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Other => General Discussion => Topic started by: Gil on March 09, 2008, 01:23:12 PM

Title: Webmaster peoples
Post by: Gil on March 09, 2008, 01:23:12 PM
Ok so I'm making a site. Yes. Ok. So i want to have 2 separate sites, one that uses CSS and one that doesn't (for compatibility with older computers/browsers). Is there a computer/browser detect code that will detect an OS, and direct it to a certain page or something? Just wondering if thats at all possible. Thanks!
Title: Re: Webmaster peoples
Post by: lfmusiclover on March 09, 2008, 01:24:48 PM
Ok so I'm making a site. Yes. Ok. So i want to have 2 separate sites, one that uses CSS and one that doesn't (for compatibility with older computers/browsers). Is there a computer/browser detect code that will detect an OS, and direct it to a certain page or something? Just wondering if thats at all possible. Thanks!
Nope. The key rule in website design is to create one website, and make it as friendly as possible to as many browsers/computers as possible.
Title: Re: Webmaster peoples
Post by: Gil on March 09, 2008, 01:25:45 PM
A browser friendly page would be just text. :D I will look around to see if there is something. :yes:
Title: Re: Webmaster peoples
Post by: beanboy89 on March 09, 2008, 01:28:57 PM
Gary is right. You should make your pages as compatible as possible for all browsers out there. It's called web standards, my friend. :yes:

:P
Title: Re: Webmaster peoples
Post by: lfmusiclover on March 09, 2008, 01:29:35 PM
Nope. A browser friendly page is a page that uses only HTML coding, Javascript, that type of things, and goes easy on graphics and other eccentricities.

Ahh, I see SOMEONE knows a thing or two about web design. And his name is Billy Schwartz.   :P :lol:
Title: Re: Webmaster peoples
Post by: Gil on March 09, 2008, 01:32:44 PM
Gary is right. You should make your pages as compatible as possible for all browsers out there. It's called web standards, my friend. :yes:

:P
I don't normally like chosing between a site thats compatible, and a site thats visually appealing w/ features.
I could always justg make a simple splash page w/ links to 2 diff. sites.
Title: Re: Webmaster peoples
Post by: lfmusiclover on March 09, 2008, 01:35:06 PM
Gary is right. You should make your pages as compatible as possible for all browsers out there. It's called web standards, my friend. :yes:

:P
I don't normally like chosing between a site thats compatible, and a site thats visually appealing w/ features.
I could always justg make a simple splash page w/ links to 2 diff. sites.

Bad idea.

I'm tlling you from experience (and lots of mental anguish  :P ) that one site is all you need, and you need to make it browser friendly. Splash pages are a big minus. Their a waste, they accomplish nothing. I didn't fully realize how important this stuff was until i got my Mac. Granted, I have several browsers on my PC and so had several perspectives of my site already, but adding a Mac to the picture allowed me to see my site from several more perspectives.
Title: Re: Webmaster peoples
Post by: Gil on March 09, 2008, 01:36:05 PM
How so?
but adding a Mac to the picture allowed me to see my site from several more perspectives.
Title: Re: Webmaster peoples
Post by: lfmusiclover on March 09, 2008, 01:36:47 PM
How so?
but adding a Mac to the picture allowed me to see my site from several more perspectives.

Things look different on a Mac. They render graphics differently than a PC.
Title: Re: Webmaster peoples
Post by: Gil on March 09, 2008, 01:37:59 PM
Well, I am building my site on a Mac. And an old mac, at that. :) Hi. Ok. I will think about it.
Title: Re: Webmaster peoples
Post by: lfmusiclover on March 09, 2008, 01:38:56 PM
That's probably a good thing. If it looks good on an old Mac with an older browser, than it'll probably look good on newer computers and browsers as well. Its backwards compatibility thats usually most difficult, not forward.
Title: Re: Webmaster peoples
Post by: Gil on March 09, 2008, 01:40:49 PM
I would like to do something with PHP, but i'm not sure how i would approach it. Grrrr its just so frustrating....
Title: Re: Webmaster peoples
Post by: lfmusiclover on March 09, 2008, 01:41:45 PM
PHP is very tricky. I currently have PHP For Dummies on loan from the library, and even that hasn't shed any light on it for me! :(
Title: Re: Webmaster peoples
Post by: Gil on March 09, 2008, 02:05:54 PM
Hah, i checked out that book too... They say PHP is like the easiest language to learn, but i think its the hardest.
Title: Re: Webmaster peoples
Post by: Stephen on March 09, 2008, 02:08:29 PM
PHP is very tricky. I currently have PHP For Dummies on loan from the library, and even that hasn't shed any light on it for me! :(
You need the "PHP For Dummies" For Dummies book, then. :yes:


