Just getting started - Post ID 248721

User 404575 Photo


Registered User
887 posts

Hi everybody!

Glad to be on board with RSD now. I signed up for the design of our site and very first copy of RSD, in February, and have been watching as it was just about to perk onto the scene and Adam was designing our site.

Adam sent me over the RSD download info, and it's on my PC now. I just need to figure how to use it and how to get the files generated and uploaded to my ISP. We were in an auto accident on December 29th and Jennifer got bad whiplash and hasn't been able to drive since, so I've been extremely strapped for time, having to take her to PT and acupuncture 4 days a week, AND get my work done too, to pay our bills. ( the lawn still hasn't been mowed here yet, and is 8" tall. I think they call this being up to my @SS in Alligators? ) So I haven't had much time until now, to look at this, or do the 1 hour call with Adam. I'm going to have to do the site switch-over on a weekend, so as not to disrupt clients from being able to look at our small business website during the business week.

From what I can see so far, the files that RSD generates are html, so that's GOOD. My ISP here doesn't support PHP.

The publishing settings appear to only refer to my S-Drive here. I don't see any way to publish directly to my FTP directory at my ISP, which I usually do here, using Altap Salamander - a two panel file manager that works like the old Norton Commander, if anyone still remembers that. But essentially, if I can generate the files here, in HTML format, I know how to copy it all up to my ISP's directory for our domain.

The design job that Adam did, is at http://denver.coffeecup.com/index.html
if any of you have access to see that. ( don't know why you wouldn't? )


Melissa Rhiannon
OS Windows 10
User 103173 Photo


VP of Software Development
0 posts

Melissa Rhiannon wrote:

The publishing settings appear to only refer to my S-Drive here. I don't see any way to publish directly to my FTP directory at my ISP, which I usually do here, using Altap Salamander - a two panel file manager that works like the old Norton Commander, if anyone still remembers that. But essentially, if I can generate the files here, in HTML format, I know how to copy it all up to my ISP's directory for our domain.


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User 187934 Photo


Senior Advisor
20,238 posts

Looks good Melissa. You may want to optimize that header image a little to reduce it's actual file size.
Other then that great job.
I can't hear what I'm looking at.
It's easy to overlook something you're not looking for.

This is a site I built for my work.(RSD)
http://esmansgreenhouse.com
This is a site I built for use in my job.(HTML Editor)
https://pestlogbook.com
This is my personal site used for testing and as an easy way to share photos.(RLM imported to RSD)
https://ericrohloff.com
User 38401 Photo


Senior Advisor
10,951 posts

Only 2 things I can see that would bother me as a regular visitor of the site.

The top image is so huge that I have to scroll down forever to get to the menu any time I change pages. Maybe consider putting the menu at the top instead of on the side?

The other major one for me is it's a text killer home page. Is there any way to possibly break up some of what is on the home page into maybe 2 or 3 pages? (adding a couple extra pages to the site basically). It's so dense with text it's an eye killer and if anyone is like I am, that much text in one spot that isn't a book... doesn't get read.

I could easily see a lot of the "points made about the business" being on an About page which is totally missing from the site. Make the home page a description of the business itself rather than a breakdown of all the features and services maybe. I dunno, I just find it overwhelming with text that doesn't have enough areas broken up to organize what it is. Maybe just list the points themselves and put a link to More information to an About page or something?

Same with the Special Offers, could put a short little box on the left with the main points of them with a Read more or something to a special-offers.html page or something.

There's just so much text going on so close together and I dunno, it's just a lot to expect a person to go through in one page. When I visit a site I don't mind changing pages to go places, even on my phone, as long as the information is organized well it works.

I would "Never" read your site on a phone, it's makes it almost useless for you to have created a responsive site for your visitors because of the denseness of the text. I looked at it on my phone and omg if I had to wade through that home page to find what I wanted I'd be gone off the site before I found it. I would truly take pity on your readers and break it up some and make it more viable to navigate to exactly what they are interested in via your menu. You can name things with great names to peak their interest on the menu much easier than trying to list every detail on the home page and overwhelming them with things they may not be interested in yet have to wade through because there's so much of it.

Just my opinion of course, but something to consider.

P.S. Looks great though otherwise, you did a great job using RSD for sure so Kudos on that! :)
User 404575 Photo


Registered User
887 posts

Eric Rohloff wrote:
Looks good Melissa. You may want to optimize that header image a little to reduce it's actual file size.
Other then that great job.


Thanks Eric, but the credit goes to Adam for designing it. :)
Melissa Rhiannon
OS Windows 10
User 404575 Photo


Registered User
887 posts

Jo Ann, thanks for the feedback, but a lot of this comes down to knowing the business and what people in the field are interested in. Also keep in mind that most people will just read "above the fold" - the top of the page with the most vital info, then call us to talk about work.

I've heard some colleagues say that we should put nearly nothing on the first page, but then we get endless people calling and asking the same things, over & over.

So I guess some of this just boils down to opinion and experience, I dunno.

By the way, it looks absolutely gorgeous on my Samsung Galaxy S5. The top image only takes up about 30% of the screen and nearly all the crucial text is right there, with badges next and then the menu. And after that, people can continue reading to their heart's desire, though most probably don't have time and will just call.

But the main issue is that, instead of very tiny text, it's quite readable on my phone now too. I've worked with Adam before and he's very talented. All the previous frustration with waiting for RSD, melted away when I saw the finalized pages. :)

As far as the top image size, I'm used to working with jpg's and am not clear why or if we need png ( asking Adam ). I know how to change the size of jpg's but not png's.

Melissa Rhiannon
OS Windows 10
User 404575 Photo


Registered User
887 posts

I just figured out how to change the top image from png to jpg. Saved a bunch of image file size. Went from 1.2 megs down to around 63k, making the page load faster. :D
Melissa Rhiannon
OS Windows 10
User 187934 Photo


Senior Advisor
20,238 posts

Make sure you save a copy of your site in a safe place before you make changes. But by all means make changes. That's how you will learn the app. Worst case scenario you go back to your working backup.
I can't hear what I'm looking at.
It's easy to overlook something you're not looking for.

This is a site I built for my work.(RSD)
http://esmansgreenhouse.com
This is a site I built for use in my job.(HTML Editor)
https://pestlogbook.com
This is my personal site used for testing and as an easy way to share photos.(RLM imported to RSD)
https://ericrohloff.com
User 404575 Photo


Registered User
887 posts

Yeah, thanks Eric!
Melissa Rhiannon
OS Windows 10
User 2686783 Photo


Registered User
84 posts

The top image only shows on the home page. Probably happened when you changed the image from a png to a jpg.

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