Practicing Web Design, Need Opinions on design

[hosfordryan]

Hi, I am practicing my Web Design a little before i start selling a web design service. I am making my portfolio / about me website at the moment and I would love some constructive criticism. Any advice would be great. http://www.hosfordryan.x10host.com

Thank you very much for any advice you have!

[Vapr_Arts]

Lets start by seeing a website.. Not an image of what it MAY look like once you code it


Regretfully sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk during lunch and other breaks

[hosfordryan]

Lets start by seeing a website.. Not an image of what it MAY look like once you code it

This is a screenshot from the website which has been coded. I just cropped out the other tabs i have open and all of that. How would you suggest I show the website? The Links do not work at the moment as I was just asking about the design aspect of the site. Thank you for the reply

[Vapr_Arts]

Well its difficult to critique a site that I cannot go to and actually see function. That is part of the battle. Not to mention Your image isn't a size that allows me to see it. I even switched from my phone to my computer in hopes that I may have a better chance of it being a larger image.

Its pretty plain. Not much going on. Im not a fan of the horizontal bars going across. It looks like 2 different colors teals. It could be because the 2 bars above and below the "Custom Web Design For You" is larger than the others and the font isn't a good choice. Pick something that gives a little more presence. Maybe a bolder font? The menu doesn't seem right on the right. That may be my personal preference but I prefer them up on top or on the left. Why the blue for the text? Id say it would look more appropriate matching the teal-ish color you used for the bars.


Was this site hand coded? Did you use any templates? Did you use a site builder?

is the site not hosted? What do you mean the links aren't working?

[hosfordryan]

This site was hand coded. I went ahead and found a free hosting service to use so you can actually see what is going on... Ryan Hosford Web Design... Sorry about that. And by saying the links aren't working, i meant that I only have the main page done, so the menu won't bring you to any other pages.

I agree with you when you say that it is pretty plain. Is there anything you would recommend to remedy that? Is my process of designing the website bad? What i did for this was design it in photoshop and then translated that into html and css. I used the blue for the headers in the main text so it stood out a bit. I tried with the same teal color that i used for the bars and it blended in a little too much. Was this a bad choice?

I really appreciate the help. I am still learning web design. I am ok with the actual html and css (the easy part) I am just struggling a bit with the actual design. Maybe this kind of thing isn't for me.

[hometownwebservices]

First of all, I'm not a professional, so this is simply my reaction as a visitor:

1) I would move your menu from the right side and place it at the top to the right of your logo.
2) I would use more interesting colors.
3)I would use a more interesting font
4)I would include some interesting photos or graphics - - perhaps examples of your designs.

On the bright side, it loads very quickly.