Review: devon-websites.co.uk

[WorldwideTrading]

I would really apreciate some feedback on my new devon websites site. I have teamed up with a friend of mine who is a graphics designer and started a web design sideline. I have been working in IT for the last 15 years and have designed about 100 websites in my time but always felt I lacked abilities on the artistic side.

Website for review: devon websites

Thank you.

[Caffeine]

*Quick edit, got home, on good pc and MAN do things look a lot different. Only thing I'll add is the first paragraph at the top seems to overlap the nav on the left. I'm on a widescreen lcd monitor at 1440x900 res, so I don't see a real reason on why it should be doing that.*

Alright, a lot of my reviews so far are sounding the same, so maybe there's something wrong with me, BUT, I will continue with my review anyways. First thing that stands out to me is the first paragraph. You state "Devon websites offer complete website design..." and then RIGHT below it, once again you state "Devon websites offer complete website design..." And another double-stating going on is the 2 navbars. Both have pretty much the same thing in it and you could do w/out one imo. Now let's say you keep the left navbar, a semi-transparent bg like the one for the content could be used to make it a little easier on the eyes (not that it is real harsh as it is, just a minor easing could be provided). I personally don't think the "Devon Websites - Affordable Website Design Service in Devon, England." is necessary at the very top of the page. When describing the sites you've done in the past on the right, you repeat yourself a bunch of times ( "Website Designed for a local fair trade wholesale..." ) Are the clients that unimportant to mention things differently? And last but not least (cause I don't want to sound like I'm completely bashing the site, because that's not my intentions)...maybe a brighter color scheme is in order. Something sleek that if a potential client looks at, it gives them a warmer feeling, an inviting one. Like walking into Gramma's house and smelling fresh baked pies, you immediately want to proceed further into the house. Right now I think you're giving off a more of a burnt turkey vibe.

Overall I'd say it's a 6/10. Your made-for-client sites look much more professional than your actual site does, which provides an inconsistancy where potential clients could think to themselves "Well, is this a grab-bag? Do I have a 50/50 chance of getting something professional"? If anything your company site should look 10x better than any client's (but hopefully they will all match up in terms of eye-appealing design).

The links in your post for the landscaping company weren't working, but on your site they were, so I'll jump into some of the other reviews and post my 2 pennies there as well. Hope this came across as constructive as my intentions.

[navyfalcon]

I will review you as a professional website, since that is what you are
not a beginner or a commercial site.
First, in your source code 0 errors 20 warnings.
viewing with firefox and 600 x 800 display
You have writing over your navigation
The display shows only partial with no scroll bars
You have bleed thru on the colors
On the bottom about us, some of the white text, bottom part, is lost in the light gray background
On the top menu, you use a red dashed outline when item selected, I would suggest a color background change or something more pronounced
-
hope this helps
falcon

[Tanya]

reminds me of a myspace page with div overlays.
BG is icky, nav even worse.
Nothing compliments anything on this site i'm sorry. Not at all what I would expect from someone calling themselves a designer/design company.

Change that bg, better nav, and why do you have description/keyword meta tags that are empty?

Um, good luck.

[navyfalcon]

The site does have meta tags description and keywords
Not the best choice but they are there
May want to check with overature to optimize them
They should get good placement
hope this helps
falcon

[nyunyu]

Your site has a nice layout. Simple design and eye pleasant.
I have a couple of suggestions for you to improve on your site.

#1- Rather than using white as your background color, try using other light color such as grey.
#2- The navigation bar on the left messed up on Firefox. You might want to check your source code for that.

Overall, your site is nice looking. Simple but easy to get around.

[WorldwideTrading]

Thanks for al the comments guys. I was trying to create something different with this site. So much of the web looks the same and is optimised for speed more than looks. The background image of the daveon websites site shows you what devon is actually like (rural lol). I am thinking about a complely new design at the moment.

I guess starting my campaign to change the way the web looks and get away from cookie cutter websites (seriously the internet is like a 60's housing estate at the momnent) isnt going to go down well here. Oh well.

[OnyxDesign]

First of all: I like.

But there are some errors. In Firefox 2, on 1280x960 the intro-text falls over the left navigation, making it impossible to read. Also on the left menu the white text is hard to read when the background becomes yellow.

I also think that your Navigation is a bit messy. There are 2 menu's, leading to almost the same pages, so what is the point of having two of them? I should add an hover effect to make it nicer to look at. And maybe change the text color of the page where someone is, that makes it clearer where you are on the site.

[busman3000]

As a consumer I would expect your own design company site to have zero faults, also I would expect some proof of how well built your productions would be.

-The first paragraph at the top seems to overlap the nav on the left
-you don't need the http:// on display in the right column.
-change the color of the linked text, blue does not show very well
-add CSS and HTML validation