new website needs your criticism

38 replies
  • WEB DESIGN
  • |
Hi, guys. I've created a new free resource and really would be glad to hear your opinion about that. I would be glad if someone will give me a few useful tips. Free Virtuemart Templates
#criticism #website
  • Profile picture of the author Nikolas
    In general I like it, but I think grey text on grey background is a little hard for your eyes.

    Maybe if you make text a little more dark would help.

    Another thing is that your "Sign up" paragraph should somehow stand out of the rest. When I opened the site I didn't noticed it at all.

    Just my 0.02
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  • Profile picture of the author RobKonrad
    Hi Eva,

    I like the top part of the homepage very much - looks nice & interesting.

    What I would do though is to change the part under the fold to have 2 or maybe 3 columns. At the moment, you really need to scroll quite a bit, so condensing that into smaller "units" would make the page more attractive imho.

    Cheers,
    Rob
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  • Profile picture of the author Ekzo
    Eva you've hit the design pretty much spot on. The layout is awesome, and ideal for what your website aims to do - the only adjustments I would make is maybe the logo and the shade of the site.

    I think the website should convert very well though - if it doesn't then try switching to a more comparative bottom section, indicating benefits for each site - promoting one as having excellent adSense themes for example - but still, I believe your current layout is perfect.

    Just my opinion,
    Ekzo
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    • Profile picture of the author Azarna
      Very smart and attractive.

      Perhaps the text could be a bit darker?

      Also the first half dozen lines or so seem to repeat the free virtuemart so many times, I assume you are aiming for SEO here, but as a reader it just jars. Scrolling down all I see is virtuemart over and over. My immediate reaction is 'repetitive, therefore boring' - a recipe to click away fast.
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  • Profile picture of the author K Meier
    I would add an "About Us" link with infos who you are.
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  • Profile picture of the author serena85
    You site looks ok in my opinion but you need to keep it up to date with articles and try and build more backlinks.
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  • Profile picture of the author aeroturner
    the font face could be changed to Trebuchet MS or Helvietica for a better appearance and elegance over the site.. the colour of the text should be changed to black or a darker shade..
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  • Profile picture of the author aeroturner
    ur logo in the favicon looks too good.. do use it the header which will give a brand importance to the logo.. and the pics used for ur related websites can be changed to more brighter ones.. the overall design is good !!
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  • Profile picture of the author EvaBrown
    wow so many advices)))) as I understood my main problems in design are logo, color of font, missing of page "About us". What about seo optimization?
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  • Profile picture of the author umarshehzad
    Good design. But your website is missing a logo. And I like websites witha navigation menu in general.
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  • Profile picture of the author aeroturner
    on page can be done based on ur keywords and modifying ur
    KEYWORDS
    PAGE TITLE
    META KEYWORD, TAG, DESCRIPTION
    IMAGE ALT TEXT
    HEADING TEXTS (H1, H2, ....H6)
    BOLD TEXT in content
    BODY TEXT
    ANCHOR TEXT

    use "website auditor" to audit your website according to ur keyword and modify accordingly...
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    • Profile picture of the author EvaBrown
      Originally Posted by aeroturner View Post

      on page can be done based on ur keywords and modifying ur
      KEYWORDS
      PAGE TITLE
      META KEYWORD, TAG, DESCRIPTION
      IMAGE ALT TEXT
      HEADING TEXTS (H1, H2, ....H6)
      BOLD TEXT in content
      BODY TEXT
      ANCHOR TEXT

      use "website auditor" to audit your website according to ur keyword and modify accordingly...
      have you ever used "website auditor"? Does it really helpful? I justhave never heard about that.
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  • Profile picture of the author aeroturner
    Off page optimisation can be done by

    creating ethical backlinks
    posting ur links on high page ranked sites
    driving steady traffic to ur site
    social media marketing
    n lots more !!
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  • Profile picture of the author rojkoserghei
    For a fast view its hard to find were the templates are located...anyway its good to start
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  • Profile picture of the author xtrapunch
    Is there a rising trend to create a web designing and template website without having the required know-how? A couple of days ago, another person had posted a review request for a designing company's website (ironic). Trust me, the design was not something that you expect from a professional designing company. If you cannot create a good website for yourself, how will you provide quality web designing service to your clients?

