₦airaland Forum

lesson of the day:
Unless u r doing something for a client (or even yourself) where you know *for a fact* what is on their computers, *always* code for the lowest common denominator, as dictated by the latest research. Latest research in this case dictates that a majority of surfers have 1024x768 resolution. Then as time goes by and you monitor your web traffic, you can then tweak your site to fit your target audience.

big star,

wow! I didn't know there were white people fishing in the ocean at your location

Couldn't you, assuming you don't have a digital camera to take photos of the actual location, at the very least get photos featuring black fishermen (excluding the one to the right)?

I am in total support of xanadu's comments

Not my site or that of someone I know.  Gbosaaa!!!  Una been think say na my own site? LOL

Actually, I would like for us all to review the PDP website.  I just stumbled upon it a few minutes ago:
http://peopledemocraticparty.org/index.html

After you are done butchering the developer (much deserved), I would like for you to click the "site developed by" link.  Once you get past the broken link, copy the actualy URL and go to the contact page of the developer to see where they are based.  After that, do any of you want to bet that this site cost anything less than N1million to develop?

After all is said and done, sit back and:

1) Think to yourself how highly your clients in Nigeria actually value you, Nigerian developers in Nigeria, as developers and

2) Just think of the "free" or N25,000 price you will be giving someone the next time you advertise here or to whomever it may be.

Tis a shame indeed!

jms, I love the simplicity and but for the few pointers I am about to raise, I would give it 100% based on simplicity alone. I mean to me, it isn't the greatest design-wise but again, it is simple and straight to the point:

1) Make your logo smaller so as to reduce the width of the layout. This would get rid of the horizontal scroll.

2) Contact page: Include a fillable form

3) Clients: Make the links of sites that are still live, clickable. Copying and pasting to me is a pain.

4) Clients and Services Page: You could have achieved the same effect using an unordered list rather than tables. This has the combined effect of reducing page size (equates to faster loading times) and making your site more easily indexed by search engines

5) Page headers: Each page should have one. When I was on the services page, I got confused and lost my sense of direction as it resembled the clients page.

Good job. Correct the errors and at the very least, fix the horizontal scroll.

Nothing beats information straight from the source: http://docs.joomla.org/Beginners

u cd also go here http://www.andreas.com/

Y even have a live feed. Most TV stations don't do that. Interactivity? I am in support of that though. These days, you need a reason (b/w blogs, forums, polls, etc) to get the visitors to come back again and again.

I am sure they meant 1000, not 100

http://www.punchontheweb.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art200810232333335

Chams Plc, a Nigerian information technology firm with specialisation in identity management and related solutions, has set up what is expected to become the biggest cyber centre in the world.

The cyber centre, located in Lagos is one of several digital malls that are being built across the country by ChamsCity, a new subsidiary of Chams Plc.

The General Manager, ChamsCity, Mr. Sola Bickersteth, said the Lagos centre would be equipped with over 100 computers.

This number, he noted, was higher than in New York, which boats of about 850 computers, which the Guinness Book of Records, acknowledged as the largest in the world.

He added that representatives from the Guinness Book of Records are billed to arrive son in Nigeria for an assessment of the facility.

In all, ChamsCity is to set up digital mall facilities in all the states of the federation and the firm intends to achieve a substantial part between now and next year.

Already, the Abuja facility has been completed and others in a few other states are nearing completion.

Bickersteth said the centres were to provide a number of services including digital identity management, video conferencing and electronic payment solutions.

He added that among other services, ChamsCity would help provide the right location for job recruitment, electronic learning and data processing.

He said the centres were designed to be connected to the telecommunications networks using by SAT-3, radio and optic fibre

A dedication service for the Lagos centre, conducted by the Prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, Dr. Sunday Ola Makinde, was held on Tuesday in Lagos.

