my home on the web

Category: websites

this one is really for my own benefit

OK. This one is for my own benefit and anyone else who struggles with layout in html.

When I’m trying to sort out customised pages, particularly in WordPress, I tend to mess up border, margin, padding and content. Thanks to w3schools.com this is what I need to remember.

 

box-modelThe rules are important and can lead to hours of irritation if you don’t get them right.

This is the bit that you need to know:

Explanation of the different parts:

  • Margin – Clears an area around the border. The margin does not have a background color, it is completely transparent
  • Border – A border that goes around the padding and content. The border is inherited from the color property of the box
  • Padding – Clears an area around the content. The padding is affected by the background color of the box
  • Content – The content of the box, where text and images appear

In order to set the width and height of an element correctly in all browsers, you need to know how the box model works.

Another tool for people who struggle with these things is Firebug for Firefox, a fantastic plugin.

I’ve posted this because I’ve been there and know how frustrating it can be.

iPad

Really happy with my new iPad. Had it for a week and this evening sorted out the best apps so much better now.

No point having a netbook when the iPad is so much quicker and better. My Eee is good but will now be parked in the house in France. Only downside is that I’ll have to bring the iPad anyway!

immersed in new website stuff

Well, no time to come here (other than very occasionally). Several new websites and content to sort out.

Updated gurson.co.uk while over there last weekend and finally got the WordPress app working abroad.

Now sorting out schoolhr.co.uk with similar sites to follow.

Busy, busy, busy!!!

how many websites can you manage at once?

One of the most difficult things to do is to find time to manage and promote numerous websites at once.

I’m expecting creative input for an important new website tomorrow which is going to be the template for two further websites which have to launch more or less now. (I’m rubbish at the creative side of things but I can spot what’s good and what’s not.) Creating the base for the sites is fine but making them work is, as anyone who’s tried it, the real challenge. I can see an intensive few weeks ahead!

I’ve always looked after websites in my “spare time” but I’m drawn to the conclusion that they must now take priority. At least I can focus on what I enjoy most, which is making simple but appealing websites which I’m happy with.

Within the next couple of days I’m going to have at least seven websites under my direct control. Guaranteed that I won’t get a tan this summer, even if I’m doing some of the work at the table next to the pool in France! I’ve already reconciled to missing the plan of lots of horse racing in France in early September and instead focusing on getting these sites working at their best. Do you know, I don’t mind because there is nothing more satisfying than having a website that you feel is as good as it can be. There are loads more better websites but I know that I don’t need to hand the job over to someone else so success or failure is down to me.

WordPress 3 is the way forward. Tried Joomla and Yoo/Zoo in connection with a now dormant project and keeping it simple is the way forward. I looked at my hobby site, www.princeful.co.uk, earlier this evening. Princeful is a NH chasing horse I have an interest in but has been off the course for a while so the site has been quiet. Even in six months, the site (with RSS news feeds, a forum and live racing results) looks really dated. I could spend hours updating it but I’m already thinking that a ground up rewrite is the answer.

Am I fazed by it? Not at all! Making websites that work is an immensely satisfying ongoing project as anyone who’s learned the basics knows. Can you change the site to do x, y and z? Yes, and more. It’s a fantastic challenge and made all the more exciting by having to move with technology that’s always ahead of you.

I remember making fires at home and being staggered by seeing colour TV for the first time. Websites are less than a generation old and already we’re looking at what’s coming next!

© 2024 Martin Malone

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