Website Redesign

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KateR
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Re: Website Redesign

Post by KateR »

I'm still working on a solution for the Video Gallery.

I think the "lightbox" feature (where the video "pops out" and opens on a black background overlay) is the main cause of the problem because the page has to basically load previews of all the videos. That not only slows down the loading of the page, but it basically gives up at a certain point so many videos just never load at all.

I've had several conversations with my web host. They have been good to me in the past, but the main problem is that this site is so enormous and powerful that it is considered a "business," so they expect that I have a budget and an IT team behind me who can handle updates and fix compatibility issues. But I don't. They've been trying to help me, but I really need to find a way to simplify.

Right now they are telling me that I am not close to my bandwidth limit, so I am in the process of redesigning the Video Gallery and moving the videos from the (less reliable) off-site location back to the main host. I have also redesigned the structure of the page. A test page with just the first nine videos is here:

http://rdanderson.com/videos/videonew.htm

[Update May 24th - the above link was removed. Use the regular link for the Video Gallery.]

It SHOULD load very quickly, and the little thumbnails SHOULD still float and move around when you choose a category or resize the window, just like before. But it no longer uses the lightbox. When you click on a thumbnail, it should open a new tab or page with the video. The video SHOULD load without a problem, it SHOULD play properly, and it SHOULD resize itself for different size screens. Also, since it is a full page that scrolls, there should be no issues with the video being covered or blocked by text. And the little "Close Video" button should close the page and return you to the Video Gallery index page without having to reload all the little thumbnails. (If not, you would be able to close the page in the usual way.)

I've tried it out on Chrome, Firefox, IE, and my Android phone, and it seems to be working (though weirdly on my phone the "Close" button appears on the left instead of the right). So... is it working for everyone else?

If it works, it will take me some time to move all the videos and create all the new pages, but hopefully it will solve a lot of problems. I'm going to try moving the videos over gradually so I can keep an eye on the stats and hopefully avoid crossing any bandwidth limits. If the whole page suddenly shuts down, you'll know the limit was hit. Then it's back to YouTube.

Let me know if you see any problems, 'cause after I create all the pages, it'll be too late to make changes.

Thanks for checking it out!

Kate
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Jack(s)
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Re: Website Redesign

Post by Jack(s) »

Dear Kate,

thank you so much for you efforts. I checked the side and it works brilliantly. I always had problems with overlapping text and video on my phone. that's gone and I can finally watch videos on my phone. the side is loading very quickly. so fingers crossed that everything is working out just fine. you do a great job 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Last edited by Jack(s) on Thu May 23, 2019 8:36 am, edited 2 times in total.
"Dogs are my favorite people !!!"
"I've got to have fun or it's not worth it."
RDA
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JackGywer
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Re: Website Redesign

Post by JackGywer »

Same here :) Thanks for all your efforts. Glad it works!
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https://jannick0104.wixsite.com/jackgywer
https://www.instagram.com/jackgywer_fanart/?hl=de


I continue to follow my heart,
that does not have to know the mind.


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karinedauphin
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Re: Website Redesign

Post by karinedauphin »

Same for me
Tried of Mozilla... and it works like never !!!
Finally I can watch videos here.
Kate, thank you so much.
Your work is so amazing.
have a beautiful day
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bftlovesRDA
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Re: Website Redesign

Post by bftlovesRDA »

Hi, Kate,

The videos work perfectly for me. I am using Google Chrome.

THANK YOU SO MUCH for working so hard to get the website working properly and for all the parts of it to be up and running as they are intended to run. You are awesome!
B
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KateR
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Re: Website Redesign

Post by KateR »

Thanks for the feedback. Only a few people responded, although it looks like a couple hundred checked out the sample link, and no one has reported any problems. The stats show a lot of "partial downloads." I'm hoping this does not indicate errors in loading but instead means that people checking the links clicked on a video, watched for a few seconds, and then left, and the page didn't try to pre-download the entire thing. If so, then that's very good news, and it should save me a lot of bandwidth if the video only downloads the portion that is being watched.

I'm hoping that this will solve a lot of the problems with the Video Gallery. I have now taken down the sample link and have begun the redesign of the regular Video Gallery link. I will be re-uploading the videos gradually so I can keep an eye on the statistics and try not to go over any limits. (The good news is that we are near the end of the month, so if the page suddenly shuts down, it should become active again on June 1st!)

So far I have uploaded the first 70 videos - up through the 12 episodes of Legend. I will keep adding to this, but if you spot any problems please let me know sooner rather than later, because once all the 200+ videos have been put back, it may be too late to make any big changes.

