advice on this site

[Ninjakreborn]

This is my original site, I had built I have completely developed it, and all I do now is update it occasionally ad stuff and use it as a testing grounds.
advice or comments would be appreciated.
[a href=\"http://www.freelancebusinessman.com\" target=\"_blank\"]Freelance Businessman[/a]

[jcombs_31]

looks the same as last time you posted in the OTHER thread.

[Ninjakreborn]

Then was a long time ago and just the homepage, now it's the entire website, that is fully complete, with all content and everything.

[redbullmarky]

198.15KB for your header image.

end of story.

[Ninjakreborn]

To me graphic design is the spawn of the illigitimate son of satan. How do I kill the image size.

[redbullmarky]

[!--quoteo(post=378801:date=May 31 2006, 07:53 PM:name=businessman332211)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(businessman332211 @ May 31 2006, 07:53 PM) [snapback]378801[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
To me graphic design is the spawn of the illigitimate son of satan. How do I kill the image size.
[/quote]

with absolutely any image processing package, even the free ones. default JPG quality is about 75% - and the difference between that and 100% size wise is HUGE, but the difference in quality is minimal. i'm on a pretty fast broadband connection, and was still waiting whilst that banner slowly trawled onto my site.

i wouldnt mind, but - no offence - things just really arent working for you. the other thread you did, about your client's site - maybe (considering you mention it was them that had the say) you should get them to design your site for you and you just code it.

1, your banner is huge and inexcusable, graphic designer or not. nice, but too big.
2, your colour scheme is horrible
3, your font varies - it should be consistent, and is too big.
4, your bottom nav jumps all over the place when i hover
5, if i knew that my web designers were rigid and uncommited, as your 'Work Hours' would suggest, i'd go somewhere else. you're a web designer, not a Supermarket.
6, ethics this, ethics that, ethics ethics ethics - whatever - why dont you just cut the content down a bit, throw it all onto an 'ethics' page and be done with it? would also remove several pointless links from your nav
7, oh, i just love black and dark blue on dark grey. (your nav)
8, the most exciting, colourful, well designed parts on your page are the 'XHTML' and 'CSS' buttons.
9, designing websites pixel by pixel. ok explain this: "XHTML -4 years exp" - pixel by pixel, but what about the rest of the letters? dont abbreviate. looks like you couldnt be arsed.
10, never use a hotmail or yahoo web address for your contact!!! jeez, if you have the domain and a bit of hosting, surely they chuck in some email addresses too?

sorry to sound so harsh, but you really need to a) listen to stuff that has already been suggested to you, b) look at your own site and ask yourself if youre proud of it c) posting lots of text and a 200K banner doesnt justify a '*bump*', never mind a new thread.

cheers

[lead2gold]

[!--quoteo(post=378758:date=May 31 2006, 12:24 PM:name=businessman332211)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(businessman332211 @ May 31 2006, 12:24 PM) [snapback]378758[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
This is my original site, I had built I have completely developed it, and all I do now is update it occasionally ad stuff and use it as a testing grounds.
advice or comments would be appreciated.
[a href=\"http://www.freelancebusinessman.com\" target=\"_blank\"]Freelance Businessman[/a]
[/quote]

Ouchies on the last review. But i agree as he stated...
You seem to have a good personality, you got great writing skills... (your webpage proves you like to write); you should be going in that direction.

Layout and color picking isn't your specialty, if you intend to continue with webpage design, you could always hire an assistant to do the outlines, you could fill in all the information.....

[Ninjakreborn]

Experience is what it boils down to. I listed the years of experience i Had in each set for instance php 2 years, I played with php, and now I know how to do it, it takes time, As far as hard core experience building websites, I just started it takes time, I understand the negatives to my site, but I am not willing to rebuild the whole thing again. I am however willing, and going to, redo the design a lot, I am going to revamp the whole thing, using my css files, probably even totally switch out files, and do some stuff with the image later, but first I want to build a few sites, get them in my portfolio, get the experience on good design, and layout. THEN when I have what is necessary to continue I am going to redo the setup entirely, the ethics page, and all those other pages, Those are subject to opinion, but I am aware that the site needs a lot of work, what is confusing me is a lot of people said they like it other's don't, I am trying to get the experience where I Can start splitting it down the middle, making it look nice for everyone. I am moving in that direction, as you see me doing sites for clients and posting them on php freaks, tehn you will see each and every website get better and better, after I have knocked out 4-5 I will redo my site, and make it look better, then gain some more experience, and learn what I know, and do more and more with the design until I have the look and feel that everyone will say that it looks good, adn that I feel good about, I appreciate teh advice, I bookmart these posts and I refer to them when I have free time and start doing minor alterations here and tehre, but when I really implement all of this at once, and do some work will be after I learn better color schemes, what matches what doesn't, what works what doesn't what fonts to use and where, what layouts are best, and then learn how to do liquid design, it takes time, working with websites I have studied for years, building them it has been nothing but building my own site 3-4 times, and working with a few clients recently, I will get better and better and better.

