would you review my site please?

Hello everybody,

I recently redesigned my site, almost finished now.

Severall small things still to be changed:
- correct small bugs in printing.css file
- correct the theme of the web gallery so the text color matches the text color of mainpage everywhere

Thats all I am aware of right now.

Please have a look: http://www.web-designerz.de/privat/

I would like to get comments concerning each and every aspect you can think of like design, accessibilty, loading speed, layout, functionality, navigability and whatever you might come up with. Even spelling mistakes are worth mentioning as English isn't my native language.

Edited to adapt the subject to what was said in the sticky welcome thread. Couldn't change the title although.

I'm not knowledged enough to make comments on the coding and techy stuff but as a average graphic/web design guru lol I can say this...

The site is very fast which is a big plus! The over all look is clean and flows nicely. Easy navigation. The only thing I felt that was missing, I noticed it the moment I went onto the site, was personality.

As nice as your site is designed it seems to lack something in it's look. Maybe a graphic/image or I don't know but it feels "cold" like a data site.

Maybe consider putting a little bit of your personality into the visual of the site.

On Appearance: 9/10
Speed:10/10
Content: 10/10

But hey who am I to say

you are absolutely right about the personality thing.

to get a rough idea of how the site looked before the redesign you can just skip the folder after my url and go to the main-domain.

I have searched for some time until I settled down with these colors, although I must say I borrowed a design from a site which offers free designs, because I found the color combination of different green tones realy great.

And yes I have been thinking of adding some background images to my site, don't have any clue how, where and what so far, but I will make a mental note of this.

thx for the review

Layout is OK and speed is fine.

I find the navigation a bit confussing though.

Otherwise, not bad

thx jabba_29,

I've heard you say worse things (no offense intended)

Could you be a little more specific what you find confusing about the navigation? I know its uncommon, I have sat a long time before a blank piece of paper and tried to group the different menue positions into logical groups:
I thought I'd put the disclaimer at the end, above it the section containing info about the site, me and modes to contact me. The private link is (at the moment ) only for me. leads to tools to manage my site while not being at home, and links to a test installation of a webmail system (havent yet decided which one to use) . The stuff, polls and news looks ok to me.

I could add a second sidebar below the one on the left and put in there about site, about me and contact me inside. What do you think?

Picture gallery for one, there doesn't seem to be the standard navigation -> then the site & me thing -> I think the submenu shouldn't go on the top -> though at least now I get the concept.

ok I rethink my options:

I could put the submenue right under the this site me and use another backgroundcolor so when you click on this site me below it you can select from the submenue.
Or just add another sidebar below the one on the left

Concerning the navigation in the picture gallery I am not that good (yet!) I worked for a whole night to at least adapt the colors of the gallery to my site. When I finish my exams (mid february) I will look into the php code of the gallery to try and use the same "style".

Thx for the review jabba_29 you gave me some good points:

- rethink the menue
- completely adapt the webgallery to my site's design

I personally don't think your navigation is difficult to follow at all. When you get critiques from people what I think is important to keep in mind is that it's someone else's "personal opinion".

If everyone had the same idea/vision for their web site what a very mainstream place the web would be.

Changing your site because it doesn't fit into the "generic" protocols of web layout/design is not something you should do if you want to make your site personal and unique. The idea behind a personal web site is just that a personal vision, flare, touch.

As for the imagery maybe add transparent/distorted/masked images of yourself as a header image or background. Or perhaps if you don't wish to feature yourself maybe items/things that make you happy, interest you etc..

I would be happy to help you with the graphic if you don't have a graphic program.

Anywho make your site your vision not someone else's

There is a problem when you click on "private" and get the password box.

If you simply click on "cancel" then you get a 401 page come up.

You need to put in an error box requesting the correct input or to cancel it altogether and stay where you are.

Also once you go to the picture gallery you suddenly lose the left hand menu.

Since this is present everywhere else you need to keep it to increase the ease of navigation.

thx for the review,

I have to look for a smarter possibility to ask for a password that offers the option if you enter it wrong to bring you back to where you came.

As for the menue on the left - I am working on that - just have to finish exams then I'll look into it.

PLEASE NO MORE REVIEWS

I will shortly start altering the layout and incorporate some of the changes you mentioned here, until I finish there is no point in reviewing a design that is under construction.

Ok,

the next version is online with its own domain this time. Would you mind having another look at Ovidiu's Journeys

The page is too wide and causes me to scroll side-to-side.
When I click on some of the links the tables on the left completely change and makes me wonder what just happened.
You need to keep the site consistent on every page.

It has a nice clean look

But as iNetter said, it does need a bit of horizontal scrolling, and the menu down the left changes width.

concerning I am aware of this small issue. It only happens in Mozilla based browsers and Opera lately. Its only a small bit (like 15 px) or so but it is truly annoying. I am working on that right now.
Just tried to get rid of that: the problem is I use width: 100% for the header as well as for the footer. Then in the footer I use padding so that the text does not start directly at the left end of the screen and does not end at the right but some pixels (4mm in this case) before. If I remove the padding ans set width: 97% the scrolling is gone. BUT in Internet Explorer the footer really covers only 97% of the screen while Mozilla based browsers will show me the footer covering 100% of the screen. And as 98% of my visitors are using IE changing that is not a priority at the moment.

concerning I never experienced anything like that. Please let me know what exactly happens and what browser do you use.
Btw. the only tables used are in the picture gallery and that was a separate product I adapted as far as possible but I had to put up with those tables, did not know how to change that.

that should be dealt with in the next few minutes
I adapted the width of the menue to the menue of the picture gallery. I can't do more, the theming/template system is not very good and the next version with a better template system is coming soon.

thx guys