Vet website

[waynew]

Here's my first version of the template that I'm creating. Please have a look and provide some feedback/ideas:

 

http://waynewhitty.com/clients/vet-template/

[jcombs_31]

The banner image is 364K.  You need to optimize it. I don't like the type treatment in the logo at all. Why would you use caps in misc. places. There is no reason at this point to be using an image for the menu, you should be able to whip that together pretty quickly. The color contrast is pretty good and I actually think the brown will work out pretty good.  You need some kind of footer. I'd also add a little more line-height for your text.

[waynew]

Thanks for the pointer about the banner. I had forgotten about that. I'm sure I can shave a good bit off that. The font that I'm using for the logo doesn't distinguish between upper and lower case. It basically just has one case. I'll look through a few more of my fonts and test them to see if I can find something else. I completely agree about the footer. I was thinking about a darker brown gradient, but I'll have to test that first because what looks good in my head sometimes (read: usually) looks crap on screen. I'll be fiddling around with the text a bit more. It looks squashed in some areas.

 

Thanks for the constructive feedback as always!

[abazoskib]

i would either space it better or put the text on one line inside the main image. also the headers on the side are not uniform(opening hours for ex). other than that looks pretty. 

[PugJr]

When you said "Vet Website" I thought you meant "Veteran Website".

 

 

Vestibulum venenatis. Nulla vel ipsum. Proin rutrum, urna sit amet bibendum pellentesque, ante sapien varius turpis, eu nonummy nunc urna scelerisque ante. Nunc sed leo at dolor pharetra facilisis. Sed sed lectus at justo dapibus tristique. Morbi molestie pulvinar elit. Donec dictum nibh nec est. Aliquam sagittis, lacus a pharetra tempor, enim justo tempor nisi, at aliquet nulla metus sed augue. Praesent sed nibh. Vestibulum bibendum enim ut nisi fringilla accumsan. Nullam dapibus fermentum nulla. Phasellus in orci vel justo facilisis iaculis. Quisque facilisis ornare felis. Curabitur nunc libero, dapibus vel, commodo nec, semper a, massa. Suspendisse potenti. Morbi a nisl. Nunc euismod elit non lectus 

 

Is that supposed to mean something? I do realize it says dumby text, but to me it looks like it could be a language. 

 

 

EDIT: The title is "Untitled Document". I'd recommend giving it a title.

[gizmola]

This is improved since the previous version.  I like the basic color scheme, and you don't see earth tones uses that much, which I think could be appropriate for a vet.  So, some criticisms:

 

You use way too much "above the fold" space in the header.  Some suggestions:

 

-Shrink the verticle on the Dog.  I know that Might be tough, but it's just way too much space wasted on a picture.

-Move the Cat cutout up so that it overlaps the text more, to conserve space.

 

Add a rollover effect for your top bar menu.

 

 

Finally, the slogan is kinda clumsy:  "where the pet's best interests are at heart".  If you want to go in this direction I'd suggest a more direct rephrasing.  "at heart" doesn't really work with the phrase because "best interests" is an intellectual pursuit, not an emotional one.  You might also consider words like Humane, Caring, or Loving if you want to link to emotion.

 

'Minding the best interest of your pet'

'Keeping in mind your pet's best interests'

etc.

 

Are other alternatives that might work better. 

[waynew]

When you said "Vet Website" I thought you meant "Veteran Website".

 

 

Vestibulum venenatis. Nulla vel ipsum. Proin rutrum, urna sit amet bibendum pellentesque, ante sapien varius turpis, eu nonummy nunc urna scelerisque ante. Nunc sed leo at dolor pharetra facilisis. Sed sed lectus at justo dapibus tristique. Morbi molestie pulvinar elit. Donec dictum nibh nec est. Aliquam sagittis, lacus a pharetra tempor, enim justo tempor nisi, at aliquet nulla metus sed augue. Praesent sed nibh. Vestibulum bibendum enim ut nisi fringilla accumsan. Nullam dapibus fermentum nulla. Phasellus in orci vel justo facilisis iaculis. Quisque facilisis ornare felis. Curabitur nunc libero, dapibus vel, commodo nec, semper a, massa. Suspendisse potenti. Morbi a nisl. Nunc euismod elit non lectus 

 

Is that supposed to mean something? I do realize it says dumby text, but to me it looks like it could be a language. 

