cost for converting my web site over to CSS and a few other updates?

[RainLovr]

Hey everyone,

I was curious what you would expect it to cost to convert a basic html
web site over to style sheets?

I suppose before THAT, the big question is, is there a REASON to do
this? I have a lowly web site to show off my art, and am pretty happy
with with I have as far as its visual design goes.

Any ideas? Suggestions?

thanks!

james, seattle

www.jameskelseystudios.com

 

[Stuart]

I suppose before THAT, the big question is, is there a REASON to do
this? I have a lowly web site to show off my art, and am pretty happy
with with I have as far as its visual design goes.

There's no reason to switch to CSS for the sake of it. If you're happy
with it, why change it?

 

[RainLover]

There's no reason to switch to CSS for the sake of it. If you're happy
with it, why change it?

I BARELY know html... as my code would show anyone who looked at it,
but, I don't know if CSS is 'better' in some way or if it would allow
a general change across all of my pages if I wanted to do so...
(Sadly, I'm not even sure how or what 'style sheets' are, only a
friend suggested I change to them)

James, Seattle

 

[Neredbojias]

With neither quill nor qualm, RainLovr quothed:

Hey everyone,

I was curious what you would expect it to cost to convert a basic html
web site over to style sheets?

I suppose before THAT, the big question is, is there a REASON to do
this? I have a lowly web site to show off my art, and am pretty happy
with with I have as far as its visual design goes.

Any ideas? Suggestions?

thanks!

james, seattle

www.jameskelseystudios.com

The home page looks pretty good (-the dog is kinda homely, but...) and
seems to work cross-browser, which many pages don't, so I wouldn't worry
about it too much. There *are* some mistakes but apparently they are
non-influential or ignored. I'd try learning css at my own pace, maybe
add one bit and test, then another, etc., until you develop a feel for
it. You're also supposed to have a doctype beginning the page, but I
have a feeling that if you added one now, thus trying to establish
conformance, the page would mis-render.

 

[Mark Parnell]

I BARELY know html...

There's never a better time to learn than right now. ;-)
http://www.w3.org/TR/HTML4/

as my code would show anyone who looked at it,
but, I don't know if CSS is 'better' in some way or if it would allow
a general change across all of my pages if I wanted to do so...

From a maintenance perspective, yes - it means if you ever want to
change the colour of something, make a heading bigger, etc., you only
have to do it in the one CSS file, rather than every HTML file.

From a theoretical perspective, CSS allows you to separate the
presentation from the content. HTML describes the structure of the
content - whether something is a table, a paragraph, a heading, etc. CSS
tells it how it should be presented - what colours things should be,
where on the page to display them, etc. This makes the HTML easier to
read, too.

(Sadly, I'm not even sure how or what 'style sheets' are, only a
http://www.w3.org/TR/CSS2/

friend suggested I change to them)

You're lucky to have such a good friend. Buy him/her/it a
beer/rum&coke/water.

 

[RainLover]

With neither quill nor qualm, RainLovr quothed:


The home page looks pretty good (-the dog is kinda homely, but...) and
seems to work cross-browser, which many pages don't, so I wouldn't worry
about it too much. There *are* some mistakes but apparently they are
non-influential or ignored. I'd try learning css at my own pace, maybe
add one bit and test, then another, etc., until you develop a feel for
it. You're also supposed to have a doctype beginning the page, but I
have a feeling that if you added one now, thus trying to establish
conformance, the page would mis-render.

Thanks for the feedback. I know there are weird mistakes throughout
my site, but, as you said... hey, it works....

Something's drive me crazy about it, but most people don't notice a
few glitches in formating consistancy from page to page.

James, Seattle

 

[Andy Dingley]

I was curious what you would expect it to cost to convert a basic html
web site over to style sheets?

The cost should be zero or negative. If you're re-designing anyway,
then it's the cheaper way of doing it. If it already works, then leave
it alone and save the money / effort.

For reworking a site like yours, then the main cost would be in
replacing the frames for navigation. The HTML you already have is
pretty clean and tidy, so the "extra cost of CSS" would be pretty
minimal. A few days of whatever web geeks cost locally.

The cost (as with any design) could vary hugely. "Off the shelf" with
an existing design could take a couple of hours, iterative design and
re-working every decision could take weeks or longer. It's not the
tech, it's the production process.

