website critique PLEASE.....

[afrothang]

been up for a while, thought i should share it with the forum. critiques on layout and content welcome... thanks ahead!

www.thangtruong.com

[Hikin Mike]

I don't like splash pages. I would like to see some text on the home page telling you what you do and where your located. I don't like the horizontal scrolling either.

[afrothang]

thanks mike...

ive also started a blog for the photos that dont get on my website. theres a link on my site or go to www.thangtruong.com/blog. it just started so theres only one post so far, but c&c is also welcome here...

[afrothang]

bumppp..

[James Robert Gratiot]

Totally agree with Mike about splash pages...
LABOR & LIFE sounds like a website for a midwife, somebody who helps women deliver babies.

Ideally, if you must have a splash page, you should make it clear that you're a photographer.

[afrothang]

bump..

[Christopher Steven b]

I have no problem with the title of the site (a clockwork orange isn't about oranges, is it ?).

Side scrolling is bothersome. Architectural doesn't seem as strong as some of the other stuff.

Overall I think you could trim down your selection.

Product photography shots with white BG bleed into each other.

edit: ah--the splash page leads to different sections. I thought that was the case though I guarantee there will be some who click on one portion not knowing that there is another.

[afrothang]

bump...

[MichaelBernard]

I don't like the fact that I have to scroll sideways...and splash is so 90s. Pics are nice though :)

[ducklabdad]

I gereally do not reply unless I can say something constructive. So In trying to be constructive, I would re-think entirely!

Does not come off as a photo site at all and everyone is not going to figure out where to click in the beginning. I would remember the old "KISS" principle if you want to attract public attention. You have some good content but the site to me is just overdone!! (for the average person) but that may not be who you are wanting to attract???

You may be hitting your target!!

[Boatski]

I'm not a fan of the huge side scroll bar for displaying your images.

[afrothang]

bump..

[Hikin Mike]

bump..

Why? You didn't listen/implement to anybody's advise. :rolleyes:

[Gary_Evans]

Why? You didn't listen/implement to anybody's advise. :rolleyes:

:lol:

[karobinson]

I agree completely with Duck...

[afrothang]

for one i wanted some feedback from other people.

reasons why i didnt implement changes according to past critique...
1. in my business (commercial/design/advertising) it seems as though simple is better. no wordy intro, gimmicky navigations, music player, flash galleries. just work and a FAST way to get to it.

2. i prefer horizontal scrolls because i have and will add more and more panoramics to my artwork, which will be easier to view on a horizontal plane

3. for the splash page i just personally like it. kind of like an organizational topsheet to delineate between my work and my art.

as for the viewer not knowing what my website is about or how to navigate it? id like to think my professional audience is intelligent enough to decipher the 5 relevant words on the splash page MY NAME, "PHOTOGRAPHY", "WORK", and "PERSONAL"....

if the viewer has trouble with these basic words, and the fact that if you hover your mouse over work and personal they light up like NAV BUTTONS, then i shutter to think what chaos would ensue if i were to add images, links, other WORDS that may or not be buttons, etc....

[philwillmedia]

for one i wanted some feedback from other people.

reasons why i didnt implement changes according to past critique...
1. in my business (commercial/design/advertising) it seems as though simple is better. no wordy intro, gimmicky navigations, music player, flash galleries. just work and a FAST way to get to it.

2. i prefer horizontal scrolls because i have and will add more and more panoramics to my artwork, which will be easier to view on a horizontal plane

3. for the splash page i just personally like it. kind of like an organizational topsheet to delineate between my work and my art.

as for the viewer not knowing what my website is about or how to navigate it? id like to think my professional audience is intelligent enough to decipher the 5 relevant words on the splash page MY NAME, "PHOTOGRAPHY", "WORK", and "PERSONAL"....

if the viewer has trouble with these basic words, and the fact that if you hover your mouse over work and personal they light up like NAV BUTTONS, then i shutter to think what chaos would ensue if i were to add images, links, other WORDS that may or not be buttons, etc....

If you're so hell bent on sticking with what you are doing, and refusing to take on board the suggestions that have been made, what's the point of asking for "website critique PLEASE....."
Personally, I didn't find your website pleasing to visit at all.
For starters, I felt your home page was



SCREAMING AT ME.



It was difficult to navigate and very user unfriendly and not a site I would revisit.

Even though it's your site and you like the horizontal scroll and the splash page and everything else that you say above, that's not catering to the general person who's likely to be using it. Like it or not, they are the ones you should be considering.
Not your own ego.
Going on the comments previously posted, you're the only one who appears to like it - and I don't think you're likely to be your own customer.

