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Thread: New website

  1. #1
    Mandolin tragic Graham McDonald's Avatar
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    Default New website

    For the past few months I have been working on putting together a new website. It is now live, I think it mostly works and I would be pleased to hear about any bits that don't.

    Cheers

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  3. #2

    Default Re: New website

    I'm getting dead links for the "Project" and "History" links in your sig.

    The main site looks great!

  4. #3
    Registered User Tavy's Avatar
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    Default Re: New website

    That works (and looks!) very well. I found the pop-up menus at the top a little hit and miss at times... but that could be my browser, or me!

  5. #4
    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: New website

    I think Graham is incorporating those sites in his main site, AcornHouse. Maybe time to update your signature, Graham.

    I like the site. Nice, clean and easy to use. I don't see any problems at the moment.

    Yes, the dropdown menus that John mentioned were touch and go for me in Firefox on Mac.
    Jim

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  6. #5
    Registered User amowry's Avatar
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    Default Re: New website

    Looks great, Graham!

  7. #6
    Registered User John Kelly's Avatar
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    Default Re: New website

    As Tavy - I found the drop-down menus "sticky" at times, not coming up as expected but maybe just a timing/internet speed thing!
    Love your main picture - very impressive shot ofthe mandolin.
    I'm playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order. - Eric Morecambe

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  8. #7
    Mandolin tragic Graham McDonald's Avatar
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    Default Re: New website

    No idea why the dropdown menus are sticky sometimes. There are various scripts embedded in the templates which run that stuff I think, and I don't really understand what is going on. I will update the links in the sig file. Hadn't thought of that!
    Thanks

  9. #8

    Default Re: New website

    Site looks great, but same here with the menus. I don't think this is a case of our collective browsers being at fault, I believe the menus are a bit buggy.

    I am not real familiar with Wix and their templates, but if possible, I would change the menu setup to something more compliant.

    If not, it does work as is, just the pull downs don't always come up, or stay open when you move.

    Great job otherwise.
    Robert Fear
    http://www.folkmusician.com

    "Education is when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you don't.
    " - Pete Seeger

  10. #9
    Registered User Inklings's Avatar
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    Default Re: New website

    Aesthetically pleasant, informative, and interesting.

    In other words, a lot like your books.

    Thanks especially for the string tension calculator!
    Kirby Francis

    Francis Guitar Repair

  11. #10
    Mandolin tragic Graham McDonald's Avatar
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    Default Re: New website

    Thank you for kind words

    It is a templated.co template which are free under Creative Commons license and work rather well. I had to get my head around things like 'div' and 'section' and still don't entirely know what they control but a few hours of trial and error showed me what worked or didn't. Editing was done in an open source app called Brackets as my old version of DreamWeaver got very confused by the code in the templates.

  12. #11

    Default Re: New website

    I just took a look at your Source Code...

    The menus themselves, seem fine:

    ------------

    <!-- Nav -->
    <nav id="nav">
    <ul>
    <li><a href="index.html">Home</a></li>
    <li>
    <a href="">Instruments</a>
    <ul>
    <li><a href="mandolins.html">Mandolins</a></li>
    <li><a href="bouzoukis.html">Bouzoukis</a></li>
    <li><a href="ukuleles.html">Ukuleles</a></li>
    <li><a href="fiddles.html">Fiddles</a></li>
    </ul>
    </li>
    <li>
    <a href="">MusicBooks Press</a>
    <ul>
    <li><a href="musicbookspress.html">About MusicBooks Press</a></li>
    <li><a href="themandolin.html">The Mandolin - a history</a></li>
    <li><a href="mandolinproject.html">The Mandolin Project</a></li>
    <li><a href="bouzoukibook.html">The Bouzouki Book</a></li>
    <li><a href="in_prograss.html">In preparation</a></li>
    </ul>
    </li>
    <li>
    <a href="">Other Stuff</a>
    <ul>
    <li><a href="stringxxiii.html">A String Tension Calculator</a></li>
    <li><a href="links.html">Links and other stuff</a></li>
    </ul>
    </li>
    <li>
    <a href="">Australian Dance Music</a>
    <ul>

    <li><a href="Ellis.html">Peter Ellis on Australian social dance</a></li>
    <li><a href="schaefer.html">The Music of Harry Schaefer of Forbes</a></li>
    </ul>
    </li>
    </nav>

    ----------

    I would assume that this is the cause (the script that creates the drop down menu): "<script src="js/jquery.dropotron.min.js"></script>", or at least it is conflicting with something else. Ideally, the less Java the better. If you had an option for a "css" menu, that might be better.

    ------
    On my system, it isn't causing any major problem. I just wiggle the mouse around and it starts working again.
    Always interesting to mix something so traditional like mandolins with cutting edge tech.
    Robert Fear
    http://www.folkmusician.com

    "Education is when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you don't.
    " - Pete Seeger

  13. #12
    Registered User Tavy's Avatar
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    Default Re: New website

    This seems to be the way to go (it's something I need to grapple with shortly as well!

  14. #13

    Default Re: New website

    Looks nice, Graham!

  15. #14
    Registered User Inklings's Avatar
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    Default Re: New website

    You could try sublime text or text wrangler - both are free programs that work well as text editors.
    Kirby Francis

    Francis Guitar Repair

  16. #15
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    Default Re: New website

    It's a good site, Graham, although there are plenty of good sites. What I want to praise you for, however, is the effort you have put into publishing systematic info about mandocritter luthiery. There are many skilled luthiers who go out of their way to communicate their hard-won knowledge to others, even tho that knowledge is their sole stock-in-trade. Indeed, this site abounds with such generous folk. Your books, however, have raised the bar, and I think you deserve some special props for it. I've followed your career since the far off days of CITTERN-L, I've read (several of) your books, and I think you deserve a hand from the folks here at the cafe. Who'll join me?
    And now there was no doubt that the trees were really moving - moving in and out through one another as if in a complicated country dance. ('And I suppose,' thought Lucy, 'when trees dance, it must be a very, very country dance indeed.')

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  17. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to s1m0n For This Useful Post:


  18. #16

    Default Re: New website

    Hear, hear!
    Robert Fear
    http://www.folkmusician.com

    "Education is when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you don't.
    " - Pete Seeger

  19. #17
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    Default Re: New website

    Quote Originally Posted by Tavy View Post
    This seems to be the way to go (it's something I need to grapple with shortly as well!
    You might want to look at Bootstrap or similar.
    - Jeremy

    Wot no catchphrase?

  20. #18

    Default Re: New website

    a little more detail about your dropdown issue... if you approach the dropdown from above, there are no issues and they work fine, but when you approach the title from belowm they will acivatewhen your cursor is below the title, and then deactivate and go dead when you cursor reaches the title and they become inoperative... same happens when you are more deeply in you site as well.
    John D

  21. #19
    Registered User cbakewell's Avatar
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    Default Re: New website

    It is the javascript that is the issue - works Ok-ish on Google Chrome, not so well on Firefox.

    Also, it is normal practice to have each menu item change color, or be 'highlighted' as you 'mouse-over' it - not sure if it is is supposed to, but it didn't for me.

    Neither of the these issues are too serious.

    There are drop down menu techniques that use CSS and no Javascript (as shown here: http://cssdeck.com/labs/css-drop-down-menu-without-js). If it is within your skill set, you might try this - if not, not worries, most people will manage OK.
    Colin Bakewell

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