I will say this for the last time, wait for you to concede you are wrong, then depending on your answer, remove notification from this thread or not:

Let us first start with what i said in about my 3rd post:

<a href="http://www.cnn.com/" onclick="window.open(not too sure of the syntax here but you get the point)">Click here to go to cnn.com</a>

Note the bolded portion.  Perhaps either u skipped this one or you didn't understand what I meant.  Now you have forced me to dig up my library code.  no ya wa, nothing spoil.  As i hv said, I hv done this before

Here is the actual code:

<a href="http://www.cnn.com/" onclick="window.open('http://www.cnn.com'); return false;">Click here to go to cnn.com</a>

Again, note the bolded portion.  I don't memorize things if I don't use them.  Now, copy this, modify it to use ur window opener for onclick, make sure javascript is enabled, then click ur link. note that the link goes to a new window.  then disable javascript (u might want to close your "nasa" browser and open a new one), go to your page, click the link and note that the link now OPENS IN THE SAME WINDOW. Why? because it is going off of what is in the href as opposed to onclick (which wont work because javascript is disabled).  The former opens in a new window the latter opens in the same window.

The issue with the post is that I would prefer external links open in a new window and again, i don't own the forum and so can't dictate its direction.

by the way:
no need for the ad hominem attacks.  I know what i know, based on experience and u know what you know, based on your experience. In the end, we can both combine forces and know even more.  What you must be willing to do first though is open your mind and be willing to learn.  Whenever I am wrong on this forum, I am the first to own up to it.  I think through what I post at least 3 times, which is y i prefaced my first responses above by "not too sure" thus protecting myself from any liability

google for "church websites", even add a third keyword like "church website nigeria" or church websites usa" to boot.


you will get TONS of results and you can make your pick from there, seeing what you like and/or don't like

If I understand you correctly, u can use a "tell a friend" form:

The form wd hv 4 fields (for instance): your name, your email, friends name, friend's email. when you click submit, (if you are using PHP), use the mail() function to send an email to your friend and stating in the message part:

- your name
- your message beginning with something like, "check this site out" or whatever goes there.

Of course, if you don't want to go thru the hassle of doing it yourself, you could use whatever 3rd party app is out there.

dezzi

1)  Didn't I say I would rather kick you in the nuts than run this test again?  Besides, rn't you lifting from my post above, with respect to the code snippet?   Just to fulfill your fantasy, I did click and it DID NOT (for the umpteenth time) open in a new window (I am using FF) but IN A NEW TAB!! Haba!!!

2) Based on the code above, it will go somewhere.  That is the essence of .open().  If you don't want it to, don't add the opener or don't use target=_blank" and that has already been concluded as a "Seun Prerogative".

3) My code above is an accessibility hack, if you want to call it that, that works for both those with and without javascript enabled. It's nothing new. It's been around for a while. Sometimes, you want something to open in a smaller window, especially if it doesn't feature a lot of content. Having said that, again, some may have javascript disabled (hard to blv but they do still exist) and so by opening the window the regular way, such ppl still get to c the same content, albeit in a regular window. Of course, if they close it, they lose the window entirely.

na wa o!

wow! r u really a Nigerian man? You talk so profesionally. Seriously, if I owned a company back there, I would hire you. If I had no space, I would fire my least productive employee and put you in his or her place. Seriously!! Don't let my name scare you - I am not as bad as I may seem

Its true that two heads are better than one.

I would like to correct the above, with your permission, to, "2 *good* heads are better than one

wow dayo, you actually caught me off guard.

Usually wen I give a review, I am accused of being overly critical. I am glad that finally, someone has taken my review for what it is. I mean, you have made all the changes noted, no arguments whatsoever. I mean, we don't see eye to eye on the hover thing but we can always agree to disagree. Your responses have definitely encouraged me to review others.

Others should learn from this.

thehomer et al,

u need to c what was there b4. Perhaps after seeing it, you would have given this new one 3 out of 10

Nice, clean layouts. I pray many more of us back at home learn from this. We don't need to clog pages with flash and graphics to show what we are capable of.

Pointers:

1) why hire us - jumping: I would rather this be an onclick event. It was kind of a shocker when I first went over them. I think the behavior shd be user-initiated

2) date beside menu: I didn't notice the date at first cos of this. Perhaps it should be above or below it or you find a way to emphasize it

3) large images below the menu - one was 117kb. you might want to consider optimizing such images.

