This is a pretty good design for a start. The colour scheme suits the topic and it's easy to navigate. You could do without those fly-out menus. They're kind of ackward and aren't necessary for navigating the site easily.
The layout is a bit boxy and the top photo could be better targetted to the topic. Maybe it's just me but I don't really associate tomatoes with indian food. I know they're used a lot but that's more of an Italian association.
The recipes look good! I think there might be a mistake in the one for carrot soup because it doesn't say when to add the garam masala. Photos would be a nice addition.
I really like the warm and inviting colour scheme; it suits both cuisine in general and the colours associated with traditional Indian cuisine.
I agree with Megan that the flyout menus are very difficult to use, especially when the root menu item is much shorter than the one below it; for example whenever I try and go to one of the sub-items of "Soups", I constantly mouse over "Fried Snacks" instead of the Soups sub menu.
Also you should create thumbnail sized versions of the images on the site rather than force-resizing them using HTML attributes (height, width). It'll make it faster for people on slower connections, and reduce the strange, boxy artifacts that occur when resizing in this manner. The thumbnails could also link to a larger version of the photo.
Finally, as a westerner that's not familiar with dish names, I'd like to have photos to know what the recipe involves and what to expect. Photos would also 'sell' the recipes a lot more.
Your website design looks good. It has a clean and easy to use interface. But i just wonder, why did you put photos in a blue box/table? For these tables, You can use the same color of your website. I think this will be better.
Great looking site!
Really nice colour scheme too.
I think it would really be better not having to click on every image to view the enlarged version, but to put all the full sized images right in the recipe page, in between the several text sections. That way there's less clicking, it looks better and there's no extra browsing. If there's over 10 images, or if they're too large then yes - it makes sense to have them open on separate pages, but even then it's better to use something like a Scriptaculous javascript to have the image enlarged on mouseover.
Other than that, there's some blank space under the main top image. I think it would look better if that spacing would be a bit smaller, to keep the content and design balanced on the page. Plus there would less scrolling every time a new page is loaded.
Good luck with the site! I really like it.
Over all I think your site looks good. Just a couple of things I think you should change.
I find the text in the header a little hard to read.
I think it would look better and user friendlier if you had your navigation menu along the top.
rituscooking posted this at 22:28 — 9th April 2009.
I am reviewing the site based on the learnings of an internet application programming course.
I think that first off the tomatoe background on the inner content area should go.. its kind of to circly with all that background.
Also the theme of the site might a bit off as well. As megan mentioned, on my first impression I thought that it was an italian food site.
I like the idea that you have with the menu on the side, it keeps the navigation simple, yet specific. Maybe its possible to add some style to the static menu?
Lastly, if it is at all possibly, could you put the google ads that are between the page title and page content above the page title instead? its sort of distracting, and if you have control over where those sit it would be good to move them.
Hi! I'm actually a culinary student, and your site so attractive for all the chef's wanna be. what i like most about your site is that it's so neat! Very clean. Why do i say that? because there's no blogrolls, or any widgets. It loads very fast and it's really neat! That's what i like most about your blog. The neatness. And the foods are very great! And, hmmm, you banner is good though you can still improve it more. my rating for your blog is - 7.5/10
This, I like. The website has a very simple and easy to follow interface. The colors and logo go well together. I don't really like the text on the logo, it looks a little elementary. I don't like how rolling over links will pop up with other options. It's not what I was expecting, and it looks kind of cluttered. I'd find another way around that, personally. The dotted underlines for links is also kind of blah to me. I'd probably just make the links a bold and red color. I've never been a fan of the dotted underlines.
Very nice site. I have to agree with the others about the header photo. It doesn't convey an Indian theme. I would change the photo to one that shows spices, saffron rice, tandoori chicked, etc., kind of a montage.
Also, the photos on the recipe pages could be much larger...at least 200 px in width, close up images (macro) with better lighting so viewers can see how delicious the dishes look. You can make a light tent inexpensively using a white bed sheet and a couple of $5 lamps positioned strategically, that will give your photos a professional look.
