I have been developing my first Drupal website from scratch, it is about 80 percent complete, I would greatly appreciate any feedback, suggestions etc...
Looks ok, but i'd get rid of the huge flash thing at the top of every page. It does not add to the content, makes the page heavier and, on a small screen, makes it so that most/all content is below the fold.
Have to agree with the previous commenter, the flash is useless. In fact it is annoying after awhile.
The first thing people are going to do is try to figure out what your site is about. You have 5 seconds to tell them and you are not doing it now.
Consider lifting the language in the "About us" section:
"Young Enterprise is the UK's leading business and enterprise education charity. We inspire and equip young people to learn and succeed through enterprise. Learn how you can help."
I'll admit it the above needs work and specifically how you do it but it least that would get me interested. You get the idea.
Second, thing. Can you provide an example of what you do?
Have to agree with the previous commenter, the flash is useless. In fact it is annoying after awhile.
Thank you for the comments, i have adjusted the flash so that the images sticks much longer and the transition is quicker, i am considering removing it all together, it is currently only on the homepage and the remaining pages have a static image.
most/all content is below the fold
Regarding the page fold issue, should i reduce the header height to about 60/70%? Perhaps?
Second, thing. Can you provide an example of what you do?
Not sure if you meant here or in the actual website...
I am a University Student developing the website for a local charity (young enterprise Dorset) who wish to operate their own website at a local level rather than relying on the national http://www.young-enterprise.org.uk/pub/home.do website.
They also want features such as collaborative blogs, private messaging etc for which I found Drupal + the community infinitely helpful!
However I still feel the site is lacking some professional edge hence asking for some opinions from you guys..
nice clean style .. not to bad. Not to keen on having the navigation on the right hand side and on the top - seems kinda pointless ,unless you can make that navigation scroll down with the page - I would suggest a breadcrumb instead. Also the top buttons like a little cheesy.
I have re-moved the side menu as it was not really necessary as you suggested, the top buttons are required to be that style as it is part of the charity's branding...
I have added a "home" icon to the logo at the top, I am not sure if this is good practice?
regarding "home" image next to the logo, no, it is not a good practice. But it is not a striking "bad" one either.
I liked your site, nice and clean but:
1.regarding your head-row-3 make it from 200px to 100px . It should be enough as a decorative picture (not too big, not too small).
2. Your script is causing problems when viewing your site with no style (accessible web design), check it out.
3. Your links on the bottom of the page should not have "decoration: underline" and once hovering "decoration: none". It should be the opposite. No decoration on the links of the footer and once hovering, "decoration: underline" (accessible web design). There is a small problem too with your primary links on the top (no accessible web design) but I am not suggesting anything there, since it is part of your project ;)
4. Regarding the "Contact". Nice implementation of the google map but you could use drupal's contact form for mails instead of having mails on the page (easily accessible by spams). If I were you, I would leave this page as it is (having the map etc.) and under "Tel. Fax" I would insert a link "Or send us an e-mail" to drupal's contact form.
1. I am going to change the flash element in head-row-3 to a less “over the top” slideshow, then a 100px static image on the other pages, just working out how to use separate CSS on certain pages, possibly with views.
2. Thank you for pointing out some accessibility issues, I think I have discovered the offending script and will make some changes
3. Well observed! I have changed these now
4. I also implemented the Drupal contact form as you suggested
The b&w buildings atop most pages seem to serve no purpose and also seem out of place after the "flashy" front page. I'm not sure what the focus of the front page top content is. A zooming car? A monkey (miniKong?) climbing a building? A green pyramid? A floor that needs sweeping? To me it's just a jumble. Now, of course, jumble may be what you have in mind, but if not, you might want to reconsider. And the buildings on the other pages seem drab, industrial, depressing. Very out of sync with the bold, colorful top menu. There's nothing wrong with strong contrast, but it can be dangerous if it's not done just right. I haven't spent a lot of time at your site, but it seems to be youth-centric. The buildings don't strike me as anything youthful. The flash front page is somewhat youthful, but. . . Maybe some picture of young people doing something interesting and in keeping with your organization's objective?? I know the idea sounds commonplace, but in the world of web design as in the world of fashion, it's often better to fit in rather than stand out--unless you really know what you are doing. My opinion is only that--my opinion. Discard it if it seems off-target. You know much more than I do about the goals of your site. As for the "Drupalishness" of your site. Well, I'm only getting started with Drupal, so I won't comment and can only say I look forward to knowing as much about Drupal as you obviously do.
Comments
URL!
http://www.youngenterprisedorset.tk/
Looks ok, but i'd get rid of
Looks ok, but i'd get rid of the huge flash thing at the top of every page. It does not add to the content, makes the page heavier and, on a small screen, makes it so that most/all content is below the fold.
