A site under construction needs initial review

**tonya** · 04-15-2004, 02:08 PM

This is a site for a local small business who is a friend. She wants it based around her business card whcih has these coloured lines around them.

http://www.lilacinteriors.co.uk

comments so far appreciated - i do know that i need to resize my sidegraphics - make them shorter perhaps.

Tonya

**Jcgeuze** · 04-16-2004, 01:08 PM

Hi,

I have to say it has a really amateuristic (spelling?) feeling about it.

What is the business about?

**tonya** · 04-16-2004, 02:34 PM

Eventually it will be pictures of soft furnishings and curtains, cushions etc etc. The business cards have been done in publisher and are printed hershelf and have these lines which she wants to replicate around the site.

I am not sure how best to do them & at the moment have resorted to creating these graphics. The background was to try & lift a bit of colour rather than make it these harsh purples & all white.

maybe just top & bottom lines ???

**Jcgeuze** · 04-16-2004, 04:05 PM

try to make the white a bit softer, and use a different font.

Its a very difficult color set to work with

**AmyD** · 04-16-2004, 04:06 PM

I think the lines all the way around are ok. Especially since it'll match her card.

On the contact page, I might start the page's content a little lower. Give the header graphic a little room.

Can you get the ovals not to pixelate? I know I had that problem when I used anti-aliasing option when I create files in photoshop - I'm not sure if that'll fix the issue for you or not. It'd be great if the ovals could be nice and smooth.

You mentioned making the navigation ovals smaller. If you don't do that, I'd at least move the content to the right a little on the home page. It feels a little crowded between the ovals and the text.

On the pages where there isn't alot of content, can you get rid of all that white space? I guess if you're planning on filling it in it'll be ok, but for now the page goes on for a bit after the content ends (on my 800x600 I have to scroll through nothingness to get to the copyright and address stuff).

I really like the lilac interiors logo - the words with the differnt shades of lilac in the sort of large patchwork pattern coming through the letters. I can almost see that it says "lilac interiors" in the background as the page is loading (happens too fast) but once it's loaded, I see pieces of the words on the edges - not consitently though. It's always on the right edge of the screen, never on the top or left, and on the bottom of the contact page. Maybe it's the size of the background image that makes it hit or miss as far as whether you're going to see it or not. I like the idea of that background - I'm not sure if I'd try to tweak that or not.

Can't wait to see the products

AmyD

**Brad Birmingham** · 04-16-2004, 05:48 PM

Looking good so far. My only suggestion would be on your "Home, Contact Us, Samples, and Quotes" buttons, you should soften the edges of them. Using photoshop to blure the edges would be a quick fix, but there are many ways to do it. Also, for the buttons, if you used a more "straight-line" font, it would match the rest of the font on the page.

**wicko3** · 04-17-2004, 06:35 AM

I think the colour scheme is going down the too-obvious route of being just lilac because the company name is lilac interiors. Sure, put in a bit of lilac, but I would recommend another main colour with it.

Your friend may want the website to resemble the business card, but you must remember that the two are totally different media, and just because the pink borders work on the business card, doesn't mean that they work on the web site.

The buttons are too big, and I think the use of Comic Sans in the buttons is what made your first reviewer call the site amateuristic. I think the buttons would look better as rounded rectangles, in kind of the same way as the border is rounded at the corners. I would also go for a more professional font.

I've just switched to 1024*768 resolution, and the site looks a load better, because the borders make a good frame against the background which I can now see. I would recommend making the site narrower, so even on 800*600 there is about 40px gap at the left and right margin, as this looks good.

Good luck with the development of the site, and I look forward to seeing the finished version.

Regards,

**cookiemonster** · 04-17-2004, 06:42 AM

**cookiemonster** · 04-17-2004, 06:52 AM

Your background image "Lilac Interiors" draws too much attention from the main content page. The buttons are not seamless enough and look less professional in comic sans font. Mouseover only works well when the "buttons" do NOT look like buttons, otherwise it will give a very 90s' web-design look. The border is a nice touch and should be kept and refined if you are keeping the layout unchanged. You may also want to refine the gif corner_tl.gif, corner_tr.gif, and the bottom ones to make them smoother. You can do this easily if you apply a matte layer that matches the background of your site prior to selecting the transparancy of the gif.

