I would appreiciate any feed back on the site for Universal Tattoos. We have tried to get a look unlike all the other tattoo web sites out there. The url is www.universaltattoos.com.

I am having problems with the server and the feedback form ( I have to redo it in PHP).

Greyhawk

All of your example images open in a window with no background colour set - so it appears as default on a system with a non-white background (yellow in my case).

Your Google logo needs a little work. It obviously was intended to go on a white background, so either put it in a white rectangle or modify it for a black background.

You need to set your Title tags properly - it just says 'index' at the moment.

That main image is a bit big (55kb). You could get that down to well under 30kb, I bet. Similar comment applies to the sample photos.

It seems odd having the samples linked from the index page, when the main site - which I nearly missed - is inside.

The main site has a different design to the index page - that seemed a little odd.

Inside, the TOUR thumbnails for the shop are big at 15kb. The main images are better at about 30kb, but I still think they'll come down below 20-25kb. The thumbs could easily be around 1kb each.

You need a 'back' button on the page(s) to come back to the previous page each time. Or have the main menu there - it is missing on TOUR.

There are some typos - I saw 'irritade' in the aftercare section (meant 'irritate', I guess). Get someone to proof-read it for you.

Aftercare opens in a new window. Nothing wrong with that, but be consistent. It struck me as unnecessary, whereas having your images open in a new window would make a lot of sense.

That purply-red background tiles on larger monitors and looks a bit ugly as a result.

Hope these help :)

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Sualdam

Very cool portrait tattoos! I like the site, the background on the main part bothers me a little though. I'm sure you can find a much better one out there, that one looks like it takes a bit of bandwidth.

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All of Sualdam's comments are right on. To his list, I'd add:

If an entry page is used, it is important to grab the visitor and hold on -- entice them, as it were, to drill down into the site. The photograph of the principles is simply not good. The back row of people is in shadow and the front row of folks is burnt out by the sun. The shot shouts "amateur." To tell you the truth, I simply do not see any reason for the entry page. It doesn't tie in well with the rest of the site.

You have used "welcome" on both the entry page and the home page. In my humble opinion, the word "welcome" is always a colosal waste of space and an irritant to visitors, as well as a waste of their reading time. It detracts from the ability to identify the enterprise name and/or mission. I defy you to cite a high quality, high profile, professional site that "welcomes" its visitors.

Because Universal Tatoo has an existing text masthead, as seen in their front window, it might be a good idea to use it -- and use it on every page of the site as a means of branding. It's not enough that the background is consistent from page to page.

If a feature doesn't work or is incomplete, it (and/or any allusion to it) definately should not be published to the web. Your feedback form, and any reference to it, should be eliminated from the site until it's ready to go live. Your client's image of professionalism and legitimacy is compromised by having a feedback feature that doesn't work. You disappoint the visitor who seeks to use it. You risk angering visitors when they discover that it doesn't work. "Jeez, if this doesn't work, maybe these folk's needles don't work either."

I've gotta suggest that the ragged alignment of check boxes on the form and the fact that the form elements don't seem to fit neatly into the fixed width, 2 pixel bordered HTML table, be fixed. I'm not too keen on making visible a HTML table border in the first place, but if it is used every element inside the table needs to be precicely located and properly padded.

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Stew P.
Tika Web Development Group
http://www.inetworld.net/dennisw/images/sill_trans.gif

Greyhawk,

I have visited your site and Sualdam's comments are good, except I am confused why he says your index page is 55kb. The first image, Various%20006.jpg, alone is 54kb and the logo further down the page is another 39kb. I estimate the entire page at over 130kb, way too large. The file size is important for load speed. In this age of broadband, the vast majority still use dial-up connections.

Yes, I agree that the title tag is a huge problem. It is probably the single most important tag on your index page. Change it to be brief using a keyword or two that someone would typically use to find such a site. For instance, "Tattoos by Universal Tattoo Body Art". Also, move it to the fist line after the initial head tag. Have the meta keywords and description tags immediately follow it, then the other meta tags.

Now, let's get down to your goal of not looking like all the other tattoo sites on the internet. I'm not sure how to accomplish this, as tattoo shops themselves are all pretty much the same, at least the ones I have personally seen. I think it would be better that you concentrate on the flow of the site. Here's what I would do:

Make the background color of the pages consistent. The index page is black, all the pages should be black.

Remove the image of the crew from the index page. Home and index are suppose to be one and the same. Your index file is your home page. Creating another page called "Home" is very confusing. Create another page called something like "Meet the Crew" instead of calling it "Home". Place a compressed version of the crew's group photo on that page. Then have the thumbnail shots of each member. (Side note: Can you get a better close-up of Lori for her bio page? She's a cutie.)

I would also remove the Google search feature, thus eliminating the problem with the logo. It's not that big a deal to make a Google logo with a black background, but I don't think the feature serves any meaningful purpose on your home page. Your site is small enough that it doesn't need a search feature.

Loose the Bravenet counter. I'm not sure why people have such a fascination with counters being on the page. Getting customers calling, visiting and e-mailing you will be a sign that the site is working no matter how many hits the counter receives.

Make the credit card logos smaller.

Oh, the subsequent pages linked from the index page have no real navigation other than "Back" and "Home". As I mentioned, "Home" is confusing. I would expect to be taken to the index file where I entered. Get some consistent navigation: Same links on every page to every main page on the site in the same place(s). I also would add a small image of your logo to the top left of every subsequent page.

Regarding your form: I would focus more on prospective clients rather than people who have already had work performed by you. The questions on the form would be better mailed to them. I doubt anyone is going to visit your site to fill out a feedback form. In stead of worrying about PHP, just go to Matt's Script Archive and use formmail. Place the form in a table, so that everything lines up properly.

I think you should focus on the curiosity factor of internet surfers. They probably are unsure of whether they really want a tattoo or what to expect. The tour is good, but the thumbnails are 10 times too large in file size.

Don't center all of the text. Your current file home.htm is a good example of a page that needs to be justified to the left. If you are trying to make points/statements, use aligned bullets in the center, not centering each line. The "after care" is another example where the text should not be centered.

By the way, the tattoos look great.

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DrTandem's San Diego Web Page Design, drtandem.com

Thanks all for your comments I have asked the client to view these responses so he will know what changes need to be done, not just from myself but from others in this trade.

Greyhawk

I am only a novice but one thing I did notice is the site took a very long time to load for me. We are on dial-up - don't laugh - I live in a very rural part of NY. The main page or door way loaded quicker but the tour page took forever.

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Carey Sevier
http://www.sticksnstitches.com

Yes, Carey,

You have experienced what I was saying. No one's laughing and you are not alone. Although I use broadband, I design pages for those who do not. Many in subburban areas use dial-up as well. Not only that, but "high speed" cable modems can bog down to LESS than dial-up speeds (something the cable companies don't want you to know), if the node is congested.

The tour page took so long to load because the thumbnails, although not large in dimensions, are each large in file size. They all need to be compressed. You then can select which image you want to wait to open, rather than waiting for all of them to load.

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DrTandem's San Diego Web Page Design, drtandem.com