Creative Cache Pages!

[+treasure_hunter]

Well, I accidentally posted this topic a while ago mistakenly under rangerroads acccount since he was logged in. But here we go........

 

I have been trying recently to (spruce) up my cache pages. Instead of a boring plain page, I have tried to incorporate pictures and a background image. Check out my two newest pages!

Joseph B. Sumpter Walkway

RFK in EKY

 

My pages are by far no masterpieces but I would like to see some of your work!

How many of you get creative on your cache pages? Show some of your work

[+Team Torque]

Nice job. Very tastefully done. Thank goodness you didn't add midi musak to it.

 

One thing I don't get is the background images. You can't really see them (except the edges of the page) and they must load slow for people on dialup. I checked in both IE and Firefox so it is not the browser. Am I missing something with the background images?

[+BiT]

Here are some on mine that I got a little creative on.

 

Mission-Top Secret Retrieval

 

The Conundrum Quagmire Project

[+leather-man]

I used to build web sites for people and I had planed on making my cache pages mini web sites.

Then I read about all of the people that print out cache pages to take with them on the hunt.

 

All the extra fluff could add several pages to a print out and take gallons of extra ink each year. After thinking it over, I opted for plain text, short descriptions.

[+The Geocache Hunter]

I like cache pages that have good designs and extra "Fluff". They can generate a greater interest in looking for the cache and indicate to me someone who has put a lot of work and or effort into the hide. I've never heard of anyone printing out an entire page that included all the pictures and fancy text. All I do is cut and paste the pertinent info into a word document anyways so I don't see big fancy cache pages as being an issue.

 

Lots of good examples so far. Mine isn't all that spectacular but a simple picture and different fonts and text styles can make a difference. Ring the Peak

[bogleman]

GCP8MW - by NFA, pretty cool looking page.

[+NotThePainter]

I too like the "fluff."

 

See Howl for an example.

 

I have a few constructive criticisms for the OP. You should check out how your text flows on other platforms. Both of your pages have odd text flow around the images. This is what it looks like on my Macintosh:

 

 

The answer might be as simple as putting a <br clear=all> between your paragraphs that have images or you may want to go with the techniques I used on Howl. (Basically, it is a table with the image in it, slightly harder to code but far more flexible.) Tables are passe these days but they work for me!

 

Keep up the great work!

 

Paul

[+BiT]

I also have the other side of the coin.

 

~

 

I really wasn't in the mood to write up a fancy page that time but had the hide already placed. So I did the lazy cacher hiders' page write-up.

[+treasure_hunter]

Thanks everyone for the input, I appreciate it. I have a few more cache pages which I have put picture, etc. on them. I made one for rangerroad also. Check these out!

 

A Tribute to American Heroes

 

The Water Wheel Cache at Fishpond

 

Co-Op Shop

 

RC and Moon Pie (by rangerroad)

 

I plan to "spruce" up all my cache pages eventually.

[ParentsofSAM]

I also have the other side of the coin.

 

~

 

I really wasn't in the mood to write up a fancy page that time but had the hide already placed. So I did the lazy cacher hiders' page write-up.

 

So if someone writes a 'cookie cutter log' on your cache then what??

 

Personally I do not like the "TFTC." "Found It!" and other such logs but I always figured there was nothing I could do about it.

[+Team JSAM]

I also have the other side of the coin.

 

~

 

I really wasn't in the mood to write up a fancy page that time but had the hide already placed. So I did the lazy cacher hiders' page write-up.

 

A bit harsh with all the rules of logs dont ya think.

[+BiT]

 

 

A bit harsh with all the rules of logs dont ya think.

 

No, I want to read something other than TFTTCTNSL 50 times from the same person as what has been happening in the immediate past.

[+BiT]

 

 

So if someone writes a 'cookie cutter log' on your cache then what??

 

Personally I do not like the "TFTC." "Found It!" and other such logs but I always figured there was nothing I could do about it.

 

I'll delete it. I didn't say that the cache wasn't creative or sneaky.

[+Kacky]

People can switch to the printable view and that gets rid of the pictures. I think it also changes it to a smaller font. When you write it, you may want to try to have all the nuts-n-bolts info right at the beginning, separate from the creative stuff. Here in Maine there was one cache where people weren't reading all the way to the bottom of the page where it said DO NOT DRIVE IN THE CORNFIELD so they ended up with an irate landowner.

