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Help, Design suggestions

Discussion in 'Design' started by TheLaziestDad, Feb 7, 2017.

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  1. #1
    Hey everyone,

    I've been building this blog site for a week or so and I would really like your opinions on it.... Go ahead and be blunt about things related to design and type of content or make some suggestions for new content. Anybody have a great idea to start building my email list? but if you have some un tasteful comment about any of the persons represented on my page, keep them to your damn self. I need real feedback on this, not some dumb remark from a lazy nerd in his moms basement hiding behind the internet.

    So with that said, please take a look at The Laziest Dad and please explore the whole site it would help if you had any ideas for any of my pages!!

    View page here

    Sincerely,

    The Laziest Dad
     
    TheLaziestDad, Feb 7, 2017 IP
  2. #2
    Is this is the site: http://www.thelaziestdad.com/ ?

    Something screwy is going on with your navigation. You're trying to fit too much into that small space. Try changing it to:

    1.png
     
    qwikad.com, Feb 7, 2017 IP
  3. TheLaziestDad

    TheLaziestDad Peon

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    #3
    yes that is the site. I'm not sure why the link didn't post. Thank you for the feedback. I have updated the logo and navigation spots and spacing. It looks a lot better! Any Ideas for building my marketing list? Considering your the affiliate manager here and all!
     
    TheLaziestDad, Feb 7, 2017 IP
  4. qwikad.com

    qwikad.com Illustrious Member Affiliate Manager

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    #4
    For one, I'd remove the First, Last name fields from your email subscription form. The email address field is all you need. And place that form at the end of every article under the social media buttons. It should look something like:

    1.png

    I am not going to say anything new, but to build an email marketing list you need: 1. great content 2. traffic

    Keep adding articles to your site and your blog. Grow your social media presence. Your twitter account, as of now, has 3 followers. I'd also remove that avatar from your twitter account. Put a pic of a guy sitting by the beach instead (you need a pic of the laziest dad, not the craziest one), something like: http://images.wisegeek.com/man-in-chair-at-the-beach-looking-at-ocean.jpg
     
    qwikad.com, Feb 8, 2017 IP
  5. deathshadow

    deathshadow Acclaimed Member

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    #5
    Blunt you say? I don't know if I can do blunt. :p

    First thing I notice is the agonizingly slow page load. 4.4 megabytes is unacceptably large, even with the relatively tidy 20 separate files in total. It looks like you have some sort of lazy-loading scripttardery in there which is making ti take longer than it should. In fact, you probably wouldn't need most of that crap if you just had a normal page instead of pissing on it an ape-shit ridiculous 1.4 megabytes of CSS and an equally absurd megabyte of JavaScript.

    There is no excuse for a legitimate website to need more than 48k of CSS in ONE file for the ENTIRE SITE... and I don't see anything being done on that site which would even warrant the presence of JavaScript!

    I don't know what you used to build that site, but no human being would write HTML that way. There is nothing remotely resembling semantics, logical document structure, separation of presentation from content, graceful degradation, or accessibility. It's knee deep in static scripting in the markup, static style in the markup (begging the question what's the megabytes of external idiocy even doing?!?), endless pointless DIV for nothing, endless pointless classes for nothing -- seriously, if you don't know what's wrong with THIS train wreck of asshattery: (linefeeds added to show just how stupid it is!)

