OK, here goes! I'm new at this, so I appreciate ANY and ALL comments, criticisms, suggestions, etc. Have a look and tell me what you think. Anything I should change? Add? Delete?
http://www.OnlineHomeAndFamily.com
Full Version: Need Site Critiqued...
Without doing a lot of intensive prodding and poking, it looks ok...if viewed only in IE. If you look at it in Firefox or Opera, your css needs to be tweaked as things are really layed out all over the place.
And on a personal note, all of the ads sprayed all over the place screams "commercial" to me. But, that's my own preference. Other than the display in FF, not too bad. Simple and not too flashy.
Oh...and welcome to the forums, too!
And on a personal note, all of the ads sprayed all over the place screams "commercial" to me. But, that's my own preference. Other than the display in FF, not too bad. Simple and not too flashy.
Oh...and welcome to the forums, too!
My first impression is that it's one big advertisement. Not even the short intro paragraph can be written without dumping a list of affiliate links smack in the middle of it. Ouch.
More content on the front page, fewer ads. If I landed here I'd hit the Back button and go find something else, if for no other reason than because the ads are so overbearing. Not to mention the content of many of the ads - get rich, work from home, blah, blah, blah. Sell me something I haven't been sold a thousand times before.
Anyway. Some other things:
1. Banner ad off center using Firefox. Screenshot. In some sections the ads are over the page heading. (On a side note, notice the ad for the Rich Jerk in that screenshot. If somebody has to take out an ad to tell me that he's not a scam, then that makes me think he's a scam. Is that the kind of advertising you want on your site?)
3. "Read More..." link in the Latest News doesn't go anywhere. If I go to a section listed in the latest news, there's no way of telling what the latest article is. If the purpose of your site is to serve up useful articles, you should consider using a content management system. There should be a few available via Fantastico in cPanel.
4. The template for the article "How to be a Responsible Cat Owner" is different than the main site. "Number 1 Key to Good Parenting" has a different template than the main site. You might look into using PHP includes to keep a consistent look across the whole site.
5. On the Family Center page the links to the last three articles are dead. Run the site through a link validator, or do it by hand.
6. I liked HTMLGoodies when I first started out (I used the book, which was much more useful than the website way back then). Glad to see that link in there. I am sad to see it in such close proximity to such a terrible sales pitch as Great Domainia offers when I click through that link.
7. What's wrong with Vegas-style graphics?
I'll let you guess which article that is in, but I will tell you that the same article also points out "it has been demonstrated that less and less users click on banners every day." Sort of validates my "less ads" feeling.
8. Suggestions like "Although I haven't tried it yet, millions of people out there are making alot of money selling stuff on ebay" is a waste of bits and bandwidth. Selling stuff online is a good suggestion, if one has a product or service to sell online, but just telling me that without anything to back it up or support your suggestion is a waste of your time typing it and my time reading it.
I won't get into the content of the articles themselves. I'll just say that you'd be better off writing your own stuff. Here's a fun activity. You have an article titled "Planning For Your Website's Future- Get Search Engine Traffic." One of the first sentences is "In order to get traffic on your site you need content. It's that simple." Copy/paste that into Google, and see how many other people have that same article on their website. How useful is an article that has been plastered across the Internet on a countless number of websites? If the purpose of posting that article on your site is to draw traffice, don't bother, too many other people have the exact same content already. If the purpose is to really help people, well, there are already plenty of others with the advice up and spidered by Google, so don't bother - those in need will be able to find the help they need. The irony of choosing this specific article (I chose it randomly) is not lost on me. It's got some perfectly relevant advice, but you should use the advice, not re-publish it.
Become an authority on some subject or another and people will find you. The people that find you will be more likely to click through an ad or an affiliate link because those links are relevant to the content that you wrote that they were searching for. I could count on one hand the number of times I've ever clicked on a Google ad, and I wouldn't even need all five fingers. And I surf constantly. Putting borrowed content on a page and surrounding it by ads is not going to convince me. But then, it's very clear that I am not your tarket market.
So enough about that.
In general the site layout is fine. Andreas makes nice templates so it's a good place to start. You do have some serious header problems though. Like I said, you might want to consider PHP includes, and maybe a content management system, to ensure a consistent look across the site.
Despite whatever negativity I may have thrown out there, I do hope the site makes you money. Affiliates and ads are a good gig if you can make them work, and it's all some people can do (for various economic, physical, or family reasons). I'm just against them on principle because too many people abuse them. So not knowing your situation I wish you the best of luck.
And welcome to the forums and the family.
More content on the front page, fewer ads. If I landed here I'd hit the Back button and go find something else, if for no other reason than because the ads are so overbearing. Not to mention the content of many of the ads - get rich, work from home, blah, blah, blah. Sell me something I haven't been sold a thousand times before.
Anyway. Some other things:
1. Banner ad off center using Firefox. Screenshot. In some sections the ads are over the page heading. (On a side note, notice the ad for the Rich Jerk in that screenshot. If somebody has to take out an ad to tell me that he's not a scam, then that makes me think he's a scam. Is that the kind of advertising you want on your site?)
3. "Read More..." link in the Latest News doesn't go anywhere. If I go to a section listed in the latest news, there's no way of telling what the latest article is. If the purpose of your site is to serve up useful articles, you should consider using a content management system. There should be a few available via Fantastico in cPanel.
