Help me improve my website's design
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Hello all!
I've launched a new website, not getting too many members so could you please help me by taking a look at the website :http://www.thepetkeeper.in
and telling me if there is anything off-putting about the design.
Improvements may also be suggested. :)
I greatly appreciate any help, thank you!
Regards
JD46
I've launched a new website, not getting too many members so could you please help me by taking a look at the website :http://www.thepetkeeper.in
and telling me if there is anything off-putting about the design.
Improvements may also be suggested. :)
I greatly appreciate any help, thank you!
Regards
JD46
Thank you John, for the insight, pretty eye opening.
Tell me ig I've understood you correctly:
Reduce font sizes overall
Create a registration funnel (no clue- will read up) assuming that's a set of text that eventually leads to a register button?
Populate the forum
Yes I have google analytics, though I need to familiarize my self with the terminology like 'Bounce' etc it would be nice if you could explain the most important ones in your reply, thanks for the look
Regards
Tell me ig I've understood you correctly:
Reduce font sizes overall
Create a registration funnel (no clue- will read up) assuming that's a set of text that eventually leads to a register button?
Populate the forum
Yes I have google analytics, though I need to familiarize my self with the terminology like 'Bounce' etc it would be nice if you could explain the most important ones in your reply, thanks for the look
Regards
Funnel is also explained on the Google Analytics site, as is bounce.
Bounce is those who click in and straight out again.
Generally, the idea is that no matter where a user starts, you make it easy for them and subconsciously encourage (not force) to click their way to the outcome you want (ie funnel them).
As well as reducing the font size to a more normal web size, you also need to think hard about what it is saying. The usual marketing advice is to put yourself in the head of a reader who is constantly questioning "what's in it for me?", "what do I get out of this?", "am I bored yet?", "is this hard work?"
Bounce is those who click in and straight out again.
Generally, the idea is that no matter where a user starts, you make it easy for them and subconsciously encourage (not force) to click their way to the outcome you want (ie funnel them).
As well as reducing the font size to a more normal web size, you also need to think hard about what it is saying. The usual marketing advice is to put yourself in the head of a reader who is constantly questioning "what's in it for me?", "what do I get out of this?", "am I bored yet?", "is this hard work?"
Thanks John some of that's really helpful and I'll keep it in mind when I revamp the website! :)
On a side note would you have any tips on designing a website logo? I'm getting a lot of critique on the fact that it's just plain text.
Regards
JD46
On a side note would you have any tips on designing a website logo? I'm getting a lot of critique on the fact that it's just plain text.
Regards
JD46
Solve several problems in one go by running a logo competitin.
Hmm interesting idea, but what can I offer in return? The logo competition would need visitors, of which I don't have too many.
You could do with a tagline too to set the tone and say quickly what the website is about.
Actually you have this sentence "This website is for animal lovers across the world!" That could be an ok tagline as it is informative enough (could be improved) but at the moment, it is the last sentence at the bottom of the home page.
You need an accent color that would allow you to really emphasize the things you want to be really obvious (the funnel that John talked about, needs this). At the moment you are using that sky blue color bu there is too much of it so it doesn't emphasize much anymore.
For the funnel you need to think about what you really want visitors to do. Is it to register? To start sharing info? To ask questions?...
For the logo, a competition is a good idea, indeed there is the matter of the prize but some might just do it for the kick of it. If you find yourself in a situation where you have to design your own logo, I strongly suggest you find a free font you like somewhere and create a simple text based logo yourself. It's simple enough, can give great results, and will take you only a few minutes. What's more, for your type of activity, an incredibly good and instantly recognizable logo might not be absolutely necessary. I might be wrong though.
The about page is not really bringing anything to the website right now. Maybe you should consider calling it "Our philosophy" or something like that and rewrite the text to be less impersonal. Use "you" and "we". Try to tell a story, maybe a personal story. You are creating a community based on its users' good will and sense of community, you might want to convey that idea. through a careful choice of words.
