Advice on How to Properly Setup an Expandable Website? (Designing Phase)

[jamesmusslewhite]

I had posted earlier on this thread my desire to build both a website and a forum site. Well I have finally reached that point where I am ready to start the build on the website part of that project. The domain name was secured months ago and I have chosen the hosting site last week. I have looked at so many template designs over the past months, and frankly never saw a template that I liked. So I chose to discontinue the search and just sit down and start rough sketching a template of my own. First I listed what features the website needed to contain. I chose to rely on the K.I.S.S. model while avoiding the Home Page from being boring, gaudy or pretentious. I want the ascetic artistic interest of the Home Page to be my own body of topic related writings drawing, diagrams, photos and videos.. Simple eye appeal, subject relatability, easy site navigation and foremost needed to be fully interactive allowing smooth integration to smartphones and tablets. I wanted a minimum of non-essential widgets and add-ons which would slow site up load speeds. I want a 3-screen effect capable of displaying pics. Each screen independent and timed-controlled displaying a pic gallery. Pics timed to display 3 seconds with a brief fade-effect between pics. Each screen starting time set 3-seconds apart from the first. Three seconds pic view-time would allow ease for viewing each pic, while allowing a overall visual of a screen chance every 1 second. Each screen using a file containing 100 pics, meaning a total overall viewing effect of 300 quality effects. One widget (Time & Date), one widget (Weather forecast) and one (Advertisement) banner.

   My primary reason for the continuous staggered 3-second fade-transition of the pics, is to create a soft-mesmerizing visual effect. And also five the site a distinctive unique appearance. The screen pic transition are eye-candy helping to keep the site's visitor's mind occupied. The goal is to hold a site viewer long enough to devote a few extra seconds to perhaps further view the features on the page. I have a small linked Row of my own training videos, and a convenient YouTube player below the video-row. Flanked both left and right Side-bars each containing lists of useful links, such as government agencies, university sites etc. Below them are three columns of short columns articles. These article clips will each contain a small colorful pic header, article title and a few lines of text, each is a linked (second page) where the article is displayed in full text. This is so once read and closed, the main page of the site still remains even if the article was linked to page articles, or other articles located on other site's pages. The intent is to contain enough useful data to a tightly contained space, as to entice a new site visitors to choose to Bookmark the Home Page. From what I have read about site-marketing is you have mere seconds to make that first impression. As my grandmother would say, ''You better be as useful as a shirt pocket''.

   Well that is my primary reasoning behind the template design. I felt like all the templates I had looked at, well just looked like that, templates... How do you stand out if you merely look like a copy? Or worse a site which is all glitzy and glam, but without actually promoting your own unique branding? I hope you guys like the lay-out design of the template. I know a few of you are experienced web techs and designers. I fell you can give me an honest non-bias assessment having long-term experience navigating through websites.

   Most I feel I pretty much nave figured it out enough to muddle through well enough. But one big snag I have yet figured out yet, is the building the 3-screen pic gallery configuration. I have a fair understanding of HTML5 and BlueHost is suppose to work well with Wordpress and CSS, both which have plenty of training videos on YouTube fundamental coding. But presently I lack the proper knowledge of proper names of individual terms, as relating to the specific parts of code contained within such a coding configuration. I may find myself having to look for a specific add-on code as well. Perhaps someone here may help point me in the right direction. I have experience with the ProShow software which I used to produce all of my slideshows for my YouTube videos. I thought that perhaps producing three individual 100 pic slideshows, each with the same time sequences (looped). Having one slideshow dedicated to each of the screens, as this would seem simple enough, but the site upload speeds needed for slideshows may create an issue. Where as simply having three files each containing 100 pics seems that it might allow faster site upload speeds (during site startups), especially for transitioning integration to smartphones and tablets. Plus I see where using pic-files could be easily modify (adding or removing pics). Where the use of ShowPro type slideshows can not be easily modifies, rather it would require timely video editing and possible downtime of the gallery feature. And at this point I am merely speculating if either or both options are viable. But I really desire having the 3-screen gallery as drawn in the template to be a possibility to create. If anyone has working knowledge of such a code-configuration please point me in the right direction.

[Jollygoodfellow]

14 hours ago, jamesmusslewhite said:

I have looked at so many template designs over the past months, and frankly never saw a template that I liked.

Unless you purchase a licence to use a theme/template then you are limited to what a template is. I use licensed wordpress theme which come with in built content builders so its easy to change the look or how the site works simply by drag and drop its elements you want to use. Plugins can do most other if what you want is not available with the theme. So a theme is just that, a starting point which can be changed however you want but also save time by using parts you do like.

I good theme usually does not require any self writing of code so hard to mess things up and no way would l bother trying to build a site from scratch  unless you have plenty of time to fix issues or are a professional web developer.

[Jake]

Outstanding Marine!  With your extensive background, including building your own speedy banca boat, that subject title Pinoy Aquaculture will be successful because you're using the KISS method.  Bravo Zulu Gunny!  

[jamesmusslewhite]

14 hours ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

Unless you purchase a licence to use a theme/template then you are limited to what a template is. I use licensed wordpress theme which come with in built content builders so its easy to change the look or how the site works simply by drag and drop its elements you want to use. Plugins can do most other if what you want is not available with the theme. So a theme is just that, a starting point which can be changed however you want but also save time by using parts you do like.