It's generally an attractive website. The background tile theme is well-chosen. It's also very easy to navigate quickly to what interests the visitor.
I would echo a point made above about investing a little time on working out how to light the food pictures better. You wouldn't need to spend much money at all on this. Why not try taking the photos outdoors during the day?
The uppermost ad banner is a little intrusive, and should be moved further down. But otherwise, nice job.
raheelmushtaq posted this at 11:04 — 29th September 2009.
it looks really an attractive site the layout is simple and brilliant and the post are quite nice to read. and the idea is quite unique too with some tomatoes in the top bar it looks quite refreshing
siofra1101 posted this at 10:47 — 7th October 2009.
I love this site and the content. I have even added it into my bookmarks.
I love the little diagrams with fun ways to inform about fighting fat etc. However, I did find that these and the advertising swamped the content.
For example, I clicked on bread but it took me a while to find were the links to recipes was located. It was burried right in between a huge advertisment and your informative content, therefore not very obvious.
Other than that, love the colour scheme, very appropriate and love the content!
The only person that will be with you your entire life, is you!
I do like your color scheme. And I agree that your content is buried by the ads on the page. I clicked on the beverages link and the content is not the first thing you see. If you are going to have ads at the top of your site, place standard banner style adds 468 X 60 instead of square style 250 X 250 ads.
offyourrocker posted this at 23:50 — 2nd April 2010.
I like your website, it's clean and organized. But I don't think the header pic or the typeface on the top of the homepage convey an Indian them at all. Also I found it a bit annoying that the text on the top half of the home page is in lighter gray tone, and the rest of the text is darker. Perhaps some more consistency here would help the home page.
I definitely want more pics! I love Indian food and love to look at delicious pics of the finished dishes so that I can decide if I want to try making them. And is it just me, or did I not see anything about curry? I love curry dishes and always associate them with India, so that seems like an oversight to me to leave out curry recipes.
I know that tomatoes and even potatoes are commonly used in Indian dishes, as well yogurt and naan breads; I think you would do well to mention this in a conversational manner on the home page for those who don't know these things. "Indian cooking is about much more than just curry!" You could say something like that, followed by some tidbits on the other ingredients used in Indian cuisine.
Many more pics are needed and they should be larger - remember, people are visual and drawn in largely by pictures before they are enticed to read.
I think your website has huge potential and I wish you the very best!
Frank
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Megan posted this at 17:02 — 7th March 2009.
She has: 11,421 posts
Joined: Jun 1999
This is a pretty good design for a start. The colour scheme suits the topic and it's easy to navigate. You could do without those fly-out menus. They're kind of ackward and aren't necessary for navigating the site easily.
The layout is a bit boxy and the top photo could be better targetted to the topic. Maybe it's just me but I don't really associate tomatoes with indian food. I know they're used a lot but that's more of an Italian association.
The recipes look good! I think there might be a mistake in the one for carrot soup because it doesn't say when to add the garam masala. Photos would be a nice addition.
Megan
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rituscooking posted this at 20:19 — 7th March 2009.
They have: 9 posts
Joined: Mar 2009
Thanks Megan for your valuable input, I would try to implement the changes suggested by you.
crai posted this at 20:56 — 31st March 2009.
They have: 4 posts
Joined: Mar 2009
I really like the warm and inviting colour scheme; it suits both cuisine in general and the colours associated with traditional Indian cuisine.
I agree with Megan that the flyout menus are very difficult to use, especially when the root menu item is much shorter than the one below it; for example whenever I try and go to one of the sub-items of "Soups", I constantly mouse over "Fried Snacks" instead of the Soups sub menu.
Also you should create thumbnail sized versions of the images on the site rather than force-resizing them using HTML attributes (height, width). It'll make it faster for people on slower connections, and reduce the strange, boxy artifacts that occur when resizing in this manner. The thumbnails could also link to a larger version of the photo.
