Need the same help here I got on my last project.

[crmamx]

Hey guys:

 

Remember me? Well I am at it again. If you remember the last time I was able to go from a 1980's design to what the gurus here said was an outstanding site. But all the credit goes to the really wonderful, helpful people on this site.

 

Did any of you see the 60 minutes segment on the homeless people in South Florida? It was a real heart breaker. One of them, a 15 year old girl living in the back of a truck with her family is devoting her life to helping other people. A truly remarkable story.

 

I am not in position to send them any money but I have offered to help her redesign her web site which I think is really bad. I do believe a better web site would help her attain her goals.

 

So before I start anything your always good and professional critique would be appreciated.

 

http://www.greenstreakads.info/index.htm

 

Thanks,

 

Curtis

[KevinM1]

Well, since this is your second rodeo, let's start with what you think, since you're ultimately the one that's going to redesign the site.  What are your ideas for color?  Layout?  Do you have any sketches/initial attempts we can look at?

 

That said, there needs to be something explaining who Arielle Metzger is, what the site's goal is, why we should care, etc.  A site that says, "Yeah, this is my site, I'm re-doing it, send money" isn't going to work, regardless of the circumstances.  Explain the story and put some context behind the words and PayPal buttons.

[crmamx]

Well, since this is your second rodeo, let's start with what you think, since you're ultimately the one that's going to redesign the site.  What are your ideas for color?  Layout?  Do you have any sketches/initial attempts we can look at?

 

I am a rank amateur and have only done 2 sites. What you are asking is really what I need help with. I primarily am going to do the programming. pikachu, gizmola and cssfreakie spent many hours helping me with both the design and the programming. I had never done mysql, php or css.

 

That said, there needs to be something explaining who Arielle Metzger is, what the site's goal is, why we should care, etc.  A site that says, "Yeah, this is my site, I'm re-doing it, send money" isn't going to work, regardless of the circumstances.  Explain the story and put some context behind the words and PayPal buttons.

 

I totally agree with you and think I can really help here explaining who she is, her story, her goals, ect.

 

Thanks for the reply

[KevinM1]

I wasn't trying to be harsh in my original reply.  Rather, I wanted you to tell us what you'd like to change based on what you learned earlier.  Rank amateur or not, you were at least able to put together a site that had clear composition, which is a far cry better than some of the offerings we get. 

 

 

To me, the most glaring problem with this site is a complete lack of structure.  There's no visual flow, sense of hierarchy, or even general context.  It's mashed potatoes.  Given the circumstances, it's understandable.  Unfortunately, it works against the girl.

 

The second thing that jumps out is a lack of visual excitement.  Minimal color, and a bunch of text.  A few simple graphics would go a long way to making it look more inviting/interesting.

 

The structure will be the most important part, as the PayPal buttons need to be visible without being invasive.  I recommend doing a few quick sketches in whatever image editor you have (paint can work for something like this) before diving into code.  And feel free to show them to us.

[crmamx]

I wasn't trying to be harsh in my original reply.  Rather, I wanted you to tell us what you'd like to change based on what you learned earlier.  Rank amateur or not, you were at least able to put together a site that had clear composition, which is a far cry better than some of the offerings we get. 

 

 

To me, the most glaring problem with this site is a complete lack of structure.  There's no visual flow, sense of hierarchy, or even general context.  It's mashed potatoes.  Given the circumstances, it's understandable.  Unfortunately, it works against the girl.

 

The second thing that jumps out is a lack of visual excitement.  Minimal color, and a bunch of text.  A few simple graphics would go a long way to making it look more inviting/interesting.

 

The structure will be the most important part, as the PayPal buttons need to be visible without being invasive.  I recommend doing a few quick sketches in whatever image editor you have (paint can work for something like this) before diving into code.  And feel free to show them to us.

 

Good ideas. Thanks Kevin. I think I will start with a new hierachy, structure and flow and see what I come up with. Then for sure I will be back.