Website Review and Suggestions

**NickH** · 08-17-2011, 10:12 PM

so i decided to build a new one
if any of you have hung around here long enough you know im a pretty crappy designer and for the most part i couldnt design my way out of an seo scam but i like to try.

so pretty much i had some trouble with using @font-face and this is the first website ive built using it so im just having a play, the website is just a place where i can chuck up my work and just play around with a live server and an actual website.

So i come here yet again to humbly ask for some tips on layout, colour, font and all that good stuff so yeah let me know what you think.

I've been told that font above the 3 smaller paragraph columns shouldnt be too calligraphic because it can be hard to read however i changed it to a bit of a clearer font but I'm still not sure, I'm also unsure about not having some sort of statement about what I do shown immediately to the user.

so here we go let me have it (also remember that it is on a test domain and that it is clearly not complete)

Link is here

**1nteresting** · 08-17-2011, 11:30 PM

Uhm, wait... so, you say yourself that you're a crappy designer, and yet you have a portfolio trying to sell people your designing skills? That makes a lot of sense.

Anyway. I feel like the design doesn't have to be as cramped as you've made it.

Because you made the footer and navigation area so large, you've made little room for content on your site. The content is the most important, so I'd shrink those down 40%.

For font selection I'd use Google web fonts. I still don't like your font selection. It's fine to have a script font for larger headers, but with the smaller headers, it still doesn't work. Plus, I think it could me more personal, the script font you selected is overused. Howabout writing your signature and scanning it in for the header, then choosing a sans-serif at Google Web Fonts for everything else?

Also, those social icons are cheezy. Use these. http://rhinofeed.com/?p=24

**NickH** · 12:52 AM

the crappy designer bit was a joke, im always trying to improve and the only way to improve is by doing, if you want to see crappy design ill show you stuff i made from a couple of years ago...

im feeling you on the footer being too big though and I've been told that by someone else as well, also that the copyright part is too large. how do you feel about the copyright being calligraphic?

I'm going to keep the social icons the same because they're pretty well recognized and easily identified.

I've never had a real look at google web fonts though so thank you for that I'll definitely be having a look through

also what browser/res are you using?

**kesn** · 08-18-2011, 03:29 AM

I did not like the font on the site.
my eyes hard to perceive these fonts

**davemies** · 08-18-2011, 09:55 AM

awful fonts - the name at the top looks ok (well for a wine maybe) but together with the other font it's not working. at all.

what's with all The random Capital letters

strecthed picture - no.

tables for layout - no use the flow of the document (float elements such as divs to get the middle bit)
what are the pcitures there for?

i get a horizontal scrollbar at 1280 px wide

hmmm colours are ok but otherwise time to start again.

**TWD** · 08-18-2011, 10:00 AM

Dont like the fonts.
Looks very cramped, you should adjust your line-height CSS.

Also, you should NEVER center align text. Looks horrible.
Align all text to the left for usability.

Some of the images looks distorted and not very professional.

Dont forget the favicon.

**NickH** · 08-18-2011, 11:03 AM

any suggestions on fonts?

**chrishirst** · 08-18-2011, 01:30 PM

Can I suggest you find another line of work, because with this, "you know im a pretty crappy designer" you're spot on.

What you have for a "home page" layout would look superb if you were laying out a frontispiece or a cover for a glossy PRINTED portfolio or brochure but as a website? Naaah just doesn't work.

and this; "So Be Extra Nice!" just looks rather immature.

**1nteresting** · 08-18-2011, 02:52 PM

I'm using Google Chrome on Windows 7 with 1680 * 1050 resolution.

**NickH** · 11:38 PM

such a supportive community..

anyway, I'm going to keep doing this because it's what i enjoy, i love to code things and i'd like to think that my code is fairly clean however its just the design side of things i struggle with which is why i come here to get "Website Review and Suggestions" ya dig?

so to continue on with my previous point, any font suggestions? and should I rethink all the fonts or is there one or two that desperately need to be changed?

EDIT: So i've been having a look around at other sites that have similar elements to mine and I've got a few ideas that I'm going to try and then get back to y'all, however dont let that stop you from suggesting stuff/tearing apart my design skillzzz

**1nteresting** · 08-19-2011, 12:52 AM

Don't mind chrishirst, he can be kind of a jerk at times... >_<

**chrishirst** · 08-19-2011, 12:27 PM

What do you mean????

**chrishirst** · 08-19-2011, 12:28 PM

At times???

Am I slipping or something???

**TWD** · 08-19-2011, 07:07 PM

Consistency is an admirable quality.

**chrishirst** · 08-21-2011, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1nteresting

Don't mind chrishirst, he can be kind of a jerk at times... >_<

You know I think it's finally clicked why many of you have no idea how to take my comments.

It's because you are so used to hearing platitudes and guarded comments from people who are terrified of offending or insulting you by speaking the truth, you have no idea what to do with or say to someone who is blunt, forthright and brutally honest.

This is the real world people, if you are easily upset or offended, lock your door, close your curtains and stay at home!
That way nobody can ever mess with your delicate senses.

Now you can take my remarks about your design as honest opinion, or you can ignore it and stick with the "Well it's very nice .... but ....." comments from some who would like to tell you exactly the same but don't have the balls for it!!!!!.

**TWD** · 08-21-2011, 08:42 PM

Colonel Nathan R Jessep said it best...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWSx0bBiNIs

**NickH** · 08-21-2011, 11:26 PM

i think the problems is you don't always offer suggestions usually just criticism most people have no problem with people not liking their work its just when they do it without offering any way to fix it (even if it's super vague)

**chrishirst** · 08-22-2011, 07:05 AM

Quote:

you don't always offer suggestions usually just criticism

That's because I am not a designer nor do I claim to be, if you look through some of my posts I always describe myself as a developer.

BUT after fifteen years or so I do know what "looks right" on webpages and/or print.
Now as i said earlier, if I had commissioned you to design me a brochure for a high end (expensive) county hotel or maybe a leisure "retreat" and you presented me with that, I would be more than happy to sign the cheque(check).
But as a webpage it doesn't work.
Also If I was looking to hire a print designer, including that (in print) as an example of your work would certainly get you on the short list.

Print design and web design need slightly different mindsets and applying the wrong one to the other discipline rarely works.

Now you might "suck" as a webdesigner but certainly have the makings of a brochure designer.

**NickH** · 08-26-2011, 08:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gaby111

Dont like the script, the rest looks good.

Nicest thing anyone has ever said to me in this subforum

but yeah the font has been changed and so has a bunch of other stuff ill put it up again soon but there's still more to work on