Criticise me!

CSU

Ok, so this is my first website and I need your comments, what you like/dislike please.

Cheers,

www.zeuselectricltd.ie

carbayon

You have the following error;
Database Error: Unable to connect to the database:Could not connect to MySQL

If you need help with the site, please let me know.

http://www.carbayon.com you can contact me on ramon@carbayon.com

Gerry.L

Its $hite....

blue4ever

+1 - the website is totally screwed up - surely you should have fixed that before you posted.

carbayon

OK, the SQL error is gone, but you have a problem with CSS

The fact that you are using full URL on the code let's me to believe you are using some software that does the work for you (I can see is Joomla).

Few errors on the code, some lines have double-domain, simple to fix;

href="www.zeuselectricltd.ie/www.zeuselectricltd.ie/templates/siteground-j15-86/favicon.ico"

src="www.zeuselectricltd.ie/www.zeuselectricltd.ie/media/system/js/mootools.js"

src="www.zeuselectricltd.ie/www.zeuselectricltd.ie/media/system/js/caption.js"

Other have similar problems as they are not being read correctly;
href="www.zeuselectricltd.ie/templates/system/css/system.css"

href="www.zeuselectricltd.ie/templates/siteground-j15-86/css/template.css"

I tend to use relative URLs on my code, this are a bit complex to explained, but once you know them, simpler to work with them, as they are shorter.

Keep at it, and you will eventually sort these problems. Programming is not simple and not for everyone, but with attention to detail and some help, you should be OK to put the page together.

CSU

blue4ever wrote: »

+1 - the website is totally screwed up - surely you should have fixed that before you posted.

I posted

Then I deleted (what I thought was) an images folder

Realising my FTP was still deleting folders five minutes later > I went "oh oh spagettio's":D

It's back to a state it was a week ago now!

Thank God, I'll be backing up a hell of a lot more from now on.

OT:

I'm looking for an open source ERM for the site, I need it to do just about everything ie. invoices, payroll job allocation management, project management and it to be written in PHP for use on the webhost, I think I've exhausted all my searching capabilities, opentaps looks fine but it won't run on my webhost, also openbravo needs a proper webhost. I've been through hotscripts.com and google code project hosting all week and still emply handed...anyone any ideas?

carbayon

CSU;

Now you are pushing the limits of what non-technical people can achieve.

Hosting services tend to "close" down the webserve to protect them from attacks, thus many applications will not install.

I am going to assume you don't need remote access to the server, since I don't expect you to have payroll information on the server.

I am also going to assume you have a PC that you can use for this application, it doesn't have to be new, and oldish PC will do fine.

The recommendation I have is to built your own webserver within the shop or your house, there is a nice document on how to install OpenBravo on the Debian OS, Installing Openbravo ERP on Debian. You will have to install Debian on your own, but that is "simple" put the CD or DVD on the drive and let it run, answer the default to all question.

That is my answer to you, built your on server, time and patience will be needed.

CSU

Ok carbayon, it would just be less hassle having everything in one place as opposed to running our own webserver.

Does the time spent maintaining and setting up a webserver, plus electricity, plus equipment not outweigh the cost of a webhost? I have the cheapo deal from register365, no frills just FTP access. Given that if I went for the expensive package with (for want of a better word) a virtual PC to work with I could then run openbravo or opentaps, but how secure would my data be? Also, I'm very new to all of this so bear with: If PHP is only lines of code that tell the client browser what to do what other languages are similar that can be run on a webhost such as mine? Given that for example openbravo requires the backbone services of an operating system to function, where do the similarities begin/end with these different languages and which are the most likely to become standard?

Sorry for the off-topicness of me banter:pac:...anyone know of a good place to ask technical questions on server security (webhost based)???

Vanbis

CSU wrote: »

Ok, so this is my first website and I need your comments, what you like/dislike please.

Cheers,

www.zeuselectricltd.ie

No expert but you have a menu on the right side which you have to scroll down to view the full list. ( thats wrong )This should be added to the top of page where you don't have to scroll down. Also your your adds or images on the topseem to big which is another reason you have to scroll down and read about you or what you do.

I'm to lazy go any further but it's not great and needs more work on the layout and colour and content.

CSU

Vanbis wrote: »

No expert but you have a menu on the right side which you have to scroll down to view the full list. ( thats wrong )This should be added to the top of page where you don't have to scroll down. Also your your adds or images on the topseem to big which is another reason you have to scroll down and read about you or what you do.

I'm to lazy go any further but it's not great and needs more work on the layout and colour and content.

Thanks Vanbis,

Changing

header height

Right menu content structure

* colour scheme I'll need more opinions please:o
* Content I can't think of anything more to say about automatic doors and electricians???

...in the words of the late Alex Harvey ~~~~ NEXT!

tricky D

carbayon wrote: »

The recommendation I have is to built your own webserver within the shop or your house, there is a nice document on how to install OpenBravo on the Debian OS, Installing Openbravo ERP on Debian. You will have to install Debian on your own, but that is "simple" put the CD or DVD on the drive and let it run, answer the default to all question.

