Please critique - NebraskaStorms.com - Tornadoes and Storms

[bthalken]

Please critique my site NebraskaStorms.com. I'm still trying to figure out a good way to display the "Storm", "Photo", and "Video" sections. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

http://www.nebraskastorms.com

Stormy

[linnetwoods]

I think it's fine , on the whole, but I would try to make the images along the top a little smaller and maybe separate them in some way because they tend to look like a panoramic splice gone wrong as they stand, butted right up to one another.

You could create a table/grid if you wanted, to put the links in and make the pages lookk a little more upbeat as one scrolls downward away from the header but I don't think it's necessary.

What is it that YOU are not happy with in those three sections? If you tell us what you would like to change, maybe someone will come up with a useful suggestion.

One can tweak away at a site forever but I see nothing wrong with keeping yours pretty much the way it is, without knowing what aspect of it is bugging you...

[bthalken]

Thank you for your response. I will have to rework the nav images at the top like you suggested. Should I display a small image next to the links on the "Storms" section with a brief summary, similar to the "Videos" section?

[linnetwoods]

I think it would be nice...

[YvetteKuhns]

The site has some horizontal scrolling at 800x600 screen resolution. The horizontal navigation menu has text links that do not change when the mouse hovers over or clicks them. Even a slight change would make things easier for some visitors to see at which link the mouse is pointing.

The contents on the index page seem thrown into the page. The Google search would do better if moved to the top of the main contents area (below the header and text link menu). The Google ads could appear just below it on the right side instead of the left. Of course, you would have to fix your horizontal scrolling for me to see the ads, if they are relocated to the right side. ;)

When viewing http://www.nebraskastorms.com/light.htm , some pictures are wider than others and make more horizontal scrolling. The logo is replaced with other photos. All pages should have a consistent layout including the logo. The photos can appear below the horizontal text links.

The photos are really nice. The site is interesting - I watch the storm shows on television. Could you add a page telling about Brian Thalken, Jonathan Garner and other storm chasers? Include photos of people if possible. Nice site. The page contents need to be displayed in a more organized fashion.

[linnetwoods]

Interesting how quickly one forgets... The site looked fine on the monitor I am using on1034x768 and I completely forgot to check how it would come out in a lower resolution! Well done Yvette, as always!

[bthalken]

Thanks Yvette, I'll definitely make those changes you suggested...I appreciate your input. It's easy for me to over look problems since I'm so used to seeing my site. I like your idea of adding a section telling about other storm chasers.

You mention to display the page contents in a more organized fashion, could you give me some ideas for using this page as an example...
http://www.nebraskastorms.com/04_collegesprings.htm

Thanks.

Brian




The site has some horizontal scrolling at 800x600 screen resolution. The horizontal navigation menu has text links that do not change when the mouse hovers over or clicks them. Even a slight change would make things easier for some visitors to see at which link the mouse is pointing.

The contents on the index page seem thrown into the page. The Google search would do better if moved to the top of the main contents area (below the header and text link menu). The Google ads could appear just below it on the right side instead of the left. Of course, you would have to fix your horizontal scrolling for me to see the ads, if they are relocated to the right side. ;)

When viewing http://www.nebraskastorms.com/light.htm , some pictures are wider than others and make more horizontal scrolling. The logo is replaced with other photos. All pages should have a consistent layout including the logo. The photos can appear below the horizontal text links.

The photos are really nice. The site is interesting - I watch the storm shows on television. Could you add a page telling about Brian Thalken, Jonathan Garner and other storm chasers? Include photos of people if possible. Nice site. The page contents need to be displayed in a more organized fashion.

[YvetteKuhns]

The header (logo) image is followed by the horizontal text links which is great. Just beneath them, you can place the Google ad horizontally for better viewing. I don't really see the need for the Google search, but if it is included, move it up.

NEBRASKASTORMS.COM

by

Brian Thalken

info@nebraskastorms.com

This already appears at the bottom of the page and is not necessary on the left side. The submit box for the Prairie Weather seems far away from the logo. They could be side-by-side or one on the other.

Try displaying a few images, then a few paragraphs of text, then more images, then more text. The image give the eyes a break from the text and your images won't be pushed too far down the page. If the images were first, visitors may not read all of the text. You may even consider a slideshow, but that is distracting when reading text.

[jefreier]

I think it looks pretty good, cool pictures of the lightning and tornadoes.