    TIP: Learn about web designing. Check websites and blogs for latest trends and best practices.
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    >> Web Design, Wordpress & SEO - XtraPunch.com <<
    Web Design & SEO Agency | Serving World Wide from New Delhi, India

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    • Profile picture of the author EvaBrown
      Originally Posted by aeroturner View Post

      on page can be done based on ur keywords and modifying ur
      KEYWORDS
      PAGE TITLE
      META KEYWORD, TAG, DESCRIPTION
      IMAGE ALT TEXT
      HEADING TEXTS (H1, H2, ....H6)
      BOLD TEXT in content
      BODY TEXT
      ANCHOR TEXT

      use "website auditor" to audit your website according to ur keyword and modify accordingly...
      Originally Posted by xtrapunch View Post

      Is there a rising trend to create a web designing and template website without having the required know-how? A couple of days ago, another person had posted a review request for a designing company's website (ironic). Trust me, the design was not something that you expect from a professional designing company. If you cannot create a good website for yourself, how will you provide quality web designing service to your clients?

      TIP: Learn about web designing. Check websites and blogs for latest trends and best practices.
      My design is very simple and clean, because I tried to create website in restrained style. I think the most important thing ai this site is free templates))
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      • Profile picture of the author xtrapunch
        Originally Posted by EvaBrown View Post

        My design is very simple and clean, because I tried to create website in restrained style.
        If you are trying to apply the concept of Minimalism in your website design, please check this blogpost:

        1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/beautiful-examples-minimal-design-inspiration/

        Compare your site with the examples listed in the article.

        Originally Posted by EvaBrown View Post

        I think the most important thing ai this site is free templates))
        Are you looking for honest reviews and suggestions for your website, or a free backlink and promotion? If you like your design and do not want to change it, what's the point in asking for suggestions?
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        >> Web Design, Wordpress & SEO - XtraPunch.com <<
        Web Design & SEO Agency | Serving World Wide from New Delhi, India

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        • Profile picture of the author EvaBrown
          Originally Posted by xtrapunch View Post

          If you are trying to apply the concept of Minimalism in your website design, please check this blogpost:

          1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/beautiful-examples-minimal-design-inspiration/

          Compare your site with the examples listed in the article.


          Are you looking for honest reviews and suggestions for your website, or a free backlink and promotion? If you like your design and do not want to change it, what's the point in asking for suggestions?
          I do not want to promote it, it is already promoted.
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  • Profile picture of the author shekabhi
    Hi,

    I like the design.But want to see a new logo for this...Hope to have it more professional..
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  • Profile picture of the author Nickels
    I personally browse template sites all the time because I am a graphic designer and in my opinion .....

    I would get rid of the date/times you have on the slider because it is currently showing August 16, 2011 for each one and when I see that...I automatically assume you have old, outdated templates and I will press the back button with the quickness.

    The grey caption bg for the slider needs to be alot darker. You can barely read the text.

    The "What we offer" part...i dont think its needed on the front page. You'r not really saying anything lol...its just wasted space imo. I would keep that in the about page.

    Next you have all the different sites listed that carry free templates...I would do a better explanation as to what type of vm templates I could find If I were to click and browse through their selection. Also I personally would love to see screenshots of examples for each so I will know if I even want to click on the link or not because I need to be visually attracted to a template first.

    Im not sure if this site is finished or not...but once you actually click on a link from the homepage to see more templates from whichever provider you choose...its takes you to another page, with 2 more links (no screenshots or anything) so you have to click another link from that page to even get to the actually template providers page. That would automatically turn me off. I would quickly leave your site and find another.

    My suggestion would be, once I have clicked on one of the links from the homepage to "download templates foo free", have it take me to a page that has a good sized screenshot of each template (better if you have some info about each also) that links to the actual providers page with the template...or just have the first link that I click on from the mainpage link to the providers website.