Finally, as a westerner that's not familiar with dish names, I'd like to have photos to know what the recipe involves and what to expect. Photos would also 'sell' the recipes a lot more.
Ok, now I want Indian food...
Hope this helps!
Dsgnr posted this at 20:28 — 2nd April 2009.
They have: 13 posts
Joined: Apr 2009
Your website design looks good. It has a clean and easy to use interface. But i just wonder, why did you put photos in a blue box/table? For these tables, You can use the same color of your website. I think this will be better.
retrosound posted this at 06:53 — 6th April 2009.
They have: 4 posts
Joined: Apr 2009
Great looking site!
Really nice colour scheme too.
I think it would really be better not having to click on every image to view the enlarged version, but to put all the full sized images right in the recipe page, in between the several text sections. That way there's less clicking, it looks better and there's no extra browsing. If there's over 10 images, or if they're too large then yes - it makes sense to have them open on separate pages, but even then it's better to use something like a Scriptaculous javascript to have the image enlarged on mouseover.
Other than that, there's some blank space under the main top image. I think it would look better if that spacing would be a bit smaller, to keep the content and design balanced on the page. Plus there would less scrolling every time a new page is loaded.
Good luck with the site! I really like it.
barsa posted this at 12:33 — 7th April 2009.
She has: 20 posts
Joined: May 2008
I love the background its look very beautiful.
Though the website is very simple but the header picture looks great.
And logo is very simple.
Rami posted this at 21:36 — 8th April 2009.
They have: 6 posts
Joined: Apr 2009
Over all I think your site looks good. Just a couple of things I think you should change.
I find the text in the header a little hard to read.
I think it would look better and user friendlier if you had your navigation menu along the top.
rituscooking posted this at 22:28 — 9th April 2009.
They have: 9 posts
Joined: Mar 2009
I will be making the changes shortly to my Indian vegetarian cooking site. Comments are very helpful. More comments are always welcome.
algostudent posted this at 19:36 — 10th April 2009.
They have: 4 posts
Joined: Apr 2009
Hello,
I am reviewing the site based on the learnings of an internet application programming course.
I think that first off the tomatoe background on the inner content area should go.. its kind of to circly with all that background.
Also the theme of the site might a bit off as well. As megan mentioned, on my first impression I thought that it was an italian food site.
I like the idea that you have with the menu on the side, it keeps the navigation simple, yet specific. Maybe its possible to add some style to the static menu?
Lastly, if it is at all possibly, could you put the google ads that are between the page title and page content above the page title instead? its sort of distracting, and if you have control over where those sit it would be good to move them.
Good looking site so far
Alex
krates posted this at 15:41 — 11th April 2009.
They have: 11 posts
Joined: Aug 2007
Nice content.. remove italics thingy and make a better banner for the site buddy..
Brutal posted this at 17:22 — 21st April 2009.
They have: 134 posts
Joined: Feb 2009
i think that very good idea for site and interest information.
desigh look simply, maybe, you need change navigation. Make navigation more colors.
I like your site.
wazzupweb posted this at 11:22 — 4th May 2009.
They have: 63 posts
Joined: May 2009
Hi! I'm actually a culinary student, and your site so attractive for all the chef's wanna be.
what i like most about your site is that it's so neat! Very clean. Why do i say that? because there's no blogrolls, or any widgets. It loads very fast and it's really neat! That's what i like most about your blog. The neatness. And the foods are very great! And, hmmm, you banner is good though you can still improve it more. 
my rating for your blog is - 7.5/10
keep up the good work!!
God bless!!
kevindosi posted this at 04:20 — 1st August 2009.
