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Design Critique
- Thread starter The Donut
- Start date
Is the red banner for "climbing frames, swingsets, playhouses, accessories" supposed to be clickable? I'm guessing no, but wanted clarification.
Regardless, I think it looks like a great start. The red banner does seem to pull the eyes away from the real menu options underneath of "home, aboutus, buying guide... etc.". I'd also want to see what resolution this image was optimized for; some dashes indicating what would be in the first fold of a couple resolutions would really help to get an idea of size scope.
Some suggestions:
1 - Adjust the upper menu to catch the eye more. It appears that the red banner is just product topics, and not driving navigation. Therefore, move it off to the side in the header image where the oversized shopping cart image is, and move the shopping cart count underneath the menu (perhaps above the "free shipping" area, thus pushing the free shipping down).
2 - The verbage on the free shipping, to me, reads as a little contradictory. Either remove the "absolutely" or adjust the end of that sentence to "just about any location in the UK".
3 - Push the Thawte and secure shopping info higher, perhaps closer to the "items in cart" area.
4 - If your motivation is for people to order online more often versus phone call orders, then get rid of the "Order Online" block. Putting the phone number in the various "Contact Us" pages would suffice.
Regardless, I think it looks like a great start. The red banner does seem to pull the eyes away from the real menu options underneath of "home, aboutus, buying guide... etc.". I'd also want to see what resolution this image was optimized for; some dashes indicating what would be in the first fold of a couple resolutions would really help to get an idea of size scope.
Some suggestions:
1 - Adjust the upper menu to catch the eye more. It appears that the red banner is just product topics, and not driving navigation. Therefore, move it off to the side in the header image where the oversized shopping cart image is, and move the shopping cart count underneath the menu (perhaps above the "free shipping" area, thus pushing the free shipping down).
2 - The verbage on the free shipping, to me, reads as a little contradictory. Either remove the "absolutely" or adjust the end of that sentence to "just about any location in the UK".
3 - Push the Thawte and secure shopping info higher, perhaps closer to the "items in cart" area.
4 - If your motivation is for people to order online more often versus phone call orders, then get rid of the "Order Online" block. Putting the phone number in the various "Contact Us" pages would suffice.
Is the red banner for "climbing frames, swingsets, playhouses, accessories" supposed to be clickable? I'm guessing no, but wanted clarification.
Regardless, I think it looks like a great start. The red banner does seem to pull the eyes away from the real menu options underneath of "home, aboutus, buying guide... etc.". I'd also want to see what resolution this image was optimized for; some dashes indicating what would be in the first fold of a couple resolutions would really help to get an idea of size scope.
Some suggestions:
1 - Adjust the upper menu to catch the eye more. It appears that the red banner is just product topics, and not driving navigation. Therefore, move it off to the side in the header image where the oversized shopping cart image is, and move the shopping cart count underneath the menu (perhaps above the "free shipping" area, thus pushing the free shipping down).
2 - The verbage on the free shipping, to me, reads as a little contradictory. Either remove the "absolutely" or adjust the end of that sentence to "just about any location in the UK".
3 - Push the Thawte and secure shopping info higher, perhaps closer to the "items in cart" area.
4 - If your motivation is for people to order online more often versus phone call orders, then get rid of the "Order Online" block. Putting the phone number in the various "Contact Us" pages would suffice.
Thanks for the feedback.
1 - The top menu is the product listings, on hover they will drop down and show the selection of sub-categories available; the design on this particular nav isn't final as this is a first concept - making them clearer and more obvious as options is on the cards.
2 - Agreed, the free shipping text could probably be truncutated.
3 - Also agreed, it'll likely stay on the left but perhaps above the reviews.
4 - We get an overwhelming amount of orders through our other sites over the phone, and this site is actually required to follow similar structure (see: www.rebotrampolines.co.uk) - which is why prominence of the phone number is important to us.
Thanks for the feedback though, much appreciated!
KevySaysBeNice
[H]ard|Gawd
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2001
- Messages
- 1,452
Personally, I think it looks AWESOME, but it's a bit busy for me. I have a great time looking at it, but my eyes jump around a lot.
I might consider combining the three center images into one "border" (so keep the look of the border, but put the images all inside of one). That would simplify the layout a bit for me, and keep me a bit more focused.
But I really do think it looks great as is!
I might consider combining the three center images into one "border" (so keep the look of the border, but put the images all inside of one). That would simplify the layout a bit for me, and keep me a bit more focused.
But I really do think it looks great as is!
I'm not seeing the changes.Thanks for the feedback guys, I've made a few changes and the image has been updated to reflect that in the OP.
Let me know what you think!
I'm not seeing the changes.
They weren't significant.
- Slight arrow (universal on all our sites) on the nav
- Banners updated with grunge effect and price tags
- Order online banner changed slightly
- Free shipping banner changed slightly
- Additional footer background image
- Network stores now included in the extended footer and not below
NickTheNut
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2001
- Messages
- 4,657
I think the design looks great. I only have two real notes; anything else would just be extreme nitpicking on my part.
• The logo and the red nav bar below it look far too much alike. I understand that's because they literally are the same design element. But it feels a bit too repetitive. I would try to make the nav bar look a bit different, maybe not have the same rounded ends as the logo.
• It's not clear that the nav bar up top is just that. Especially with a separate set of navigation directly below it... I'm sure viewers will quickly figure it out, but it does not feel intuitive to me.
Good job!
• The logo and the red nav bar below it look far too much alike. I understand that's because they literally are the same design element. But it feels a bit too repetitive. I would try to make the nav bar look a bit different, maybe not have the same rounded ends as the logo.
• It's not clear that the nav bar up top is just that. Especially with a separate set of navigation directly below it... I'm sure viewers will quickly figure it out, but it does not feel intuitive to me.
Good job!
I'd at least consider ditching the cursive writing and use print. I know the cursive writing goes really well with the design but your objective is to make the most money right?
Is it possible foreign English speakers only learn how to read print? I think so.
Is it possible they can navigate your site without really knowing what the headers mean? Probably, but why make it more difficult for them? They might just get frustrated and leave.
Is it possible foreign English speakers only learn how to read print? I think so.
Is it possible they can navigate your site without really knowing what the headers mean? Probably, but why make it more difficult for them? They might just get frustrated and leave.
You might need more hierarchy on elements you deem important, you have a lot of content, and some of the textured elements might make the page seem busier than it is. I like the overall aesthetic you are going for, but you need to simplify it down if you want people to navigate through it.