      <body id="collection-588b7c05be65945291169c0c" class="tweak-social-icons-style-regular tweak-social-icons-shape-square
tweak-site-width-option-full-background tweak-icon-weight-light   tweak-site-ajax-loading-bar-show
ancillary-header-top-left-layout-horizontal ancillary-header-top-center-layout-horizontal
ancillary-header-top-right-layout-horizontal ancillary-header-bottom-left-layout-horizontal
ancillary-header-bottom-center-layout-horizontal ancillary-header-bottom-right-layout-horizontal
ancillary-header-branding-position-top-left ancillary-header-tagline-position-hide
ancillary-header-primary-nav-position-bottom-left ancillary-header-secondary-nav-position-top-right
ancillary-header-social-position-top-right ancillary-header-search-position-top-right
ancillary-header-cart-position-top-right tweak-header-primary-nav-hover-style-spotlight
tweak-header-primary-nav-button-style-solid tweak-header-primary-nav-button-shape-square
tweak-header-secondary-nav-inherit-styles tweak-header-secondary-nav-hover-style-spotlight
tweak-header-secondary-nav-button-style-solid tweak-header-secondary-nav-button-shape-square
tweak-header-search-style-underlined tweak-header-cart-style-text tweak-overlay-parallax-enabled
tweak-index-page-fullscreen-none tweak-index-page-scroll-indicator-none
tweak-index-page-scroll-indicator-icon-arrow tweak-index-page-scroll-indicator-icon-weight-hairline
tweak-index-gallery-layout-packed tweak-index-gallery-hover-style-fade
tweak-index-gallery-content-position-top-left tweak-index-gallery-content-text-alignment-left
tweak-footer-layout-stacked tweak-footer-stacked-alignment-center   tweak-mobile-bar-top-fixed
ancillary-mobile-bar-branding-position-top-left ancillary-mobile-bar-menu-icon-position-top-right
ancillary-mobile-bar-search-icon-position-hide ancillary-mobile-bar-cart-position-bottom-center
tweak-mobile-bar-cart-style-cart tweak-mobile-overlay-slide-origin-left
tweak-mobile-overlay-close-show  tweak-mobile-overlay-menu-primary-button-style-solid
tweak-mobile-overlay-menu-primary-button-shape-square
tweak-mobile-overlay-menu-secondary-button-style-solid
tweak-mobile-overlay-menu-secondary-button-shape-square tweak-quote-block-alignment-left
tweak-blog-meta-primary-date tweak-blog-meta-secondary-none tweak-blog-list-style-grid
tweak-blog-list-separator-show tweak-blog-list-alignment-left tweak-blog-list-item-image-show
tweak-blog-list-item-image-aspect-ratio-grid-11-square
tweak-blog-list-item-image-aspect-ratio-stacked-11-square tweak-blog-list-item-title-show
tweak-blog-list-item-excerpt-show tweak-blog-list-item-body-show
tweak-blog-list-item-readmore-inline tweak-blog-list-item-meta-position-above-title
tweak-blog-list-pagination-link-label-show  tweak-blog-list-pagination-link-icon-weight-light
tweak-blog-item-alignment-center tweak-blog-item-meta-position-above-title
tweak-blog-item-share-position-below-content  tweak-blog-item-pagination-link-label-show
tweak-blog-item-pagination-link-title-show tweak-blog-item-pagination-link-meta-hide
tweak-blog-item-pagination-link-icon-weight-light   event-thumbnails
event-thumbnail-size-32-standard event-date-label  event-list-show-cats event-list-date
event-list-time event-list-address     event-excerpts  event-item-back-link
gallery-design-slideshow aspect-ratio-auto lightbox-style-dark gallery-navigation-bullets
gallery-info-overlay-show-on-hover gallery-aspect-ratio-32-standard
gallery-arrow-style-no-background gallery-transitions-fade gallery-show-arrows gallery-auto-crop
tweak-product-list-image-aspect-ratio-11-square
tweak-product-list-item-hover-behavior-show-alternate-image tweak-product-list-meta-position-under
tweak-product-list-mobile-meta-position-under tweak-product-list-meta-alignment-under-center
tweak-product-list-meta-alignment-overlay-center-center tweak-product-list-show-title
tweak-product-list-show-price tweak-product-list-filter-display-top
tweak-product-list-filter-alignment-center tweak-product-item-nav-show-breadcrumb-and-pagination
tweak-product-item-nav-pagination-style-previousnext
tweak-product-item-nav-breadcrumb-alignment-left tweak-product-item-nav-pagination-alignment-split
tweak-product-item-gallery-position-left tweak-product-item-gallery-design-stacked
tweak-product-item-gallery-aspect-ratio-11-square
tweak-product-item-gallery-thumbnail-alignment-left tweak-product-item-details-alignment-left
tweak-product-item-details-show-title tweak-product-item-details-show-price
tweak-product-item-details-show-excerpt tweak-product-item-details-excerpt-position-below-price
tweak-product-item-details-show-share-buttons tweak-product-item-details-show-variants
tweak-product-item-details-show-quantity tweak-product-item-details-options-style-square
tweak-product-item-details-show-add-to-cart-button
tweak-product-item-details-add-to-cart-button-style-outline
tweak-product-item-details-add-to-cart-button-shape-square
tweak-product-item-details-add-to-cart-button-padding-medium 
tweak-product-item-image-zoom-behavior-click tweak-product-item-lightbox-enabled
tweak-product-badge-style-none tweak-product-badge-position-top-right
tweak-product-badge-inset-floating newsletter-style-dark hide-opentable-icons opentable-style-dark
small-button-style-outline small-button-shape-square medium-button-style-outline
medium-button-shape-rounded large-button-style-outline large-button-shape-rounded
image-block-poster-contextual-font-sizing image-block-poster-scroll-animation-fade-in
image-block-card-contextual-font-sizing image-block-card-scroll-animation-fade-in
image-block-overlap-contextual-font-sizing  image-block-overlap-scroll-animation-slide-in
image-block-collage-contextual-font-sizing
image-block-collage-scroll-animation-slide-inimage-block-stack-scroll-animation-fade-in
button-style-outline button-corner-style-rounded tweak-product-quick-view-button-style-docked
tweak-product-quick-view-button-position-center
tweak-product-quick-view-lightbox-excerpt-display-truncate
tweak-product-quick-view-lightbox-show-arrows tweak-product-quick-view-lightbox-show-close-button
tweak-product-quick-view-lightbox-controls-weight-light tweak-share-buttons-style-outline
tweak-share-buttons-icons-show  tweak-share-buttons-counts-show
tweak-share-buttons-standard-icon-color tweak-share-buttons-standard-background-color
native-currency-code-usd collection-type-index collection-layout-default
collection-588b7c05be65945291169c0c homepage view-list mobile-style-available has-site-title
has-social has-parallax-images has-parallax-images enable-load-effects has-primary-nav
has-footer-nav" data-controller="SiteLoader, MobileClassname">
    Code (markup):
    Do the world a favor, back the **** away from the keyboard, and take up something a bit less detail oriented like macramé.

