Opinion Please (Full Version)

All Forums >> [Web Design] >> Site Critiques



Message

joshlaymon -> Opinion Please (2/13/2005 16:23:52)

I have been working on my site now for 2 months. I was just wondering if other people thought that it was very easy to use. Would welcome any suggestions on speeding up my site.

www.brookviewapts.com

Joshua Laymon



Nicole -> RE: Opinion Please (2/14/2005 0:02:14)

Hi Joshua,

Welcome to Outfront!

I think your site is nice, though i'd like to suggest a few things if I may:


  • The two images lead to links of the same pictures. Why not remove the link from them as there's no value in clicking on them.
  • The two icons at the bottom of the page are external links and lead off your site. Why not make them open in a new window?
  • On the page "Find an Apt", the whole image looks like a link according to my mouse. I mean, the arrow changes to a hand and stays as a hand over the whole image instead of just over the parts that take you to the actual apartments.
  • "Get an Application" just doesn't sound right to me. How about "Apply Here"?


Nicole



Mike54 -> RE: Opinion Please (2/14/2005 5:55:01)

Hi Josh, since you were so kind as to take a peek at mine...[;)]

I think the site is simple and easy to navigate. Beyond what Nicole has pointed out I would have only one suggestion, lose the FrontPage Theme. Frankly it cheapens the quality of the site, MHOO.

Not trying to be mean, I just have a low regard for the packaged thems.[:'(]



golfer -> RE: Opinion Please (2/14/2005 11:44:51)

Hi Joshua and welcome.

Liked your site. Clear, simple and gets the message of who it is and its purpose. Agree with Nicole's comments.

Well done

Ian



piquet -> RE: Opinion Please (2/14/2005 12:45:23)

quote:

I would have only one suggestion, lose the FrontPage Theme. Frankly it cheapens the quality of the site


That comes from a FrontPage user!

I think the majority of users won't be aware of that and just want a clear informative site... which they have!

I'm lazy, and if I can't find inspiration, I sometimes use a template! [:D]



joshlaymon -> RE: Opinion Please (2/15/2005 22:18:36)

Thanks for all of your suggestions. I applied them all except for the theme thing. I am working on it. I just can't seem to create anything that looks this good. Brookview sort of has a color scheme. Dark Brown & Tan. If anyone has any suggestions on where i could find something like that (pre made)I would appreciate it.

Thanks again
Joshua Laymon



jaybee -> RE: Opinion Please (2/16/2005 5:07:57)

Try doing a google for free template. You'll be spoiled for choice. Most of them are easy to change colours.



joshlaymon -> RE: Opinion Please (2/19/2005 13:23:02)

First I want to thank all of you for you suggestions.

As a result of your lack of appreciation for FrontPage Themes, I felt ashamed of my site.
I began designing, deleting, desiging, deleting, desiging, uploading, and finally I think that I got it.
Please check it out and let me know what you think about it.

Also, it doesn't really look good at 640X480. Does any body that has halfway decent eyesite use that anymore. Let me know.

Here is the new site page
http://www.brookviewapts.com/BETASITE/index.htm



dpf -> RE: Opinion Please (2/19/2005 13:31:38)

quote:

I felt ashamed of my site.
no one - repeat: no one on this forum ever wants to make anyone feel that way and you shouldn't! glad you found the experience helpful.



anderskorte -> RE: Opinion Please (2/20/2005 4:03:09)

Hey! I really like that new design of yours. Looks great.

After a quick first glance the only problem there seems to be is the absence of alternative texts for images. You should provide alt text for every IMG on your page, be it informative or not. If you think the image information is irrelevant you can give it an empty alt text (alt="").

And give your headings real markup, don't just change the text color and size to make it a heading. Use H1, H2, H3 etc. After that you can then change the size and color as you like, of course.

You have the ADA image at the bottom. But have you really obeyed the accessibility guidelines?

And for Nicoleoz:
quote:

The two icons at the bottom of the page are external links and lead off your site. Why not make them open in a new window?
Please, don't encourage that. New windows can be a real pain for some viewers, and nowhere there are standards for opening new windows from links. For example, can IE-users somehow avoid new windows from links? I suggest that we should let the viewer decide whether to open new windows or not. Web design is not interface design. Forcing new windows is one of the things in web design you probably shouldn't do.

anders



Nicole -> RE: Opinion Please (2/20/2005 5:17:16)

I just think it's a bit odd to have external links on an opening page, like you've just encouraged the user to your site and you're already providing links to get off it.

