|
| |
Sta.rtup.biz - New Entrepreneur Socail Network Site in Need of a Review
View related threads:
(in this forum
| in all forums)
|
Logged in as: Guest
|
|
|
optiwizer
Posts: 5
Joined: 5/20/2008
Status: offline
 |
Sta.rtup.biz - New Entrepreneur Socail Network Site in ... - 5/20/2008 12:18:45
Need Honest Review of My Entrepreneur Website: http://Sta.rtUp.biz
We are going to start launching regional campaigns in June to our new website that is a Social Network for Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners.
Looking for feedback on:
1) the overall usability of the site
2) the ask the experts area
3) And any thoughts on areas that we can add
Feel free to be as honest as possible so that I can make the changes before the launch.
Thanks.
|
|
|
|
Tailslide
Posts: 6296
Joined: 5/10/2005
From: Out here on the raggedy edge
Status: offline
|
RE: Sta.rtup.biz - New Entrepreneur Socail Network Site... - 5/20/2008 12:54:05
Hi
Personally I find the homepage central area a bit busy - not sure where to look first! Maybe a bit more whitespace in the central area would be good. Not sure what tone you're aiming for - the photos seem a bit too un-businesslike to me - I'd dump the whole photo section.
The forum area could use zebra striping on the threads to make them easier to read.
Technically - you're using XHTML 1.1 incorrectly. I'd downshift to XHTML 1.0 and then try to ensure that there are as few coding errors as possible - there are a lot there currently.
_____________________________
"My strategy is so simple an idiot could have devised it"
Little Blue Plane Web Design | Blood, Sweat & Rust - A Land Rover restoration project
| |
|
|
|
anderskorte
Posts: 545
Joined: 2/20/2005
From: Finland
Status: offline
|
RE: Sta.rtup.biz - New Entrepreneur Socail Network Site... - 5/21/2008 12:37:46
quote:
ORIGINAL: optiwizer
Looking for feedback on:
1) the overall usability of the site
2) the ask the experts area
3) And any thoughts on areas that we can add
Do you take any criticism regarding the appearance?
I'm sorry, but we're not your content manager. We take a look at your design, peek at your code, make a few simple usability/accessibility checks and comment. Few of us really have the time to read whole pages or really get into what the company has to offer. But I'll do my best.
About usability, you got all the basics right. The site is easy to navigate, it's very quick to find a way to go further on the site and it's easy to find out where you're at. Actually, I'd say the navigation technique is exemplary. A reader doesn't get lost in the subpages or subsubpages.
Can I comment the design?
It's bad. The letter-play on the homepage and in the logo is horrible, it's a bad way to get attention and you should get rid of it. There are plenty of other, more subtle ways to become noticed with your type. Those stretched and shrinked words remind me of an asthma attack.
I don't know if whitespace is the answer for the confusion on the homepage. You don't give the viewer a clear attention pattern on the homepage — in other words, a reader is confused because he doesn't know where to focus first. What information is more important than the rest? Where do I start looking? Create, Ask, Hall of Fame, Begin to Grow... They're all presented at once in that big confusing pile of images, arrows, titles, lists etc.
Take a look at OReilly.com and notice how calm the center area is, although it's packed with info. Then compare it to your site. Are you getting the clue?
By the way, don't change the colors. They're good.
< Message edited by anderskorte -- 5/21/2008 12:45:17 >
_____________________________
Information needs design. Typeface is the voice of a message.
| |
|
|
|
optiwizer
Posts: 5
Joined: 5/20/2008
Status: offline
|
RE: Sta.rtup.biz - New Entrepreneur Socail Network Site... - 5/28/2008 18:43:12
Redid the entire home page. Is it an improvement.
| |
|
|
|
optiwizer
Posts: 5
Joined: 5/20/2008
Status: offline
|
RE: Sta.rtup.biz - New Entrepreneur Socail Network Site... - 5/30/2008 1:12:38
Any suggestions on which logo to pick out of these?
http://99designs.com/contests/7777
| |
|
|
|
d a v e
Posts: 4179
Joined: 7/24/2002
From: England (but live in Finland now)
Status: offline
|
RE: Sta.rtup.biz - New Entrepreneur Socail Network Site... - 5/30/2008 2:38:55
this one #61
Entrant:
By Mogeek
_____________________________
David Prescott
Gekko web design
| |
|
|
|
Tailslide
Posts: 6296
Joined: 5/10/2005
From: Out here on the raggedy edge
Status: offline
|
RE: Sta.rtup.biz - New Entrepreneur Socail Network Site... - 5/30/2008 2:41:59
I was looking at them the other day - personally I prefer the simpler designs:
61, 51, 52,
_____________________________
"My strategy is so simple an idiot could have devised it"
Little Blue Plane Web Design | Blood, Sweat & Rust - A Land Rover restoration project
| |
|
|
|
optiwizer
Posts: 5
Joined: 5/20/2008
Status: offline
|
RE: Sta.rtup.biz - New Entrepreneur Socail Network Site... - 5/31/2008 14:02:26
redid the color scheme and logo. Improvement?
| |
|
|
|
Larry M.
Posts: 2853
Joined: 2/20/2003
From: Greenville, South Carolina, USA
Status: offline
|
RE: Sta.rtup.biz - New Entrepreneur Socail Network Site... - 5/31/2008 14:22:14
quote:
redid the color scheme and logo. Improvement?
Improvement, yes. The logo looks too large, however - it overpowers the site.
Your site lacks a Mission Statement. Visitors want to know fast (10 seconds) what your site offers and how it can benefit them, then, if satisfied, they begin exploring. If your server stats show excessive click-outs from the home page, this most likely is the reason.
Lastly, I see yourheader/logo tag line now reads "The Small Business Social Network" versus incorporating the word entrepreneur or entrepreneurial as before. Which is it? The word entrepreneur (or entrepreneurial) carries much more impact than social in my opinion. Ultimately business centers on business, not the touchee/feelee approach.
_____________________________
Larry M.
Reality is the leading cause of stress among those few in touch with it
| |
|
 New Messages |
 No New Messages |
 Hot Topic w/ New Messages |
 Hot Topic w/o New Messages |
 Locked w/ New Messages |
 Locked w/o New Messages |
|
Post New Thread
Reply to Message
Post New Poll
Submit Vote
Delete My Own Post
Delete My Own Thread
Rate Posts
|
|
|
Printable Version 
