comments wanted

[julesjones]

I need to do some updates on the website, and while I'm at it I might as well do some tweaking. One of the things I have in mind is to add a printable list of my titles to go with the more detailed bibliography page. I'm planning to add bits of background information (not least being a collection of "for further information" urls relating to a plot element in Lord and Master). Any other suggestions for things people would like to see on the site?

http://www.julesjones.com

Comments

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Actually I think it's a very nice site. It's clean, WHITE. I do like white sites, easy to read, easy to navigate. Well done.

[julesjones]

That's deliberate. I went through a period of having to use Dragon Naturally Speaking because of the RSI and I have several friends who have to use it, plus I have dodgy eyesight, so I'm acutely aware of accessibility issues. I also spent my first three years online on a BT pence per minute phone line and 33.6 modem. So I got one of my friends who works in designing accessible websites to give the original design a once-over, and she suggested some improvements and gave me a CSS stylesheet to use.

There is no Javascript on my website other than the Amazon linky goodness thing that will pop up a tiny "more details" window if you hover over an Amazon link on the reviews page. Not because I can't be bothered to learn Javascript (although I can't), but because I ran into too many sites that were simply not usable with Dragon because the designer was a moron who thought that JS effects are pretty and everyone's got a mouse so there's no need to provide a keyboard alternative.

[ex-emilyvei.livejournal.com]

This is just my rampant opinion:

You could standardise the nav bar and its position. I would suggest top, rather than bottom--or side.

I am a big proponant of clean design but IMHO you have over done it a wee bit. Some kind of visual structure would be nice, to pop the navbar or the titles? Or to selectively pop areas like new releases.

[julesjones]

Nav bar should be on both top and bottom of every page, except on a few pages where it would get cluttered to have it at the top as well. If there's one missing on a page that isn't a single screen of content, I need to know about it.

I do need to do something about the main page. There's too much on it, and as a result the nav bar structure gets confusing.

[ex-emilyvei.livejournal.com]

No top nav bar on index or ramblings--to my eye the nav bar could go above the main title to keep it tidy?

[julesjones]

Ta. Index is deliberately one bar, but Ramblings should be two. I meant to do that when it got to be more than half a dozen lines at the last major overhaul, but must have forgotten.

I'll prod Esmi and Hypatia about current thoughts on whether navbar above or below title is best for accessibility issues.

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

> I have in mind is to add a printable list

GOOD! printable list is useful: when I have to post the booklist of an author, if I don't find the printable list I'm unhappy. And put on them the year of release. elisa

[julesjones]

How's this?
http://www.julesjones.com/fiction/printablelist.html

(This is a draft -- I'm open to suggestions.)

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

Perfect! Now I will check if your booklist in my website is correct :-))))
ciao, elisa