Hi everyone,

I've redesigned my own web site to make it more search engine and user-friendly. Some of you may remember the old one; it looked great but the Fireworks table design wasn't very accessible. I'd appreciate comments on the design, SEO and content of the new design. Your comments are very much appreciated.

Munky Online Web Design

Thanks =)

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Munky Online Web Design & SEO | SEO Analysis Tool | Web Design & SEO Tutorials

Nice site. Colours are a bit dark and formal. I think the colours would suit if you were making a site for an Estate agent or an optitions. Don't take that the wrong way. The design though is very good. However, there is a css issue on Firefox (mac). The text is overflowing the menu boxes. And the page title bleeds into the content area.

going on looks alone, your header graphic is awesome. however, i'm not a fan of image-based navigation menus, so i'm not high on those, but that's just an opinion. i would also remove or relocate or resize those W3C images at the bottom. they distract from what you have going on above them... again, this is JMO.

your portfolio page and the web packages page look really professional. very impressive.

overall, keep up the good work. SUFFOLK!!!! REPRESENT. ;)

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Former WebProWorld Admin
IntentionalFoul.com

crispy looks and clean design

I think It's really cool Darren

Graphics are good - content is good (Clear makes sense)

My one critisim - The Menu in IE 6
If you run the mouse up and down you can confuse IE so much that whole menu disappears !

I have a suggestion
1) Put each of the links in a Li element and give them a background of the 'rolled over' image
2) Change the link so it puts a not-rolled over image as it's background
3) Change the link:hover to not display a background

So on hover the background of the LI 'shines through'

It's still a bit cludgey as IE Hourglasses when you roll off a link but you don't lose evrthing

Martyn

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Martyn
Martyn-it

I personally disagree about the colours. I think that they show confidence and individuality (I havent taken it the wrong way, I just don't agree ;) ).

Thanks for the kind comments Chris. I agree about the validation images, I cant resize them without them distorting. I think i'll design my own to replace them. I have used links with background images for the menus. I thought that would work well with the search engines. What would you suggest I do instead?

I think that's a good suggestion martyn-it. I've never made a menu using li elements before and I have wondered why other designers do use them but i've never actually looked into it. What are the benefits of doing it this way?

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Munky Online Web Design & SEO | SEO Analysis Tool | Web Design & SEO Tutorials

Nice one MuNKy


I would like to have seen something personal on the front page. . I think you should take the colour scheme down to your local photograper with a dinner jacket a glass of wine, a laptop . . Ask him to produce a nicely blended photo of you sitting back in 'luxuriousity' just to ad an element of success, humour, personality, and an image for the front page. confirm the boldness. .

I just think the page needs to reflect your humour and personality. . I think WPW loves you for your humour. I think potential customers would do the same.

For MuNKey the page just needs that something extra.

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I loved your site and had a good look at your clients' web sites. You seem to have captured the essense of what their market wants ( middle age middle income etc, ) even though your front page looks young and dynamic ( though everyone looks young to me these days)

I can't comment on any of the technical aspects but it certainly would make me feel confident as a potential client that you can transcend genre barriers.

Susan

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I've come a long way in the journey of life and most of the roads weren't paved.

Very neat and tidy when viewed in IE. In Firefox the W3C images do not appear. But in Opera it is messy. The menu images on the left do not load and instead they appear as text links above Welcome. Also the Welcome messages border image does not appear. This is Opera v9.01, the latest.

Also do make sure the rollover images of the menu are preloaded. Martyn pointed it out. As the new images load slowly, what initially happens is that the menu image disappears when one hovers the mouse over each link.

Otherwise everything is to the point and business-like which should appeal to most.

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My Nook | My Biz | My Photos

Like Your Site ,One thing that I will like to suggest on Your Logo ,eyes on the monkey.I think that will really give Your site a newer look.
Regards
Sam

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http://www.AB32.com

I like the logo, its Munkys logo :) Looks very cool.

Thanks Tubby, that's a really good idea (as per usual). I did think that the front page needed something extra. It doesnt fully welcome the visitor to the page. I think a photo of me would do the trick =)

Very kind words Susan, thank you! I was hoping that the new site would help put this over to the visitor as that is what the old site lacked. I believe that was why I wasnt getting many enquiries.


