Website Review and Suggestions

**bigfreak** · 08-07-2008, 12:41 PM

Hey gang,

just launching a new business for myself and in the process of making my site.

I know it's not done perfectly, but I'd appreciate some feedback on any level.

thanks!

http://insiteci.com/realty/andy/

**witnesstheday** · 08-07-2008, 01:50 PM

Praise the instant loading of your site and pages. It's so nice to find pages like that these days. Half the time you are slowed down by crazy flash items loading everywhere and, madly enough, the other half the time you get slowed down by google-analytics apparently doing some jiggery pokery before a page loads.

Who cares that you're trying to sell in a collapsing industry? The site is supremo, extra good.

One thing I spotted - on my screen (firefox, macintosh os x) your otherwise excellent and simple contact form has got extra spacing between the last two rows.

Fast loading is vital, I believe, because as people are more and more worn down by the extra loading time of videos, as the present video mania spirals out of control, people whose pages load in under 3 seconds (no matter how fast or slow the computer or connection) will get a few more sales than the next person down the line.

**justfairy** · 08-08-2008, 04:00 AM

I really like it.

Dont change a thing!

**davemies** · 08-08-2008, 04:35 AM

looks good but you have a watermark on the 'stock photo'

**Himalayan** · 08-08-2008, 08:00 AM

Looking good but when we scroll down it seen that something is cut down from bottom because there is not any navigational links at Bottom.

**davemies** · 08-08-2008, 08:50 AM

yep you need a footer. also you need more horizontal padding around your main nav links

**bigfreak** · 08-08-2008, 09:12 AM

thanks for input so far!

I am addressing some of the items now, and some later when it's ready to launch.

The footer thing makes total sense, missed that one.

I'm trying to figure out again how I make the page grow when there's more copy.

I was shown a while ago, just need to dig out the info.

keep it coming!

thanks!

**The-Pixel** · 08-09-2008, 01:58 AM

Well, It's not a website I'd trust to sell my house if that helps. I really like your header banner tho http://insiteci.com/realty/andy/images/main_01.gif

**TheHosted** · 08-09-2008, 02:00 AM

You might want to find a picture for your header that doesn't say "Stock Photo" across it. Go take a picture, don't rip someone else's. It doesn't look very professional like that.

**The-Pixel** · 08-09-2008, 02:01 AM

LMAO Nice catch I didn't see that till you said something. WOW! that really makes me not want to trust this guy to sell my house. LMAO! WOW!

**bigfreak** · 08-09-2008, 05:21 PM

i think it should be obvious that I am not planning on keeping the picture like that. You have to give me a little credit! lol

It is simply there for placement, and will be replaced by actual picture when the time is right.

**TheHosted** · 08-10-2008, 01:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigfreak

i think it should be obvious that I am not planning on keeping the picture like that. You have to give me a little credit! lol

It is simply there for placement, and will be replaced by actual picture when the time is right.

You have it sitting on the domain name why would we not think it? I've seen it many times before. If it was a test layout you wouldn't have it on your main page, most people test on a subfolder hidden from view until its perfect.

**davemies** · 08-10-2008, 02:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigfreak

i think it should be obvious that I am not planning on keeping the picture like that. You have to give me a little credit! lol

It is simply there for placement, and will be replaced by actual picture when the time is right.

and as you say you're "just launching" it

and rajasangwan don't be such a rude git and spam other people's posts.

**Frank Rizzo** · 08-10-2008, 08:02 AM

Navigation
Personally I like nav bars and menus to be bold in order to stand out a bit more.

Readability
Some of your pages need editing to break the monotony. e.g. the Mortgage Basics page.

You have a H2 tag at the start. Try that with a H1 and then make the sub headings (Find A Mortgage Broker, Common Problems With Being Approved) H2's

Try more bullet points instead of *
Try some text in italics to stand out

The length of the page is not a problem but it looks a block of text and is not inviting me to read. Breaking up into sections will give it attraction and invite me to read bits I want to read rather then find a different page.

SEO
You will need to work on the title tags - too short.

**yaoz** · 08-11-2008, 06:55 AM

Awesome job! It loads instantly, very visitor-friendly. You can try playing alittle bit with the menu design (specificaly hyperlink effects) but overall I give u 9/10

**ondemand** · 08-14-2008, 10:06 PM

Looks nice. Maybe place a few more properties on your main page?

**8bit** · 08-15-2008, 05:51 PM

make menu options bold, left navigation doesn't appear right in Firefox.

**sebastianx** · 08-17-2008, 11:20 AM

Your site has a nice look to it and the navigation is simple.

**Mr. B** · 08-19-2008, 12:56 AM

...some random thoughts...

there's room for two spaces between the navbar links and the vertical bars... maybe make the current page link bold to specify what page you're on.

move the blue box at left to the left some so there's equal white space to the left and right of it

"I am committed to strive for excellence." ...there has to be a better way to say i'll try to be great.

"feature property" should be featured property... and try a few extra pixels of spacing between the featured house thumbnail and the description to the left... and since it is featured, you might alter the description from the abbreviated style to some proper prose and complete sentences.

I know next to nothing about mortgages, but your "mortgage basics" page sure is long. If all that content is necessary, separate it by a couple of categories divided by bold headings and add links below the title to each of those sections.

"contact me" and "book an appointment" could probably be merged... not exactly sure how though... would require a slightly more complicated form

whatever is causing the internal scrollbar on the tips page needs to be fixed (max-height?)

I know that's a lot of nagging but you are off to a great start, a hell of a lot better than some of the crap sites I've seen from other people in your profession. Nice work.

**carlyc** · 08-19-2008, 02:11 AM

You need to create a Footer and use more keywords at the Navigation Bar