    I think you are off to a great start though...these are just my thoughts and suggestions
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    build theirs.
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  • Profile picture of the author opt in
    I looked at the site 3 or 4 times, and the color combination, I found was hard on the eyes. To much blue in the over all page. Maybe try a differnt color combo to divide the sections, also agree with divideing it into 2 or 3 columns.
    Other wise looks pretty good.
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  • Profile picture of the author lassekn
    As gregisworldwide says it´s to hard for the eyes, But else it´s look really nice
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  • Profile picture of the author rawalbaig
    Banned
    Missing
    logo, typography, tags or categories no need to be large or sub, colour manipulation is some how disturbing.
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  • Profile picture of the author doctorvagabond
    elegant site, a little color to put some dimension in the page could be helpful, but the structure is cool
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  • Profile picture of the author Jeff Burritt
    Banned
    Eva,

    Decent looking site. My honest first impression: What is the site selling/offering?

    Are these joomla templates for sale?
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  • Profile picture of the author warlords
    A bit of changing might do for some of the font colors.. They grey ones, to be more specific.
    But apart from that, the clean feel of the site gives off nicely. I quite like this
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  • Profile picture of the author autumnsmith
    For my point of view, the contents of your website are painful to read.. Grey font color may not be a good choice...Also, you may want to add more information or details...
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    • Profile picture of the author EvaBrown
      Originally Posted by autumnsmith View Post

      For my point of view, the contents of your website are painful to read.. Grey font color may not be a good choice...Also, you may want to add more information or details...
      Ok, thanks, I will change color of font or background in a few days. As more details, I think the most important things are already published there.
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  • Profile picture of the author EvaBrown
    I've already changes the font color. Is it better now?
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  • Profile picture of the author blogfreakz
    looking good.. the site is simple and clean, nice slide as well
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  • Profile picture of the author dannyogolo
    The amount of work put into it alone is worth complementing.
    Goodluck
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  • Profile picture of the author oulee
    looks great.....i would recommend a terms & conditions page to make it look a bit more pro and to cover your back
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  • Profile picture of the author EvaBrown
    Of course I will think about your idea of terms & conditions page creation, but really do not know what for))
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  • Profile picture of the author EricDelano
    I think in your heading in the right direction. Remember, simple is always better!
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  • Profile picture of the author EvaBrown
    Thanks))) I also always think about simplicity creating websites. Today the most important things are functionality and simplicity of website.
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    • Profile picture of the author Chiv
      Hi Eva,

      Well, I will add my two penny worth!

      Structure/Layout
      If you are marketing website templates, you should already know about the structure of how your page should be!

      Look at the 'colorsontheweb' website pages, where they have some very helpful advice on how to use color when structuring a website.

      Navigation is a must for any 'serious' webpage. It helps users to become 'happy' knowing their way around (Let's face it, you want users to come back again and again, so you do not want any frustrating elements in your design!)

      SEO/Getting Seen
      91% of searches are performed on Google! It makes sense that you should be seen on Google. The biggest thing they like is content - unique content is better - and next to this, they like to satisfy themselves that the site is 'professional'. ie serious about having an internet presence. For this, they love to see;

      an index - where the main content is,
      an About Us - explanation to the masses who you are and what you are doing,
      T&C's - Terms and Conditions telling the masses what 'they are getting into',
      Privacy Policy - telling the masses what you will do with their information should they give their details to you.

      Finally, you should have a Disclaimer page. Depending on what you are offering/promoting, this should contain the conditions of supply, and perhaps, more importantly, the limitations.

      One definition of Internet Marketing is: "Selling things that do not come back, to people who do".

      This should be your guiding principle in creating whatever you do for the online community.

      If you are selling a service/product, what you are really selling is yourself - to satisfy the definition above. You are making a BRAND out of your website/your own name.

      Simply stated if people like what you have to offer, and it evolves, they will come back again and again if they like YOU.

      There are many good comments to this thread so far, which re-enforces my belief that the WF is the place to be to read about what is good (and what is not sometimes), online
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  • Profile picture of the author graphic1970a
    It's a little bit monotonous. You should add a column in the right.
    Also get some ideas by searching in google for terms on this niche.
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