You might want to get rid of the search page and have instead a search bar somewhere top or side of each page so no need to go load another page. A search functionality should be available from wherever the user is.
Last but not least, you should try to avoid typos as much as possible.
Actually you have this sentence "This website is for animal lovers across the world!" That could be an ok tagline as it is informative enough (could be improved) but at the moment, it is the last sentence at the bottom of the home page.
You need an accent color that would allow you to really emphasize the things you want to be really obvious (the funnel that John talked about, needs this). At the moment you are using that sky blue color bu there is too much of it so it doesn't emphasize much anymore.
For the funnel you need to think about what you really want visitors to do. Is it to register? To start sharing info? To ask questions?...
For the logo, a competition is a good idea, indeed there is the matter of the prize but some might just do it for the kick of it. If you find yourself in a situation where you have to design your own logo, I strongly suggest you find a free font you like somewhere and create a simple text based logo yourself. It's simple enough, can give great results, and will take you only a few minutes. What's more, for your type of activity, an incredibly good and instantly recognizable logo might not be absolutely necessary. I might be wrong though.
The about page is not really bringing anything to the website right now. Maybe you should consider calling it "Our philosophy" or something like that and rewrite the text to be less impersonal. Use "you" and "we". Try to tell a story, maybe a personal story. You are creating a community based on its users' good will and sense of community, you might want to convey that idea. through a careful choice of words.
You might want to get rid of the search page and have instead a search bar somewhere top or side of each page so no need to go load another page. A search functionality should be available from wherever the user is.
Last but not least, you should try to avoid typos as much as possible.
Thank you mnakalay!
That was very detailed and I will be looking at implementing a lot of these changes!.
Anyway, I'm glad to say that I've finished redoing the Homepage, I did it myself, do let let that change your opinion:P Let me know you'll like it! :D
Have a look:http://www.thepetkeeper.in
That was very detailed and I will be looking at implementing a lot of these changes!.
Anyway, I'm glad to say that I've finished redoing the Homepage, I did it myself, do let let that change your opinion:P Let me know you'll like it! :D
Have a look:http://www.thepetkeeper.in
Something is wrong, all I'm getting is an error message
Fatal error: Call to a member function getBlockTypeHandle() on a non-object in /home/webadmin/thepetkeeper.in/html/concrete/libraries/block_view_template.php on line 41
Actually, I get that error message if I go onhttp://www.thepetkeeper.in
If I omit the www then I get to your website and I can see the new logo but only the header loads. After that it keeps loading forever but nothing appears other than the header
If I omit the www then I get to your website and I can see the new logo but only the header loads. After that it keeps loading forever but nothing appears other than the header
Oh dear! :O Thanks for bringing that to my attention! :D
The website is accessible at thepetkeeper.in
The website is accessible at thepetkeeper.in
Working now.
It's getting better. Keep up the good work.
It's getting better. Keep up the good work.
Thank you mnakalay, good to know :) Working on the forums now.
http://www.thepetkeeper.in/ doesn't work for me either. Also you have some javascript (Google analytics I think) showing at the bottom.
The arial black font you have chosen for the top and some other boxes doesn't show up for me (I have the font installed) and shows the browser default font instead which in my case is a serif font looks too small. You may want to include san serif in the CSS just in case.
The grey on blue for Announcements is hard to read.
Maybe try to get more cute animal pics in since the site is about animals and I think you have too many boxes. I also find the borders unattractive.
I think your main nav could do with a bit of work as well ... at the moment it breaks over 2 lines which is not nice.
The logo and banner look a bit jagged ... try and make it smoother.
Good luck
The arial black font you have chosen for the top and some other boxes doesn't show up for me (I have the font installed) and shows the browser default font instead which in my case is a serif font looks too small. You may want to include san serif in the CSS just in case.
The grey on blue for Announcements is hard to read.
