ALT 0 #1 November 2, 2001 Skydive Naples has a new Website. You can still use Skydivenaples.com to access it.Please go and see it. Would be great to get your feedback so we can improve it.Thanks in advance Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 20 #2 November 2, 2001 It would be a great start if you use original pictures that came from your DZ, or at least give credit to the source that the pictures came from. I reconize the one picture came from the uspa's website. I'm sure Tony would like to have his name associated with the picture again.Lose the midi files for music. Midi's went out in the mid 90's.The logo seems very close to Elsnores logo. You might wnat to come up with a new one instead of just modifing an existing logo.Good start, just stick to all original stuff and you'll be ok.BTW... you won't be getting more then 14 in a Westwind without putting it way over gross weight on take off. The CG on it means you better pack it up or you'll never get off the ground. 12-13 is an ideal number in it,A rainy day at the DZ is better then a Sunny day at work Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FloridaSkydiver 0 #3 November 4, 2001 Wow ! This dropzone homepage rocks !!Absolutely cool design !! Keep up the good work.Hope to see you all at the Skydive Naples Boogie !!Stefan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cyberskydive 0 #4 November 4, 2001 Hey it works! Phree s pretty much right on about the midis, annoying, but then again I'm a designer and a skydiver who has seen midis (particularly "jump") used and abused. But the genearal public I think still gets a kick out of them as long as it doesnt effect thier surfing speed. I do recommend either not looping it so much (they prolly wont stay on the page that long anyway) or giving the user and option to stop it ......isnt that what the volume knob is for tho? You'd be surprised.I do recommend downloading the free 30 day fully functional flash 5 evaluation at Macromedia.com - even if you dont continue to use it you'll probably pick up some great tricks that can be applied in your swish work. Like how to fade out the sound loops, use movie clips to simplify things, and how not to make the entire movie loop over and over until the getUrl actionscript kicks in.As well as smoothing out the motion tweens and adding something besides text effects. Like preloaders Flash is fun (one I'm working on now is right here! )Other awesome websites for flash, and design in General include: Flashkit.com you'll see me on the boards under the same username from time to time. Webmonkey - great for all those little thingsFrames are kind of annoying too, prolly just a personal preference but at least they dont have 10000 scrollbars. Just make sure you have a page available for the framatically challenged.About the graphics / pictures I dunno if they came from anywhere else, but so long as you have permission to use them I see no problem with it, the general public (read:Tandems) prolly dont mind.Dreamweaver? HTML editors are nice I guess, but to get the full functionality from them it helps to know html / javascript etc - this way you dont get such an " out of the box " look that so many editors are notorious for, and it affords you the option to further customize your pages before uploading.ok I'll shut up now, justy been on the web design binge way to much lately- beter get back at it!overall the design works to get info to the targeted audience-lolJust remember that the website is for a business, a fun business albeit but a business nevertheless. Dont let all the cool little dooflotchys (midis, animated gifs, etc) take away from the sites purpose. Be wary, test your pages with lots of browsers, screen resolutions, color setting, operating systems, connection speeds, etc. Ever seen the net on Web TV? Ever seen what AOL does to that cool graphic you just spent an hour making? Its up to you who you design for, my personal preference is 800 x 600 or higher, 16bit color, version 4 browsers, NOT Web TV, -lolhave phun!Why don't sheep shrink when it rains? Can vegetarians eat animal crackers? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites FloridaSkydiver 0 #5 November 4, 2001 Hey CyberSkydiver,you are definitely right in many of your arguments, but you surely can also spend a huge amount of time on perfecting a webpage and you need to have some programmer's blood in your veins.I completely disagree on your point regarding FRAMES, Frames have been supported in Browsers since Version 2.0 (NS and IE), most people use Version 4 and above browsers nowadays. Yes, it is important to make a webpages browser, resolution and color compatible, but what is the downside of supporting Version 2.0 browsers or WEB TV ? You can't take advantage of the great new features that are implemented in the current generation browsers. Those people using WEB TV are couch potatoes anyway and will never go skydiving.The message from any dropzone's homepage is to attract people to try a skydive and I think this message is brought over in the Skydive Naples site pretty well.Many safe jumps and blue skiesStefan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites indyz 1 #6 November 4, 2001 Before I begin, I should point out that I have started over twice. I wrote a pretty lengthy diatribe about how frames are unnecessary, but I thought it was too preachy, so I got rid of it. After I was a paragraph into my rewrite, I went to actually check out the site for myself. That forced me to start over, and here we are:Please note that I am have