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Hey there!
So, I have created a website for our construction business.
I just recently got the home page done, uploaded it, cleared my cache and found that it takes a long time to load.
For me, it was upwards of 15 seconds.
What can I do to fix this without removing the widget or the pictures?
https://pilgrimwayconstruction.com/sandbox/
Hi Brandon, it's always worth looking at your page speed load via Pingdom. I don't pretend to understand 10% of it's report but it often points to slow loading data:
https://tools.pingdom.com/#5b439a4f26000000
Have a look at the spelling of Contact on the Nav Bar. It loads OK for me but everything seems too big. And the dark background does not feel inviting.
I wonder if the download speed has to do more with your web host? Others can comment on this.
Haha. Good catch Gary.
Yea I think youre right about it being too big. I like the spacing though, so I'll just scale it down.
I use the same hoster on a different website, and as far as I know, it loads super fast, but it only has one picture, or just a couple.
Could be that the host is having issues, but my the home page comes out at around 5MB in size.
Seems fairly large.
It loaded fine for me too although I did stare at it for a while waiting for something to fill the space.
I understand that you haven't started giving it a coat of paint or polishing the door knobs yet, but I agree with Gary, the overall page is too dark. The photos are the main focus and they become somewhat lost because of the fades. I would also tweak the photos themselves to be more vibrant (add a simple line frame?).
Playing around with colours is easy and personal, just make sure the content is front and centre. Backgrounds are meant help the foreground shine and be largely inconspicuous.
That will probably be the photos. Resize them to be only a little bigger than the intended viewing size.Quote:
Originally Posted by Braden
Thanks everyone.
I've heard a review that was pretty eye-opening.
I have a lot of work to do, and almost feel the need to start from scratch.
Discouraging.
There isn't anyone here who hasn't started from scratch; I virtually plan it into my schedule! You'll also find you'll re-create a lot faster and easier because you have more clarity in where you are headed.Quote:
Originally Posted by Braden
Absolutely. Nobody starts out without a few mistakes.Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris M
Braden, your Main Home page resizing has reduced the load time down to 6.5 to 9 seconds here. A reload is around 0.5 to 3 seconds. The slider is taking up around four seconds.
Sadly, most of your other PNGs each take a quarter of a second as well and all together these times add up.
The NavBar buttons could be made into text and CSS, achieving the same effect.
The headings with a line width are all converted to graphics so remove this and use possibly CSS to add the edging.
With large image collections, I prefer to host them myself and avoid the Xara offering.
Hope this helps.
Acorn
Hi Braden,Quote:
Originally Posted by Braden
No need to be discouraged... it's just a 'trial & error' game until your errors get less & your 'trials' become easier and better...
Basically what you've got so far is... ready? LOL Let's just say it's needs some help...
It doesn't convey CONSTRUCTION COMPANY! You know... something 'STRONG' 'SOLID' 'DEPENDABLE' etc...
For example... that font you chose for the home page heading... Your a CONSTRUCTION COMPANY... it's to frilly, designee... doesn't convey
to me a feeling of confidence.... Anyway, why go on...
If you'd like... I have some time on my hands tonight... would you like to see some Ideas for 'at least' your home page?
I could do some quick mock-ups and put them up on Xara space... then if you like any/part of it/them I'll just send you the file?
Let me know....
Cliff
oh... and if no... not a problem.... if yes... and you don't like something... just tell me... I have the thickest web design skin on the planet... I get beat up all the time.... I think I'm beginning to like it... LOL
I think Braden has made good progress with a redesign here: https://www.talkgraphics.com/showthr...window-somehow
Quote:
Originally Posted by pauland
I agree pauland...
Ha, I just posted virtually the same thing on Braden's other thread. Not sure if it's 'Great Minds Thin Alike' or 'Fools Seldom Differ'.Quote:
Originally Posted by cmpan1
Hi Braden,
I took an hour and ½ and did a quick makeover of your home page... It's just to suggest a little cleaner look...
Made things a little spacier... nothing fancy... just a bit more professional looking... maybe just a bit more comfortable to read....
Added some 'filler' graphics... just for 'the look'.
Sometimes when you 'outline' text (if it's not done right) can look a little cheesy...a little 'old' style... today the look is that flat text look...
I kept the orange color... I assume you like it. So do I...
I also just grab some screen shots from your slider and threw them in a quick slider for the demo... did not try to clean up the pics...
Maybe it will give you some ideas for your site... it's just a mockup for aesthetic purposes...
http://mockupsites.xara.hosting/BRADEN/
Hope it helps a little...
Cliff
Thanks a lot Cliff! I have quite enjoyed seeing your work in the past and this is no exception. Pretty intense that you put this together in an hour or so! I've been doing mine for four days haha.
You were able to condense the page down in a whimsicle, professional-looking way without losing any of the content, but in fact, you even added some.
Very well done indeed.
This is what the site is looking like so far. Everyone's suggestions have been extremely helpful!
Chris M, pauland, Gary, Egg, Acorn
Thanks!
https://pilgrimwayconstruction.com/sandbox/
So much better than where you started from. Bravo!
I like to see menus sticky at the top - just so visitors don't have to scroll back to find menu choices.
I think faux picture frames are best suited to 1995!
Scrolling over static planks makes me feel a bit unnerved and doesn't make me think of a modern professional company.
Really impressed by how you've improved from your beginning.
Well done.
I agree with pauland, starting to look really good, Braden! =D>
Pauland, perhaps a good idea to revisit your own website? ;))Quote:
Originally Posted by pauland
LOL.Quote:
Originally Posted by Boy
I was surprised to find that you're right and I wondered why the menu wasn't sticky and after a while and a few experiments I remembered why.
