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web critique

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Casual User Posts: 26 From: Rochester Hills, MI, USA Status: offline	web critique - 1/22/2006 1:10:44 Please critique my site. Is the art distracting?


Casual User Posts: 26 From: Rochester Hills, MI, USA Status: offline	RE: web critique - 1/22/2006 1:13:27 A problem I have is that I have this huge 24" monitor and cannot tell what it looks like on a smaller field. Originally I was trying to get a page to be viewable in its entirety on a single view without scrolling. Just got the monitor. Anyone can tell me how to view or to format page so it doesn't extend across the screen and will look the same regardless of one's monitor size? (in reply to Casual User)


jvthundercat Posts: 30 Joined: 12/30/2005 Status: offline	RE: web critique - 1/22/2006 1:18:48 How about a link to the site...... (in reply to Casual User)


Tailslide Posts: 6272 Joined: 5/10/2005 From: Out here on the raggedy edge Status: offline	RE: web critique - 1/22/2006 3:57:45 If you're using tables to layout your page then I think you need to set the table width to 100% so that it will spread to 100% of the width of the screen whatever the resolution. Currently if you go down to 800x600 then you get horizontal scrollbars which is the one you want to avoid. I wouldn't worry about vertical scrollbars - you've got too much information on each page to get it all in without vertical scrolling on the most common screen resolutions. You should also be aware that it's a generally followed principle in web design that you should limit the lenght of lines of text - if they get too wide then it's very hard for the eye to get back over to the start of the next line without getting lost. The "ideal" line length is meant to be somewhere around 10 -14 words if I remember correctly. Here's an article on it: http://maxdesign.com.au/presentation/em/ Oddly the same applies if the line is too short! _____________________________ "My strategy is so simple an idiot could have devised it" Little Blue Plane Web Design \| Blood, Sweat & Rust - A Land Rover restoration project (in reply to jvthundercat)


Rocket Boy Posts: 409 Joined: 12/8/2005 Status: offline	RE: web critique - 1/24/2006 12:32:22 I'm guessing it's this one... http://www.mjtconsulting.com/ The art isn't distracting although it doesn't have any real relevance for that page. The background is quite dull. Maybe you could put the artwork on the background (but add 70% thansparency). (in reply to Tailslide)


womble Posts: 5702 Joined: 3/14/2005 From: Living on the edge Status: offline	RE: web critique - 1/24/2006 15:20:17 I'm afraid I have to agree with Rocket Boy. That background is very dull and there was nothing about the page that inspired me to want to look any further. Sorry. _____________________________ ~~ "A cruel god ain't no god at all" ~~ ~~ Erase hate. Practice love. ~~ (in reply to Rocket Boy)


Casual User Posts: 26 From: Rochester Hills, MI, USA Status: offline	RE: web critique - 1/24/2006 22:51:52 Yes the grey is dull something I probably picked up from all the museum and art database sites I frequent. Perhaps you can further help me with the psychology of website content, especially given the other comment that followed i.e. no compelling reason to visit further pages What would make the page compelling to lool at the following pages? I know the narrative needs work. My traffic data also reflects a fall off from the initial pages. I was trying to be different from the typical website in my business; fancy logo, picture of a racially diverse staff and office buildings. I find many of them to have a problem of sensory overload and inconvenient to navigate. I need help! \ Thank you. (in reply to Rocket Boy)


Casual User Posts: 26 From: Rochester Hills, MI, USA Status: offline	RE: web critique - 1/24/2006 23:02:33 Further comment: My target audience is a busy middle-aged person who needs glassess to read. Thus the clean and uncomplicated pages. The art was added because it just seemed like something was needed. Most of the pages fit fairlly well on a single screen without having to scroll much. Some feedback from my last client was "he makes the complex simple to understand". But I don't know what I don't know about websites and it is important for me to understand its drawbacks, not only the text but what makes a website compelling. What makes the reader want to go to the next page? (in reply to Casual User)


Tailslide Posts: 6272 Joined: 5/10/2005 From: Out here on the raggedy edge Status: offline	RE: web critique - 1/25/2006 6:07:47 Hi again I think the bottom line is that a reader will want to go further into the site if they think they will benefit from doing so - in other words if you look like you're offering the right service for them etc. I'd say have a few snippets from some of the other pages regarding various poplular services underneath your main intro paragraph: Intro Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Service 1________Service 2 blah blah blah______blah blah blah blah blah blah______blah blah blah blah blah blah______blah blah blah Read more . >______Read more . > Have a look at this: http://www.alistapart.com/ Now I'm not saying that's the perfect site or that their solution would translate directly to your site - but I like the brief series of paragraphs regarding articles - I think you could incorporate something like that on the home page. I'm afraid I have to agree on the art - it doesn't seem to add anything or inform - sorry!! _____________________________ "My strategy is so simple an idiot could have devised it" Little Blue Plane Web Design \| Blood, Sweat & Rust - A Land Rover restoration project (in reply to Casual User)


Casual User Posts: 26 From: Rochester Hills, MI, USA Status: offline	RE: web critique - 1/25/2006 8:48:38 Thanks. I know that first page needs work. What is the purpose of pictures on websites anyway? Most of it is stock. Admittedly mine is filler. (in reply to Tailslide)


