guru.com and scriptlance.com may also work out for you, although I must confess myself that I got tired of bidding with people who are willing to go as low as $20 for a dynamic website

Bottomline, at least from my experience, referrals are a better way of having business and earning more money. I now go by referrals 100%. If it means not coding a site for 6 months, so be it. In the end, I have become a much happier and less stressed man

At the risk of waking up the dreaded ghost of broadcode

I don't know much about DAAR but I can take a crack at a few issues (I use FireFox by the way):

1) Why the scrolling title in the title bar? Who are they trying to impress? I am getting hypnotized as we speak

2) If the news is updated frequently, why not use a CMS?

3) Why are all the news items on one long page? It seems dividing them out into individual pages would make more sense

4) For interactivity reasons, their "INTERNATIONAL TRANSMISSION" section would probably look better implemented as a flash/video component

5) Submitting their contact form gives me a server side error

6) I don't think in today's day and age, I need to be told where the Menu is. Even a layman can figure that out

7) Why the space in some file names (e.g. about%20us.html)? It might work well on IIS but what happens if it is ported to a server that doesn't support spaces?

8 ) The copyright section still says "2007". Did I hear someone say, "Weell my2cents, wake up, 2008 just started. Even you could have made that mistake". True indeed. However, if that component were implemented server side, then it would have changed automatically Let's just pray the developers used includes, otherwise ya wa go bust come updating time.

Considering AIT charges as much as $15 per month (in addition to what I would have to pay, standard, for my regular cable/satellite bill), I would expect better. In my opinion, http://www.aittv.com/ is way better. So Afam, how we go land d deal?

As always, my 2 cents

in addition to what dual has said:

1) liven up the site with a few more images

2) Decrease the width of your form fields (contact us)

3) move "site map" menu item to the end of the list

4) Add footer section with same links as in navigation

5) For the autos section, perhaps, use thumbnails for a gallery, then commence a slideshow of larger images once you click on any of them. The page is too long the way it is now. Look at it this way (sure, the number may be fixed now but you have to plan for the future when it might change) - What happens if you have 100 images?

6) typically, "all rights reserved" is preceded by a copyright symbol (

©

)

I hope these help.

nope,

that is a scrolling marquee (the html tag enclosing it says so ). If you insist it is a "scrol bar", have it your way

Perhaps we are looking at different things? Who knows?

I think (and I could be wrong) on the falcons site, those figures are hardcoded. Either that or they have a script that goes out and fetches the figures, then displays the results on the screen. You might want to look at a more detailed stock list by using this:

<script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript" src="http://www.africancapitalmarkets.com/stock/reports/daily/marquee3.php"></script>

In the case above, the guys at african capital markets have already done the work for you. All you need do is copy and paste.

I hope this helps. If not, then we are definitely talking about 2 different things

LMAO tunde but you forgot these other pple:

1) The area boy on ikorodu road who wants to lay off chasing buses and would rather get paid via paypal/interswitch

2) The palm wine tapper who wants a way of convincing his customers that he is the only one who doesn't use an additive in his product

3) The Nama nomad who feels that by having a website, he can better target southerners who need to know when his latest skeletons (sorry, I meant cattle ) are coming to town

4) The University students who want a cheap and effective way of grabbing the next sugar daddy/mommy

5) That guy wey dey baf underneath Festac bridge - he figures that by having a website complete with a webcam, he can start living the Nigerian dream by making money via google ads brought about by increased traffic to his site.

Happy new year to you too man!!

Typewriter,

Insert the code below onto any page and preview to see if this is what you are looking for. If it is, u dey owe N100K

