Request for feedback on my new webpage

[kestrell]

I think I have the first version of my webpage properly formatted, and I figured out how to get it onto GitHub, and even how to perform a commit.

Keeping in mind that this is just the starter page--the class starts the sections on CSS and Javascript tomorrow--would folks be willing to give feedback?

I have no idea if the image of the kestrel is properly sized, and there is an Aria label within the tag for the link to the thesis that is not showing up, but I've been writing and reading HTML all morning at this point, and my ability to problemsolve is close to empty.

Thank you to everyone who offered a hover of kestrel images!

And, oh yeah, here is the link https://kestrell13.github.io/

Comments

[jesse_the_k]

Fine!

Not seeing the image, so maybe there's an security issue? Also, the outline of the image is huge -- you might want to add a responsive width value (I always use width="60%" in my pix).

[ambyr]

I am also not seeing the image at all. Also I note that at the bottom you have "Email Kestrell Link to old website" on one line and "Blind Bookworm Website" on the next line. I'm guessing "Link to old website" should be on the same line as, well, the link to the website? (The nitpicky copyeditor in me also notes that since you use serial commas in your introductory paragraph, you should probably use them in your list of Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 for your writing guide.) Looks good otherwise!

[ambyr]

Also, having skimmed the posts you linked to: Four Freedoms! I was starting to think no one but me had ever read that book. It's a book I finished unsure if I'd liked it or not, but man has it stuck in my head like nothing else in the years since, and as you say its handling of disability goes places most able-bodied authors never do.

[kestrell]

Oh, I was on a panel with John Crowley a number of years ago, and I praised that novel highly, and he was surprised anyone had read it, too. I had this whole metaphor of how this group of diverse people are working on a collaborative effort to make something that no one thinks can fly, but as a group they make it happen. He seemed to like that.

[jesse_the_k]

Another Four Freedoms fan -- truly captures interdependence as a community value.

[kestrell]

Exactly! I should reread it so I can discuss it in the new disability and sf essay I am planning to write: it's a book that deserves a lot more love.

[kestrell]

Thanks, and I like your level of picky. Also, I heart that you know what serial commas are. I have removed the image for now because I really don't know what's going on with that and need to figure it out. I will fix the "link to old website" issue tomorrow.

[dewline]

And now I understand why I don't see the image file. This removes one concern from the list I just posted.

[kestrell]

No, Jesse couldn't see the image either, and it was still online at that point. I'm also documenting how I do everything on GitHub with a screen reader, though, so I just don't have the spoons to worry about figuring out the image issue at this point.

[kestrell]

Okay, I've twiddled with the html, but I can't figure out why "Link to old website" and the actual link are ending up on two separate lines, since I didn't put any line breaks in between. Maybe it's something the footer tag is doing?

[ambyr]

Whatever you did, it's working now; they're on the same line. Mystery of life! (You have two commas after "Part 1" now, though. Serial serial!)

[dewline]

I've been reading up on web design this past couple of weeks, but not to the same degree as you've had to do. Anyway...I am also not seeing the kestrel image.

Seconding the suggestions for:

• a three-line footer to accomodate your "link to old website" with less
  confusion...
• and bullet points for parts 1 thru 3 of your writing guide.

Hoping this is helpful even if somewhat redundant.

[kestrell]

Thanks! Not so much redundancy as overlap, and still very useful.

Do you have a specific project in mind for the web design you are learning? Have you discovered any guides or books which are particularly useful?

[dewline]

1. Mainly, I want to spruce up my own website. I expect that it's aging and not particularly well. I designed it mostly by hand years ago in the age of HTML 4, with some help from a now ex-friend from comics fandom re: CSS coding.

Also, I have distant hopes of working as a system analyst or web tester. Being better versed in such things seems like a good idea.

2. I have the W3C and Mozilla Foundation resources bookmarked in case they do prove useful. I need to keep looking so that I can figure out what is useful. When I find such things, I'll try to remember to post links.

[melita66]

After the Part 1 link, there's an extra comma. That is, there's a comma and space within the link tags and a comma after the link tag. Maybe move the commas and period to outside the tags? I think, because there's a space after the comma in the link, a underline (linked) shows up which looks odd to me.

Edit: Wow, that doesn't seem very clear after rereading that. Because the link text includes punctuation and sometimes a trailing space, the punctuation and trailing spaces end up underlined on the page because they're part of the linked text.

[kestrell]

Thanks! I will fix this tomorrow. Also, I keep forgetting how links get highlighted, so thank you for pointing that out.

[siderea]

Your paragraph under "About Me" should be wrapped in p tags (p stands for "paragraph"). Generally speaking, there should be no text inside body tags that isn't also wrapped in something more specific. By default, p tags.

When you use A tags to make specific words within a larger regular text be links (such as your list of links for your "What Good Writers Still Get Wrong about Blind People" series), trailing punctuation should not be included in the link text. As an aside, the slang/technical HTML term to describe links (or images) which are within the flow of a text is "in-line". Those are "in-line links".

ETA: Oh, and also those li tags should have closing li tags at the end of their items, so those items are properly enclosed.

Also, there's a thing out there – or there was – called a validator. You might want to use one to check your HTML for you. There at least used to be free ones out on the web: you give it the URL you want to check and it spits out a report.

[kestrell]

Thanks for these great comments. The class lectures are about one hour once a week, so I'm sure there's a lot that is not getting covered.

[duskpeterson]

Your website shows up fine in Firefox and Chrome, so all my suggestions have to do with the text.

I'd suggest you place a period at the end of each sentence or list item, even in bulleted lists. At the moment, there's no guarantee that every text-to-speech engine will be able to tell where those sentences or list items end.

I'd suggest indicating, *before* the links, that you're linking to an RTF page and a video. That way, people won't be startled when they're suddenly confronted with a download request or a video that makes noise.

Little fiddly copyediting matters, because I'm a former copyeditor:

You should probably capitalize "my" in "my blog," since all the other list items start with a capital.

I think it would make more sense for you to have a colon after "What Good Writers Still Get Wrong about Blind People," since you then go on to provide a list of the blog entries.

Likewise, I think it would make sense for you to have a colon after "Link to old website". I'm not sure what to do about "My thesis"; strictly speaking, it should have a colon after it, but then you have a colon in the thesis title itself.

Also, I'm going to miss your blind bookworm. :)

[kestrell]

Thanks for the copyediting notes and yes, I did try to have a Aria label to warn screen reader users of the RTF file, but the label didn't show up correctly so, as with the image of the kestrel, I'm going to give it another try the next time I add to th page.

[duskpeterson]

Even those of us who don't use screen readers like to be warned of unexpected file formats. :)

[kestrell]

I've made most of the edits you suggested. I went for a compromise and a temporary fix on the thesis link: for now there is a parenthetical note about the RTF file, and I put a comma after the word thesis.
Regarding the Blind Bookworm website, I'm hoping to do some updating at some point, now that I'm back to doing webpage design, but not sure when that might happen.