Website design considerations (was: Azurian.)

On Thu, 30 Oct 2008, Lars Finsen wrote:
>
> Benct Philip Jonsson wrote:
>
> > quoting Yahya Abdal-Aziz:
> >>  - high contrast between text and background increases clarity;
> >
> > I agree Lars's background color is too dark. I get mixed
> > feelings since it reminds me of the old days of Netscape!
> > A color value of #cccccc or even lighter would be easier
> > to read.
>
> #cccccc in fact is what I have there now. But I get your messages.
> More contrast, no reversed text. I liked it that way, though. That
> steely #cccccc grey made just the right contrast with the green and
> the warm yellow text inside...
Yep.  Lovely colours for a painting!  Some of my favourite
watercolours are landscapes with steely grey clouds, rich
deep green foliage with warm golden highlights from a low
sun on the grass ...


> ... But then if it doesn't work, I guess
> I'll drop it. Maybe to use the colours on some other elements.
Wow!  A creative who listens to reason!  Watch it, you'll
ruin our reputations as being utterly impervious to common
sense. ;-)

But you're right to focus on what works.  That's the way
to get your work seen and understood.


>
> I've had complaints before from people who thought black against
> white was too much contrast...
Funny you should mention that.  I usually find a pure
white background gives too much glare after several hours
in front of the screen.  So whenever I reinstal Windows,
I change the default Window background to a parchment
shade, though somewhat paler.  Takes the edge off the
glare for me.


> ... So maybe I'll go for #eeeeee or possibly
> some different tone.
#eeeeee is an excellent choice for a background.  You
could also try #ee0fee for a warmer hue, or #dfffdf for
a cooler one - basically subtracting or adding blue.


>
> >>  - reversed text is poorly understood and assimilated;
> >
> > Do you mean light text on dark background?  Yes that's
> > hard...

Exactly!


> I was (and am) thinking that it could work for those simple and
> repetitive headers.
Yes, it could work - for most readers, but not for all.
Do you want to miss out on the feedback from some great
and knowledgeable genius just because she or he can't
quite be bothered studying your page more carefully?
You never know ...! ;-)


>
> > My particular vision problem makes it hard to read too
> > wide lines of text, which is something almost all web sites
> > err against.  It's a good idea to wrap the main text of
> > a page in a <div> which is 33em wide, and preferably
> > centered in its containing block.
Excellent suggestion from BP!  And, just as in newspapers,
a couple of columns of similar width are a good way of
getting more info on a page.  To prevent overcrowding, give
a generous gutter (margin) between them.


>
> I see. Well, I agree that the text lines are too wide. I do feel like
> doing without those ever-present sidebars, but having them is a way
> to shorten the lines without wasting too much space on the sides.
Another way to get your menus is with a hoizontal menu
bar at the top, just under the heading.  You can fix this
portion of the webpage, whilst adding a side scroll-bar to
the remainder lets it scroll if necessary.


> >> I am slowly learning HTML. My site however is rapidly growing a
> >> need for navigational sidebars...
> >
> > Perhaps you need a Web content management system?
>
> I have a couple. But I've never really fallen in love with them. I
> like freedom better than standardisation. My work subjects me to an
> excessive amount of standardisation already. So I decided to learn
> HTML from scratch and build my site using HTML and some CSS. This is
> more to my liking. It's probably my Gollum-type heart wanting to get
> to the bottom of things.
Nice to feel you know your creation from the ground up
(or perhaps down, for Gollum-hearts such as ye be).


>
> > (Check out this term on Wikipedia!).
> > A tip is to check if they support PHPMarkdownExtra.
>
> Never even heard of that.
>
> > <http://blog.melroch.se/?page_id=25>
>
> I see you have something related here. I guess I'd better check this
> out too - as time permits.
>
> Yahya wrote:
> >
> > The morphology is, IMO, unexceptionable.
>
> *looking up dictionary* - Okay.
>
> Thanks for all your tips, which I agree to in full, especially those
> on language style. I do a lot of depassivisation and sentence
> breakups in my work. In my spare time, I do have a liking for longer,
> more complex sentences, though.
They just seem more apposite at times, don't they?
It's nice to develop one's thought completely in a
single statement - but that does presuppose a generous
reader to follow thru all the ramifications of that
thought.


> > Though I've seen very little written specifically on readability
> > of websites, it is subject to physiological and perceptual con-
> > straints similar to those that apply to print.  Last Tuesday, my
> > eye was taken by a web ad for a website design business called
> > "Clean and Fast".  Their website is worth a look:
> > http://www.cleanandfast.co.uk/website_design_dorset.html
>
> Thanks, that was interesting. Looks like they are taking their bread
> out of their own hands by telling their customers how to do things
> without their aid.
Oh, I don't know.  In my opinion, most people value
more highly those people who can show that they know
their subject.  Besides, if you never give away the
last 10% of your special knowledge, that's the edge
that will make your clients extra competitive, so
they will pay more for you to apply it for them.


> > I'm all agog waiting to learn more about the language of the
> > Valley of Muna: is it a true isolate?  Or is it perhaps a distant
> > relative of a Finnic language like Livonian?  Time (or Lars) will
> > tell ...
>
> I did tell you. But perhaps not clearly enough.
>
> LEF
Not your fault; sometimes I learn more by pretending
to be even more ignorant than I really am! ;-)  But
mostly, I really _am_ that stupid and forgetful. :-(

Regards,
Yahya
  _____

Yahya Abdal-Aziz

Convener, Graphics SIG <http://groups.melbpc.org.au/~graphics>
Convener, Music SIG <http://groups.melbpc.org.au/~music>
Melbourne PC User Group <http://melbpc.org.au/>  (MelbPC)

Share my music, paintings, equation art, and thoughts on books, online at
eSnips:
http://www.eSnips.com/user/Yahya
  _____

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