Need some serious advice on this project of mine

[Tommy92l]

My friend and I were having trouble finding a place to post websites without getting called spammers, or having to pay a fee. Submitting to google didn't do much if you don't have plenty of visitors, and not everyone can pay for an advertising campaign.

Now, I know that sounds like a pitch, but that is the basic jist of it.


www.tizeme.com

Was a project we decided to do and we hired a guy over at - simplemachines.org to get some of the work done, considering it uses forum based software. It was supposed to be a forum at first, until I found this awesome mod that allowed you to do directories, it just needed a TON of tweaking.

Does it look cheap? Is there any incentive to join or post?


Oh and for what it's worth, if anyone here knows what a professional website should look like, and is up for the job... let me know.

 

[webstudent123]

thoughts

look cheap? - not technically, but to your target market I would say yes. The site looks like a pretty basic template, which to the common visitor may be fine, but to web designers, online marketers and those in the related fields it appears more like an email catch and release scam-

Logo- Not sure how to pronounce it or what the notion behind it is- this should be more obvious - the logo symbol is super generic, needs to be re-evaluated..

Use the same font for your main pitch (Are you trying to....) as you do for your widget titles (recent links) - You will likely have to consult your designer to accomplish this as he will have to mod the css and cufon font script.

Recent links should be recent submissions (or something less generic) -

'FOR FREE?' looks like a button- either make it one or make it not look like one.

main 3 blurbs: the first one should not be an advertisement, it should be a CTA on your main focus, your listings..

Footer- why the "?" instead of a copyright symbol?
The overall footer is the kill all for me as well. Lack of a professional footer is the first thing I notice to tell me this is a generic template- The footer should have a complete comprehensive summery of everything the site has to offer- or at least links to all major aspects -

Would I sign up? Even if the site did look pro I do not see the advantage of signing up. Beyond simply sharing you need to give the potential registrars a better reason to join.. Although I doubt it actually will, you may be able to play on SEO..

Good luck..