    ... and that's before we even talk the epic /FAIL/ at the design side, with the serif fonts on screen media, absurdly undersized fixed metric (pixel measured) fonts, illegible colour contrasts (like the white text over that image of marbles, light grey on white).

    There's something called the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, WCAG. You might want to learn bout it. HTML also has tags that MEAN things, you might want to learn how to use HTML PROPERLY... and really back the **** away from the scriptardery until you can build a working site without JavaScript FIRST!

    I'd suggest dragging that entire mess 'round back o' the woodshed with a .30-06, put the barrel up to its temple, and pull. It's the only humane thing to do.
     
    Last edited: Feb 8, 2017
    deathshadow, Feb 8, 2017 IP
  6. TheLaziestDad

    TheLaziestDad Peon

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    #6
    @deathshadow I said "be blunt" not a sadist that seems to be hell bent on using made up words to punctuate his cursing (scriptardery). I take it you took offense to my previous inquiry,
    , also one would be able to ascertain that I am new to this. I didn't realize the size but ill look into it. Idk what going on with your hardware but I've never had an issue with page loading time, on my laptop or my phone, and they are outdated. I don't know who pissed in your cheerios buddy, but if you go nothing better to do than be a prick, "then do the world a favor and back the **** away from the keyboard" as you delicately put it.
    @qwikad.com I only had the name fields for contact organization, but I can see how the simplicity would help! You are right, I do need more content on here, and I'm working on this slowly. I am concerned with function and design atm. nobody likes a crazy site that isn't complete lol. My twitter accound has 3 followers? Woohoo! I only had 1 "fake profile" follower the other day! I don't like twitter personally, and have never been able to direct people to the place, but I will take your advice on the avatar. I just put it up as it was handy. Thank you for the help. Ill post back here when I correct a some things you suggested!
     