That is my answer to you, built your on server, time and patience will be needed.

Sorry carbayon, but this is a very bad idea. Securing a home web server is not trivial and the overheads of maintaining this security are significant. It's certainly not recommended for some who is new to this as CSU says himself.

@CSU
The header is way too big. It should be less than 220pixels high, pref 180. Put you logo in the top left with the 24 hours response beside it. put the login, search and text size switcher in the top right corner. Link the logo to the homepage.

The nav menu is a bit too wide and wraps onto another line. It's also confusing to have the arrows as they suggest a dropdown menu. Some of the buttons on the right duplicate the horizontal nav menu. The product types are even further own the page on the right. Ideally you would have all these in a dropdown menu like the one boards uses.

The main text content on the page is you talking about you. You'd be better off addressing the conerns of visitors, outlining your solution and then calling them to action. Think of how you deal with someone who walks into your physical premises. If you read the stuff on your homepage, they'd walk out, but you don't do that. You try to figure out what market they're in, ask them how you can help, propose solutions and hopefully make the sale. So something like: 'Looking for automated doors for your business, we have a great looking and functional range at affordable prices. Find out more about how we can help you' works better.

The fisheye display for your services needs padding to reveal the text properly.

The HSA logo is desaturated/washed out. I wouldn't mess with other people's logos like that.

The typography is a bit all over the place. Try to make it a bit more consistent and with good contrast. Avoid centre aligned text and large blocks in italics - poor readability.

Learn up on SEO: headings, alts, titles, meta tags and backlinks.

Get rid of the AddMe stuff.

Use a contact form.

That's enough for now

Hope that helps
/r

carbayon

CSU;

You are mixing two things. Hosting365 does just what it says, allows people to host websites. If you want to have a site on the internet, a hosting server is the way to go, I too have a less than €5 a month for hosting and email with a provider.

If you want to run a CRM system, hosting companies are not for this purpose and as I have said, they will not run unless you modify the main server and Hosting365 will not do that for you. (keep on mind that your server and IP are shared with many other customers, that is why is so cheap, they could have 100 customers on the same physical box)

What I was recommending is two systems, keep the website on the hosting company and the run the CRM on a PC or laptop. People always talk about electricity cost, a PC runs in less than 100W of power and a laptop on even less.

The CRM is a tool you plan to use while working to track sales, products, customers, suppliers, work... so the laptop/PC doesn't have to be on 24/7, turn it on in the morning and off in the afternoon.

My point is that putting a CRM on a hosting company is asking for trouble as your CRM will contain confidential data and there is people out there whiling to hack any system to obtain data.

foxinsox

White background is too harsh..

RED lettering on white background should never happen!

Even worse is phone number in red with yellow background!

HSA NDA and SEI all logos should be same size.

Normal font on top, too much text in one paragraph.

Second batch of text is all in bold??

Use same font consistently on website..

Sorry to criticise but you did ask

I think it needs a lot of work... it doesn't appear user friendly..

tricky D

carbayon wrote: »

CSU;

You are mixing two things. Hosting365 does just what it says, allows people to host websites. If you want to have a site on the internet, a hosting server is the way to go, I too have a less than €5 a month for hosting and email with a provider.

If you want to run a CRM system, hosting companies are not for this purpose

8<

That makes sense now. In the mix up, I thought you were saying put the web server in-house. Obviously and thankfully not.

carbayon

When I re-read the post, I guess that message could have been miss-interpreted.

Most CRM software runs an webserver too, so I meant to install an office webserver with the application of CRM on it.

CSU

:rolleyes: Excellent people, thanks a million!

To do:
* Edit CSS header height(somehow -.-)
* Sort out my logo and placement(was never happy with it)
* Add article menu items to top menu for drop down style
* Stop messing with the HSA logo
* Might remove right nav blue buttons for a menu box(whole component is custom HTML and is all over the page)
* White BG too harsh, red on white is naughty
* Fonts? Was using Verdana until I checked in IE and it looked like IMPACT...Ariel or what is nicest anyone
* Stop me talking about me on website( Tricky D :pac: )
* 'Addme' promised the world for a link - remove it
* Find out what padding is so the fish-eye can display it's text...
* Asssign alts for all of the 60 or so images, and give their properties static sizes
* Place Contact form on homepage






*runs to shops for more coffee*

CSU

carbayon wrote: »

When I re-read the post, I guess that message could have been conveyed.

Most CRM software runs an webserver too, so I meant to install an office webserver with the application of CRM on it.

sorry for the DP

The idea behind having it on a server was to allow the staff manage their projects from anywhere from any device. We are looking to hire a sales representative ATM, and having the ability for him/her to manage call-outs and add/remove data from projects on their iPhone would be a real time saver. Projectfork has the ability to manage time fairly well but is pretty limited in other regards. I may very well just settle for opentaps/openbravo on the laptop and have everyone else use google doc's & projectfork. Unless I'm blind there is no other option in PHP for use on a webhost...

