how to make my layout better

StephanieCordray

New Member
well, for starters, your background doesn't fit with the black on top plus it's too big... it draws the eyes away from what's important rather than blending into the overall feel of the site.

Also, what is the submit query for? you have it there but you don't explain it. if it's a linking system, you'd be better off just creating links and a sitemap to handle it. It looks out of place where it is, too.

I can live with the blue on the links but the purple for the visited has got to go... you can't see it very well on the black.

Another thing is that everything is off center, giving it a zig zag experience. If you move your header in one direction or the other to line up with one of the tables/cells, it might look a bit better but still has some problems.
 

ian

Administrator
Staff member
Yes I also found the background too big/dark/distracting.
Also the blue doesnt stand out very well on that dark background.
Also the logo image looks too busy somehow.
 

xytor

New Member
um, the submit query is to chose a background. thats what the dropdown is for. you choose a background and then click submit query.
this is so that people tell me which they like best
 

Vaelor

New Member
Ouch, yikes.

I looked through your dropdown list of backgrounds, and the only ones that I think are workable at all are the dark rock ones... the rest are insta-headaches. Also, any time you're going to use a solid color box (in your case, the black ones) on an image background, you really have to border them, otherwise they just look wrong.

As for your links, it looks to me like you've just used the default font settings and colors there, which would explain Stephanie's comments. Try changing the link and vlink parameters in your body tag to a different color - experiment until you find a color that works, if you're not sure - and use a font tag for your links so they're not just 2pt. Times New Roman. That will help spruce your navbar up a lot.

As for the header logo, I concur with Stephanie - either left align it, or center it - the random placement throws the whole site layout off.

Good luck!
 

SiteExpress

New Member
I think if you are going to use a dark background, you should use a lighter area for your content, instead of trying to go even darker than the background. try one of your darker backgrounds, but use something like a medium grey color for the content boxes.
 

SiteExpress

New Member
Perhaps if you increased the size of your content area, so that not as much of the background is seen around the edges.
 

xytor

New Member
ok, I enlarged the content area.
about the border, i have found a nice border, but need advise as to how to put it on without using position absolute (which would be difficult to change later)
 
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