By netceo on

Hi ppl... needless to say i saw umpteen number of CMS's through opensourcecms and otherwise too, but finally landed up on drupal through civicspace. Its been great learning ever since i discovered Drupal, and am already working on a number of Drupal based projects.

here is the site.. www.livepunjab.com

And mind you, i did not know any php/mysql when i started working on it. Its you people out here who helped me make it as it is now. Thanks to you, even i can offer a tip or two to the newbies out here :).

Hope the good work is carried further and Drupal reaches new heights in times to come.

Comments

netceo’s picture

netceo commented

Forgot to mention that your feedback and suggestions are more than welcome. It will help me improve upon it and myself too..

thanks a lot in advance!

aword’s picture

aword commented

hey netceo

Nice theme.. I really liked the javascript menu on the top. It really blends in well and saves lot of space.. Also, the blocks are themed in much simpler & nice way (I haven't seen a drupal theme with a similar theme for blocks).

<snipped some nonsense from here :) >

Some of those menu items gives 404. I think all the forum links on the green menu return Page-not-found.

-a

netceo’s picture

netceo commented

Ya i noticed the errors in forums menu, will correct it asap. And i read it before the nonsense got snipped ;)

Will try to see how that related thing caching works...

that code is working in node.tpl.php

good luck

radiofranky’s picture

radiofranky commented

nice site... could u share how u did achieve the main column?

did u dashboard?

netceo’s picture

netceo commented

Thanks. Using front page for home page.

NetCEO

cel4145’s picture

cel4145 commented

I really like the way you have integrated icons and multiple columns. Gives the site a nice look that you don't often see in Drupal sites.

Just to note, though, your site seems to load much slower than many of the other Drupal sites I have visited. In fact, I think it's slow enought that it might discourage visitors from looking aroud your site. You might see if Drupal's caching mechanism will increase access speed for anonymous users (enable it under admin->settings). Or more dramatic solutions such as a PHP caching system (php accelerator) or a host which can serve the pages faster.

laura s’s picture

laura s commented

Site looks nice. You might consider keeping your featured blogs block up on the blog pages (or every page). Right now they seem like a major part of the site, but once you go into the site, the only way to get to them is by going back home.

Laura
===
pingVision • scattered sunshine

_____ ____ ___ __ _ _
Laura Scott :: design » blog » tweet

Marco Palmero’s picture

Marco Palmero commented

Nice clean layout...

It would be nice if the images ..."Express Thoughts " etc box actually link to something...

- You may want to make a customised error page

- http://www.livepunjab.com/jobs.html - your email address link is stuffed... maybe you should just use blah [at] blah dot com to avoid spam

Other than that I find your site to be well thought out and well planned.

Just a few questions, if you don't mind me asking...

- Do you have a 'bot' uploading your breaking news or are you doing it manually?
- How did you get the address to end in *.htm
- Which module is the "popular content"? Or is that your own customised module?
- Which script are you using for the drop down menus?
- Did you start from scratch with your template or did you mod a template?
- "Start a Blog' - I'm guessing you are planning to use or are using drupal multisite? - when I click it its "access denied"

I hope you find my critique useful...

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My Blog - Photography, travelling and University...

netceo’s picture

netceo commented

Thanks a lot for your evaluation Jakey, and yes Express thoughts and all would link to specific pages. Writeup for those are just about ready.

and here are your answers:

News are being done by people.

am using pathauto module to alias page names to *.html

Popular content module is available here at Drupal.

There's a trial program by devmansion to generate JS menus. I've used that here to get the menus.

You'd not believe it because it doesn't look anything like it but i started from an xtemplate based theme(i think boxedgrey something), then had to convert the theme to phptemplate midway because php snippets won't work.

There are few broken links on the site, start a blog must be one of them, it would point to add/node/blog only.

Hope that answers your queries, and thanks again for spending time evaluating the site.