They have: 6 posts
Joined: Aug 2009
This, I like. The website has a very simple and easy to follow interface. The colors and logo go well together. I don't really like the text on the logo, it looks a little elementary. I don't like how rolling over links will pop up with other options. It's not what I was expecting, and it looks kind of cluttered. I'd find another way around that, personally. The dotted underlines for links is also kind of blah to me. I'd probably just make the links a bold and red color. I've never been a fan of the dotted underlines.
MacT posted this at 03:18 — 6th August 2009.
They have: 2 posts
Joined: Aug 2009
Very nice site. I have to agree with the others about the header photo. It doesn't convey an Indian theme. I would change the photo to one that shows spices, saffron rice, tandoori chicked, etc., kind of a montage.
Also, the photos on the recipe pages could be much larger...at least 200 px in width, close up images (macro) with better lighting so viewers can see how delicious the dishes look. You can make a light tent inexpensively using a white bed sheet and a couple of $5 lamps positioned strategically, that will give your photos a professional look.
Good work!
IMR posted this at 18:03 — 24th August 2009.
They have: 6 posts
Joined: Aug 2009
It's generally an attractive website. The background tile theme is well-chosen. It's also very easy to navigate quickly to what interests the visitor.
I would echo a point made above about investing a little time on working out how to light the food pictures better. You wouldn't need to spend much money at all on this. Why not try taking the photos outdoors during the day?
The uppermost ad banner is a little intrusive, and should be moved further down. But otherwise, nice job.
raheelmushtaq posted this at 11:04 — 29th September 2009.
They have: 3 posts
Joined: Sep 2009
it looks really an attractive site the layout is simple and brilliant and the post are quite nice to read. and the idea is quite unique too with some tomatoes in the top bar it looks quite refreshing
siofra1101 posted this at 10:47 — 7th October 2009.
They have: 8 posts
Joined: Oct 2009
Hi
I love this site and the content. I have even added it into my bookmarks.
I love the little diagrams with fun ways to inform about fighting fat etc. However, I did find that these and the advertising swamped the content.
For example, I clicked on bread but it took me a while to find were the links to recipes was located. It was burried right in between a huge advertisment and your informative content, therefore not very obvious.
Other than that, love the colour scheme, very appropriate and love the content!
The only person that will be with you your entire life, is you!
www.sarahs-pc-solutions.co.uk
www.thebotties.com
Michael James Swan posted this at 10:29 — 8th October 2009.
He has: 400 posts
Joined: May 2008
The site to me shouts out "I'm A BLOG!"...
The site its self, is ok but the advertisements (IMO) need better placement because right now they are kind of "in the face".
Good ideas their though.
~ Mike
gameshepherd posted this at 17:43 — 18th October 2009.
They have: 3 posts
Joined: Oct 2009
Hi -
I do like your color scheme. And I agree that your content is buried by the ads on the page. I clicked on the beverages link and the content is not the first thing you see. If you are going to have ads at the top of your site, place standard banner style adds 468 X 60 instead of square style 250 X 250 ads.
offyourrocker posted this at 23:50 — 2nd April 2010.
They have: 7 posts
Joined: Mar 2010
I like your website, it's clean and organized. But I don't think the header pic or the typeface on the top of the homepage convey an Indian them at all. Also I found it a bit annoying that the text on the top half of the home page is in lighter gray tone, and the rest of the text is darker. Perhaps some more consistency here would help the home page.
I definitely want more pics! I love Indian food and love to look at delicious pics of the finished dishes so that I can decide if I want to try making them. And is it just me, or did I not see anything about curry? I love curry dishes and always associate them with India, so that seems like an oversight to me to leave out curry recipes.
I know that tomatoes and even potatoes are commonly used in Indian dishes, as well yogurt and naan breads; I think you would do well to mention this in a conversational manner on the home page for those who don't know these things. "Indian cooking is about much more than just curry!" You could say something like that, followed by some tidbits on the other ingredients used in Indian cuisine.
Many more pics are needed and they should be larger - remember, people are visual and drawn in largely by pictures before they are enticed to read.
I think your website has huge potential and I wish you the very best!
Frank
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