Small change to website

Would you guys mind taking a look at my website and telling me how the
navigation seems to you? I like keeping it low-tech and compact, but it
seemed to me that it was a little overcrowded in the navbar and needed a
little definition, so I broke it into categories. Can you tell me if it
seems clearer to you, or less clear? Also, if you have any suggestions I
would love to hear them, though I may not be able to implement them
right away.

http://www.beadwife.com

I like keeping navigation at the top so it doesn't steal space from the
product, but I do want to hear if people prefer sidebar navigation. I
also admit up front that I prefer text-based over icon-based navigation
for straightforwardness, but again, I'd like to hear other preferences.

One of my main concerns is clarity. Right now I have the main category
named "Current Work For Sale". Is that clear enough? Overly clear?
Belaboring the point? I have also considered "Available Now", "New Work
Available Now", and "New Work For Sale". Thank you so much! I know it's
a really trivial change, but I agonize over that navbar, LOL!

Oh, and one more thing; is all the text on the website readable enough?
I was on someone's website the other day, using Moxley's giant monitor
actually, and I literally *could not* read the tiny white-on-black text
with my slowly crapping-out 33-yo eyeballs. I couldn't help but wonder
what creek I'll be up when my eyeballs are 55, so I wanted to make sure
I'm not making my website impossible for those with similarly-aging
optical receptors.

Whew, my longest post in AGES. Time for bed!

-Kalera

The pages don't "quite" fit my screen, even maximized. On the first
page (about me page), there is a scroll bar, but it looks like maybe
4-5 characters of text is cut off on each side.
On the bead pages, no scroll bars appear, and only part of a character
is cut off on the right hand side (or possibly more, but that's all
that seems to be cut off).

The end beads at the top of the pages get cut, too.

Beads look great, though....

I finally "made something" with your "Chi-Chi Beads"-- posted on my
Yahoo group and at Crafter's Buzz:
http://craftersbuzz.com/gallery.cgi?KAYTEE -- the two projects at the
bottom of the page.

Kaytee
http://www.eclecticbeadery.com/simplexities.html
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/simplexities/
http://www.mallofcrafters.com/Crafte...umidaCN011.htm
http://craftersbuzz.com/gallery.cgi?KAYTEE

"Current Work For Sale is clear. I also think that "Available Now" would
work. But I wouldn't say "New Work Available Now" or "New Work For Sale"
because to me that implies only those beads that you've newly listed since
your last AD, and I don't think that's what you mean those categories to
contain.

As for the text size, I have no problem reading your Web pages despite the
glare currently on my monitor.

Finally, you didn't ask but I wanted to tell you that I strongly agree that
text navigation or *labelled* icons are FAR better than icons alone for
navigation. I always feel like such a dolt when I cannot figure out the
icon-only navigation systems without clicking, and it seems like 90% of the
time the icon-only nav doesn't take me where I want to go.


"Kalera Stratton" wrote in message
news
Would you guys mind taking a look at my website and telling me how the
navigation seems to you? I like keeping it low-tech and compact, but it
seemed to me that it was a little overcrowded in the navbar and needed a
little definition, so I broke it into categories. Can you tell me if it
seems clearer to you, or less clear? Also, if you have any suggestions I
would love to hear them, though I may not be able to implement them right
away.

http://www.beadwife.com

I like keeping navigation at the top so it doesn't steal space from the
product, but I do want to hear if people prefer sidebar navigation. I also
admit up front that I prefer text-based over icon-based navigation for
straightforwardness, but again, I'd like to hear other preferences.

One of my main concerns is clarity. Right now I have the main category
named "Current Work For Sale". Is that clear enough? Overly clear?
Belaboring the point? I have also considered "Available Now", "New Work
Available Now", and "New Work For Sale". Thank you so much! I know it's a
really trivial change, but I agonize over that navbar, LOL!

Oh, and one more thing; is all the text on the website readable enough? I
was on someone's website the other day, using Moxley's giant monitor
actually, and I literally *could not* read the tiny white-on-black text
with my slowly crapping-out 33-yo eyeballs. I couldn't help but wonder
what creek I'll be up when my eyeballs are 55, so I wanted to make sure
I'm not making my website impossible for those with similarly-aging
optical receptors.

Whew, my longest post in AGES. Time for bed!

-Kalera

What she said! (All three points).

Puzzled why the pictures of you and the shed are marked "sold".

Awesome beads!

Georgia

"vj" wrote in message
...
vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from Kalera Stratton
:

]http://www.beadwife.com
]
]I like keeping navigation at the top so it doesn't steal space from the
]product, but I do want to hear if people prefer sidebar navigation.

1 - i prefer the left-side navigation - - but not frames!

2 - have i told you i love the 'divider' between your logo and your
pages???? well, i do.

3 - but i hate having the 'about-me' on the first page. *personally*
i want BEADS on the first page. or just the links to the pages.
clean and easy on the first page especially!


--
@vicki [SnuggleWench]
(Books) http://www.booksnbytes.com
(Jewelry) http://www.vickijean.com
(Metalsmithing) http://www.snugglewench.com
[it's a Callahan's thing]
yahooID: vjean95967
-----------
"There isn't enough time in a day, anymore, I swear
--has someone been washing them in hot water?"
-- Kat Richardson/RAM

I like the categories, Kalera - it does make things easier. I did the same
thing recently, too.
Current Work For Sale is the clearest of the alternatives you have there.
The text is fine for me.

