New Website, Need feedback

[William Johanson]

Hey Guys, I have decided to start a website and have been working on it for about 4 days now. I decided to do it myself to save some $ but I want to know it looks professional enough. I used a site that has some templates and is fairly easy to use and economical. Any feedback good or critical would be greatly appreciated. I still have alot of work to do but I figure why not get some feedback early in the process.

Thanks in advance,

Bill

[Kerry Smith II]

I would dump the intro. Just have visitors go straight to your home page. On the home page I would show more of your samples and less white space. When you go to your home page you
see your samples for a second then you get that "dancing" gray box, I would rather see your samples. Just my opinion, hope this helps.

[Anthony Scira]

Looks like you put a lot of effort into it. And your stuff looks great. But After a couple of clicks I was afraid to click anything else. The jumping in and out after a click was a little off putting.

But it looks diffrent and that is always a good thing.

[Eric Fuller]

Agreed...dump the intro. Also, the first thing I want to do is click on the pictures on the right...can't do it.

Also, your tag line "where state of the art blah blah" runs right over the right graphics such that you can't read it.

"Engrave" on the "Custom Photo Engrav" is missing an "e".

OAL the whole thing is very flashy, but also bandwidth intensive and somewhat annoying to interface with. Not trying to bust your bubble, but not all tech is good tech (think overuse of midi files and blinking text back in the early 90's).

I would really ditch all the bling and just go with a solid static design, incorporating some php where necessary. I use OcCommerce and static for my site and it's served me very well for 5 years...I'm admittedly kind of a minimalist when it comes to web pages though.

Best of luck with your new endeavor!

Eric

[Ron Dunn]

I loathe and detest Flash-based web sites. Immediate turn-off.

[Mike Null]

Just a reminder. If you want to post a personal link or web site it should be in your profile.

SMC terms of service does not permit links in signatures or links to personal sites in posts.

I suggest that you invite members to view your site and offer opinions by asking them to go to your profile.

[Doug Griffith]

I haven't seen your website but it's what I do for a living and I've developed over 30 to date.

If your site is a tool to bring you revenue then focus on search engine friendliness and user interaction. Keep it clean and professional. Motion should be minimal and only for user feedback (ie. mouseover).

Other important issues:
1) platform/browser compatibility: minimal DHTML, javascript, Flash, etc...
2) bandwidth: use thumbnails for larger images
3) size: keep the site within a 15" display
4) intuitive and consistent navigation: "click here" is bad
5) branding: every page may be point of entry
6) spam harvesters: script email addresses if you can
7) optimize for search engines: relative text, cross-linking, meta tags, etc...
...the list goes on.

Have fun,
Doug

[Robert Wachala]

Hey Guys, I have decided to start a website and have been working on it for about 4 days now. I decided to do it myself to save some $ but I want to know it looks professional enough. I used a site that has some templates and is fairly easy to use and economical. Any feedback good or critical would be greatly appreciated. I still have alot of work to do but I figure why not get some feedback early in the process.

Thanks in advance,

Bill

Put the link to your site in profile looks like someone yanked it out of your post ;)

[William Johanson]

Well it looks like I am going back to the drawing board on this one. I didn't realize flash sites were so hated. I did add the URL to my profile if you would like to see it. I was looking for something different and it looks like I went too far. Thanks for the input,

Bill

[Tom Bull]

Your message is definately lost in all of the stuff going on, but any presence is better than no presence.

[Mitchell Andrus]

Rule of thumb is... shoppers need to get in, make a decision and get out. Anything that doesn't help make a sale happen inside of about 90 seconds is just clutter.

Most people capable of spending money for other than food and shelter often shop on-line at work. Speed and stealth are vital. That means NO music, sound effects and no wasted eyeball time.

[Angus Hines]

Well I like the site but I don't like most of the use of flash in it. the only flash aspect I wold keep. Would be the way you can zoom and pan on a picture I really like that. the example is the picture of the blonde on your last page 'Misc items'.
So if you could keep that and make the rest static then I would if not just lose all the flash and go static.
Otherwise it's a great looking site.

[mike klein]

Couple of items which turns me away immediately. The flash content
and the iritating link buttons and the sound effects that go along with them. Hate to be negative William, but I would start over.

Just my $.02 worth.
Mike

[Kim Haubert]

I liked the site. Effects were advanced looking. Pro done. It was quick. Not too much noise. I like the noises cause it affirms a click. The zoom feature is great. Flash is the future. I think it was used with taste.

Kim

[Mike Hood]

Nice, but too much flash (mostly the repetitive fades and such). Liked the gallery though.

Ya gonna incorporate a cart?

[M Toupin]

Anything that doesn't help make a sale happen inside of about 90 seconds is just clutter.

The first rule of web design /\

Shoot for:
1. targeted toward your prospective audience
2. loads fast (even over dial-up)
3. product appropriate appearance
4. quality graphics


Kill off the sounds, just plain irritating to 95% of web visitors over age 16. And use flash sparingly, keep it to things that provide substance and purpose.

Mike

[Ricky Gore]

I have to agree with most everyone else. To be honest, the site annoyed me, and I left rather quickly. I like to see sites like Delvies Plastics. You go to the site and you imediatley see product. No long introductions and no sounds. Everyone has their own opinion of course, and maybe I'm just old. But there a few things I can't stand on a website. #1 is music. (Especially Midi Music) I know you didn't have that, but #2 is sound effects on buttons / menus. I'm ok with the subtle little ticks or something, but not things that repeat at all. Anyway, I've rambled enough, that would be a good site for a Rock Band though. :)

Good Luck with it.

Thanks,
Ricky