http://www.grpbenefits.net
I need some reviews of my site and its navigation. I have recently added a page about a dog named Buck and hope that I can use it to get people to check back on a monthly basis. I am a newbie when it comes to web-sites and am still learning quite a bit. Any feedback will be appreciated.
Busy posted this at 22:49 — 9th November 2004.
He has: 6,151 posts
Joined: May 2001
No offense but it shows
First up you need a look/feel to your site
You need to learn net ettique (and I need to learn to spell), things like bold text should only be used to highlight headings and important bits, not entire paragraphs. Centered text is also bad, gives that 'newbie' look and feel. The animated doorway is another 'newbie' tell tale.
You have "... There is a link at the top of each page to report bugs. ..." where is the link?
Your first page needs to capture the viewers interest within 10secs and preferby tell them what your site is about. looking at your links (via status bar) you have some affilate links, not a good start to gaining trust.
Normally I would of left your site by now because your first page didn't tell me anything, but your here for some help so I entered the site.
Must of been made in Internet Explorer - navigation doesn't fit in other browsers.
The blue background (this time no texture) is off putting, keep the theme of your site throughout.
The animated status bar thing is annoying, remember the rule KISS - keep it simple silly.
Having a 'remember to bookmark this site' is like begging, if people are interested they will bookmark it, if they arent they wont, having an animated image flashing away gets old quick.
Your interesting links page is interesting, a new background but parts of the blue are still there, the links are big and your menu is in a iframe ?
Another golden rule - Just because you can doesn't mean you should.
You need a theme foremost, use normal text (verdana or arial) at a normal size, use bold and italic to highlight important snipets only. Make use of stock photos (not animated clip art). Tell people what your site is about. remember not everyone will come to your site from the main page so each page should describe what it's about. remember 10secs to get the person or they leave.
While Buck can be a good idea I think you need to reword it, while buck is a living thing I doubt very much he/she is writing that page, you use the word 'I' on that page to much. Use Buck, or he/she because you are talking about him/her not for him/her. The pictures page is fine to use 'I' as they are captions. You've done good on that page as it makes people relate some. the image caption on the images is a bad idea.
That page should have the same header/footer as the rest of the site as it is still apart of it. Giving buck his own email address could be an idea, and include a paw print as the signature (thats if anyone emails a dog - kids might) Which reminds me, use this page to target children, which will reach adults as well (not to childish, about how you have it now but give kids more options, colouring in stencils, competitions etc) and this way the kids can draw the adults into your site.
Remember the old "Mum, can I have this, Mum, can I have that ...."
Good start, keep going and it'll work out
good luck
Bondings posted this at 23:13 — 11th November 2004.
They have: 6 posts
Joined: Nov 2004
Try not to put everything underneath each other. The corners do exist! Maybe try to make a head thing, a border where you can put your links or some other stuff like that. I watched the god flash animation. It is well made, but it lacks some original content I think. For the rest, keep learning some html.
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demon19 posted this at 22:11 — 12th November 2004.
They have: 5 posts
Joined: Nov 2004
i think it's not beautiful. there is many mistakes in design (Busy wrote about it).
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