Discerning Warriors, please critique my site

Robin E. Anderson · 10-01-2009, 03:44 PM

Haven't been here in some time as I was waiting for my site to be up and running. Veteran Warriors: please critique. I intend it mostly as a vehicle for my writing samples, but any other suggestions as to how to best make use of it would be great.

Thank you for your time and expertise!

www.robineanderson.com

GarryMSayer · 10-01-2009, 05:33 PM

Hi Robin,

I like this site actually. The colour scheme is nice - your photo is pleasing on the eye.

A couple of minor grumbles though.

My attention was constantly drawn to that yellow 'ribbony' (sic) thing dangling beneath the typewriter.

I spent a good two minutes trying to work out if it was actually moving, a visual trick or whether my eyes were deceiving me. If I'd spent much longer looking at it I think I would have possibly become hypnotized. The point I'm making is I think this can distract attention away from what you are actually offering.

Also, after clicking on one of the five navigation tabs just under the 'freelance & ghostwriting' text the tabs disappear and the only way back is by clicking the 'go back one page' button in my browser. I don't think I'm alone when viewing a site I want it to be easy to navigate around.

At the moment I don't think your site achieves this.

I really like the robin.e.anderson graphic plus I like the typewriter graphic too. I think maybe the 25% off your first order should be next to these graphics. It should one of the first things people see when they land on your site because I think it's a strong unique selling point.

Damn I just lost two soporific minutes in them 'ribbony' things again!

Best of luck to you.

Garry.

kabong · 10-01-2009, 05:37 PM

I tried to click the word pricing and I think you'll have to make that word clickable.

Kirahster · 10-01-2009, 05:38 PM

It took a while to load but when it did I really liked it.

I love the testimonial that you have on the bottom of the site. It is perfect for a writing site.

The site is also easy to read and easy to look at. It is pretty. I like looking at it.

Good luck!

Alexa Smith · 10-01-2009, 05:53 PM

Hi Robin,

Thought I hadn't seen you around much!

I'm no "veteran" but won't let it keep me out of the thread!

I like this site very much. I think you've done really well, and it will serve you really well. I want to stress that first because I know that on such occasions I can sometimes come across as unintentionally critical when I make further comments.

I think a few little things could be improved:-

1. It's too wide (I have an enormous screen and still had to scroll laterally, which isn't good)

2. I don't think "samples - writings" reads well under the green button. I wonder if "sample writing" or just "samples" alone would be better?

3. There aren't nearly enough samples: the PDF is too small (maybe you're planning to increase this anyway? Specifically, someone booking articles is surely going to want to read 3 or 4 complete articles, and why not on your site, or with links from your site, rather than by having to contact you first to get links to them?)

4. I don't think contact and pricing should be together, really

5. The backslash between "contact and pricing" doesn't look right: could you subtitute a forward slash (/) there?

I don't understand the point made in the post above about the yellow ribbon thing at all, I'm afraid. But the pages are perhaps just fractionally slow to load, and I wonder if it might perhaps be somehow connected with this? I have such a fast internet connection that this is hard for me to judge, to be honest, and others' opinions will be more worthwhile.

Well done, and good luck! (And I'll still chip in with my opinion when I'm a veteran, too ...

)

Robin E. Anderson · 10-01-2009, 09:44 PM

Thanks Garry for the nice words. Hope you don't get a migraine from the ribbony thing.

Robin E. Anderson · 10-01-2009, 09:47 PM

Darn, meant to say thanks all together and sent it off too soon. Kirahster, thank you for your compliment. Kabong, I will look into that --thank you! And Alexa, thank you for your compliments and suggestions. You spent a long time writing it all down.
This site it so great because of people like you all who take time to help others.

linkedinlincoln · 10-01-2009, 10:26 PM

I love the colors and the layout of the site. One the front page I would experiment putting a little more distance between the You paragraph and the I paragraph. They kind of blend together. And I'd try to find a way to move that amazing testimonial up the page a bit.

