Web Site Critique

[jamestl2]

My site does not have much traffic, so I am just wondering:

Site-related Questions:
Does it have a good, inviting layout?
Is the content and theme good, would you return to see the next list?
Should I write content more often to get ranked higher, etc. in search engines? (I’ll create a new list about once a week or so)

General Questions:
Am I being to impatient (my site is over 4 months old)?
Do I have enough links (Google says I have 73 external links)?
Do I have enough directories submissions (I’ve been accepted by about 20 directories or so)?
How long did it take fellow webmasters to see a constant, steady stream of traffic?
How much “time and effort” should be spent on marketing?

Site is in Sig.

Any tips and advice I would greatly appreciate,
Thanks

[Mayo]

Hmmmm...

-more inviting font(nothing too fancy, test...)
-turn table border off
-logo


well i'm not someone who has been building nice websites but you really-really need to work ... u must understand that if you want to succeed you must make it and work in progress..

example of uglyish website is plentyoffish.com.. but it's pulling 3-4 million $US annually

keep at it! evolve and keep it simple..

Best of luck,
Patrick

[Alex Zito]

You also may try to use Wordpress or similar blogging software - it looks very professional. If you have some PHP skills, you may create your own plugins for your own top 10 lists. Google it for "wordpress"

Look at the site in my sig - powered by Wordpress.

[jamestl2]

Originally Posted by Mayo

Hmmmm...

-more inviting font(nothing too fancy, test...)
-turn table border off
-logo

Would wordpress take care of the font?
For some reason, the table border only shows up in firefox, I couldn’t find the source of the problem.
What good would a logo do? Should I just design one myself?

Originally Posted by Mayo

well i'm not someone who has been building nice websites but you really-really need to work ... u must understand that if you want to succeed you must make it and work in progress..

example of uglyish website is plentyoffish.com.. but it's pulling 3-4 million $US annually

keep at it! evolve and keep it simple..

Best of luck,
Patrick

I’ve redesigned my site before, but it doesn’t seem to be that much of an improvement. Do you know where I could get tips on layout, color, etc.?

Originally Posted by Alex Zito

You also may try to use Wordpress or similar blogging software - it looks very professional. If you have some PHP skills, you may create your own plugins for your own top 10 lists. Google it for "wordpress"

Look at the site in my sig - powered by Wordpress.

I'm not familiar with wordpress. Is it free? Is it compatible with Dreanweaver 8 (My current web design software)? Also, I'm not interested in blogging at this moment, if it is necessary for wp.

[Alex Zito]

Originally Posted by jamestl2

Would wordpress take care of the font?
For some reason, the table border only shows up in firefox, I couldn’t find the source of the problem.
What good would a logo do? Should I just design one myself?

I’ve redesigned my site before, but it doesn’t seem to be that much of an improvement. Do you know where I could get tips on layout, color, etc.?

I'm not familiar with wordpress. Is it free? Is it compatible with Dreanweaver 8 (My current web design software)? Also, I'm not interested in blogging at this moment, if it is necessary for wp.

You can define all the design properties in CSS files of a wordpress theme, and there are tons of wordpress themes to can choose from, and even dont change a bit, check Theme viewer .

The layout based on the <TABLE> tags is so "last year" The problem with it is that every browser renders tables in different way, everybody is using <DIV> tags to layouts now.

Wordpress is free. And with a bit of tweaking, the wordpress platform can be used for any type of site; you can just use wordpress static pages to assemble your web site, and publish your news as blog posts. Some magazine web sites use wordpress as their platform, and those are not blogs.

Yes, the wordpress themes is compatible with Dreanweaver, however, you may need to know PHP to change themes (very easy to learn).

Good luck with your site - I was there as well, so I know your feelings, and keep on reading

[Pat P.]

I agree with Alex. There are several benefits from moving towards CSS design. After the initial work, they are easier to maintain, usually smaller in size (which could help to have a more effective bandwidth use), better from a SEO (Search Engine Optimization) point of view, and you would have less issues with browsers.

If you are interested in learning more about WordPress, check the following tutorials:
Why WordPress and How It Works | Tubetorial
7 Essential WordPress Hacks | Tubetorial

Also, I will try to use a color-coordinated palette. ColorBlender is a free tool that generates great color palettes.

Hope it helps

[Alex Zito]

Pat, thank you for the link to ColorBlend - i was looking for something like that, it really helps to create balanced web site design.

[Brutha]

Your site design breaks in Opera.

[jamestl2]

Originally Posted by Brutha

Your site design breaks in Opera.

Is there any software / site that would show me the problem with my site's code, etc.?

[Alex Zito]

You can check your web-site using W3C Markup Validation: The W3C Markup Validation Service

Just put your web-site URL in "Validate by URL" part and it gives you all the errors. It will also give you some tips on how to fix the error.

Usually a web-site maybe broken in some browsers because of the markup errors, but sometimes it's the way the browser renders some tags. Try also installing other browsers on your computer and verify it.