<marquee scrollamount="5" scrolldelay="100">&nbsp;<font face="Verdana" size="1" color="#0000FF">African Petroleum Plc</u></b>&nbsp;197.15&nbsp;(+9.38)&nbsp;</font></a>, &nbsp;<font face="Verdana" size="1" color="#0000FF">Ashaka Cement Plc</u></b>&nbsp;52.55&nbsp;(+2.50)&nbsp;</font></a>, &nbsp;<font face="Verdana" size="1" color="#FF0000"><b>Benue Cement Company</u></b>&nbsp;50.50&nbsp;(-0.50)&nbsp;</font></a>, &nbsp;<font face="Verdana" size="1" color="#FF0000"><b>CAP Plc</u></b>&nbsp;61.00&nbsp;(-0.95)&nbsp;</font></a>, &nbsp;<font face="Verdana" size="1" color="#0000FF">CONOIL</u></b>&nbsp;80.18&nbsp;(+3.81)&nbsp;</font></a>, &nbsp;<font face="Verdana" size="1" color="#FF0000"><b>Crusader Insurance Plc</u></b>&nbsp;6.20&nbsp;(-0.32)&nbsp;</font></a>, &nbsp;<font face="Verdana" size="1" color="#FF0000"><b>DIAMONDBNK</u></b>&nbsp;19.20&nbsp;(-0.59)&nbsp;</font></a>, &nbsp;<font face="Verdana" size="1" color="#FF0000"><b>Ecobank Transnational  Inc.</u></b>&nbsp;218.00&nbsp;(-2.00)&nbsp;</font></a>, &nbsp;<font face="Verdana" size="1" color="#FF0000"><b>Eterna Oil Plc</u></b>&nbsp;16.16&nbsp;(-0.84)&nbsp;</font></a>, &nbsp;<font face="Verdana" size="1" color="#0000FF">Guinness Nigeria Plc</u></b>&nbsp;129.00&nbsp;(+3.90)&nbsp;</font></a>, &nbsp;<font face="Verdana" size="1" color="#0000FF">INTERCONT</u></b>&nbsp;40.57&nbsp;(+1.93)&nbsp;</font></a>, &nbsp;<font face="Verdana" size="1" color="#0000FF">Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc</u></b>&nbsp;186.15&nbsp;(+6.15)&nbsp;</font></a>, &nbsp;<font face="Verdana" size="1" color="#0000FF">Nestle Foods Nigeria</u></b>&nbsp;263.55&nbsp;(+12.55)&nbsp;</font></a>, &nbsp;<font face="Verdana" size="1" color="#FF0000"><b>Nigerian Breweries Plc</u></b>&nbsp;48.61&nbsp;(-1.24)&nbsp;</font></a>, &nbsp;<font face="Verdana" size="1" color="#0000FF">Oando Plc</u></b>&nbsp;116.77&nbsp;(+5.56)&nbsp;</font></a>, &nbsp;<font face="Verdana" size="1" color="#0000FF">Oceanic Bank PLC</u></b>&nbsp;35.62&nbsp;(+1.69)&nbsp;</font></a>, &nbsp;<font face="Verdana" size="1" color="#0000FF">Total Nigeria Limited</u></b>&nbsp;182.00&nbsp;(+2.00)&nbsp;</font></a>, &nbsp;<font face="Verdana" size="1" color="#FF0000"><b>United Bank For Africa Plc</u></b>&nbsp;47.99&nbsp;(-0.46)&nbsp;</font></a>, &nbsp;<font face="Verdana" size="1" color="#FF0000"><b>University Press Plc</u></b>&nbsp;8.10&nbsp;(-0.38)&nbsp;</font></a>, &nbsp;<font face="Verdana" size="1" color="#FF0000"><b>West African Portland Cement Plc</u></b>&nbsp;76.01&nbsp;(-0.37)&nbsp;</font></a> </marquee>

Yep,

The news is there but from a design/usability standpoint, most need to improve. Case in point: i visited the punch site earlier today. I used their search feature in order to look for news on Akwa Ibom State. I got a mysql error instead. Also, the news is scattered everywhere on the home page, ads are haphazardly placed and the page scrolls horizontally. I have made it my mission in 2008, should I get to implement the AKSG paper (Pioneer) website, to unseat punch

In my opinion, there are better newspaper sites out there than punch but somehow they rank higher than the rest. Oh well.

As you've said Astron, here's to cranking out better sites in 2008!!

very simple - not to get banned from Nairaland for any amount of time

one of my philosophies has always been that there is no such thing as a dumb question. Smart didn't know and rather than mock him (hopefully it is all in jest. If not, read on), someone could have just told him what the deal was in a nice way.

Despite what some may say or may have said on this forum, no one knows it all. And some people over time retreat into their shells if they think that any question they have will be met with ridicule.

As I said earlier, I hope it is in jest. If not, make we try change am now

good dual,

at least that goes to show that the igbo i used to smoke as a kid hasn't damaged all of my brain cells

seriously though, I am happy to have been of service.

Happy new year!!

Off the top of my head, you might want to look at adding this functionality via an iframe. It would work like adding google maps to your page: You pass in the URL of the login page as the source, define the height and width and that should probably do it. Another option would probably be to see if squirrel mail has some sort of web service that would enable you to access their login page directly from your site. Amazon does it and others do it as well.

Note: I haven't actually done these. As I said above, these are off the top of my head. There could be better options.

In as much as I would like NL to be #1, I have to question the source. I am not a, "I hear say" kind of guy. I prefer facts and figures.

Again, I am not doubting that NL is #1. All I am saying is, just as you would a paper in college, I would like to see (unless I missed it, in which case I apologize in advance) the source.

digikid,

I am honored to finally know who you are. I have been trying to reach you for ages, back when the first version of the site was launched way back in the day

anyways, I couldn't find contact info for you so if you don't mind, send me an email at itoro[at]bellsouth[dot]net and we'll take it from there.

hey man,

r u the same guy who coded http://nigeria-consulate-atl.org/content/index.php ?

if so, good job man. The redesigned site is waaaay better than what was there before. As a matter of fact, for the first time since I started visiting naija, I did everything and got all the information I needed online without making a single phone call.