Thanks!

foxinsox

CSU wrote: »

To do:

* White BG too harsh, red on white is naughty

* Fonts? Was using Verdana until I checked in IE and it looked like IMPACT...Ariel or what is nicest anyone


*runs to shops for more coffee*

Deleted all the rest of your post cos I don't know what it means

* As well as being naughty it hurts my eyes..it's a marketing thing too, red is always associated with bad things, danger, bad marks in school etc.

* Fonts, I like Arial Narrow...just go for plainest possible and keep consistant throughout website.

* Coffee, one sugar and milk please

best of luck with it.

carbayon

Now I am going to go on about this situation, rather than help.

People get into "IT" thinking that is going to be easy because there is software that can do things simple and there are forums where people helps.

What I can't understand is why people will never set down to build a house but they set down to build websites and entire systems.

People know they lack the skills to be plumbers, electricians, painters and so on, most people know they are handy enough to fix/repair but they will never build a entire house.

"IT" seems simple because you sit on desk with a computer and thanks to some software you get things done. Unfortunately, like building a house, each IT professional has a unique task. I am a system administrator and a network engineer, thus I can help with installation/configuration of servers and applications and with networking problems. Looking back on my post, you will never see a comment on the website, I am not a web developer, so I can't help with that.

Other people that has reply to this post has given good and detail feedback on the website, from graphics to colours, from text to content. I am an IT professional (I repeat this to emphasis the point) but I would never comment on a field I am not an expert or familiar.

On the same way I know my limits, I know I will never install automatic doors on my business, I will call a professional. But what I could do is repair "minor" issues, leaving mayor ones to the real professionals.

At this point my recommendation is that you get with a company that has all the skills you need; like a man building a house would contact a developer (no jokes about them please). Once you have the system you want, a hosted server (your own not shared server) and your CRM and the website are together and working as one, then and only then, you can tinker with it.

As the man that paid for the house to be built, now that he moved in, is up to you to get it fix and maintain. On the same way, get the system built by professionals and hosted by a reputable company, and then you can tinker with it. For example change pictures, change text, add/remove menus....

If you go this path make sure of one thing and only one "YOU OWN THE SOURCE CODE", same as if you get the house, you get the blue prints, you don't want to drill over a pipe or a cable. On the site you don't want to change a small thing and crash the whole system.

Lastly, IT is not simple. Most professionals have put over 4 years education and few years work experience and they know what works and how it works. People (and you are not the only one) think that because we sit on a desk and we use the same software they can use, they can do the same job we do.

Just because I can use wrenches and screwdrivers, it doesn't make me a mechanic. Or in this case, an automatic door installer.

That ends my rant.

CSU

:rolleyes: Man! it must be hell inside your head:p

Slow down for a moment (hold yer' horsie's), I am an electrician, and a plumber and I have built many many buildings...not on my own of course, but with a little help from my friends. Tradesmen have their rules and guidelines to work by, IT on the other hand is a no-holes-barred business, as you know what you spent years learning the 12 Y/O around the corner is working at twice the pace with an ever increasing tool and knowledge-base to work by. What was in yesterday is old news today, get what you can when you can and granted he/she a professional a particular area nothing substitutes hands-on experience.

Teach a man to fish and all that, I personally was asked by a good friend to make a website (cash is tight ATM) and I've been pulling my RAM since I was about 7 years old, so this is one area of computing I do find interesting, for example - coding seemed daunting at first by it does become second nature.

I thinks it's madness comparing "IT" to any other trade...nothing else on this planet is so physically multi-faceted and endless in possibilities for any application than the humble puter, I for one can't stop learning.

Give me an internet connection, Google and four water mellons, a large garden rake and any problem to solve and it's done - I hate giving up because it's boring, and nothing has been learnt.

carbayon

CSU;

If you were right on your case, people will not have criticise your website so hard.

IT like installing doors, has legal repercussions. If you install the CRM on a web server and it gets hack and you loose all your customers financial details, you will be in court, if you hire a company, they will be in court.

Give me Google and a symptom and I can diagnose your illness, but doesn't make me a doctor, or does it?

12 year old may put website together, but have you seem them? They are worse than the one you put together.

Really, if IT was so easy to learn, there would not be universities teaching the subject and further more, companies would not require IT degrees and certifications.

If you want to proceed down this road of self-built, I will no be able to offer my help, 8 years of education (2 Degrees) and over 15 years experience were not cheap nor easy.

Pixelcraft

What I'm finding bizarre is the two of you thinking web design is anything to do with IT?

CSU

Now you shower of moaning bastards!(JOKING!!!!!):rolleyes:

my list is ~almost complete

*evilgrin*

Don't get me wrong it still looks like it was trod on by a heard of cattle and still not happy with logo though...any pointers anyone - I'm taking screenies of Google Sketchup + Photoshop to try get where I'm going but I'm rightly stuck.