My company decided to do alittle site redesign and I was hope you all could.......wait let me start from the beginning of the story.

<beginning>
So I am walking by the "big womans" office putting some files away when I hear my name bellow over the P.A. system (speakers in every room all the phones intercom everything). Well the speaker directed me to go to the bosses office. Wondering what I had done I neglectfully walk in the door acting cool though, like nothing is wrong. Well the boss sits there for a second then she starts to state her problem.
</beginning>
<problem>
They want to fire their current web designer and was wondering if I could take his place.
</problem>
<conclusion>
I told her that I think I may be able to handle it (I have been doing web design for about 1 1/2 years I felt confident) so after all the details were worked out, I tackled the project. It took me two days but I created a mock up of what I would like the index page to look like so I would like you, the webproworld, to decided which you like better. Please include your comments and suggestions.

Old Version --- http://www.eaci.com
New version --- http://www.eaci.com/eacsiterevamp/trial/index.htm
</conclusion>
Thanks,

Adiz

<Mod edit to comply with Site Review Rule #1 - Masterpeace>

Tested in IE6 56k modem 800x600. Looks to be an improvement. Might be nice if the links changed colour when the mouse is passed over them. Post again when you've finished it and I'll take another look. Good luck with it.

Nick

Hi

I think the buttons are a bit clunky and definitely try and get rid of the java fly-ins... although a nice effect, on a 56k modem it's a bit slow.

Otherwise, nice design, keep it clear and simple like now without bombarding people with a busy page and it'll be great!

The second one is also okay, but the top banner isn't so cool - although a bit classier the font is very hard to read.

Cheers
Art

__________________
Visit my other business, Dungeons Extreme Sports - www.dungeons.co.za

I am not a tech person, so can't comment on that. As a potential customer, I liked the large picture on the current website... I understand that makes things load slower :)

But in relation to adoption, a picture may indeed speak a 1000 words, as you are conveying an emotion you want a prospective couple to identify with, the joy of having a child of their own...

Stephen

Hi Dear,
I think the new site looks very good. Clean graphics, good structure & I like the colors you use.
Keep me posted when it is finished.

rsadik
http://www.arrowtravel.com
http://www.eldertravelclub.com

Hi Dear,
I think the new site looks very good. Clean graphics, good structure & I like the colors you use.
Keep me posted when it is finished.

rsadik
http://www.arrowtravel.com
http://www.eldertravelclub.com

Hi Dear,
I think the new site looks very good. Clean graphics, good structure & I like the colors you use.
Keep me posted when it is finished.

rsadik
http://www.arrowtravel.com
http://www.eldertravelclub.com

Thank You all for the comments. I am going for another revamp of the site.

I am a graphic designer, so although my critique may be a bit critical, I have picked it apart so you can see from my point of view what works and what does not from a design stand point.

Logo - I think it is terrific that you realized the need for a logo. Look at the sites of publicly minded companies (like webproworld) and they will have a logo somewhere highly visible on every page. I would think the obvious logo choice for your organization would be a representation of a stork carrying a globe or a bundle of national flags, etc.

As far as your choice, If you don't have the ability to design one, it is OK, but your logo of choice doesn't really communicate your business. This also goes for the Script Font. (what is that, Vivaldi?) It is hard to read, and therefore, not likely to stick in the minds of your wandering visitors that get to your site by chance instead of on purpose.

The typeface for your company would depend on the image you want to put forth. Being an adoption agency, I would guess that you would want to appear professional and straight forward. A serif typeface usually communicates this best.(Garamond, New Century Schoolbook, Times, etc) Look at financial institutions and you will get an idea of what I mean. Your other choice would be to go more family oriented with a colorful, playful representations a la Babies ‘R’ Us or PetSmart (Still strong and professional, but friendly too)

Last design element (before I get to layout) is color. Pink is OK for a choice, but you need a compliment color like tan, but please don’t use baby blue :) Check out www.thebreastcancersite.com, they use pink well. There might be better choices, but I would imagine your largest demographic is women, so pink is fine.


For the layout, you have done well by placing the search box in a prominent location. I would suggest that your navigation be well thought out and planned. Group things by category and use drop down menus in your navigation bar to consolidate like items. If you are not very handy with javascript and CSS, there are some good sites out there that can help you add dynamic content (rollovers, drop down menus, etc) to your page. www.dynamicdrive.com is my favorite. Just beware of gimmick scripts (blinking table boxes, mouse trails, and useless effects) that just distract your reader. (Animated gifs like the 12th annual Memorial Day on the old site included) Make sure that you try to find scripts that are either compatible with all current Netscape and Iexplorer browsers, or that at least degrade well so that other users experiences aren’t compromised.

