Honest Critique Welcome-Only from the best

**virtuaboy** · 12-20-2006, 08:35 AM

Hello All,

www.ie-solutions.com.au

I'm new here and this is my first post. I have just finished lending a hand designing a website and i was hoping to get some critique or suggestions on the look or functionality of the site. i don't get offended and appreciate other people opinions so be honest!!

What better place to get the right advice or opinions than from a talented design community.

Thanks for any help.. Much appreciated..

VirtuaBoy

**houdini987** · 12-20-2006, 09:48 AM

The flash at the top is great - very professional and not too intrusive.
The sentence: We understand the needs of our clients and make your expectations to achieve central to our core beliefs.
...has some complicated grammar. I had to read it twice to determine if it was right (and I think it is) - just a little difficult to digest.
You probably already know this, but you have a small "ticker" link in the lower-left corner of your page. Looks a little out of place.

The paragraphs on the "About Us" page are a little too fragmented. I'd either try merging some of those sentences together or make a bullet-pointed list.

My first impression on the flash was good - but I'm finding that it reloads on every page. I'm not sure how potential customers will react to this. Maybe replace the flash on all but the home page with a static image?

When I go to your Multimedia page, the background under the menu (where it shows the multimedia submenu) is an ugly red. I'd blacken that sucka.

That robotic hand with the mouse is sweet! Where'd you get that?

Overall though it's a really great site.

**waffles** · 12-20-2006, 11:15 AM

No sound. Don't hijack my speakers. It's bad. Either I'm listening to something else and don't want to hear your noise, or I'm not listening to anything for a reason.

The flash reloading on every page is a pain. But at least you don't have the menu in there like some places I've seen. Not only does it look empty without the banner, but the noise is there.

**ADAM Web Design** · 12-20-2006, 12:06 PM

This is precisely the reason WHY content management systems completely stink.

The site LOOKS pretty if you're a certain type of person. I'll give it that. But the code for it is absolutely atrocious. There are bullet lists which are formed using   • (instead of the much more efficient <li></li> tags), use of the <font> tag, tables where divs should be used...in other words, it's CMS-generated code, and it's a complete mess.

The other major issue I have with the site is that it's 911 pixels wide. 800 x 600 users would end up with a horizontal scrollbar.

Some of the copy is either a flat-out lie or a miswording of the truth. For example:

Quote:

Our Google Accredited SEO experts consult with you to give your web site the best search engine rankings.

There isn't any such animal, unless you're referring to being an Adwords Qualified Company (which is unlikely in this case.)

I'm with Waffles on the sound issue too. Take it out. it's annoying.

**virtuaboy** · 12-21-2006, 07:42 AM

houdini waffles and adam thanks for the crits.. much appreciate.

adam: The site was build using a cms purely because of time constraints and we are working on the rebuild to make proper use of seo. Although that does not mean that some cms's arent search engine friendly.

Also the guys that work for the business are qualified for seo. Anyway i personally am a budding artist and im thinking about taking a course in design, hence the reason for the post.

I appreciate the opinions from other designers. Its good to know that my design skills are improving (I hope

)

**yarrgh** · 10:54 AM

there is a gray bar above the text that is wider on the left side than the right. it looks funny.

you could put more content in the main cell, or at least different types of content.

the flash intro gets a little old after a while. consider using a cookie or something to make sure it only plays the first time, or put it only on the home page.

great look, overall my comment is that it feels empty. like you had about one page worth of content that you stretched out to fill the whole site. put more stuff on each page. as of now each page basically holds just one blurb each. consider putting other types of content in the main table body etc. would make it feel less like a big empty house. i feel comfortable with sites that have so much content that it all barely has a place to fit.

i agree witht the posts above: websites that play sound get an automatic F in my book.

is it true that Google has 'accredited' these people? if not...

**ADAM Web Design** · 12-21-2006, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Also the guys that work for the business are qualified for seo.

Based on what? Dude, there is no firm set of qualifications, rules or standards, much as there isn't in design. (Side note: there really should be, but it hasn't happened yet.) And if you make statements like that on the site, eventually people will figure that out.

Quote:

Although that does not mean that some cms's arent search engine friendly.

That isn't my only issue with content management systems, and not even the biggest one as I pointed out earlier. But at least you're rebuilding it because you realize that there are coding errors (and SEO issues.)

Quote:

great look, overall my comment is that it feels empty. like you had about one page worth of content that you stretched out to fill the whole site. put more stuff on each page. as of now each page basically holds just one blurb each. consider putting other types of content in the main table body etc. would make it feel less like a big empty house. i feel comfortable with sites that have so much content that it all barely has a place to fit.

I don't have a problem with the perceived lack of content on each page. Personally, I think it works in this case. People generally don't like to read, so keep it short. That makes sense.

**sacada2** · 12-21-2006, 06:55 PM

The site looks good. But the content is a bit off. Most seo expert never recommends flash websites. I've never seen yet a flash website that ranks well on search engine. That's what I know.

**virtuaboy** · 12-21-2006, 11:21 PM

ok i spoke to the owner and he said that the wording could possibly be misleading and apologises and will immediately rephrase it accordingly.

I personally do know of google exams and reseller training including SEO and that costs around 1000 us dollars.

The person in charge of seo has taken the google online course, fullfilled the adwords requirements and completed the exam so he knows seo.

I agree with you all about the lack of content which is still wip. We will be adding more pages with more information. I have also suggested the removal of flash headers and maybe focus the flash on the home page.

Secada2: this site only has a flash header. its not built in flash.

Virtuaboy

**jingquan** · 12-22-2006, 01:35 AM

Excellent flash and website, professional looking, but I don't really need the sound.

**waffles** · 12-22-2006, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by virtuaboy

ok i spoke to the owner and he said that the wording could possibly be misleading and apologises and will immediately rephrase it accordingly.

I personally do know of google exams and reseller training including SEO and that costs around 1000 us dollars.

The person in charge of seo has taken the google online course, fullfilled the adwords requirements and completed the exam so he knows seo.
Virtuaboy

That being said, there is still no standard for knowing SEO. I can make up a class, charge you $5,000 for it, and give you a sheet of paper saying that you passed. That doesn't make it legit. And when there's no standard, there's nothing that a class has to teach you.

**ADAM Web Design** · 12-22-2006, 03:09 PM

Well said, waffles. I'd give you TP for the comments, but I gotta spread the love some more first.

**chris beck** · 12-22-2006, 04:47 PM

I like everything but the logo.. maybe add a bit more color?

**jordban** · 12-23-2006, 06:48 AM

I liked it, no comments