4) request for quote not validating phone number

5) additional website services: page not found
http://tebixcreative.com/web_additional_services.aspx

6) mobile app and graphic design on what we do page, no response: fix or take them out

Thanks,

dayotee2

#1
two wrongs don't make a right. Just because bill gates site (using as an example) was hacked doesn't mean it is okay for punch site to be hacked. The issue is to know how it happened and to figure out a way for it not to happen again. Why? because being the #1 most visited nigerian website on the planet, there is a credibility issue at stake. From my experience dealing with nigerian companies though, I dare say that upfront they didn't want to commit to the funds necessary to make the site hacker-proof in the first place. Again from experience, the typical nigerian (including myself ) at times wants the most money from something without investing in it. Now that they have been hacked, hopefully they have learned their lesson.

#2 and #3
As developers, I have always advocated that we not be mere code monkeys? What is a code monkey? An order taker. "Dem dey pay me so wetin concern me? I go jus do wetin dem want make i do, after that, i don finish my own, clean mouth". It's a bad attitude to have. Even if one of such developers invented the internet, if he/she came to me with punch on their resume, I wouldn't hire them. The layout sucks, pure and simple. Even if mgmnt wants some kind of monetization document, that can be arranged. For one, show them what they are paying in bandwidth now and show them their potential savings with a few lines of code shaved off. That is one approach. I have done this in the past. In my case, we saved the company $20K in bandwidth, just by using xhtml/css

#4
I look forward to their new layout. I have been visiting the site since 2004. I would hate to leave now. For now, since you say you know the parties involved, tell them to do something about their bulleted list at the bottom of the home page. I have stopped looking down their for news as everything is bunched up together.

Thanks and now to review your site

i dont need to as i already did. i use ff3 (though version shdnt matter). check what you hv ur settings on by default. mine is on tabs.

Just tested again, same results. This is the last time I will b arguing on something I know and have independently verified to be true. I wd rather kick u in the nuts than do it again

Thanks for sparing us the nightmare of seeing the photo of whomever in the banner area. Seriously! I think photo single-handedly would have done you more harm than good with respect to credibility. In addition to what kehers has said:

1) I go here http://www.switchmaxdesign.com/contactus.html and click submit, without filling out a field and I get this:

Error!! You are required to fill the empty field

on this page: http://www.switchmaxdesign.com/index.php

Cdnt you have handled your validation a little differently, like show me my errors on the actual page (I am thinking javascript here or even PHP, highlighting fields not filled out) without making a round trip to the sever, only to be told I didn't fill out a required field and you don't tell me which field I didn't fill out properly?

2) Get rid of the white color for the page headers.

3) kehers, I too c the open area at the top but if you look closely (which you probably have), you will notice that the area "jumps" after the page loads. this leads me to blv that there is some animation file that will play there. Hopefully, it isn't the same one with the scary face that was on the old site

Switchmax, the site, provided you correct the mentioned errors will be much better than what you had before. I will however hold out on a full endorsement until I see what you have in your banner area.

Thanks,

@yawa, try that javascript out and see what happens, that snippet will come as a pop up window and not a tab.
you will have a popup and the opener will still go to that url, that will still result in you leaving nairaland completely.

Webdezzi, did you try this in firefox? Note, I said firefox not IE (I develop/browse 99.9% of the time in firefox and recommend that any serious web developer do same). In Firefox, you can actually tell the browser to open new windows either in a tab or a new window. Go to Tools -> Options -> Tabs to verify for yourself that this in indeed true. In fact, I just tried the javascript snippet and it failed *in firefox*.

Thanks,

eliteweb, no offense, but not really.

There are tons of other languages that can do it, granted maybe you meant what was easily available. Off the tip of my tongue: JSP, Cold Fusion and Perl to mention a few.

netwhiz,

I believe I have already said that, LIKE A THOUSAND TIMES

kehers it depends.

If you are doing a site for the US government, you have to follow 508 standards or risk a law suit. For other major corporations (and this has happened before), you don't have to follow 508 standards but if some disabled person can't access certain things cos the site isn't 508- compliant, again, you risk a lawsuit that could run in the millions.