:P
Title: Re: Webmaster peoples
Post by: Gil on March 09, 2008, 02:15:41 PM
I've got some experience with PHP, such as simple scripts, but building an entire website from it is a :censored:
Title: Re: Webmaster peoples
Post by: wxmancanada on March 09, 2008, 02:17:16 PM
Ok so I'm making a site. Yes. Ok. So i want to have 2 separate sites, one that uses CSS and one that doesn't (for compatibility with older computers/browsers). Is there a computer/browser detect code that will detect an OS, and direct it to a certain page or something? Just wondering if thats at all possible. Thanks!
Yes, when we were devloping (The most recent release of) TheWeatherNetwork.com the main idea was to have a cross browser, cross resolution CSS file.. Gil talk to me on AIM and I will share some scripts with you. :)
Title: Re: Webmaster peoples
Post by: twcclassics on March 09, 2008, 10:15:52 PM
My thoughts...

Stop worrying about making a site that renders perfectly on all browsers. It's not possible. You should only care about the most popular browser's on PCs. Those being IE 6, 7 and FF 2.0.

If you want to make a site for each browser and/or operating system, almost any web language can detect a person's browser type, operating system, etc.

Like Gary said, a splash page is a big no no. People are already at your site, why do they need to enter again?

PHP was the first language I learned. I now know how to program scripts in VB and C# (ASP.NET), ASP, JSP, Perl, and Java Servlets. I can definitely say PHP is the easiest to learn. Which is why my entire site is written in PHP (b/c it takes less time to write code that works). But then again PHP IS a programming language. And if it's your first, it will take a while for you to learn it. If it helps, I learned PHP from the book "PHP Fast & Easy Web Development." IMO, the Dummy series books are terrible. I mean, how are a bunch unfunny cartoons suppose to help me learn something? :huh:

Having more than one site can be confusing, but not always. My friend Alex has about ten different sites under the aaroads.com domain. People don't seem to mind. Yet I once considered splitting my site into two different domains (one for current stuff and another for classic stuff) and people went crazy. Go figure. :P
Title: Re: Webmaster peoples
Post by: Gil on March 09, 2008, 10:22:16 PM
Wow, thanks for the tips! I would love to implement a browser detect/redirect feature, but i think learning PHP first would be of far more importance. Every time i read ANYTHING about PHP, i get so deeply confused. So far the only thing i've been able to do is "echo" "Hello, world". and "phpinfo". Maybe I don't have the cranial capacity. I will look into it. Thanks.
Title: Re: Webmaster peoples
Post by: lfmusiclover on March 09, 2008, 11:24:11 PM
You don't want to worry about making a browser that renders on ALL browsers and PC's, nor do you only want to make a site that renders on only the most popular. You want to make a site that will render on as many different setups as possible.

I suggest you look for books on web usability and SEO (search engine optimization) at the library. I currently have several, and all are excellent sources of information.
Title: Re: Webmaster peoples
Post by: LFMusicRocks on March 10, 2008, 01:27:37 AM
Computer programming is required fior webmaster people to create websites
Title: Re: Webmaster peoples
Post by: twcclassics on March 10, 2008, 10:35:46 AM
Computer programming is required fior webmaster people to create websites
Not necessarily. You can make a website in HTML.
Title: Re: Webmaster peoples
Post by: twcclassics on March 10, 2008, 10:37:31 AM
You don't want to worry about making a browser that renders on ALL browsers and PC's, nor do you only want to make a site that renders on only the most popular. You want to make a site that will render on as many different setups as possible.