[redbullmarky]

i'm gonna say this for the last time - stop thinking about it, and just do it!! i'm really not being funny OR nasty, but i've probably been doing sites for less years (and less time, going by your working hours) yet you could literally knock up a totally fresh design within a few hours, but you're missing out the obvious. the obvious - your mistakes have NOTHING to do with HTML, NOTHING to do with CSS, NOTHING to do with PHP, and NOTHING to do with graphic design - your mistakes are [b]common sense[/b]:

1, a big 200K banner is unacceptable
2, too much text is not acceptable
3, dark text on dark background is not acceptable
4, abbreviation when you harp on about doing things meticulously is not acceptable.

so forget the php, html, css, javascript, dhtml, xhtml, xml, rss, c++ etc etc etc for 2 minutes and just think about it from a common sense, end-user point of view. would you buy your services from you if that site was the introduction? and not being funny, but this sort of attitude:
[!--quoteo--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
I understand the negatives to my site, but I am not willing to rebuild the whole thing again
[/quote] will not get you anywhere with your venture, and if youre not prepared to rebuild/redo, etc, then what's the point of posting it for critique?

c'mon lad - like lead2gold said, your personality, writing skills and desire to learn is good - but learn to walk before you can run.

ober has posted possibly one of the best stickies on this site (other than 'header problems' which helped me in my earlier days lol). it's called 'Resources' and you can find it at the top of the website critique forum. problems with colours? no problem. problems with CSS? no problem. problems with problems? no problem. seriously - take a look. properly.

cheers
Mark

[Ninjakreborn]

alright I will look through that and get to work.
Thanks for the inspiration and advice.

[joquius]

how about PNG for the images? my personal preference

[moberemk]

Well, aside from the bumping of an old thread for a suggestion that doesn't work incredibly well with IE, that's a great idea!

[Lorian]

PNG is good for small images, bigger ones are better suited to JPEG.

[moberemk]

Again, PNG files and IE aren't the happiest couple. I try to stick to JPEG and GIF for web images, but most typically JPEG, beause of the way IE can destroy PNG images, especially in older versions.

[steelmanronald06]

1) The banner seems really really out of place. there is nothing...holding it in, I guess is what I should say. It is kinda like a girl with no bra. It just kinda sags there with noting to support it. (sorry for the metaphor)

2) It is a good background color, really it is, but you don't do it justice. Work it! That is a background that should be displayed with a good layout.

3) The content area seems...small. It is like looking through a window.

4) The navigaiton dosn't seem to have any relation to the content area. It is just shoved out to the side for our entertainment pleasures. Really, bring the desing together. Make it all flow!

5) What the HELL is wrong with your footer part? You have it CENTERED ON THE MAIN PAGE! That looks like crap. If your not going to flow it together as I suggested, then center the damn thing beneath the content area and not according to how the page is.

6) Lets not even get started on the little buttons below your nav. Those things look sooo out of place there. Kinda like the ugly ducklings who have to stay with the mother but are just kinda cast aside. Oh look! Their there, but they must not be that important since they are so outcast!

7) Until you get a better design, your coding ethics mean crap to me. I am not saying their good, but who wants to follow your opinion of ethics with your present design?

I'm a nice person, really I am. Fix those problems and your site will do good. ;)

[Ninjakreborn]

I am I have to get some of my projects situated, I have learnt alot about design lately as I have been learning php/mysql more, I am going to redo my site again, as soon as I get some spare time, I have too many projects to be able to currently, but once I knock a few of them out then I will, I accidentally took a proejct, that was too big, and too impossible for 7,000 so I am going to turn it down, I was told the price should have been more around 100k.

[joquius]

[!--quoteo(post=384226:date=Jun 15 2006, 04:44 PM:name=steelmanronald06)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(steelmanronald06 @ Jun 15 2006, 04:44 PM) [snapback]384226[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
1) The banner seems really really out of place. there is nothing...holding it in, I guess is what I should say. It is kinda like a girl with no bra. It just kinda sags there with noting to support it. (sorry for the metaphor)

2) It is a good background color, really it is, but you don't do it justice. Work it! That is a background that should be displayed with a good layout.

3) The content area seems...small. It is like looking through a window.

4) The navigaiton dosn't seem to have any relation to the content area. It is just shoved out to the side for our entertainment pleasures. Really, bring the desing together. Make it all flow!

5) What the HELL is wrong with your footer part? You have it CENTERED ON THE MAIN PAGE! That looks like crap. If your not going to flow it together as I suggested, then center the damn thing beneath the content area and not according to how the page is.

6) Lets not even get started on the little buttons below your nav. Those things look sooo out of place there. Kinda like the ugly ducklings who have to stay with the mother but are just kinda cast aside. Oh look! Their there, but they must not be that important since they are so outcast!

7) Until you get a better design, your coding ethics mean crap to me. I am not saying their good, but who wants to follow your opinion of ethics with your present design?

I'm a nice person, really I am. Fix those problems and your site will do good. ;)
[/quote]
Man how could you compare this to a girl with no bra.

What I would say you need is not to overwhelm on the first page like this. I don't have any idea you're into coding at all from the first look of the page, in fact I might think you're a D&D fan. You need some clean sleek looking areas, seperated clearly, and not so much text. Aslo the colours make the text unreadable.

You might want to try colors which are newer and which don't make it look like you're selling victorian interiors. You should try just starting of with a white page, then adding light colors slowly to each piece.

Also, you should think about adding some kind of news or changeable script on the front page, so that it's not just a static autobiography.

[Ninjakreborn]

I wasn't expecting that, yes I am me and my wife both. A lot of things relating to that.