 

 

EDIT: The title is "Untitled Document". I'd recommend giving it a title.

 

Hi, it's lipsum. Google it. It's an industry standard; handy for filling in text areas with text that looks like "real" text and not just lines that have been copy and pasted ten times over. Oh and the Untitled Document title is just there because it's a template.

 

Thanks!

[waynew]

i would either space it better or put the text on one line inside the main image. also the headers on the side are not uniform(opening hours for ex). other than that looks pretty. 

 

Yea, I haven't really got into the left column that much. It still needs a touch up. Thanks!

[waynew]

This is improved since the previous version.  I like the basic color scheme, and you don't see earth tones uses that much, which I think could be appropriate for a vet.  So, some criticisms:

 

You use way too much "above the fold" space in the header.  Some suggestions:

 

-Shrink the verticle on the Dog.  I know that Might be tough, but it's just way too much space wasted on a picture.

-Move the Cat cutout up so that it overlaps the text more, to conserve space.

 

Add a rollover effect for your top bar menu.

 

 

Finally, the slogan is kinda clumsy:  "where the pet's best interests are at heart".  If you want to go in this direction I'd suggest a more direct rephrasing.  "at heart" doesn't really work with the phrase because "best interests" is an intellectual pursuit, not an emotional one.  You might also consider words like Humane, Caring, or Loving if you want to link to emotion.

 

'Minding the best interest of your pet'

'Keeping in mind your pet's best interests'

etc.

 

Are other alternatives that might work better. 

 

I don't really have any control over the slogan as they gave me that one to work with. Although they still have to think it over so it could change.

 

I know what you're saying about the dog. I was thinking the very same thing as I was making it; unfortunately, I couldn't keep the dog in the shot, keep the width and stop it from looking skewed at the same time. They're wanting it to be very image-based anyway, so that might not be a problem.

 

I'm actually going to test what you said about the space at the top. Try and make it so that the act goes under the logo. I'm still waiting on their evaluation of the mock up, so I might leave it until they get back to me, because I don't want to change it if they end up liking the original.

 

Thanks for the feedback!

[TheFilmGod]

Use text-indent on the paragarphs. Increase line-height. Make header navigation links change on hover. Conserve more space up top. Add a nice footer. use more icons. Image should be balanced on all 4 corners (my pet peeve) so bottom corners should be curved at least a little.

 

You could def. shape up your coding. You can take out one of those footer divs. And append the background image to the maincontent div and push the background image all the way to the bottom. It sounds complicated, but css makes it easy. Why are using <br /> to create margin between headings. That's a big no. You're missing alt tags - another big no.

[noober]

To be honest, it is pretty generic blog looking and needs a little something to make the site memorable and stand-out. You're missing the apostrophe in your logo image also.

[abazoskib]

looking at it again i would move the logo at the very top(with the silhouette of the dog) all the way to the right. the whole design is focused to the left, maybe this would balance it out a little better.

[waynew]

Use text-indent on the paragarphs. Increase line-height. Make header navigation links change on hover. Conserve more space up top. Add a nice footer. use more icons. Image should be balanced on all 4 corners (my pet peeve) so bottom corners should be curved at least a little.

 

You could def. shape up your coding. You can take out one of those footer divs. And append the background image to the maincontent div and push the background image all the way to the bottom. It sounds complicated, but css makes it easy. Why are using <br /> to create margin between headings. That's a big no. You're missing alt tags - another big no.

 

A footer will definitely be in the making. Icons; I agree. I'll look over those corners after they get back to me. Also thanks for the criticism of my coding. I admit I was a little lazy. Alt tags will go in as soon as the mockup is approved. Thanks for taking the time to give me some feedback.

[waynew]

To be honest, it is pretty generic blog looking and needs a little something to make the site memorable and stand-out. You're missing the apostrophe in your logo image also.

 

I don't really agree. I believe that a more subtle design is always best. I hate it when something pops out at me because I get bored of it pretty quickly. Especially if I own the site. Also, thanks for the note about the logo. Didn't notice that.

[waynew]

looking at it again i would move the logo at the very top(with the silhouette of the dog) all the way to the right. the whole design is focused to the left, maybe this would balance it out a little better.

 

My graphic design lecturer from last year would have slapped you upside the header for aiming for balance. I know; I don't get it either and have a habit of trying to balance everything, but balance is somethings boring.