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Site Design again


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There's way too much going on, my eyes don't know where to look. Consider using a solid colour for the content area, this'll make the text easier to read and suppress the green leaves to the background...

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I would make the content and left menu a white transparency, rather than coloured.  As for background image, doesn't seem to give off a "landscaping" feel, more of some type of forest, eco-lodge, buy-green type of business.  Maybe have a few large "landscapy" background images that it cycles through randomly depending on what page someone is on.  It will bring some variety to different pages without any changes to the content.

 

Tom

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Looks good.  I agree with the line-height could be a bit bigger to make it easier to read.  I would explore maybe increasing the transparency of the background maybe just a bit, so the background image is slightly more visible than it is now, but not so much that it'll be hard to read the text.  I'm also a fan of just a plain box with more padding as opposed to the "beveled glass" look, but that could just be me.

 

Do you have any good quality photos of the company's projects?  I'm not sure is it possible, but I think it would be cool to have the background image as a photo-gallery, so the potential customer can minimize the content box as they wish, and have a clear view of the background image so see some of the projects the company has done, and scroll through the large images.  I guess it would something like a "reverse light-box", rather than images popping up, the box disappears to show the background.  I guess this depends on what type of landscaping company it is (design and build custom landscaping, with waterfalls, rock walls, flowerbeds, etc., or is it just a basic lawn-care "green-thumb" type of operation).  The current picture makes it look like a lawn-care/grounds maintenance company, so if that's what it is, the image is good.  If, however, it's the custom-landscape design type of company, I still don't think the current image gets the point across clearly enough.

 

Sorry, one more thing.  Personally I'm not a fan of the font for the links.  I'm not sure what it is, but I'm pretty sure I don't' have it installed, so I doubt it would show up in my browser.  I love it for the header/logotype, but not sure how well it works for the links.  Again, I'm not much of a designer/artsy person, as you'll probably get to see once I post my new site for critique, so take my comments with a grain of salt, but I think the main links should be a more basic font (Arial Black anybody?).  hehe

 

Tom

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you have some good points. I like to make my links from images though cause they can be alot fancier especially with rollover. Unless of coarse there is going to be alot of page changes.

 

I had actually already thought of using the background image as a slideshow and i think its a pretty good idea. Except i am going to make it so you can move the divs with the content away so that you can see the picture. similar to how you can move them away on http://script.aculo.us/ except mine will stay where you put them. I was also thinking of having it scroll through the different images periodically. but all that may simply be too much cheesiness. Ill see once i make it.

 

as for the current picture, I dont think that they have any real pictures. As far as i know they are pretty much a run of the mill landscaping company. So i dont think that the background picture shouldn't look like an amazing lawn, because thats what people usually want when they look for landscaping.

 

Thanks for the comments.

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so the potential customer can minimize the content box as they wish

 

The website is not the customers desktop background. Focus on content and usability first, before you start adding features that mean nothing to your client. Not to mention this technique also has serious usability problems 1) you can't stop it from switching 2) it distracts the reader 3) slurps away bandwidth.

 

Personally I'm not a fan of the font for the links.  I'm not sure what it is, but I'm pretty sure I don't' have it installed, so I doubt it would show up in my browser.

 

Indeed, good catch.

 

Unless of coarse there is going to be alot of page changes.

 

Not a problem, just don't forget to pre-load the images though.

 

similar to how you can move them away on http://script.aculo.us/  except mine will stay where you put them.

 

This is all nice and dandy but have you thought about those that don't have JS enabled (eg NoScript add-on)? So when they visit your client's website they see an image of a lawn, nothing more. I am sure that will generate many leads for your client. Like I said before your focus should be on content and usability. Your primary goal is to generate leads for your client. He will be more happy when he has to sub-contract people because he can't handle the load of customers then when he would when he can move the website's content in either directions but no single customer calls him.

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