Brand new site

**MicheleDB** · 06-04-2008, 03:43 PM

Hi all,

I am a total newbie here and in desperate need of all your expertise and experiences. I have a website that i have just finished building and would appreciate all and any comments on it. Mostly i want to know what's wrong with it! I need it to "speak" to people number one, and also would like to know if it is appealing to eye, is the content well written, is it user friendly, does it make people want to act on the offer? Our purpose is to have a hand in reducing the global population explosion of millions of unwanted/homeless puppies and kittens so we need this site to work, and work well, toward our cause.

Appreciate everyone's time and input into this.

Many thanks,
Michele (http://www.k9mums.com)

**ECSuite_Russell** · 06-04-2008, 06:04 PM

Interesting concept. I was a little confused about the purpose of the site at first, I started reading it and thought you were advertising for your kennel service then it jumped right into franchising the private home animal boarding idea. Reading deeper into the site it's clear your looking for new partners though.

I might try adding a section of the site for your consumers as well, make the site not just for recruiting more people for your idea but for finding new business/pet owners in need of boarding for their animals in your area.

Also, I'd make the site more graphical, maybe add imagery from the boarding facilities at your home as well as photos of dogs that have been in your care.

**PeachyJuice** · 06-04-2008, 07:37 PM

Your design does something funny in my browser. The sidebar isn't separated at all from the main/header div, there's some random black spot above the nav div, and the purple div goes all the way with the white content one. Frankly, it just looks messy (in Safari 3).

I have to agree with Russell. Add more graphics, and get right to the point with what you're trying to do. At the very least, add a logo.

The bold text is a good idea, but because it's bold (and sometimes highlighted) that's all I see if I skim (which many visitors will). So try to make what you want to highlight be cohesive without the other text in between. I'd take away the bold though, and just try changing colors.

Also the tagline "if you love dogs then this is for you!" I think should be highlighted more. Make it big and at the top. It'll give visitors a better idea of what you're doing =)

**MicheleDB** · 06-05-2008, 04:21 AM

Russel & Peachy Juice, thank you so much for your input. You have both highlighted points that need attention and I will certainly take care of it. I very much appreciate your time and input. Will also look into the reasons for site not opening correctly in Safari 3. That is a a great concern. Again, many thanks.

**arcel** · 06-05-2008, 04:42 AM

i'm some what confuse with the design...
i don't know if i'm looking it right or wrong...

**atouck** · 06-05-2008, 04:46 AM

hy there. there is a black spot in the right side above the navigation. the concept is pretty unique, but a little bit confusing i think. the right side navigation position is a little bit weird. but overall is quite ok

**MicheleDB** · 06-05-2008, 05:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arcel

i'm some what confuse with the design...
i don't know if i'm looking it right or wrong...

Why, what's wrong? Doesn't it open/load correctly?

**davemies** · 06-05-2008, 05:02 AM

generally i like it!
but do not underline text unless it's a link

you can keep the bold text but make it the same colour as the main copy. (you might want to make the main copy text a little bit darker

also you have banding in the background gradient - is it it supposed ot be like that or should it be smooth like the pink background?

**MicheleDB** · 06-05-2008, 05:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by atouck

hy there. there is a black spot in the right side above the navigation. the concept is pretty unique, but a little bit confusing i think. the right side navigation position is a little bit weird. but overall is quite ok

Yes, that black spot has given me nightmares. I am amateur with websites, and needed to do this cost effectively, hence the hassles i guess.

**MicheleDB** · 06-05-2008, 05:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davemies

generally i like it!
but do not underline text unless it's a link

you can keep the bold text but make it the same colour as the main copy. (you might want to make the main copy text a little bit darker

also you have banding in the background gradient - is it it supposed ot be like that or should it be smooth like the pink background?

oh dearie me, what is "banding" ??

