OptimalSource.biz Finally Open!

Firstly, a simple spelling mistake I noticed:

Quote: The most obvious drawback is how much space this method waists.

On the about page, this should read:
The most obvious drawback is how much space this method wastes.

The basis is good, am liking the layout and the logo (especially the logo, abstract is good IMO ) however this is very dark and dreary, somehow it's just not easy on the eye, definate overkill on the drop-shadows, which is easy to do unfortunately.

The elements don't seem to fit well together, probably due to the menu pushing everything off to the right and the fact that nothing is aligned well... There's no fundamental interconnectedness of all things

I wasn't immediately able to discern that the items along the bottom were a menu (of sorts), they seemed like temporary holders, waiting for some content or an image... Not sure what you can do there.

Overall the foundation is solid, it just needs a little revision of colours and elements and some jiggling of positions.

Quote: The only place on the internet to find quality templates and scripts.

Please, don't lie. You can say you have some great templates here but there is no way your site is better than the big template repositories out there. (and looking at the templates..... :eek: )

The logo is actually pretty good. It's got sort of a funky retro look that I like. The rest of the design is quite out of sync with that though. All the rounded shapes are very different from the more angular logo. The arrangement of the navigation around the logo is quite innovative but leaves some odd space below the logo. I also agree about the overuse of drop shadows.

It took about a minute to load the whole page on a 56k. The bottom row of images was especially slow.

Quote: One of the best things about the work done by Optimal Source is making pages load faster.

Um, how am I supposed to believe this if your own site doesn't even load quickly??

There doesn't seem to be a way to get back to the home page.

Clicking the logo will take you back to the main page. I'm getting rid of those images on the first page. I'm working on improvements but I love this site

Wait... No comments on the html or flash menu option? Nothing about the detailed breakdown of each product?

Thats a well thought out welcome page... Now I like it when I see you put html as a default rather than flash... The welcome page is centered but the contents are not...
The discussion on the Why section doesnt really cut it... Also the copyright at the bottom should have more space before it, coz it looks a little constricted with the contents... Other than that, its cool... Congrats!

Thank you demonhale. The why page isnt finished yet.
I'm not sure what I am going to do with the text on the main page. I like to have it justify but those last few words kind through it off...

After reading the other's comments I noticed a few other things that I would change.

The "menu" title is has the same look as the menu buttons. I would do something different stylewise with the "menu" title so that it doesn't look so much like a navigation item and instead looks more like a header ... maybe just get rid of it.

This next one is just my opinion and I'm going to watch this thread to see what some of the guru's of TWF have to say about it. So feel totally free to ignore it. I have a large monitor and your page has a resonable fixed size that is aligned to left. Thus that leaves my broswer with a lot of empty screen space on your site. I would either remove the fixed width so that the page stretches or (**I'm wincing as I say this ... **) center the content so that it looks like it formats a bit better in larger monitors. This way you don't lose the functionality need by those with smaller monitors.

I dont know whats the problem with centering contents r3a1 that your wincing, I see great designs from CSS Zen Garden and it looks really cool...

bja's site is functional, not cluttered, and has taken usability issues in mind, so I dont see much of a problem there... The Menu title I can notice this is bigger in size than the regular links and doesnt have a hover effect, it doent confuse me or any visitors I might say, coz its located appropriately...

r3al wrote: or (**I'm wincing as I say this ... **) center the content so that it looks like it formats a bit better in larger monitors.

Nothing wrong with centering content or making a stretchy design - can't see that either of these options would fit with the work already done though. This layout is fairly typical, I use a 21" and a 19" monitor both at some ridiculous res and didn't notice the white space.

I actually like the menu on the main page, the six links around the logo, but then it changes when you go to a different page!! I would suggest keeping it consistent throughout the site.

Also, looking at your feature product. Perhaps you should create some awesome, I don't mean just pretty good, but awesome templates to be displayed as examples, and then the ones you create for people can be average. Not that you should try to not do as good (do your best), but at least this will look better when they browse your site.

That's all I have to say right now. Good luck with your little business.

Wow, I diden't notice this thread had been picked up again.
I would love to streach the content but I dont think it would be possbale with the current theme. After all... The Peatured product layer is positioned exactly. There is a reason why it was designed like that. Version 1 of optimal source that was never relised had a bar that went off screen. It would look weird to have the object just abruptly stop.

mscreashuns, I tried keeping the layout the same on the main page but it dident look right with sutch a small about of content. Also, are you saying you dont like the other menu? Thank you for the luck! I need it!

I have a qusetion I need answerd though... I want to get rid of the drop shadows on the top 2 bars above the featured product... And styleing ides?

I would put more content on your main page.