I would also consider putting your EAC Quick links in a drop box to minimize real estate on the page. One thing that keeps bugging me is the placement of the Secure login box. It has no logical position, and seems to be floating under your nav menu. I would suggest placing in the left hand side, above or below the map and instead of a link to the log on, I would have the actual login and password box on the home page. As far as the map, I think it would work better in the center with the blah blah text underneath, and this would allow you to minimize the size of the left side. Consider a basic template that works for every page. This keeps your navigation consistent, and helps keep your surfers from getting lost and bailing on your site. You can choose to have your index page different from the rest, but what follows should more or less all be consistent to help your surfer navigate your site.

Overall it looks like your organization of information is pretty good, I would ask some friends, not familiar with your site navigate it once the links work, and see how easy it is for them to find info (without using the search box). The best way to test out your site, is to put in on your web server (providing you have the space). Put it in an obscure folder name that people would be extremely unlikely to guess (e.g. http://www.eaci.com/3kfcosd98/index.html). This way you can send people to check it out and test it online (different browsers, script compatibility, Mac/PC, etc.) without the worry of people on your site wandering into the construction zone.


Hope this helps, and good luck!
-Joe

Hi

Great improvement in the site. Some thoughts
* I, too, dislike the vivaldi type script in the logo
* if you go back to using a big "mommy and baby" photo try to pick one where the baby is obviously of a diff race to the mommy - as most international adoptions work out that way
* Beware the curse of the javascript bloat. Most javascript rollover effects can be managed via the stylesheet. javascript just slows down the page load etc.
* I don't know what editor gave you code like
<font color="#CC6699" size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font size="2">

E</font></font>
but it's inefficient. Again, use your stylesheet.
* I visited from NZ. In your working version it would be helpful to use a tool like http://ip-to-country.webhosting.info to identify that I'm not in the USA and therefore need different advice. Maybe different info in the blah blah section. In all reality you probably can't offer a service to non-USA people but if you dropped the map image and had a simple statement saying "browse, join but we can't actively help" would be nice.

Sarah

Hi Adiz,

My two cents ($USD) worth. I agree with many of the previous comments. The first thing I did, though, was to zero in on the page source...

...is incomplete. Change it to

Why? You really need to identify whence the standard came. Otherwise, the browser falls back to whatever info it has in its internal programming. Translation -- you are begging for different browsers to work differently depending upon the idosyncracies of the person who last edited the browser's software. (Of course, they all work differently anyway in 4.01, but why encourage them?)

Your page title is

But as a potential client, that doesn't "tell" me anything. You should have name / what you are / where you are -- no hype(!) -- and do it all in 60-80 characters, the shorter the better. Come to think of it, your old site didn't tell me anything, either. Why on earth should I pay any attention at all to your organization? Well, the answer was buried here and there...

-- non-profit licensed adoption agency
-- allowing your family to adopt a child
-- apparently good record of success

I don't like that middle one. No one agency is the world's final "authority." What you do is to help facilitate the matter. So why not something like...?

That way you've explained yourself, included two keywords in the title, and established an entire marketing direction. All in 79 characters. (By the way, tell your boss -- or not <grin> -- that "Inc." is heavy, egotistical and useless baggage in a page title.)

You will need a brief Description Meta tag on your new page. And don't forget a well-constructed the Keyword tag regardless of what all the anti-keyword rant-ists scream. Make sure that whatever is in your Keyword tag appears in the body text, plus put a few of them in your Description and Title.

You do regional work. So, before your boss screams "Don't put OH" in the title, you start off the Description with "With regional offices throughout the US, since 1991 we've completed over 4,000 international adoptions." In just 102 characters you've made a nationwide promise and boasted of your success without hype. That leaves 98 characters of space left for another keyword-laden yet effective statement of purpose.

For marketing purposes, I'd spend some body-text-space clearly explaining -- in plain, simply language -- what your type of "consultant" is and does. You don't get anyone through the threshhold until you have first opened the door.

I don't know a thing about your organization, but if you can do all that you say you can do, then good luck to you.

Hal

Once again I appreciate your indepth comments.

- Will definately be used!


Thanks,

Andrew