Tear It Up Please

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brandon

New Member
Looking through all the other threads on this board I'm actually embarrassed to present my work-in-progress! It seems everyone else is posting 99% complete works - I mean there are a lot of really nice designs.

In my case I am just stumped... working on this for weeks and weeks.

So here is my 20%: http://www.serverstage.net/20

I don't have the design skills to make it look the way it needs to- but I think I could do well converting a good idea to html code.

So *please* tear it up! Tell me what I'm doing wrong here and what needs to be done to make a good looking site.

We're a hosting company and want to make a rather exclusive impression- we rent out whole servers or dedicated vServers.
 
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d a v e

New Member
it's pretty awful :)

it looks like a gambling site/casino/one armed bandit. you're selling servers so think of colours and a look that says quality, speed, reliability, technology.

the silver circles in the logo look like coins, and the logo is far too big - have a look at some professional sites and you'll see they have a discreet but noticeable logo.

the bit where it says
"The Platform For Your Performance" jars because it's bold AND italic AND has lines (one border at the bottom would be ok.

your header (logo and info panel) take up far too much space

have a quick read of this article http://uxmovement.com/content/headlines-and-images-communicate-value-instantly and check out the 2 images (hard and easy scan)
 
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brandon

New Member
That's funny, now that you mention it- the colors and 'coins' do remind me of a casino.

What are your thoughts on the gig poster? I was looking for an innovative way to advertise current sales and such.
 
Almo99

Almo99

New Member
I'm at a loss for words. Really, I'm just dazed and confused looking at it. Well, you've come to the right place because you can get plenty of help here - or at least encouragement.


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brandon

New Member
:D Yeah I guess I got a bit carried away, going the wrong way with it...

Obviously I'm trying to get something that doesn't look like the standard WordPress site.

So I drew up a new sketch - Does this look appealing to anyone? Is it a road I could follow?

Thanks for your valued comments :)

21.jpg
 
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no1chance23

New Member
To be honest I think there is too much going on. Stick to one or two normal fonts. The one's you are using look too fun.

Try starting off with a plain black background with white font. Make the image much larger and to one side as at the moment its getting lost! Then put some proper content on your site elaborating on why your services are so good.

At the moment you need to step back and think do these fonts and graphics look professional and represent a hosting and server business.

You should also section your site up, with one area about your hosting and costs and the other areas about your servers.

Good luck!
 
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brandon

New Member
no1chance23- I know you're right on all points, I'll rethink and work on it this weekend.

I think my target audience will probably have better screen resolution than XGA. Does 955px make sense any more?

What do you usually use for the maximum width of your content, when not fluid?

Regards
 
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brandon

New Member
Moving right along, here's the latest: http://www.serverstage.net/25

Still needs a lot of content- in the form of more slides, navigation for them and probably some different colors here and there... but I feel the format is good.

what's the consensus now?
 
B

brandon

New Member
Here's the latest update: http://www.serverstage.net/26

I realize how hard it is to do good design. It is the inspiring idea that is so valuable. I'm handing this project over to a professional now, who I hope can make something great of it.

Thanks everyone for your tips!
 
Almo99

Almo99

New Member
I think your design is getting better. I like the simplicity of this one over your first layout. I would change your logo back though and get rid of the embossing. The embossing doesn't work. The orange that you had in the logo was good because it was clean and had a modern look to it.


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Phreaddee

Phreaddee

Super Moderator
Staff member
loads very slow.
remember your in the server business. loads very slow. hmmmm
waaaaay too much imagery. trim, simplify. FAST load will equal business
and your designs are getting better, that is true, but your not there...yet.
I would like a bit of the orange back as well. (but not as much as the original one)
optimise your images.
separate style from content
 
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