Critique my site

[slackerinabox]

This is only a beta - what do you guys think?

I'd appreciate any constructive comments.
Thanks!

http://www.dev.web-werks.com/design/swbfilms/#

I know the host is slow as heck - this is not on a server yet but on the web developer's host... It's slow but, again, don't just the speed of the site right now as it's a beta

 

[edro]

Need new hosting.

 

[slackerinabox]

Originally posted by: edro13
Need new hosting.

it's not on a host yet - it's a beta stored on the developer's host

 

[AFB]

Optimize the pictures for the web or get a faster host.

 

[MSCoder610]

Even on a faster host I'd still optimize the images - a 104x78 image is like 9.5k.

 

[thirdlegstump]

is slow

 

[slackerinabox]

any other comments, other than it being slow? I'll ask her to optimize the images and such

 

[new2AMD]

Originally posted by: freedomsbeat212
any other comments, other than it being slow? I'll ask her to optimize the images and such

Im not a fan of the site launching another sized window

 

[MSCoder610]

Heh yeah, I tried just downloading the SWF and it's going at like 7k per second.

Once I let it load though, the Flash looks pretty nice, if maybe a little big (edit: as in the size in bytes/megabytes).
You might want to make the scrolling buttons larger, or make the "scroll here" text clickable to scroll, also.

Oh, and when the Flash window opens, it should probably still have a better title than "++ Navigation ++".

 

[slackerinabox]

Originally posted by: new2AMD

Originally posted by: freedomsbeat212
any other comments, other than it being slow? I'll ask her to optimize the images and such

Im not a fan of the site launching another sized window

emailed her about that now - the popups are annoying. Thanks!

 

[iotone]

what's the dl time of all those images as reported by photoshop/fireworks?? some users may have to wait a long time (regardless of hosts) for all those images to complete (especially dial-up users)

also not a fan of the site launching in another window... potential for pop-up blocking??

the scroll is pretty nice, but clicking on a section should really open in the same window... again, the opening in other windows is an issue (and both windows are different sizes as well)

and possibly on that first area (before scroll over), maybe a quick list of links to the different "scroll sections"?? eg, if you click on one, it scrolls you to that area of the site??

just a few suggestions...

 

[slackerinabox]

Originally posted by: MSCoder610
Heh yeah, I tried just downloading the SWF and it's going at like 7k per second.

Once I let it load though, the Flash looks pretty nice, if maybe a little big (edit: as in the size in bytes/megabytes).
You might want to make the scrolling buttons larger, or make the "scroll here" text clickable to scroll, also.

Oh, and when the Flash window opens, it should probably still have a better title than "++ Navigation ++".

Excellent suggestions - asked her to change the title and make the scroll button larger. Thanks guys, keep em coming

 

[royaldank]

Not a fan of splash pages nowdays. Why wait to load up a bunch of images just so that you can click enter?

Not sure why the main part took 3 minutes to load. There was nothing on the page when it finally loaded up. Background looked pretty nice, but it was also fairly busy. I didn't see a menu anywhere. If I missed it then you might want to think about re-designing it. If it's still in the works, then it's pretty hard to judge the site without it. With clear and concise navigation, the main page might be fine. If you try and hide the menu options like some DVD menus do in the artwork, then it's too busy. I also don't like the new window opening to a different size. Why not just slap it in a table centered on the screen so no new browser window is needed?

I like the logo. Real sharp. The drawing on the splash page is pretty weak. I would think about replacing it with something better.

 

[Juice Box]

Originally posted by: royaldank
Not a fan of splash pages nowdays. Why wait to load up a bunch of images just so that you can click enter?

Word!

 

[slackerinabox]

Originally posted by: iotone

just a few suggestions...

And all good ones! I'll ask her to make the page load faster by optimizing the pics a bit... It really should open in the same window, I agree with you. She assures me that pop up blockers wont be an issue but I'm skeptical myself.. A site map is also a good idea, i'll ask her about that as well.
Thanks!

 

[Aharami]

cant even view the site

 

[royaldank]

Found the navigation. Nice idea, but not sure it's pulled off very well. As it is now, you have to click Enter off the splash page, then search for the small "Scroll" button and click it before you get any kind of info or real menu options. Go straight to the middle "page" of the main section. Insert a loader with your logo and a please wait instead of the splash and first page of the main app.

 

[slackerinabox]

Originally posted by: royaldank
Found the navigation. Nice idea, but not sure it's pulled off very well. As it is now, you have to click Enter off the splash page, then search for the small "Scroll" button and click it before you get any kind of info or real menu options. Go straight to the middle "page" of the main section. Insert a loader with your logo and a please wait instead of the splash and first page of the main app.

