A simple site...critiques?

[intelboy15]

What do you guys think of my site?

www.terraguard.net

It's nothing fancy or flashy like most clan sites out there. I've kept it simple because I didn't want those clan members on slower connections to be sitting there for an hour for the site to load up. There is only one link on the website that does not work, the link under Divisions that leads you to Delta Force Division.

[intelboy15]

any critiques?

[Marko Peric]

Okay, what can I say. First, the music on load, that was interesting, although the fact that there is no way to stop it, apart from turning down your speaker volume, is a little off-putting. "O Fortuna" from Carmina Burana was a good choice of music, though.

Second, the main page of the site has no content. Just a big blank black space in the middle, one has no idea what this site is about, apart from the words "Terra Guard Gaming Clan" (which could use some emphasis, such as a <h1> tag). You might want to put some content on the starter page to let people know who the clan is, what you're about, even what games you play (from that starter page it could be anything from Halo to Half-Life). But that opening page is pretty dull, at least until you click on one of the options.

I looked at your source, I see you're doing this with an iframe, which is actually a pretty slick way to do that. Doing this with php and a mySQL database is a more common way to do what you're doing, but considering the page isn't all that big, I don't think the database method is really needed. I probably wouldn't bother with it.

Hope this helps,
Marko

[linnetwoods]

Umm, I can't actually see more than the top half of the words in your scrolling marquees so I have no idea what's on offer... I'm also amazed at how many starry sky backgrounds I have seen online since I first put one on the forerunner of one of my existing sites in 1998... still in use at www.linnetwoods.com/marinezine but, what the heck - I liked it enough to use it so why shouldn't 750,000,000 other webmasters? seriously though - I opened your home page up full screen (17") but I couldn't see enough of any word to work it out...

[intelboy15]

Thx for the critiques. As for the starting page, Im still working on a clan collage with our tag on it. It's taking longer than I first thought, that is why it is empty on load up.
As for the scrolling marquee, you need to view the site in 1024 x 768 or larger.

[YvetteKuhns]

Since you are planning to make changes to the main page, there isn't much need to discuss it. But I am not a fan of scrolling text.

The music didn't start right away and I probably would have clicked to another page BEFORE it would start, but I was opening multiple browser windows and typing. The music stops and eventually restarts. The music seems appropriate for this site, an entertainment site, which will be viewed at home and not at work.

The music is an endless loop that cannot be turned off or down through the web page. Having the music on or off upon page loading is your choice, but allowing the visitor the choice of listening would be nice.

The forum matches the color scheme of the website. The stars, while common on entertainment sites, is obviously appropriate here. The forum opens in a new browser window which is nice for visitors to refer back to the website.

There is no Links page to exchange links with other websites. Having links TO your site can bring more visitors AND improve your ranking on Google. I have many friends who would love this website. My son would probably enjoy it. I noticed that some of the download images are missing.

Overall, the site looks well planned and attractive for its target audience. Now that I have been typing for a while, the repeated loop of music is getting annoying. Yes, the choice to turn off the music or play another song would be nice. ;)

[linnetwoods]

I wonder what percentage of your intended target audience will actually BE viewing in 1024 x 768 or larger?

[YvetteKuhns]

I wonder what percentage of your intended target audience will actually BE viewing in 1024 x 768 or larger?


I bet that most if not all of the intended target audience will be. Gamers usually need the higher resolution to play the games. A few years ago, a friend of mine played games on MY computer while I was at college, because my computer was BETTER for his games. He played the Star Trek Armada game and saw more detail and realism.

[linnetwoods]

That's fascinating! It would be really good to find a site (I mentioned one elsewhere on these forums that I used to visit many years ago, and of which I have still to recall the URL,) that gave regularly updated statistics on that sort of thing, amongst many others. There were piecharts and block charts as well as regular % entries and it was very useful as a means of establishing all sorts of parameters and criteria. I keep hoping to find time to hunt for the URL amongst my saved info CDs and see if the site still exists.

[YvetteKuhns]

Your ACTUAL target audience browser info is reported in webstats. But your INTENDED target audience can be predicted somewhat.

http://www.millennialliving.com/Webusability/browserusability.htm
This shows the browser and screen resolution usage for the Internet, but not a specific target audience.

I was looking for specific info, but I couldn't find any that was recent.

[linnetwoods]

Thanks, Yvette, that's a great start - I've quickly saved the page to take back to the boat and read as they are about to close this cybercafé... I always seem to end up being swept out by the cleaners these days ;-) Thanks again and good night!

