[quote=“Ryan Paddy”]Have the committee seen any of the designs? If so, any feedback.
We should set a deadline to get the site up before the next committee meeting.[/quote]
Agreed.
They haven’t seen anything, I’m inclined to put it up and then get feedback over the following few days.
I’ve re-done your design with minor tweaks, can be seen at nzlarps.org/about.php (haven’t included pic yet).
This is your thing again but the same across browsers and with CSS styling etc. Just a WIP link.
Will I need PHP declaration in the header to use the include files?
[quote=“Exquire”]I’ve re-done your design with minor tweaks, can be seen at nzlarps.org/about.php (haven’t included pic yet).
This is your thing again but the same across browsers and with CSS styling etc. Just a WIP link.[/quote]
It looks okay, you know? It’s not magnificent, but it’s a solid basis and NZLARPS can easily do another redesign when they enlarge the site.
Nope. The “.php” extension lets the ISAPI filter on the server know to send it to PHP’s parser. Just chuck code straight in. Or I can if you like.
Yes please 
Actually, if you could make the includes file and one page in the next few days, I’ll finish the rest. I think content but not table information should be in the includes file.
Okay, I’ll do the include files for the About page.
I think it needs to be clearer in the navigation which page you’re current on. The current area shouldn’t be a link, and maybe it should be a different colour so that people always know which page they’re on. Combined nav and page title, that sort of thing. Maybe black?
Some of the includes might be better as functions, actually. Like the nav, so that we can specify the page. The random picture will definitely have to be a function. I’ll suss it out.
Okay, the basic split is up at nzlarps.org/ryan/4
Don’t you love how tidy the source code for index.php looks now?
It’s set up on the assumption that every page has the same 2 columns with the same widths.
I’m going to start on putting in the function include for the projects and associates, but I may not have time to finish it tonight so I thought I’d let you know where it was at so you can have a look.
EDIT: I’ve changed about.php to index.php so that the server will recognise it as the homepage. I’m using the file names to allow the navigation SSI to recognise where the user is, so I wanted to get the file names right from the start.
Oh, I totally failed to read this bit.
Why did you think this? The purpose of an include file is to put stuff that is repeated on a website into one place. The layout of the site is usually the most repeated aspect, so it’s usually the first thing to go into include files. Check out the way phpBB is put together, all the layout is in includes. Putting layout in includes means putting HTML tags like , ,
| in there, if they’re used to build the layout.
If you are worried about the layout HTML being difficult to edit because it’s split up across files, we could put all the bits in one file inside functions. That way you can see it all in one place. But personally I find having a few files open and flipping through them to edit overall page layout pretty easy. I’m still working on include files for the repeated content. |
Oh, I totally failed to read this bit.
Why did you think this? The purpose of an include file is to put stuff that is repeated on a website into one place. The layout of the site is usually the most repeated aspect, so it’s usually the first thing to go into include files. Check out the way phpBB is put together, all the layout is in includes. Putting layout in includes means putting HTML tags like , ,
| in there, if they’re used to build the layout.
If you are worried about the layout HTML being difficult to edit because it’s split up across files, we could put all the bits in one file inside functions. That way you can see it all in one place. But personally I find having a few files open and flipping through them to edit overall page layout pretty easy. I’m still working on include files for the repeated content.[/quote] I get it now. Was thinking that we’d have near-identical pages of the same HTML each pointing to a different include file for the content. But you’re right, we may as well put everything in includes files! |
Okay, I’ve coded the projects and associates into an include file. Needs some more fine-tuning, but that can come when we have the other relevant pages to call it from.
That’s pretty much it for include files. You want to set up the other pages?
Now I’ve created the other pages but haven’t loaded content in, except for a bit on the Projects page.
What do you mean by “created”? I’m getting a 404 when I try to navigate to the other pages… or do you mean that you’ve created their includes…?
Ive uploaded them. Don’t know why you can’t see them, maybe you’re looking in the wrong place. Try this:
I’ve loaded the content for the Associates page. Oh… but I’ve just realised that I did it wrong and left off the list of associates. Will edit. Although having said that, I think the “How to Become an Associate” works really nicely in the right-hand column.
I’m not very happy with the content on the Projects page, it’s too verbose.
Whole site will need proofreading. Do you think it’s possible to get the site in decent shape by tomorrow so the committee can look at it before the meeting?
Unfortunately not. I’ve not been able to put the time I was hoping into this.
I think we’ll have some stuff for the committee to look at, but won’t really want it to be live by tomorrow night. I still haven’t given the includes thing a proper go!
Okay.
It’s probably best if it doesn’t go live until they’ve given their approval and we’ve made any changes requested anyway.
There’s really nothing left to be done in terms of include files, it’s basically finished.
I’ll see what I can do about finishing touches (like the random images), and remaining content.
Then I’ll make a new location for it on your server, specifically for the committee to view at.
If you’re going to the meeting and can take a printout of the pages as well as a screenshot of the homepage (so they can see the graphics as they appear in the browser) that’d be good.
I’ve made some more changes, I think it’s ready for the committee to review.
I’ve put the latest version up here:
I’m going to PM Adam and let him know it’s there. The content still needs work, but it’s enough for the committee to get a feel for and give feedback.
Oh wow, thanks a lot. Uni’s really got heavier in the last little while. Sorry I haven’t had much input on it at all!
To trade links, here’s a work-in-progress from the new Nightmare Circle website I’m also working on:
nzlarps.org/nightmarecircle/cc.htm
Main content window not styled yet - this is the very problematic character creation page that’s terribly long.
Also plan to link to the May Day post-game site (also in production). Linking to the Executive Decision calendar event was a good idea. We should build it a single page, noting that the rules now belong to nzLARPS and can be used by any members to run a simple game.
Yep, except that the Executive Decision rules are free off the internet, so anyone can use them anyway.
They love it! Love the simplicity and such. I’m posting the link in the commitee forum for feedback on what’s there, then we’re aiming to put it live when the gaps are filled in. I’ll keep you posted.
Great.
I’m not happy with the Projects text, it’s too verbose and unclear. I’m going to cut it back so that it looks more like the Affiliates page, but I’ll keep a copy of the old text for comparison.