Constructive Criticism on Newly Launched Site

[Odin Outline]

Hi,

I'm looking for some constructive criticism on my newly launched site www.odinoutline.com

I have yet to implement an automated system to handle instant sign-ups etc. Eventually I will get there.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated in terms of any aspect

Thanks in advance

 

[Venom Rush]

- Use a different font like Trebuchet or Tohoma. It'll give your site an almost unnoticed edge over the Arial font. Arial is so overused.
- Create hover states for your navigation at the top like you've done for the price list button on your home page.
- Darken the lime green headings that appear on white anywhere in your site (eg. where you choose your hosting package on services, the bronze, silver and gold). Lime green on a white background causes one's eyes to strain.

EDIT: - Create some space on the left and right in your main content area so that your copy and images aren't so close to the edge of the white container (10px - 15px). Space is your friend.

 

[crazy_cat]

So when i initially looked at the services page, i was not too sure what the main offering of the site was - there is just too much services and offerings happening. Should I be looking at the service breakdown section first or the getting started section?

It seems to me that the right hand side is the main services offered - so focus more that area. In terms of getting started, getting started with? There is a definite link between "check for you domain" to "choose your hosting package" (like a step 1 and step 2) which I think needs to be more focussed on.

Looking a bit more you may want classify all your offerings into Categories eg. Web Hosting, Graphic and Web Design and then further expand on the individual service offerings.

Have you thought of using a grid system such as 960.gs? There are psd templates available

Aesthetics

• The black text on the right hand side needs more clarity (maybe remove/reduce the font effects)
• The Lime green on white does not work ( too little contrast to the background and makes it difficult to read)
• I am not sure what the intention was, but the lower part of the site seems to be out of sync ( the recent design and the contact us sections) mis-aligned, incorrectly placed - I am not sure but it seems off.
  
• You may want to consider stretching the right hand side white section all the way to the bottom of the page.
• Text spacing - there is not enough spacing between each section with the "services breakdown" section. Reduce the line spacing between the description and the heading ( and maybe increase the line spacing between each service section).
• The textured backgrounds are cool, but I feel that it may be slightly overdone. Visually there is too much going on.
• On the Right-hand side - the text alignment may be better if right aligned
• Link your logo back to your home-page!!

 

[Odin Outline]

Awesome, will go through this & amend.

Thanks for the input

 

[Raithlin]

Check your spelling/grammar. Crucial to get a professional impression across. There aren't many errors, but I found at least one on every page.

Another point, although not so critical: Implement client-side validation on your contact form. The user shouldn't have to hit enter to be told they missed something. This is simple enough using a library. Keep the existing validation in place, and provide a "Go back" link on the error page.

I hope you have a good spam bot - you'll need it for the email address once bots pick up your page. Consider encrypting it using hexadecimal in the source code. Tutorials/converters on the web. Also, you may want to consider implementing a simple captcha field for your contact form to prevent bots hammering you that way too.