I believe that the link "Samples Writings" should read "Writing Samples"

And just out of curiosity , why the decision to make all of the inner pages graphics only? You're a writer who clearly understands SEO, so why not include unique, keyword rich text on each page, and furthermore more pages?

Just my thought. But overall, the layout and the feel are right up my alley. Nice work.

Hope I've helped

-Kathy

thenextlevel · 10-01-2009, 10:35 PM

I think it is a very well set up site. The review on the first page is excellent. The one thing I would change is when you click on one of the 5 navigation links, you have to use the back button instead of being able to use one of the links, as they don't show you where they are taking you. Overall I think you did a great job on it!

10-01-2009, 03:44 PM	#1
Robin E. Anderson Writer War Room Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Fullerton, California Posts: 57 Thanks: 20 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Discerning Warriors, please critique my site Haven't been here in some time as I was waiting for my site to be up and running. Veteran Warriors: please critique. I intend it mostly as a vehicle for my writing samples, but any other suggestions as to how to best make use of it would be great. Thank you for your time and expertise! www.robineanderson.com
	*PLR pack for 10 articles in the online dating niche. Just $5! PM me and I'll send immediately* Writer with over 30 years' experience, teaching credential, degree in English. Articles, press releases, PLR, newsletters, you name it! www.robineanderson.com

10-01-2009, 05:33 PM	#2
GarryMSayer Helpful Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Cornwall - U.K. Posts: 673 Thanks: 525 Thanked 279 Times in 157 Posts Contact Info	Re: Discerning Warriors, please critique my site Hi Robin, I like this site actually. The colour scheme is nice - your photo is pleasing on the eye. A couple of minor grumbles though. My attention was constantly drawn to that yellow 'ribbony' (sic) thing dangling beneath the typewriter. I spent a good two minutes trying to work out if it was actually moving, a visual trick or whether my eyes were deceiving me. If I'd spent much longer looking at it I think I would have possibly become hypnotized. The point I'm making is I think this can distract attention away from what you are actually offering. Also, after clicking on one of the five navigation tabs just under the 'freelance & ghostwriting' text the tabs disappear and the only way back is by clicking the 'go back one page' button in my browser. I don't think I'm alone when viewing a site I want it to be easy to navigate around. At the moment I don't think your site achieves this. I really like the robin.e.anderson graphic plus I like the typewriter graphic too. I think maybe the 25% off your first order should be next to these graphics. It should one of the first things people see when they land on your site because I think it's a strong unique selling point. Damn I just lost two soporific minutes in them 'ribbony' things again! Best of luck to you. Garry.
	NEW! Dramatically INCREASE your productivity - http://www.garrylikes.com/SimpleProductivity Make EASY money from WSOs through your blog - http://www.garrylikes.com/EasyWSOMoney Minimize the risk of Paypal freezing or closing your account - http://www.garrylikes.com/PaypalBuddy Connect with me on the blog : http://www.garrylikes.com/GarrySayerBlog

10-01-2009, 05:37 PM	#3
kabong The Account Creator War Room Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Manila, Philippines Posts: 112 Thanks: 49 Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts	Re: Discerning Warriors, please critique my site I tried to click the word pricing and I think you'll have to make that word clickable.
	Want to outsource the creation of accounts for your ArticleBot Software to submit articles to hundreds of article directories, TubeMogul accounts to submit your videos and Onlywire.com accounts for your Social Bookmarking? Creating accounts is too hassle and time consuming. Click here!