What's the site about and where's content
Have to agree with the previous commenter, the flash is useless. In fact it is annoying after awhile.
The first thing people are going to do is try to figure out what your site is about. You have 5 seconds to tell them and you are not doing it now.
Consider lifting the language in the "About us" section:
"Young Enterprise is the UK's leading business and enterprise education charity. We inspire and equip young people to learn and succeed through enterprise. Learn how you can help."
I'll admit it the above needs work and specifically how you do it but it least that would get me interested. You get the idea.
Second, thing. Can you provide an example of what you do?
Thanks
Have to agree with the previous commenter, the flash is useless. In fact it is annoying after awhile.
Thank you for the comments, i have adjusted the flash so that the images sticks much longer and the transition is quicker, i am considering removing it all together, it is currently only on the homepage and the remaining pages have a static image.
most/all content is below the fold
Regarding the page fold issue, should i reduce the header height to about 60/70%? Perhaps?
Second, thing. Can you provide an example of what you do?
Not sure if you meant here or in the actual website...
I am a University Student developing the website for a local charity (young enterprise Dorset) who wish to operate their own website at a local level rather than relying on the national http://www.young-enterprise.org.uk/pub/home.do website.
They also want features such as collaborative blogs, private messaging etc for which I found Drupal + the community infinitely helpful!
However I still feel the site is lacking some professional edge hence asking for some opinions from you guys..
nice clean style .. not to
nice clean style .. not to bad. Not to keen on having the navigation on the right hand side and on the top - seems kinda pointless ,unless you can make that navigation scroll down with the page - I would suggest a breadcrumb instead. Also the top buttons like a little cheesy.
Thanks
I have re-moved the side menu as it was not really necessary as you suggested, the top buttons are required to be that style as it is part of the charity's branding...
I have added a "home" icon to the logo at the top, I am not sure if this is good practice?
Thankyou for the feedback
my rate:
regarding "home" image next to the logo, no, it is not a good practice. But it is not a striking "bad" one either.
I liked your site, nice and clean but:
1.regarding your head-row-3 make it from 200px to 100px . It should be enough as a decorative picture (not too big, not too small).
2. Your script is causing problems when viewing your site with no style (accessible web design), check it out.
3. Your links on the bottom of the page should not have "decoration: underline" and once hovering "decoration: none". It should be the opposite. No decoration on the links of the footer and once hovering, "decoration: underline" (accessible web design). There is a small problem too with your primary links on the top (no accessible web design) but I am not suggesting anything there, since it is part of your project ;)
4. Regarding the "Contact". Nice implementation of the google map but you could use drupal's contact form for mails instead of having mails on the page (easily accessible by spams). If I were you, I would leave this page as it is (having the map etc.) and under "Tel. Fax" I would insert a link "Or send us an e-mail" to drupal's contact form.
good work!
Thanks
Thanks m13,
1. I am going to change the flash element in head-row-3 to a less “over the top” slideshow, then a 100px static image on the other pages, just working out how to use separate CSS on certain pages, possibly with views.
2. Thank you for pointing out some accessibility issues, I think I have discovered the offending script and will make some changes
3. Well observed! I have changed these now
4. I also implemented the Drupal contact form as you suggested
Thanks again.
Username and password
Username: Demo
Password: password
any more?
any new comments?
Nice ... I like it alot!
Nice ... I like it alot!
The b&w buildings
The b&w buildings atop most pages seem to serve no purpose and also seem out of place after the "flashy" front page. I'm not sure what the focus of the front page top content is. A zooming car? A monkey (miniKong?) climbing a building? A green pyramid? A floor that needs sweeping? To me it's just a jumble. Now, of course, jumble may be what you have in mind, but if not, you might want to reconsider. And the buildings on the other pages seem drab, industrial, depressing. Very out of sync with the bold, colorful top menu. There's nothing wrong with strong contrast, but it can be dangerous if it's not done just right. I haven't spent a lot of time at your site, but it seems to be youth-centric. The buildings don't strike me as anything youthful. The flash front page is somewhat youthful, but. . . Maybe some picture of young people doing something interesting and in keeping with your organization's objective?? I know the idea sounds commonplace, but in the world of web design as in the world of fashion, it's often better to fit in rather than stand out--unless you really know what you are doing. My opinion is only that--my opinion. Discard it if it seems off-target. You know much more than I do about the goals of your site. As for the "Drupalishness" of your site. Well, I'm only getting started with Drupal, so I won't comment and can only say I look forward to knowing as much about Drupal as you obviously do.
well not bad
The site takes a long time to load. You should also put a title... for your webpages.