Critique for my site needed

[lostadio]

I've been dabbling with html for years but this is my very first complete website.

It's still very much a work in progress but I hope I am most of the way through it (I hope).

It's basically a two page site to sell some illustrations I do. The main site is all run on the one page, if a user clicks on one of the prints, they are sent to a new window that has further details and payment options. The plan in the end is for this page to also be integrated into the main page, sliding across from one of the sides when the user clicks a link.

It's only really the main page I am interested in getting critique for. I am very self critical and can see myself where things are wrong but I'm not sure what to do to get them right.

The things I don't like are

• not sure on the centering of the whole page. I'd like it to be 100% width but don't think there is enough content to fill this format or how to handle a user resizing the browser
• I think the main illustration at the top of the page needs more work. Not sure what though. I get the impression the colours are quite dull and it needs something to liven it up.
• I'm not sure of the links at the top of each section.
• I hate the word Prints at the top of the gallery section, although I may rework this to say something like
• Prints: all / category1 / category 2 / category3 etc, maybe with a search button to display different content
• Not sure of some of the colours
• The height of each section could do with being higher

I said I was self critical. I could do with someone telling me what looks good and what doesn't.


thanks in advance

[MikeLakes]

Link please.

[lostadio]

Link please.

That always helps.

It's http://www.lostadio.co.uk

[lostadio]

Just bumping this so it doesn't slip down to far.

[MikeLakes]

There's some great design concepts on the site (like for example, the downward gradients leading the eyes) but overall, there seems to be soooo many different colors and things going on, in the page. I like how you can move (with animation) to each section but I personally would go for something more uniform as for the colors within the sections. It seems chaotic with a different color scheme for each section. A lot of the colors don't seem to really go with each other either.

I know some people don't believe in such a thing as "Above the fold" but I do. Your first impression is very important and will determine whether someone is willing to scroll or not. I get the stadium idea/background but to me it just seems like you're wasting valuable real estate by having so much graphic up top and having to go so far down before you actually reach any of the real content.

With the prints, I like the setup overall but the "Share" and "Tweet" buttons are a bit big and don't seem to fit in with the "Like" button. Something more uniform would be nicer IMO.

Onto the buttons. I see you have achieved a rollover effect for the entire circle button BUT the entire button is not clickable. Only the text link is. If possible, I would work to make the entire button clickable. BTW text links on the graphics, A+.

With the social media icons, I have always thought it looked very professional if you make those buttons blend in to the overall site design (which you did) and THEN, on rollover, make the icon light up like it is normally. So facebook icon, gray like you have it, then blue on rollover. Same thing for twitter, RSS feeds, etc. Just a nice extra effect but totally not necessary.

Great starting point! Good luck with the print sales.

[lostadio]

There's some great design concepts on the site (like for example, the downward gradients leading the eyes) but overall, there seems to be soooo many different colors and things going on, in the page. I like how you can move (with animation) to each section but I personally would go for something more uniform as for the colors within the sections. It seems chaotic with a different color scheme for each section. A lot of the colors don't seem to really go with each other either.

I know some people don't believe in such a thing as "Above the fold" but I do. Your first impression is very important and will determine whether someone is willing to scroll or not. I get the stadium idea/background but to me it just seems like you're wasting valuable real estate by having so much graphic up top and having to go so far down before you actually reach any of the real content.

With the prints, I like the setup overall but the "Share" and "Tweet" buttons are a bit big and don't seem to fit in with the "Like" button. Something more uniform would be nicer IMO.

Onto the buttons. I see you have achieved a rollover effect for the entire circle button BUT the entire button is not clickable. Only the text link is. If possible, I would work to make the entire button clickable. BTW text links on the graphics, A+.

With the social media icons, I have always thought it looked very professional if you make those buttons blend in to the overall site design (which you did) and THEN, on rollover, make the icon light up like it is normally. So facebook icon, gray like you have it, then blue on rollover. Same thing for twitter, RSS feeds, etc. Just a nice extra effect but totally not necessary.

Great starting point! Good luck with the print sales.

Thanks Mike

I agree with a lot of what you say. I've seen similar sites where they have a full page for each section. Each page has a different colour scheme, and it works for them, although it doesn't seem to work for me. I love the Windows of New York | A weekly illustrated atlas site and if you look on there, the first few section colours are mustard, dark pink, brown, dark turqoiuse. It shouldn't work, but to me it does.

I like my stadium image, although it isn't finished to my liking. This is the kind of print I will be selling, based on real stadiums, and in more detail, so I feel that it fits in. Maybe I cold have this as a pure background, allowing the prints to start higher up, maybe with the opacity of the background lowered so that it shows through.


I've got a big issue with the like, tweet and share buttons. I like the layout of the tweet and share. They should possibly be on top of each other rather than side by side. My problem is that I don't think there is a way of customising a Like button so that it has the same format as the other two.

I hadn't noticed the rollover on the button, I'll look into it. I was also going to add rollovers to the social media links, your idea of them being the proper colour is what I'll probably go for.

thanks for the feedback

[lostadio]

I've updated the site now and don't think their is much left to be done.

The background graphic has been removed and hopefully the colour scheme is a bit better.

[Enerica]

Your website looks pretty good. Nice and simple. I would remove the borders around your social media buttons.

[lostadio]

Your website looks pretty good. Nice and simple. I would remove the borders around your social media buttons.

Thanks Enerica. It's been slated on another website I've asked for critique on, so I'm glad someone likes it.

I'm removing the social media links and going to have them pop up only when you mouseover one of the images.

I've also toned the colours down and added some borders.

I've put it on http://lostadio.co.uk/testsite/. I'd appreciate it if you had a look and let me know which one you prefer.