So what do you think? NYFalls.com

[mconheady]

I recently re-designed and optimized my site.
I use SlideShowPro for the slideshows.
Home page: http://www.nyfalls.com
Profile page: http://www.nyfalls.com/watkinsglensp.html
Staff Profiles: http://www.nyfalls.com/staff/mconheady.html
Articles (photoshop tutorial):
http://www.nyfalls.com/article-photoshop-contrast-masking.html

I know, it's really a broadband only site, but considering it's for photography I'm ok with it.

[Kitchensink108]

The design itself looks good. I like the fonts and images used. Beware that script-like fonts can be hard to read and are sometimes a poor choice for nav menus. In my opinion, yours is easy enough to read, but you may want to see if others have an opinion on it.

I don't like the use of flash. I didn't look very extensively, but I didn't see anything done in flash that you couldn't mimic in Javascript, which would be a lot more user-friendly.

Also beware that on your main page, I never scrolled down. There's no indication that there will be any content beneath News, so I (and I assume other visitors) won't bother looking. Because of that, you may want to rethink the placement of the Community Discussion and Mission Statement boxes. IMO, the mission statement would be better suited for the About page, or in a more prominent position on the main page (like above News; the statement looks short enough that you should be able to fit that and part of the News box on the screen without scrolling in 1024x768).

One thing that kind of bothered me was the length of the nav. I have no idea how to make it shorter, but if you can come up with a way, you can pretty easily eliminate the horizontal scroll on 800x600, which would make Yvette happy if/when she decides to take a look at the site.

I know you said you're okay with the download speeds, but I still think they can be improved a bit (I didn't notice it too bad, though I'm on a university network, but still...) As a photographer, you probably nitpick the quality of your images a lot, but I think you should try compressing book-ad-home.jpg, downlaods-ad-home.jpg, header-left.jpg and header-right.jpg a bit more. That's just an idea; I didn't actually try it myself so I don't know how well it would work out. Just a suggestion for getting the download times down.

On a similar note, the HTML code isn't very good, though I won't go into details unless you want me to.

Suggestion: on the terminology page, put links (maybe one per letter) back to the top of the page.

Nitpick: On waterfalls, I'd put some padding (somewhere from 20 to 100 pixels) between the left-end of the box and the county name. There's just something about text being right up against hard borders that I don't really like, but maybe that's just me.

Okay, I think that's enough from me. This is getting kind of long.

[YvetteKuhns]

I have no idea how to make it shorter, but if you can come up with a way, you can pretty easily eliminate the horizontal scroll on 800x600, which would make Yvette happy if/when she decides to take a look at the site.

:D You would need to resize your header banner and reorganize your navigation menu. I agree with Kyle's other comments, too. The forum has a logo and the default skin. I expected to see a nicer header like the rest of the website.

The site map can get very long as you add contents. You may need to redesign that. Don't have too many ads on a page. Placing ads at the bottom will get less clicks, since I don't bother to scroll to see them. Also, the copyright info still says 2006.

Luckily for you, I am just about to leave for a doctor's appointment. I won't beat up the website too much. ;)

[mconheady]

Thanks for the tips.
I actually do the design solely in FrontPage. I don't know html. that would explain the horrible HTML, which I'm aware of.

The reason for flash is because I needed a simple way of having galleries that were:
1. customizable
2. light
3. linked to each other
With Slide-show pro, all the galleries are controlled by an XML doc. It loads the images on an as-needed basis and control caching of thumbnails. It also allows me to control all my seperate galleries, make updates and global changes via a single xml doc. also it was only $25
Something I don't think I could do easily in script.

I'm aware I'm neglecting 800x600 users. I wonder how much of an audience that is.

I’ll try compressing the images more. I may try skinning the forum, but I though adding the same top banner would push the content down more on the page and that would annoy me.

Great tips! Thank you!

[YvetteKuhns]

I actually do the design solely in FrontPage. I don't know html. that would explain the horrible HTML, which I'm aware of.

I don't usually point out horrible HTML for people using FrontPage, because they obviously don't know HTML. ;) You can always learn HTML and CSS to design a better website at a later date.

I'm aware I'm neglecting 800x600 users. I wonder how much of an audience that is.

Well, my husband is over 50 years old and wears bifocals. He can't read the text on most web pages or email in a higher resolution. I am 38 years old and have trouble reading after staring at the screen all day and night. So, we still use 800x600.

I may try skinning the forum, but I though adding the same top banner would push the content down more on the page and that would annoy me.

I figured that was your reason for not using the same banner. But the forum seemed quite plain for a community for photography.

The reason for flash is because I needed a simple way of having galleries...

Most people have Flash enabled at home that would be looking at this website. Many people may not be allowed to use Flash at work, but they shouldn't be visiting your website there. This may be acceptable for your audience and website.

I love to look at photography. Landscapes and portraits are enjoyable. I have high speed Internet, so the images loaded quickly for me. I should ask my sister to visit your website. She has dialup and may not even use Flash! That would be interesting.

[mconheady]

considering I'm learning as I go, I've got a pretty nice looking, advanced website for a front-page user.

I think I can have alternate static content load for the non-flash users. I think I read about that somewhere.

[mconheady]

I futher compressed the images on the home page and on the top nav bar. I also increased the font and legibility of the menu items and removed the Mission Statement from the home page (it was also on the about page)
thanks for the advise.