Marco Palmero’s picture

Marco Palmero commented

thanks for the prompt response...

hey you deserved a review ;)

after trying to set up my blog - and having set it up to a somewhat working level I realise how much hard work and hours someone need to put into one of these babies...

good luck

---------------------------------------------------------
My Blog - Photography, travelling and University...

jkondrak’s picture

jkondrak commented

I agree with previous commenters - very nice looking...you're obviously using the engine to its fullest. I wouldn't have guessed it was made with a CMS if I just stumbled across it. How much of the look and feel of your site was accomplished using the admin menus and existing modules, versus editing things like style sheets, php, and directly editing modules? Also, do you do any html page formatting outside of Drupal and then link or copy and paste into Drupal pages? I'm asking because I just started working with Drupal myself and I sure haven't achieved the snazzy look you have.

great job

jkondrak, green webmaster and Drupal novice
www.mediafreeforall.com

netceo’s picture

netceo commented

Thanks a lot buddy.

Well most of it has been done by customising css, and all the main pages, like news, blogs, food are made as pages instead of stories, and have used php snippets to pull data there.

Drupal has a vast community and you can get almost anything done here.. I have contacted few people personally here to ask them how they've done things on their site.. so feel free to reach out to the webmasters of great drupal sites.

You can get in touch with me in case i can be of any use.

Good Luck!

kloomis’s picture

kloomis commented

Netceo:

Nice site.

Could you elaborate a bit on your comment above: "all the main pages ... are made as pages instead of stories, and have used php snippets to pull data there." How did you do that?

Does this mean that you have programmed the pages and that they could not be maintained by a non-tech admininstrator?

Thanks.

netceo’s picture

netceo commented

No its not like that..

when you create content in Drupal, you get an option to create a page(if the page module is installed). I have used php filter, i make the contents of the page, and then paste that code in this page, give it an appropriate alias(need pathauto module installed).

Also i disable the comments/not needed blocks on the content type "page" so it looks like a main page of the section.

Hope it helps...get back if you need more info.

venkat-rk’s picture

venkat-rk commented

I have used php filter, i make the contents of the page, and then paste that code in this page

Hi Sham,

Are you saying that on a page node, you can make the contents of the page first and then *also* add the php code? I thought it was one or the other- that is, you can't choose two filter format for the same page. I assume you are talking about the main content area and not the blocks.

Currently, I am grappling with a vexed problem. I am trying to combine the power of taxonomy and a traditional hierarchical site (path auto and all that), but, there is no way to get an intro paragraph or two for the taxonomy term that serves as a kind of an index page for the hierarchy.

Taxonomy_assoc module works, but not when you alias the path. There is a even a new taxonomy_vocabulary module (outside drupal.org) that makes the vocabulary description text appear as a kind of an intro and you can then build a page (and alias it) for all its terms, thus more or less replicating a traditional hierarchical site. But, the site I am building is quite complex and I want to avoid dealing with 2 dozen vocabularies, if possible.

In short- does the page node let you add info that can serve as intro text for a hierarchical section? And then one can alias that page? And one can also get dynamic content to appear below the intro text on the same page?

Thanks,
Ram

netceo’s picture

netceo commented

Yes you can work on the content part of the page only and blocks remain the same. But if you want the complete page to have a custom look, you can disable the blocks for the content type "page" and then use side content to add more stuff to the pages.

"In short- does the page node let you add info that can serve as intro text for a hierarchical section?" Can you please give me an example of this.. May be i can help.. or we can seek help together..

kloomis’s picture

kloomis commented

> No it's not like that..
>then paste that code in this page

That's what I meant. You put php code in the content area. Unfortunately that will be beyond the knowledge of most administrators so they could not create original content in the same way.

Ken

netceo’s picture

netceo commented

Hi Ken, I agree with what you're saying but with PHP snippets available to do almost anything in Drupal its worth giving a try. Snippets are available here http://drupal.org/node/23220

Have a look at them, and after going through all of them i'm sure you can make a decent page and then paste it in the content section of your page.

