just did my site redesign. I am looking more at visuals more than code.. I have a couple of code tweaks to do as I have run the site through the w3c validation. I am mainly looking for feed back on the "look" of the site.

www.programmervault.com

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Jon "Spectur" Roberts
http://www.programmervault.com
Place to learn about Programing, Web Design, and Graphics through tutorials, reviews, and forums.

Hello Spectur,

I like it.

One or two things,

I am not sure about the image of the guy (top right) - Just doesn't seem right, and how about making the header less tall to help bring the main content up the page a little?

What about styling the active links on hover?

The copyright text in that grey is not too clear on that blue background - why not use the yellow as well?

Cheers

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Changing Constants Ltd - 'the only thing constant is change' - affordable e-commerce website design

Well, to be honest, it's tough to look at the site and see someone I would want to learn design from. The site seems a bit lacking in visual appeal and layout understanding.

There is quite a bit of information of some quality but nothing that isn't done in a more comprehensive manner elsewhere.

As an example, your entire header is a waste of space, you don't use it to guide visitors anywhere and the images don't fit into the rest of the site.

Most of your information comes from other sites, so I don't see how you'll build a strong following.

In today's internet world you have to have something that makes you stand out and I just don't see it in this design.

Hopefully this doesn't come across too harsh, but the design really feels very...blah...to me.

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We offer a total eCommerce solution with eCommerce Web Design using Pinnacle Cart

I've nothing more to add about the layout (its been said) but I will say it seem to take quite a long time to load too.

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http://www.amywellsdesigns.co.uk

Thanks for the feed back from everyone.. i will be looking to remove the "Character" from my banner and to size the banner down a bit. As for content .. i have tons to add I just wanted to get the visual layout worked out before I started placing the content into the site.

Thanks again.

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Jon "Spectur" Roberts
http://www.programmervault.com
Place to learn about Programing, Web Design, and Graphics through tutorials, reviews, and forums.

Hey Spectur,

not too shabby!

It's borderline a bit too minimal...but I like the clean feel to it.

My only suggestion is maybe add just a touch more contrast to the text...I can read it fine, but there may be some that can't. Also, add a bit of padding in the paragraphs.

All in all, solid.

Ran,

thanks for the feed back .. I was looking at the contrast last night myself. I will be making an adjustment to the CSS today.

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Jon "Spectur" Roberts
http://www.programmervault.com
Place to learn about Programing, Web Design, and Graphics through tutorials, reviews, and forums.

OK all I modified the CSS to give better contrast and corrected the coding error. The page will currently not validate because of the content in the news feeds on the page. Without the news feed the page validates.

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Jon "Spectur" Roberts
http://www.programmervault.com
Place to learn about Programing, Web Design, and Graphics through tutorials, reviews, and forums.

It’s boring for me. Not very creative in the layout. Not very many images. Personally, just from visiting your site, I wouldn’t take advice from you on layouts or colors because it looks like you have put more time in the articles then the layout of your site. Why did you create a page for affiliates? Who is going to go to a page full of advertisements? I would put them on each page in different locations. Could increase your clicks and/or purchases from the affiliates.

Mr. Erik Bledsoe
1-888-300-8776 Ext. 705
www.SurfYourName.com
Erik@SurfYourName.com

dude, content dictates design!

@Spectur...maybe a little too much contrast on the text now...what about dropping it to a #333 or #444 ?

Also (this is personal), I don't dig Arial. What about switching it up to Verdana?

I disagree that content dictate design. Yes you are dealing with “geeks” but we are the most critical people out there. Even the worst content can have a nice layout and design. I think a font change wouldn’t hurt, but in my opinion, its not going to make a drastic difference. It’s the layout more then the font.

Mr. Erik Bledsoe
1-888-300-8776 Ext. 705
www.SurfYourName.com
Erik@SurfYourName.com

so you figure that plastering the site with images is going to make it better?

i do agree that this site could use a little 'je ne sais qua' (or however that's spelled), but covering it with pictures isn't the answer.

No I don’t advocate plastering the site with images. Maybe I worded my comment incorrectly. Just more visually appealing was my intent with that comment.

in regards to content NOT dictating design, how exactly do you approach varying projects?

You build the site before having any idea of what's going on there? That doesn't make much sense, does it?

Websites, to me, in the simplest form, are vessels for delivering information in the most effective way possible. 'Content is king'. Tactful implementation of graphics is important, and people have to come to expect it...however, it's still secondary to content.

Just my opinion...but i think others will agree.

I guess I will choose my words more carefully in the future. Of course your cant make a site without knowing what the content involves. Design and navigation are 2 different issues. That’s the reason why template web design is popular…you can take a generic template and put your content and navigation into it.

Let me give you an example:

Mr. X is my new client. His company sells purple widgets. Our first step is for him to surf the web and find some sites he likes. We then create the “mock-up” of his layout and navigation without even seeing his content.

This is the reason why I said that content doesn’t dictate design. I hope this makes more sense!

Mr. Erik Bledsoe
1-888-300-8776 Ext. 705

I think design needs improvement in terms of look n feel. I would suggest you to remove the clipart on the top of the header, or either have it in a way that it should blend with the website feel.

Right column " Section" have a blank cell below "Web Design " link, Usage of the fonts are not consistent.

Maybe top navigation would look much better right aligned with "Site map" link.