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View Full Version : New design. Please tell me if it explains our service better



prova.fm
08-22-2009, 08:20 PM
Hi guys,

I finally got my new design online late last night. I would love if everyone takes a brief look at the homepage & tells me if it clearly explains the service we offer. I know I have to make it clear within seconds of a new visitor arriving, so I've implemented the current design.

Our service is unique, which is why it can be difficult to explain.

I would love all feedback: http://www.prova.fm/advertising/

Thanks,
-David

Steve B
08-23-2009, 04:01 AM
I guess I get to be first.

My first impression was not very good. I wouldn't spend time on this page if I had found it during some kind of a search. It's probably just me, but I don't like the auto enlarging images and I don't understand the big window that disappears when you go over it. I've never come across something like that before - it seems distracting to me. The auto-enlarging images are covering up other things I'm trying to look at and they just tick me off - so I would move on from your website at that point.

From looking at your home page all I know is that you have something to do with advertising. I couldn't find the company name (unless prova is the name) - I would think you might want that to be easier to find.

After clicking on the "How Prova Works" button (which I now have confirmed the name of the company) - I read the next page and have an idea of the concept. I like the concept. The font was too small on this page for my taste (being over 40 smaller font becomes an issue for me).

I think you have a great concept. It would be worth it for you to pay a professional web designer and or copywriter to make the concept pop out for someone that finds (or is directed to) your website.

rezzy
08-23-2009, 08:53 AM
I am not sure, if its just buggy on my browser (Firefox on Linux) but it just doesnt look right.

I did notice the text that disappears when hovered. The homepage, doesnt have any images which I think most pages should. The absence of a logo, hurts, since you are missing the branding aspect.

The split navigation isnt that a great a concept. Having partial navigation up top and then other at the bottom, splits the site wide open. It really makes it difficult to find what links I should be following. There doesnt appear to be an type of hierarchy to them.

Spider
08-23-2009, 11:01 AM
I thought the first page (that's as far as I went) was very clear that you created advertisements. Simple enough concept. I would make my decision to delve deeper on whether I wanted an advertsiement created.

If my curser hadn't accidentally fallen on the panel header, I wouldn't have known there was anything under it. When it popped up, I was quite surprised. Okay... but what does "Pick a Winner" mean? Then I noticed the very small print on the tabs about "advertsing contests." Huh?

Now the page didn't seem as clear as I first thought.

If I was looking for something other than someone to make a graphic ad for me, I would have left after 3 seconds. If I hadn't come for a advertisment contest, I would have left after 10 seconds.

I guess I would have hung around for more if I had known what an advertising contest was and that I wanted one. Otherwise, I would have left. Perhaps that was your intent - in whuich case, it worked, and worked well.

I liked the colors and the layout. It gave an air of simplicity, even if, for me, it wasn't clear what you were offering.

I hope this helps.

KristineS
08-24-2009, 01:00 PM
I'm not fond of it. To me it's very unclear what you're trying to do. I'm also not sure it was working properly in Firefox. It seemed like something was missing. The left side of the screen looked really bare.

From what I can gather from reading the How Prova Works page (why is there a question mark on the end of that title, by the way) I get some sense of what you're trying to do, but I don't think your current home page conveys that at all. I really think you'd do better making some version of your How Prova Works page as your home page. It would make more sense.

Just make sure you proof the page first. You've got some spelling and grammar errors on that page that need to be fixed.

Harold Mansfield
08-24-2009, 05:33 PM
I have to agree with the others. Not to fond of it. It's not clear what you are doing. You need to put yourself in the shoes of someone who has no idea who you are, and what services you provide and be crystal clear right away.
There is a noticeable blank area on the left side of the home page that makes the site look incomplete or poorly maintained.

The menu at the footer looks badly disorganized, or is not displaying properly, and lastly, from what I gather you are featuring advertisement options, but all the examples I see are website templates..that is very confusing..which is it ? Website templates, or advertising templates ? They are not even close the same thing when people are searching for solutions.

These are my impressions having never heard of your company, or who you are, so it is probably the same for someone else who happens across your website.

prova.fm
08-24-2009, 10:44 PM
Hi guys,

Thanks for the feedback. I'm working on your suggestions right now...

