Design Recommendations

[J_Search]

(sorry if this doesn't belong here)

Anyone have any recommendations on layout for my homepage? HTML tables? CSS divs? Anything else? PROs/CONs. I don't mean to start a war. I'm just asking because I'm new to both (HTML/CSS) and don't really know where to start. Thanks!!!
Homepage

[peter_budo]

I like that layout simple and effecient...

[J_Search]

I like that layout simple and effecient...

haha, thanks. It's my first one. I was going to even pay someone to design it, but I got bored one day at work and started playing with VISIO and came up with that on the first try. But I don't know how to code it, yet.

Originally, by checking Daniweb's source, I figured tables&images were the best way to get a rounded look. I was turned off from tables once I typed "html tables vs css" in google. I found this site which has 3 examples of how to get rounded tables with CSS. But then I ran across this site , and I've been using that technique ever since. Cool thing about it is it doesn't use any images. I'm not sure why (noob) IE6 blocks the javascript calling it "Active Content" "To help protect your security, Internet Explorer has restricted this file from showing active content that could access your computer. Click here for options...". Is there a way around this? And why doesn't Firefox show a warning?

[peter_budo]

The first link tutorials give you geneal idea what you are about to do and how you can do it with different techniques.I love that Zen Garden example, brilliant work.
Second one, stright forward tutorials very nice done.

Anyway, good luck wih your development, hope to see final outcome of your work :p

[J_Search]

Honestly, I just need some advice on how to get what's already drawn into code. I'll further tweak and modify after that.

[rus]

There is a big debate over which is better, HTML tables or CSS. It just depends on what you prefer. I would suggest you try a little of both, see which one you grasp best. Or, it could be a combination of both.

I still use HTML tables with CSS to tweek the limits of the HTML. In other words, I create the table, then if I need to add padding, control font, etc., I use CSS.

Hope this helps.

[alpha2006]

Nice layout.
If you choose some nice colors and add some sharp graphics, you can have a slick website.

[InterAKT]

Hi,

Your layout is pretty complicated so I advise you to use CSS divs. It's true that it is more complicated to learn CSS than to use HTML tables. But in my experience, once a designer/developer starts to know CSS they never go back to HTML tables.
HTML tables are OK when you don't know CSS and you want to create a very simple layout. Yours isn't that simple.
Shotly these are the advantages of CSS:
CSS provides many more presentational choices than HTML
Makes sites load faster and conserves bandwidth
Makes HTML documents less complicated and more accessible — separates structure from presentation
Enables us to make global changes — easier to maintain
( http://webguide.ua.edu/webtide/wtpres20021203.html )

I will give you some development tips also:
For the horizontal navigation menu: MX CSS Menus: http://www.interaktonline.com/Products/Dreamweaver-Extensions/MXCSSMenus/Overview/
For the login user nugget: MX User Login: http://www.interaktonline.com/Products/Dreamweaver-Extensions/MXUserLogin/Overview/
For RSS feed: MX RSS Reader-Writer: http://www.interaktonline.com/Products/Dreamweaver-Extensions/MXRSSReader-Writer/Overview/
For sending e-mails: MX Send E-mail: http://www.interaktonline.com/Products/Dreamweaver-Extensions/MXSendE-mail/Overview/

These products don't require advanced programming skills and help you build your site in a couple of days.

Hope this will help,
Mihaela

[J_Search]

Thanks for the links. Was that a commercial? haha.

Actually, I have all the backend code, I just hate html/css and design for that matter. I wasn't aware that these tools even existed for Dreamweaver. I'll have a look at them. Anything that makes my life easier.

Thanks,

[InterAKT]

Except for MX RSS Reader-Writer, all the other products have 30 days free trials - so you can give it a try without loosing anything :)

[J_Search]

Well I looked over the available extensions. There really isn't anything I can use to code the layout I designed. (or is there and I missed it?)

I have 3 questions:

Are there any tools available that would make coding my design easier than raw coding?
How much can I expect to pay for the css template of my design?
Does anyone want to code my template for free? haha You know you do.

[jtbnet]

For years I have been using Tables - Tables inside Tables inside Tables to layout my sites and have stuck to my guns over this method. About three weeks ago I started a project of revamping a clients site - I decided to take a little time and try using CSS and divs to control layout - hard at first to get out of my old ways but once a got the majority of styles defined site was a joy / easy to convert to the new look and feel!

One very important point I have come accross so far is that browser compatibality is increased when using CSS and div tags.

From my personal view I am now edging more towards CSS and divs as to Table layouts.

Regards.