News:

For Free, For Everyone, Forever.

Swaptrick comics

Started by Swaptrick, January 17, 2010, 05:46:08 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

Swaptrick

Feel free to visit www.swaptrick.com and give me some feedback. Thank you!

Xade

other than the obvious comicpress site it looks good, I didnt bother reading the comic itself but the layout is nice (for comicpress) and the colors go well together. If they're all that small size then the sidebars really work well (for comicpress) Did I mention that I hate comicpress but am trying to be fair in my comments about your (comicpress) site? Since you didnt ask for a review of the comic itself then I didn't read any of them.

Forgive me for seeming biased over comicpress but there's a very good reason behind my anticomicpress attitude. Read my greetings post for details.

Avatar from Wazaga
My Twitter

Swaptrick

Hey thanks a ton for the compliments. My comics are all the same width and generally a bit longer than the current one. Everyone can feel free to critiqe the comics as well if they wish. Also Im sure you have a good reason for being anti comicpress, but it was the easiest way I had to streamline my site with only basic html and css skills. It helps with uploading, keeping me generally ahead of schedule. I worked with only html doing things manually for years and years so in that sense, wordpress/comicpress has been a blessing.

Xade

I can't fault the user of comicpress, but it is rather...bloated and can make one a little widget happy. I had a slew of them in my time from flash tag cloud to text widgets for my ads. It is a useful engine for the html/css illiterate or just plain lazy but I prefer the more streamlined, engine that Blkknight has made and that I am testing for him. It's super easy to add things (after all I made the layout itself so I know it) and it works in any layout that you can throw at it, providing that there are places for the few code snipits that you need. Example: comic area, nav area, comment area, archive page--I think that's it, beside the optional dropdown chapter list that I love so much.

I better back off, I might make you want to test it out yourself and get away from comic press too. O_O

Avatar from Wazaga
My Twitter

Swaptrick

It does sound intruiging. I actually stumbled upon comicpress on dueling analogs and was impressed.

Xade

#5
I forget how I found CP when I was starting out, I think I just googled a webcomic engine and that was the top of the list. But I'm glad I did, for I wouldnt have the php knowledge that I now have and would have never made my own site for I would have given up in frustration! Now look at me, swapping tricks with swaptricks XD I finished my next comic so I'll take a look at your comic tomorrow sometimes, who knows, they might intrest me, despite being on a comicpress site, after all I read Alien Dice too, and that's so cp that it screams "I am a comicpress website, hear me moan!"

Edit: sorry, I will put a damper on my anti CP attitude in from now on. It's just a sore spot and I will try and construct a more unbiased reason for it and eventually write a constructive post about the pros and cons of Comicpress.

Avatar from Wazaga
My Twitter

Alectric

I just took a look and I have to say that you have one of the most UN-comicpress looking sites that I have seen.  In fact, Xade, I'd say your site looks much more like it was made with comicpress than Swaptrick's.  The navigation at the top is amazing, and the only thing that really gives it away are the buttons below the comic.  Which I think look really nice.  But then I'm not really that familiar with their newest version.

Now onto the actual critique.  For some reason, your site scrolls horizontally as well as vertically, and I really don't see a reason for this.

...Not much else that I can really say, unfortunately.  Oh wait, that's a good thing, isn't it?  I do feel that your site seems a bit cluttered, but I can't think of any better way to go about the organization.  Well, actually, if you had two visible sidebars (different background or something), then the comic itself would stand out more.

thedugs

Aside from agreeing I see no reason for side scrolling, I can't offer any complaints. Easy to navigate, has an archive calander which I like and the comics are pretty decent.

But when do you update? There doesn't appear to be any pattern, which makes it very difficult to get a regular audience.
www.thedugs.com
Baseball webcomics updating every M/W/F since Apr 09!

Xade

Quote from: Alectric on January 20, 2010, 11:42:04 AM
I just took a look and I have to say that you have one of the most UN-comicpress looking sites that I have seen.  In fact, Xade, I'd say your site looks much more like it was made with comicpress than Swaptrick's.  The navigation at the top is amazing, and the only thing that really gives it away are the buttons below the comic.  Which I think look really nice.  But then I'm not really that familiar with their newest version.
It was actually loosely inspired from it, but the differences are there. I tried very hard not to be too similar to compipress, but the old version did kinda resmble it. The newest version of CP does look like swaptricks...! I looked again and I noticed that he changed the menu since last I looked (I think) but it still has that feel. They're getting better but Hopefully I can figure out how to make my site look less like CP. I guess that I kinda went back to the old way that I really liked before everything went south without realizing it. But I'll be stumped as to how I could do so and show the information that I wish to show like the ads and the twitter/facebook.


Anyhow, if memory serves, Swaptricks, you have improved it the layout, and if I ignore the engine that you used and study the layout itself I must say that it is a pleasing layout and the red does really well with the fade to gray. However, I cannot see a advertise link, how would one buy adspace?

Avatar from Wazaga
My Twitter