HTMLSyntax.com

[mikesherov]

Hey guys.
Just started building my first site:
http://www.htmlsyntax.com

Please critique the site, given the example product page, and the look of the forum. Much appreciated!

[GiantDomains]

On my screen the site is only about 1/4 the screen in height.

[lz83ny]

Same here. Use that blank space.

[BigPete]

i recommend making the page only as wide as your navigational links at the top are. that will help to make the page taller.
the forum's looks ok to me, but i wonder if you could integrate the design of your homepage into it a little more.
not bad for a first site, though. keep it up

[Vivvy]

took forever to load ...

this is just an observation overall, as much about the content really... but if you're telling me that what you offer is "all the resources you need to successfully plan, design, build, and market your own website" and your site looks amateurish it doesn't encourage me to explore the site at all. The site doesn't look like it was done by someone who knows a lot about website development, at least from an aesthetic point of view.

But, for a first try it's not bad... keep working on it. One of the truest things about web design is that a site is never truly finished.

Vivvy

[mikesherov]

took forever to load because of url redirecting (which will change soon). I appreciate the criticisms.

[Restecpa]

Hey Mike, nice talking to you the other day in the chat. I agree that you should work on the layout some more, but what you should really concentrate on is the content. You want to get indexed by SE, so content should be your main priority. Once you have that, and traffic starts flowing in, you can take time to work on the layout. I suggest you learn about CSS as it makes it much easier to post-edit your layout, without having to edit each file on its own.

I wish you best of luck with your first website.

[pelican]

not bad. you need to put more html resources.

[mikesherov]

RESTECPA, thanks for the advice. I use my own custom made PHP templating system to do site wide changes... never thought about CSS, but it's the same thing.

Anyway, I've made another round of updates. Please give me critiques base solely on layout, as I am trying to become a designer as well as a programmer and this is the skill I need work on most.

[BigPete]

looks much better than before i must say. However, one of my greatest pet peeves with web design is bold rollover links! I do NOT like those at all. On your side bars its not so bad, but in the middle of the paragraph, its really annoying because all of the text shifts.
IMHO, the best rollover for a text link is to make the underline appear or disappear and make the font color change.

[Vivvy]

You're making some great strides but I have to agree with bigpete.. the bold rollover that makes the text jump makes me queasy...

btw.. here's a great resource for you.. http://www.thefreecountry.com/webmas...leditors.shtml

Vivvy