Comments on: New site design critique

By: Brian

Brian — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:20:53 +0000

Go with Design 1.

By: nathan

nathan — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:32:35 +0000

Thanks guys, well the new site will be going live tomorrow. It’s evolved slightly from these designs but I’ve tried to keep it fairly simple and content focused – anyway, you’ll see tomorrow I guess!

By: Mark Henry

Mark Henry — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 10:55:00 +0000

I will go with the first one. Major thing needed in the home is a search box.

By: nathan

nathan — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:21:10 +0000

Thanks Genie, that’s a good point.

I will be including much more in the sidebar to jazz it up, and my latest designs have included images in the posts to add some visual interest. I’m actually going to finish building the site this weekend, looking to launch it next week, so we’ll see what the feedback’s like when it springs to life!

Nathan

By: Genie

Genie — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:58:26 +0000

This new design does look cooler but I feel its way too plain. If I were a new reader having somehow landed on your website, may be I would not have realized the gem it is. Links to your previous posts and tags do help.. but then that’s just my opinion. Do you have stats on the bounce rates for the performance of new design vs. old design for first time visitors of your site? That will be the best critique of your work. But anyhow, I am a fan of your designs and your blog and of course the quality speaks for itself.

By: Web Design Template

Web Design Template — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:15:53 +0000

Yes the second one is best .. thanks for sharing information .. nice blog

By: Kate Kinderseiten

Kate Kinderseiten — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:11:33 +0000

The second one is the best one, very professional! As for the space above the logo, I do not think it is too much, I like when things are not too narrow..

By: nathan

nathan — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:34:56 +0000

Thanks for the comments guys, I’ll great cracking on the final design… not enough time in the world!

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:52:29 +0000

Alright Nath.

Hmm tricky one – second mock-up wins for me though!

Agree with Luc that the spacing around the logo/strap needs matching, make it nice and even. Also like the featured article – it’s useful for encouraging people to move around the site. Lukas is right though that it needs a highlight. I also think the navigation on the second mock-up ties in with the overall design more nicely than the first but its really flat now you’ve taken so much colour out of it.

Not arsed about images unless they’re necessary i.e. images that demonstrate a point rather than pointless stock images!

Speak soon.

By: lukas

lukas — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:10:08 +0000

I agree with Luc, only the search and popular section is better in the first one.

I do miss images though. The Featured post could use some hightlight as well.