Maybe try to get more cute animal pics in since the site is about animals and I think you have too many boxes. I also find the borders unattractive.
I think your main nav could do with a bit of work as well ... at the moment it breaks over 2 lines which is not nice.
The logo and banner look a bit jagged ... try and make it smoother.
Good luck
Hi Keeasti!
Thank you for taking the time to review it!:D Now there's many interesting things in your reply, for instance the announcements block is white so I don't know why you see it as grey :S
Yes I know about the code showing up I have no clue why! :( Any idea?
Additionally what are your details, I checked the website on firefox, looks fine, are you a Mac user?
Hmm I just finished adding the borders :( That's really sad news to get, but thank you.
Hmm, could you suggest a place to put such pictures, I have a bunch lying around.
Yes I would try to improve the font in the logo but that's just not improving! : / Also the cat is jagged and I don't know why because I simply superimposed.
On a side note I know it's a new website and it's a turn off to see an empty forum but you seem to be a pet owner, care to join? :D
Thank you for taking the time to review it!:D Now there's many interesting things in your reply, for instance the announcements block is white so I don't know why you see it as grey :S
Yes I know about the code showing up I have no clue why! :( Any idea?
Additionally what are your details, I checked the website on firefox, looks fine, are you a Mac user?
Hmm I just finished adding the borders :( That's really sad news to get, but thank you.
Hmm, could you suggest a place to put such pictures, I have a bunch lying around.
Yes I would try to improve the font in the logo but that's just not improving! : / Also the cat is jagged and I don't know why because I simply superimposed.
On a side note I know it's a new website and it's a turn off to see an empty forum but you seem to be a pet owner, care to join? :D
Ok.. at a very quick, tired glance (after being up for almost 32 hrs) -
As Mnakalay mentioned already; Going tohttp://www.thepetkeeper.in/ ; I get this error-
Going tohttp://thepetkeeper.in/ works fine.
Tried to fix your logo but not sure if I just made it worse.. see attachment.
Will try to have another look at some stage when I have more energy.
As Mnakalay mentioned already; Going tohttp://www.thepetkeeper.in/ ; I get this error-
Fatal error: Call to a member function getBlockTypeHandle() on a non-object in /home/webadmin/thepetkeeper.in/html/concrete/libraries/block_view_template.php on line 41
Going tohttp://thepetkeeper.in/ works fine.
Tried to fix your logo but not sure if I just made it worse.. see attachment.
Will try to have another look at some stage when I have more energy.
Hello Wagdi!
Really big of you to help me fix those images! :) Really appreciate it thank you!As for the pictures the editing is pretty good the text has been smoothed over ! How did you do that?! As for that effect on the cat, I'm really not sure if that's the look I want to go for it looks good, I'm just not certain.
And yes I'm aware of the error, working on getting it fixed but I don't know what could be causing it.
Regards
JD46
Really big of you to help me fix those images! :) Really appreciate it thank you!As for the pictures the editing is pretty good the text has been smoothed over ! How did you do that?! As for that effect on the cat, I'm really not sure if that's the look I want to go for it looks good, I'm just not certain.
And yes I'm aware of the error, working on getting it fixed but I don't know what could be causing it.
Regards
JD46
Hi, my name is Sam, I am a designer, programmer & Marketer.
1. Legitimacy of an item will be determined in the first 3 seconds of an experience. I don't want to be harsh but at first glance I would think this is a much older site that is no longer maintained.
Images: Humans experience the world through images, unless you have a specific reason your icons should be colorful and grab attention. The cat image needs to not have static around it.
Fonts: Your fonts in the petkeeper image are grating to look at. I just had an architect lecture me for using Arial font on a site I just did, do don't feel bad, use a font that is soft and inviting. also your fonts look to be set at around 12px, My rule of thumb is 14px, even something so little as small font that is a tiny strain to read will turn someone off, even if they LOVE the topic.
