Allen Lawson Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 So Ive been designing my article writing website for some time now and just really need another opinion about it. I just launched so please excuse all the 404's. I'm looking for some real criticism. I want to know what detail you hate or like even if it's a simple as font color. http://allenlawson.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boen_robot Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 The design is very simplistic... I personally like that, but keep in mind many clients want eye candy, and when you don't have any on your site, the default assumption is you can't deliver one (an assumption that can only be overloaded once you have a list of shiny eye-candy-ish web sites in your portfolio).Besides that... make titles and/or pictures clickable, so that they lead to the article or whatever. In fact, you may drop the "Read full article" links altogether. I say "may", because there are of course very noobish users who wouldn't click on anything that isn't a verb, and again, if your target is potential clients, then you may cater for them by also keeping the "Read full article" links. Either way, titles and pictures being clickable is a must. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allen Lawson Posted February 19, 2012 Author Share Posted February 19, 2012 Thats funny that you say that because I already did that but the new version is only on my computer so I haven't uploaded it yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGallery Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 I'll go with what b_r said about the links and articles, and i'll add one more thing. The thin parts of your letters in the logo (top left corner) don't look smooth for me. It's not something big, but a detail that got my attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krewe Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 None of the links work, including the blog. Not sure if this is intended of not.(By links I mean the horizontal nav) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allen Lawson Posted February 19, 2012 Author Share Posted February 19, 2012 Yea like I said I just launched a couple days ago so please excuse the 404's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krewe Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 I understand there will be 404's but are they just example blog posts?Because if you posted those posts they shouldn't be 404... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WebOutGateway Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 Hi allen,your website is very simple. I like the color combination- red, white and black. But I must agree with Boe_robot, the design is too simple, it bores me already. Perhaps a slideshow of your portforlio in the toppage would add some life to your website. And may I also suggest that you put some information about youself or about your business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allen Lawson Posted February 20, 2012 Author Share Posted February 20, 2012 Good ideas. Last night I decided to add some more creativity so I opened a new folder and I'm currently redesigning it. Thanks everybody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alluring Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 The fact that it looks "simple" is actually a good thing. No one wants to navigate this. That's a bit extreme but it illustrates the difference between your site and the "throw-up" sites that have been thrown up from horrible template / DIY quick sites. Did you use a CMS? There's no shame in it IMO. Like your favicon - simple, colorful and sharp. My addition would be a very subtle (I say subtle because a huge change would be bad) way to separate the divs or what ever is used to space out the articles on the main page. Also, give me your "allenlawson.net" banner and let me tweak your aliasing in the font. You have my info on Google+ It looks good over all. You'll do fine with it as is but finish up (or suspend navigation [hide it until later]) the content and you'll have a really good polished site. Good work.-Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allen Lawson Posted February 21, 2012 Author Share Posted February 21, 2012 Thanks for your kind post. There is no banner ~ for my logo I just used CSS mixed with google.com/webfonts. And no I don't use CMSes; I like doing everything from scratch as much as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don E Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 I agree with Alluring. IMO, simplicity is key. Not too flashy and not too dull. I like it. I guess the "eye-candy" depends on the type of site though. Some sites require it, or some of it at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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