Review: my personal site...

Leyen · 08-22-2005, 07:33 AM

Hey guys,

Just finished the major designs of my personal website, JonLing.Com.

It's a personal site containing a blog, poetry section, image gallery, guestbook and a link section. I will add more features in the future.

I am also well aware of the amount of graphics on the site and understand that viewers may face downloading problems as well as strains on my hosting bandwidth. In view of these problems, I have introduced frames which are hell irritating...
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/web-design-reviews/117564-review-my-personal-site.html

Anyways, if you are using Mozilla Firefox, the filters get screwed so you'll see this horribly blue background, which doesn't fit in with my site at all. I will change in to black soon... But I recommend that you use MS Internet Explorer to view the site.

That's all from me, now I wanna here from you. Leave a little note on this thread or on my guestbook and let me know what you think.

Thanks...

Rajo · 08-22-2005, 08:11 AM

very good graphic works but the left links text should b united

adam_uk · 08-22-2005, 08:47 AM

come back to me when its multi browser compatible

only time i use ie is when i need to use ftp

jayl · 08-22-2005, 10:00 AM

Ok let me give you a critical review of your website:

1. The "Welcome" page is completely unnecessary. It's a nice graphic but unless its a flash intro or some important notice, it doesn't need to be there. It makes the visitor have to unnecessarily click on an extra button, not to mention find the "ENTER" link, which should be more central and clicking anywhere on the image should bring you to the site.

2. The IE and 1024x768 requirements. A website should be viewable on any browser and on any platform and if you're restricting by resolution, 800x600 should be the minimum.

3. The colour scheme of your site makes it very hard to read. You have a dark background with lots of tiny white text. Dark text colour on a light background is essential for a website that contains a lot of text.

4. Your navigation system sucks. I don't mean to be harsh but it needs a complete revamp. Firstly, I didn't even know they were links. Secondly, they are nowhere near consistent. Thirdly, they run into the main body of the page, which is a big no-no, it impairs visibility and readability, not to mention that the part of the link that is under the main body is not clickable. I would put the navigation system into the huge space you have on the right. I would also invest in some better fonts for the nav bar items. If you're going to use different styles for them, they should at least reflect the artistic look you're trying to get across. And finally, the navigation text doesn't describe the content of that section very well. Broken Mirror and Screams instead of Images and Guestbook? Being different is good but only in the right areas. Navigation is not one of them.

5. The crosshair instead of the hand on links is a bad idea. I know it might seem cool, but people are used to the hand coming up when you hover over a link, it identifies to them that this indeed is a link, so don't upset them by changing it.

6. Edit the colour scheme of your guestbook. The blue looks awful with the dark colour scheme of the site.

I hope you are not offended by this review, there are good elements to your site (the background image and "enter site" images are very nice), but if you ask me for a review I'm going to review your site and give you constructive criticism. I hope you take some of the above points on board and that they help you to improve your site!
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=117564

Best of luck,

Joe.

rustypaulin · 08-22-2005, 10:16 AM

the navigation on the left doesn't work well at all in firefox some of the titles of the links are partially covered so it makes it hard to read what it says

GJ · 08-22-2005, 01:42 PM

Nice graphics but the blue doesn't fit.

Leyen · 08-22-2005, 09:28 PM

The blue comes if you're using Firefox... I am trying my best to make it compatible on all browsers.

@Jayl - Thanks for the assesment, I'll look into it..

sufi · 08-22-2005, 09:38 PM

Nice graphics. WOrks good with IE

deet · 08-23-2005, 07:22 PM

Did you do the graphics your-self?

Nice Site!

Zubair1 · 08-24-2005, 12:08 AM

nice graphics, ok layout. I had a little trouble see the second scrollbar after I entered
the site they were almost attached and made seem like they were actually One
Im using IE with a resolution of 800x600

brandonlanglois · 08-24-2005, 12:19 AM

Its ok. Not the best design, but for a personal site its preety good.

ammo · 08-24-2005, 02:56 AM

Nice graphics, good for a personal site!

Red Eyes Arena · 08-24-2005, 03:33 PM

really nicely designed! ^^ I like it!

Fowl · 08-26-2005, 11:02 PM

Why do you stop ppl from right clicking it is really annoying!
(I'm trying to press "View in IE" from FireFox)

If u must have "Welcome" page make sure there is a *text* link at the bottom also;
having to scroll in 2 differnet frames is confusing. So is hortzontal scrolling.

Overall this site looks good but is hard too use

def1 · 08-27-2005, 01:06 PM

change the navigation or make it more noticable

Leyen · 09-08-2005, 12:21 AM

Hey there guys!

Thanks for all your comments. I've redesigned the site.

Got rid of the front page intro, centralised all the individual scripts and redesigned the template.

What do you guys think of it now?

rcep · 09-08-2005, 11:28 AM

woo
cool site
i like to top scene
But i think u should make the main page shorter and make more links its much better
Goodluck

aaronfalloon · 09-08-2005, 11:33 AM

I like it, looks good, thumps up from me!