I suggest you look for books on web usability and SEO (search engine optimization) at the library. I currently have several, and all are excellent sources of information.
Another good point. I came across some site posted on the emulator forum that required (not recommended, but required) you to have IE7 to view the site (not just one page, but the ENTIRE site). Needless to say, I lost interest in what the site had to offer pretty quickly. BTW (and completely unrelated), I also know Coldfusion. :P
Title: Re: Webmaster peoples
Post by: lfmusiclover on March 10, 2008, 01:11:26 PM
You don't want to worry about making a browser that renders on ALL browsers and PC's, nor do you only want to make a site that renders on only the most popular. You want to make a site that will render on as many different setups as possible.

I suggest you look for books on web usability and SEO (search engine optimization) at the library. I currently have several, and all are excellent sources of information.
Another good point. I came across some site posted on the emulator forum that required (not recommended, but required) you to have IE7 to view the site (not just one page, but the ENTIRE site). Needless to say, I lost interest in what the site had to offer pretty quickly. BTW (and completely unrelated), I also know Coldfusion. :P

Ahh, a very good point you make. Too restrictive is no good at all, as evidenced by your reaction to the site (which consequently, is probably most people's reaction).

No Krishnan, programming knowledge is not necessary. The main web design languages (PHP, HTML, XML, Javascript) are not programming languages, but rather scripting or markup languages, which are much simpler.
Title: Re: Webmaster peoples
Post by: twcclassics on March 10, 2008, 03:42:12 PM
Not to be nit-picky Gary, but PHP and JavaScript are languages. Basically a syntax is called a language when it contains elements common to other languages like loops, conditions, variables, and so on.
Title: Re: Webmaster peoples
Post by: lfmusiclover on March 10, 2008, 04:06:57 PM
I said they were languages, didn't I?   :unsure:
Title: Re: Webmaster peoples
Post by: Gil on March 10, 2008, 04:44:53 PM
I'm going to get the book that Matt suggested (except its PHP 6, not sure if that matters), as well as a book that deals with Dreamweaver CS3 using AJAX, PHP, and ColdFusion. Luckily i live near a good library. :yes:

I read reviews on Amazon of the book Matt suggested, and it got really good reviews, so i'm eager to try it. :)
Title: Re: Webmaster peoples
Post by: lfmusiclover on March 10, 2008, 06:35:04 PM
I'm going to get the book that Matt suggested (except its PHP 6, not sure if that matters), as well as a book that deals with Dreamweaver CS3 using AJAX, PHP, and ColdFusion. Luckily i live near a good library. :yes:

I read reviews on Amazon of the book Matt suggested, and it got really good reviews, so i'm eager to try it. :)

Actually, yes the version of PHP may matter. You have to make sure that your host has PHP 6 capabilities. Most do, I think, but you should certainly find out so that you know what you have to work with.
Title: Re: Webmaster peoples
Post by: Gil on March 10, 2008, 06:58:58 PM
My host is myself. I think i have PHP 5 on my server. Better to be safe than sorry.
Title: Re: Webmaster peoples
Post by: lfmusiclover on March 10, 2008, 07:14:11 PM
My host is myself. I think i have PHP 5 on my server. Better to be safe than sorry.

Then a PHP 6 book probably won't be helpful.
Title: Re: Webmaster peoples
Post by: Gil on March 10, 2008, 08:12:57 PM
i kinda figured that, but i could probably get PHP 6.
Title: Re: Webmaster peoples
Post by: twcclassics on March 11, 2008, 10:55:05 AM
I said they were languages, didn't I?   :unsure:

Not that I can see here...
No Krishnan, programming knowledge is not necessary. The main web design languages (PHP, HTML, XML, Javascript) are not programming languages, but rather scripting or markup languages, which are much simpler.
Title: Re: Webmaster peoples
Post by: lfmusiclover on March 11, 2008, 11:50:50 AM
I said they were languages, didn't I?   :unsure:

Not that I can see here...
No Krishnan, programming knowledge is not necessary. The main web design languages (PHP, HTML, XML, Javascript) are not programming languages, but rather scripting or markup languages, which are much simpler.
Read the next 5 words.  ;)