[Grumbledook]

I agree with everything phil just said

also, while the splash page in itself is horrible, your splash page looks horrible also the links when you hover the mouse over them turn white on a white background

horizontal scrolling websites are horrible to use

putting panoramics up is no excuse to use it, if people leave your website cause it scrolls "the wrong way" it doesn't matter what you put on there does it? you can put up smaller thumbnails and use a javascript lightbox (I like prettyphoto personally) and even a 1000px wide image will fit on nearly everyone's screen and be large enough to see

of course hampering your website use by making all the photos the same height means your panos will be far too wide, it's just poor web design

[afrothang]

first i would like to thank all of you for helping with the critiques. the whole purpose of the thread is to get feedback about the site, whether or not i like what i hear is another matter and ultimately up to me to do what i will.

it seems as though people cant get past the splash page and horizontal scrolling, which tells me that at least a portion of the public have an issue with this and i will consider changing it. if we can move on, i would like to hear about anything else that you have issues with, like color scheme, photo selection, font, window size, etc...

to clarify about my target audience, this site is intended to be a portfolio site for prospective clients, not a photo gallery for repeat visits. clients for one reason or another will be referred to my site to view my work. the splash page is intended to organize the work as well as offer them an option of what kind of work to view, work or personal. usually within 30 seconds of seeing the work, the viewer will know if they want to continue or move on to something else. that is my reasoning for keeping it simple.

with that being said, i do have a blog for general viewership and repeat visits. you may or may not know this if you didnt get past the splash page. considering all the angst about not being enticing enough for someone to come back, would it be prudent to put a blog link on the splash page to give the view another more option, more visible than the current button i have at the bottom of my gallery?

as for my ego, i dont think it has anything to do with my ego. i just rather listen, discuss, and intelligently decide, rather than blindly follow anyones advice. this is a forum afterall, whats the point if im just gonna do the first thing someone tells me...

[Grumbledook]

The thing about splash pages and using it as navigation is that you are going to have to click back to it

it isn't clear from your design that you can go from work to personal from the links at the bottom (I have to scroll down to see them which means they can easily be missed)

I think you are confusing the use of a splash page and a home page. A good home page with clear navigation which then is consistent on every other page of your site is what you should be aiming for. Your home page can then act as you have designed your home page. In truth your splash page isn't really a true splash page nor an effective home page.
Change it to a home page with the navigation along the top (web standards people expect it there so can find it) then use the main space on the home page to link to the work and personal areas. Jazz it up a bit as well and put an image representing each section. You can also have a larger title of your website like on your "splash page". Then in your work and personal section, keep that same navigation in the same place at the top of every other page on your website and people will know how to get around it easier. If the have to work at using your site, most users won't bother.

Only now on my third attempt at using the site did I realise that there were subsections under personal and work. Again like on the splash page you hover over the links and they disappear cause they turn white on a white background. I don't like the way the "contact" bar is overlapping your images either. I'd have a separate contact page with that one and also shove that right down the bottom.

[afrothang]

may i ask what are your computer specs, browser specs, and if possible, a screen shot with the browser at full size?

[neil_r]

for one i wanted some feedback from other people.

reasons why i didnt implement changes according to past critique...
1. in my business (commercial/design/advertising) it seems as though simple is better. no wordy intro, gimmicky navigations, music player, flash galleries. just work and a FAST way to get to it.

2. i prefer horizontal scrolls because i have and will add more and more panoramics to my artwork, which will be easier to view on a horizontal plane

3. for the splash page i just personally like it. kind of like an organizational topsheet to delineate between my work and my art.

as for the viewer not knowing what my website is about or how to navigate it? id like to think my professional audience is intelligent enough to decipher the 5 relevant words on the splash page MY NAME, "PHOTOGRAPHY", "WORK", and "PERSONAL"....

if the viewer has trouble with these basic words, and the fact that if you hover your mouse over work and personal they light up like NAV BUTTONS, then i shutter to think what chaos would ensue if i were to add images, links, other WORDS that may or not be buttons, etc....

OK So I guess you were not looking for advice at all then :-)

[Grumbledook]

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4673009/ss1.png

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4673009/ss2.png

[nicksan]

I agree about the splash screen. At first I didn't know where to click to get to the home page because "HOME" and "PERSONAL" don't look like links. It also looks kind of cheesy too. Sorry, just being honest.

Moving on to the main page, it's rather confusing in its navigation. There are no pages. Everything just plastered on one page. Just b/c it's simple doesn't mean it's that great. I don't like the horizontal scrolling no matter what you way about the pano thing. I also don't like the scroller itself. Again, it's cheesy.

I'm also trying to figure out what I would hire you for b/c I am not sure what you are actually selling. Just general photography? Your "Personal" has some photos of folks who seem to be into martial arts. But again, that's your "Personal" photos?

Just food for thought...

[NickSimcheck]

I'm on a 27" iMac, which allows me to scroll horizontally with a flick of a finger on the mouse...

In other words I'm on the best platform possible and I still hate horizontally scrolling.


I don't like a splash page, my suggestion is to get another domain for your personal work. If you insist on having a splash page, please don't have it yelling at the viewer, as it is currently.




Otherwise kudos for the simple and clean construction and a color scheme which suits all.

[MichaelBernard]

Still don't like it. Honestly I looked at it again and closed it right away. The text is too large, and the navigation is still a pain. Your site had 2 seconds to grab my attention/interest me and failed to do that.