Design:
Menu: An all text menu is fine, but there should be some sort of text decoration in CSS, What you currently have is so smashed together that that the underlines on the top line actually run into the links on the bottom. Either increase your line height or create simpler menu (do the second one)
Boxes: you are using a design technique for your boxes that has not been in use for almost 12 years. Really since CSS has been around. I would use something more along these lines
also announcements is grey and blends in with the blue.
To sum it up from a design point, change the font, clean up your images, simplify the menu and change your boxes (use your boxes judiciously,not everything needs to be in a box, like the word 'features' free your features text)
On the good side, i love the color scheme for this topic, and I like the way the site is laid out
1. Legitimacy of an item will be determined in the first 3 seconds of an experience. I don't want to be harsh but at first glance I would think this is a much older site that is no longer maintained.
Images: Humans experience the world through images, unless you have a specific reason your icons should be colorful and grab attention. The cat image needs to not have static around it.
Fonts: Your fonts in the petkeeper image are grating to look at. I just had an architect lecture me for using Arial font on a site I just did, do don't feel bad, use a font that is soft and inviting. also your fonts look to be set at around 12px, My rule of thumb is 14px, even something so little as small font that is a tiny strain to read will turn someone off, even if they LOVE the topic.
Design:
Menu: An all text menu is fine, but there should be some sort of text decoration in CSS, What you currently have is so smashed together that that the underlines on the top line actually run into the links on the bottom. Either increase your line height or create simpler menu (do the second one)
Boxes: you are using a design technique for your boxes that has not been in use for almost 12 years. Really since CSS has been around. I would use something more along these lines
background-color: white; background-image: url("/files/5313/5556/1679/featuresbg.png"); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 100% 100%; border: 1px solid #FFFFFF; border-radius: 5px 5px 5px 5px; box-shadow: 2px 2px 5px #595959; margin: 0 15px 15px; width: 314px;
also announcements is grey and blends in with the blue.
To sum it up from a design point, change the font, clean up your images, simplify the menu and change your boxes (use your boxes judiciously,not everything needs to be in a box, like the word 'features' free your features text)
On the good side, i love the color scheme for this topic, and I like the way the site is laid out
That stings, but okay I will take it as constructive criticism.
Okay I found it hard to find colorful icons that were good quality and royalty free, so you're going to have to point me in the right direction for this one. :)
Okay so you recommend 14 px font size and what font? you never got to that bit?
Yes I'll try to get things more organized so that the menu is short any doesn't have to enter a second line at all.
That was uncalled for.I'm not really a designer just a pet owner so I don't understand the coding thing you just posted. :S
Okay, I'll reduce the usage of boxes to something decent.
All in all for the time being I want an average design that's not off putting and is tolerable. Do you think I've gotten there? That's all I need to know. In the future I will probably hire someone to design the website for me but that's a long term plan.
Thanks for the feedback.
Okay I found it hard to find colorful icons that were good quality and royalty free, so you're going to have to point me in the right direction for this one. :)
Okay so you recommend 14 px font size and what font? you never got to that bit?
Yes I'll try to get things more organized so that the menu is short any doesn't have to enter a second line at all.
That was uncalled for.I'm not really a designer just a pet owner so I don't understand the coding thing you just posted. :S
Okay, I'll reduce the usage of boxes to something decent.
All in all for the time being I want an average design that's not off putting and is tolerable. Do you think I've gotten there? That's all I need to know. In the future I will probably hire someone to design the website for me but that's a long term plan.
Thanks for the feedback.
Sorry, I have been hanging around to many programmer forums, they truly tear apart work, but its all constructive, If they didn't want to help they would not take the time to respond. Know that by creating this you have gone farther then most people would even attempt, you took that dive to create from an idea where most people would just sit around talking and you should be commended for that.
That also means you are now hanging around a bunch of people that have felt the sting of defeat and the taste of success, comments from people in this realm are more direct because we want to see others succeed.
