Running out of ideas, idea thread.

[garfunkle]

Hello all.

Basically what my problem is, is that i'm running a bit low on ideas for the way to lay out the elements of my site. I've got a sort of mockup layout which i will post a link to here but it doesn't seem to be overly impressive or eye catching. I've made some sites with different looks that have seemed ok, but i just don't see to have anything impressive.

I know that its not necessary to have an impressive or awe inspiring site but at times it helps to at least know that you have the ability to create them.

So basically what this thread is for, i'm hoping, would be to post ideas for the layout and looks of pages. Such as colour schemes, layout of elements such as tables and such. Or anything else you can think of.
Also, just let me know if theres a topic similar to this out there.

Here is my mock up (Note that i've not made the code very precise or valid, just quickly made it up):
http://funkydesigns.zeeblo.com/Sites/mockup/

[karinne]

See Zeniltuo. It's a repertoire of all the showcase sites out there. Go see a few and get inspired.

[BGarner]

Originally Posted by garfunkle

layout of elements such as tables and such.

Don't use tables for layouts. CSS has such a greater capacity for creating an impressive site...

Check out your competitors. If you're going to use CSS check out CSSMania.com they have a great showcase of amazing sites.

For color schemes I always use colorcombos.com. They have a ton of good color schemes to pick from.

Also, if you're going to use CSS check out moojoo's layouts.

Hope this helps!

[fuzzee]

I almost died when I saw your source code!!!
Please, please get rid of the TABLES!!!
It is harder, but it's managable, and don't give up! here is where I learned css:
http://www.w3schools.com/css/default.asp

[BGarner]

w3schools is a great place to learn. Amen to fuzzee's post.

For future reference, I put the navigation below the header.

[garfunkle]

I thought i'd do that to, but then i realized that i've seen that done a lot more than above.
Also for the record, i learned my CSS there too. I tried to make a site without using tables, but the cross browser incompatiblity was a major problem. Firefox mucked it up, IE completely mucked it up. Then when i changed it a bit IE showed it fine and firefox wouldn't. It was hell. Right now for me, tables are better.
But feel free to link or show me some sort of simple layout that i could perhaps learn from that doesn't use tables.

[Lchad]

Moojoo has some nice easy layouts here. http://www.newguyinennis.com/samples/layouts/

Try these for learning purposes. Always design for FF. If you get it there you can always tweak for IE.

[karinne]

See my sig!

[kapyrossi]

Lchad, quick question to you! You say design for FF and then getting it into IE will be easy. Is it really so? I'm new to webdesign, so an advice like this can make do good for me! Would it mean that FF browser is in some way more complicated than IE?

[karinne]

I'm not Lchad but I'll answer you anyways!

YES!

Don’t use IE as your primary testing browser by John Faulds. He's got a few more articles of the sort on his site worth checking.

[fuzzee]

The way I look at it is that Firefox shows stuff like css right. If it doesn't work in Firefox, but does work in IE, I've done something wrong!

[cyclone2876]

get some ideas of some different websites and try to use css its better