BTW, A List Apart: A List Apart is a good resource on how to solve browser incompatibilities, try read all the articles.

[jamestl2]

Originally Posted by Alex Zito

You can check your web-site using W3C Markup Validation: The W3C Markup Validation Service

I'm not sure what most of those errors are or how to fix them, since I am a GUI type of designer. Still have to look at other clarification site.

Also, I noticed that www.stevepavlina.com has 93 errors, so I'm not sure how urgent the errors are for fixing.

[Alex Zito]

Originally Posted by jamestl2

I'm not sure what most of those errors are or how to fix them, since I am a GUI type of designer. Still have to look at other clarification site.

Also, I noticed that www.stevepavlina.com has 93 errors, so I'm not sure how urgent the errors are for fixing.

Right, stevepavlina.com has the errors, mostly of them are not severe, their are just warnings that some of the attributes or tags are not supported or depreciated.

You need to look for the errors that say "This tag is not allowed here" or "Missing tag", etc.
I can look at your web-site report and guide you through the errors when I will be at home, ok?

[jamestl2]

Originally Posted by Alex Zito

I can look at your web-site report and guide you through the errors when I will be at home, ok?

Thanks, when will that be, because I still have hw and cooking to do?

[Alex Zito]

You'll have enough time for your hw and cooking

[jamestl2]

Originally Posted by Alex Zito

You'll have enough time for your hw and cooking

Just wanted to know when you would be ready, so you wouldn't be sitting on the computer for a few hours waiting for me to come back online

[Alex Zito]

Oh, I'm just gonna put my review here, so someone may use it as the guide as well.

Alright, I put your site thru the validator and we have this: "Failed validation, 23 errors"
Your html pages have "XHTML 1.0 Transitional" type, which is standard now, and it's good.

Errors:

1-2) just remove that meta tag with name="verify-v1", you dont need it anymore, you've passed Google check up.

3-5) depreciated attributes (ignore, or move to DIV layout from table layout)

6-48) ignore, for some reason, the URL encoded string was not ignored

49) This is a serious one. You cannot have <DIV> tag inside a paragraph <P> tag. Try to remove surrounding <P></P> tags

50-55) ignore

56) same as 49)

Actually, you dont have that many serious problems in markup, but better to fix 49) and 56).

Your next step will be installing other browsers and see how does it look there.
However, if you are considering to use Wordpress, then you even may not need to fix those errors, most of the Wordpress themes are W3C compliant.

[jamestl2]

Alright, I am having some trouble finding these errors,

Originally Posted by Alex Zito

49) This is a serious one. You cannot have <DIV> tag inside a paragraph <P> tag. Try to remove surrounding <P></P> tags

56) same as 49)

Actually, you dont have that many serious problems in markup, but better to fix 49) and 56).
.

Is 49 and 56 suppose to represent lines 49 and 56 of my site’s code? because I looked and could not find anything pertaining to the errors on those lines. Unless I am looking on the wrong page, if so, then what page were these errors found on? Or else what do those numbers represent?

[jamestl2]

Anybody? I still cannot cannot find the source of this problem.

Here are the lines for the code:
49: </style>
56: <td colspan="4" class="Subtitle"><div align="center" class="style2">Toptenlisted.com</div>

These are according to my dreamweaver software I used to create the program

[Brutha]

No he meant the faults 49 and 56, the site validator produces.

[jamestl2]

Just a few more WordPress Questions:

1. Does Google "like" WordPress-made pages? (I mean is it easier to ger ranked higher, include more links, etc. with a WordPress site? Also, would I lose my google ranking for converting my already existing web pages to wp style, even though it isn't very high?)

2. Where is the best place to download it the fastest and for free? (So that I wouldn't have to worry about programming code or syncing it, or additional charges I wouldn't need, etc.)

3. Are there any important restrictions I should be concerned about, like bandwidth, host compatability, FTP time, etc.?

[Liara Covert]

What you think of your website needs to be evaluated in relation to a basline. What are the measurables? What are you trying to accomplish. I would suggest you brainstorm your purpose and step back to see how your product helps you accomplish it. You may also benefit from reading web articles like the following:

21 tips to improve blog quality » Make You Go Hmm

Keep up the great work with your site. The fact that you notice its not doing exactly what you want is the first step to positive change.

[Gemini15]

I am not a technical expert so will leave that to the others.

I liked your site and just reckon you need more stuff in it. At the moment it is a site you will look at once. I think you need hundreds possibly thousands of different top 10's. Then you will become recognised as the place to visit for this type of information.

Good Luck

[Minsc]

You have spaces in your filenames. You should replace them with underscores.

For SEO, I've read that you should have keywords you think people would use to find your site in search engines in your title.
For usability, I've read that your title should start with what the current page is about, to have that show up in the user's taskbar instead of getting cropped off.

Also, you could make an icon for your site so that it s