Have I created a monster? (Full Version)

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thevintagepeddler -> Have I created a monster? (12/8/2006 9:30:15)

Hi,
I am new to this forum and new to any kind of site building & frontpage. I just made my site about a month ago after reading everything I could on building a website. So I probable know just enought to really screw things up.
I thought it turned out well but after having a few site designers contact me telling me how I should hire them to completely redo it (for thousands of dollars) siting a laundry list of problems my self confidence has plummeted...lol
I would really appreciate some non bias opinions. I can handle the criticism so not to worry. I'm on a diet so I don't need sugar coating.
Should I scrap it and hire a pro?
Do I need to clean up the html? If so how cuz I am new to FP also.
Design wise I like it but if you don't let me know but mostly how is it functionally?structurally?

Thanks so much for taking time out to help.
Happy Holidays.
Marie
www.thevintagepeddler.com



Tailslide -> RE: Have I created a monster? (12/8/2006 9:53:34)

Hi Marie

Ok so I'm a professional website designer (or at least I do it for a living) and we're never going to tell you "nah, it's fine - I couldn't improve upon it!" 'cos otherwise we'd be eating our shoes by the end of the month! [:D]

If you're not a professional website designer then there will always be things that can be tweaked and improved - actually, that goes for professional website designers too!

So I'll frame my answer with all that in mind.

Firstly - is this your sole income and is the website the sole method of marketing your business that you do? If the answer is yes and the site isn't producing the income you expected then I'd say it might be worth getting a pro to look at the site.

If your site is generating around what you expected in the way of customers then - *shrug* sure I can give you a list of things that jump out at me -

I have to say that I just love the whole retro fashion picture thing - it's very very cool in my books. I'm not keen personally on that bright turquoise colour you've got on the buttons - I think it sort of overpowers the great imagery on the site - maybe try changing that for a paler colour?

I'd personally dump everything from the page that isn't about your business - (that includes the goolge ads, the animated squirrel thing which I now can't find but I'm sure I saw, the $1 hosting image and the little stats planet thing).

Deeper into your site - you need to get rid of the comic sans text - I know it's retro but comic sans isn't cool retro. Also, don't use bold text for normal site content - it's harder to read than normal font weights.

Like I said with the turquoise, same goes for the bright pink headings - maybe a more pastel shade would look better?

I'd try to get the background image pattern repeating over the whole page - at the moment it's just over the main content.

Overall - you've obviously got a good eye if this is your first website. It's better than many examples produced by "professional" website designers! Yes, I can look at the code and shake my head and suck in my breath slowly - but frankly I do that with most websites anyway!

So - no you haven't created a monster. You've got some excellent ideas there and you've kept it simple which is the thing to do when you're starting out. Yes some pros could probably dust it up a bit - and you might look at doing that, money allowing (but be careful who you pick!), but overall it does the job.

(... I'm rambling again aren't I?)

PS - I love crocs - but not at this time of year!



jaybee -> RE: Have I created a monster? (12/8/2006 10:28:37)

No you haven't created a monster. I concur with everything Helena has said.

You could have the best site in the world and you'd still get "Professional" (how do you know they're not just starting out and trying to get work?) web designers telling you they can redo it.

I'm a professional, I get 3 or 4 emails a month offering to do my site for me. Sometimes I email back and tell them what's wrong with their site and occasionally I email them back and tell them what's wrong with them (usually the ruder ones).

Thing is, if you have a good pro designer there's a pretty good chance they have more than enough work on and won't be emailing hundreds of people offering to re-do their site for them.

There are exceptions of course but I think you've done the right thing coming and asking before shelling out a lot of money.

PS. Do they do Crocs with stillettos? [:D]



thevintagepeddler -> RE: Have I created a monster? (12/8/2006 10:32:18)

Tailslide,
Thanks so much!
To answer your first question it is not our only source of income. I sell on eBay also and will continue to do so and hopefully generate some traffic that way. I am not trying to support the family on this project but that's not to say I wouldn't love it if it could.

The site is getting hits and generating sales although not as many as I would like to see but it is brand new and right not I only have about 10% of my stock listed so hopefully more stock more sales :)

I can definitely lighten the blue & pink a bit. I was trying to tie in with my logo but that is doable for me.

I can lose the squirrel, the $1 hosting for sure. I thought the google ads were subtle do you really think they need to go? And the globe is statcounter which I have been using to track my hits. It lets me turn off the counter but since it is free I don't think I can get rid of the globe. Is that ok or should I use another counter? Statcounter was free.

Comic Sans I can change. This is a site builder so some things are limited as to how much I can do. I used a basic template and then changed the top part to my logo for example. The first two lines on each page are form driven. In other words the title and subtitle on each page that are in blue and pink I have total control over color and size but only a few choices on font. Ariel, Tacoma, Time, Courier, Veranda and Comic. Which do you suggest?

Again, since this was a template that I altered I don't think I can get the background to cover the whole page. I can probably alter my logo and get the background beneath it but it will most likely look like it is seamed together. From what I have experienced so far it doesn't look like I have any control over the area on the left side where the buttons are other than adding more, changing their appearance and size color font. I don't think I can get a background under them. I wanted to use the area under the buttons even and when I ask support I was told I couldn't.

You are certainly not rambling. I really appreciate your input. And the compliment.

Any glaring catastrophic code changes I need to make?

Thanks so much!

