Opinions

Ok... I want opinions... not on content, but mostly on load speed.

Here are the details

1) Site is NOWHERE near done. The only links that will take you somewhere are the HAPPY COUPLES, and GUARANTEE.

2) Please do not tell me this is not search engine friendly. I know this. Our main site is very well optimized, this is our online portfolio for one of our biggest packages.

3) I am redoing the intro as it renders a lot slower than I was hoping for.

4) Those of you that say anything against Flash being useful need not be here. I don't want to hear it. I know exactly what I want and what will work with my clients.

If number 4 sounds arrogant, sorry. I'm just tired of people saying there's no use for Flash when it comes to compatibility. When you see my site, you'll see that the Flash allows everything to automatically resize. There are NO scrollbars on this site (except on iFrames). The pictures, movies, and any visual element automatically resizes for whatever resolution the user has. This is crucial as HTML tables are very finicky and by the time you code everything to be 100% compatible, you might've well just done Flash.

http://mydreamreception.com/BeingBuilt

That would be the link. Load speed should be quick as I have busted my tail optimizing. Please read the first point before saying "404 ERROR!" Haha.

Again, this is only the first draft... it took me a couple hours so don't expect anything great-- but the concept is there.

Thanks!

PS: You can comment on what you think of the concept.

Ek, you'll have to tell me which page you're talking about. The text will jump on some PCs, as I have yet to optimize antialiasing for animation.

The flash intro is VERY old.. one of my firsts. It was optimized to be converted for video (before the days of LiveType). I will be remaking it for the web. How 'bout the site itself?

Sorry, as much as I want to lose the instruction drop-down, people can be stupid. Even me, when I went to Peter Merry's site, it took me a while to figure out that the text on the bottom is clickable.

Ek, what you are mentioning pretty much defines the fine touches. I plan on the main taking the user directly to the picture menu, without the beginning and drop-down instructions. And as far as the scrolling for referrals, that's going to involve more scripting that I want to get into. I will finish the website first before I do these improvements. Glad to see we're on the same page, though!

eklondon said:

Maybe just put a Nice small font that says click a photo in the Top Left

Click to expand...

Tried that, too. But when I did my focus group, they still didn't figure it out. This is the simplest way to ensure no ID 10 T errors.

Once I get everything done, I will make sure that clicking the MAIN button will skip this portion.

See, (don't take this offensively) but I think you're overanalyzing that.

I don't see a client saying "WELL OMG THIS GUY IS THINKING IM ST00PID AND TELLING ME HOW TO CLICK, NO DUH!"

However, if I don't tell them and they sit there saying "duhhhh, where do i go george?" then they may lose focus.

I will get together with my personal focus group and see if they feel offended. I will find a way to make it more elegant.

Again, only a couple hours' worth of work. I'll make it all sexy and sassy in the end, haha.

Steve, the intro will be redone... as I faced the same issues as well.

The drop down will also be redone. I am tossing around a few ideas and will show you guys those when the last three are chosen.

Thanks again!

Alrighty!

Here's some new stuff:

Worked on optimization regarding speed.

Added PERSONALIZATION file. This means the only pages that are not active are THE ULTIMATE WEDDING RECEPTION and ABOUT US.

Removed intro. A new one is in the works. (It may even be up by the time you read this).

New drop down welcome screen.. much classier.

Things to do: I am debating the full page flash or putting it in a nested table. I will play around with options, the important thing is that the page automatically resizes no matter what resolution you have.

I will also add higher res graphics. You might see some have already been uploaded, but the new ones are still fairly so-so.

let me know your thoughts... http://mydreamreception.com/beingbuilt

Please check the PERSONALIZATION page, it is about 500K and I did a loading screen, I'm curious how fast it loads, and if the loader works appropriately.

Thanks!