Need Page Feedback

[TheJoshMan]

I've been working pretty hard on a *different* form of advertising/link-swapping and I need some constructive feedback. I've used a script from DD to keep everything "above the fold" nice and tidy. As for the rest of the content, if you read the first couple of paragraphs, you'll get the idea behind it.

Here's the link: http://eight7teen.com/link-love/

[magicyte]

In IE8, when I put my mouse over the menu links at the top, the words don't show up and about 1/8 of the whole word disappears. If those things did work and I could see the words (I dunno - IE8 is bad and doesn't work too well), I would say cool. Eh, but you know- the logo is...um...:D

-magicyte

[TheJoshMan]

well, when IE8 is out of "beta stage" then I'll worry with it. As for the logo, I've never claimed to be a great designer... besides, I was wanting feedback on the method in which I've displayed the links, not on my *logo*

[magicyte]

OH! The 'display' of the links! Yeah. I like the whole design of the placing of the links. In fact, the whole site looks great. Just noticed the drop-down menu of links finally works (don't blame me for having IE8 - my dad downloaded it- seriously). I see you don't need to change the layout/design/display of much of anything on your site.

On a scale of 1-10, I give the method of displaying links an 8.

Good job. :)

-magicyte

[Snookerman]

Your menu looks great, except for the toolboxes which are annoying/get in the way. And the register button looks weird/depressed but maybe it's under construction? I know you didn't want feedback on your menu but I just though you might want to know and feedback is feedback, just like publicity: it's all good!

[TheJoshMan]

thanks... i think? LOL

I guess I should have been more specific about what I was looking for. I am trying to see what other people think about the way in which I am displaying the content on my "Link Love" page.

In other words, what do you think of the way in which I display the links to each outside site, along with the screenshot and alexa graph and paragraph of text.

This is a concept of *advertising* that I had not seen yet, so I thought it would be sort of "unique" so to speak.

[Medyman]

I like the organization and aesthetic of the page. I wonder if the actual Alexa graphs add any meaningful semantic context to the ads, though.

I mean, do I really care that AdBrite gets a lot of traffic. And does the fact that Black-Hat Photography doesn't rank in the top 100,000 mean that it's not a quality service provider?

I'm not dogging your idea -- it's unique (and looks official and fancy!). But, it could go both ways. You should make your copy formatting consistent. The spacing for the IE Death March paragraphs are good. The rest of the line-height should probably be made to match.

I love seeing your site evolve. You have some really cool things going on. I have to say that I love how you set up the social bookmarking links at the bottom of your posts. I love those Function icon sets too. But, I've never seen them with that presentation. Very creative, indeed!

Keep it up & good luck with your addiction.

[Snookerman]

The links are really nice. One thing I would improve is the "thumbs up" part. At first I thought it was like the youtube comment rating so I was a bit confused to see two thumbs up. Maybe you could make it clearer by having a faded thumb for the links that only get one thumb, to show the maximum. That is always good to know, cause right now I don't really know your scale, two could be two out of two or two out of five. I also agree with medyman on the Alexa graphs. Maybe you could skip those and instead have bigger screen shots of the pages. Otherwise, great job!

[TheJoshMan]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the feedback.

@medyman & @snookerman:

I honestly thought the Alexa graphs would be a good idea at first, but I do think you're right about whether or not it has anything to do with whether or not the site is worth visiting.

@snookerman:

I also agree about the "ranking" system. The original scale is supposed to be two thumbs up to two thumbs down... However, why would I even place someone on the list if I was going to give them two thumbs down? LOL
I guess I hadn't thought of that.

@medyman:

Thanks for the comment about the social bookmarking menu. I actually released the code for it here on DD. I released a version for Wordpress which uses the predefined functions of wordpress to fill out the info automatically, and I also released a version for static sites that just bookmarks the site itself.

Here's the link: http://www.dynamicdrive.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38483

[TheJoshMan]

Ok, I've fixed the line-height issue so that they all match the "IEDeathMarch" one... I've also posted one up with a larger screenshot and no Alexa graph...

How's this one look in comparison to the others?

http://eight7teen.com/link-love/#creative-boy

[Snookerman]

Have you tried two columns instead of two rows? I have a feeling it might look better.

[TheJoshMan]

you mean make the screenshot skinnier and taller and put the paragraph next to it instead of below it?

[Snookerman]

Yup, most pages are taller than they are wide. Right now, the screen shot looks really wide. Like I said, I'm not sure, but it's worth a try.

[TheJoshMan]

hmm, i'll give it a shot