10-01-2009, 05:38 PM	#4
Kirahster needs coffee to function! War Room Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 308 Thanks: 106 Thanked 54 Times in 38 Posts Social Networking	Re: Discerning Warriors, please critique my site It took a while to load but when it did I really liked it. I love the testimonial that you have on the bottom of the site. It is perfect for a writing site. The site is also easy to read and easy to look at. It is pretty. I like looking at it. Good luck!
	Backlinks Freak

10-01-2009, 05:53 PM	#5
Alexa Smith Wordsmith (& Skepchick) War Room Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 13,593 Thanks: 7,478 Thanked 9,500 Times in 4,932 Posts	Re: Discerning Warriors, please critique my site Hi Robin, Thought I hadn't seen you around much! I'm no "veteran" but won't let it keep me out of the thread! I like this site very much. I think you've done really well, and it will serve you really well. I want to stress that first because I know that on such occasions I can sometimes come across as unintentionally critical when I make further comments. I think a few little things could be improved:- 1. It's too wide (I have an enormous screen and still had to scroll laterally, which isn't good) 2. I don't think "samples - writings" reads well under the green button. I wonder if "sample writing" or just "samples" alone would be better? 3. There aren't nearly enough samples: the PDF is too small (maybe you're planning to increase this anyway? Specifically, someone booking articles is surely going to want to read 3 or 4 complete articles, and why not on your site, or with links from your site, rather than by having to contact you first to get links to them?) 4. I don't think contact and pricing should be together, really 5. The backslash between "contact and pricing" doesn't look right: could you subtitute a forward slash (/) there? I don't understand the point made in the post above about the yellow ribbon thing at all, I'm afraid. But the pages are perhaps just fractionally slow to load, and I wonder if it might perhaps be somehow connected with this? I have such a fast internet connection that this is hard for me to judge, to be honest, and others' opinions will be more worthwhile. Well done, and good luck! (And I'll still chip in with my opinion when I'm a veteran, too ... )
	Alexa Smith ... ... writes stuff that snaps, crackles and pops - even if it's only about cauliflowers.

10-01-2009, 09:44 PM	#6
Robin E. Anderson Writer War Room Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Fullerton, California Posts: 57 Thanks: 20 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Discerning Warriors, please critique my site Thanks Garry for the nice words. Hope you don't get a migraine from the ribbony thing.
	*PLR pack for 10 articles in the online dating niche. Just $5! PM me and I'll send immediately* Writer with over 30 years' experience, teaching credential, degree in English. Articles, press releases, PLR, newsletters, you name it! www.robineanderson.com

10-01-2009, 09:47 PM	#7
Robin E. Anderson Writer War Room Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Fullerton, California Posts: 57 Thanks: 20 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Discerning Warriors, please critique my site Darn, meant to say thanks all together and sent it off too soon. Kirahster, thank you for your compliment. Kabong, I will look into that --thank you! And Alexa, thank you for your compliments and suggestions. You spent a long time writing it all down. This site it so great because of people like you all who take time to help others.
	*PLR pack for 10 articles in the online dating niche. Just $5! PM me and I'll send immediately* Writer with over 30 years' experience, teaching credential, degree in English. Articles, press releases, PLR, newsletters, you name it! www.robineanderson.com

10-01-2009, 10:26 PM	#8
linkedinlincoln Active Warrior Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 34 Thanks: 1 Thanked 8 Times in 7 Posts	Re: Discerning Warriors, please critique my site I love the colors and the layout of the site. One the front page I would experiment putting a little more distance between the You paragraph and the I paragraph. They kind of blend together. And I'd try to find a way to move that amazing testimonial up the page a bit. I believe that the link "Samples Writings" should read "Writing Samples" And just out of curiosity , why the decision to make all of the inner pages graphics only? You're a writer who clearly understands SEO, so why not include unique, keyword rich text on each page, and furthermore more pages? Just my thought. But overall, the layout and the feel are right up my alley. Nice work. Hope I've helped -Kathy

10-01-2009, 10:35 PM	#9
thenextlevel HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 118 Thanks: 64 Thanked 9 Times in 9 Posts Social Networking	Re: Discerning Warriors, please critique my site I think it is a very well set up site. The review on the first page is excellent. The one thing I would change is when you click on one of the 5 navigation links, you have to use the back button instead of being able to use one of the links, as they don't show you where they are taking you. Overall I think you did a great job on it!