The reason i make external links open in a new window is simple, it's one way of letting people know that the content in the new window is not part of your website, thus limiting any liability arising out of that content.

Another way would be a pop-up message saying "you're about to leave this website" which happens when you click on the "Personal Home Page" link here

Nicole



anderskorte -> RE: Opinion Please (2/20/2005 6:15:29)

Yes, I understand that it's reasonable to open offsite links in new windows. There are just number of accessiblity/usability issue that arise.

Personally, I don't like target="_blank" at all. When I'm browsing I always hope that a link doesn't open in new window... if it does, I close the new window, go back to the site and open it in a new browser tab.

If I was using IE I wouldn't know what to do. I have a relatively slow and old computer, and opening extra browser instances isn't very nice. There aren't any tabs for IE, at least I don't have them. The result is that I have dozens of windows open on top of each others. I can't close the original windows because that would break the Back button.

I think that offsite links opening in the same window is clever from the site owner's perspective. At least it tells the viewer that the company lets you go off their site if he wants. And they can hit "Back".

Those who suffer the most are the blind users who can't see if a new window pops up. A few designer care about users with disablities, though, so I guess that's not relevant here. (And blind users are relatively rare.)

I guess it's more of a question of usability than accessibility. But if all else fails, at least tell the user that the link will open in new window, as said here: http://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT-TECHS/#tech-avoid-pop-ups

anders



anderskorte -> RE: Opinion Please (2/20/2005 6:20:04)

quote:

Another way would be a pop-up message saying "you're about to leave this website" which happens when you click on the "Personal Home Page" link here...
That alertbox popping up seems clever. I just don't know if it's really necessary... At least it's far better than opening a new browser instance.



d a v e -> RE: Opinion Please (2/20/2005 10:36:21)

i think i would find that annoying!



dpf -> RE: Opinion Please (2/20/2005 11:16:45)

quote:

I just think it's a bit odd to have external links on an opening page, like you've just encouraged the user to your site and you're already providing links to get off it.
excellent point!!!!



anderskorte -> RE: Opinion Please (2/20/2005 11:44:46)

quote:

quote:

I just think it's a bit odd to have external links on an opening page, like you've just encouraged the user to your site and you're already providing links to get off it.

excellent point!!!!

I agree. But letting the links open in same window tells the user that he/she can also leave the site whenever they want. Remember the accessibility guru's law? Users spend most of the time on other websites, not yours.



joshlaymon -> RE: Opinion Please (2/20/2005 22:00:08)

As always I love you arguing back and forth.

As a matter of fact I am preparing a large update for my site. There will be a lot of things cleaned up. One of them is the links on the bottom of the page. I had meant to take them off a long time ago but I just forgot. Really the sites that they link to are not relevant. Good suggestions everybody.

Please keep helping me out.

www.brookviewapts.com
test site at www.brookviewapts.com/BETASITE/index.htm



Nicole -> Accessibility Issues (2/21/2005 2:51:08)

Hi Anders,

This looks like another occasion where one particular issue of importance is wrapped up inside a site critique, probably only to be lost down the track when this thread moves down the list and eventually off the page. But anyway…

Thanks for your thoughts on Accessibility and links opening in new windows, I hadn’t considered that to be an accessibility issue until now. It’s interesting to wonder how this issue could be overcome, given that I’m pretty firmly of the opinion external links should open in a new window for the reasons I’ve said and that Accessibility is an issue we all should not only consider but adhere to as much as we can.

I don’t really subscribe to the view that it shows users that they can leave the site whenever they want. Of course they can, but I don’t think too many business owners about to launch their business online would be very keen to hear that that’s what the internet’s all about. I’m sure they’d want to link to affiliates and in some cases related articles, but all the time wanting the user to stay on their site, or within easy reach of their site to purchase their product or listen to what they have to say.

Anyway, thanks for raising this issue in my mind at least, it’s good to hear that you’re a firm believer in accessible websites too.

Welcome to Outfront!

Nicole



joshlaymon -> RE: Opinion Please (2/26/2005 15:25:42)

Well, I have been working on my site some more and I decided to modify my theme. Basically I just changed the buttons on the shared border. It was a lot easier than I thought to create my own and then put them into Frontpage. Let me know what you think. By the way, that new site design that was promised, got scraped.

SITE HERE

Joshua Laymon



Page: [1]

Valid CSS!




Forum Software © ASPPlayground.NET Advanced Edition 2.4.5 ANSI
0.1103516