4 replies to this topic

[Brandon Figueroa]

I think it's been about 4 or 5 months since I've attended to my blog (and since I've started using Kolakube skins), but it seems much longer than that. -__-

Anyways, I finally got around to fixing my blog again after all the updates (which are amazing by the way, thank you Alex!) and I thought I'd run it by the Showcase forum and get some feedback, possibly.

I think it still has a long way to go, in terms of both the content/design and stuff, but so far I like how it's coming along. Although then again, that's just me, which is why I would very much appreciate some third party eyes on the site to comment on it (in terms of the design I mean - the content on there is pretty ancient, so don't mind it).

Here it is: http://thelast3reps.com

Looking forward to hear from...someone - anyone! lol

[Michael Turco]

Hey Brandon,

I'm not one to be critical because my site has a long way to go too. Here are my thoughts, though:

I'm looking at your site and am not sure what its about. So in the feature box on the main page, it would be good to have a relevant picture and relevant text.

You're using landing pages (or whatever) for your about and contact pages. I think landing pages should be reserved for places where you want people to take an action and never leave that page. Maybe the no sidebars template is a good comprimise.

You have three different blacks on your home page at the top. There is the black-black at the top, the lighter black inside the feature box and the small box repetitive pattern behind the feature box. Thats a little hard to look at.

There's a picture butted up against the bottom of the feature box. I think some white space there would be good.

Mike

[Brandon Figueroa]

Hey Mike,

Thank you so much for the feedback - that really helped!

Yea, the topic of my blog has been a problem for a long time. I still have yet to narrow down on a focused topic, but I've decided to really focus on doing some research now to get a topic down, now that I just finished school and have time. Hopefully something will come out of it.

I LOVE the idea of the no sidebars template other than the landing pages. I do still have to write an about page, but I can't write one when I don't have a topic yet! haha but once I fix that, I'll definitely use the no sidebars template. Thanks.

Hmm, three different blacks. I didn't see it that way, but thank you for pointing that out! That's tough becuase I'm really liking the "black black" at the top in the header area, and I also love the featured area and how it's set up. But I think you're right, the color combo on the home page is a bit hard on the eyes. I couldn't put my finger on it, but that was bugging me too and you just made it clear to me, so thanks again. I'll see what I can do.

That part where the image is butted up against the feature box is bugging me too, and as of now, I'm trying to figure out how to create sort of a "second feature area" below the original featured area. But so far no luck. That's definitely something I'm looking to do really soon.

Mike, thanks again for the feedback!

Brandon

[Michael Turco]

The front page looks a lot better!

Since you're asking for input... consider separating the sidebars. I don't like the light gray over the lighter gray background image. If you'd like, you can take a look at my http://www.miketurco.com site to see how I spaced out the sidebars. I'm also open to any feedback you may have on my site.

Mike

[Brandon Figueroa]

Thanks for the additional input Mike! I agree. I ultimately did not like the 'attached' sidebars and decided to space them out. I think it looks much better, so thank you for that suggestion.

I looked at your site, and I think it's pretty awesome. The first thing I clicked on was your "What we do" tab and I immediately got a sense of what your site is all about so that's good - much better than what I have going on :/

What threw me off a bit was your home page. At first I wasn't sure whether that was the blog or just a static home page. Maybe something you can do is style the home page a bit more (and with MD2, I'm sure that won't be much of a problem ) - similar to what Alex has on Kolakube. Or you can think about adding a feature box that highlights more of what your purpose for the site is, it's up to you. I personally like having the blog on the home page with a feature box (hence what I have on my site - haha), but that's just me.

Another thing I can suggest is to try to evenly distibute your menu items amongst the header menu and some on the menu below the header. I don't know if that matters much, but that's just what I'd do. Maybe you can put the basic stuff like your "About" tab in the top-right header menu along with your contact tab. It's not a big deal, I don't think, but maybe something worth looking into for easier user-navigation (perhaps?).

Your overall site is very clean and straight forward. I like it!