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View Full Version : I Am Redesigning My Site - Any Tips??



AndToBeLoved
2012-06-08, 01:39 PM
I hope this is the right forum for this thread... I am in the process of redesigning my site and was hoping to get a little feedback. Below is an example of the new main page. If anyone has any tips or suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated! You can view the current site design here: http://www.andtobeloved.com/archive/chapter-eight-page-142-jpg/

http://i49.tinypic.com/v4wf13.jpg

Welknair
2012-06-08, 01:41 PM
I do believe the arts and crafts section may be a bit more appropriate. I wish you luck!

Djinn_in_Tonic
2012-06-08, 02:46 PM
Arts and Crafts would be the correct subforum. Homebrew Design is for Pen & Paper RPG related creations.

Regardless, since I am a design guy...

The current design is far superior. The title is clear and simple, there is no distracting ad separating the comic from the title (ads are often the VERY top thing, but I would never have one between the title and the content), and the menu and comic navigation bars are clear, concise, and obvious.

The new design has a bright and garish color scheme, and the flames serve as distraction rather than as decoration. Maybe if the comic were about demons or something it would be more appropriate. I'm also not sold on the dark red scrawl on a yellow/brownish-yellow background for the menu links, nor on the staggers comic navigation panel.

The current set-up is simplistic, yes...but it's also effective and a bit elegant in its simplicity. Further, it has high clarity and readability, and the flow of the page directs you to the comic very efficiently. The proposed change is more chaotic, more disjointed, and, overall, I'd saw a decrease in presentation quality rather than an increase.

AndToBeLoved
2012-06-08, 04:48 PM
Arts and Crafts would be the correct subforum. Homebrew Design is for Pen & Paper RPG related creations.

Regardless, since I am a design guy...

The current design is far superior. The title is clear and simple, there is no distracting ad separating the comic from the title (ads are often the VERY top thing, but I would never have one between the title and the content), and the menu and comic navigation bars are clear, concise, and obvious.

The new design has a bright and garish color scheme, and the flames serve as distraction rather than as decoration. Maybe if the comic were about demons or something it would be more appropriate. I'm also not sold on the dark red scrawl on a yellow/brownish-yellow background for the menu links, nor on the staggers comic navigation panel.

The current set-up is simplistic, yes...but it's also effective and a bit elegant in its simplicity. Further, it has high clarity and readability, and the flow of the page directs you to the comic very efficiently. The proposed change is more chaotic, more disjointed, and, overall, I'd saw a decrease in presentation quality rather than an increase.


Oh man, I totally forgot to point out that the new title is just a place holder until we redesign the banner. Sorry, and thanks for pointing it out. So disregard the new title entirely.

I'll also say that we ARE going for bright and vibrant (this is in fact an LGBT comedy series). We don't want garish though, so maybe we should tone it down just a tad. The flames are a toss up becuase they will not be understood by everyone. The comic is a Bright Eyes influenced series, and the flames are an homage to the latest Bright Eyes album.

And yeah, we weren't sure about the top banner ad, so that will be moved.

Thanks for your feedback, it will all be taken into consideration.

AndToBeLoved
2012-06-09, 05:06 PM
Do you think it would look better to put those side tabs back along the top (similar to how the site already is)?

Othesemo
2012-06-09, 05:17 PM
I'm just going to chip in and say that I much prefer the first design. The proposed change just annoys me, and it offers no mechanical improvements.

eftexar
2012-06-09, 07:24 PM
I second othesemo. A real quick run through of the major problems I see on a quick scan (and please remember I'm trying not to be mean, but it probably will come off that way):


The flames are gaudy and worst of all don't define the links, and what color will the links be on rollover and click
The textures don't match with the un-textured parts
The backing doesn't extend down with the comments
The navigation between pages, in addition to not being defined, is either staggered or takes up a multiple lines which is usually a no-no
because of the centered layout placing ads on either side will look bad unless you expand the box to include them
if you're not being paid for the advertising you should have a link page instead. Anyways the click through rates on non-targeted ads is abysmal (under 1%), though being comics you probably have somewhat better chances with your limited audience, especially if you plan to use google ads
Red is more often seen in a negative view, creating feelings of danger and aggression; yellow is much safer with its negative connotations not as prominent
I hope those links aren't red on red or orange, because red is one of the most common colors for people to be color-blind for. Though it did pass the gray-scale test, so it isn't too abysmal.
The title doesn't have a bounding box. A header or title should always be well defined and pop out from the site as to be memorable. Your previous one could even pass for a logo, this could not
The website is much too thin to have side links instead of top links. Considering they are in the most viewable area of the web page they will draw too much attention from the comic unless it is pulled off right.
The backdrop has no border and isn't even rounded, leaving this un-aesthetic drop off to the actual backround.
Handwritten fonts should never be used unless your theme is handwritten, Egyptian, or you are selling tea & herbal supplements.
Your main venue is visual (the comic), but my eyes are drawn more to the backdrop. I should never be distracted from what I am reading, unless you have some reason to do so (ads you want to make money off of being the prime example).


Meanwhile your original site is professional and looks great. The navigation you have originally is intuitive and good looking. The yellow isn't the greatest shade of yellow I've ever seen, but doesn't distract from the comic and doesn't make me feel angry just looking at it.

AndToBeLoved
2012-06-09, 07:58 PM
Thanks for the feedback, eftexar. I don't take it as mean at all. This is exactly the kind of feedback I was hoping for: opinion followed by explanation.

We're going to do some redesigns as soon as we get the chance, hopefully in the next day or two, and then I'll repost.

A few general comments: the title card is just a placeholder until we redesign the original one, so pay no mind to the title of the new site design. It will be changed completely and then lowered down beneath the top banner. We are going to tone down the brightness of the background and maybe change a few colors. We're also going to move the side tabs back up to the top like they originally were. As this is a comic site, we do intend to keep the hand written fonts (besides the title). But I had never once considered the color blind issue, so that will be taken into account. And I have to disagree about your comment in regards to the proper usage of handwritten fonts, in general, but to each his own. And yes, we do make money off the site so banner ads on the main page are very important (although we will have a links subpage somewhere else). We would still really like to keep the flame element in some way shape or form, but we plan on trying something else. Not sure what just yet though.

Thanks again, I'll repost the re-re-designed page soon…

AndToBeLoved
2012-06-12, 01:04 AM
Alrighty folks, I did some more work on the redesign and basically started from scratch. I went in a completely different direction with the color schemes and toned down a lot of the potentially distracting imagery. Thanks for the feedback so far, and I’d love to get some more input on this new design. (PS: You may not be able to tell from the image below, the background and menu/navigation boxes have a slight “paper” texture to them.)
http://i47.tinypic.com/2ush4ro.jpg

eftexar
2012-06-12, 03:33 PM
This is definitely better, though I still like the original more. Everything is contained and the colors won't draw from the comic. I think the navigation needs to be at the top and bottom of the comic. Other than that it look sound.

AndToBeLoved
2012-06-14, 04:29 PM
Cool, thanks. This is the design we will be using, with probably a few minor adjustments along the way as it is built.

AndToBeLoved
2012-08-03, 08:42 PM
Just wanted to let everyone know that the site redesign is complete and you can view the new site here: http://www.andtobeloved.com/comics/.

There's still a few minor glitches that need to be looked at, but overall we are very happy with the final result. Thanks for all the helpful feedback!