 

[Neredbojias]

With neither quill nor qualm, RainLover quothed:

Thanks for the feedback. I know there are weird mistakes throughout
my site, but, as you said... hey, it works....

Something's drive me crazy about it, but most people don't notice a
few glitches in formating consistancy from page to page.

James, Seattle

That's probably due to the vagaries of invalid markup. The good part is
that the site is consistent in all browsers (-I have available to me)
which many "more-standardized" sites are not.

Don't worry; be happy...

 

[kklk]

Hey everyone,

I was curious what you would expect it to cost to convert a basic html
web site over to style sheets?

I suppose before THAT, the big question is, is there a REASON to do
this? I have a lowly web site to show off my art, and am pretty happy
with with I have as far as its visual design goes.

Any ideas? Suggestions?

thanks!

james, seattle

www.jameskelseystudios.com

homepage has good and clear design..I agree... to bad the image map.
inside page have ugly frames... uhhh... I hate that !!
Plus, some of them, like novel, dont have frame... lack in site consitency.
The red font...uuuuuhhhh... man, would you like you novel to be printed in
red ?

btw... I love that tangerine blade chair... would love it for my flat....
even if I'd had to make a hole in the ceiling and if it is desinged for
outdoor ! Just a great peace of furniture..

 

[RainLover]

homepage has good and clear design..I agree... to bad the image map.
inside page have ugly frames... uhhh... I hate that !!
Plus, some of them, like novel, dont have frame... lack in site consitency.
The red font...uuuuuhhhh... man, would you like you novel to be printed in
red ?

yeah, I've had some negative feedback on the font color... I see it
fine, but I guess some people (eyes or computer color setup) can't...
I may change it, but I really don't want the 'black and white' look...
hmmm.. what's your opinion of yellow text?

What do you mean by 'ugly frames" what would you suggest?

btw... I love that tangerine blade chair... would love it for my flat....
even if I'd had to make a hole in the ceiling and if it is desinged for
outdoor ! Just a great peace of furniture..

I like that piece too... it's just over 8 feet (2.44 meters), plus a
bit that's designed for underground fastening, although that could be
cut off. I could put a mount on the back so it attaches to your wall.
I could deliver it the next time I'm in France... (I believe that's
where you are).

James, Seattle

 

[Tony Cooper]

I'm one of those people who read text and doesn't pay much attention
to how the text got on the screen. In reading this from your web
site:

"If you arrived at this web site through a link from one of my
galleries, or, if you discovered me at a gallery and are investigating
my portfolio of work, please respect the important relationship I have
with these galleries."

I was confused for the first few readings. For some reason, I took
the "my galleries" to mean photo galleries displayed somewhere on the
web. I couldn't figure out why you mentioned that you respected them.

It finally became clear that you are referring to the galleries that
display your work. The "my" threw me.

Sometimes you can be so close to something that you don't read it the
same way that people unfamiliar with your field reads the same
information. You might want to change that line to "If you arrived at
this web site through a link from one of the galleries where my work
is displayed, or if you discovered my work at a gallery and are
investigating my portfolio, please respect the important relationship
I have with these galleries."

I also wonder about "A selection of modern contemporary abstract..."

"Modern" and "contemporary" have the same basic meaning, so using both
is redundant to me. Perhaps in your field the two words have
different meanings, though.

 

[RainLover]

I'm one of those people who read text and doesn't pay much attention
to how the text got on the screen. In reading this from your web
site:

"If you arrived at this web site through a link from one of my
galleries, or, if you discovered me at a gallery and are investigating
my portfolio of work, please respect the important relationship I have
with these galleries."

I was confused for the first few readings. For some reason, I took
the "my galleries" to mean photo galleries displayed somewhere on the
web. I couldn't figure out why you mentioned that you respected them.

It finally became clear that you are referring to the galleries that
display your work. The "my" threw me.

Sometimes you can be so close to something that you don't read it the
same way that people unfamiliar with your field reads the same
information. You might want to change that line to "If you arrived at
this web site through a link from one of the galleries where my work
is displayed, or if you discovered my work at a gallery and are
investigating my portfolio, please respect the important relationship
I have with these galleries."

I also wonder about "A selection of modern contemporary abstract..."

"Modern" and "contemporary" have the same basic meaning, so using both
is redundant to me. Perhaps in your field the two words have
different meanings, though.

Both are excellent points. Thank you. I'll fix the wording of that
page and remove and get rid of the redunancy. ;-)

James, Seattle