Website Review and Suggestions

**Sneakyheathen** · 06-14-2008, 07:27 PM

Okay, so, I just could not come up with any ideas for this website, and to me, it just looks pretty off-base. Please, go all out by all means and let me know what you think:

http://sewitupcharlotte.com/

I want this to be on par with my other projects (which aren't phenomenal, but work alright) and so seriously, rip it apart if need be. Thanks so much!

**PeachyJuice** · 06-14-2008, 08:02 PM

Okay, since you want some thorough ideas here you go. I'm going to be thorough for you ^_^+

Firstly, what is your color scheme? To me, that's the first place to start. Pick between 5-7 colors to work with. Stick with them! Color is one major thing that provides cohesion in a design.

Secondly, that top banner IS hideous. It has no visual interest in it what so ever. And it looks pixelated to boot. If you're going to go with a wood background-pick out a color and make it simple. You don't want too much going on with a background like that. And make the text a bit more professional looking. Lucida Calligraphy is a nice font, but it looks very generic and stuck on there. Get rid of the gradient, and most of all center the name.

Thirdly, the background image. It does look off, and you know why? Real wood floors/planks have staggered edges, and are generally not as wide. Scale that down quite a bit and it'll take some of the emphasis off of the background and on to the content.

Fourth, think about the presentation of your text. What kinds of things do you want to highlight? As of now, it all blends together in that big block of text. Are you advertising a service? Or is this just a portfolio kind of site? That first sentence, "Welcome to Sew It Up! Your local resource for sewing projects" definitely needs to stand out from the rest of the text.

Fifth, is that a banner ad at the top of the page? Or is it going to be some other kind of banner?

Sixth, add color to those links! The last thing people want to see (ever!) are default colored links.

Seven, add something to the navigation. Yes, it's separated from the rest of the content, but my eye isn't attracted there nearly as fast as it should be. No, it shouldn't be the first thing a visitor notices, but it's a very important part of the site and needs to look like it belongs instead of floating.

Hope that's enough for now xD If you have any other questions, feel free to ask =)

**Sneakyheathen** · 06-14-2008, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeachyJuice

Okay, since you want some thorough ideas here you go. I'm going to be thorough for you ^_^+

Firstly, what is your color scheme? To me, that's the first place to start. Pick between 5-7 colors to work with. Stick with them! Color is one major thing that provides cohesion in a design.

Secondly, that top banner IS hideous. It has no visual interest in it what so ever. And it looks pixelated to boot. If you're going to go with a wood background-pick out a color and make it simple. You don't want too much going on with a background like that. And make the text a bit more professional looking. Lucida Calligraphy is a nice font, but it looks very generic and stuck on there. Get rid of the gradient, and most of all center the name.

Thirdly, the background image. It does look off, and you know why? Real wood floors/planks have staggered edges, and are generally not as wide. Scale that down quite a bit and it'll take some of the emphasis off of the background and on to the content.

Fourth, think about the presentation of your text. What kinds of things do you want to highlight? As of now, it all blends together in that big block of text. Are you advertising a service? Or is this just a portfolio kind of site? That first sentence, "Welcome to Sew It Up! Your local resource for sewing projects" definitely needs to stand out from the rest of the text.

Fifth, is that a banner ad at the top of the page? Or is it going to be some other kind of banner?

Sixth, add color to those links! The last thing people want to see (ever!) are default colored links.

Seven, add something to the navigation. Yes, it's separated from the rest of the content, but my eye isn't attracted there nearly as fast as it should be. No, it shouldn't be the first thing a visitor notices, but it's a very important part of the site and needs to look like it belongs instead of floating.

Hope that's enough for now xD If you have any other questions, feel free to ask =)

Thanks. I hate sitting down and looking at a site I think I've "finished" and just not having any ideas on how to make it better. My client had no real input except, "could we get a sewing machine?" and I'm not a big player in the "interor design" game.

I'll do some over-hauling and get back to you guys. Any other suggestions would be awesome.

**Sneakyheathen** · 06-25-2008, 11:01 PM

I installed Wordpress and did a major design overhaul. Anymore suggestions?

**jyale** · 06-25-2008, 11:42 PM

I like it not too much feedback is needed

**siberia77** · 06-26-2008, 01:15 PM

it seems ok, fit for purpose and suiting the subject.

**arcel** · 06-27-2008, 04:48 AM

well, the design looks ok for me...
maybe just regularly update it...

**journey08** · 06-27-2008, 07:36 AM

The site looks quite good though there's a big space on your home page. Kindly add some more fresh content...

**johnlloyd** · 06-27-2008, 08:23 AM

i think that the site is quite simple to me, I think that you should do some changes like adding some logo or header image, and posting interesting content!

**Sneakyheathen** · 06-27-2008, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnlloyd

i think that the site is quite simple to me, I think that you should do some changes like adding some logo or header image, and posting interesting content!

It...it has a logo. The main page does look pretty empty though, you're right. Maybe I could put some more pictures there.