newguyinennis.com

Alright, layout # 2. I like this one a lot more. It usually takes me a few tries to get it right anyway. Some minor IE bugs so use FF etc if you have it. Only the front and article pages work atm. Just fixing the layout for IE and getting the CMS sorted. It is running on Textpattern if anyone cares to know.

http://www.newguyinennis.com

Excellent start my friend!

I was impressed with your methods and ideas when I saw your site first time round.

This, as I expected, is a superb step in the right direction.

Your code is pure poetry, indented and commented to perfection. This is how semantic markup should always look.

I can't wait to see the finished site.

Dan.

Hey man, thanks for that! I wish more people would notice the effort put into the source lol.

Top notch. Keep it up

Very nice site, can't wait to see it when it's finished.

I thinks it's great. Very much in-line with a personal website. Might want to bump the width down just a bit to better fit 800 wide. It's only like 40 or so pixels to wide.

Keep up the focus on CSS and XHTML.

Nice job! Look forward to seeing it progress

Loving the site, and the idea behind the site; very honorable.

i like and again want to see the final stage!

The site is looking good. I have one criticism, which is the colors are (to my eye at least) really in need of help. The dark reds, greys, and the salmon are ok, but that brown ruins it. It turns the light grey text into light blue. (Browns are really hard anyway due to the way RGB renders them -- slight monitor variations really mess them up.)

It looks a lot better in 800x600 -- maybe you could just play with the border and body colors.

I hope this is helpful, I'm not trying to be picky.

Excellent design... clean, simple and appealing.

Will your site support track/ping back?

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yes it will.

I feel the same way . The brown is going to be replaced at some point, but right now my main focus is getting it built. Replacing any of the elements is simple enough with a new graphic or a quick edit of the css. I do appreciate your input on the color scheme. Colors have never been my strong point.

http://www.newguyinennis.com

Not sure about it still but it is progressing nicely. A few minor things to incorporate/change but I would appreciate any constructive comments and a 3rd party perspective. I am keeping it somewhat low key on purpose but it can always use some improvement.

I think you're website is really great!
I am compelled to read it and spent 20 minutes reading thru a lot of your stuff. I commend you on your outlook on life and moving forward after things got bad. You and your son seem like great people, and I have a lot of respect for you.
Your web design skills are top notch and for a site of this genre is exactly the style you would expect.
Great design, great style of writing, great coding...

One cool dude

Craig

Hey thanks for the awesome ego boost lol. So you dig the color scheme etc? the colors are my largest concern. Just trying to get er done right.

I agree 100% with Craig.

Absolutely top notch job. Once again, this shows how less is often more. Your content takes center stage as it should and your design simply compliments the content as it should.

The color scheme works fine for me, I can read everything. This is a tough area to ask opinions on because everyone is different and will have their own preferences. As long as you like the colors and they function well... everything is fine.

The only thing I see is you need some more left margin in the main content area to get it off the vertical divider image.

You mention having a nack for writing?.. well I'd say web design is right up there also.

Agreed.

As I've always said, I think your website is one of the best one's I've seen on here and to top it off you seem like an awesome guy!

I also felt compelled to read most of your content which is an excellent sign that you have a great website.

I wish you all the best with this site and hope to see future work by you.

Catch ya later.

Dan.

Same as Craig.

I don't usually read through blogs.
Although they're predicted as the next-big-thing on the web, to me blogs are just more of those family news hand-outs people insist on sending you with their x-mas cards.
Yours made an interesting read from a style / content / design / variety point of view.
I got the world's best Chilli recipe..., but I found myself wanting to give yours a go.
Although I'll do mine with 'John Smiths Smooth', Theakstons 'Old Peculier'(sic), or my usual bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape.

If the colours are what's bothering you, why not let the visitor choose the colours by including a style switcher..?

I've done it on www.minutedesigns.com and I've found that it not only allows users to pick what they think looks best but it can also be used to make High contrast or large text versions for accessibility...

Just one to think about.

Thought about it but a style switcher would be overkill I think.