The sticky version of the menu worked beautifully locally, and worked wonderfully when uploaded..
..when viewed on any browser besides Chrome.
Anyway I've left the dodgy one in place for the moment, and it reminds me of why I turned off the sticky version - it didn't work on Chrome when served from the web server.
Bizarre? certainly.
I have too much else going on to track down the issue.
Indeed very strange. It works better in IE and FF (with a little jump while scrolling).Quote:
Originally Posted by pauland
Perhaps not enough of a big deal to spend time on it but you do have a contact form while the site is not secure, so..... ;)
Braden... WOW!:-O You're getting good...! You sure as heck didn't need me stickin' my nose in your design sense... Congratulations.Quote:
Originally Posted by Braden
Yup... hanging around here when there's XARA troubles is a great place to solve many many problems and challenges....
All the above... (Chris M, pauland, Gary, Egg, Acorn) and a few more are, GREAT sources of help. They are what adds huge value to XARA...
Great work!
Cliff
Yeah, need to add in the redirect..Quote:
Originally Posted by Boy
Not sure what you meant by this, so I'm not sure how to implement it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Acorn
However, I was able to replace the PNGs' with the original JPEGs' which I compressed. This boosted the quality of the photos by quite a lot while reducing the file size by almost half.
I also found that when saving the slider, it generates a preview image(for design purposes I assume) which makes a pretty big image file at 4+MB. I deleted it.
Not sure how to make the buttons CSS. Maybe it's because the text was converted to editable shapes. I did this because I kept getting a warning about the font.
I wish I knew how to make all the objects text, even the logo.
Will having to download a font cause the website to take a long time to load?
I assume all I need to do is un-group the buttons, re-retype the text and group it back together.
The headings were successfully converted in this manner, they are now text with the shadow tool applied.
Thanks a lot for your suggestions, eAcorn.
I'll be re-uploading the site momentarily.
No need to convert the text to shapes. The warning about a non standard font can be ignored if the file size of the font is small. The font gets uploaded with the site and is used by the visitors browser. Think of it as a picture, it gets uploaded and is viewed on the site, the font is uploaded and viewed on the site.
I use a different slider so I can't give any detailed instructions, but the methodology would be the same. The slider looks for the photos - the photos do not have to be on the Xara hosting.
I see. Not sure how to change where it looks for the pictures. I'm using the "Xara Slider" so I doubt it will give me that option.
Maybe I just need to change this bit of code?
Attachment 125132
Anyhow, it would seem the load speed has greatly improved.
But then come more problems: (Sorry about the low volume and bad video quality, still trying to find the right settings.)
What you are describing is standard practice of the mobile device. Nothing to do with Xara or the way you built the site. Have a look at any website and it will do the same thing.
Absolutely.Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris M
Plus a negative vote from me for the background..
Do you think a semi transparent white overlay would tone down background?Quote:
Originally Posted by pauland
I'm pretty useless at visualising, but I'd be trying both white and charcoal to see which looked right.
My problem with the background is that coarse planks of wood don't make me think of quality workmanship and the lines of the planks static with a moving foreground just don't work together. In my opinion that looks like a mistake.
I'd avoid a patterned background altogether.
This is where the subjective bit comes in. I don't like a blank background, I like a texture to stop it looking bleak and sterile.
I tend to lean towards chalkboard, concrete, frosted glass and either 'bleached' or semi transparent. I also prefer dark themes which seems to go against the flow here.
This is my Texture Of The Month...
Attachment 125136
Cliff, how did you add those loading animations I've seen on some of your pages?
New problem,
On Android, the mobile site's background is fixed, (the way I want it) but on iPhone's "Safari", it scrolls.
Uh oh...
Well Branden my friend... I don't want to discourage you but... in order to get animation on your web pages like mine... you need to have immense talent and coding skills...Quote:
Originally Posted by Braden
You need to know many computer programing languages... you would need to study for years...
OR...
You can just right click an object and select 'web animation' and let Xara do it for you... LOL
I would suggest you practice with various aspects of that feature on a blank 'test' document to get a feel for the various animations and what they do...
Attachment 125142
Take care...
Cliff
OH! Your other post about the different happenings on an Android and IPhone... I can't help you because I gave up a long time ago trying to figure out why 'this happens' on 'this phone' and 'that happens' on 'that phone'...
It's way above my pay grade... but someone here may have helpful suggestions...
I've used those before.
But you have some like a little circle that fades in and out, and manages to play until your page is done loading, then it goes away. this seems a bit more complex than Xara's native animations, unless there are some tricks I don't know about.
I can't answer for Cliff but the way I'd do it was to place a small 'loading.gif' on the page (less than 2Kb's) then place any larger image above it. The loading gif will load fast and when the image above is loaded it will sit above and hide the loading gif.Quote:
But you have some like a little circle that fades in and out, and manages to play until your page is done loading, then it goes away. this seems a bit more complex than Xara's native animations, unless there are some tricks I don't know about.
Egg... you can answer for me anytime... feel free... yes Braden, Xara can't / doesn't have an animation that is/can be continuous. So... Egg gave you the answer....Quote:
Originally Posted by Egg Bramhill
not sure what changes were made since your OP
loaded 6 secs for me
I thought the sight looked ok - especially for its intended audience
it was informative
I would make a suggestion
your top sticky nav section - sits on a semi-transparent background
so when your 'other words' slide under it - it looks jumbled
I would make the top background solid color
Attachment 125812
also
the portfolio page was empty
(no header menu -- just copyright on the bottom)
Duly noted. The portfolio page has been done away with. I like Flat color better as well, thanks for the suggestion!
I'd say the site is finished and fully functional! Thanks, everyone!