Lamez Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 I am making a website for a client, but I am having trouble with the nav bar, and the total layout of the website. Please tell me what I should do! http://hometron.co.cc/web/ Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/135974-need-help/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
defeated Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 While tradition says that navigation should go in a left menu I'm all for breaking the rules! Particularly when you have gone for such an 'In your face' colour scheme. If you want to use the same navigation style I would suggest that you make all the bars the same length and center your text below each one. One problem with across the page navigation is that you can run out of room fairly quickly. So why not add in another column in your main page. It can hold pictures on pages that do not need sub menus and sub menus on the pages that need them. Make the side column your main column. Then when you float the real main column (the main part of the page) it will appear higher up the code when google et al go to read the page. This makes sense because full pages are not always read by robots and you want your all important content to be read before any side bar crap. I would make your "created by James Little..." bit a lot smaller (8pt?), and perhaps right align it. Your name is important to you but people visiting the site won't give a crap. The bold colour scheme you have chosen could be taken as inexperience or innovation and being different. Having your name so big looks unprofessional and detracts from the site. A picture is worth a thousand words (not to google though). Get some graphical content. Be careful of colours. Don't add in too many more. Also be careful of copyright. You can get enough images for the entire site for about $30 from a stock site like istockphoto. When it cost so little don't risk getting your client or yourself in trouble! Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/135974-need-help/#findComment-708889 Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcombs_31 Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 I'm reading the text, but I still have absolutely no ideas what the site is for. Whey are you using those horrid colors? Why is your content region just a giant block of text? Why do I not understand anything? Why is the logo/text embossed with a terrible red gradient and over dramatic drop shadow? Answering these and/or fixing these things would be a starting place. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/135974-need-help/#findComment-708975 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lamez Posted December 8, 2008 Author Share Posted December 8, 2008 Let me explain. I copied the text from some science website, just to have some content. The logo is just a place holder, I think the logo is ugly as poo. The website is going to sell yorkies, don't ask me. I think the over all design is crap. I just need some guidance on creating a better website. Honestly, I thought the colors where great. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/135974-need-help/#findComment-709190 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Seriously? You like the colors? Personally I would close this website as soon as I came to it! Horrible color scheme, bland text, boring layout...etc. To improve it I would... Create a better layout... the boxes effect looks boring. There's plenty of tutorials & articles out there on how to create nice looking, search engine friendly designs. You could even look at other websites and try to recreate certain parts of it - obviously not just copying it! Create a better header image.. Very ugly! Again plenty of tutorials out there for creating images in Photoshop and articles on banner design tips.. http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=photoshop+banner+tutorials http://www.webdevelopersnotes.com/tips/web_promotion/web_banner_design_tips.php3 Use a better color scheme.. Use a tool like http://kuler.adobe.com/ to find one! Make the font more appealing.. The font as it is now is so plain and dull. No text stands out above the rest... That big chunk of text you have there looks so boring to read - even though I have no idea what it's about. All I can say now really.. There's not a great deal to critique! Adam Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/135974-need-help/#findComment-709281 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lamez Posted December 8, 2008 Author Share Posted December 8, 2008 Seriously? You like the colors? Personally I would close this website as soon as I came to it! Horrible color scheme, bland text, boring layout...etc. To improve it I would... Create a better layout... the boxes effect looks boring. There's plenty of tutorials & articles out there on how to create nice looking, search engine friendly designs. You could even look at other websites and try to recreate certain parts of it - obviously not just copying it! Create a better header image.. Very ugly! Again plenty of tutorials out there for creating images in Photoshop and articles on banner design tips.. http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=photoshop+banner+tutorials http://www.webdevelopersnotes.com/tips/web_promotion/web_banner_design_tips.php3 Use a better color scheme.. Use a tool like http://kuler.adobe.com/ to find one! Make the font more appealing.. The font as it is now is so plain and dull. No text stands out above the rest... That big chunk of text you have there looks so boring to read - even though I have no idea what it's about. All I can say now really.. There's not a great deal to critique! lol I explained why some of the stuff is there. I copied the text for some content to see how it would look with long text. The logo is just a place holder to see how it looks with a logo. But, thanks for the help. I will take those suggestions and run with them! Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/135974-need-help/#findComment-709356 Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcombs_31 Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 You should use the lipsum generator instead of copying some science text. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/135974-need-help/#findComment-709361 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lamez Posted December 9, 2008 Author Share Posted December 9, 2008 ok I have change some, I do not think the logo, and background fit, but what do you guys think? http://hometron.co.cc/web/index.html Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/135974-need-help/#findComment-710294 Share on other sites More sharing options...
