First Time Web Design - need help/opinons!

Discussion in 'HTML & Website Design' started by m1ndless, Feb 28, 2008.

  1. #1
    www.BluntsBongsAndBeyond.com

    I needed something to keep me occupied at work during the slow time, so I decided to take up web design. I sit at a computer all day and do nothing, so learning this was the perfect thing to keep be busy.

    I read ALOT of tutorials and help articles for building basic websites, and applied those to my website, but I feel it could be made better with some assistance and constructive criticsm.

    I have a friend who owns a smoke shop here in Phoenix, and he hooked me up with a manuf. where I can get smokin' deals on tobacco pies and acessories, so I thought it would be a cool idea to start up a site where I could sell these products.

    I made this site in about 2 days, and now I am just touching up things here and there.

    In both Firefox and IE7, the site pulls up fine for me, but I was told by a friend that when he tried to load the site, it pulled up all weird, and the images were all over the place. I have not been able to duplicate this problem personally on any of my computers using verious browsers, so I am hoping maybe you guys had some suggestions? Did it pull up fine for you guys?

    I was also wondering what you guys would reccomend for accpeting creidt card payments? I was considering paypal, but was not sure if there was something better, or even possibly free.

    So what do you guys think of my site? Not bad for a beginner, right? I know it is not the best looking site out there, but I wanted something very basic, but not somethign that seems shady to poeple, and would deter them from ordering.

    If I do not end up using this site for my intended purpose, I was considering selling it, what would a site like this sell for?

    Also, my aunt does SEO for a living, and said she would optimize my site for google, should I take up her free offer of doing this for me, or is this something that I should do myself?

    Any help/opinons/suggestions would be greatly apprecieated!!
     
    m1ndless, Feb 28, 2008 IP
  2. comati

    comati Active Member

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    #2
    i use this tool when i want to check how the site looks in different browsers
    http://browsershots.org/

    maybe it helps u
     
    comati, Feb 28, 2008 IP
  3. shallowink

    shallowink Well-Known Member

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    #3
    Well tomorrow's friday, maybe you can have time to install osCommerce :) Designs good for a first time. But as is, it wouldn't be worth much since it's just the front pages to a store. Paypal would be acceptable to start out with. Build up customers then worry over getting a payment processor.
     
    shallowink, Feb 28, 2008 IP
  4. m1ndless

    m1ndless Peon

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    #4
    Thanks for the help guys!
     
    m1ndless, Feb 28, 2008 IP
  5. Gomeza

    Gomeza Well-Known Member

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    #5
    Hi m1ndless

    You have accomplished a great deal in a short period of time. I have a suggested plan of attack if you want to turn your HTML pages into a fully functional ecommerce storefront based on osCommerce. PM me if you would like to learn more but basically, I have a fair bit of experience selling online and can turn your web design into a fully functional store with very little compromise in the layout.
     
    Gomeza, Feb 28, 2008 IP
  6. Rukna

    Rukna Peon

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    #6
    this is the first time of you! so it is not good to sell,
    :-p
     
    Rukna, Feb 29, 2008 IP
  7. twistedspikes

    twistedspikes Notable Member

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    #7
    For a first site, it's pretty decent. Although the content is a bit controversial.
     
    twistedspikes, Feb 29, 2008 IP
  8. innovati

    innovati Peon

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    #8
    tobacco pipes aren't called blunts or bongs in canada, that kind of glass sculpture we usually use to store marijuana in.

    Man americans are weird sometimes......Dude, wanna do another bong hit? W0ot, tabbacky!
     
    innovati, Feb 29, 2008 IP
  9. m1ndless

    m1ndless Peon

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    #9
    There are such things as tobacco blunts and bongs, although I am looking into the legal aspects of this now, I am meeting with an attorney/lawyer today.

    Gomeza, thanks for the offer, but I am not doing anything til I figure out for sure if my site is 100% legal.
     
    m1ndless, Feb 29, 2008 IP
  10. innovati

    innovati Peon

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    #10
    well, here he have shops that sell this kind of thing and there's a fine line between bongss for sale and drug paraphernalia.

    I'd look into your local regulations......the US is weird when it comes to laws because states and counties and towns have WAY more bylaws than here in canada, almost everything is a federal or a provincial, counties and towns don't have major laws about things like this.

    I think the best course of action would be to not pose things as things they're not. You know what I mean, the gas station that sells crack pipes with a little dollar store flower in them as "decorations" is more likely to get busted for drug paraphernalia then the novelty store who says: oh, they have a bunch of different uses you know.
     
    innovati, Feb 29, 2008 IP
  11. shallowink

    shallowink Well-Known Member

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    #11
    Most stores here put up the little "for tobacco use only" sign. Worked for the longest time, till the police cracked down on meth and a by product was all those tobacco pipes vanished over night. That was like 2-3 years ago. The pipes have slowly started to reappear. Would say it isn't the merchant's responsibility for what a customer does with a product. But Tommy Chong got busted for selling bongs online. Think its really a case of don't be a big name and don't be too blatant about it.
     
    shallowink, Feb 29, 2008 IP
  12. m1ndless

    m1ndless Peon

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    #12
    Well my site is hosted in Germany, does that help me at all? My host lives in Israel, he is an old friend who gave me unlimited everything for my site.
     
    m1ndless, Feb 29, 2008 IP
  13. m1ndless

    m1ndless Peon

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    #13
    Well my site is hosted in Germany, does that help me at all? My host lives in Israel, he is an old friend who gave me unlimited everything for my site.
     
    m1ndless, Feb 29, 2008 IP