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orion_joel
09-20-2008, 08:17 AM
Hello All,

I thought that it is finally time i stand in front of the firing squad and get some real honest opinions on my website. I have really figure i want to do something to get my business back online and one of the things that i want to do is a refreshed online marketing campaign, because that was where i picked up some orders previously.

So anyone that would like to have a look and give me some honest opinions on my site at http://www.orionnetworks.com.au it would be greatly appreciated.

One of the big things i would like to know is does it look professional or home grown, plus any other good or bad critic is welcome as well.

Thank-you for your time and i look forward to your answers.

KristineS
09-20-2008, 09:08 AM
One thing I noticed is the capitalization in the middle of sentences. You also need to proofread, I saw at least one misspelled word and one word that should have been capitalized by wasn't.

I think the text under the business services tab is awkward. I get what you're trying to say, but I think there would be a better way to say it. I'll give that some thought.

The other thing I noticed is the fact that there are no pictures on your site. While I like the color scheme, right now the site is pretty stark. Even if they're just stock photos, pictures can really open up the page. If you're not sure where to get stock photos, you can try here: IStock Photo (http://www.istockphoto.com/index.php). They have good quality photos and they're cheap.

vangogh
09-20-2008, 03:44 PM
First of all it does look professional. No worries there. I also think the color scheme works well and I like the logo.

I'd remove the unique visitor count at the bottom. It doesn't really serve any purpose.

I think having more space below the text would improve the overall design. Maybe an image or some whitespace. Even just setting off the footer information in a block of its own color would work. Visually the content gets too close to the background and feels too abrupt for me.

The content could be improved, but I don't want to give the impression there's anything wrong with it. Content can always be improved though. I agree with Kristine about the business services page. I'm not really sure the content there is necessary. It comes across as you want to offer more services, but aren't sure what to over and want people to tell you. Nothing wrong with finding out what services people would like that you can offer, but I think there could be better ways to say it and find out the info.

You could ask existing customers what additional services they'd like or simply listen to them when they talk about things they wish someone could do for them. You could post the question here or on social media sites where your target market spends its time. I don't know that I'd mention your services being under review on the site though.

Steve B
09-20-2008, 04:16 PM
It strikes me as professional, but a bit boring. The lack of contrast with the colors is probably what makes it seem a bit boring to me. It also seems like there is a large bottom margin on most of the pages - perhaps you could increase the font size or add a bit more content.

The above is just the "impression" - I purposely didn't read a single word of the text.

orion_joel
09-21-2008, 08:37 AM
@Kristine - I cannot believe i missed the spelling mistake, as soon as i went to edit the file it came up with a red line under it. Also i have fixed up the capitalization i think. Looking back at the business services page and thinking it over i am not exactly sure what i wanted to accomplish with that. The picture thing for me is tricky i have spent quite a few hours on Istock Photo previously and again now that you mention it, trying to find something that i think is suitable to match the content, however i am have little success. Maybe it is that i am trying to find something i imagine to be perfect fit and i just need to drop the standard to something to fits in.

@Vangogh - Visitor Count is gone, i think that i had looked at this once before but could not find the code to remove and left it at the time. This time i put in a little more effort and eventually found the code and have removed it. I am going to have to do some playing with the footer and see what i can do, especially with the change i have made to the side menu, i cut out all the headings and made it straight out menu. I also consolidated the services information to a single page, which i hope might be easier to follow and added a products page. The products area is a part of the site i really want to expand on as i think previously this is where i was getting a lot of the incoming traffic from Google, very little came in through the main homepage.

@Steve B - I have played a little with the colours brought the menu into the same colour scheme as the main content, and am also playing with some of the colour for other areas. To try and elongate the pages a little i am playing with some idea's on what i could add in to have a need for a three column design with a column the same width on the right. I think that it will work quite well as long as i can get something in there that will complement the rest of the page and get visitors moving around the site.

Thank-you for your input, and i am going to keep playing a little to try and get some picture's in the site and to improve the content and colouring of the site. I think from my own point of view taking some steps after your input has got me further in 2 days then i have gone since i moved the site to this layout, in terms of getting closer to what i want.

vangogh
09-21-2008, 12:00 PM
Look in yout css file for:


.footer {
font-family : Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size : 10px;
color : #aaa;
background-color : #333;
border-top : 1px solid #000;
padding : 5px;
}

If you change the background-color that will set off the footer better. A quick suggestion is to use #222 instead of #333.

Also look for


.main-body {
font-size : 12px;
color : #000;
background-color : #ddd;
padding : 4px 4px 5px 4px;
}

You can change the padding values to be a little larger and create more space. I think padding: 10px will work and keep things even all around.

orion_joel
09-21-2008, 06:54 PM
Thanks for that Vangogh, i ended up finding the padding for the main content in ".main-bg {" I had to play with a few.

I have some idea's for a right hand column and also to fill the space under the menu on the left, just gotta play with it and see what i can make work for both spaces.

vangogh
09-21-2008, 07:22 PM
The change in footer color definitely helps. I had seen the padding in main-bg too, but either one will effectively add the extra space.

orion_joel
09-21-2008, 11:04 PM
What i found was that the main-bg pads the centre block of text, where as the main-body, i think pads everything including the side bars.

I have now added one of my idea's to the right hand side bar so i can have it there without it looking like a dead blank space with no purpose.

LJLynch
09-27-2008, 02:28 PM
Since I'm in technology, your site means something to me.

But, if I was not in technology, nothing on your page tells me why I might want to call you.

Who is your target market? What problem(s) or pain do they have that you can help them with? Who have you done it for that is like me? I don't care how you do it, I only care about what results you can get for me. Tell me how you can help my business grow.

But, yes, it does look professional.