Good Luck!

ica’s picture

ica commented

netceo
i like the site and nice to know there is also a Punjabi Drupal.

but just watch out the Disney Lawyers out your door! They are most dangerous animals in the kind - in suits!! :)

i suggest you change your logo before they pick it up. yes even its in different letters they 'might' sue you for 'resemblance'

netceo’s picture

netceo commented

Hey Ica, nice name. You're the first one to point out.. and no wonder why.. saw your profile ;). Do you have anything in mind for the logo?? More important.. can you do it for me in a reasonable amount of money? If you want me to explain the philosphy behind LP(Live Punjab) i can go on and on..

Do get back if you have something in mind..

good luck

ica’s picture

ica commented

Yeah, I can come up with something when i sit down and come up with someting over the weekend and get back to you...

Also, -imo- Disney famous of creating stereotypical non anglo saxon caracters and interpretations of stories so why you give any credit by imitating them? They are evil in disguise as that 'cute' mause :)

Thox’s picture

Thox commented

I find the site incredibly cluttered. The eye can't easily concentrate on the menu without being distracted by everything else going on. It's like everything is competing to be seen on the page.

The key areas I mean are: the low contrast menu, the small fonts, the high contrast icons and headings. It's all too much, like yahoo portal regurgitated after being eaten.

netceo’s picture

netceo commented

Hey thanks buddy, for your analysis. Can you suggest how to improve upon it?

Marco Palmero’s picture

Marco Palmero commented

Thox,
Isn't that the case for most sites out there?

So much content on one page... where you don't really know where to start looking.

Most of the portal sites out there have so many things going on in the front page that it takes longer to find what you 're looking for.

Have you got any ideas/suggestions/examples?

Along those lines... I guess another approach the live punjab site can consider is to go 'minimalist along the lines of
http://www.bbc.co.uk/

Where everything is an summary form accorind to their main features... and when you dig into the website you end up with more in-depth content:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/default.stm

or you can go down the path of a smaller portal site like
floridabrazil.com
---------------------------------------------------------
My Blog - Photography, Travelling and University...

Marco Palmero’s picture

Marco Palmero commented

How did you implement the multi-blog feature on your site?

When you do implement it, do the users only have access to their own pages to edit/add or do they have access to modify your blog too?

Thanks!
---------------------------------------------------------
My Blog - Photography, travelling and University...

netceo’s picture

netceo commented

Users can edit their own blogs only. I guess you can have multiple blogs in Drupal but the path will come to www.xyz.com/blog/usera ..userb and so on.

I have authorised authenticated users to add only certain type of content. Blog is one of them.

Thox’s picture

Thox commented

The problem is not how much content there is (e.g. articles). The problem is that there is too much conflicting imagery going on. I don't claim to be an expert on the area, but I can certainly tell you I can't concentrate on sites designed this way.

Using your BBC example, the eye is keen to look at the three images down the middle - news, sport, and TV. Those images aren't so dominating that the user is forcefully drawn to them, they're just enough to attract attention.

Something like Yahoo has all the essentials right at the top where most users will be using it, while still having clearly labelled boxes of information for anyone that scrolls down to see the other information.

Marco Palmero’s picture

Marco Palmero commented

Yep, I totally agree with you Thox...

I'm just starting out in trying to design web pages properly (i've made a lot of very sketchy stuff before) and I found that it is easy to make the mistake of overdoing something; such as putting too much info on one page, when really the solution lies in keeping it simple... stepping back and asking yourself (instead of simply diving into the job.)

1. "what am i trying to accomplish on this page?" (Goal/mission of the page - i.e. trying to communicate your message that you are the source for info in punjab)
2. "how am I going to accomplish it" (i.e. how am I going to present the information...)

