Need some advise [banner top updated what do you think now?]

[robin9000]

I need some advise.

I have been told by some people that they don' care for my black background on my site and would like to know what some of you think?

Also is there a way that I could change the background color using only CSS to make it fade from the black going down the page to a light shade of gray?

Thanks in advance.

www.robinsden.110mb.com

[Snookerman]

Using white text on a black background is never a good idea. Also, it doesn't really fit with your menu colour. Unfortunately you can't use CSS (not even CSS3) to fade out your background.

Another thing I would recommend is that you get rid of the splash page. I don't see any reason for it, it's just annoying.

Also, there are some issues with the footer in IE.

Good luck!

[robin9000]

ok got rid of the splash page. As for the color of the text what color would you recommend? And do you think the black background is ok or do I need to change it?

[Snookerman]

I can't decide what your design should be so I don't know what background colour you should use, but for the parts that have text, I would recommend black text on white background, or something in that area.

[Medyman]

I don't mind the black. It can be made to work with golden accents. The part that throws me is the green.

[robin9000]

I don't mind the black. It can be made to work with golden accents. The part that throws me is the green.

Thanks for the information. I love hearing what you had to say. I did not think the green was a problem but ok I'll work on changing the green to somthing different. It's nice getting feedback. I'll see what I can do about adding some golden accents. Maybe I'll add that in, instead of the green at the top.

Updated the top of the banner now need to know what you all think of the color change?

[robin9000]

I don't mind the black. It can be made to work with golden accents. The part that throws me is the green.


Any idea on how I can put some golden accents in the page?

[Medyman]

Any idea on how I can put some golden accents in the page?

Much better now. There are some things that I would change per my personal design tastes, but at least the design looks cohesive now.

By gold, I meant the orange-ish accent colors that you already have. I wouldn't add more.

[robin9000]

Much better now. There are some things that I would change per my personal design tastes, but at least the design looks cohesive now.

By gold, I meant the orange-ish accent colors that you already have. I wouldn't add more.

I am interseted in knowing how you would change it if it were you doing it? I am always interested in hearing what others have to say.

As for the bit of orange that I have used in the banner are you tring to say that I should remove it?

Don't be afraid to speak your mind, I love getting comments, it helps me build a better looking site.

[Medyman]

I am interseted in knowing how you would change it if it were you doing it? I am always interested in hearing what others have to say.

Well, it's hard to answer that question without getting into the area of particular aesthetic tastes. Design, after all, is subjective. I personally don't find your design to be that visually appealing. The layout could be more usable and clear. The menu is trite. It all screams amateur to me.

But, by my estimation, you are a hobbyist, so maybe that's an accurate description.


As for the bit of orange that I have used in the banner are you tring to say that I should remove it?

No, it looks fine.

[robin9000]

Ok I took your comments, and I:


fixed the menu to make it flow better.
Changed the background to make it brighter.
Changed the banner to make it look more professional.
Changed the size of the font on the sub menu items to make all the words fit on one line.

Now what?

[Medyman]

Actually, it's not the color scheme. Like I said, colors are debateable. If you like those colors and that's your design sense you should keep them.

What I think needs improvement is your layout. There seems to little thought given to how your information is organized. I'd suggest reading up on information architecture best practises.

That would be where I suggest you should start.

[robin9000]

Actually, it's not the color scheme. Like I said, colors are debateable. If you like those colors and that's your design sense you should keep them.

What I think needs improvement is your layout. There seems to little thought given to how your information is organized. I'd suggest reading up on information architecture best practises.

That would be where I suggest you should start.


Ok, so it's the menu layout that you don't care for. If your still fell that it's true after the changes I just made, I am willing to hear how you would lay it out. I am all ears.

My site is for my professional life and for giving people a place to have some fun. I thought I did not do a bad job but clearly not a very good one., I like hearing your comments and look forward to hearing what you have to say about how you would lay it out.

[Medyman]

Ok, so it's the menu layout that you don't care for. If your still fell that it's true after the changes I just made, I am willing to hear how you would lay it out. I am all ears.

My site is for my professional life and for giving people a place to have some fun. I thought I did not do a bad job but clearly not a very good one., I like hearing your comments and look forward to hearing what you have to say about how you would lay it out.

I'm glad you want to improve the design, but please do it just because I said so. If you feel that the design is good then keep it!

When someone hires you, they're hiring you and your design sensibilities, coding skills, etc. They're not hiring the collective DynamicDrive community. So, the design for your professional site should primarily be your design aesthetic so that potential clients can see what you're capable of. So, it's important to represent yourself honestly.

So my honest advice is to pick up some books, read some tutorials, take some classes and improve your skills. Of course, we're here to help you along the way but we can't do it for you.

[robin9000]

I am making some progress on changing the design to somthing I think is more pleasing but now got a problem with trying to validate my index.php page. my menu.php page validates just fine now that I put body and all the other information back into it but once I did that the index.php page became invalid.

Once I get everything figured out I think it will be a lot better. And you were right about the menu not being all that good. I am working on making the flow better too. The menu is comming along I now have renamed the having fun to hobbies and reorginized some of the information, like I put the absolutely free catagory under the savings catagroy. Makes more sence now I think.

[JasonDFR]

Robin! Your site isn't working! What is going on? I wanted to check it out.

[robin9000]

I have made a few new changes with color. However as of right now I am working on trying to get it so that the page dispays correctly for the index. I'll get it figured out soon am sure.