Website Review and Suggestions

**megamomm** · 07-31-2007, 02:24 PM

Please visit http://www.megamommies.com and let me know what you think. Brutal honesty is fine with me so don't be afraid to rip it apart if needed. Thank you!

- Dawn

**highanddry** · 07-31-2007, 02:33 PM

*gulp* it's a template. Yours? Exhale it looks fine, though the name makes me shudder a little bit.

**Jdinh04** · 07-31-2007, 02:39 PM

Dawn,

The site looks nice although I feel that there should be another color in there. How about try some orange or maybe a darker purple?

**CSS4Life** · 07-31-2007, 02:53 PM

The design looks fine - I don't know what you were worrying about!

**memorygreetings** · 07-31-2007, 02:56 PM

It looks very fine and clean
Good job

**33ecards** · 07-31-2007, 04:25 PM

Hi Dawn,

I like the look of the site -- looks quite nice. The only thing I would probably change is the color scheme. Or may be add another color in there?

**bcackerman** · 07-31-2007, 06:21 PM

Nice layout, mayb menu bar font should be larger and the purple is just like, in my face, lol, bit too much

**Jasontor** · 07-31-2007, 07:01 PM

The site has a nice structure, good color scheme and good information. I would like to add more but it looks good.

The only thing is the logo and the site are separated by the navigation, I would change that.

**Jan Jelinek** · 07-31-2007, 10:14 PM

looks ok, but there is a lot of empty space on the top. Actually its 1/3 of screen on 1024 width. Maybe make the colors of headlines/links more contrast.

**ADAM Web Design** · 08-01-2007, 12:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by highanddry

*gulp* it's a template. Yours? Exhale it looks fine, though the name makes me shudder a little bit.

Evidently you haven't watched American Pie. Think MILF, and all will be right in the world. ;D

I think the basic layout is fine and probably pretty mommy-friendly (I don't like the colors myself, but I'm a guy so that means they're probably right). You've got some functional issues, though:

1) Don't go from bold face to normal face with your links...it makes them move around funny.

2) In the menu, going from text-align: left; to text-align: right; is confusing.

3) You misspelled "Business" in the menu.

4) I missed the word "Mega" in your logo...maybe you could outline the top in yellow so it stands out?

5) The silly designer link on the bottom. Besides being orange and ugly, designers should never put their own links on sites like this, unless it's a resource they own...it's tacky.

Your biggest problem, however, is that you haven't put much effort into your content. All I see are affiliate links and unoriginal articles. What's yours on that site, and no one else's?

For those unsure what I mean by unoriginal articles, see this:

http://megamommies.com/content/view/6/38/

Take the first couple of sentences from it and Google them (with quotes):

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&r...oth+worlds.%22

You'll need to solve that content issue before worrying about the rest of it.

**sennep** · 08-01-2007, 07:42 AM

I think there is nothing wrong with the layout. I am not sure about the illustration at the top or the purple/pink background... A more neutral tone would be a bit more suitable. ( maybe it's better to focus on the content instead of the background color ... ) hope this help

**LadynRed** · 08-01-2007, 02:50 PM

I like it, like the purple - but then.. I'm a female

I have to agree with Adam on your links. I'd make one other observation too. You change the color on hover to something much too light. On my monitor I can barely see the text when I hover over it. The contrast isn't enough between the link and the white background. I suggest using a darker color on hover, not lighter - or add a background color to the hover state.

**megamomm** · 08-01-2007, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ADAM Web Design

Evidently you haven't watched American Pie. Think MILF, and all will be right in the world. ;D

I think the basic layout is fine and probably pretty mommy-friendly (I don't like the colors myself, but I'm a guy so that means they're probably right). You've got some functional issues, though:

1) Don't go from bold face to normal face with your links...it makes them move around funny.

2) In the menu, going from text-align: left; to text-align: right; is confusing.

3) You misspelled "Business" in the menu.

4) I missed the word "Mega" in your logo...maybe you could outline the top in yellow so it stands out?

5) The silly designer link on the bottom. Besides being orange and ugly, designers should never put their own links on sites like this, unless it's a resource they own...it's tacky.

Your biggest problem, however, is that you haven't put much effort into your content. All I see are affiliate links and unoriginal articles. What's yours on that site, and no one else's?

For those unsure what I mean by unoriginal articles, see this:

http://megamommies.com/content/view/6/38/

Take the first couple of sentences from it and Google them (with quotes):

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&r...oth+worlds.%22

You'll need to solve that content issue before worrying about the rest of it.

Thanks for the very long and thoughtful review. You are the only person who noticed the typo in the menu. Thank you so much for seeing that! You were right about the links so I changed them so that they are bold (no more normal/bold switch).

I got rid of the bottom link as well. The menu I am leaving until I figure out something I like that isn't a complete pain to throw together. As for the logo, I know the font is very weird but for some reason that's why I liked it. I'll play around in paintshop and see if adding an outline will improve it or make it ugly.

As for the content issue... That's being worked on. I was going to buy articles and then realized how costly that would be for a personal site on a bi-weekly or monthly basis. It just doesn't make sense to spend that kind of money on a non-commercial site.

So, I threw on some free content, advertised a new monthly mommy article/story contest in a few of the writing groups I belong to for those who sign up at my site (making publication on the site and bragging rights the main prizes) and viola! I'm getting in fresh new material I can use once the contest ends.

Thanks for the help!

**megamomm** · 08-01-2007, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sennep

I think there is nothing wrong with the layout. I am not sure about the illustration at the top or the purple/pink background... A more neutral tone would be a bit more suitable. ( maybe it's better to focus on the content instead of the background color ... ) hope this help

Neutral tones are great for business sites, e-commerce sites, and the like but this is supposed to be a all out girlie looking site and it doesn't get more girlie than pink and purple!

**crowolf** · 08-01-2007, 04:24 PM

yeah nice design

**loganeast** · 08-01-2007, 07:09 PM

I have to agree with everyone else. It looks nice, but it needs a contrasting color to the purple. Either a contrasting color or a contrasting shade so there's more for the eye to see as detail. Definitely fix the issues Adam and LadynRed pointed out.

Otherwise, it looks good to me.

**ADAM Web Design** · 08-01-2007, 11:10 PM

You're welcome, megamomm. Let me know if/when you've got a round 2 to see what types of improvement you've made!

**psylocke** · 08-02-2007, 04:43 AM

i agree to them about the color.. but you did a nice job about the design.. nice site.

**hamesy** · 08-02-2007, 04:56 AM

Your design looks great, I really like the colours and they suit your website. The links on the left need to be reorganised, I'm don't like the way they move left to right. They also need to be a little darker when you hover over them.

I also was a little worried about the domain, but the more I think about it, the more I like it

**tomazws** · 08-02-2007, 08:34 AM

Nice and clean website. I love the colors!