-David

Spider
08-24-2009, 10:49 PM
Excellent! Looking forward to the revised version.

vangogh
08-25-2009, 01:30 PM
David having seen the older site I do have to say I like this design better. However I also have to agree with everyone else about the site still not being clear unless you're already familiar with the idea of design contests.

Instead of having the mouseover change the banner, just show those 4 items below it. Make it more obvious too that the video in the upper right is a video. Instead of the angled image, make it a big image in the middle of the page and make it as obvious as possible that it's a video. Don't get cute with it. Make it obvious.

You probably don't need so many featured designs on the home page. One or two bigger images will be enough.

Do check the site across browsers. There are definitely some issues here and there.

Why not have links in the main nav about how it works. You could even have a section specifically for advertisers and one specifically for designers. Each will have a different set of questions about your site so make it easy for each of them to find what they want.

I definitely think the site needs more copy to explain what it's all about. You and I know what a design contest is. Most probably won't be familiar with them and will need more information. You've basically set up the system, but now you need to better explain to people what that system does.

prova.fm
08-25-2009, 02:56 PM
I don't like the auto enlarging images and I don't understand the big window that disappears when you go over it.

Steve B,

Thanks for your input. I have an alternative to the auto enlarging images that I'll implement soon.

I don't know what you mean about the big window that disappears when you go over it. Could you please expand on that?

I have increased the font size, also.



From looking at your home page all I know is that you have something to do with advertising.

Could you please take another look at our homepage? I changed the header to hopefully explain our ad-contest process to someone who's never heard of it. I would appreciate some followup feedback on "if our homepage explains prova."

prova.fm
08-25-2009, 03:02 PM
I am not sure, if its just buggy on my browser (Firefox on Linux) but it just doesnt look right.

I did notice the text that disappears when hovered. The homepage, doesnt have any images which I think most pages should. The absence of a logo, hurts, since you are missing the branding aspect.

Rezzy,
Thanks for the feedback. I don't know what you mean "the homepage doesn't have any images, or a logo." Could you tell me what version of FireFox you're using, or send a screenshot?

prova.fm
08-25-2009, 03:07 PM
Hi Spider,

Thanks for the feedback. I altered the header a bit & was hoping you could take a second look at my homepage. Does it explain our service any clearer?

This is my main concern right now. I'm trying to find the best way to explain to new visitors exactly what we do, while not boring them with tons of text.


Thanks for your help. Would love to hear your thoughts.
-David

Spider
08-25-2009, 04:30 PM
Much better for me. Now I get it.

vangogh
08-25-2009, 06:10 PM
while not boring them with tons of text.

Text doesn't have to be boring. Images and design are great, but in the end it's your copy that will do the most for your site. If the content is coming across as boring I'd suggest a rewrite as opposed to eliminating it.

A good copywriter can likely explain everything you want in a small amount of words and in a way that pulls people deeper into the site.

Steve B
08-26-2009, 03:11 AM
Steve B,
I don't know what you mean about the big window that disappears when you go over it. Could you please expand on that?

"

I was talking about the big dark rectangle with the three limes on it would disappear to reveal the 4 steps of your contest. This is just distracting to me.

I think your How Prova Works page is much more compelling. Ironically, I like it better because of the additional text. I vote for more text and less images - especially images that change with the roll of a cursor.

prova.fm
08-26-2009, 11:06 PM
I took your advice & changed the homepage. I didn't realize it would be this involved, but I'm glad I asked. It's funny how you think you've "got it" until you ask someone else.

Advertising contests (http://www.prova.fm)

Let me know what you think of the new concept (don't worry about any small errors like colors, etc... I'll get to those)

-David

Harold Mansfield
08-26-2009, 11:34 PM
I took your advice & changed the homepage. I didn't realize it would be this involved, but I'm glad I asked. It's funny how you think you've "got it" until you ask someone else.

That's why it's always good to run it by a few people who have websites to get a fresh perspective. It's too easy to get caught up in your own head and assume that it all makes sense to others.
It flows much better now.

