Website Review and Suggestions

**NickH** · 08-20-2010, 09:51 AM

howdy ya'll

i've updated my personal site once again

this time the link is

http://www.nickhayden.netai.net

ive gone for a simple single column layout with some basic information, nothing to special

lets get a few things out of the way first

- yes i know its free hosting and yes i know the pitfalls of that and no i dont want to hear them again

- its not a legit site yet so dont go getting stressed

anything else is welcome though

**omnetworks** · 08-20-2010, 11:09 AM

great site

**Knight13** · 08-20-2010, 11:56 AM

When i click the link it is showing me 000webhosting, that is why free hosting is no good.

**NickH** · 08-20-2010, 09:56 PM

odd, because i just clicked the link then and it worked fine :/
is it an error or just taking you to the 000host homepage?

**The-Pixel** · 08-21-2010, 12:19 AM

I'm sorry but I find it very interesting how you can code in multiple languages (PHP, Javascript, MySQL, Python and Ruby) but your website looks like something a kid made from GeoCities.

**NickH** · 08-21-2010, 01:42 AM

perhaps you should read it again

you listed the languages i am learning

**paultbk** · 08-21-2010, 02:47 AM

Hey Nick, well the site loads very quick so thats a plus. I would go out there and find a freebie html template. You can then work with the css and html to get it how you like it. To me, this site is very very plain.

**35173** · 08-24-2010, 04:43 AM

I agree with paultbk, it's not a great advert for your skills, but if you keep up the work then I'm sure you'll be able to improve. I would suggest at the moment possibly focusing on html and css, because even if you can add in clever functionality, people buy with their eyes (generally, unless ofcourse you are targeting large corporations who just want functionality)

**nosfan1019** · 08-25-2010, 06:35 PM

Its pretty bare bones. I'd recommend changing the font at the very least.

**skyhighlnkr** · 08-26-2010, 03:00 AM

Is it for your portfolio?No offense, but I am not sure if this works well......

but it's cool for your effort....

**LadynRed** · 08-26-2010, 09:05 AM

Nick, I suppose it's ok as a contact card sort of thing. I would definitely add some padding on the text to get it away from the edge of the green box. If you want to show off your current skills though, I think you need something a bit more compelling

**TWD** · 08-27-2010, 10:01 AM

Quote:

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step - Lao-tzu.

And seriously, that's about as far as you've traveled so far.
Keep studying.

**lynxus** · 08-27-2010, 10:06 AM

Hmm,.
Not sure what to say..

The site looks terrible?

It may be worth using wordpress etc and have a template rather than designing yourself?

Maybe once you have the skills from your learning you will be able to make your own?

I dont think its a good advert for your skills.

Sorry, But we all want to hear the truth right?

**TWD** · 08-27-2010, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lynxus

Hmm,.
Sorry, But we all want to hear the truth right?

No, no!

We post here so spammers can blow smoke up our #$@-holes
with comments like "great site". LOL.

**NickH** · 08-27-2010, 11:38 AM

why would i use a theme someone else coded, doesnt that kind of ruin the point of making a portfolio?

isnt the point of a portfolio site to showcase my skills, which ill admit arnt the best but im sure everyone here didnt learn html, css, advanced design skills and a bunch of other languages in one day.

the people that keep telling me i wont get business with this perhaps i need to explain myself more

im studying web development at the moment and i make these sites (this is my third attempt) because i want to practice and learn skills in both code and design in my own time rather than only doing classwork.

so no i wont buy a template off of someone because then i would be showcasing their work not my own, so PLEASE stop suggesting this and to the bloke who said "use a template then when you get better make your own" why would i do that because to me thats just plain ol' deceiving the client, which i hear is a pretty bad business practice.

so remember this its a learning thing not a business thing, unless you can suggest another project to work on im going to keep on making portfolio sites, another thing, perhaps some of you should look at the code rather than the design because remember a web page is about code and thats half of the reason i put this site up but i dont believe i've gotten any responses about that yet.

in conclusion

yes i know im not a great designer

yes i know im still learning

no i wont use someone elses templates

so thanks for the replies so far and dont think im getting all teary over the responses its more the fact that its all pretty much "your site sucks" instead of "your site sucks, heres why..."

end.

**Technut** · 08-27-2010, 11:49 AM

Wow? Down to only one page now,,,, hugh.

**lynxus** · 08-27-2010, 11:59 AM

Ok, I only meant use a template to make your portfolio look nicer.

Use side projects to test your skills. Come up with some idea / app you can make and try it.

All i can say is your site looks FAR to bland, too simple, needs to be web2.0'd up a fair bit.

**NickH** · 08-27-2010, 12:08 PM

i cant find anything worse than a bunch of web2.0 bloat

and yeah i was trying for a single column really bare bones design with this one, its all about experimentation at the moment

**GnosticThinker** · 08-28-2010, 03:13 PM

I like it. Something simple yet effective However you could go into more details about your bio and hobbies.