I good theme usually does not require any self writing of code so hard to mess things up and no way would l bother trying to build a site from scratch  unless you have plenty of time to fix issues or are a professional web developer.

I Hosted with BlueHost with Wordpress which has a hefty amount of templates, but after two weeks with my mug glued to a screen I never saw one I liked. I know basic HTML5 code and collected snippets of coding. I believe I write the code needed to successful build the site, than an again I may merely be volunteering for a serious pissing into a headwind. But I just have to know if I can do it. So head first and I hope my powder stays dry... Old Jarheads are just wired to always do it the hard way...   

[jamesmusslewhite]

4 hours ago, Jake said:

Outstanding Marine!  With your extensive background, including building your own speedy banca boat, that subject title Pinoy Aquaculture will be successful because you're using the KISS method.  Bravo Zulu Gunny!  

Or I'm crusen for a brusen, with a full-bubble off-plumb...

[Mike J]

3 hours ago, jamesmusslewhite said:

I may merely be volunteering for a serious pissing into a headwind.

Flashback, triggered memories of "Don't mess around with Jim"

You don't tug on superman's cape
You don't spit into the wind
You don't pull the mask off that old lone ranger
And you don't mess around with Jim

[Tommy T.]

1 hour ago, Mike J said:

Flashback, triggered memories of "Don't mess around with Jim"

You don't tug on superman's cape
You don't spit into the wind
You don't pull the mask off that old lone ranger
And you don't mess around with Jim

And don't steal Mighty Mouse's cheese!

[Jollygoodfellow]

On 11/21/2020 at 3:57 AM, jamesmusslewhite said:

I Hosted with BlueHost with Wordpress which has a hefty amount of templates, but after two weeks with my mug glued to a screen I never saw one I liked. I know basic HTML5 code and collected snippets of coding. I believe I write the code needed to successful build the site, than an again I may merely be volunteering for a serious pissing into a headwind. But I just have to know if I can do it. So head first and I hope my powder stays dry... Old Jarheads are just wired to always do it the hard way...   

You dont seem to get the point of themes. I bet your looking at basic free themes and expect to find one you are looking for but it wont happen. As I said a good theme such as Betheme have built in page builders, editors and now also come with Elementor website builder. Also from your first post try to remember that more people use phones to view websites these days so need to be mobile friendly. If you clutter it then the viewer will be scrolling until they get sick of it and are gone.

[Snowy79]

A little input from me on personal preferences.  I get annoyed by slides where a photograph appears for a few seconds then changes.  I prefer to have a gallery that I can click on if I want to view photos. 

[jamesmusslewhite]

On 11/23/2020 at 12:17 PM, Snowy79 said:

A little input from me on personal preferences.  I get annoyed by slides where a photograph appears for a few seconds then changes.  I prefer to have a gallery that I can click on if I want to view photos. 

   Yes I know what you mean. Auto bar sliders are commonly used, and I see where some can be annoyed by them. The automatic interactive codes produce sliders that are slideshow, viewers, carousel, splice and 3-D block configuration. And most sites use only 4to12 .jpg images which are easy to navigate using a forward-back button.  But what if the photo gallery of the website actually contains 150 to 300 .jpg images? Would you to want to sit and manually click through each of those images? And as the site grows I want there to be primarily three active image gallery displays. This is a line of query that I am tussling with even as we speak, and I see your input as being quite relevant. I have been asking myself if I can design a 'slideshow pause' feature, on an active automated slideshow? Can then a second button feature then override the automatic automated feature, and allowing a transition over to a back-forward slideshow navigation feature? If so this would allow a site user to manually navigate both (forwards and backwards) through each image contained within that gallery? Eventually as the site grows, so will the topic covered and possible related .jpg images added and displayed. 

 

   I have spent quite a bit of time reading about and looking at web sliders. Seem they're primarily configurations of basic automated automated slideshows. Mostly transitioning images from (side to side), or from (up and down). Then there are the (left to right) image transitioning Carousels (including 3-d) viewers, Splices, Blocks and mortified variants of these configurations. The basic manual sliders are an easy design and primarily using a (left to right) with a few bell & whistles, but allows manual transitioning between images contained in the gallery.

   What I personally want in my own site are three stationary image viewer screens, each an independent automated transitioning slideshow gallery. I wanted the photo movement to remain stationary as the .jpgs transition through the images contained in that gallery. A few days ago I found exactly the what I wanted and fulfills what I wanted. It uses a HLML5 and CSS coding and basic and clean looking image player. I am currently playing with the code for a three column grid placed directly below the Nav-bar. If you look at the template drawing I posted earlier, you will see the 3-screen slideshow viewer I have placed directly under the Nav-bar. These three borderless screens will be sitting (side-by-side) sized @ 33-1/3% width spacing of that 3-column Grid. They should look clean and simplistic with no frills or bells&whistles. The animation will have no vertical or horizontal image movements, nor color/phasing between image transitions. My .jpgs will be resized and compressed making then light and should greatly increase image upload speeds. I know I am facing future coding issues with the three view screen in the future, but I do agree with your suggestion. I will be doing my best to allow the three image screen to have independent controls, to pause an automatic slideshow  and allow a transition over to manual image navigation control. Surely this can be possible.