Solihull Advocacy

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Hi guys,

I have finally got confirmation a few days ago, that i will be the I.T. support tech for a voluntary organisation. This organisation deals with disabled people, my part would be sorting all of their computer problems out, so i will be on-call...

My first two tasks are;
1 - Do a "health care" check on all the machines, they will be sending me a list of computers... They do have someone who does this, but that person just knows the basics...

2 - Revamp their website - this is where you guys come in; this site has not been updated for some years now and as you can tell, looks old and knackered, hell only 2 of the contacts exists... so i would like to get your views on this..

These are my views so far;
1-make site fit to screen res (auto adjust)
2-frame the headers on the left hand side (will use css later)
3-get a proper logo and kill the swirling
4-contact us - feedback form
5-change font style, colour and size
6-kill the news section

there are some more, but you get the jizt of it...

Any input is appreciated, both neg + pos...

btw: looks like its going to be a one man job.

 

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Its a small world thats close to where i live

 

Congrats on landing the placement!

As for the web site, not really my forte, but it sounds like a good plan to me.

 

Its not actually a small world, I just been around...

Thanks...

 

Congrats mate!!

As for the site

I agree, it needs a total makeover

I would also change the colour scheme and do away with the frames.

Also the content sucks, it needs a re-write IMHO.

Good luck, that should keep you busy for a while

 

Hmmm...

It's not as bad as all that...
I'd be tempted to re-use the banner and navigation bar.
The squiggily spinny things have to go for sure.
The use of the logo more than once on a page implies a lack of imagination.
The different fonts wrench the eyes a bit, and the use of comic sans is a no-no in professional work.
I'd be inclined not to worry about auto-sizing the width, it's more trouble than it's worth. Maybe just centralise the whole thing?

But yeah, I'd agree with your analysis and plan of action.

Good luck!

 

Congratulations

 

cheers everyone, it felt soooo good starting this thread, albeit its unpaid, but hey, im starting to do something i enjoy!

i'll do a page at a time, and will update you all...

 

Congrats cheekmaster! Like the guys have said its the experience that will make this worthwhile!

good luck mate!

 

I tend to think Verdana is pleasing on the eye on a page, but then I am not known for (a) my design skills, or (b) good taste.

I'll shut it !!

 

If it's good enough for Microsoft, it's good enough for me too

 

I prefer the Tahoma look, but i'll have to let the other people decide - good chance they would say, if im happy their happy

 

I agree with Bluerinse and Jonny totally about the site. I just about freaked when this came onto the screen.

The colour scheme is awful and if I'm not mistaken the whole layout is from a standard template done with NetObjects Fusion.

The frames need to go, do it all with css. Here's a good place to start (builder.com).

Flashy swirly things are okay for game sites but not good for a serious site.

If you design it to keep to a standard 800x600 then there's no need to do any 'resizing'.

 

A lady from the place just emailed me + said is waiting for the username and password for the site so she can give them to me so i can start on the site.

I had a close look at the site and it is hosted by BT Connect Home and has a domain name assigned over the long one that BT gives out.

I could just copy the site locally and start from there, but as it is BT, would the username and password for the dial up or adsl be the same for login into the site?

 

From the page source:

Code:

<META NAME="Generator" CONTENT="NetObjects Fusion 7 for Windows">

Harry.