I hope you don't mind me throwing all these negative comments about the site. Just wishing to help.

**tonya** · 04-17-2004, 01:17 PM

Thanks all I really appreciate the comments it gives a direction to move in. At teh end of the day no comment can be negative (unless simply destructive and rude_) as they are your thoughts and feedback is good.

Comic sans yes I agree a no no. I have changed the buttons opted for the elegant font used in the logo and made them smaller as wella s more square. Any good ?

The color scheme is her signature thing & works well with her so its gotta stay and she likes the lines too & the background. I have made the table smaller though so even on 800 x 600 this should work a little better & yes its a tiled background I cant really control too much where the text lies except yup its better viewed on a slightly higher res !

Still a work in progress .... so keep somments rolling !

cheers

**zhalefarin** · 04-18-2004, 01:40 PM

the break right above the links is grey and stands out... perhaps it should be pink

**tonya** · 04-18-2004, 08:01 PM

Hi - can you elaborate - i cant see where the grey break is. Do you mean the shadow on the buttons ?

thanks

**zhalefarin** · 04-18-2004, 10:24 PM

i dont think im using the right word.... but the 'break' is right above the home/contact us/samples/profile. Dont get me wrong, your site is quite amazing and i love how the lilac part looks likes its plaidish <-- if thats a word

**ForumFinders** · 04-19-2004, 03:11 AM

Pretty nice, I like the idea and partially agree with your color scheme because it matches the overall site, I would not put that color for your scrollbar however, my attention kept getting focused on that because it is brighter than the rest of the page, it just stands out. Overall it looks good but looks like it has much work to be done as well. Good luck.

**techwench** · 04-19-2004, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zhalefarin

i dont think im using the right word.... but the 'break' is right above the home/contact us/samples/profile. Dont get me wrong, your site is quite amazing and i love how the lilac part looks likes its plaidish <-- if thats a word

I think zhalefarin is referring to your horizontal rule <HR> line above the bottom nav links. To change the color, you could either specify it with CSS, but HR color is not supported in all browsers. Another workaround is to create a 1x1 pixel gif in the color you want.

**Matimeo** · 04-21-2004, 01:34 PM

I think the Lilac is a bit over done. Maybe try another color, or even just white and use Lilac a little more sparsely sp?
For example you could make the links Lilac, and some headline text. Also lose the tiled background, its just not needed and takes away from the professionalism of the site. I think its a good start just dont over do the Lilac.

**Tuvix** · 04-21-2004, 02:21 PM

Hello,I checked it on 800 by 600 screen resolution, and it is like 5 pixils off from working, cause now I have horrizontal scroll bars (my pet peeve)

On the right, connect the top and the bottom of the border.

The menu at the bottom needs something, I dunno, maybe just capitalize the beginnings of the words.
but now that I look closer, they're the same as the button links above, well, almost.

Why's that?

I suggest a preload script for your rollovers.
Um, try www.javascript.internet.com for that script.
I did it in my site:
www.geocities.com/lcarssubspacedatabase/

Oh, and the title is still "Untitled Document"

That's all I can see wrong with it at the moment.
Hope I gave you some help!!!

**simon71** · 04-28-2004, 10:09 AM

I like it i think it cool not really the colour i would choose but i gather it is for a client and sometimes they really do think they know best.

**lonewolf** · 05-11-2004, 09:40 AM

OK, buttons look pixelated, but if you compress the oval or make it bigger...You can make it into a 3D button or give it some shadow to make up for it. Good choice of colors and layout, Tanya!

Italicus

www.ingleseplus.com/englishpage.htm
(An English-Italian language Project)

**nixies78@yahoo.** · 05-11-2004, 12:23 PM

My messed up broswer makes everything go sqwif, but that not really your fault, you really have stuck to the lilica theme, but I do agree with the ameture stament. Good start.

3/10