Site usability feeback asked

[martinig]

Hello,

I have recently redesigned my web site and would like to know if you find it easy to use, because it is not easy to test it with all browsers or resolution available... ;o)

http://www.methodsandtools.com/

Thanks for your feeback

[Pennimus]

No, I think it has many problems that need addressing.

Obviously you have chosen to go down the route of not constraining everything in boxes, borders, panels etc... This can work if carried off well but right now your site simply looks unstructured and messy. I mean, there obviously is a structure to it all, but with inadequate spacing and a distinct lack of visible differences between the text used in different portions it's difficult to know where to look.

For optimum usability you need places to let the eye rest. Without any designed elements such as highlighted areas, borders etc... you have to rely on text styling to do this, and there isn't really much of that.

I also find the text too small in places and the ads, as the most dominant element of the page, offputting.

Frames are also a usability error, and trust me, somebody else on this forum is going to rail on you for the quality and validity of your code (it is a coding forum after all :thumbsup: ) both for using frames and for other reasons.

- Adam Bunn

[NancyJ]

I would say its not at all easy to use.

Its cluttered and disorganised. Your 'main navigation' is given no visual priority at all. Your links are plain blue on a blue background, meaning they are less contrasting than your normal text.
You have no common format, in some places you have a fixed width, left aligned site - in some places its 100% width.
Frames - do I need to say more on this?
Too many adverts - in some places your content is completely framed (and overshadowed) by ads.
Links going bold on mouseover make them jump and flicker.

Theres no design gone into the site at all that I can see.

[SpirtOfGrandeur]

Who even needs to rail when there is no DOCTYPE...

Failed validation, Unable to parse. (http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.methodsandtools.com%2Findex_menu.php)

[martinig]

Thanks all for your remarks. Yes, I am "transitionning" this site from what FrontPage proposed in last century (that is frames) to something more 21st century (tables and PHP) and I agree with you that the results are not always "good looking"... but it is also hard to have a good critical eye to a site you know from so many times... So thanks again for your help.

[NancyJ]

Tables for design are definately not 21st Century :p

[ns1987]

WOW, that's messy.

Not only that, but I come in and see frames.

I'll just say this: relearn HTML - might take an hour, but well worth it:
http://htmldog.com

[martinig]

Hello Nancy,

So what would you propose instead of tables? (and what would be the impact on user experience?)

[martinig]

Thanks for the good reference ns1987... but maybe it will take more than an hour to improve my capabilities, at least for me... ;o)