yallSave.com

[ldsmike88]

Here's my site, critique it please. I know the domain name is really stupid but I can't help that, it was my clients choice. I know that there are a few product images missing, I am going to add a "No Image Available" script soon. Just keep in mind I am a coder more than a designer, so please help me out as much on the design as possible. I think I should change the backround... any input? Thanks! Oh, and by the way, I'm color blind.

[a href=\"http://yallsave.com/\" target=\"_blank\"]http://yallsave.com/[/a]

Mike

[moberemk]

[list][*]The gradient behind your navigation looks ugly compared to the text color[*]Navigation padding changes erratically between pages[*]Make your changing text on the right a flash thing, with fade effects and a longer wait. Also, don't make it run up against the side like that[*]Your Secure Site lock is way too big compared to the text-scale it down a lot[*]Make your front page have a list of new models or something. As it is, it feels empty[/list]

[ober]

A few complaints:

1) as moberemk mentioned, the nav looks awful and changes size depending on what page you're on. Lose the gradient and go with a more pleasent roll-over effect (changing background color, changing border color... something).
2) Contact page... when there is an error, you should explain what it is and show the form again, refilling non-vital information. It needs work, at best.
3) If there is only one option in the dropdown, have it pre-selected.
4) If the "enlarged" picture is the same size as the current picture, don't provide a link to an "enlarged" version.
5) If you don't have any of a specific item, don't show it to me. Only list parts that you have. Listing a part when you have none of them is only teasing the customer.
6) Half of your links go to the same page with a different internal link in them. Is it that hard to create seperate pages for each of those items? I don't think your privacy policy belongs on the same page as the shipping info.
7) You claim it's a secure site, but other than the little lock, which switches between being centered and not in the right column, I don't see any evidence of it. There's no security certificate, you're not using https, and the browser has no indication that it's a secure site..... you don't give me any reason to think that it's secure other than your little logo.

It's a good start, but it needs a lot of work.

[ldsmike88]

[b]Flashy Thing:[/b] I made the little flashy thing below the navagation bar on the home page not run up against the side, but it still just flashes instead of fading... mainly because I didn't want to lookup a new script to fade it when I really didn't like it all that much in the first place. I really just need some stuff to make it look less plain.

[b]Secure:[/b] The thing about the site being secure, I got rid of it and just put a PayPal logo there since I am using PayPal.

[b]Home Page:[/b] Yes, the homepage is empty feeling but everything is new so I don't know what to put there.

[b]Navagation:[/b]
About the navagation, I don't know what you mean it changes sizes. I got rid of the gradient and made it a little smaller in width. What do you think?

[b]Contact Us:[/b]
I fixed the contact us page so now it shows what is missing. Like it?

[b]Select Box:[/b]
I am using an array in javascript to populate my select boxes. Is there a way to check to see if an array has only one value?

[b]Click to Enlarge:[/b]
All the images for products on the item.php page are set with a width of 400px, when you click enlarge it shows it's correctly sized image, whether it is smaller or larger. I want to right a script that will make the image fit in there perfectly if the window is large but then if you make the window smaller, the image will get smaller too so you don't have to scroll sideways. I started with this but couldn't get it to work right yet. Any ideas or hints?

[b]List:[/b]
I changed it so if Wings equal 0 it just doesn't show Wings. I think that is what you ment.

[b]Several Links:[/b]
The reason half the links went to the same page was because I thought it would make it look like I had more information if I just put it all on one page. I guess I will seperate the pages, but I still need a lot more information on the pages.

One last note. There are some vehicles that do not have any products listed for them. That is because I insert new products and submit them to my client and he enters in the prices and then they are viewable to the public. I have 27 more items waiting for his input. So expect more products soon hopefully. Please continue to critique me!
Thanks!

Mike

[ober]

Security: Looks better with the Paypal logo.

Home page: The first thing I would do is change the banner image. It looks like a mid-90ish type banner with just some text and a funky background. Put a nice car image up in there. I'd also lose the full-width style of the site, as that can cause problems stretching your content. Using a fixed-width site not only let's you know exactly where things will fall, but it also makes you look like you have more content.... and as an added bonus, it allows you to have a defined-width banner image. I'd love to see a tricked out car in the banner or a picture of the buildiing where they do business.... or even a car being worked on. In terms of actual content, you could list testimonials or provide some kind of company motto or even throw up a few more pics. People expect sites like this one to take a little longer to load because they want to see your products. Just don't take advantage of that too much... know when to reduce the images.

Navigation: On the home page, your nav items are only about 8 pixels high (if I had to guess). When you go to the other pages, they're at least 15, plus they still have the gradient. Not only does it look bad, but it means your coding sucks. You should have 1 menu page that you include everywhere so that you only have to update it in one place. You're using PHP, so take advantage of it.

Contact Page: Looks better... but you could use a space between the "Required" and the box you're putting it next to. It also wouldn't hurt to redirect the user back to the homepage after a short delay... maybe 10 seconds of displaying the "thank you" (use the PHP header() call). You might also mention that "someone will contact you shortly".

Select Box: I'm 99% sure you can use both count and length on an array in Javascript.

Enlarged Pics: Just changing the width of a picture doesn't really help the user. You should really look into resizing the pic to a specific height and width using the GD library (I hope your host has that installed).

List: Yeah, that's what I meant.


Something else to pick on: when you hit the "view shopping cart" link, the banner turns red. Consistency would be nice.

[ldsmike88]

Ok lately I have been entering more products. I have over 200 items now. I really havn't worked on the look and feel of the site much. I did do the GD library thing though. That was really awesome. Now just one question. You said I should change it from the 100% of the window's width design to a preset width. I made a page that is 640 px in width. Now there is a WHOLE LOT of extra space if your screen is set to 800 by 600. What do I do with all the extra space? Should I make it 790 width? Does anyone have any ideas on what I should do with the width of the site? Thanks! (I am still planning on workin on the other things mentioned, just havn't had the time yet.)

Mike

[steviewdr]

Just first off - before graphics,

When putting stuff into your kart - or updating it -
.1 works as a quantity. Perhaps you might want to remove this server side.

Also - on this page : [a href=\"http://yallsave.com/cart/cart.php?task=update\" target=\"_blank\"]http://yallsave.com/cart/cart.php?task=update[/a] it says "Secure Site" with YOUR logo. YET it is not ssl (secure).

Also with .1 quantity entered - I go (proceed) to paypal and get errors -
The link you have used to enter the PayPal system contains an incorrectly formatted quantity value.

OK - onto design - for the Shopping kart on the main page - top right - it needs a border - and not a big thick black one like on your Navigation menu.

Change the colour and thickness of the borders on your Navigation.

> Should I make it 790 width?
YES
As for Widths of a site - I prefer a fluid layout - where the width will be 80% width of the browser window.
I set my left margin to 10%, and right to 10% in css.

Your Shopping Cart text (on main page) is formatted incorrect.
The Shopping is indented and the Word Cart is un-indented on the next line. Is there a <br> or something wrong?

Also your text that rotates under the Navigation - its a little plain. I would prefer to see a rotating graphic with a thumbnail of the product. The text you currently have doesnt look great. Get using your GD skills and dress it up.

OK - I'll leave it at that.
Rgds,
steve