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Thankfully, I knew a little about HTML, file structure, naming conventions etc when I started the site all those years ago, so redesigning this site wasn't THAT much of a headache. However, I still had to go through exactly 190 HTML pages (yes, I have that many files, this is page 191) to edit the code *sigh*. What a TOTALLY monotonous, tedious job that was. I wish I knew as much about HTML coding as I do now when I started the site and I wish I know now what I will know in the future. Confusing sentence that is isn't it 
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FYI, this site is hard coded i.e. I type out every single line of code into it. Yes, yes, yes, there are programs out there which help HTML challenged people but I don't use them. The only program I use to code this site is HotDog Professional, which is basically an editor with buttons to ease the coding process e.g. you hit a button to insert a link, graphic etc.
When I started the redesign project, I experimented with FrontPage but I didn't like the way the program was spitting out unnecessary code (which increases the file size of the page, thus, lengthening the loading time). Then of course there are the additional directories which FrontPage creates and you have to have if you are using the built in themes (predesigned designs if you will). Too much unnecessary clutter if you ask me... and since I am using a free hosting service, I have limited disk space and I am already halfway past my 20MB allocation *sigh*. So, disk space is important to me.
I tried using GoLive, in ardent hope that I could speed up the redesign process but I found that the learning curve of the program was too high (or I am too stupid to figure it out). When using GoLive, I found that it was faster to hard code the site, instead of figuring out what button to press to change the code. So, back it was to good old HotDog.
So what's new about my site? Well, nothing really, except for the design. Thankfully, I used Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) in my old site so changing the fonts, layout etc. wasn't very difficult. All I had to do was to change the values in my original CSS script. However, I am now using frames in the site. There are basically 3 frames used in the site:
1. the banner one (where my Puffergal's Stories "logo" sits)
2. the main section (where all the stories are displayed)
3. the navigation panel (where you see all those nifty buttons to navigate through my site)
Hopefully, with the frames, the next time I redesign my site, things will be a lot easier e.g. I won't have to go through the hundreds of pages deleting what was my original "banner", puffergal'sstories. All I have to do now is change one file. However, the downside of having frames on my site is that I have to have those astronomically IRRRRRRRRITATING pop up ads. Here is a tip: when the ads pop up, DON'T CLOSE THE WINDOW. If you close the window, another one will appear. As I am using a free hosting service (for now), I have to have these ads. In my previous site, the ads appeared at the top of the page (much less intrusive than pop up ads I reckon). But now, with frames, I can't use that option and I have to settle for those designed by the devil pop up ones. GRRRRRR!!!
I have also incorporated a little javascript in the navigation (which doesn't work too well *sigh*). What the script does it basically, when you roll over the navigation buttons, depending on the speed of your connection, you SHOULD get a rollover effect. On my pathetic 28.8k connection, this works only sometimes. I do have a 56K modem but unfortunately, due to the archaic phone lines in my area, 28.8K is the fastest speed I can get... totally disgusting. The buttons are small in size i.e. less than 2k in size each but it still takes time to load. FYI, am a little anal about the size of the pictures presented on my website... I try to keep it as small as possible but sometimes, it just ain't possible 
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Unbeknownst to most of you, deep within the bowels of my site, I have a hidden tracker. This useful little implement basically reveals where my visitors are coming from, what browsers they are using, the colour bit, resolution etc. So, when designing my new site, I decided to be a good girl and take the majority's details into consideration. Check this out... 49% of my visitors are using a resolution of 800 X 600 and only 38% are using 1024 X 768 (which is the preferred resolution of my site). The rest are using "obscure resolutions" like 1600 X 1200, 960 X 720 etc. I even had one visitor using 640 X 461! Gawd... whoever you are, go upgrade your system please!! How do you surf the net?? If you can't afford to, contact me and I will donate some of my old parts!! 640 X 461 is pathetic!!
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The left picture is what my website will look like at a resolution of 1024 X 768 and the one of the right is at a setting of 800 X 600. As you can see, the one of the left looks WAY, WAY better!! A lot of sites these days are designed at a resolution of 1024 X 768! So people, if you have the technical capabilities of changing your resolution, do it! Just right click on your desktop, go to "properties", go to the "settings" tab and change the resolution. I guarantee that your surfing experience will be so much better! I tried to take the 800 X 600 resolution into consideration as much as possible but it just looks so UGLY and LOUD!
As for the colour resolution, 16 bit was the most common, coming in at 48%. 24 bit stood at 10% and 32 bit came in at 37%. However, there are people who are surfing using 8 colour bits (3%). I don't know what that looks like as my computer can't go down past 16 bits but it can't look good.
Due to the monopoly Microsoft has on our computer industry, MS IE is the most popular browser on the Net. 87% of you guys who come to my site use it... Netscape came in at a pathetic 6% with other browsers such as Opera came in at 6% as well. This is quite sad *sigh*. When I was in university, Netscape was the most popular browser on the market... AND it was the most stable. Now, I am sad to say that it isn't as stable as it used to be and I think that MS IE will never be as stable as Netscape was in its glory days!
For those of you who are interested, I use the following programs in designing this site:
Creating a website isn't very difficult these days but maintaining it can be a real pain in the behind. There are a lot of things to take into consideration when designing the structure of the site e.g. the navigation, the directories / file structure, the naming conventions etc. If all these things are in place, maintaining and revamping the site isn't difficult... just monotonous. Going through hundreds of pages changing ONE line of code is a bore... and it increases the possibility of making mistakes (humans designed the way we are). As I got bored after a while, I found I became increasingly careless and I had to go through tens of pages a few times as I kept leaving out stuff *sigh*. VERY irritating.
FYI, it took me two days to finally settle on a design for this site. It then took another day to iron out the bugs and settle on the code I wanted to use. When I finally got the template in place, it took me another day to go through the entire site editing the relevant bits.
This is a boring story, so I'll end here. Hope you guys out there like my new design.