Casual User Posts: 26 From: Rochester Hills, MI, USA Status: offline	RE: web critique - 1/25/2006 8:49:40 What about a white background? (in reply to Casual User)


Tailslide Posts: 6272 Joined: 5/10/2005 From: Out here on the raggedy edge Status: offline	RE: web critique - 1/25/2006 9:03:58 I think that quite a few "white space sites" around at the moment that have no images, just text on a white background and maybe a logo - some look excellent, some look bleak - it's quite hard to get the balance right and mostly depends on how you lay out the page. Once you get the layout right you could try different background colours to see what looks best. As you say, most web site photography are stock images of smiling models and although they are fairly tedious (especially when you see the same pictures again and again) it is easier to make a page look "nice" with images than without. _____________________________ "My strategy is so simple an idiot could have devised it" Little Blue Plane Web Design \| Blood, Sweat & Rust - A Land Rover restoration project (in reply to Casual User)


dpf Posts: 7126 Joined: 11/12/2003 From: India-napolis Status: offline	RE: web critique - 1/25/2006 10:16:00 quote: What is the purpose of pictures on websites anyway same as in magazines, brochures any ads _____________________________ Dan (in reply to Casual User)


Rocket Boy Posts: 409 Joined: 12/8/2005 Status: offline	RE: web critique - 1/25/2006 10:37:07 To help people click further into your site from the index page, maybe you could try highlighting the menu or giving the buttons a rollover effect? (in reply to dpf)

womble

Posts: 5702
Joined: 3/14/2005
From: Living on the edge
Status: offline

RE: web critique - 1/25/2006 16:15:30

quote:

Perhaps you can further help me with the psychology of website content, especially given the other comment that followed i.e. no compelling reason to visit further pages
What would make the page compelling to lool at the following pages?

My first suggestion would be to think about the sites that you personally like. Why do you like them? What makes you want to read further? How do they make you want to read further?

Like Tail says, the intro/snippets/links combo often works well.

I recently acquired a book, which although it deals with general xhtml coding and css, has some very useful chapters on web site design principles, planning a site, planning site navigation, and creating templates and looks at web design from an end-user's (i.e. the visitor to your site) point of view, and also covers a little about web accessibility. May be worth a read. It's "Principles of Web Design" (3rd edition) by Joel Sklar (ISBN 0-619-21666-2), published by Thomson Course Technology.

quote:

My target audience is a busy middle-aged person who needs glassess to read. Thus the clean and uncomplicated pages. The art was added because it just seemed like something was needed.

I'd definitely go with the clean and uncomplicated look, but you may not have enough contrast with white text on grey to make it easy to read for someone who's vision isn't perfect. There's a lot of tips and links over in the accessibility forum.

With the art, yeah, most web pages work better with something visual to grab your attention, but unless it's a company logo, I'd suggest that any images need to have some relevance to your subject matter. At the moment that image, nice though it is just looks like it was stuck on the end of the page as an after-thought.

< Message edited by womble -- 1/25/2006 16:43:25 >

_____________________________

~~ "A cruel god ain't no god at all" ~~
~~ Erase hate. Practice love. ~~

(in reply to Rocket Boy)


anderskorte Posts: 545 Joined: 2/20/2005 From: Finland Status: offline	RE: web critique - 1/28/2006 8:06:53 I think the current page looks very professional. I especially enjoy your use of fonts and small caps. Some suggestions: - Center the name of your company, it looks out of place on the left if the rest of the page is centered. - Make the company name an image if you want it to be displayed in Palatino for everyone, and make it a bit smaller. - Don't give a separate style for the first letter of a paragraph, it doesn't look good. - There is unnecessary margin around the page. If you scale down the window, the horizontal scrollbar appears too early. Fix that. - Use stylesheets instead of font tags and such, you'll notice it's much easier to manage your pages. The image isn't distracting. EDIT: Sorry, I didn't notice you have a separate thread about the revised look... < Message edited by anderskorte -- 1/28/2006 8:17:59 > (in reply to womble)


billoutfrontforum Posts: 78 Joined: 10/22/2005 Status: offline	RE: web critique - 2/13/2006 23:20:39 I like the site very much. It's very clean and simple. On the home page, the text in italics is too much. Italics are difficult to read--at least for me--, and when a lot of text is in italics I try to skip it or quickly browse it. (in reply to anderskorte)


Kitka Posts: 2520 Joined: 1/31/2002 From: Australia Status: offline	RE: web critique - 2/15/2006 5:14:53 traika, please don't continually try to hijack other people's threads!! You have already started your own appropriate thread here: http://www.frontpagewebmaster.com/m-312592/tm.htm#312592 Double/triple posting is very confusing to all concerned. _____________________________ Kitka It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious. (in reply to traika)


traika Posts: 8 Joined: 2/15/2006 Status: offline	RE: web critique - 2/15/2006 5:32:34 Sorry, in reviewing your site I put my site here. Sorry again. --------------------------------- http://lifeisbeautiful.sitesled.com (in reply to Casual User)


Kitka Posts: 2520 Joined: 1/31/2002 From: Australia Status: offline	RE: web critique - 2/15/2006 5:43:10 Even after being warned - you are still link spamming other people's threads! Some people have very thick hides or ... maybe heads. You are risking being banned from this forum. _____________________________ Kitka It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious. (in reply to traika)