I guess with the case of livepunjab - for #2, I think all they need to do to create a 'harmonious' site is to look at how to present the info in a better way through using colours - to guide the eye where to look and by carefully selecting the information of what to post up on the front page.

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Photos2View - Programming on the Internet - where I post random stuff about programming

morisy’s picture

morisy commented

Hey Netceo,

Very good looking site ... looks like you've developed a lot as a site maker. Just a quick question ... I saw you had been looking in to doing a rating system for products at some point. Did you ever get that working? Any tips? I'm trying to do a rate-my-landlord feature, and have had little luck. ... thanks! And keep up the good work.

netceo’s picture

netceo commented

Hi buddy.. thanks for the appraisal.. Ya i'm getting a custom module developed by somebody i got to know from here only. I should be able to show it in working pretty soon with my latest Drupal site.

netceo’s picture

netceo commented

Hi Ppl. Thanks for your reviews and am improving upon this one as i'm learning more of it. Please do have a look at the improvised version. Needless to say feedback/suggestions/criticism all are more than welcome.

here's the url: www.livepunjab.com

NetCEO

laura s’s picture

laura s commented

Laura
===
pingVision • rare pattern • scattered sunshine

_____ ____ ___ __ _ _
Laura Scott :: design » blog » tweet

Marco Palmero’s picture

Marco Palmero commented

Looks nice...

I was surfing to your site in IE and a popup box saying "operation aborted" stopped the loading of your site and a "cannot find your server page" was loaded.

But when I clicked reload everything worked perfectly?

I don't really like how - on the front page the word are being "squeezed" by the pictures. Only a part of the sentence is there in line with the top of the image and then theres a huge gap until the rest of the body appears under the picture.

And you may want to fix this:
"Mr Packer's death came just three days after his Nine Network's 0 million bid for AFL's television broadcast rights from 2007 to 2011 was accepted. His PBL is also developing casinos in Macau with Asian businessman Stanley Ho."

____________________________________________________________________________
Blog | Sydney News | Photography | Travel |Best Designed Drupal Websites

netceo’s picture

netceo commented

Thanks buddy, and thanks again for pointing out the news mistake.

Any areas of improvement you can suggest? i am going to correct how words are placed on home page along with images.

NetCEO

Marco Palmero’s picture

Marco Palmero commented

You might want to check if your links are correct, e.g. http://www.livepunjab.com/life/health_lifestyle

I clicked one of the drop down lists and I got a page not found.

Perhaps customise your error pages.

It looks fine... don't be too stressed out about the layout... just let it evolve over time as you get new ideas....

I guessing you are using flexinode?

Your adsense ads keep changing between adsense and chitika... how did you set that up?

Your Register link is black against a dark grey background...
____________________________________________________________________________
Blog | Sydney News | Photography | Travel |Best Designed Drupal Websites

netceo’s picture

netceo commented

Hi, not flexinode but fleximax :)
lets you customise the layout of the node easily.

Chitika ads show up when there are are no adsense ads;

To achieve what you said, showing both the ads alternatively one can use phpadsnew kind of thing. i have set it up on one of the servers and trying to learn it.

thanks a lot. Suggestions noted :)

NetCEO

vinh2fury@www.blogmyway.com_drupal’s picture

vinh2fury@www.blogmyway.com_drupal commented

Your website is nice, though which webhost you hosting with? It seems that your website is slow on the loading.

When I look at your website, it seems very easy to navigate, and please to the eyes. Though not exceptionally outstanding or unique in anyway, but because the way your website presents stories are much better like that anyway. To make it clear, your website is fine. The top java bar is nice too.

netceo’s picture

netceo commented

Thanks for the appraisal. After you pointed out i just checked and found caching was switched off for the site, and you may have a better experience now that i have corrected it. Thanks again.

NetCEO

radiofranky2006’s picture

radiofranky2006 commented

how do you do "contentlink? do you get money for it? how do you sign up? tks