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-   -   Need some help in creating a team website. (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39143)

Michael Hill 29-07-2005 02:38

Need some help in creating a team website.
 
I've been asked by Andy Baker to head up the TechnoKats website for next year. I've just got a question or two about making team websites and how they are judged. Does Flash usually go over well with judges? Like having a Flash intro screen? Does it have to be only HTML? Some help would be awesome.

Bharat Nain 29-07-2005 02:48

Re: Need some help in creating a team website.
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Hill
I've been asked by Andy Baker to head up the TechnoKats website for next year. I've just got a question or two about making team websites and how they are judged. Does Flash usually go over well with judges? Like having a Flash intro screen? Does it have to be only HTML? Some help would be awesome.

Go take a look at the awards documents. That will answer all your questions. You have to balance the use of Flash and videos in such a way that people with a slow internet connection can browse through your site considerably fast. I personally like to put an intro to such websites(robotics) as long as they're decent. Team 25s website as of now is not that great of an example. Another thing I would suggest is taking a look at websites of regional winners and national winners for the past 2 years. That should give you a good answer - stay creative though.

sanddrag 29-07-2005 02:52

Re: Need some help in creating a team website.
 
I'd say small flash elements can enhance a site but don't make it essential to navigation or appearance. Make the site still visually and functionally appealing even if the viewer does not have flash. Whatever you do, do not use frames. :)

Michael Hill 29-07-2005 03:24

Re: Need some help in creating a team website.
 
What's wrong with frames?

Bharat Nain 29-07-2005 03:30

Re: Need some help in creating a team website.
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Hill
What's wrong with frames?

Nothing when they are used correctly, which means they don't make the page look obviously odd or make one portion stick out more than the other.

sanddrag 29-07-2005 03:40

Re: Need some help in creating a team website.
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Hill
What's wrong with frames?

Search engines like the widely popular Google don't approve of them, and many people like myself don't either. For me the biggest issue is that you are not actually on the page that your address bar says, which can lead to confusion and navigation difficulties for people who pay attention to URLs.

Also, if you have to scroll any frames other than the main one, that is especially bad. Finally, they don't work well with low resolution viewers (or with small window sizes)

Ryan M. 29-07-2005 06:47

Re: Need some help in creating a team website.
 
And frames aren't valid XHTML 1.1. ;)

I avoid flash for anything except an intro. If you want to use it to add some animated object to your site, such as your team's logo, export it to an animated gif. GIFs are more universal and much smaller.

JohnBoucher 29-07-2005 07:05

Re: Need some help in creating a team website.
 
The number one rule (or at least close to the number one rule) is to design for your users. If you read the criteria as was suggested here already, it's all about usability. Here are some things to keep in mind...
  • Is it easy to navigate?
  • Is the content presented in a logical manner?
  • Is the content relevant?
  • Is it visually interesting?
  • Am I retaining users?
  • Is my team using it?
  • What did I learn about FIRST?
Your website is a resource for your team. Other teams will visit, but your focus is that this is a team resource. Don't forget that your "Team" includes the parents, your mentors and your sponsors. You are designing to make them ALL happy. You want the team parents using the site and you want your sponsors linking to your site. Your site is an easy way to show your appreciation to your sponsors.

It's important to add new content. Keep it up to date and you will keep users coming back to it. Web design is unique in that a site is never "done". If you don't present new content for you users, there is no reason for them to return.

One thing a lot of web designs forget to offer as a backup to your navigation is a site-map. It is an easy way to keep the search engines happy if you are using frames. It will allow that full content to be indexed.

Offer some way to search your site. Google offers a free script to do this. Look here for more info http://www.google.com/searchcode.html

hth

plutonium83 29-07-2005 12:26

Re: Need some help in creating a team website.
 
CSS frames are a good alternative to the old way to do frames. The best part of it is it contains content and navigation in one page, a common blight that makes the traditional way hard to read by search engines.

http://www.stunicholls.myby.co.uk/menu/framed.html

Arefin Bari 29-07-2005 12:38

Re: Need some help in creating a team website.
 
Take a look at the SigmaC@t's website, the site may give you few ideas

www.sigmacatrobotics.com

theory6 29-07-2005 13:29

Re: Need some help in creating a team website.
 
I'd say HTML with a few well integrated Flash bits (perhaps a navigation in Flash) would go a long way in the FIRST Web world. The web is evolving into a more multimedia rich environment so Flash is your friend. Don't try to get fancy with programming, leave that stuff for the robot :D Just make your pages in HTML using tables (no frames/i frames) with perhaps a exterior/embeded CSS page to work your links and text font, color, decoration. A little interactivity goes a long way. Use interactivity in your buttons, simple rollovers are fun to play with :D
Remember, although trying to win the web award should be a goal think more in the lines of "will this website be useful to anyone wanting to find more info about Team 45, FIRST and the rest of the community?" Think of ways to make your website different from all the rest out there. You'd want to stand out in aesthetics, functionality AND performance. Triple threat :D

mechanicalbrain 29-07-2005 17:32

Re: Need some help in creating a team website.
 
I think are team did a good job. www.ohsrobotics.org. we won regionals at VCU! i agree with some of the stuff posted do good flash animations but don't make them necessary. my suggestion is to do a flash version and HTML version so people who want it simple can keep it simple.

Hutch 29-07-2005 21:45

Re: Need some help in creating a team website.
 
The general avoid flash/java/frames rules have been mentioned... Of course, don't do anything obnoxious (read: bright backgrounds, too much animation, etc.) For ease of maintenance, avoid tables as they are just a mess - CSS is definitely your friend for positioning as well as styling.

Good things to do: dynamic content (news, that sort of thing), lots of pictures, content such as animations from previous years. Just make the site generally helpful and informative, and don't worry so much about winning an award - the most important thing is that everyone will like your webiste, not just judges.

sanddrag 30-07-2005 01:31

Re: Need some help in creating a team website.
 
Whatever you do make sure the transmission prints stay. Those things are worth their number of megabytes in pounds of gold. I really should download them all to keep shouldn't I.

mechanicalbrain 30-07-2005 01:38

Re: Need some help in creating a team website.
 
yeah definitely! if you have something unique or you put work into definitely put it on you page. our team one an award because of a scrapbook! other teams had movies they were showing but it was obvious that we put allot of work int the book and it impressed the judges allot.


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