not seen skydivenaples.com myself, because of the Flash requirements. Since I don't have flash installed, it redirects me straight to macromedia.com. Now, if you want to use frames, fine, that is a mostly aesthetic decision. But I absolutely hate requiring users to have a certain plugin to view a site. Many public computing installations, such as libraries and the university that I attend (and do computer work for), do not allow the Flash plugin to be installed, and will remove it in the event that somebody installs it on their own. Requiring Flash loses visitors to your site, and for a business, that means losing money. Period. If you are going to use Flash, you must, MUST, allow users to navigate the site and view your content without it, unless you don't mind having potential business walk away. I've heard that the profit on a tandem can be $100. Is that an acceptable loss?After I wrote that, my roommate came home an I used his computer (with Flash) to check out the site. I was happy to notice that Flash was only used for the intro movie. How about instead of sending somebody without Flash to the Macromedia site to download it, you give them the option to continue to the main portion of the site or download the plugin if they want to see the video. My parents, for example, use iCab on their Macintosh, and there is no Flash plugin available for it. They would be stuck even if they were willing to download a plugin to view the site.Now I come to the realization that I could have said all of that in one sentence: Use Flash on the intro page if you want, but for the love of god, let me skip the movie if I don't want to watch it, or if I don't have the plugin installed.That ends my criticism. The Flash intro video is actually quite well done, and much more tasteful than average. Also, the main site design is well thought out and makes sense, even though I would still prefer to see tables instead of frames --Brian Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites FloridaSkydiver 0 #7 November 5, 2001 Hey Brian,you have some very valid point about the redirection and this will be fixed ASAP. The other day I saw some statistics that 93% of internet surfers have the Flash Plug-in installed, well that might not be quite true, it may only relate to PC users.I'd really like to know, why you are having a problem with frames, but maybe we can move this discussion to an email conversation as it really is not very skydiving related.Creating a website can be as much fun as skydiving and hey, you learn your whole life in order to improve, so your comments are appreciated.Lots of funStefan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites ALT 0 #8 November 6, 2001 Website is getting better everyday. Thanks for your feedback Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites nws01 0 #9 November 6, 2001 Great Website / Great DZ! Let's not turn this into a webguru page. Remember that the reason why we skydive is because it is a release from our everyday lives which might turn into our everyday lives someday :-). The people who designed this page design computer programs for Fortune 500 companies everyday. They did it right...very right. The dz is awesome...very awesome. They did this on their own in their own time with nothing but the love of Skydiving in their minds and hearts. They did this in their "free" time because they love the sport and this dz. This is what you will find at Skydive Naples! I am still a "newbie" with only 40+ jumps but this is what any Skygod or "Newbie" will find with the people and the dz!If you really want to assist in the website and see what our culture / family is like come to the Boogie November 16, 17 and 18th where we will have the largest formation skydive ever at this dz! We will also be having a Turkey Mee(a)t Potluck Thanksgiving Weekend which will include a Baton Pass with teams of two including Experienced (100+) and Novice jumpers. Nathan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites mountainman 0 #10 November 7, 2001 I would say NO to frames also. They, for one, don't allow people to see what page they are on. Second, a lot of times, if you click on another link, you are still stuck in frames. ANNOYING!!!If I were you, I would use tables. They look better too.--------------click me for a good time Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites SpeedRacer 1 #11 November 7, 2001 Skydive Niples?! Isn't that what you get when you're up at altitude on a really cold day with the door open & you're not wearing enough clothing under your jumpsuit?Speed RacerThe problem with the world is that everyone is a few drinks behind-Bogart Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. Reply to this topic... × Pasted as rich text. Paste as plain text instead Only 75 emoji are allowed. × Your link has been automatically embedded. Display as a link instead × Your previous content has been restored. Clear editor × You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL. Insert image from URL × Desktop Tablet Phone Submit Reply 0
FloridaSkydiver 0 #5 November 4, 2001 Hey CyberSkydiver,you are definitely right in many of your arguments, but you surely can also spend a huge amount of time on perfecting a webpage and you need to have some programmer's blood in your veins.I completely disagree on your point regarding FRAMES, Frames have been supported in Browsers since Version 2.0 (NS and IE), most people use Version 4 and above browsers nowadays. Yes, it is important to make a webpages browser, resolution and color compatible, but what is the downside of supporting Version 2.0 browsers or WEB TV ? You can't take advantage of the great new features that are implemented in the current generation browsers. Those people using WEB TV are couch potatoes anyway and will never go skydiving.The message from any dropzone's homepage is to attract people to try a skydive and I think this message is brought over in the Skydive Naples site pretty well.Many safe jumps and blue skiesStefan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
