Free Online Games on The Games We Crave - searching for the best free online games and AddictOrDie: The hottest new free online games, updated continuously

I've been experimenting a bit with algorithmically recommending free online (Flash, Shockwave, etc) games (a bit like Digg or StumbleUpon, but more specialized). But I think in algorithms and logic, and I'm not really a web designer. I'm learning as I work on this project.

Can I ask for feedback specifically about the use of color, graphics, layout, and other design elements on both sites, and the use of sound in thegameswecrave.com?

Of course, tips on any subject would be appreciated.

On "We Crave", I'd make the rightside nav links clickable even if I'm not hovering over the text...when I hover over a bar, it changes color and makes me think I can go ahead and click...yet I can't unless my mouse is actually over the text.

I like the white background on "Addict"...most game sites are dark and cluttered but this site is fresh and clean feeling.

On "We Crave" I didn't hear any sound? Also, the rating images on "Addict" don't display for me.

Thank you SisterSledge.

I tried, but couldn't, make the nav links clickable outside the text. I've tried several methods, but even if the li tag was inside the anchor tag the bars weren't clickable outside the text. Yet I've seen it done before...

The sound starts disabled on "We Crave". Clicking the speaker icon activates it (though most people probably wouldn't).

I'm not sure I want to include sound at all, really, I usually hate sites with sound, but I also feel let down when I return to my site from a game and it's quiet.

And fresh and clean was exactly what I'm striving for on Addict, after visiting so many cluttered and busy portals. But someone told me just today that it looked like an ad, with just pngs and little obvious information. What can one do?

Firstly on the " gameswecrave" best to remove the html/xhtml validation icons. These days we expect sites to validate (even tho'most don't) but the cions are not necessary and invite people to test the site. This, in my experience usually results in a page not validating.

Design looks cool although black backgrounds can provoke a lot of debate.

On the other hand "addict or die" is really amateurish in look and feel and it is not clear what the site is about. No reason to linger and certainly no call to action.

Maybe I am being stupid but what is the difference between the two sites?

Ian

__________________
Ian Young
http://www.iyesolutions.co.uk

Thank you for the feedback.

You're exactly right, the sites draw content from the database and graphics (and if you play a game on one it counts on the other), I'm just experimenting with different designs.

Originally this was just a one week hobby project, but even after it sat for several months without updates, it still received hundreds of visits a day, so I'm trying to improve it.

And the first thing I've learned is that design is hard. Some people prefer one design, some prefer the other.

On Addict Or Die I'm searching for a clean, minimalist design, but I certainly don't want amateurish or ad-like. Any thoughts on how I can improve that?

That's where it gets difficult. As you say, design can be very subjective. However, if you think about it. Gamesters aren't really into minimalist and the site should be as attractive and exciting as the games you are promoting.

A simple 3 column layout would be good with right hand column showing "latest" releases. Some copy at the top of page to show what you are trying to achieve would be good.

I don't particularly like the logo - not enough impact. The top menu would look better without the "jagged£ edge. Maybe just a neat background gif in a horizontal/parallel nav bar would look better - or even down left hand column.

Once you have sorted that - put all your JavaScript off page in an includes. Tidies up the html no end.

One other point. I have pretty fast Broadband connection and I find that your pages are slow to load. You may wish to address how your pages are set up and optimise them. text.php is 112kb with 602 URls. Too big and search engines may consider that it is spam. Might want to paginate this for speedier loading. The home page is over 150kb which is way too large.

HTH.

Ian

__________________
Ian Young
http://www.iyesolutions.co.uk

I've been optimizing the site a lot lately. I wrote some quick and dirty MySQL queries that I don't think are holding up well with the recent load. Part of the speed problem is also the sheer size of the screenshots and OverLib, which I want to keep. But I'm working on it.

Overall, thanks for the tips. I've got some work to do.

PS: Regarding JavaScript on the page, is that verboten for technical reasons, or aesthetic? I've heard that concern before but haven't seen a good explanation of the problems it causes. As I said, I'm new to web development.

Not so much verboten as just good practice. You have gone to some trouble to make your html validate, so why not go one step further and get rid of extraneous code off the page too.

However, there are a number of reasons why it is better to have JavaScript off page.

Cuts down on the code per page so should load more quickly.

Search engines can reach the content more easily - always a good thing.

Script only needs to load once rather than every time the page is loaded.

If there are a number of scripts could all be included in one page.

Cheers

Ian

__________________
Ian Young
http://www.iyesolutions.co.uk

Thanks again. I do plan to move the JS into a separate file, I was simply curious.

Though I do find it's very convenient to have everything in one file when I'm editing with vi and ssh.

vi and ssh? What's that?

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Ian Young
http://www.iyesolutions.co.uk

ssh is a secure text logon client (usually used for Unix/Linux servers) - like secure telnet, and vi is a text editor - a bit like notepad but much more powerful.

Thanks. Pardon my ignorance.

Ian

__________________
Ian Young
http://www.iyesolutions.co.uk