onSite Reviews - An Open Call <CLOSED>

[CorvusErebus]

All right. In the near future I will begin writing some articles on Web Design. I will ALSO be looking at one website a week for the foreseeable future. I'll offer my advice as a designer on what works, and what could do with a change. But there's just one problem. . .

I can't do it without your help! I need some brave volunteers to step up for constructive criticism! If you feel like you could use some help, and want a free evaluation, Step right up. If you're feeling brave and think your site passes all the tests, You're welcome too !

Volunteers will be backlogged and reviewed in First Come First Serve order. Step Right Up!

[mwytrykus]

I'm always fretting over my site design. i'm never totally happy with it. It's okay right now, but there's almost always room for improvement. So I'll volunteer my site. Feel free to tear it apart or praise it. www.grimstone.net

[mattstout]

I KNOW my website design sucks, but I'm just not good enough at web design to do anything about it.  I'm planning a redesign sometime in the near future, so this is right up my alley.  I'll submit my site for criticism, and don't hold back cause my feelings are not at all attached to my web design skills.

http://www.bigsandygilmore.com

[Westly]

Okay, I can do this.

Ignore the opening page, it's not final because I'd been doing it, then stopped, but now I'm in the process of doing it again. 

So, how would you make this site work better?

http://www.sacredgroundscomic.com

[ran]

I'm on the verge of redesigning the layout of my comic Hollow because my host has made some changes to the way my dropdown archive and archive page work and they'll have to be redone, anyways. I already know that there are some issues (for example, the header is way too large--I originally intended to make it that large so that I could put an ad above the logo, but at this point in time I don't get the traffic to justify it), so I want to consider everything fully before I redo the whole thing. Someone else's eyes might just be what I need before I make some decisions.

[mattstout]

Westly, I know you said to ignore your front page, but in my opinion, you shouldn't redo it, you should just get rid of it altogether.  Put your comic on the front page, and incorporate your blog on the same page.  

The harder it is for people to find your comic, the fewer people will bother to do so.  Make your comic the first thing people see when they type in your URL.

[CorvusErebus]

Wow. I didn't expect such a warm response so soon. And such a variety of site types too! I'm very very pleased! We've got an interesting few weeks lined up.

Matt stout has some very good advice, and it will be touched on and explained more in depth in the review. But please, for future reference, this thread is for volunteering your website for a front page review only. Let's try to keep critiques of websites in their own thread. (And only when the website owner asks.) Thanks a ton.

Also, the name of the review article is very much in the works. Feel free to make suggestions on that here as well. I really don't like "onSite reviews". But it was the best my sleep-deprived brain could think up.

[Nuke]

Shoot, I could use a few pointers as well. Web design is not my forte. Put me down for a pummeling.

[Westly]

Westly, I know you said to ignore your front page, but in my opinion, you shouldn't redo it, you should just get rid of it altogether.  Put your comic on the front page, and incorporate your blog on the same page.  

The harder it is for people to find your comic, the fewer people will bother to do so.  Make your comic the first thing people see when they type in your URL.

That's actually part of the re-design, getting rid of that nasty intro page, and putting the newest page of the comic right on the frontpage.  I just have to design around it.  I originally had it there because there was a 'working' version that I was working on, and an archive version.  Both linked to different types of comic pages.  I just haven't redesigned /index.html yet.

Any other suggestions?  ^_^

[Alectric]

I guess I'll have to wait a while, but sign me up as well.

[Pete]

While I can't say I'll take whatever advice is given (I'm far too stubborn to let go of the things I like), feel free to tear my site apart at your convenience.

[Rob]

Oh my so many volunteers. We're putting up your first review tonight aren't we Corvis? Hope you're ready. 

[CorvusErebus]

While I can't say I'll take whatever advice is given (I'm far too stubborn to let go of the things I like), feel free to tear my site apart at your convenience.

And what comic would that be exactly? You really should post a banner ad or a link in your sig. Or on your profile at least.

[Mutt]

You can add mine to the list.  it's due for a redesign soon, so feedback would be nice.

www.thetempestlegacy.com

[CorvusErebus]

Just a note, Rob got a bit mixed up. Website reviews begin This coming Friday! Not Wednesday.