Marie



thevintagepeddler -> RE: Have I created a monster? (12/8/2006 10:38:59)

Thanks to you also Jaybee. I know what you mean about being solicited. I wish I could afford to shell out $8k and have the perfect site but I can only do what I can do. :)
Marie



thevintagepeddler -> RE: Have I created a monster? (12/8/2006 10:47:21)

Oh also, aside from title and subtitle which I can change the font to the ones I listed above do you have suggestions for a retro font that would be better? And are you suggesting no bold at all or no bold in anything but titles? Sorry- I am slow :)



jaybee -> RE: Have I created a monster? (12/8/2006 11:02:17)

You have a lot of bold in the content which makes it difficult to read. Either leave it as normal or if you want to highlight it change the colour or make it italic.

For your main body font it's advisable to use arial or verdana as they're clean and easy to read.

Heading fonts. Well they are a problem. If your header is a graphic then you can use pretty much anything but if it's text then if the visitor doesn't have your chosen font on their machine, their browser will just use whatever they have got, usually Times or Arial.

I think your header graphic is OK as it is but your Heading fonts (Online Vintage Clothing Shop
Always Free U.S. Shipping on Clothing & Accessories!) could be Verdana



Tailslide -> RE: Have I created a monster? (12/8/2006 11:05:01)

Hi Marie

Font-wise - I'd stick to either Arial or Verdana - have a play and see which you prefer. They're not exactly ermmm how can I put this... exciting, but they're easy to read. With the bold text thing - it's fine for headings just not for the main chunk of text - if that makes sense.

The Google ads aren't terrible - it's just that there's a lot of info down the bottom of the page. You might try putting the two copyright line on one line together (maybe just the copyright sign, year, company name and "all rights reserved"). I think it would just look better without too much to distract from the important stuff.

Oh - just had another look - you might want to play with the order of the stuff in the right hand sidebar - it seems a shame to have that paypal thing above that 50s image - I'd stick the good images at the top and consign paypal to the bottom.

Those site builders usually produce fairly horrible stuff so, again, considering that you've done very well.

Edit: Oh - yes, the 50s fonts. You can use them but only in images (for example a logo). You won't be able to use them on the site itself because - apart from the site builder's limitations, the end user is unlikely to have them on their systems and so wouldn't see them. You want to keep the text on the site as actual text - not images (apart from logos and the nice buttons on the homepage!).



thevintagepeddler -> RE: Have I created a monster? (12/8/2006 12:53:27)

All very do-able suggestions that make perfect sense. I be working on revisions this weekend. I really appreciate it-thanks so much.

Any and all comments & suggestion are welcome.

Marie



anderskorte -> RE: Have I created a monster? (12/8/2006 16:13:08)

quote:

ORIGINAL: thevintagepeddler

Comic Sans I can change. This is a site builder so some things are limited as to how much I can do. I used a basic template and then changed the top part to my logo for example. The first two lines on each page are form driven. In other words the title and subtitle on each page that are in blue and pink I have total control over color and size but only a few choices on font. Ariel, Tacoma, Time, Courier, Veranda and Comic. Which do you suggest?

For the titles, a good choice would be bold Times New Roman. It's also a bit more elegant.

quote:

Again, since this was a template that I altered I don't think I can get the background to cover the whole page. I can probably alter my logo and get the background beneath it but it will most likely look like it is seamed together. From what I have experienced so far it doesn't look like I have any control over the area on the left side where the buttons are other than adding more, changing their appearance and size color font. I don't think I can get a background under them. I wanted to use the area under the buttons even and when I ask support I was told I couldn't.

I suggest the same Century Gothic for the navigation, but if you really have to keep it that small, Verdana. Judge for yourself and also remember that it's not good to have too many fonts on a single page.

And be consistent! If you use certain fonts on one pages, use them the same way on all other pages.

There is something about the way the homepage is layed out, but I don't know what to suggest. It looks unbalanced and unaligned. Think how it would look printed on paper or in a magazine. Lay it out as you would lay out an ad, and don't settle for less than what you can do best.

One last word about fonts... the font in the title graphic isn't very professional-looking either. If you think the Comic Sans was worth changing, I'd also fix the font in that graphic. It somehow doesn't fit the rest of the design. If you want, I can suggest some good free vintage font for you.

By the way, when will the men's suits and tuxedos category come up?



anderskorte -> RE: Have I created a monster? (12/8/2006 16:25:07)

Here is a title font suggestion for you. It's called Bodoni FLF.

[image]local://upfiles/14789/9786035157624F6DB0840458618D83E5.gif[/image]

Available here: http://www.frontpagewebmaster.com/m-337996/tm.htm



thevintagepeddler -> RE: Have I created a monster? (12/8/2006 17:19:19)

I am in font hell. LOL. Okay, I'll be changing the fonts hopefully this weekend. Men's suits coming soon but in all honesty probably after christmas :(



anderskorte -> RE: Have I created a monster? (12/10/2006 6:28:59)

quote:

ORIGINAL: thevintagepeddler

I am in font hell.

No you're not. [:)] Just fire suggestions and we'll guide you to the right direction.

Personally, I think a vintage look is perfectly achieved with Bodoni or Didot.



frnet -> RE: Have I created a monster? (12/11/2006 8:31:50)

Well...since you get most (if not all) customers from eBay, I would say the site is OK. But If you are looking outside of eBay, you should rethink the whole disign. Your color scheme and fonts have nothing to do with Vintage Clothing. Like I say, it is OK for where you are getting your customers from, but it will be considered "horrible" outside the eBay.



thevintagepeddler -> RE: Have I created a monster? (12/11/2006 10:01:08)

I got sidetracted this weekend but I am working on making changes that you guys were kind enough to suggest. Constructive critisism is always welcome.




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