So for Christmas i made my brother a website, he's a second hard car dealer but has no web presence, so thought it would be nice for him. The problem is, I cant make it look good! Im also running out of time, obviously, so was hoping I could get some feedback on what people thought and comments for improvement http://www.seanbunting.co.uk/index.php Things im looking for include stuff I may have missed, nice features I might want to include, things that look awful (in your opinion!), etc etc Thank you!
I'd combine the header bar selection thing (the thing that switches between various cars you currently have) into one, rather than the two you have at the moment. Also, I'd do away with the links at the top of each advert that quick-links you to the correct part of the page, since it's unlikely that there'll be any need to. Other than that, I'd say "Contact us" rather than "Message me" as it makes it sound like a more professional undertaking. Again, where you have the description of the business, use more general terms like "we" otherwise it makes him sound like a back-street dodgy second hand car dealer. One other thing to consider, what if he's got lots of cars to advertise? How will they be found? If it's just by the search, that could be annoying for any potential customers vs just browsing. Does the page extend in length as the number of cars increases? I'm no expert at website design, but these are my immediate feelings about the site...
To add to the above, it annoys me that I have to mouse over the exact car advert to make it scroll, makes it clunky to use, especially when you have to select the car you want to look at in a different place on the left, then mouse back right again to scroll through the advert. Personally I'd make the whole page scroll. On a general navigation note you can't use the back/forwards button which feels awkward. On the message me page you've put "all forms are required"; you may mean fields. And if you're stating that, why do they have an asterisk next to them? That's usually done when not all are needed. The way it's done at the moment I'd combine the main page and the message me into one 'About/Contact'. Unless you're planning on having "car of the week" or something on the main page. I also agree with a search function that lets you narrow it down to type of vehicle etc, rather than knowing what's there in order to enter the correct term. All that said, it's a great present!
Thanks for the feedback so far, lots of great points. Can you clarify this a bit please? Im sure sure I understand what you mean, surely you have to click the advert you want to see it? WRG to the search he likely wont have more than about 5-10 cars at any one time so mass quantity isnt an issue. edit: oh I get it, you would rather the whole thing scroll than just the individual boxes?
Stuff Changed: Message me to Contact us changed Made the listing on the left a bit smaller to make it a bit quicker to see everythign available fixed the contact us page so asterix' are removed and language is a bit better Removed quick links from the showCar page Im leaving some of the other changes until I get a few more comments as they are a bit more work. Is the AJAX nature of the page (the non reloading of the pages) annoying for many? Would it benefit from a "recently viewed" priority on the list on the left? (+rep, thanks guys ) edit: Maybe if the images of the car at the top of the page? Presumably thats what people would want to see first?
Personally I find having colour fade into one another makes it seem less aggressive, but that's probably personal taste. I would move the left hand column into a separate page of the site that spans the whole width, that you can then open each vehicle in a new tab (maybe a 3 by x grid?). If I was looking for a car I'd want to compare all the different options that peak my interest. It's going to be a great gift when you're done
I don't suppose you have any suggestions for colour schemes I might like to employ? I have to say im not happy with the colours and a chance to improve them would be great! Thanks, take a look at this: http://www.seanbunting.co.uk/car.php?car_id=2 Would that be the kind of thing you want to be able to open in its new tab? (+rep! thanks )
I would change the car description, car information, etc links to "Block" links to fit in more with your theme. Also have the Motobility Logo blend in with the rest of the footer.
What do you mean by block links? Not sure what you mean by this. Ill have a think about the motability thing, I actually quite like it like that (not the point of a critique thread I know... we will see if anybody else says anything ).
Like when you hover over the links in the header, the highlight is a block as well as the link. It should be easy to implement.
No, like how you have the blue background for the car information (e.g. manufacturer has a blue background), do the same for the links and have the link "block" change colour when you hover over it. The blocky links would look better imo.
Aaaah, ok. Ill have a look at that, thanks Anybody else? This feels pretty laid back for "critique my website" thread!
I dont know why your rep is red, but if it is to highlight the pointless nature of your posts then you can add a little extra red for that one