One thing I would change -
I would left-justify the navigation, since the rest of the page is left
justified, and align it with the rest of the text.

Looks fab, honey!!

--
Kandice Seeber
Air & Earth Designs
http://www.lampwork.net

"Kalera Stratton" wrote in message
news
Would you guys mind taking a look at my website and telling me how the
navigation seems to you? I like keeping it low-tech and compact, but it
seemed to me that it was a little overcrowded in the navbar and needed a
little definition, so I broke it into categories. Can you tell me if it
seems clearer to you, or less clear? Also, if you have any suggestions I
would love to hear them, though I may not be able to implement them right
away.

http://www.beadwife.com

I like keeping navigation at the top so it doesn't steal space from the
product, but I do want to hear if people prefer sidebar navigation. I also
admit up front that I prefer text-based over icon-based navigation for
straightforwardness, but again, I'd like to hear other preferences.

One of my main concerns is clarity. Right now I have the main category
named "Current Work For Sale". Is that clear enough? Overly clear?
Belaboring the point? I have also considered "Available Now", "New Work
Available Now", and "New Work For Sale". Thank you so much! I know it's a
really trivial change, but I agonize over that navbar, LOL!

Oh, and one more thing; is all the text on the website readable enough? I
was on someone's website the other day, using Moxley's giant monitor
actually, and I literally *could not* read the tiny white-on-black text
with my slowly crapping-out 33-yo eyeballs. I couldn't help but wonder
what creek I'll be up when my eyeballs are 55, so I wanted to make sure
I'm not making my website impossible for those with similarly-aging
optical receptors.

Whew, my longest post in AGES. Time for bed!

-Kalera

vj wrote:
vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from Kalera Stratton
:

]http://www.beadwife.com
]
]I like keeping navigation at the top so it doesn't steal space from the
]product, but I do want to hear if people prefer sidebar navigation.

1 - i prefer the left-side navigation - - but not frames!

2 - have i told you i love the 'divider' between your logo and your
pages???? well, i do.

3 - but i hate having the 'about-me' on the first page. *personally*
i want BEADS on the first page. or just the links to the pages.
clean and easy on the first page especially!



Thanks, Vicki! May I ask why you prefer the sidebar navigation? Is it an
aesthetic preference, a functional preference, or both? My only issue
with sidebar navigation is that my website is *supposed* to fit on a
800x600 screen... and if the navigation was on the side, I would have to
shrink the pictures and text to make it all fit, which would affect my
readability on higher-res screens.

I worked long and hard on that divider, so I'm really glad you like it!
I wanted to have product pictures on the main page without weakening the
categories.

The "About Me" is actually a link in the header. I put my blog on the
main page so that useful updates - like the times when I'm posting beads
on a different day, for example when I took my classes and when I was on
vacation - are readily available. Generally I hate superfluous pages
but too many people were missing my updates and sending me panicked
messages making sure I wasn't dead when the beads didn't go up on time.

Georgia wrote:
What she said! (All three points).

Puzzled why the pictures of you and the shed are marked "sold".

Awesome beads!

Georgia

LOL! Thanks, Georgia! They're marked "SOLD" because I'm using product
categories to post the pics; not what they're for, but they work! Moxley
made it so that when an item is at zero price, it says "SOLD". He
originally made it so they said "NOT FOR SALE", but then I was getting a
lot of email asking me if I could part with some of my "NOT FOR SALE"
items, so he changed it to "SOLD".

I have asked him if we can change it so I can type "SOLD" in the price
field instead, but it may take him a while to get around to it.

-Kalera

Georgia wrote:
What she said! (All three points).

Puzzled why the pictures of you and the shed are marked "sold".

Awesome beads!

Georgia


Heh heh heh I figured out how to fix it by myself!

Kaytee wrote:
The pages don't "quite" fit my screen, even maximized. On the first
page (about me page), there is a scroll bar, but it looks like maybe
4-5 characters of text is cut off on each side.
On the bead pages, no scroll bars appear, and only part of a character
is cut off on the right hand side (or possibly more, but that's all
that seems to be cut off).

The end beads at the top of the pages get cut, too.

I *think* I figured out what that was about and fixed it... let me know
if not! Thanks for letting me know.

Beads look great, though....

I finally "made something" with your "Chi-Chi Beads"-- posted on my
Yahoo group and at Crafter's Buzz:
http://craftersbuzz.com/gallery.cgi?KAYTEE -- the two projects at the
bottom of the page.

Ohhh, pretty and fun!

Peggy wrote:
"Current Work For Sale is clear. I also think that "Available Now" would
work. But I wouldn't say "New Work Available Now" or "New Work For Sale"
because to me that implies only those beads that you've newly listed since
your last AD, and I don't think that's what you mean those categories to
contain.

As for the text size, I have no problem reading your Web pages despite the
glare currently on my monitor.

Finally, you didn't ask but I wanted to tell you that I strongly agree that
text navigation or *labelled* icons are FAR better than icons alone for
navigation. I always feel like such a dolt when I cannot figure out the
icon-only navigation systems without clicking, and it seems like 90% of the
time the icon-only nav doesn't take me where I want to go.

Thank you, Peggy!