Please review my website

[yerich]

I'm new here, but I hope that I'll decide to hang around. I've dsigned this javascript-heavy webpage for myself (http://www.yerich.net), and I need your opinion. Just a few questions:

• Do I need to change the background? Is pure black too much?
• Should I include a text-only version? My audience ins't people with vision problems, but should it be accessable anyways?
• Is the white on black not a good color choice?

My website is designed to be very minimal, and its only 28KB for the whole thing.

I'm primarily looking for experience, as I want to have a nice portfolio by the time I get to university. How should I advertise myself as a person that's not looking for money?

Thanks a lot.

[Jason]

Would visit all the time 3/5. Who voted that!?

Your web page is utterly pointless, OK I exaggerate, almost utterly pointless.

What have I taken from your site.. your name is Richard, you are 14, you don't like to blog... that is marginally more information than a 404 not found page contains.

The design, load time and fluidity of the website is very nice. However unless you put something on it there really isn't much point of it existing.

If you want to get free work then hunt around in jobs section of web design related forums, there are many people looking for free help with their websites or ideas. You may even pick up a few $$$ for your troubles.

[yerich]

Thanks a lot. I appriciate all of your advice. I'm not really interested in cash right now, but purhaps later. My goal is to have a decent portfolio by the end of high school (so I won't have much trouble charging money in university). I'm not currently marketing, but I am going to get my first client soon (yay!). Well, hopefully, one of my friends knows a school principal needing a website, and she's going to refer me to her.

Thanks again.

[steve_h75]

Hi yerich,
I just want to add to what a few other people have said regarding your opportunities as a freelance web designer.

You have to be realistic, no business is going to want to RISK their time in letting you do their website from looking at your site alone. It doesn't matter if you say it is for free, nothing is free in business, time is money as they say. As it has been pointed out your are marketing yourself in a way that gives the impression that you don't really care about the end design, as afterall they are getting it for free, but not only that from a 14 year old!!

Let's just go through your first few lines:
"Well, truth be told, I wouldn't pay for that either. So that's why, at least for now, I'm going to design for free. Yes, that's right, as long as your project's not huge, you do not have to pay for my services. I can offer you most things that people three times my age can, at a very, very competitive price. I can assure you right now that you have nothing to lose."

Somehow I just don't see any business believing what you are saying, you are also contradicting yourself. You try to make it sound like you are actually doing the business a favour by letting them off with a free website, this is not true as the business would be doing you a favour by letting YOU do the website, and they would know it. You second line contradicts your whole statement and again is not believable unless you show some of your work that is as you suggested better than a 42 year old You also say your services are at a very competitive price....well we know that because you said you would do them for free! Lastly never ever finish a paragraph or anything in fact with a negative line, you want people to trust you, you don't want to put doubt into their mind.

I am not trying to discourage you by any means, I actually applaud you for getting off your own back and getting things moving. I would suggest that it might be better to start off by doing your free websites for family or friends personal sites. You don't need to do commercial sites to have a portfolio, as you are still learning you will find it more interesting to create sites for your friends and family rather than boring business sites.

I wish you luck and hope you continue your development,
Steve