StudioWorks · 09-09-2005, 04:50 AM

Hey,

The image in the header looks good.. but kinda scary

The left area ( navigation ) needs a little improvement. Also, the images in the content area are kinda big.. they should be a little smaller.

Overall i think it looks decent enough even if it's too dark.

All the best,

SW

Damo-Online · 09-09-2005, 11:57 PM

its pretty good i must say!

Leyen · 10-17-2005, 10:11 PM

Thanks guys

LeetPCUser · 10-18-2005, 08:51 AM

It's not bad but the header is quite big. Also some of the pictures and stuff (Google) really look like they have no relevance.

KILL IFRAMES!

Troubled1 · 10-18-2005, 12:39 PM

Not bad at all for a personal site. Keep working on it you will get it there.

Momo · 10-21-2005, 06:31 PM

The graphic looks really nice, although the "Welcome to my world" looks a bit off. I'm not particularly fond of white text on black background coz it's harder to read, but anyway, overall, the site looks nice.

thomaslgates · 10-21-2005, 08:17 PM

Pretty well done.!

08-22-2005, 07:33 AM	THREAD STARTER #1 (permalink)
Leyen NamePros Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Western Australia Posts: 163	Review: my personal site... Hey guys, Just finished the major designs of my personal website, JonLing.Com. It's a personal site containing a blog, poetry section, image gallery, guestbook and a link section. I will add more features in the future. I am also well aware of the amount of graphics on the site and understand that viewers may face downloading problems as well as strains on my hosting bandwidth. In view of these problems, I have introduced frames which are hell irritating... ????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/web-design-reviews/117564-review-my-personal-site.html Anyways, if you are using Mozilla Firefox, the filters get screwed so you'll see this horribly blue background, which doesn't fit in with my site at all. I will change in to black soon... But I recommend that you use MS Internet Explorer to view the site. That's all from me, now I wanna here from you. Leave a little note on this thread or on my guestbook and let me know what you think. Thanks...

08-22-2005, 08:11 AM	#2 (permalink)
Rajo NamePros Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 165	very good graphic works but the left links text should b united __________________ Thank You ecommerce professional Web Site Design :wave:

08-22-2005, 09:38 PM	#8 (permalink)
sufi NamePros Expert Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: LinksHut.com Posts: 7,697	Nice graphics. WOrks good with IE __________________ Social Bookmarking Service - 100 Bookmarks + BONUS for just $5

08-24-2005, 12:08 AM	#10 (permalink)
Zubair1 NamePros Regular Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 912	nice graphics, ok layout. I had a little trouble see the second scrollbar after I entered the site they were almost attached and made seem like they were actually One Im using IE with a resolution of 800x600 __________________ Live Support : Zubair11 [at] hotmail.com Free SEO Directory! \|\| Free Online TV \|\| Tech Blog Web Design & Web Development Services \|\| Reliable Web Hosting

09-08-2005, 11:28 AM	#17 (permalink)
rcep Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: lebanon Posts: 2,458 Follow @ryansdistrict	woo cool site i like to top scene But i think u should make the main page shorter and make more links its much better Goodluck __________________ Download free MP3 _____________ Get unique visitors 4 NPs (over 800 satisfied) << Check the Holidays offer _____ Email me for fast response ryan [at] ryansdistrict.com ________ My 9000NPs R 4 SALE cheap- Contact me!

08-22-2005, 08:47 AM	#3 (permalink)
adam_uk Senior Member Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 2,187	come back to me when its multi browser compatible only time i use ie is when i need to use ftp

08-22-2005, 10:00 AM	#4 (permalink)
jayl NamePros Regular Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Cork, Ireland Posts: 225	Ok let me give you a critical review of your website: 1. The "Welcome" page is completely unnecessary. It's a nice graphic but unless its a flash intro or some important notice, it doesn't need to be there. It makes the visitor have to unnecessarily click on an extra button, not to mention find the "ENTER" link, which should be more central and clicking anywhere on the image should bring you to the site. 2. The IE and 1024x768 requirements. A website should be viewable on any browser and on any platform and if you're restricting by resolution, 800x600 should be the minimum. 3. The colour scheme of your site makes it very hard to read. You have a dark background with lots of tiny white text. Dark text colour on a light background is essential for a website that contains a lot of text. 4. Your navigation system sucks. I don't mean to be harsh but it needs a complete revamp. Firstly, I didn't even know they were links. Secondly, they are nowhere near consistent. Thirdly, they run into the main body of the page, which is a big no-no, it impairs visibility and readability, not to mention that the part of the link that is under the main body is not clickable. I would put the navigation system into the huge space you have on the right. I would also invest in some better fonts for the nav bar items. If you're going to use different styles for them, they should at least reflect the artistic look you're trying to get across. And finally, the navigation text doesn't describe the content of that section very well. Broken Mirror and Screams instead of Images and Guestbook? Being different is good but only in the right areas. Navigation is not one of them. 5. The crosshair instead of the hand on links is a bad idea. I know it might seem cool, but people are used to the hand coming up when you hover over a link, it identifies to them that this indeed is a link, so don't upset them by changing it. 6. Edit the colour scheme of your guestbook. The blue looks awful with the dark colour scheme of the site. I hope you are not offended by this review, there are good elements to your site (the background image and "enter site" images are very nice), but if you ask me for a review I'm going to review your site and give you constructive criticism. I hope you take some of the above points on board and that they help you to improve your site! ????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=117564 Best of luck, Joe.

