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iBook · Oct 28, 2004, 02:09 AM

I just got finished with a web site for the company I work for and would like some opinions on the design. It really is the first site I have ever designed and I wish I could have passed up the opportunity to design it. I mainly was having some issues with Dreamweaver (knowing how to use it, rather). So any feedback, good, bad or worse would be highly appreciated.
Thanks.

http://www.computerdown.biz/

Btw I am not the 'web designer' for the company. I am actually the office manager/graphic design artist/systems admin/sales manager/whatever else it is I do. And I guess now 'web designer'. This company really is growing so fast I am really going to need some assistants though. 16-hour days are getting older.

Randman · Oct 28, 2004, 02:14 AM

I can understand wanting to keep the same font as the logo but it's really hard to read. Having the type capitalized adds to the difficulty in reading.
The buttons look a little large. Can they be scaled down?
The phone number at the bottom is larger than the company logo on top. Also, I'm wondering if you could color the Apple and M$ logos at the bottom, they look odd currently.

skalie · Oct 28, 2004, 02:16 AM

For the amount of content there's a hell of a lot of vertical scrolling, and er, horizontal scrolling if you're using 800x600.

phoenixboy70 · Oct 28, 2004, 02:46 AM

the buttons are ugly.

Xeo · Oct 28, 2004, 03:15 AM

Ow ow ow, the font is hurting my eyes. If you're going to use a crazy hard to read font for the logo, fine, but don't do it for content text. Ow ow.

All the content is made up of pictures. Any specific reason why? Hopefully it's just a work-in-progress side effect. If not, change the text to text. No need to increase load time for unnecessary reasons.

storer · Oct 28, 2004, 04:26 AM

Yep, font for a start. The logo looks fine, but fix the text font. Also, I would reccommend not using images for text, because customers may wish to copy information. In Firefox XP, the home button is off the navbar. Too much vertical scrolling, but making it text instead of image would fix that. Not much content, but so far, alright. I saw one of the tutorials from here

MilkmanDan · Oct 28, 2004, 05:27 AM

Eyes burning... the pain.....

SafariX · Oct 28, 2004, 05:54 AM

yikes

MilkmanDan · Oct 28, 2004, 10:37 AM

I think it killed my cat. Oh wait, no. He was just sleeping.

wataru · Oct 28, 2004, 11:13 AM

Way too wide. The design should be fluid so you don't have to scroll horizontally (1024x768 here).

Also the font is painful.

waxcrash · Oct 28, 2004, 12:31 PM

As someone else has mentioned, DO NOT use images as text, unless you really have to. The reason for this is bots can't index your page. You want your page to show up on Google and other search engines right? When the google bot comes to your site and finds no text and only images, it won't have anything to index. This is very bad for a business.

d4nth3m4n · Oct 28, 2004, 12:40 PM

rollover text shift-

home- down
plans-up
contact-down
employment-up
services- down and to the left??

and the tab nature of the buttons is a little weird. i think you're onto something but only on a conceptual level. something has to give there.

effgee · 02:02 PM

Originally posted by iBook:
Would like feedback on a site I designed...

iBook,

here's a few notes I took on the site. They're not meant to sound harsh or even rude - just didn't have much time, so they're pretty much bullet points only. Hope it helps

Logo
Too complex and difficult to read; angle of the italic letters doesn't really support/complement the circular logo mark ("CD" in a circle); I wouldn't integrate the phone number so tightly with the logo - what if the phone # needs to change one day; I also wouldn't overlay the word mark ("computer down") and the logo mark ("CD" in a circle); wouldn't take the "CD" part so literal as to use an actual compact disc as the background for the logo mark - if people don't get the technical nature of the company from the name, the compact disc won't help, either. I'd go for something a bit more subtle and abstract ... maybe like so:

Which isn't to say that you should be using the above - a) because I whipped it up about two minutes and b) because t'was my idea A really good logo should be one that can "endure the test of time" - meaning you won't have to design a new one every two years 'cause you're sick of the old one or because it looks outdated.
Color Palette
Not sure if the reddish/brownish - grey combination supports the corporate image of a high-tech company. These hues are usually associated with fall, leaves, decay, earth (as in: "dirt"), etc., etc.
Branding Header (= area above main navigation)
You should try to find a complimentary image/photo that supports the branding message (we're good, we're fast, we're affordable, whatever) - the logo all by itself looks very lonely and isolated. istockphoto.com is your friend - some very good images for very little money
Page Layout, misc
You should try to establish a hierarchy for your content in the order you'd like the visitors to your site to perceive the content. Usually that would be: Branding (who are these guys) >> Navigation (where can I go) >> Content (what's here). A "perception axis" is generally a somewhat diagonal line, running from the upper left to the lower right corner. Your design can "bend" this axis somewhat but you shouldn't "break"/"force" it in order to retain a high level of usability. Now, along this axis, you "line up" your elements as mentioned above so you have a proper "order". Next you size and space each of your elements accordingly and make sure that you categorize and group them logically.
Primary Navigation
The font is too large when compared to the logo - navigation is important but it should never overpower the branding. I would add an "about us" content area where you tell visitors about about the company, people, etc. - instills trust and helps them make a decision. Ideally, the "contact" page should contain an email form.
Home Page
On the home page, you should add a short textual description of what the company does, recent projects, clients etc. to motivate users to explore the site further.
Content
As others have mentioned already, content in form of gifs/jpgs/etc. is an absolute no-no. It's user-hostile (how do I print this), repels search engines and generally looks old-fashioned. Also - do you really want to create new graphics every time you need to update the site? Tip: look at MovableType, a low-tech and easy to learn "content management system" (well, actually it's blogging software but for a site the size of yours it'll be perfect) that makes updating the site a matter of seconds instead of 30 minutes. You won't regret it!
And - content is king! Give your visitors something to read, a reason to call you when they know nothing about you other than your site, entice them to look around, update the site frequently so they'll come back.