4. The template for the article "How to be a Responsible Cat Owner" is different than the main site. "Number 1 Key to Good Parenting" has a different template than the main site. You might look into using PHP includes to keep a consistent look across the whole site.
5. On the Family Center page the links to the last three articles are dead. Run the site through a link validator, or do it by hand.
6. I liked HTMLGoodies when I first started out (I used the book, which was much more useful than the website way back then). Glad to see that link in there. I am sad to see it in such close proximity to such a terrible sales pitch as Great Domainia offers when I click through that link.
7. What's wrong with Vegas-style graphics?
I'll let you guess which article that is in, but I will tell you that the same article also points out "it has been demonstrated that less and less users click on banners every day." Sort of validates my "less ads" feeling.8. Suggestions like "Although I haven't tried it yet, millions of people out there are making alot of money selling stuff on ebay" is a waste of bits and bandwidth. Selling stuff online is a good suggestion, if one has a product or service to sell online, but just telling me that without anything to back it up or support your suggestion is a waste of your time typing it and my time reading it.
I won't get into the content of the articles themselves. I'll just say that you'd be better off writing your own stuff. Here's a fun activity. You have an article titled "Planning For Your Website's Future- Get Search Engine Traffic." One of the first sentences is "In order to get traffic on your site you need content. It's that simple." Copy/paste that into Google, and see how many other people have that same article on their website. How useful is an article that has been plastered across the Internet on a countless number of websites? If the purpose of posting that article on your site is to draw traffice, don't bother, too many other people have the exact same content already. If the purpose is to really help people, well, there are already plenty of others with the advice up and spidered by Google, so don't bother - those in need will be able to find the help they need. The irony of choosing this specific article (I chose it randomly) is not lost on me. It's got some perfectly relevant advice, but you should use the advice, not re-publish it.
Become an authority on some subject or another and people will find you. The people that find you will be more likely to click through an ad or an affiliate link because those links are relevant to the content that you wrote that they were searching for. I could count on one hand the number of times I've ever clicked on a Google ad, and I wouldn't even need all five fingers. And I surf constantly. Putting borrowed content on a page and surrounding it by ads is not going to convince me. But then, it's very clear that I am not your tarket market.
So enough about that.
In general the site layout is fine. Andreas makes nice templates so it's a good place to start. You do have some serious header problems though. Like I said, you might want to consider PHP includes, and maybe a content management system, to ensure a consistent look across the site.
Despite whatever negativity I may have thrown out there, I do hope the site makes you money. Affiliates and ads are a good gig if you can make them work, and it's all some people can do (for various economic, physical, or family reasons). I'm just against them on principle because too many people abuse them. So not knowing your situation I wish you the best of luck.
And welcome to the forums and the family.
Wow! Thanks for taking the time to provide so much feedback!!
I just installed Firefox and Opera and I see what you mean about the layout - definitely need to fix that.
Actually, there's alot that needs to be fixed...
I'll go see what I can do.
Again - thanks!!
I just installed Firefox and Opera and I see what you mean about the layout - definitely need to fix that.
Actually, there's alot that needs to be fixed...
I'll go see what I can do.Again - thanks!!
Welcome to the forum, Melanie.
Welcome to the forums Melanie
Welcome to the forums and the family Melanie
Hey Melanie,
Welcome home.
Welcome home.
Hi, Melanie.
Welcome to the forums. I personally liked your layout and color scheme. I thought they look very professional and nice. While I agree with some of the other ideas presented in this thread, I thought you should know that I think you've got a good layout, and that I really like the colors you picked.
I hope you'll come back to the forums for more help when you want it. We really do like to help, and for the most part are usually quite nice!
I promise!
Welcome to the forums. I personally liked your layout and color scheme. I thought they look very professional and nice. While I agree with some of the other ideas presented in this thread, I thought you should know that I think you've got a good layout, and that I really like the colors you picked.
I hope you'll come back to the forums for more help when you want it. We really do like to help, and for the most part are usually quite nice!
I promise!
QUOTE(abinidi @ Apr 11 2006, 12:55 PM) 
for the most part are usually quite nice
Yah, I'm usually the cranky negative one in the web site reviews section. Don't pay me too much mind.
LOL. I wasn't going to point fingers...
[Speaking in general terms, not about any specific website]
But, I've also given my fair share of what might been seen as a "negative" review. Usually when I think that my constructive criticism is really wanted, or really necessary. I mean, people post to the reviews forum because they want a review. We don't do them a favor by telling them everything is peachy if it isn't. Right?
[Speaking in general terms, not about any specific website]
But, I've also given my fair share of what might been seen as a "negative" review. Usually when I think that my constructive criticism is really wanted, or really necessary. I mean, people post to the reviews forum because they want a review. We don't do them a favor by telling them everything is peachy if it isn't. Right?
QUOTE(abinidi @ Apr 11 2006, 01:58 PM)
We don't do them a favor by telling them everything is peachy if it isn't. Right?
Exactly.
EXACTLY!! That's why I was actually very happy that timhodge was so...um...honest!
I really DO want any and all advice - the good, the bad and the ugly! Thanks guys!
I really DO want any and all advice - the good, the bad and the ugly! Thanks guys!
That's what we're here for! Ask anytime! (I've taken my lumps too, but everyone has learned something!)
Well, Melanie, I think you have a good start. If you are interested, let us have a look again when you make some of the suggestions mentioned in this thread and we can see if we can't help you fine-tune it to make it even better!!
See you've already made some changes. I like the front page better already.
I agree! I like the welcome page.
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