The result of two weeks of work

Hi All!

My name is Ilkka Hartikainen and I’ve been working my arse off for the last two and a half weeks with our martial art school’s website. I only discovered MODx halfway through, just before starting to write some sort of simple CMS myself, and boy was I glad! For the first time there was a CMS that was made pretty much (ten times better though) the way I would’ve wanted it to be.

The site works with a single template (apart from the homepage) on IE from 6.0 up and all the other latest browsers (at least should). The project was a bit too big for one man, but somehow I’ve managed so far. The content editors are very happy with the ease with which they can update stuff on the pages. Notice how the template adjusts according to the amount of subpage-levels it needs to display. (and it’s all valid xhtml, even validates as strict. )

Any feedback or comments are welcome! And thanks to the MODx-team for making this possible!

URL: http://www.swordschool.com

Yours,
Ilkka Hartikainen

Nice site. Well done, specially for just two weeks since there is quite a bit of content. The orange is a bit bright for an old timer like me but it does radiate the energy of martial arts and fits well in the context it is presented. I would like to see a bit of a margin to the left, it makes me feel a bit cramped since the site it ends with the browser window.

Thanks for the feedback. I centered the layout, since many people requested it.

- Ilkka

Very nice graphics on the home page. I kept trying to talk myself into not liking the colors on the interior pages, interesting choices. But I actually think it works quite well.

I am new to Modx too and enjoyed seeing your work. You know there are some nice XML sitemap snippets out there and the Wayfinder output translates quite well into a readable sitemap too.

Much better on the senses, good job

What a nice site! Your post is also very nice. Glad you are enjoying MODx.

I just have a couple design notes.

Your logo and main nav are not visually aligned with anything. I might be inclined to align them both left to be in line with the left edge of the main content window.

Your padding or spacing between elements would look better if all the same. So if you use 20px for elements in the content section use 20px in the footer and etc so they are aligned.

Your padding or spacing between elements would look better if all the same. So if you use 20px for elements in the content section use 20px in the footer and etc so they are aligned.

Spoken like a true designer...alignment is everything. Believe me, having things align can seem trivial to some but the result is often a much more pleasing experience for the eyes. I learned this from years of working with a classic graphic designer, she would nit-pick about every little pixel and I would say "what difference will that make" and sure enough after I finally would give in and make the changes...it really does make a difference.

Ahh, but I am not a "trained" designer. I am entirely self taught--with the help of a library card and an Amazon account.

If you are a web designer who wants to learn about design without all the theory, I strongly recommend Robin Williams’ (not the actor) book The Non-Designer’s Design Book. It helps build a foundation for better design whether you are building a website or designing a business card.

The Non-Designer’s Design Book

I had this book, it is a truly good reference.

Very nice site. Love the color-combinations.