Thanks!

Kate
UhSir
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Re: Website Redesign

Post by UhSir »

KateR wrote: Mon May 20, 2019 9:02 pm The Chat Room and Fan Mail should be working again.

But I have to find a better solution for this site or I won't be able to maintain it. The first step is to find a host for the videos that won't lock up and won't add to my bandwidth. So I've started exploring YouTube again, although it's not ideal. I can't use the "lightbox" feature that way, and have to open the videos in a new window, which can be a pain, but I think I finally found a way to make them resize - took all afternoon.

My problem is, I uploaded one video to test out the page, and YouTube has already flagged it as "Includes copyrighted content." Does this mean as soon as I get these videos uploaded and working, my account will be shut down for copyright infringement? How do all you people who make fan videos work around this?

If I can't find a way to host the videos, they will have to be taken down because I can't afford a web host big enough to support them. :(

Kate
If you are still considering YouTube, a copyright notice is not necessarily a bad thing and the copyright holder might place advertisements on the video. If the warning has a yellow triangle is also not bad thing but it will be muted or blocked, sometimes worldwide, sometimes only certain countries. If the video gets a red triangle it is bad. The video will have been taken down and your account will get a strike. Three strikes and your channel will be shut down. No warning, just gone.

For my music videos I check the YouTube music policies link which says if the song is allowed or not. I'm not sure what you can do about episode videos.

Stay sane, we need you!
~Theresa
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Jack(s)
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Re: Website Redesign

Post by Jack(s) »

thank you so much for the countless effort and time you put in to this page. I can't even begin to imagine what you going trough. thank you Kate you are the best 👏👏👏🙏🙏🙏
"Dogs are my favorite people !!!"
"I've got to have fun or it's not worth it."
RDA
UhSir
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Re: Website Redesign

Post by UhSir »

I just checked back through the entire thread and have a few ideas to add.

Have you been to W3Schools and looked through their tutorials?
https://www.w3schools.com/css/default.asp
I used that a lot while designing my website. I also use frames and like it a lot and I've known I have to change it but I'm too lazy. I might borrow that site's layout, it uses a fixed sidebar. But I think it reloads every time, which is what you are trying to avoid.

Social Media icons at page bottom
They open popups for sharing whatever page is being viewed as a link in a post.

Video Gallery
Maybe reorganize the selection options? Firstly, don't make "All Videos" be the default. Just bring up the selection boxes. "Series" seems to be the only hog so maybe have selecting that bring up a sub-list of the different series?

Help Funding the Site
KateR wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 4:22 pm {{snipped}}
Jerseycoconut wrote: * Do you need any 'sharing' of funds from us? This must be an expense? Even a 'one time' share of your classes cost? Let us know, we who can not share tech advice, can share in another way.
That's very kind. Yes, it is expensive to keep the site going, mostly because of its size and bandwidth. As I mentioned, the software I am working with (that professionals use) considers 125 pages and 20GB to be a very large site. My site has 40,000 files and 50GB, and it will explode when I finally start adding more videos to the gallery. That costs money, but I've always been rather proud that I haven't taken money for it, and I haven't used RDA to make money for myself. I have considered adding an advertising banner, but I find those annoying. The Amazon links on the Store page do generate a tiny amount of money, so that's one way to help. As long as you click through to Amazon on any one of those links, ANYTHING you buy on that visit, whether it is RDA-related or not, helps! :)
{{snipped}}
I shop Amazon frequently. I'll start going there through this site. So I just click on any of the, say Stargate, links and then go on about searching and buying? Also, do you get anything at all for the clicking or is it only if I buy? I do price comparisons and sometimes find a better price elsewhere. Maybe you could add a static blurb under the header image explaining this.

I've been to lots of sites that have Donate buttons. I'm cool with that and hopefully you would be getting most of the donations. The web isn't like it was 20 years ago. It's big business today. Please don't think of donations as "taking money." You aren't requiring it. I, and I'll betcha lots of visitors, will happily "bother" to help you out!

Thanks for keeping this going!
~Theresa
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Jerseycoconut
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Re: Website Redesign

Post by Jerseycoconut »

Hey Kate,
Maybe an escrow account? There must be something that we can donate to a physical address
(& not go thru the internet).
I've tried the link several times, sorry not loading yet. Each day it changes.
From "not able to decode, loads all in one square, then loads, but still doesn't play.
That's on E, Chrome -4G wireless PC. Could it be the security we use?

Again, Thanks, for all your doing! & going thru. :P
Jerseycoconut
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