Don't be shy...tell it to me straight!

[nlewis]

Hi everyone,
I have just published my site http://wealthyhabitsnow.com/ take a minute to browse around and let me know where my areas of opportunity are. I am still working on building more pages. I appreciate any advice before I get to far along in the process.
Thanks in advance.

[Doc C]

You might want to fix the 56 errors (http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwealthyhabitsnow.com&charset=%28detect+automatically%29&doctype=Inline&group=0&verbose=1) you have.

[nlewis]

Thanks for the input. Do I have to manually correct these errors or is there a way for the validator to correct for me (can you tell I'm a noob :o ).
I would also like to know how to use effective meta tags. Please advise.

[nlewis]

Do the red characters signify what is missing from code that I should add?

[nlewis]

Thanks for your input, keyplyr. I used a site delux template. I can not find the top of the page (in HTML form) to place my doc type. The template will not allow me to modify the entire page at once in HTML. I can only modify the sections where I have written content. How can I view my entire page in HTML?

[YvetteKuhns]

My first impression: Isn't there any place safe? The radio, television and Internet continue to tell us what to do with our money. Why do we need another one of these websites? Why should people come here for this information? What is unique about this website? It feels like it was created for the website owner to make money from Google ads.

The website appears on the left and has blank space on the right. It probably fits 800x600 screen resolution. The top design does not continue to the right side of the page. It looks very generic to me.

There are spelling errors such as Committ on the first page and luxuaries on the Debt page. Also, the Google ads are vertical at the bottom of the page beyond where people will scroll to see them. There are already horizontal ads at the top. Too many ads and not enough contents.

Definitely not enough original or unique contents. I hate generic clip art. Can't you at least take a few pictures with your own camera? These websites all look alike after a while. Ask yourself: Would you visit or revisit this website? Why or why not?

Below the Google ads at the bottom of the Debt page, there is a floating semicolon. The Saving page has paragraphs in different sizes that should be the same size. Resources has Amazon ads including crap from Robert G Allen. Now I have to go to the bathroom since I am going to be ill.

If this were truly an educational website with any sincere consideration for its potential visitors, there would be links to government resources, the big three credit companies and other reputable resources instead of just ads for books from crooks!

Honest opinion given. Now is your chance to add unique and helpful contents and choose better ads. Mr. Spammy Pants shouldn't appear on any reputable website.

[YvetteKuhns]

Don't be shy...tell it to me straight!

As you can see, I am not shy! :D The others already commented on your code which doesn't matter to your visitors as long as the pages render properly. They are looking for information. It is important to appear professional and trustworthy.

I didn't see any information about the person who is presenting this information. Is the website owner a financial advisor? Is he someone who just went through the ups and downs of credit? Would you accept financial advice from someone you don't know?

(I meant to include this in my previous post, but I was interrupted.)

[YvetteKuhns]

Well, personally I do not use an HTML editor, and I have never seen Site Delux but this is another reason not to use it.

I have seen Site Delux before and I also don't like HTML editors. There are alternatives to Notepad such as PSPad and Crimson Editor (highlighted code like Firefox view source).

Read a CSS tutorial and put the table attributes in an external file. You can edit that one file and all pages that refer to it will be updated. And if you have errors, you can isolate them better.

[Doc C]

I use an HTML editor from CoffeeCup. It seems to work OK for me although I've never run my sites through the validator thingy. It would probably break it! :) The people I want to see my sites can see them OK and that's all that matters. I'm not selling things or offering lessons so life is good.

[YvetteKuhns]

I've never run my sites through the validator thingy. It would probably break it!

Most editors are designed for Microsoft and that is most of the Internet users.

The people I want to see my sites can see them OK and that's all that matters.

If your site looks okay in IE and Firefox, you can tinker with the validator or just leave well enough alone. Not everyone wants to be a web designer. ;)

[symo]

And let's not forget my personal favorite, Notepad ++ :D

http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/uk/site.htm

symo

[YvetteKuhns]

Wow, symo! It is like Crimson Editor and you can even print your source code in color. I remember printing programs on a dot matrix printer on that banner paper back in the 80s. Syntax highlighting is like cheating when playing hide and seek. :D

[phlembol]

Notepad ++

Does that have FTP access built in?

[symo]

Does that have FTP access built in?
No, it doesn't.

I'm a bit old fashion. I like my tools to be "uni-taskers" (don't tell Alton Brown). I want an editor that edits very well. I want an FTP application that FTP's very well (since you asked :cool: that would be FileZilla).

symo

[phlembol]

I have been a fan of UltraEdit for years. The FTP capabilities make it just too easy to open a bookmarked file for editing. The column mode is great. It does color contextual highlighting in whatever language and prints same. Files of any size. Scripting, plug-ins, tool-bars, hex mode, DOS commands, file compare, search and replace, and on and on. The only thing missing is a better bookmarking system, but that's developing. Not free, but still a good buy at $50. I wouldn't be without it.

Filezilla is good and I also use it when appropriate. And you can't beat the price.

[jblack]

This web page makes me feel better about mine.

[nlewis]

Thanks every one for the input provided. All the information will work to make the site better. It's my first try and I strongly believe in continous improvement. I will gladly accept another other suggestions as well.

:)