Redesigned Website

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Richard_H   (Sep 15, 2007 at 22:21 GMT)

You can also post feedback here.

Kevin Erkelenz   (Sep 16, 2007 at 04:07 GMT)

Im sorry man but from a professional point of view your website looks like a 10 year olds scrap-book. I can help you design your website a little bit if you want but for now let me advise you to use google ads as less as possible, they generally dont make a good impression and yours are just like "in your face", plus - websites without certain width/height are not pretty anymore due to "recent" advances in browsing technologies, nowadays we can use CSS and more advanced HTML to make our sites prettier, and of course Java, PHP, Pearl, etc to make our sites more interactive and feature-rich. Oh and since your page is titled Javagamer i suggest you add some Java! I myself am an advanced and professional artist but I am also good at html, PHP, C++, Torquescript, 3D Sculpting, etc. I am willing to help you not for money, but simply some credit on your website. No hard feelings, and I hope this was constructive to you, good luck and I hope to hear from you!

Saiko   (Sep 16, 2007 at 10:30 GMT)

Hi Richard, I know Kevin sounded a bit harsh but he's a kinda right. However, its not that bad to be honest some monster companies have sites that are worse. It is plain, simple. The one thing it really has going for it is the code is clean. Which from my point of view means its workable and and can be reworked very easily.

You can make some really simple improvements that would make it look more professional. Some won't really take a lot of effort but a proper design will. These are some of the simple ones:

1. Change the font - The default one is just dull. Just use Verdana or something similar and it will look cleaner. You should do this with CSS as with all styling.

2. Drop the HR tags. They often render pretty bad on a range of browsers. A 1 pixel line image does the same but nicer.

3. Drop the google ads and tracker. This is just personal preference. If you want to keep the ads I'd put them down one side with some other navigation or latest news, a donate button or whatever. So the layout would be more like a 2 column blog layout.
.
4. Make a nice simple header image or logo. Maybe ask Kevin for some help with that as his stuff looks ok.

5. If its going to be a full width layout make sure everything lines up correctly.

There are lots more things you can do but those would be a start :)

If you want to look at my web dev have a look here ifour might give you some ideas though its not game related.

Anyway, hit me up and I'll give you some more thorough advice and some help. Good luck with your site.

Kevin Erkelenz   (Sep 16, 2007 at 21:02 GMT)

I feel a little insulted with you saying my stuff looks "Ok", but then my website has been shut down since 2006 and i took off the portfolio etc. But I am about to re-open my design house under a different name so no hard feelings, just wanted to tell you that the website is old and untouched, yet I think it still looks pretty cool. :)

Leroy Frederick   (Sep 17, 2007 at 00:07 GMT)

Overall, it's very basic and bland, but I've seen worst and some of my own designs have been questioned in the pass, so... You could use a template based system or you can download free templates and use/learn from those too. I think considering it's a site with a product(s) on sale, you would definitely improve the experience and (now and future) conversion rates with a redesign via some Saiko suggestions or templates and/or practice.

But nonetheless, (even though I didn't see the previous design), I'm sure its an improvement from the previous :0)

Richard_H   (Sep 17, 2007 at 01:46 GMT)

Thanks for all the criticism (though 10 year old's scrapbook wasn't nessesary).
I took it all into consideration and redesigned it. More criticism would be helpful.

Deozaan   (Sep 17, 2007 at 04:36 GMT)

Hi Richard,

Sorry to add to all the negative criticism, but here's my feedback:

I don't like your logo. If you like the binary in the background, try something a little more subtle, like the logo at this site: www.donationcoder.com/

I also think the colors are too hard on the eyes. I didn't see your site before your redesign, but I think maybe the colors have to do with the "10-year-old scrapbook" comment. Back when I first started doing my own websites (when I was 13 or 14) I liked those dark colors for my site. I think that's how it typically is for younger boys. But I don't think the majority of people like that.

Kevin Erkelenz   (Sep 17, 2007 at 07:11 GMT)

Yeah sorry for the negativity there, i was sorta coming down of my perscription meds and you know what, you got the content right and all you really need is a layout, i mean the rest has been done by you already. Just something structured and organized you know?

Leroy Frederick   (Sep 17, 2007 at 09:48 GMT)

I find inspiration always helps, here's some off the top of my head...
Templates www.freewebtemplates.com/
Some good game sites www.alawar.com/, Andy's site (venture artic) is a pretty good (but simple) design in my opinionwww.pocketwatchgames.com/arctic/
another simple design www.playwarestudios.com/
Very simple, but very effective (has generated loads of sales) www.silvercrk.com/
Heck, you can even take a look at my latest webcreation, colourful, yet simple (if not a little more casual'ish then I intended) www.entertainment.eternalsyndrome.com/v1-00/index.asp

If you need more, search google for web templates or search for game/product sites that are similar to your demographic, this is always a good idea if you know who want to be selling to...

Saiko   (Sep 17, 2007 at 19:34 GMT)

@Richard - its definitely coming along :) once you get the consistency of layout throughout the site it will be even better. I agree with Deozaan that the logo still needs a bit of work. Just keep it simple and clean. you might want to try one of the fonts on here for the 1's and 0's and see how it looks they may be better smaller.

@Kevin - sorry if your were a little offended but well you pretty much listed most of the reasons I said your stuff is ok. I liked the logo on your site but not so keen on the header gfx but hey thats just me. I tend to think most things are ok unless they totally blow me away.... and on occasion may even say "ooohhh shiny!" though its rare. So don't be offended. Would love to see your new stuff though. Good luck with the design house it can be hard work, like making games :)

@Leroy - I totally agree ... looking around at what other sites do is always a good idea and can be inspiring. Templates sites are also a good place for if your stuck for ideas.

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