indyz 1 #6 November 4, 2001 Before I begin, I should point out that I have started over twice. I wrote a pretty lengthy diatribe about how frames are unnecessary, but I thought it was too preachy, so I got rid of it. After I was a paragraph into my rewrite, I went to actually check out the site for myself. That forced me to start over, and here we are:Please note that I am have not seen skydivenaples.com myself, because of the Flash requirements. Since I don't have flash installed, it redirects me straight to macromedia.com. Now, if you want to use frames, fine, that is a mostly aesthetic decision. But I absolutely hate requiring users to have a certain plugin to view a site. Many public computing installations, such as libraries and the university that I attend (and do computer work for), do not allow the Flash plugin to be installed, and will remove it in the event that somebody installs it on their own. Requiring Flash loses visitors to your site, and for a business, that means losing money. Period. If you are going to use Flash, you must, MUST, allow users to navigate the site and view your content without it, unless you don't mind having potential business walk away. I've heard that the profit on a tandem can be $100. Is that an acceptable loss?After I wrote that, my roommate came home an I used his computer (with Flash) to check out the site. I was happy to notice that Flash was only used for the intro movie. How about instead of sending somebody without Flash to the Macromedia site to download it, you give them the option to continue to the main portion of the site or download the plugin if they want to see the video. My parents, for example, use iCab on their Macintosh, and there is no Flash plugin available for it. They would be stuck even if they were willing to download a plugin to view the site.Now I come to the realization that I could have said all of that in one sentence: Use Flash on the intro page if you want, but for the love of god, let me skip the movie if I don't want to watch it, or if I don't have the plugin installed.That ends my criticism. The Flash intro video is actually quite well done, and much more tasteful than average. Also, the main site design is well thought out and makes sense, even though I would still prefer to see tables instead of frames --Brian Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FloridaSkydiver 0 #7 November 5, 2001 Hey Brian,you have some very valid point about the redirection and this will be fixed ASAP. The other day I saw some statistics that 93% of internet surfers have the Flash Plug-in installed, well that might not be quite true, it may only relate to PC users.I'd really like to know, why you are having a problem with frames, but maybe we can move this discussion to an email conversation as it really is not very skydiving related.Creating a website can be as much fun as skydiving and hey, you learn your whole life in order to improve, so your comments are appreciated.Lots of funStefan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ALT 0 #8 November 6, 2001 Website is getting better everyday. Thanks for your feedback Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nws01 0 #9 November 6, 2001 Great Website / Great DZ! Let's not turn this into a webguru page. Remember that the reason why we skydive is because it is a release from our everyday lives which might turn into our everyday lives someday :-). The people who designed this page design computer programs for Fortune 500 companies everyday. They did it right...very right. The dz is awesome...very awesome. They did this on their own in their own time with nothing but the love of Skydiving in their minds and hearts. They did this in their "free" time because they love the sport and this dz. This is what you will find at Skydive Naples! I am still a "newbie" with only 40+ jumps but this is what any Skygod or "Newbie" will find with the people and the dz!If you really want to assist in the website and see what our culture / family is like come to the Boogie November 16, 17 and 18th where we will have the largest formation skydive ever at this dz! We will also be having a Turkey Mee(a)t Potluck Thanksgiving Weekend which will include a Baton Pass with teams of two including Experienced (100+) and Novice jumpers. Nathan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mountainman 0 #10 November 7, 2001 I would say NO to frames also. They, for one, don't allow people to see what page they are on. Second, a lot of times, if you click on another link, you are still stuck in frames. ANNOYING!!!If I were you, I would use tables. They look better too.--------------click me for a good time Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedRacer 1 #11 November 7, 2001 Skydive Niples?! Isn't that what you get when you're up at altitude on a really cold day with the door open & you're not wearing enough clothing under your jumpsuit?Speed RacerThe problem with the world is that everyone is a few drinks behind-Bogart Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites