B2B Website Design

Not bad. I only have a couple of nit-picky comments, because overall they look fine to me.

Polyester

Those buttons along the side don't look right. That bevelled look isn't really "in" anymore, and they blend in to the background too much. I also don't like how they start right at the top of the page. There should be something else there. Mouseovers would really help to make the page more dynamic - A:hover (IE only right now) is a simple solution to that.

You should definitely put your logo at the top of every page. Speaking of the Logo, I really like the "oline" part (although I might be a little hard to tell that that's an "O") but something else should be done with "Polyester".

I really like the colour you've chosen - it's unique and will help to set your site apart.

Spun

A lot of the same comments I made above go for this one too (logo at the top of every page!)

I have a problem with the "e"-everything. It's cheesy and gimmicky. It might be attractive to newbie users though.

I noticed that for the "reference library' you linked directly to the Polyester site - it would be better if you just copied the page into the Spun template. A more prominent link to the home page is needed here too (if you put a logo on every page, just use it as a link to the home page)

The round yellow buttons on the main page aren't exactly clear - they need some work.

Good choice of colour here as well, but the green on the "E"'s for the headings should match the navbar green.

I really like how these two sites look similar enough to identify them as partners, but different enough to set them apart from each other. Good job!

BOTH:

1) You have the exact same kind of logo for both, which is dumb. I would create a personal one for each.

POLYESTER ONLINE:

1) You have to scroll with a 800x600 res.? That's not good. At least make it compatible with that size res.

2) Your buttons are ok, but I agree that they blend in with the BG too much. Make them stand out more!

3) Why not move the buttons down to where the content starts, and then make the logo the width of the side bar until where it is now? Then it will stand out more, and you could probably make it look cool.

4) Keep the same heading/logo on each page.

SPUN ONLINE:

1) What's the difference between this site and Polyester Online content and design wise?

2) The graphics are grainy looking and blurry. I would fix it.

3) Use bullets on the side menu like you do with your other site. That way you can tell all the difference links. Why not also try image flips?

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The fireburn.com Network:

I like the similar designs in this case. They are supposed to have some sort of partnership (so I gather). It makes sense (to me, anyway), that they have some design elements in common. Maybe you could keep the "online" for both logos and use a different font for "spun" and "polyester".

I think that the polyester site is better put together. It has a more finished look - cleaner and more professional looking.

I agree with everyone that you should use two different logos - or at lease two different fonts for polyester and spun.

On the spun site - in the navigation - under ecommerce - the account manager text is cut in half so you can only see the top half of the text.

On the polyester navigation, instead of using the pinky/puple buttons - try using that yellow. That would really pop.

Nice job!

Brooke

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Providing quality websites for businesses and individuals!
www.cataluna.com

Hello,

I think they are both very similar. I think maybe you need to make the table width 640 pixels so people with smaller monitors dont have to scroll back and forth to see the site. Its layed out good, i just think that those two sites are very similar and maybe you can change them around a litte. Thats it. Hope that helps!

Hi,

Thank you all for the cool suggestions.

Seems everyone has been telling me to make the two websites...different from each other. WHY ?

Doesnt the common look give the surfer a feeling that both sites are from the same company (i.e same people) Yeah clubbing the two sites is acceptable..but why different designs altogether.

Hope you guys give me your word on this too.

Thanks & BYE !

Kapil Bhatia,
Brand Manager http://www.polyesteronline.com

Hi Justin,

This is regarding the posting you had made at The Webmaster-Forums in the Web Site Critique Area.
The URL thread for the same is as follows:
http://www.webmaster-forums.com/ubb/Forum10/HTML/000454.html

I really liked your suggestions and would try and implement the same soon at my website but there is one point which I need some more explaination on. Here is the piece given below.

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3) Why not move the buttons down to where the content starts, and then make the logo the width of the side bar until where it is now? Then it will stand out more, and you could probably make it look cool.
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Thanks and BYE !

Kapil

It's hard to explain... If you ever try doing it I'll tell you if that's what I was thinking of...

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The fireburn.com Network:

I don't know why everyone else thinks they should be more different from each other either. The way they are now makes it obvious to the viewer that the two sites are from the same company. If they were totally unrelated sites I would understand that argument but in this case I think it's a good idea.

Actually, if I'm remembering your sites right, you might want to make the navigation structure the same for both, so people who know how to get around one don't have to figure out a different structure for the other.

I like how the logos are similar - I just feel that the polyester site looks way more put together and finished. The spun site graphics aren't as clean, or original looking.

Overall the Polyester site is great the way it is - the Spun site just needs some help.

Brooke

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Providing quality websites for businesses and individuals!
www.cataluna.com