That's what I forgot!! I remember having that trouble before with the menu images and thought that I should preload them. Thanks! I'll add that in!

I see the w3c images on Firefox so I dont know why you cant. Is anyone else having this problem?

It works fine in IE6 and IE7 - i've written a php script to write in different stylesheets depending on the browser and version. I'll have to download opera and create a new stylesheet for that.

Thanks sands!

I dont think it needs eyes. I added eyes before and it made it look like a cartoon character. Thanks for the suggestion though =)


Cheers! I like it a lot too =)

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Munky Online Web Design & SEO | SEO Analysis Tool | Web Design & SEO Tutorials

No problems with menu FF (doesn't work in Opera) but I would use a CSS based version. Much better than total JS (altho, small script required for IE) and you don't need to write different versions for different browsers.

If you send me a pm, I will send you over a script that should work across all browsers.

You might also want to check out browsercam.com to see how your site works in different browsers and resolutions.

I for one do like the image based menu (show originallity and wish I could design as good as these

Keep at it.

Ian

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SEO Specialist, CSS Developers

I am using FF on the mac and I can see them at the bottom of your site.

The menu is CSS based. There's no javascript except for the preloading of the images. The different CSS files for different browsers we're because of the difference in the spacing on the pages. Thanks for the link, very interesting.

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Munky Online Web Design & SEO | SEO Analysis Tool | Web Design & SEO Tutorials

MuNKy:

being the fan i am of text based naviagation, that's probably what i would use (like the side navigation for WebProWorld), and yes, supposedly image-based nav is not as search engine friendly, but as long as you have alt text, there shouldn't be a problem.

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Former WebProWorld Admin
IntentionalFoul.com

If you look closely at the menu you will see it is text and image based. It is entirely search engine friendly =)

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Munky Online Web Design & SEO | SEO Analysis Tool | Web Design & SEO Tutorials

It looks pretty good. Clean design. But I would remove information of validation. I think it is obsolete to show this.

For me the biggest problem is that you are running a business but have hidden behind a mobile telephone number.

Why would I want to ring you at premium rates when there are plenty of other "up front" designers who will publish a proper number?

Mike

Because i'm a freelance designer and if you want to speak to me directly then call me on my mobile. I'm not hiding behind anything. The other number is my house number and i'm not willing to give that out. I have provided a form which is actually the best method for contacting me.

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Munky Online Web Design & SEO | SEO Analysis Tool | Web Design & SEO Tutorials

I would recommend an offer or call to action on the main page. the font feels smallish and have something with a smallish bright graphic (60px x 60px) with text like "Accessible sites from 255" or similar. If I were you, I'd put a testimonial on the front page too. It im[pressed me but I didn't see it until I clicked in.

Phone numbers - i agree, I would be cautious about having just a mobile phone number. Also I prefer to email directly, not use a form.

Why not consider using an 0845 number. I know it can be £200 - £300 to start off but you will not only be able to use the number as part of your analytics, but also it will make you as a business look like a business rather than working from the front room.

Simon

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Letting Agents, Solar Heating, Solar and Renewable Energy

Congrats Munky,

I must say I agree with the couple of posters above about the number, you can get a virtually free local number with some suppliers, paying a basic monthly fee and some even give you rebates depending on the number of minutes called...SkypeIn perhaps with number forwarding when you're offline?

Loved the design overall but I feel it's a little style without substance. I second the testimonial on the front page, and a little more pre-selling and confidence building - think what can great design do for me instead of I'll have a helping of that great design thank you.

I really like the shadowing, but if I must comment on the general design I would say that the s-line and the rounded corner on the text box caught my eye, which could be smoothed in a wee bit better. In terms of spacing I'd have a bit more space between the 'welcome' and the line below (perhaps just moving the text box down a few pixels), and perhaps add some alt text to the header.

But we're really just nitpicking on design now; I feel the first couple of points are much more important to the end result.

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Alex TJ
Corsi di inglese per aziende - Milano
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