If you aren't the digikid I have in mind, sorry for bothering you and please disregard this post. Nonetheless, being that we are part of the same forum, perhaps we can chat up sometime.

500 server error

Fix the issue, confirm your site is indeed up and running (with an attached screen shot as proof), then this time, u holla back!

na me u dey call boy? hmmm. okay, in the spirit of the holiday season, I will forget you said that. Battlefield? You bet. With me, it's always a battle of ideas in which case the ideas based on facts, and not emotions, should always win

Criticise fairly and look at your own works before you fault others

I do this all the time. As a matter of fact, I will do it right now. I just put up www.mbukakwaibom.com - a website in response to the lack of Akwa Ibom State's newspaper, "The pioneer" being online. Akwa Ibomites in the diaspora cried out for a single source of information and I provided it for them. What do you think (I can already tell that you will say the site is "simple" so don't bother with that one. The site is serving its purpose judged by the high number of unique visitors daily since its dec 23 inception )?

I have always known (which is why I always preface my request for reviews) that my designs are simple. I make them so on purpose. Having said that, they follow web standards which to me is paramount. In other words, if you had a website that said, "hello world", as long as it followed web standards, I could care less about it. Again, if you read my case study above, I haven't mentioned anything about designs. Rather I mention download times, my inability to find information, etc. I have always maintained that I am a web developer, not a "designer", "guru" or "webmaster" as many have called themselves on here.

Ever since I have met you on this forum, I have known you to be one who picks one paragraph, without reading to its conclusion, and drawing emotional conclusions. Ki lo de?

You said to you, the site looked okay. You should have left it at that and/or tried to refute my points above instead of turning it into a verbal attack (not that I care). The whole point of a case study is to expose potential problem areas and how to resolve them. I believe I have done both.

geez broadcode, you seem to be painting with a (very broad) brush. I wonder how long you had the above statement pent up in you just waiting to let it out. Now that you have, hopefully you feel better. After some brash posts from you earlier this year, I thought you had given the trade up. I guess not.

The funny thing is that I have never claimed to have the best sites on earth. Where you got that, I have no idea. As a matter of fact, should anyone want to do a case study of any of my sites, go ahead. We will all be better for it.

back to the issue at hand:
i will continue to post case studies. Again, if anyone disagrees, feel free to post a *civil* rebuttal. So, you might want to starting popping down some anti-High Blood Pressure tabs because it seems you will need it.

YES, nothing on earth is perfect, not even your site

and not even www.lagosstyle.com

spking for myself:

As someone who doesn't live in Nigeria, I appreciate the historical context. We need to know where we were so as to know how to get to where we need to be. I personally find it hard to believe that PTOs were putting up websites back in the day

One reason I find this part of NL boring atimes is that for the most part, it's all about reviews. IMHO, we need more articles like this. In the end, if someone disagrees, they should air it so we can discuss and clear the air. If we feel we are not learning from it, again IMHO, we should do what we do with those religious tracks - read and pass on

As always, my 2 cents.

spking 4 myself:

Case study: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/case%20study
Criticism: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/criticism

I am always cautious of what Matthew 7:5 says. No one is perfect. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Those facts are irrefutable. What is refutable is that there are standard ways of doing things. Whether or not we follow them is up to us. Of course, if we follow them, we are the better for it.

If you read my piece carefully, you will note that I give praise where praise is due first and foremost. My point is here is that there is room for improvement. Imagine what would happen if we all chipped in to make a particular site better. It would be coding nirvana.

Let's learn to discern words and read articles in general in their entirety and speak from facts and not emotion.

thief,

i wouldn't call it bragging. i would call it a post where people get to learn how to detect and avoid being dumped way before it gets to that point

I chose to share. I couldn't have. Now, some boy or girl on here will add that to their, "I remember reading about this somwhere" portfolio.

If u no wan YIM me, fine. I just thought I could get you to steal my heart, that's all

So, it is boxing day and half the people at work took the week off and so I don't have that much to do. I end up finishing up the little I had to do and decided to do some last-minute surfing before heading home. I settle for the PHCN website as I haven't been there since it was NEPA. So I google for the site and find: http://www.phcnonline.com/TIMSClient/contact.htm . The link is #1 so someone did their SEO right. The lower part of the home page is a blaring red. Eh, it' okay. I am willing to ignore this. I also like the fact that I can pay my bill online. For a fee? Hey, for the convenience of not having to leave my house, I don't mind that at all.

