Development Named - Site Critique * updated

I'm looking for some feedback on my site redesign before I move it down to the root directory. This site is going to be my blog-type page, so simplicity was the key to design. My main question is this: should I change the layout from being flexible (stretching to the window width) to fixed?

- tf

edit: Updated! It looks different now. Scroll down.

 

i think it looks good

 

Nice site, like you said, simple. A couple of suggestions;

Maybe have a 'contact me' menu item instead of '...posted by taylor fusak' in the title of every article. This is a blog, so I'm guessing you're the only one who's going to be posting articles there.

Have you considered a comments system?

If the page was at maybe 75% of the current width, it would make the text easier to read and allow people's eyes to follow it more naturally. I use 1280x1024, so maybe you could specify different widths for resolutions above 8x6 or 1024x768?

Keep the menu fonts more consistent when they're active links.

On the archives page, make it more obvious that the titles link to the full article. I'm not quite sure how to do this, maybe decorate them to be consistent with your other links or maybe a 'Read more..' link in addition to the title being a link.


You need to put the <h2> outside of the <a> for the page to validate (I think that'll fix it).

 

Thanks for the quick responses.

The reason I did the "posted by ..." instead of a contact link is that I plan to have my other siblings post on here too. Yes, it is a blog, but I'd like for my family to share.

I have considered a comment system, and would like to make one, but I don't have a SQL server. The entire site is driven by flat-file PHP, so it'll take me a while to write a comment system for flat file. It is a feature I really want, though.

Since the layout is elastic, you can just resize the window to set how many words you want per line.

I don't know what you mean about the menu fonts, but when they're active they become bold, white, and not underlined.

I changed the archives page to have explicit links.

- tf

 

I was getting irritated by my own design (strange, I know), mostly because of the black and orange background. It just kept reminding me of Halloween. So, I decided to drastically change the design of the site, and this is the result.



I think that the desaturated colors and white background make the site more welcoming and nice-looking. However, I would still like your comments on it.

One area that still bugs me is the archive. I cannot think of a slick way to link to the entry without repeating "Read" on overy entry. I'd appreciate any novel ways around this problem.

- tf

 

I like the new iteration much more than the original.

 

After trying a variety of different styles, I've settled on making the titles for the entries links to the entry. It is the easiest way to link to each thing without making a repetitive element.

Comments are still welcome. I'm developing a new CMS system that should (hopefully) allow for comments. I'll update when that happens.

- tf

 

Thats a really nice design. Clean, clear and well layout out

Well done

 

There are tons of easy to use CMS's that are premade...

I use Websitebaker myself for general site stuff and blogs...

BTW... site looks good... Definitely subdued...

 

The site appears very relaxed and neutral.

Is your logo, the one with "name" in the middle, going to be that color? I had a little hard time trying to read what it said.

Your copyright and e-mail text is a little hard to read as well. If it was intentional then ignore this. Since the titles to your entries use a bigger sized font, I can read those just fine.

Maybe indent the short discription for the entries a little more than the date and tack on a short vertical bar to show that the discription is part of the entry?

Very nice site though.

 

As suggested, I added a left border to the summaries and added 1ex to the left padding and margin. They should now appear more in-line with the header they are under.

The copyright information is supposed to be almost invisble because it isn't really that important. All it does is link to my email and offer the validation links.

Thanks for the comments, and if you want to get a sneak-peak at the new CMS, check it out, but keep in mind that nothing is guaranteed there. I'm still working on a way to do flat-file comments, but I introduced categories in the new version.

- tf

 

I have to admit though I do like the other design a little too... But it does feel a bit pumpkinish...