site design review

[cubeddesign]

my site is relatively new.. i posted a thread for a review before... everyone just viewed the code and stated that i didnt have a doctype... i would like a design review, along with tips..

http://www.cubeddesign.com - Cubed Web Solutions (http://www.cubeddesign.com)

[MotherNatrsSon]

Originally posted by cubeddesign
my site is relatively new.. i posted a thread for a review before... everyone just viewed the code and stated that i didnt have a doctype... i would like a design review, along with tips..

http://www.cubeddesign.com - Cubed Web Solutions (http://www.cubeddesign.com)

First, this place is "Coding"Forums.com....LOL..I learned that almost the same way. There are some good coders but it seems like few designers around here.

As far as your site goes...hmmm...where to start?

Let me ask you a question first. Am I allowed to be ruthlessly honest in my "opinion" and "design review"??

MNS

[cg9com]

Don't forget, when using cursor: hand; to also add cursor: pointer; as well.
Crossbrowser issues, you understand. ;)

[ronaldb66]

"Web design" covers a lot more then just graphic design, you know, of which coding is not the biggest part, but I feel one of the more specialist and for many designers one of the more daunting aspects of web design; that's probably why there's a bit more attention to it then to the other aspects.

Concerning your site: I won't look at the code: promise.

From a user point of view, I'm put of by the general gloomy feel; it makes me a bit sad, and I don't think that is a feeling you want to convey...
Furthermore, there's still the slow, unfolding-only-when-you-click dropdown menu. Hiding sections of your site in dropdowns is not a very good idea; you'd be much better off linking from the main menu options to site sections and offer a local navigation aid there.

Oh, and you still don't have a doctype... Dang!!! I looked anyway!!!

[pardicity3]

First off, I can't get any where when using Mozilla. Your drop-down menu does not work. Heck, even the top level links on the menu don't take me anywhere--plus they don't even look like links due to the issue cg9com explained.

On to the banner.... I don't know what it is, but I can't seem to enjoy it. First off, I really don't know what it is supposed to be :). Granted, I realize it's probably just supposed to be a design, but it seems a little odd. Also, the bevel under the text just doesn't seem to fit. It makes it look like rounded glass or something, but then the text is just flat over it which seems to contradict a little.

About your nav: I am not a big fan of the type you chose. While monospaced type does seem to have it's uses (especially for snippets of code) I don't think it really fits the theme in your case. I also don't really like the rounded tops of the buttons either. Oh and then there is the problem of the whole thing not working in Mozilla too...

Content section: The background on the left section seems a little too interefering with the text. Perhaps you could lighten it up a little, or maybe make it a quicker transition into the background color and not have text over it at all.

The border sperating your poll and main content could work, but the orange you have is the wrong color, imo. You use a darker, more burnt orange in your header image and then you have this bright orange border... it just doesn't seem to work. Same with your ">>>" contet header (where it says >>>home for instance). The blue is too light to be on your background color. It's also kind of an odd choice seeing as that color only appears right there on your site.

One last thing. I feel like this site would look a lot better if you were just to center the content. On my screen (it's 1280x1024 but I probably only use about 900x650 of it) there is a big gap to the right of all your content because it is not centered. Granted, this look can work in some cases, but I feel like you may want to consider centering your site.

I know you didn't ask for coding advice, but... You don't have a DOCTYPE :)
You are using tables for layout
You are using <b> instead of <strong>
You are using the depreciated <font> tag for text, but yet you are also using CSS...

Well, that's about it for my first scan, perhaps more at a later time. Good luck!!

[cubeddesign]

Thats exactly what i need!!!! Im going to start an excellent thread in about 5 seconds.

[pardicity3]

Oops, just noticed something. In my first post I mentioned that I couldn't get anywhere using your nav. Well, then I remembered that I had turned javascript off in Mozilla for testing purposes... So, to update and correct myself, I can get places using your nav, but only the top level links work, I still can't see the dropdown.