Dragon Powered Does Reviews - Now Open For Volunteers!

[Rob]

Our new site admin Dragon Powered has agreed to become our new website reviewer. Starting fresh with a new reviewer means we are starting fresh with a ^{NEW CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS!}

If you want your site reviewed by someone with years of experience in website creation and implementation please post a response in this thread with a URL to the website you want reviewed. The sites will be reviewed in the order in which volunteers are received and the reviews will be posted when Dragon has finished them. I'm not going to assign him a fixed schedule.

If you have any questions about the reviews or the process you can ask them here or PM Dragon Powered.

And now Dragon is going to come in here and tell us all why he's such a smartypants expert. Take it away Dragon.

And welcome to the Thunderdome staff.  ;D

[Dragon Powered]

Hi there!  I'm JD of DragonPowered, also known as "the Dragon".
I suppose I should tell you what I'm going to do, and why I'm qualified to do it.

Well, here goes...
I have a business, aptly named Dragon Powered.  I provide Web Services, which means web design, consulting, programming, and solution planning for small businesses. In other words, people pay me to do this, and I've been doing it for a little over ten years. No, I'm not rich, times are tough.

Not all websites are the same, or follow the same guidelines, but if they are publicly viewable they all try to catch and hold the attention of visitors.  What I'm going to try to do is point out some things that you could do to make your site a little bit better. If you want me to.

I'll be honest, but not harsh. My reviews will probably be a little bit tongue-in-cheek, we aren't business people here looking for brass tacks. We're here for a bit of fun and to promote ourselves.

Ok, so, here is the format I would be posting reviews in:
( starred * items are given a score on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being best )

Review Site: (the site receiving the review)

FIRST IMPRESSION: (my impression on first visiting the site, like anyone when they first find out about your site)

*Load Speed: (how well the page loads)
*Color Mix: (how your site colors work together)

LAYOUT: (this section deals with how your site appears)

*Content vs Layout: (do they compliment each other?)
*Ease of use / Navigation: (can people find their way around?)
*Clutter: (how much stuff does your site have in one place?)
*Ads & Placement: (how are your ads placed on the site, what kind of ads and do they serve their purpose/)

TOP-DOWN IMPRESSION: (my thoughts on the site working down)

*Main Content: (what does your site provide?)
*Secondary Content: (What else does your site provide?)
*Social Content: (how are your social tools and what is their purpose?)

OVERALL IMPRESSION: (summary)

*Overall Rating: (the big score!)

Any of the above list items may or may not be used in the review.

So, what else do you want to know?

[Gibson]

I'm getting ready to do a site re-design, so I'd actually be interested to hear some feedback on the existing one.

http://picturesofyou.smackjeeves.com

[Dr. BlkKnight]

Considering I got shafted previously, I should sign up again.

[Dragon Powered]

Alrighty, Gibson, you're in the queue.

Dr.BlkKnight, yours is actually already done.  Rob had me do your site as a sample to show how my reviews would be, since you had signed up earlier.  So, if he wants to use that one, it's good to go.  Or I could rewrite it a little.  I'll ask him.  ;)

[Rob]

That's up to you man. It seemed fine to me.  ;D

[Gibson]

Alrighty, Gibson, you're in the queue

Sweet-tastic!

[Travis Surber]

Oh why not?I know nothing about web design so some expert feedback can only help.
www.haintedholler.com

[Dragon Powered]

I have heard from the Powers-That-Be, aka Rob, that the first review should go up next Friday, the 30th.  Gibson, since you signed up first (at least here) yours will be first, then Dr. BlkKnight, then Travis' site.  Question though, since you're planning on a remodel, Gibson, will you be making changes before next Friday?

[Gibson]

No, I won't be doing anything for a while yet. I was hoping the review will give me some pointers as to what I should be thinking when I go ahead with it.

[GaNda]

I guess I am next :)

My URL link for a review.

http://gandacomics.com/


Thanks
GaNda.

[Yamino]

I'd love to have Sister Claire reviewed, as I've just had it upgraded after recovering from being hacked TWICE.  I'm not QUITE ready, there are still a few things I need to fix before the site is 100% back to it's old glory.  I'm waiting on a friend to make a gallery program t replace my clunky old one, and I'm praying my forum won't have to be completely installed from scratch. XD;

[Gar]

and I'm praying my forum won't have to be completely installed from scratch. XD;

Heh, it's funny because of the nuns.

[Dragon Powered]

Ok, the current schedule for reviews is thus:

• Pictures of You (currently reviewed)
• Crossing Death (May 7th)
• Hainted Holler (May 14th)
• The Adventures of Kunow Ma-re (May 21st)
• Sister Claire (May 28th)

Currently the post schedule is for Friday morning, but I don't know if it will remain that.  Reviews will likely be weekly as long as there are reviews to be done. *Dates may be subject to change without notice or much thought or reason. The universe is a pie. Custard, actually.*

[klingers]

Hi there,

I'm fairly new around here and I don't know if it's a bit presumptuous, but I'd love to get some professional critique on my site (www.wavelengthcomic.com). It's pretty much the only site I've put together in about 5 years, and it was for myself, so I'm not the most impartial critiquer.

I'd really find a third opinion quite valuable  :D

Cheers.