I set up a quick tutorial (It is attached to this post) on how to use the CSS I posted, It tells what each line does and where to put it. Even if you dont use the css that was sent over you will have a good understanding of the css function in concrete5.
Headfirst HTML & CSS, I would look into getting that book. I was a coding dunce before I read that and it changed my life.
Best of luck to you, I was given a lot of help by a lot of people on this forum when I first started so if you need any other help or have questions let me know
-Sam
That also means you are now hanging around a bunch of people that have felt the sting of defeat and the taste of success, comments from people in this realm are more direct because we want to see others succeed.
I set up a quick tutorial (It is attached to this post) on how to use the CSS I posted, It tells what each line does and where to put it. Even if you dont use the css that was sent over you will have a good understanding of the css function in concrete5.
Headfirst HTML & CSS, I would look into getting that book. I was a coding dunce before I read that and it changed my life.
Best of luck to you, I was given a lot of help by a lot of people on this forum when I first started so if you need any other help or have questions let me know
-Sam
Hi again,
I really agree with everything that's being said but right now it seems I can't access teh website, with or without www it just seems offline
I really agree with everything that's being said but right now it seems I can't access teh website, with or without www it just seems offline
Hey again! :D
Yes I am aware and though I don't know why I think at the moment it's because there's some shifting going on in that server since I'm getting it to myself. And idea on how to solve the www problem?
Yes I am aware and though I don't know why I think at the moment it's because there's some shifting going on in that server since I'm getting it to myself. And idea on how to solve the www problem?
Concerning your logo, and its jagged edges, I assume you are using photoshop and that the jagged parts are made using the text tool.
In that case you could smooth it up by selecting on of anti-aliasing options (sharp, Crisp, strong, smooth)
In that case you could smooth it up by selecting on of anti-aliasing options (sharp, Crisp, strong, smooth)
Yet again Thanks a lot! That's spot on! :D
Have you considered getting a ready made theme, either from the C5 marketplace or Themeforest or similar ... it could provide you with a good starting point for a low payment ($15-$20)?
I know you would be starting from scratch but sometimes that is not a bad idea!
Site is completely down for me as well now btw.
I know you would be starting from scratch but sometimes that is not a bad idea!
Site is completely down for me as well now btw.
Hello keasti!
Thanks for the suggestion but sadly I don't have a cent on me. The website is back up! :D the www. is failing only for the home page so I'm going to fix that soon don't worry :D the rest of the website is up. And taking the advice of my friend I changed the forum to a subdomain run on punBB, I think things will really start picking up now! :D Yet again, please join if you can find the time will post the link here in a while( installing the forum right now. :) Is that a lhasa apso you own? It's adorable! :D And I've worked at a vet's clinic ;D
Thanks for the suggestion but sadly I don't have a cent on me. The website is back up! :D the www. is failing only for the home page so I'm going to fix that soon don't worry :D the rest of the website is up. And taking the advice of my friend I changed the forum to a subdomain run on punBB, I think things will really start picking up now! :D Yet again, please join if you can find the time will post the link here in a while( installing the forum right now. :) Is that a lhasa apso you own? It's adorable! :D And I've worked at a vet's clinic ;D
No worries ... there are many good free themes available as well you know. Good luck with everything.
It's a Maltese and it kinda owns me :)
It's a Maltese and it kinda owns me :)
Yes there are! Haha! Sounds like you could do with watching the Dog whisperer ;) Great show!
I get the general impression I am being shouted at with no clear message. There is plenty of bold garish text that assaults me, but doesn't clearly tell me why I would want to or need to sign up. There is no obvious 'funnel' or 'route' to follow.
Forums and blogs need to have a critical mass of current content before anyone will post. If I am looking for advice and I find an empty forum or one that has not been touched for a month or more, I look elsewhere.
Do you have Googel Anaytics on the site? That will tell the browsing patterns of vsitors, bounce rate, repeat visitors etc. By tracking login/registration, it will also give 'conversion' rates.