 

ETA make sure you know what your html looks like on other peoples' computers.

 

As far as being creative in the logs, some people are prolific writers, and some are not. Can't control everything.

Edited June 15, 2006 by Kacky

[+Kit Fox]

I brought the subject up a while back. Best cache page layout

 

Keep in mind that too many images on the cache page, make it a bear to open when fellow geocachers use dial-up internet. Another good tip, is "Less is more." A cache that goes overboard with too many images, to much HTML, looks like hell on a PDA.

 

When you get real good with HTML, you can create some interesting puzzle caches.

 

Here is a nicely done cache page that would not be fun to print. I give it an A for creativity. I'm looking forward to hunting the cache also. The cave of the Wila Fairy

 

By far on of the most creative caches is The Dragonfly Scroll

Edited June 15, 2006 by Kit Fox

[+markp99]

I like well thought out caches pages, but I have a couple nits:

 

1. I dislike most tiled background images; they're a little rough on the eyes. I prefer the std olive drab.

 

2. I like a few images in the body of a caceh page, but large images don't render too well when I transfer the cache page to my iPaq via GSAK html export. Small images = better.

 

3. Teenie-tiny or GINORMOUS fonts also drive me a bit nuts. I need to adjust my PDA's zoom function to read these. Norm font size, please

 

Thanks!

 

Edited June 15, 2006 by markp99

[+Mystery Ink]

Legend of the Blue Pearls is a nicely done cache page.

I have been playing around with one of my newest cache pages lately.

 

Scrolling text can be fun you can also add animated backgrounds as well.

Edited June 15, 2006 by Mystery Ink

[+Tsmola]

I've taken to adding backrounds and other images lately to spruce up my pages and make them stand out.

 

Here's a puzzle I made that hasn't been found too much yet:

 

Fake-Out

 

The pages for my "Alien Alphabet" caches turned out just the way I had envisioned when I came up with the idea for them. These pages incorporate more Photoshop than html.

 

Alien Alphabet

 

Alien Alphabet 2: Morbo's Revenge

 

This last one, I'm hoping to get much better images for this place than what's on the page now. I know some don't like the tiled background images and normally as someone with web experience I agree, but for some reason I like them on cache pages, they add some more character to the page. I always make sure I resize the images small enough so they don't take forever to load.

 

The Ghosts of Frost

 

Creative pages can help draw people to come hunt I think, the last one my Ghosts of Frost cache's number of users watching is the most I've ever had on one of my caches and it seems to be increasing, I think some this is due in part to the images I've got uploaded.

 

and of course I can't forget my 2 caches in memory of my brother, I was very pleased with how these turned out as well, Wild one is pretty simple, but I love the graphic I created for Nautical Star

 

Nautical Star

 

Wild One

Edited June 15, 2006 by Tsmola

[+treasure_hunter]

Wow! Those are pretty cool! I seem to have gotten into the artistic spirit lately, I never thought much about it in the past!

[+Xangxa]

My Lampost for Clive Staples cache was fancied up with HTML (typography, colors, blocking) and pictures to set the theme.

[+Driver Carries Cache]

Another good tip, is "Less is more."

 

I'll second that!

 

I've been building websites professionally for nine years now. I've built for startups and for Fortune 500 companies. The best advice I can give is to give thought to the user experience. Usability is a key issue in any website. If you're not making it easier to read or making it easier for the user to find the information they need, you're probably overdoing it.

 

Remember what these pages are here to do, that is, to transfer needed information to the prospective cachers. If they have trouble finding the info they need or even if they simply find the page annoying, they may skip that chache. So if that concerns you, it's something to think about.

 

That said,

 

It's great to see folks putting the extra thought into their pages!

 

Creative hides deserve creative pages.

 

One more bit of advice, and you may have heard it before...

 

"Just because you can, doesn't mean you should".

 

Happy caching,

 

Driver Carries Cache

(madmike)

 

**oh yes... and despite the fact that it hasn't been updated in recent memory... http://www.madmike.com

[+Team Maccabee]

While I generally agree that less is more, especially since I do paperless caching with a palm PDA (and thus no cool graphics or pictures at all, unless I print it out), sometimes there are just really special cache pages that fit well with the theme of the cache or series of caches:

 

Real Hike VC Cache by Seth!

 

Team Maccabee