var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s);
})();</script>
<script type="text/javascript">

  var _gaq = _gaq || [];
  _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-18043576-3']);
  _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);

  (function() {
    var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
    ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
    var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
  })();

</script>
<meta name="google-site-verification" content="_fNTf_dltB_SJpuzYDF3U2BU0NvNJZgn_nXA7UQtUBE" />
</head>

<body class="home page page-id-2 page-template-default green">
	
<div id="header">
	
	<div class="ts-menu"><ul id="menu-home" class="sf-menu"><li id="menu-item-16" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom current-menu-item current_page_item menu-item-home menu-item-16"><a href="http://www.thepcexchange.com/">Home</a></li>
<li id="menu-item-17" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-17"><a href="http://www.thepcexchange.com/discounts/">Discounts</a></li>
<li id="menu-item-18" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-18"><a href="http://www.thepcexchange.com/services/">Services</a></li>
<li id="menu-item-322" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-322"><a href="http://thepcexchange.com/store/">Store</a>
<ul class="sub-menu">

And here is a grab from mine:

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">

<html dir="ltr" lang="en-US" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<head>

  <link rel="shortcut icon" href="#"  />

  <title>JL Computer Solutions - Home</title>

  <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />

	<meta name="description" content="We offer full service computer repair and upgrades at affordable prices. We are based between Ludington and Scottville in Mason County, Michigan." />  


<!--Facebook Link stuff-->
    <meta property="og:title" content="JL Computer Solutions" />
	<meta property="og:description" Content="We offer full service computer repair and upgrades at affordable prices. We are based between Ludington and Scottville in Mason County, Michigan." />
	<meta property="og:url" content="http://www.jlcomputersolutions.com/index.html" />
	<meta property="og:image" content="http://www.jlcomputersolutions.com/graphic_elements/contact_buttons/facebook_share_logo.png"/>
<!--Facebook Link stuff End-->


	<!--[if IE]><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="css/reset.ie.css"><![endif]-->

	<!--[if lte IE 8]><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="css/ie7.css"><![endif]-->

   <style type="text/css">

	@import url(style.css);

	

			@import url(css/last_change.css);
           

    </style>
	


               
  
  
    	<!--<script src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.4.4/jquery.min.js"></script>-->

   
	<script src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.7.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
  <style type="text/css">

		h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6{

			font-family:"Ubuntu", Arial, Helvetica, serif;

	}

	</style>	

    

	<!-- end analytics -->  

 

	<!--<style type="text/css"> #header { background: url(); } </style>-->

	<style type="text/css">.recentcomments a{display:inline !important;padding:0 !important;margin:0 !important;}</style>

</head>

<body class="blog">


 
<!-- frm_tool --->

<!-- end_tool --->



  <script>var current_layout_ini = "layout_5";</script>  <script>var current_layout_ini = "layout_5";</script>  <script>var current_layout_ini = "layout_5";</script><div class="clipart"><div class="lay_base header_shine"></div></div><!-- clipart-->  <script>var current_layout_ini = "layout_5";</script>  <div class="wrapper_header">

  	<script>var current_layout_ini = "layout_5";</script>    <!-- layout header layers --> 

    <div class="lay_base header_pattern"></div>

now I agree they are different but they are different sites...but if you look at the code close you see they are really very similiar.

 

[PCX]

Do you know anything about PHP and how it uses HTML and CSS? PHP dynamically creates pages with html and css . . . The difference is that you do not have to edit each page all the way accross the board, instead you have the pages broken up into separate sections and they are dynamically pulled together to create a page. So for instance, if you want to change the header of your home page, but you also want it to apply to all the other pages, you would have to edit each page individually when you are dealing html and static pages. But with PHP, you can change the header once and it will apply to all pages.

 

[jrl2222]

Well what I do is open all the pages in boxer text editor and tell it that I want to change a block of code across all the open pages. Does it in seconds and then i just ftp them up to my site.

I do understand your point though.



Also to the point of my contact section not working right in firefox. I do see that now also on my laptop that is running Firefox version 12. But on my desktop that is running Firefox 13 it looks fine.
I'll have to look into that one. Thanks.

 

[jrl2222]

I tested it on IE and it is working fine. I see that you didn't mention Firefox as a browser that has been tested, which is the browser I am using. Seems that it is having problems with only Firefox.

Found the issue and I think it is fixed. Seems to be working fine for me now please let me know if you still see this issue.

 

[Tab Alternatives]

All better now, what did you change?

 

[jrl2222]

In this chunk of code:

<a href="https://www.facebook.com/jlcomputersolutions" target="_blank">
<li class="face_big" style="background-position: 50% 0%; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 58px 0px 0px; width: 100px; height: 45px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; float: left; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; background-image: url(graphic_elements/contact_buttons/facebook.png); background-repeat: no-repeat; border-image: initial;" title="Message Us on Facebook">
<p style="font: inherit; color:#ffffff; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; border-image: initial;">Find Us On<br />Facebook</p>
</li>
</a>

Where it now says background-repeat: no-repeat; I had background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; it seems many browsers ignore the mistake but some treat it like you actually have repeat turned on.