I am still confused by the menu in the footer, it still looks like it's not coded well. I'm looking at it in FF and it looks like this:
http://www.4thinternet.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/footer-photo.jpg
but other than that, the changes are much better.
Like I said before, and I have to do this too, you have to look at it from the perspective that people don't know who you are, what your site is for, and where everything that they are supposed to see, is...and try and make it clear to everyone of differing educations and web experience.
At least that's what I try to do.

prova.fm
08-27-2009, 12:17 AM
Thanks for the feedback,

ugh, that footer does look ugly. I'm working on it. I'm fixing all the problems my freelance designer left me with :eek:

-David

Spider
08-27-2009, 12:44 AM
Yes, it solves a lot (all?) of the problems but is that the way to go? The appearance is more to my liking, but am I the sort of person you are appealing to? I suspect not.

What you have now has lost all the glitz and pizzaz -- and I think you probably needed some glitz and pizzaz.

Harold Mansfield
08-27-2009, 01:36 AM
Yes, it solves a lot (all?) of the problems but is that the way to go? The appearance is more to my liking, but am I the sort of person you are appealing to? I suspect not.

What you have now has lost all the glitz and pizzaz -- and I think you probably needed some glitz and pizzaz.

Only if you have covered all the other bases.

"Pizzaz" should not over shadow function, purpose, and navigation. The purpose of the site needs to be clearly defined, if you can do that with "pizzaz" then fine, but if the "pizzaz" get's in the way and is the "star of the show" with no clear defined purpose of why it is there other than to make people go "Ooh....Aahh", then it is in the way....something I still have to be conscious of myself. I love tricks, flash, and stuff that fades and moves, but sometimes it gets in the way.

prova.fm
08-28-2009, 01:39 AM
I think I've updated the footer. It might look horrendous in IE5. Anyone have good suggestions on how to test? I've been using browsershots.org. It's not the best tool to use, but I don't know any other options.

Anyone see any problems with the footer?

-David

Spider
08-28-2009, 09:02 AM
Looks alright to me in IE8

billbenson
08-28-2009, 11:54 AM
looks good in firefox.

vangogh
08-31-2009, 11:26 AM
Working in Safari too.

Harold Mansfield
08-31-2009, 11:41 PM
I think I've updated the footer. It might look horrendous in IE5. Anyone have good suggestions on how to test? I've been using browsershots.org. It's not the best tool to use, but I don't know any other options.

-David

I just install all 3 browsers, and then use other types of devices. I'll usually check it in all 3 from my desktop, then check it on my Netbook (which is a much smaller display), and for "Kicks and Giggles" bring it up on my iPod touch, and call a few friends to tell me what they see.
Overall the design is looking much better.

vangogh
09-01-2009, 12:33 AM
I do the same. I install the latest version of every browser I want to test for (actually more). The hard part is testing browsers on different operating systems and sometimes different versions.

For the OS part you can either test on more than one computer or use virtualization software so you can have more than one OS running on one machine. I'm on a Mac now, but I can still boot up Windows to test browsers there.

To test different versions of Internet Explorer I use IE Tester (http://www.my-debugbar.com/wiki/IETester/HomePage), which lets you test IE from 5.5 up to version 8. It's a Windows only program, but works very well. At times I will notice a slight difference between how a page is rendered in IE Tester and the same version of IE, but it's not often.

billbenson
09-01-2009, 01:45 AM
I use the application "WifesLaptop" to test IE as I have linux. There is a program to run windows apps from it. Never tried though.

How far back do you go, VG. I still test ie6, but I don't go back further. I have an old pc with win 2k on it and you can't upgrade to ie7 unless you actually have xp or newer (even though xp is pretty much the same as 2k).

vangogh
09-01-2009, 03:04 AM
I was going back to IE6, but lately I'll only do that if a client specifically asks for it. Microsoft is going to stop supporting IE6 before too long and it really is time for people to upgrade. I know you like using 2k, but Microsoft is about to release their 3rd or 4th OS since 2k. You're within your rights to continue to use as is everyone else, but you have to expect most people have moved past it.