    TheLaziestDad, Feb 8, 2017 IP
  7. deathshadow

    deathshadow Acclaimed Member

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    #7
    Nowhere did I mention the content of your site or the people displayed on it, so I'm not sure where you see the relation. I went after the work... which has problems.

    You wanted blunt, apparently you can't handle it... I pulled the stopper in the drain when you said you wanted it blunt and opened up on you with both barrels. Careful what you ask for.

    "Did you order the code red?"

    That's actually hard to determine, given the MASSIVE amount of code -- particularly "javaScript for nothing" used to build the site. This either means you have an understanding of JavaScript sufficient to add that, blindly copied what someone else did, or used an off the shelf site generation tool.

    I actually suspect (and hope) it's the last of those as it would explain a lot. "Site builders" universally vomit up broken HTML, endless pointless CSS and JavaScript, and in general saddle up people just starting out to take them for a ride. It's actually kind of funny to see so much code -- meaning so much unnecessary work -- on a site by someone claiming to be lazy...

    Particularly when lazy is often a good character trait in a programmer. Makes you go out of your way to find simpler and easier ways of doing things -- the trick being not to sacrifice basic functionality or usability in the process.

    Typically anyone who ends up with that much raw code and that much markup and that much CSS isn't a greeenhorn -- given the amount of work that goes into putting all that trash together!

    One of the hardest lessons to learn early on is that no matter how fast it is for YOU, that means exactly two things; and Jack left town. With how the Internet works geography can have as much to do with the speed of your site as the size of it, which is why keeping the number of file counts low (which you did a decent job of) is as equally important as the total file sizes (which is where you have problems). It's also why professional web developers pour a lot of time and effort into optimizing any "Static" images on their sites for as small a file size as possible.

    Whilst you didn't have too many files per-se, at least 8 seconds of my load time could be blamed on your 20 separate files as ping-time from here to your hosting is disastrously high at around 800ms. Figures, it's squarespace and all they seem to have for people in New Hampshire is a giant middle finger mated to telling us to sod off.

    The rule of thumb is that your first eight files are "free" and then to calculate a real world average of 200ms and a worst case scenario of a second for each additional separate file past that first eight as "handshaking overhead" regardless of the file sizes. Again, you aren't really hitting up against that too badly with only twenty separate files, but it's something to keep track of moving forward.

    The total file sizes on the other hand hurts a lot -- and whilst in most cases images would be the biggest worry, in your case you've got a three-way split in filesizes between images, CSS, and JavaScript... and that's why I gave you the tongue-lashing I did.

    1.4 Megabytes of CSS isn't just inexcusable, one has to wonder how in blazes that's even possible! Since again as I said there's no legitimate excuse for an entire website to have more than 48k of CSS... and given what's going on I'd say you've got THIRTY TIMES the CSS such a web page should even use. The same goes for the endless pointless JavaScript on a page that I'm not even seeing a legitimate reason for it to have ANY!

    EVEN if you used the train wrecks of developer ineptitude that people keep making up lame excuses for known as "frameworks" -- such as jQuery or Bootstrap -- you'd still be fifteen times larger than need be on that.

    To that end, the time it takes for the browser to process all that CSS and JavaScript could be part of the hangup, particularly when many of those scripts seem to be "blocking"... an advanced concept that's part of why I'd suggest you back away from the JavaScript until you have a firm handle on how to write HTML and CSS properly.

    I have to ask, what tool did you build this with? It's pretty clear you had to either blindly copied someone else's rubbish, or let some automated tool build the site -- both are typically nube-predating scam artist nonsense and is likely why there are so many woes in your page.