[Eiro]

I'm signing up for a Capoeira class this week,going to see if there is any hawt chicks that go to those type of classes :D

oh and I'm with Ducky on this one.

[memoriesoftomorrow]

I would strongly suggest you do some Google research on to what turns people off websites because your site has quite a few of those things in it. How an average user reacts to bitty navigation, different layouts of content, horizontal scrollbars and readable colour scheme would be a start.

Splash screen... so last century, sorry to say it ain't pretty or design "trendy". It would be interesting to see your web stats as to the bounce rate of the splash page. You are instantly and needlessly putting a layer between the users and the content.

Once past eye torment of the splash screen (yes I found it that bad) the images take a good while to load. Your choice or roll over and navigation colours is not the greatest, making the text effectively disappear when you roll over it is not a "design feature" it is just plain old poor functionality and rather annoying. I arrive on the first "work" page and am trying to figure out what is supposed to be going on, what page I am on and I can't even read the font in the "navigation" as it nearly matches the background colour! My first sentiment after seeing the page is basically... "and.....?"

Your font choice and colours doesn't really work at all in fact it remind me of an early 2000 Front Page effort. The line height makes the text hard to read in your bio. I'm viewing your bio page on a 1600px wide monitor and it looks like someone has just randomly pasted content onto a page... it is all over the place. Go on the personal page and I get a vertical scroll bar just dangling with the bio frame.

Sorry to say but for me it is poor. Granted you have tried to keep it simple and clean from a functional perspective it isn't very good and from a design perspective it isn't that great either.

It is a shame really as I quite like your work but as a potential user of the site I wouldn't be bothered staying on it due to it's design etc. By the way I used to work for a multimedia design agency with several major blue chip clients in the UK. I am looking at your site from an average user perspective based on my experience in the web design industry.

A website has two main criteria to balance... form and functionality i.e. how people use it and how it looks... yours would rate poorly on both counts.

From what I can see in this thread and on your site you are making one very obvious mistake... You are designing the site around how YOU would use it etc and not around how AN AVERAGE USER would use and view it. It is a mistake that many people building their own websites make.

You have to cater for the fact that a lot of users are not web experts nor necessarily that smart when it comes to using a site. A prime example would be for example a form with a text field for entering a date... you'd think easy... anyone can do that... you'd be wrong... take today's date for example... 10/03/2011 or is it 03/10/2011 or perhaps 03/10/11 or maybe 10/10/11 then again it could be 10 March 2011... of course not it is 10 Mar 11... and so on. Even if you tell the user how to complete a field e.g. dd/mm/yy some WILL get it wrong. The point is that you then have to have a site that can handle that. This is the exact reason why websites have a date selection drop down of "widget" of some sort. It removes the ability of the user to get it wrong.

I know the point above was long winded but it demonstrates my point that you must cater for all users and not make assumptions about a user's ability level. Your site is not easy to use for people familiar with the web e.g. on this thread so for an inexperienced user it would be a nightmare... or rather "I can't be bothered with this site... next!"

[afrothang]

thank you for the very thorough and informative critique, just what i was looking for.

[Mossman6]

Your bio says you do event photography but is seamed that all of your stuff points to your behind the scenes work. When I think event photography, the first thing that comes to my mind are weddings and parties. I'm not sure if your trying to explain something else.

I just ditched my flash site and while I was initially reluctant to do it, I now feel good about the decision. The load times are much faster and I feel the layout is more intuitive and easier for people to understand.

[Arman's Photography]

If you're so hell bent on sticking with what you are doing, and refusing to take on board the suggestions that have been made, what's the point of asking for "website critique PLEASE....."
Personally, I didn't find your website pleasing to visit at all.
For starters, I felt your home page was



SCREAMING AT ME.



It was difficult to navigate and very user unfriendly and not a site I would revisit.

Even though it's your site and you like the horizontal scroll and the splash page and everything else that you say above, that's not catering to the general person who's likely to be using it. Like it or not, they are the ones you should be considering.
Not your own ego.
Going on the comments previously posted, you're the only one who appears to like it - and I don't think you're likely to be your own customer.

LOL I was thinking the same thing , and what is up with work or personal it is business right? So it is all work I guess, I was lost a bit there. My suggestion would be , loose splash intro and it looks not bad, add some more text about what you do and what you deliver. Keep up the good work!

[Arman's Photography]

Is there a thread about everyone's website critique? Criticism and suggestions are always welcome here :) :mrgreen:

[Joergeske]

Those frames could use some work, iframes are quickly becoming outdated, but they are very easy to work with. If you want to keep the iframes then I recommend making custom scrollbars.

[philwillmedia]

Is there a thread about everyone's website critique? Criticism and suggestions are always welcome here :) :mrgreen:
Yep.
Start a new thread here http://photography-on-the.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=11 and ask for C&C on your website.

[Arman's Photography]

Yep.
Start a new thread here http://photography-on-the.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=11 and ask for C&C on your website.

thanks