trq Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 Not trying to be harsh here but really, I think you need to look at outsourcing the design. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/135974-need-help/#findComment-710301 Share on other sites More sharing options...
defeated Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 Personally I quite liked the first one. I can understand why it was getting a hard time here. On the other hand.... take a look at this site.... http://www.prosperity.ie It's not mine. It is a competitors site. I didn't think it was any good when I first saw it but they are doing really well and have won awards for it. The reason... It is so different that you either see it as crap or really good. I thought it was crap and then I realised how clever they had been. My mother could navigate the site with no problems and there is no way that you could ever forget it. I find that if you stray from more neutral colours it never gets a good response from the webdev community but that does not mean that it is bad. Unless of course the webdev community are your target audience. What your target audience think of your design is all that matters. If you are happy with the design stick with it. But there are some really good pointers in here too! Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/135974-need-help/#findComment-710390 Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcombs_31 Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 This one may actually be worse than the first. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/135974-need-help/#findComment-710444 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lamez Posted December 9, 2008 Author Share Posted December 9, 2008 lol, is it the background? Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/135974-need-help/#findComment-710445 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lamez Posted December 9, 2008 Author Share Posted December 9, 2008 Not trying to be harsh here but really, I think you need to look at outsourcing the design. what do you mean? Start over, again? Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/135974-need-help/#findComment-710448 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lamez Posted December 9, 2008 Author Share Posted December 9, 2008 Personally I quite liked the first one. I can understand why it was getting a hard time here. On the other hand.... take a look at this site.... http://www.prosperity.ie It's not mine. It is a competitors site. I didn't think it was any good when I first saw it but they are doing really well and have won awards for it. The reason... It is so different that you either see it as crap or really good. I thought it was crap and then I realised how clever they had been. My mother could navigate the site with no problems and there is no way that you could ever forget it. I find that if you stray from more neutral colours it never gets a good response from the webdev community but that does not mean that it is bad. Unless of course the webdev community are your target audience. What your target audience think of your design is all that matters. If you are happy with the design stick with it. But there are some really good pointers in here too! Thank you! Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/135974-need-help/#findComment-710450 Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcombs_31 Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 Not trying to be harsh here but really, I think you need to look at outsourcing the design. what do you mean? Start over, again? No, he's saying to hire someone else to do the design. "Outsourcing the design" Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/135974-need-help/#findComment-710452 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lamez Posted December 9, 2008 Author Share Posted December 9, 2008 oh, I see. I wish I could. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/135974-need-help/#findComment-710462 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lamez Posted December 11, 2008 Author Share Posted December 11, 2008 Is it any better? http://hometron.co.cc/_w/ Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/135974-need-help/#findComment-712260 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 'Fraid not! Try looking at: http://www.colorsontheweb.com/colorwizard.asp ... Have a play around and see what colors match one of your main ones, like #9966CC. Also note the options bottom center for changing the type of colors returned. Using that tool or similar you should be able to create a better range of - fitting - colors for your color scheme. At the moment they are all too similar, in my opinion! The black lines on the header images and banner text I don't like. Perhaps make them more subtle, and a gradient that fades them out towards the top? Think that would improve them. A Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/135974-need-help/#findComment-712327 Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcombs_31 Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 Is it any better? http://hometron.co.cc/_w/ I think you're missing the point... Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/135974-need-help/#findComment-712448 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lamez Posted December 11, 2008 Author Share Posted December 11, 2008 Well I am sorry, I emailed her, and I asked her about the entire design, and she loved it. The only thing she did not like was the logo, and I already made an "official" logo for her. I was just curious on your guy's thoughts. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/135974-need-help/#findComment-712455 Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcombs_31 Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 Well I am sorry, I emailed her, and I asked her about the entire design, and she loved it. The only thing she did not like was the logo, and I already made an "official" logo for her. I was just curious on your guy's thoughts. If they are happy then I guess that is all that matters. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/135974-need-help/#findComment-712490 Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynew Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 Outsource the design and do the server side yourself. Pay the designer a certain amount of money and add 30% onto it, before adding it up with the cost of your programming. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/135974-need-help/#findComment-712634 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lamez Posted December 11, 2008 Author Share Posted December 11, 2008 Outsource the design and do the server side yourself. Pay the designer a certain amount of money and add 30% onto it, before adding it up with the cost of your programming. lol na, I am done, she likes it. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/135974-need-help/#findComment-713155 Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynew Posted December 12, 2008 Share Posted December 12, 2008 Outsource the design and do the server side yourself. Pay the designer a certain amount of money and add 30% onto it, before adding it up with the cost of your programming. lol na, I am done, she likes it. Well that's that then! As long as she likes it, your job is done. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/135974-need-help/#findComment-713575 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.