website review

[DagGz]

I thought i would post a message to see if i can get some quality feedback about my website which i am currently developing. as for content, there isnt much at the moment but i just want to know as far as the layout and actual design goes what you think is good/bad and what i could do to improve it if anything. its my first time creating a site fully in css and ive coded it for firefox and tweaked for ie so it should display ok in most browsers, if not let me know.

http://www.jackboxwebdesign.co.uk/stu/aubergine

many thanks in advance

[Harrie]

It displays nicely in Opera, too. The first impression that hits me is that it's very, very nice, I like it. Like the colors. Although - the lime green when hovering over "About Me," "My Sites," etc. - I think you'd do much better to change that color.

One thing that did strike me immediately was the lack of capital I in I and the lack of apostrophes in doesn't and it's - trust me, I'm not taking stabs but I do know for a fact that for some people, that will actually turn them off. I only read what's on the first page of your link.

I think the layout on the pages is really terrific. Kind of exceptionally terrific.

PS - I don't know a thing about web design other than knowing what I like and dislike. Hope my opinion counts anyway.

[Buzz]

Fine in Safari/Mac as well.

Only one error in the code.. <script type="text/javascript"> should just be <script type ="javascript">

Nice layout and color scheme. I too would choose a better color than the lime green. it's totally foreign to the rest of the site.

[rockboy]

If the green hover color was darker it would also be more suitable for use with white text. It doesn't really fit.

Nice job with the css layout. It's somehow ironic that after making all that effort to get away from a table based layout that you would use VERY prominent borders that somehow resemble a table based layout. ;)

[oracle128]

I agree that if the link highlight was a little darker shade of green it would be better (white text on lime green bg don't mix). It's definitely out of place with the rest of the site, but I think you could make it work if, instead of avoiding green for the hover links, used green in other places on the site so it doesn't stick out so much.

[DagGz]

Thanks for all of your posative feedback. I will take it all on board. As far as the hover colour goes, i was going for something totally different from the rest of the site to add contrast to it. I did originally think it worked but obviously not! I've dabbled with various different colours, but none hit me. I've added an off black now and it looks ok i think. Let me know what you think.

Thanks again for your feedback.

[Harrie]

100-times better with the off black! Thumbs up.

[zipulrich]

As an aside, your photos are awesome :)

[DagGz]

All this positive feedback is great, makes me feel good!! The photos need sorting out, i've put every single one on there in each catagory to test it out but i only want the best ones on there obviously.

I'm surprised noone noticed, but to the left of the menu links there is a blank box which i havent a clue on what to use it for. i was originally going to use it for a menu to change the colour of the site, but after thinking about it i decided not to use it after all. now im stuck with a space i have no idea what to do with. i thought of using it for a login, but i dont know why people would need to log into my site, i also thought of a news ticker, but what news could i possibly put on there. im scratching my head. im thinking of adding a forum as well but i would want it to fit inside the main content area, i know nothin about php and don't want to use a web based forum generator.

so many things to think about.

thanks again

[oracle128]

Empty space:
-Another photo / photos (depending on the page)
-Other image (eg. site logo, profile picture)
-A pretty Flash or Java animation
-Short text (eg. site motto, site's purpose)
-A Shoutbox (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoutbox)
-IRC Chat (http://www.pjirc.com/main.php) (may be a little big though)
-Alternatively, leave it empty so there's room to expand your navigation when you add other pages

You might also want to remove the "Aubergine.com" reference in the top image, considering that a) it isn't the site's address and b) that domain name is already taken by a completely unrelated company.