I must confess, it is much better than the NEPA site. But it does have a few issues:

1) I ran it through a website analyzer. As simple as it is, it takes about 40 secs on a 56K modem. 24 images on the home page alone! The poor guy in the header is chopped into 2. Why bother? Now, having just returned from naija, I can attest to how slow some cyber cafes are. If the site followed web standards, it could have been made much lighter

2) The scrolling banners at the bottom. First off, what are those? sponsors? if yes, first and foremost, I tip my hat off to them for having that many. Having said that, I could barely concentrate on the links in the red section. Any reason to blast a gazillion ads in my face all at the same time? Chineke me!!

3) I decided to lodge a "complaint". The form leaves me to find out my district. Oookay. I remember seeing a "find your district" link on the home page (I am not smart enough to have played a guessing game with the dropdowns to see if I would be lucky on the first try ). I hit the back button and click the link. I was expecting some kind of map (of Nigeria) which color shades over each district. All I got was a bunch of text. So I say to myself, should I call the one I think is my district HQ? I said nope. I assume it is the PH district and go back to my form. Ah! It is the PH district. How much time has elapsed by now?

4) I forget to fill out a few fields and I hit submit. I had to wait (on my bourdex line at home) for the page to show up, only to be told I didn't fill those fields. Ha ba! I have to fill the form again?

Folks, don't get me wrong, I love my country and know despite the odds, we are still able to crank out code. Having said that, I think we have come of age to a point where we should be mature in our coding. No business logic will ever be used if a user doesn't find a site usable. Me in particular am unfortunately very impatient online. I want it now! If I wait small, I don leave b that.

From my visit, my conclusion was that we are yet to appreciate the part architecture plays in web development. Either that, or I wasn't talking to the right people. In the US, there are people who don't write a single line of code and yet they probably make more than the best coders. They are into SEO, usability and accessibility to mention but a few. All they do is go through studies and research and tell the code monkeys what to do as if given the opportunity, they could do it themselves and perhaps even better. Some of them, you just want to slap them, but fear the consequences

Here's to making 2008 a year where we develop sites that are usable, accessible, lightweight and aesthetically appealing!!

Thief,

if u really wanna know, YIM me.

LOL,

Thiefofhearts if you are referring to me, I find your comments above funny considering in your signature file you have the following quote:

Dont think because I understand, I care.

here goes mine, though technically I wouldn't call it a break up:

a few years ago, I was hooked up on a blind date. I got to her house to pick her up. She was wasn't that attractive to me. I had to get out of this thing. Wetin vex me pass na say I had to drive for a while to get to her place. So what did I do? Trust naija now. Read on

I made some small talk. Then the moment came. She excused herself to get something from her room. I held her around her waist and said something like, "baby, I have a surprise for you". She said, "wow! i wasn't expecting this". I said, "Whenever a girl I want to date is pretty, I always like to give her something before we go out. Give me a minute. It's in the car. I'll be back before you know it". You could tell she really couldn't wait. To cut a long story short, I went outside, pretended to look for the gift in the trunk (her apartment was such that she could see where I was parked), scratched my head, opened my side of the car, sat down, reversed and drove off

Cruel? I guess, but I couldn't in all honesty go out with her.

same to you jazztix

Seun,

Yeah, I tried adding it to a site I am working on currently but ran into problems on the youtube site. I have since sent the google team an email for help and am awaiting a response. I personally, to tell you the truth, am yet to appreciate where such units can come in handy, but I will find a place for it though I am thinking it should integrate seamlessly on the page without it standing out and looking too obvious or taking too much space.

Let's make a bet - the first to get it working should post the response here for the benefit of others

I like the flash but I found the site in general a bit too dark. I found myself many times squinting my eyes looking for information (that might also have to do with the fact that the links I found (for example, "contact" were very small).

Perhaps the site could use a little brightening? Other than that, I await the completion of other pages.

I hope this helps.

tunde:

Thanks for sharing. Atimes, things may be so obvious but of course, we all end up taking forever doing it the hard way.

If I may add to your post:
One could even boost their (google) ad revenue by adding such youtube video units to their site via their google ad sense account. I don't know how much you get paid per click but I would imagine that with a popular church site, those click could add up

nduaj:

u 2 man!!

mecussey:
tomX has spoken and illustrated well. Listen to him

tomX:
Thanks for the tutorial. Some things are better explained via images and unfortunately I have been too busy of late to upload images.

Nigerian programmers are as good as programmers anywhere in the world. Don't let the stereotypes get to you. As has been said above, just because you don't hear of the Nigerian equivalent of Infosys doesn't mean there isn't one out there. On one hand, I see that as a good thing cos the minute oyibo smells a goldmine, they will land like mosquitoes to take unfair advantage.

Here's to the Nigerian programmer who cranks out code regardless of setbacks (light, slow internet speeds, etc)!!

mecussey I dont think so.

you get that from your web host.