I need advice--First time website ever!!!

[Doodle_Dandy_Puppies]

I am brand new to website design which you'll easily notice when viewing my site: www.doodledandypuppies.com.
I have spent WAY TOO LONG designing this site to help with my business. My pages, especially with photos take a long time to load. I am afraid of templates, so I just designed the pages myself. Almost anytime I change something on my website, I must clear the cache to see it clearly, and so do my customers. Why is that? What I really want is a fast and easy website. (Mobile Friendly) Have I made it too detailed? I honestly do not even know what I am doing. I just redid my Contact US page and when I send a message, it doesn't go to my email. So, I am not going to be able to receive messages. I am frustrated and just need real help. I have customers that tell me my website looks scrambled. They look fine after clearing the cache. One more crazy issue is I downloaded the Web Builder 15 and I see the icon for it, click it, but it takes me to a blank page to redesign an entire new website. I click file and then it shows me the Web Builder 12 which I am using. Although Pablo is very helpful and kind, it takes a long time to get replies. I wish so much that there were a phone number to get real help while I was on my site....Anyway, this is my last resort before just starting from scratch with a new web builder. Any help or advice would be extremely helpful! I am very open to productive criticism. I will be the first to admit I am at a loss as to how to make a website.
Sincerely,
Angela

[Pablo]

Although Pablo is very helpful and kind, it takes a long time to get replies. I

I normally reply within 8 hours, 7 days per week, so maybe you have used the wrong email address?

The reason why your website is slow is because you have used large images on the page.
This related FAQ may be helpful:
http://www.wysiwygwebbuilder.com/forum/ ... =10&t=1918

You did not add any breakpoints to your website (or use layout grids), so that is a why it’s not mobile friendly.
See this related tutorial:
http://wysiwygwebbuilder.com/rwd_basics.html

I must clear the cache to see it clearly, and so do my customers. Why is that?

This is most likely related to the cache settings of the server. But this may be helpful:
http://www.wysiwygwebbuilder.com/forum/ ... =5&t=84683

I just redid my Contact US page and when I send a message, it doesn't go to my email. So, I am not going to be able to receive messages

Please see 'Emails are not arriving in my inbox' in the FAQ:
http://www.wysiwygwebbuilder.com/forum/ ... 10&t=32967

One more crazy issue is I downloaded the Web Builder 15 and I see the icon for it, click it, but it takes me to a blank page to redesign an entire new website.

This is normal behavior. You will need to use the file menu to open your project.
Or go to Tools->Options->General->Open most recent used project at startup.

[alan_sh]

I am a reasonably experienced designer/builder of web sites and I was confused bt WWB when I first started using it. The concepts were so different to what I had been used to before that I had to start again in my thinking. But I got there in the end and, while I am still learning, I can now build a new site and know it will do what I expect it to.

What I suggest is that you start very simple - take one idea at a time and try it out. See what works and, if that is OK, write it down and move on to the next one.

For example, trying out mobile friendly. Read up on "Break Points", then create a new site. Create a breakpoint at (say) 720 and another at 320. Put a picture and some text on the default break point. Go to the others and adjust their location/sizes. Then preview it (no need to publish). In the browser that opens, take it out of full screen mode, adjust the width and watch what happens when you get to 720 and 320 pixels wide. Did that do what you expected? If not, have a think about it, ask questions on this forum and adjust things and preview again.

When it works like you want, move on to the next thing (menus maybe or multiple pages and how they link together).

Does that make sense?

regards

Alan

[Doodle_Dandy_Puppies]

Thank you so much for your advice Alan! I also got an email from Pablo with some links on break points. I really appreciate the time you took to reply to my desperate plea!!! .
Sincerely,
Angela

[Doodle_Dandy_Puppies]

Thanks SO VERY MUCH Pablo!!! You gave much good info for me to look into. I apologize if I offended you by saying you don't reply fast enough. I was really just wishing I could "talk" to someone right away with my issues. That's all. You actually do reply in a timely manner considering contact is email based.
Thank you for your time and help.
Sincerely,
Angela
www.doodledandypuppies.com

[Doodle_Dandy_Puppies]

What is the best size to make photos load quickly but still look nice on the web pages? Thanks.

[Pablo]

There is no 'best' size, but I personally would keep them under 1MB.

[Doodle_Dandy_Puppies]

Hi Pablo,
This confuses me because I thought mine were all under 1 MB.

[Pablo]

This may be related to the filters/effects you have applied to the images.
In Tools->Options->Publish you can set the compression for internal images/filters. Although I am not sure if this will make huge difference for images of this size.

[alan_sh]

What is the best size to make photos load quickly but still look nice on the web pages? Thanks.

Use some sort of photo resizer to make them smaller. I generally go for something around 1280 x 768 or similar (depends on the aspect ratio).

Where abouts do you live? I would be open to chatting to you about this if you are anywhere near Rochdale in the UK

ALan

[Doodle_Dandy_Puppies]

Thank you Alan! I am actually in the USA.

[Doodle_Dandy_Puppies]

More issues:
I followed the advice Pablo gave to prevent the cache from being saved. I am not sure if it is working all the time yet.
When I go to Google and search my Doodle Dandy Puppies business, the link that Google gives leads to an extremely messed up looking page. But when I just type in my website, it looks fine. I don't understand this. I have tried a number of times and even cleared my cache. It is still looking awful! Any advice to make the link go to my current website appearance? Do I need to contact Google about this issue?

Another thing:
How do you link a phone number? On my contact page I put my contact info and tried putting my number hyperlinked. Is that what you call it? Anyway, when I click onto it, it gives an error message.

Am I having more struggles than average first time website designers? I am trying not to get too discouraged or overwhelmed. I am thankful for this forum to be able to get advice. Thanks for any input.
Sincerely,
Angela
www.doodledandypuppies.com

[Pablo]

When I go to Google and search my Doodle Dandy Puppies business, the link that Google gives leads to an extremely messed up looking page.

For me, the link from Google looks fine as far as I can tell.
What is the link of the problematic page?

How do you link a phone number?

In the properties of the link, you can set the link type to 'phone'

I am not sure if any of your 'issues' are directly related software.
For example, your website is not slow because of the software but because of the large images you have used.
Also, the form problem is most likely a configuration issue, rather than an issue in the software. If there were any known issues with forms then they would have already been fixed.

I recommend to do one thing at a time and then when something does not work as expected, just ask for advise.

[Doodle_Dandy_Puppies]

Hi Pablo,
I actually resized several of my images. It seems to run faster. I am not actually blaming my problems on WYSIWYG Web Builder. I know it is just my personal "Not understanding." I am really trying to figure this website stuff out! Are you in Holland or Belgium? Just curious....Thanks!

[Pablo]

Are you in Holland or Belgium?

I am in Holland.

[Doodle_Dandy_Puppies]

Pablo,
I know this is off topic, but my family just loves the Dutch speaking people! We lived in Europe for many years, and some of those years were in the Dutch speaking region of Belgium. We left a big piece of our heart over there! Just wanted you to know. Such a special place!!!

[alan_sh]

Just had a look at your site. It's nice - but some of the images are still very big (the contact one is 14Mb).

However, one issue may be where you are hosting it. I have a 500mb/sec download line into my house and it's still very slow to load your pictures. What bandwidth do they offer you? [That will be the upload for them]

Alan

[Doodle_Dandy_Puppies]

Hi Alan,
You're going to think I'm ridiculous. GoDaddy is my host, but I have no idea of what they do for my website. I only was told I needed a host and saw they looked good. I need to look into this. I will also resize the picture on my contact page soon. Thanks so very much for your advice.