Would a splash page be OK if it had option for flash and regular HTML?

 

[rh71]

the popup flash site does not allow for pre-loading because of the html splash screen. If the splash screen is done in Flash as well, it could already start the preload of the main content and that would save a huge amount of time. Flash is good at compression if you let it... have the images (on the splash page) imported as symbols in there and it will load a ton faster (in theory). Another piece of advice for images/backgrounds... PNG format is the best for flash... file sizes are kept low while quality is still good.

 

[thirdlegstump]

I think design-wise, it's very nice. I love the colour sense but the whole navigation is just out of reach IMHO. I don't like having separate menus within new windows and side scrolling is very annoying to me even though it's automated via button. I think it's still cool though. I'm no authoratay on web design but I like what I like.

 

[royaldank]

Originally posted by: freedomsbeat212

Originally posted by: royaldank
Found the navigation. Nice idea, but not sure it's pulled off very well. As it is now, you have to click Enter off the splash page, then search for the small "Scroll" button and click it before you get any kind of info or real menu options. Go straight to the middle "page" of the main section. Insert a loader with your logo and a please wait instead of the splash and first page of the main app.

Would a splash page be OK if it had option for flash and regular HTML?

That's fine. As good as the logo is, I would keep it real simple with just the logo and then your Flash / HTML options. The notebook and glasses look real nice, but the drawing is not very good and only brings down that page. Maybe story boards, parts of a script, or just a blank page would even be better than the middle school drawing that's on there now.

Don't get me wrong, the site looks very nice and is well done. The things I've mentioned are just nitpicky items. But, I tend to program for a more general audience. Your target audience is probably more likely to look around and explore your site. My target audiences are usually common folks that want fast information spoon fed to them.

 

[AutomaticErik]

I'm not a fan of Flash based websites, but besides that, I see some problems with your design.

First off, when you enter the actual site, there is nothing to click on except the scroll button. Why? Why have 2 splash pages? Send them straight to the navigation system.

Second, why have multiple pages in the navigation system? It makes it confusing to have to scroll back and forth just to view everything on the site. Find a way to redesign the nav so it includes all options right away. The scrolling is a pain, get rid of it.

Third, the pages open in new windows. This creates clutter for the user. If you open a new window and it has navigation built in, whats the point of having flash navigation at all? Once they click one thing, they never go back to the Flash navigation. In my opinion, if you're gonna do Flash, do it all the way. Everything should open in the same window and should be completely done in Flash. Mixing HTML and Flash in different pages in a website shows inconsistency. Inconsistency screams unprofessional.

Fourth, I think the graphics are well done. As said earlier, they do need to be optimized. It seems like the Flash is a huge file. Could just be the site being slow, but it still seems like it takes longer than it should.

 

[slackerinabox]

Originally posted by: royaldank

Originally posted by: freedomsbeat212

Originally posted by: royaldank
Found the navigation. Nice idea, but not sure it's pulled off very well. As it is now, you have to click Enter off the splash page, then search for the small "Scroll" button and click it before you get any kind of info or real menu options. Go straight to the middle "page" of the main section. Insert a loader with your logo and a please wait instead of the splash and first page of the main app.

Would a splash page be OK if it had option for flash and regular HTML?

That's fine. As good as the logo is, I would keep it real simple with just the logo and then your Flash / HTML options. The notebook and glasses look real nice, but the drawing is not very good and only brings down that page. Maybe story boards, parts of a script, or just a blank page would even be better than the middle school drawing that's on there now.

Don't get me wrong, the site looks very nice and is well done. The things I've mentioned are just nitpicky items. But, I tend to program for a more general audience. Your target audience is probably more likely to look around and explore your site. My target audiences are usually common folks that want fast information spoon fed to them.

Ha! I left the drawing up to appease our main storyboarder - the drawing is a bit.. um.. rough.. I agree.. I'll try to find something a bit less juvenile looking. I actually like the idea of just a logo on the the page.. Hmmm.. Thanks for the ideas!

nitpick away, you're not hurting my feelings since I didn't design it!

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: freedomsbeat212
Would a splash page be OK if it had option for flash and regular HTML?

In my opinion, the decision to have an HTML version available depends on the purpose of the site. If it is not an "information-only" site then you don't have to always have an HTML only version for people who just want to get at what they need to know. This site is supposed to show your portfolio and the Flash player (5 at least) is already at 98% saturation across the web... why not stay with flash-only ? Creating a separate HTML version will also require double the work effort when updating your site.

 

[chuckywang]

slow to load