Sandbox

Hi folks,

Here is the link to http://www.FEEDAHUNGRYCHILD.org which is undergoing construction now at Joomla... just began the site development 2 days ago.

Any inputs from you on the look and feel plus site design and development is greatly appreciated.  Cheers!

vkn
mydhaba.net

I am trying to remove the image of the oranges and align the banner properly along with the sidebars.  Kindly bear with me for this silly question as I am still learning about joomla.  Can someone help me with this?

Regards,

vkn

Hey there -

Is this a template you created or one you downloaded?

It looks like your header image is too wide to accomodate your menu width. It also looks like you've got some modules in your template above the header graphic. I might also suggest that centered text is hard to read on-screen, so you might consider left-aligning it.

Good luck!
nniiccoollee

Thanks Nicole.  Great help.

It is a downloaded template cool oranges from themebase.  Reduce the header image size and it looks better now, isn't it?  There are no modules above the graphic, but I wanted to remove the extra space both at the top and left of the graphic but dont know how.  Searching everywhere to do that.  Do you see centered text at the content, but I could see all left-aligned?  I will check once again at the content items to be sure.

More suggestions for better look and feel is most welcome.

Cheers!

Happy to help, and yes, your site's looking much better with the resized header. The text is displaying as left-aligned too.

Ok, so to fix your header, I've got a suggestion. After downloading and disecting the original template, I've determined that your header graphic is displayed inside a table, and this table is nested inside another table cell. This is the cell that needs it's valign set to top. I can't guarantee that will fix it, but it will definitely be a start.

Another suggestion I might make is that the width of the cell in which your header graphic is displayed is 579 pixels. You could probably go with 575 pixels wide on your graphic for a nice fit.

Keep me posted on your progress ok?
:0) nniiccoollee

P.S. In what country is FAHC located?

Thanks Nicole.  Brilliant suggestions.  It seems to me now that you are an expert design specialist.  I feel so confident now that with the help of great online mentors like you, I could accomplish the development of excellent template properly for the site.  I could do then add the new contents on an ongoing basis like a breeze at Joomla.

Per your suggestions, I have been trying to make the changes at the template but Joomla admin takes quite a while to open up and hangs most of the time while working in a dial-up connection.  The speed I have is 115.2 kbps.  I will keep trying and let you know the results.

The other 5 tasks I plan to execute this week are as below.  Maybe you could find time to help me with these too.

1. Add organization's name at the top somewhere - FEEDAHUNGRYCHILD.org
2. Add a newflash item which will flash a few endorsement statements we received at our You Can Cook group cookbook project.  Maybe just above the first content of the front page or at the left sidebar.
3. Add a scrolling inspiring quotes which changes upon each refresh.
4. Add a donation processing system.
5. Add a widget for online merchandizing.  We have a few products for online sale.  Some of its pictures are here - http://flickr.com/photos/vkn/

Whatelse do you think we could have in the site to help the organization benefit from its web presence?

Thanks once again Nicole for offering your time and skills for this project.  Your expert help and advices would be valuable to the organization and would be greatly appreciated.

PS: FEEDAHUNGRYCHILD.org is a registered charitable trust which began its pilot operations in India by supporting 14 children.  FAHC has its vision to expand further to other countries and reach its support to many poor children and communities.

No wonder you're having trouble; trying to develop a web site on a dial-up connection must be quite tedious and slow...

1. Do you have a graphic you want to use for the organization name? The original template had the site name at the very top of the page, so if you replace that graphic (named logo.jpg) with your header graphic (the dimensions are 380 x 50 pixels), you'll be in business.

2. Technically, the newsflash module is already installed within Joomla. You just have to configure it. To do that in the site administration, go to Modules / Site Modules / Newsflash. Note that the Newsflash module will pull its news flashes from one of the content categories in the site.

3. I've seen random quote extensions for precisely this purpose; you might want to take a look at the Joomla Extension directory.

4./5. The easiest way I know of to accomplish this is through PayPal, but I have no idea on international currency/banking, so you'll need to check their site. Another site on which I assist, BitoneChildren.org, has looked into using PayPal for international donations, and even though the setup process seems a bit complicated (though not technical). You might also look into a VirtueMart shopping cart system (which would also allow you to sell the artwork on your flickr site). See http://www.virtuemart.org/

As for my other recommendations, I would encourage you to put a human face on FAHC (not that it isn't now); tell the story of individual children and the struggles they face. Even better might be to have the child tell the story themself. I don't know what kinds of resources you have available to you, but more photos would be helpful too. (The photos you already have on the site and flickr are pretty good, so just use those if need be.)

Last but not least, you might consider setting up a way for people to contribute to the cookbook online. I know there's at least one Joomla component specifically for managing recipes.

Best regards,
Nicole