    Again, as evidenced by the absurdly ridiculous number of classes on your <body> tag. There is NO justifiable excuse for that and anyone or anything telling you to build a website that way deserves a good swift kick in the groin.

    ... and if I was harsh with you about that, it's because I want you to understand just how badly whatever it is you are using or learning from is leading you astray.

    I'm a New Englander, this is how we talk, this is how we do business. "Yah cahnt geht theyah frum heeyah" isn't a catchphrase, it's a way of life... or as our friends in Brooklyn would ask, "Yah gaht a freekin problem wit dat?"

    We're not big fans of platttiudes, fake plastered on smiles, and the lame excuses often followed up with "if you can't say anything nice". Usually such things just makes us wonder what snake oil you're trying to peddle.

    Since if you can't say anything nice, you must be at the Ice Capades.

    ...and anyone who can't handle that? "Go back to Starbucks you hipster snowflake!" Dunkins or Golf Tango Foxtrot Oscar.

    Just be careful you don't fall into the trap of "false simplicity" -- which you kind of already have with the abuse of placeholder.

    https://baymard.com/blog/false-simplicity

    Placeholder is not a label

    A LOT of artists under the DELUSION that they know what design is cream their panties over the use of placeholder in that manner, when it is an inaccessible broken mess that shouldn't even be done that way in the first place! Same as the rubbish animated drop-down nonsense that just makes websites harder to use for large swaths of visitors.

    Not a big fan either, generally I consider it a waste of time which is why I don't bother including it on sites. As a rule of thumb the TLDR mouth-breathers that sit there with their orange cheeto fingered tiny-hands aren't the type of audience I want on my sites.

    Well, that and the fact that in the time it takes for most people to make one tweet, I'd blow past the message size limit six times over.

    Serious question though -- what tools are you using to build your pages and what learning resources are you using? I have the feeling that's what's led you down such a disastrously dark path.
     
    deathshadow, Feb 8, 2017 IP
  8. TheLaziestDad

    TheLaziestDad Peon

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    #8
    Alright. You have redeemed yourself as an "illustrious member" in my eyes. I did ask for people to be blunt your right, but you did go off on a rant over file size and the assumption of me knowing a lot of html. Your right in assuming i used an online platform, and indeed, I believe they are taking me for a ride. Also your spot on about it being squarespace as well.

    I have been trying to learn in my spare time, what little time I do have, learning coding languages. Still don't have as firm of a grasp as I would like. I will say that your right in saying that I'm probably misled with the visual simplicity and overlooking the amount of code and process time for a device to render an element. I really haven't reached out for resources on coding as squarespace has a UI built for nubes. I started learning with a college book about java programming however, I have since put it down as there is no resources for help inside of it. You have to sign up for the course. I did however download eclipse and some other programs (deleted because of the lack of working knowledge within those programs, and because my original intention was to start with an app)

    I will definitely go through and optimize my images, but given the fact that i'm on squarespace and I don't have much knowledge of html or css or any other languages, it will probably take a while to optimize other aspects of my site.

    also,
    I was referring to the harsh nature of your first response being derived from me calling out trolls. I thought you might be an "orange cheeto fingered" TLDR mouth breather. that's hilarious by the way.
     
    TheLaziestDad, Feb 8, 2017 IP
  9. deathshadow

    deathshadow Acclaimed Member

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    #9
    ... and that's probably most of what's biting you, and will continue biting you. Most "WYSIWYG" editors, "site builders" and so forth seem to be made "for people who know nothing about websites, BY people who know nothing about websites..."

    ... and that latter half is where they can really saddle you up and dig in the spurs as it were.

    There's still this... divide where automation and shortcuts, no matter how "user friendly" fall into the false simplicity trap. The end results are most always a mess just because there are some things (like HTML semantics) computers lack the understanding of language to even comprehend, much less apply to a page. It gets worse when things like WYSIWYG editors are involved as semantic markup -- using HTML to say what things ARE and NOT what they look like -- just gets a skyrocket shoved up its backside like a frog on the Fourth of July.
     
    deathshadow, Feb 10, 2017 IP