Per other standards, you don't have to follow. Having said that, I would rather do so (just like a lawn tennis pro doesn't have to serve aces) for the following reasons:

1) It ensures your site is consistent across major browsers. In other words, code once and forget it. I for one seldom test my sites across major browsers or even PDAs because I follow web standards and know they will look good on all of them. Quick random spot checks in the future have confirmed my confidence by the way

2) It ensures your site will come up correctly on PDAs

3) It ensures everyone (including those with disabilities) can access your site (which could relate to more money if its an ecommerce site): for this one, you may not appreciate unless you have someone with disabilities and/or you try to view your site through a screenreader like jaws.


So again, you don't have to follow any standards. In addition to my lawn tennis example above, I would also like to use another example: It's like the lecturers at uni who say their handouts aren't mandatory but necessary. Believe, you are better off adhering to 50% of the standards than none at all.

Kehers:

Here is a nifty solution to take care of all your "javascript off" concerns:

<a href="http://www.cnn.com/" onclick="window.open(not too sure of the syntax here but you get the point)">Click here to go to cnn.com</a>

If JS is enabled, it uses onclick. If not, it reverts to the regular href.

There are certain things that the "average surfer" doesn't and shouldn't be able to do, just because you can. You always code for the lowest common denominator.

I still say, as long as the user (even those with disabilities) are given advanced notice (on the top and/or next to each such link) that they will be taken to another page, it's all good. Let's consider another scenario, if i may:

Imagine you just purchased a ticket on virgin nigeria website, via interswitch and are on the "thank you" page. Then imagine there is a link that you have to click that actually applies to you and you click. If you are taken to a page within the same window, then you click back, chances are that you will be charged twice. By going to another window, you eliminate such risks.

Bottomline:
It may be bad but as in all things, there is an exception to every rule, with legitimate reasons of course.

Musty, lol, you sound like you are not at fault. Correct the typo above, if not already and resend. Then if he doesn't respond, you go from there.

depending on what is being opened in a new window, it is actually a good thing, especially if you give advanced notice. For example, I have a list of articles on my site and I don't want the user to have to click back 10 times to come back to my site. By having the articles open in a new window (again, with advanced notice given on the page), the user can close the new window and not have to remember how to get my article list. Sure, you can always click back, but what happens when you click from one link to another? Are you all saying you don't mind clicking back 5 or 10 times to get back to nairaland or wherever?

At the end of the day, it's Seun's site and he can do what he likes. Heck, if the majority wants links to open as-is, even better. I believe in majority rule. Having said that, I won't back down from saying that opening external links in a new window is actually good usability, as long as the user is informed in advance. Hint: In firefox, you can actuall tell the browser to open new windows in a new tab, as opposed to a new window, thus saving you from clutter in your task bar

Though I can't recommend any books currently (they might be available via google), I think you should actually read up on logic before embarking on learning any language, no matter how simple it is to understand. Why? because at the heart of any programming language is the ability to think logically. After you are able to do that, you can then pick up the language of your choice.

You need to think in pseudo-code before you start actually coding. For example, let's take a situation where I ask you to design software to mimic a car's breaks. You could think like this:

Start car
Put car in drive
Accelerate
If too close to another car then
step on breaks
if still too close to car then
step on breaks even harder
else
gradually release breaks and start accelerating
else
keep accelerating

I know it's not the best example but hopefully you get my point. Once you have this down, trust me, you can then pick up the language of your choice.

If you already understand how to think in pseudo-code,then forget all I just said and go for the other poster's advice

urihsab,

I have been saying the same thing, without the bad words

Then it hit me: It's all marketing. The guy does say email him but others in need of coders may actually stumble on this and gather phone numbers/email addresses without having to put up a post of their own, thus saving them time.

So, is it following instructions? Nope but I don't think you should go that far in showing your frustration

Seun,

Why not take a poll to see how many think (or don't think) like you

I know the forum is yours but it is popular because of the members. I think you should do what is best for a majority of the forumites.

So how about that poll?

netwhizmx,

As that popular Michael Jackson song goes, "Yoouuuu are nooot aloooooone"