**MicheleDB** · 06-05-2008, 05:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ECSuite_Russell

Interesting concept. I was a little confused about the purpose of the site at first, I started reading it and thought you were advertising for your kennel service then it jumped right into franchising the private home animal boarding idea. Reading deeper into the site it's clear your looking for new partners though.

I might try adding a section of the site for your consumers as well, make the site not just for recruiting more people for your idea but for finding new business/pet owners in need of boarding for their animals in your area.

Also, I'd make the site more graphical, maybe add imagery from the boarding facilities at your home as well as photos of dogs that have been in your care.

I wanted to add more graphics but was concerned it would affect download time? Did you find it took a while to download???

**MicheleDB** · 06-05-2008, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeachyJuice

Your design does something funny in my browser. The sidebar isn't separated at all from the main/header div, there's some random black spot above the nav div, and the purple div goes all the way with the white content one. Frankly, it just looks messy (in Safari 3).

I have to agree with Russell. Add more graphics, and get right to the point with what you're trying to do. At the very least, add a logo.

The bold text is a good idea, but because it's bold (and sometimes highlighted) that's all I see if I skim (which many visitors will). So try to make what you want to highlight be cohesive without the other text in between. I'd take away the bold though, and just try changing colors.

Also the tagline "if you love dogs then this is for you!" I think should be highlighted more. Make it big and at the top. It'll give visitors a better idea of what you're doing =)

Good idea re tagline, thanks!

So try to make what you want to highlight be cohesive without the other text in between.

Perhaps I need more coffee

not quite sure what you mean here?

**davemies** · 10:22 AM

by banding i mean that the grey gradient isn't smooth like the pink one you see blocks or bands of grey so that there is a step to the next shade, instead of a smooth transition.

when i get time later i'll illustrate what i mean with an image

have to take my twins in the paddling pool...

the pink background should be a jpeg too
see http://pp.kpnet.fi/prescott/stuff/00_14.jpg

and the grey background should be smooth like this (unless you were going for that rough look??)

http://pp.kpnet.fi/prescott/stuff/bg.jpg

feel free to use those images if you like

**phppoddotcom** · 06-05-2008, 09:35 AM

To be honest I like the design but don't like the colors at all. On the other hand, the navigation is easy.

**lionking** · 06-05-2008, 11:58 AM

generally i like it

**ECSuite_Russell** · 06-05-2008, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MicheleDB

I wanted to add more graphics but was concerned it would affect download time? Did you find it took a while to download???

I'm on a t3 connection at work and on cable at home, download time is never much of an issue for me.

The only people it would be for is those still on dialup, I'm not sure how big of an audience that is nowadays?

**arcel** · 06-06-2008, 04:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MicheleDB

Why, what's wrong? Doesn't it open/load correctly?

no... it's just that the design is kinda confuse me. maybe because of the pink & grey layout. there's still a black spot at the top right side.
i think you don't need to highlight some phrase since it's already been bold. but it's still up to you.

**Arleigh** · 07:32 AM

The design looks good though it's not much related to its theme...

And I agree with Arcel, it's better not to highlight some of phrases that you want to emphasize...

**MicheleDB** · 06-07-2008, 05:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davemies

by banding i mean that the grey gradient isn't smooth like the pink one you see blocks or bands of grey so that there is a step to the next shade, instead of a smooth transition.

when i get time later i'll illustrate what i mean with an image

have to take my twins in the paddling pool...

the pink background should be a jpeg too
see http://pp.kpnet.fi/prescott/stuff/00_14.jpg

and the grey background should be smooth like this (unless you were going for that rough look??)

http://pp.kpnet.fi/prescott/stuff/bg.jpg

feel free to use those images if you like

Thanks Davemis, you are a star! Only problem is i built this website using a standard template which i then adjusted with my own images etc. No doubt that is the reason it is such a mess!!! Where oh where can i find a decent web hosting company that offers decent templates where one can safely upload their own images without resulting in such distortion?? I am not a web developer, have to go the amateur route, plus it needs to be extremely cost effective. I don't have tons of bucks to spend on it!