[intelboy15]

ok I've update my website with a new layout, but no background music anymore.

Suggestions/Comments?

[linnetwoods]

Suggest you post the URL again... I'm too lazy to hunt for it. :D

[intelboy15]

kk :)

>>>> www.terraguard.net <<<<

[YvetteKuhns]

It looks nice, but there is one thing that bothers me (besides the fact that I am viewing in 800x600 and need to scroll to the right to click the links). The image on the home page looks like space, but there is white text and some blends into the white background. And I expected to click to go somewhere for some reason. There could be more info on the home page for new visitors.

[intelboy15]

err that home page i spent the least amount of time on....:D

i'm still working on images for that front page, that way i don't have to use words

[YvetteKuhns]

err that home page i spent the least amount of time on....

It shows! :D Just kidding. Okay, post when you have the new home page. There should be words for people to know what to expect.

[intelboy15]

kk gonna work on it in a few weeks, school finals taking up my time. gonna get ppl together for a screenshot, then gonna photoshop it to my best skill :D

[YvetteKuhns]

You have time to talk on this forum, edit your website AND play games?! Don't you ever sleep? :)

[mlearn]

I like the background image on the front page, but are you planning on keeping it at over half a meg? I am on a fast enough connection, but I went to another page and then back to the first page before it ever loaded correctly... It just looked like some write text on a plain grey background...

Overall a nice little site. Seems like it use some more information on it... Also, I run at a higher resolution 1280x1024 and the site seems lost in the top part of the page... just a thought...

-Matt
http://www.LearnFamily.com

[dantol]

any critiques?
It's ok dude, it doesn't look that bad. In fact, for a game site, it's pretty nice. It doesn't have to be extra fancy, it's not a financial or news website. Good job, just put a bit more content.

[intelboy15]

i made the page so it would fit into a res of 1024 x 768. Anyone viewing at larger res should have no problem seeing it, it'll just be smaller. The reason for this is im on a 2nd gen LCD panel where that res is my max res, and i don't have the money for a new monitor on a higher res. On the same note, most gamers i know use that resolution, except for a portion who use something like 1600 x 1200. As for the main page background, no that is only a temporary image that i spent 3 mins on doing. I will be updating that image in about 2 weeks. There will be continued site overhauls at that time.

[Maskatay]

What do you guys think of my site?

www.terraguard.net

It's nothing fancy or flashy like most clan sites out there. I've kept it simple because I didn't want those clan members on slower connections to be sitting there for an hour for the site to load up. There is only one link on the website that does not work, the link under Divisions that leads you to Delta Force Division.

It loooks simple and the loading time was good. I guess a site map will help :)

[linnetwoods]

Your site is looking one heck of a lot better. Well done!

[intelboy15]

...

stupid computer glitched...text paragraph disappeared...

was saying thx to everyone's reviews: :D

seeya all in about a week...got finals

[intelboy15]

Update

Ok once again, ive changed the layout of my site. I have decided to get rid of a home page, and instead have an About page. The site is pretty much complete, except i have to redo the Servers page and the Downloads page. Any input or more suggestions would be greatly appreciated :D

[Marko Peric]

Um, I'm doing my best to remember what your site looked like in it's previous incarnation, and although I'm not 100% positive without seeing the two sites sides by side, I think I liked the old version better. This new look is rather text heavy, with virtually no graphics, and not really all that catchy. I find it a little bland. Sorry.

[YvetteKuhns]

The older version of the website had the right color scheme. This one doesn't feel right. The forum still looks cool, even if it appears in an iframe. It would be better if the forum did not appear in the iframe, but instead open in a new window.

The main page should have a picture. Can you use a header like the one in the forum for the rest of the website? I know this sounds strange coming from me, but I liked the black background better for this site.

Blue text on blue background doesn't have enough contrast. The horizontal links menu may look better if they were button links, even if simulated buttons. Maybe even opaque buttonn over a background image like the forum has to look nicer.

The site is now too boring for a gaming site. At least try to use a cool header and the one on the forum would look fine to me. ;) Sorry if this sounds bad, but at least I am honest. :D

[intelboy15]

kk np. i've already reverted to the previous design. not all the pages have been updated to reflect the older theme.

[intelboy15]

Update

I've done some updates since my last post. I have added a two month events calender, the About page is now the main page, and fixed a few pages that weren't loading correctly. All in all I am still searching for the right piece of music to add to it.

*As of 8:30 pm on Sunday 6/12/2005, I am finishing updating the last two pages of the site: Join and Servers. All should be finished by 10 pm.