Opinion requested...

[nighthawk]

I have decided to re-do my website, and given that my design skills are non-existent, I decided to get a friend who is a web designer to do it for me...

Heres the sample design he came up with.

Gavin Coates - Freelance developer (http://www.riverside-design.co.uk/gc/)

Any thoughts or comments?

[vangogh]

Nice to see you again Gavin.

I think the design looks good. I realize we can only see the home page at the moment and not all the content is real yet. I'd be interested to see how the other pages look when they're ready since I'm sure they'll be different from the home page.

Assuming the some of the content is real I think the brief descriptions about your services could be better. The rest of the page has a more personal feel with the big Hello, my name is Gavin" and the info about you at the bottom. brief descriptions in the services section move away from that and I'm not sure it's helping to sell your services. For example someone looking at your web development services probably doesn't need to be convinced that a website is an essential channel for business. I would think they already know that, which is why they're looking at the section.

With the design while I like it, it does look very similar to a lot of other sites. I'm pretty sure I've even seen the 3 images placed next the services descriptions. If you want to set yourself apart for all the other web developers, maybe something a little more unique. The design looks good, but it also looked good the last time I saw similar designs on other sites. I don't think that means you have to redo the whole thing, but maybe if there was a way to add something a little more unique.

A minor point. If small thin (1px) lines were added on top and bottom of the section with your welcome message it would probably make the whole section pop a little more.

Overall it looks good. I hope you'll show some of the other pages and naturally let us know when the redesign site is built.

[nighthawk]

Hi Vangogh,

Appologies, i forgot to say to ignore the content - the web designer threw them in as an example, but I want to change them later, especially the 3 images and associated descriptions. I'm more concerned at getting the look and feel right just now, then we can sort the content.

I agree about the lines, I did ask him to add a line to the top of that section so it is consistent with the Services section which has a line at the top...

Anyone else any further comments regarding the design? I must say i was a bit aprehensive about the big "Hello I'm Gavin" text, but it's growing on me... (i think!)

[vangogh]

Yeah I had a feeling that was all placeholder text, but since I liked the design I was looking for something to say. :)

A couple years ago I never liked those big "Hello I'm" sections, but they've grown on me over the years. I think they're appropriate for freelancers who want to create a friendly welcoming brand. They certainly don't work for corporate sites, but I think for people like you and me they can work well. One of our selling points is us, our personality, the fact that we are individuals in business. The welcome message gets a lot of that across quickly and easily. It's not the kind of thing you want on every page, but I assume it's only going to be on the home page.

[KristineS]

The design is nice and clean. It's easy to find information that you want to find, or at least it looks as though it will be.

I do have to disagree about the "Hello I'm" thing though. A few years ago that was kind of clever and funny. Now everyone does it or has done it, and so I don't think it's as effective anymore. The problem with these sorts of things is that the first person who does it looks very clever. The million people who subsequently do it don't gain nearly as much from it. I don't think using this technique is necessarily a bad thing, but I'm not sure it will do you much good either.

[jamesray50]

Hi there, I'm not an expert on web development or anything like that, so I'll give you my opinion as someone who would just be looking at the site as a visitor. I found the paragraphs that describe your services too small to read. And I am wearing reading glasses. If I stayed on the page I would probably magnify the page to read it more comfortably.

[vangogh]

I do have to disagree about the "Hello I'm" thing though.

It's still very common for freelance designers and developers. I think what you're referring to are more general sites. The practice disappeared for awhile, but then it came back with the personal portfolio sites. I can't make any claims about the effectiveness of those messages, but I would think if you're trying to promote a friendly based on the individual behind the site they would work.

[nighthawk]

thanks for the feedback guys, very much appreciated.

[Reflo Ltd]

I have to admit that when I first glanced I saw "hi I'm.... " and I thought to myself, this is not a professional's site. Looks like some kid working from his bedroom. Sorry to sound like this but I probably would have kept looking for another company. I want to see something that makes me believe that you are competent in what you do. That might be a good-looking site or a healine statement that breeds confidence.

[KristineS]

It's still very common for freelance designers and developers. I think what you're referring to are more general sites. The practice disappeared for awhile, but then it came back with the personal portfolio sites. I can't make any claims about the effectiveness of those messages, but I would think if you're trying to promote a friendly based on the individual behind the site they would work.

I'm not saying it wouldn't work, I'm just saying that once a lot of people do it, the technique tends to lose some effectiveness. Could just be a pet peeve thing of mine too.

[Spider]

My thoughts:

1. First impression: The layout of full width title area and four-square component areas is good and gives the site a practical business orderliness.
2. The site gives the immediate impression of lacking color, with that washed-out blue ground and grey text. The red text tries to overcome this blandness but is too pale to add any life.
3. This orderliness is counteracted by the untidiness of three different fonts and many different font sizes.
4. Pale text on a pale ground is difficult to read and looks like you are trying to hide something.
5. Most text is too small to read easily while the headline is too large.
6. Suggest, "My name is Gavin...etc." if you like that kind of thing. The "Hello" weakens this type of introduction.
7. You have mentioned your location in the About Me section and it's probably not necessary as a subtitle, unless your focus is to win Scottish clients.
8. Be aware that some words are spelt differently in American English and the net seems to lean towards American rather than English English. "Specialises" is "specializes," for example. Best to keep such anomalies out of headings and titles, if you can.

Altogether a credible first draft, I think. Do try to do something about the colors and font sizes, though.