I'm interested in what you all think of a music portal type website I've been working on. The design and layout is finished, but the content and most of the links are only about 1% completed, and is a little mixed up, so please dont review the content, just the design...
I like the first version better. The upcoming search function, Top 5, and Extras are nice touches. I'm guessing that the text in the blue box would become links. If that is the case, I think that is a good idea. After all it is set up like Yahoo, et al. If you were to put all the same stuff on the other site, it would probably work fine, but with the bigger pictures and longer descriptions, the index page might become too cluttered.
--Bill
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Lake Superior Smokin' Brews
Make It Different: Brew Your Own! www.smokinbrews.com
I agree with "smokin", I like the first layout better, however I would recommend giving the megaphone some more color, a light drop shadow and a little depth...and maybe make it a bit bigger..layout is good though, I'd just recommend sprinkling some more color around there...but heck, I recommend that to just about every site I review.
Great site...definetly comes off as professional IMO.
I should let you know that the two URLs mentioned are not different main page layouts. The first URL is the main page, but the second link is what I want the Artist Profile section to look like. It runs off a MySQL database and a heap of code. It's amazing what half a kilo of coffee can do for you
I know I have a hell of a lot to do, so I'm just seeing what others think of the design before I go any futher with the site.
I like the front page it has plenty going on but it doesn't look cluttered it looks nice and well thought out.
The colour scheme is also nice it looks very clean and sharp, just one suggestion though you could do with some extra little bits of colour (I'm not talking every where, just maybe the odd little link in orange (trust me it will work, i don't mean tango orange just a nice deep orange), maybe you could do the links across the bottom in orange.
Okay, I started to say I like the first one better, then went back and re-read the thread... on your artists example page I would slap in the search feature in case visitors want to search from within the site... it doesn't have to be big, but give them that ability.
The site has a nice clean look to it... can't tell how comfortable the navigation will be until some content gets there, but from the looks of it you've got that all laid out nicely.
Personally, I prefer performance over perception. If I find a site that's fast and has good content I will use it. There are plenty of sites that try to knock the visitor out with various tricks. My personal suggestion is to get enough good, solid (and constantly updated) content in your site to keep visitors coming back to yours. That means not just getting everything there, but also spending a little time each day to make sure everything you've got works.
It seems really good. One thing I like to see is punk listed in its own catagory rather than under alternative or rock, but that's just my own personal preference.
By the way, will the site cover primarily Australian artists?
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Very nice.
When I looked at the page at first I wasn't sure but on second glance I began to like it.
It is very neat and spacious. The colours are very easy on the eye.
One gripe I have is the logo. It's very plain. Basically it's just text that has been given an inner bevel. I think with a better logo this desig could totally rock.
Personally I like the logo...but I think it'd be much better if you could have the megaphone look more like a cartoon...much friendly, and less like clipart.
The logo is something that can be improved upon, and will be as soon as I have the time. As for the little megaphone, I'm thinking of either changing it to something like a pair of headphones, or doing as TWTCommish said, and make it look more like a cartoonish drawing.
Smegged Up: Well I'm getting rid of the alternative category, and adding in some others, so Punk is something that will most probably be in there. The site will cover many Australian artists, but mostly U.S and overseas bands will be listed.
Just a update on the site ... Australian .com.au domain names must be a commercial entity, so before anyone can register a .com.au, you must have a business name to go along with it. While I was registering for a business name ($90), someone stole LOUD.com.au, which is a pity. I've found another domain name that I like, and will be used, so things are looking better for me.
You made an excellent design, so don't mind me nitpicking, ok?
The date in the top-right corner serves no function: delete.
I'd put the members login on a more promenent place "above the scroll". Members are likely to come back often, and will often have to enter their password, so it makes sense to make it directly accessible.
If the blue table is a sort of category listing, I don't understand what "Downloads" and "Cool Stuff" are doing there. It seems they don't belong next to "genre", "artist", etc. , but this is very nitpicky.
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