08-22-2005, 10:16 AM	#5 (permalink)
rustypaulin NamePros Regular Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 344	the navigation on the left doesn't work well at all in firefox some of the titles of the links are partially covered so it makes it hard to read what it says

08-22-2005, 01:42 PM	#6 (permalink)
GJ Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 2,227	Nice graphics but the blue doesn't fit.

08-22-2005, 09:28 PM	THREAD STARTER #7 (permalink)
Leyen NamePros Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Western Australia Posts: 163	The blue comes if you're using Firefox... I am trying my best to make it compatible on all browsers. @Jayl - Thanks for the assesment, I'll look into it..

08-23-2005, 07:22 PM	#9 (permalink)
deet Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 2,927	Did you do the graphics your-self? Nice Site!

08-24-2005, 12:19 AM	#11 (permalink)
brandonlanglois NamePros Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 166	Its ok. Not the best design, but for a personal site its preety good.

08-24-2005, 02:56 AM	#12 (permalink)
ammo Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Cornwall! Posts: 2,251	Nice graphics, good for a personal site!

08-24-2005, 03:33 PM	#13 (permalink)
Red Eyes Arena NamePros Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 198	really nicely designed! ^^ I like it!

08-26-2005, 11:02 PM	#14 (permalink)
Fowl NamePros Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Melboure , Australia Posts: 69	Why do you stop ppl from right clicking it is really annoying! (I'm trying to press "View in IE" from FireFox) If u must have "Welcome" page make sure there is a text link at the bottom also; having to scroll in 2 differnet frames is confusing. So is hortzontal scrolling. Overall this site looks good but is hard too use

09-09-2005, 11:57 PM	#20 (permalink)
Damo-Online NamePros Regular Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 332	its pretty good i must say! __________________ DAMAN KOVACS.info \|\|NZTV Presentation Site \|\| MEDIA-FORUMS \|\| GJ ONLINE \|\| JUST THAT HOST NZTV Pres Forum

10-21-2005, 08:17 PM	#25 (permalink)
thomaslgates Account Suspended Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: India Posts: 672	Pretty well done.!

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)

08-27-2005, 01:06 PM	#15 (permalink)
def1 Senior Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 1,538	change the navigation or make it more noticable

09-08-2005, 12:21 AM	THREAD STARTER #16 (permalink)
Leyen NamePros Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Western Australia Posts: 163	Hey there guys! Thanks for all your comments. I've redesigned the site. Got rid of the front page intro, centralised all the individual scripts and redesigned the template. What do you guys think of it now?

09-08-2005, 11:33 AM	#18 (permalink)
aaronfalloon NamePros Regular Join Date: May 2005 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 756	I like it, looks good, thumps up from me! __________________ A young web developerâ€™s journey to financial freedom - aaronfalloon.com

09-09-2005, 04:50 AM	#19 (permalink)
StudioWorks no one lives forever Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: NamePros Posts: 8,092	Hey, The image in the header looks good.. but kinda scary The left area ( navigation ) needs a little improvement. Also, the images in the content area are kinda big.. they should be a little smaller. Overall i think it looks decent enough even if it's too dark. All the best, SW __________________ epagini.com mexicorealty.net softwarepit.com yadasoftware.com

10-17-2005, 10:11 PM	THREAD STARTER #21 (permalink)
Leyen NamePros Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Western Australia Posts: 163	Thanks guys

10-18-2005, 08:51 AM	#22 (permalink)
LeetPCUser Account Suspended Join Date: May 2005 Location: Whitewater, WI Posts: 3,710	It's not bad but the header is quite big. Also some of the pictures and stuff (Google) really look like they have no relevance. KILL IFRAMES!

10-18-2005, 12:39 PM	#23 (permalink)
Troubled1 NamePros Regular Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 306	Not bad at all for a personal site. Keep working on it you will get it there.

10-21-2005, 06:31 PM	#24 (permalink)
Momo Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 2,299	The graphic looks really nice, although the "Welcome to my world" looks a bit off. I'm not particularly fond of white text on black background coz it's harder to read, but anyway, overall, the site looks nice.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
400+names and 7+ sites for sale (Bamzo.com, iFreeBlog.com, etc.)	mykel241	Domains For Sale - Make Offer	2	05-28-2005 03:08 PM
Good Article: An SEO Checklist	Ferman	Search Engines	2	05-28-2005 11:51 AM
Review my site	BuLLDoG	Web Design Reviews	13	02-28-2005 10:32 PM