In the end, think about whether you would print out your site (or part thereof), give it to your best and most sophisticated client and feel confident that it would help you get that $ 100,000.00 project. That's the test your site has to pass - can it stand on its own and represent you/your company in its best light - content, branding, design, page layout, usability, information architecture, technology used, etc., etc.

(edit: there would be quite a bit more to comment on, but I'm quite busy today ... maybe I can spend a few more minutes later tonight ...)

Landos Mustache · Oct 28, 2004, 01:50 PM

I can't say one good thing about it. It really does look like a print designer made it.

skalie · Oct 28, 2004, 01:56 PM

Originally posted by effgee:
*snip*

Bejesus that was good.

*bookmarks thread for later reference*

effgee · Oct 28, 2004, 02:11 PM

Originally posted by skalie:
Bejesus that was good. *bookmarks thread for later reference*

:bow:

Thanks for the kind words

iBook - before I forget - earlier today, I posted another quick feedback for rowzado's "girlie" site here ... some of the stuff mentioned therein, especially the part about font sizes, families etc. and spancing of design elements might be helpful for you as well ... I hope.

Jaey · Oct 28, 2004, 02:21 PM

Originally posted by skalie:
Bejesus that was good.

*bookmarks thread for later reference*

Seriously. I'm coming back to this thread if I ever make a site.

stevesnj · Oct 28, 2004, 08:26 PM

I do the same thing but as a side business...What do you think of my site? I tried to use small graphics for quicker loading times (text as graphics is not a good idea) and only use cross platform font styles. Hope you find these tips helpful...good luck.

www.steveranieri.net

Disgruntled Head of C-3PO · Oct 28, 2004, 08:27 PM

Originally posted by stevesnj:
I do the same thing but as a side business...What do you think of my site?

www.steveranieri.net

Not bad but the colour is very exorcist.

stevesnj · Oct 28, 2004, 08:30 PM

Originally posted by Disgruntled Head of C-3PO:
Not bad but the colour is very exorcist.

LOL...true but i like to keep the theme of colors the same as the season it is...they look like fall colors? I thought they do a little? lol

SamuraiDL · Oct 28, 2004, 08:34 PM

maybe make the windows and Mac logos links?? on the front page.

rozwado1 · Oct 28, 2004, 08:59 PM

For a 'first site' it's not too bad, but a 'first site' should never be for a company. When you first designing it's easiest to just make your site with .jpg files so it will look the same in every browser and you want a "cool site." I used to think that too. Stop thinking that.

I would go buy some books and get to know the theories of web design. Trash this site and start from scratch before too many people see it.

edit: quick site fix - add a footer that says "Copyright 1997-1999." That should spare you some embarrassment for the time being.

Also, if your heart's not into designing, why not hire a fellow NN'er to help you out?

SafariX · Oct 28, 2004, 09:46 PM

Originally posted by rozwado1:
For a 'first site' it's not too bad, but a 'first site' should never be for a company. When you first designing it's easiest to just make your site with .jpg files so it will look the same in every browser and you want a "cool site." I used to think that too. Stop thinking that.

I would go buy some books and get to know the theories of web design. Trash this site and start from scratch before too many people see it.

edit: quick site fix - add a footer that says "Copyright 1997-1999." That should spare you some embarrassment for the time being.

Also, if your heart's not into designing, why not hire a fellow NN'er to help you out?

LOL@COPYRIGHT HARZ HABACHI

The Wolf · Oct 29, 2004, 08:40 PM

Originally posted by rozwado1:
. . . why not hire a fellow NN'er to help you out?

Is there a forum/link for that?

I'm growing tired of waiting for my graffix designer gf to get around to doing my site. It's (supposed to be) a total of 5 pages and 99.9% text. BUT, I want it done right so that I get the best ranking with search engines. I have of course done the entire layout myself as a jpg, but other than her telling me it sucks (which of course I disagree) she hasn't done anything else.