My website

Ok guys..I am scared to post this but I have to, some of you guys are harsh...but that is good...LOL This is for my photography business...It is in the very beginning stages...Just want to know if the layout and colors are pleasing..Keep in mind it is a family oriented site so it is pretty simple and easy to navigate.Anyt comments please!!

Just the layout..all text was just put in to fill up space so I could get a taste of what it will look like!!


Alyssa

Http://frozenintime.www-pros.com

i think that top area is a bit too big. size down the name and try and get rid of that heavy stroke for better redability. the cutout of the baby and all that needs to go because it's all just hanging there right now with no purpose or connection. that wallpaper background isn't very exciting up top. the nav links are too bulky and need some kind of a container or sepparators. the marble texture in the content area looks more like dirt and...what for? i really don't like the way the content area just fades into nothing with no bottom support. and finally, there's nothing on here right now that tells me that it's a photo site.
good start, still needs allot of work.

There's a lot of things I like here. I like the idea of the wallpaper-ish background for the top banner. I REALLY like the 'shadow' effect of the light shining throught the negative strip. Things I'd suggest reviewing again. The size of your banner is overwhelming @ 800X600, still almost takes up half the page @ 1024X768. I haven't checked the stats in a while, but those two resolutions make up the majority of the web population. The company name is difficult to read. It should be the first thing to grab my eye, and not necessarily because of size. My last constructive is the color of the graduation cap is harsh compared to the subtle tones throughout the rest of the page--it was actually the item that grabbed my eyes first when the page loaded. Not what you want, unless you're selling graduation gowns. To sum myself: reduce the size of banner and nav to give more room for content. Change the company name to be a focal (font, weighting, color) point. And balance the tone on the cap.

That was my two cents. Please don't hesitate to share your work--we learn as much from critiquing as you do from sharing. Thanks.

colors are pleasing

nope. sorry. But i'll tell ya why....its because nothing pops out. The entire color scheme is very laid back and bland. Especially being a photo site. When i think of photos...i think of vibrant colors, I think of contrast, varying amounts of light, etc. Your colors dont refelct that, and they should. You also want to leave an impression on the viewer, and better colors would help that.

I agree with krane, the top is too big. The only way u can justify a header that large...is either with some really good/attractive photo's (i dont mean cutouts) or put some kinda content up there, maybe a phone number, an email address or some small but useful bit of info.

The nav, large also. Again what kranekick said, also bring down the size of the font like half what it is now

the marble texture in the content area looks more like dirt and...what for?

I agree. Also...its 98% of the time bad to put any sort of overlay image where content would go. I mean imagine that printed over every page in a book?? Content should be clean/clear and easily read. Also if your photography is good (and im not saying its not or anything) then u dont need little extra graphics/eye candy like that. Let your photo's speak for themselves instead.

Also about the page fade, your content wont fade into the background, so why fade the layout? Keep things like that consistent. Also if all your content can really fit within that faded sqaure(without scrolling down i mean), then a smaller header/layout would be needed...otherwis it may look empty.

Even thougth i just wrote 4 paragraphs (sorry lol)......i do agree that its a start. Keep goin and post back.

edit: Im on 1024x768 and except for full screen in opera, i get a horiz. scroll bar.

There are quite a few things I don't like about this site, so I guess I should say them so that you can learn and get better.

First of all, its way too wide. I get a horizontal scrollbar and I'm at 1028x768 ... set your resolution at 800x600 and see how difficult it will be to navigate and see whats going on. Also, on 800x600 the banner height will be overwhelming, causing the viewer to scroll down to actually see the whole content.

I'm not a fan of the collage of pictures on the right of the banner - the extracting isn't that good, and the things are just kinda hanging there. I do like the wallpaper and negative, but not the title. It took me 3 seconds to see what it said because of the huge stroke - its bigger than the width of the letter!

I'm also not a huge fan of the button link text. The height of the first letter is almost twice the height of the lowercase letter. I really dislike that. And as the others said, the background on the content is less than desireable I would say.

I do have a couple suggestions about the site, though. Maybe put some pictures down the site - you can make them random so the viewer sees a different selection of your wonderful photos each time. And there can be a little more on the mainpage - like a box for your address, a box for some pricing info, a little box for mission statement or something ... basically I think you're thinking too much about the header and links and not enough about the content.

Harsh - maybe ... constructive - I hope so. If you want any more suggestions, post. :D

Yes, it fills almost the whole page at 1152x867 (something like that). Also, once it runs out of the layout, it is just plain white. Not very appealing to the eye. I like the design though, I think it looks peaceful and easy to navigate. My suggestion would be to make the whole layout smaller horizontal-wise and make it stretch the full screen.

edit: Welcome to the TeamPS forums. *looks at members* 2 girls, yay!

OK...Thanks guys..I know the top is really big and I will fix that...I knew there was something wrong with the graduation cap but I jut couldn't put my finger on it..the first version I had cameras equipment there but I did not like that at all...As for the the background that was my hubbys idea..LOL thanks and it was not harsh any of you..I just get nervous when people look at my work..LOL I am funny like that...

Alyssa

Keep us updated when you fix it. We are always glad to give any help.

Use the links in here to see how your site looks in different resolutions:

http://zeldman.com/goodies/

Ok guys I went ahead and redesigned the site a little let me know what you think...

Old site:

http://frozenintime.www-pros.com

New site : Only jpeg image for now 800 x600

http://www.frozenintimephoto.com/new.htm

Thanks in advance,

Alyssa