Please review www.theessenceofthyme.com/

Mamoon Rashid · #1 (**permalink**) 01-29-2008, 08:33 AM

Hi there,

Please see The Essense of Thyme - A Personal Chef Service By Chef Dahlia and let me know what you think..

its pinkish i know..but then the chef is a woman

so please check out the site and let me have your valueable comments.

Cheers!

davebarnes · #2 (**permalink**) 01-29-2008, 10:01 AM

Needs photo and bio of chef.
Appearance is OK.

ran_dizolph · #3 (**permalink**) 01-29-2008, 10:40 AM

Sorry Mamoon, but this one's not up to par with some of your other work.

That big blurb of text in the h1 tag up at the top needs to go within the main body of the site, and i don't think that particular verbage is well suited to the number 1 header tag either.

The menu is a disaster (at least in FF).

I still think the photos you're using are over-sharpened...they need to be softened a bit to look more appetizing.

iany · #4 (**permalink**) 01-29-2008, 04:44 PM

The colours don't go well with a food theme and detract from the photos. Maybe making them more subtle would help.
I really don't like the menu - doesn't really work visually and makes the site look unbalanced and if it were built in FrontPage which is a shame as there is clearly a lot of good CSS and valid html.

Go for something that accentuates and enhances the food pics (can still be girly).

Cheers

Ian

jannmirch · #5 (**permalink**) 01-29-2008, 05:50 PM

I like the overall look and feel. The leaves scattered along the top look nice and I like the boxes between the menu items.

The green is a little too lime green and the pink is a bit too pink, but deepening both I think would help.

And while I like the boxes between the menu items I don't care for the boxes behind them. It takes away from the carefree feel of the rest of the page.

You have a really strong intro and might even want to make the three questions at the top larger and perhaps in italics. The point about wasting money on groceries you don't use is a great one. I toss stuff all the time that I have the best intentions of making a delicious meal with...

I agree with Dave that you need a photo of the chef and a bio. She's looking to sell herself as much as her cooking. She should be front and center so families (read MOMs) know who they are trusting with their families meals.

SisterSledge · #6 (**permalink**) 01-29-2008, 06:08 PM

On the homepage, some of the text goes all the way across the page, but some above it doesn't...looks funny:

The Essence of Thyme provides you with the peace of
mind that comes from knowing you're eating healthier
meals - made from real food, not processed - that every
member of your family can enjoy!

Chef Dahlia will plan your menus and does the shopping,
chopping, cooking, and yes - even the dreaded cleanup!

On the Menu page, I saw a typo for crackpot...cracked me up but probably should be fixed :-p

Personally, if I were shopping for this service I'd want referrals, testimonials, etc...and I'd want more selection for menus.

Weedy Lady · #7 (**permalink**) 01-29-2008, 08:23 PM

Either your css page isn't loading or you are using a script for your type face on the whole page. In any case, something needs to be fixed.

I have my computer set with the default font as a script so I can tell immediately if I have forgotten to specify a type face when I do web designs. But it shows up big time on sites done by others as well.

I agree that the pink and green should be deepened a bit. Pink is fine since it will probably be women who will hire the chef, but too much pink is.........well, too much.

Clicken · #8 (**permalink**) 01-29-2008, 11:17 PM

I think the pink and green are fine because of the different shades used in the text and graphics. If you darken the background then the white text at the top will be difficult to read.

As far as the navigation, I like it but it does seem just a little awkward. Maybe because the ‘Contact’ is all alone on the last row plus it is missing the smaller boxes. To me it needs rearranging for more balance. Something like, the first four links on the top row, three on the middle row and two on the third row or visa - versa. Anyway that they would all have the small boxes and the third row wouldn’t look so bare.

The sharp photos are necessary to wet the appetite by letting the gloss of freshness shine. However, some of the pictures are good and appealing but some of them could have better composition and a few are questionable as to what they are. The middle picture on the Menu page for example does nothing to excite my taste buds and makes me wonder if it is even food.

Perhaps the name of the dish beneath the pictures would not only help the visitor identify, but it would help with SEO as well. The ability to click and enlarge the image would be a nice feature too.

The ALT text for the few images I checked were identical and IMO should include the dish name first, followed by ‘The Essence of Thyme – Personal Chef Service’.

Go back to the validator but this time check the box to show OUTLINE and look at the results at the bottom of the page because the heading tags are not being used correctly. There are duplicates and split mid sentence.

The position of the first h1 tag at the top will work however, it seems way too long. I recommend choosing the most prominent locale “and surrounding areas”. The other areas could be listed elsewhere like at the bottom of the page. The text “Save time energy and money …” doesn’t need to be in a heading tag. You could assign an ID to a <p> tag to style this text.

One final small detail is that the dark pink boarder on the left side of the page gets wider on the bottom quarter of the page in FF. Something is off.

Now I am hungry and must get a snack!