Site Design Feedback Please?

[X96 Web Design]

Hi All,

I'd really appreciate some feedback on my latest redesign of my site. It's still on my testing site - I haven't released it yet.

The URL is: http://beta.x96design.com/

It's my first site made on a Mac, first site made with Coda, and my first site made with Photoshop! Very happy with all of those products...

Thanks,
Alex

[bluewalrus]

Did you buy coda or use the trial? I liked it but found it lacking in a few areas that dreamweaver wasn't.

[BLiZZaRD]

site looks good. I like the subtle backgrounds on the different elements, except the yellow, but the yellow does work. I like the placement and the flow, and I love the footer.

What I don't like is the font choices. The larger it is (your headings, and some of the bolder but smaller ones) are too block-y to the point of being blurred or... oh what is the word... like an ink spill.. pixel-ed and just don't work.

Also, I like the concept of the hover images in the nave menu, but the rest of the site is very "professional looking" (as in the layout and design "genre" not as opposed to childish) but the "handwriting" and arrows are more disco-avant garde (read: playful) than professional. Perhaps you cold work on that.

Other than that though from the quick look I took it seems very well done.

Now for the coding issues:

You are coding in XHTML, and I HATE that. Also, you still code for IE6. Why? Why not code for IE5.5 for Mac as well? (hint: the answer is the same)

While your *HTML code is valid, you should look more into your CSS, there are a few errors there. (Opacity example).

All in all, a good job though

[X96 Web Design]

Accidentally hit refresh on the wrong tab, so I lost everything I had just written... Here's goes for another round...

@bluewalrus:
I just have the trial of Coda right now, but am planning to buy it soon (preferably before the trial runs out).

@BLiZZaRD:
Thank you for your feedback! I...
- changed the heading font to a serif (I think it looks very nice now!)
- Hate IE6! The only thing I have for IE6 visitors is a big banner that tells them to upgrade.
- validated my CSS (now valid with CSS level 3)
- will look into the menu hovers
- will look into changing the yellow box (it does look pretty bad)

Thanks again!

Cheers,
X96

[traq]

I don't think the yellow box is bad, after all, you do want to draw attention to it. And pale yellow isn't an eye-burning color. You might try muting it a bit more, but I wouldn't worry too much.

Some of your CSS still doesn't validate. (I don't think this is a problem, except for the fact that you advertise that it's supposed to validate. Completely valid css precludes the use of some cool css3 stuff, and -unfortunately- virtually ensures that your sites won't work as intended in every browser. You have to use proprietary extensions and properties once in a while. No, I don't think you should code for IE6; but you should be able to work with 7+ with satisfactory results. Which brings me to my next item: )

Don't ever tell a potential client that you'll try to get their site to work, "but can't guarantee it." Yes, I know what you're talking about - IE is screwy. But a surprisingly large number of people looking to hire you aren't even aware that there's more than one kind of web browser, or that the difference is anything more than which style of buttons you like best. Dealing with cross-browser compatibility is a topic you approach in detail after you've established the problem - to start, it's good enough to say that your sites will work in current, major browsers. Talk about accommodating old or non-compliant browsers later.

It looks cool overall. It all ties together.

[X96 Web Design]

@traq:
I don't think the yellow is REALLY bad, just not as good as it could be! I'll try muting it...

Did you validate it as CSS3? When I did, it passed - check. It throws a whole load of errors if it's in 2.1. (UPDATE: I noticed the link in the footer was still linking to the 2.1 validation page... Fixed.)

Thanks for pointing out that IE statement... I've been meaning to rewrite that page, never get around to it. I'll add IE9 to the list of supported browsers.

Thanks,
Alex

[BLiZZaRD]

Looks a lot better now. Still have this line:

I'm a dedicated web designer in Victoria, BC, Canada. I focus on web standards, aesthetics, and usability.

I would try this: Leave the font color as is, bring the font size down 2 pts, then bold it. It will be about the same size but should clear up a bit.

Also, the 'Hi There." I would either delete it altogether, or change it to match the "professional" genre of the site design. You don't walk into a 5 star restaurant and have the maitre d say "hi there"

Don't worry tooo much about coding CSS for 2.1 if you are after CSS3. I too run into a few issues because I already code for HTML5, in the CSS world though, those that don't work in 2.1 will degrade without notice.

[traq]

Did you validate it as CSS3?

nope, just clicked on the link in the footer.

[X96 Web Design]

@traq:
Yea, I had the link pointing to the validator in 2.1 - I updated it to go to the validator in CSS3.

@BLiZZaRD:
I took out the "Hi There". Does the "I am a web designer..." line look blurry or messy? It looks fine on my screen (and on my Windows XP).

Thanks,
X96

[BLiZZaRD]

Neither of the above. It does look 8-bit, especially in the curvy letters.. lower case a, S, etc... but nothing too bad. It looks good.