http://www.thebelfry.ie/test

Hi,
I've been designing average websites as a profitable hobby but have never felt they matched up to others (still got paid though ) I'm now playing with some templates just to actually make something I like.

I have something that I can see potential in @

http://www.thebelfry.ie/test

but I can't see where to go from here (as a template only).

On a separate note I just finished a site for my rugby league club @

http://www.dublinblues.com

which has a powerful backend from etomite that I like but still don't feel fully happy with the frontend.

All criticism welcome!
Cheers,
Denis

Well, I'm assuming you want feedback on both, so here goes.

The template: It's very simple, which is good. The only think I can suggest tweaking are the colours. The green doesn't quite fit. Maybe try a darker shade. The background of the header looks kind of pastel-ish, which doesn't quite match the other colours. Consider changing that closer to a primary colour. Even the blue you use in the other headings might work. Play around with it. There's a nice tool here that can help you choose colours that match.

The rugby site: It looks ok. It looks like it was done by someone who's still learning, which you seem to agree with. It's ok though. The only thing I would strongly suggest changing is the colour/style of the links. You can't even tell if they are links until you hover over them. The "More on this story" links are obvious, but the "player Form" link for example isn't obvious at all. Users generally don't go hunting for links, and if they do they're probably not having a good time.

But that's all I've got. Coding is one thing, but designing is a totally different thing that takes time to develop, and takes even longer for a coder type person. But keep it up.