If someone wants me to develop for IE6 I will, but I'll also charge them extra at this point. Fortunately it generally won't take me long to get a site working on IE6 so the charge won't be a lot, but it does take extra time so I will charge a little more.

I can't imagine testing or developing for anything prior to IE6 anymore.

billbenson
09-01-2009, 06:18 PM
It's not that I like 2k as much as there was no reason to upgrade. The lack of support from 3rd party vendors is what really kills 2k. That and not being able to upgrade ie.

I really don't like Vista though. My wifes computer has it. That was one of the factors that drove me to Linux.

vangogh
09-01-2009, 06:54 PM
Maybe Windows 7 will be more to your liking. I think the lack of support from 3rd party vendors is a good enough reason to upgrade. So is the inability to upgrade IE. XP was actually pretty good and built on the same foundation as 2k

billbenson
09-01-2009, 07:41 PM
The 2k is on a 2002 vintage machine on its last leg. My main machine is a dual boot xp and linux. I want to build another machine before the end of the year. I like to have a hot standby machine and I don't right now. The next machine will be the latest with a lot of RAM.

Sunday night 2am and I had just about finished work and was looking forward to bed. I hit something and I couldn't switch from window to window or display what windows were open. Since Monday was a sales day, I didn't want to wake up to a machine that didn't work with the phone ringing. So I worked until 4:30 am getting it working. A hot standby computer and I could have gone to bed and had the backup machine the next day.

Does anybody know anything about NAS. Someone suggested it for storage. I gather that its kind of like hard drives shared between two computers. Just the storage is shared as I understand it, so its not a server. I haven't had time to research it yet. The intention would be to keep the two computers current by sharing the same disk? No backups to speak of. I'm just guessing as I really don't know anything about it.

vangogh
09-02-2009, 02:26 AM
NAS is kind of like having a dedicated computer on your network to run as a file server. It would be more than just file storage as it would have a functional OS, though it's not meant to be used as a typical computer. I think it's usually a stripped down OS that runs on the NAS.

I've been there with those 2:00AM things. Last night as I was getting ready to go to sleep I checked in here only to discover the site wasn't up. Nor were any of the others on the server. Turned out it was a firewall issue at the host and they fixed it pretty fast. I wasn't up till 4:30, but I was up later than I wanted to be.

prova.fm
09-03-2009, 02:06 PM
I'm going to have to look into that IE Tester gizmo. I've been using IE8 (which can switch to IE7 - cool. Why don't they let it switch to IE 6, 5, etc...?) I also downloaded a horrendously slow program from MS that can test in IE6 & 7. You would think there would be a huge market for a program that tests all browsers. I'd buy it.
I also use browsershots.org, but it's quite unpredictable as well.

I was *trying* to develop for IE5, because I noticed on my stats a large number of IE5 browsers visiting my page. Granted, I can only see back to IE6 with MS's super slow program, the *trying* turned into *hoping.*

billbenson, a NAS is a great device. I had one before I moved. It's in storage & can't wait to get it back, although it may be better to look into web storage services also. I might look into Amazon's Web Services. I use AWS for business, & am curious about it's practicality for home use. I just hate having that NAS on all the time & having to upgrade firmware & printer drivers. I'm always afraid I'm going to wipe something out & erase both drives.

vangogh
09-03-2009, 03:36 PM
IE Tester works well. You can go back to IE 5.5 too. I'm surprised though that you're seeing IE5 traffic still. IE6 I can understand, but IE5?

prova.fm
09-03-2009, 03:45 PM
I must have been crazy or something when I originally looked & saw IE 5.5 on my analytics. I remember it being one of the higher visited browsers. When I looked today, only a handful of visits have come from IE5.5. Plus I realized those probably came from browsershots.org - D'oh!

vangogh
09-03-2009, 04:12 PM
Oh yeah. The browsershots would count as a visit. Funny. When I look at my stats I still occasionally see really old browsers, pre IE 5.5 even. I'm not going to spend the time making the site work perfectly for them though. There's a point where it's just not worth it. If you haven't updated your browser in the last decade what are the odds you're looking to hire someone to design and develop a website for you? And if you are looking what are the odds you'll pay to make sure your site then works in those same browsers?