My new design.... feedback needed

[niz406]

Hey Guys,

I'm doing / extending my portfolio for web design / development and I want your guys feedback on a new design for a friends bosses company. The text needs a bit of formatting work and who knows I may even do it in flash, can you guys just let me know what you think?

Just be nice !

New design

The rollovers work on the buttons but they do not load anything as I havent loaded the other pages.

[niz406]

Ok so guys some of you have voted, but have not stated your reasons why you have voted or any extra ideas you may or may not have... Please come back and have your say !

[DaiRees]

To criticise constructively.....

It's a really nice page, there are far too many not-so-nice pages out there that aren't particularly nice to look at. Yours doesn't fall into that category, it is aesthetically pleasing, looks very good.

Here's the rub though, web design has improved dramatically over recent years and the problem is that it's now very very difficult to come up with something that stands out from the crowd. Your page is great but so are a hell of a lot of other pages. It just strikes me that these days websites need something to make them a bit different, a wow factor if you like. I've got no idea what that could be, and if I did I wouldnt put it on a forum, I'd bottle it and get rich . Maybe your idea of doing it in flash would help with the wow, how about a soundtrack of a revving wankel? (I love that word!)

So I'd use the words "really nice / looks great", but I think "awesome" may be a bit of a stretch....

[Captain Jack]

It's a nice design, but I don't like the fact that it's in such a small window frame!! Most screens these days are 1280x1024 resolution so it would be a shame not to utilise it.

DaiRees is right about the general website design theory. I think key components are that it's clear, easy to navigate and fast loading. However, I don't agree that sites designed in flash give the "wow" factor. I despise them simply because they take an age to load. Not due to line speed (that's not a problem these days) but due to pointless flashy animations and are generally harder to navigate..

[niz406]

Thank you for the feedback...

Well to give the w0w factor I was going to animate the buttons so that the rotor rotates in the Mazda logo, I was also going to make the rotor move on the main left engine split image..

I was going to make the Mazda icon with a Rotor inside it as the preloader for the site in 3D, I think that with a decent sound track would be better, as for the size issue, most standard resolutions from generic PC's [PCworld, Dell mass produced garbage] is actually set to 1024 x 768 @ 32bpp

I can make it larger, but just need a larger resolution engine picture, which I may be able to get at rotorstock this weekend, if not the next time I am in reading.

[PJ]

I agree with Captain Jack regarding the window frame, it could be bigger .

You could perhaps reduce the amount of info detail on the opening page, keep it simple so the browser can see immediately what your selling(ie. use bullets and a couple of words), then include the detailed info on porting etc. on the services page.

Having said that I like the design, I think it portrays a solid no frills professional company.

Good Luck.

[niz406]

Cheers PJ thats what I was aiming for... a professional, clean, no fluff website the final product will be better, and I will post it on here so you can all look.

[turbolag]

I'm the worst person in the world to ask about careers advice. I got a bachelors degree in planetary geology, my masters in celestial mechanics, which set me up nicely for a high flying career...in the dibble! Where I earn less than my brother does in a warehouse, or than I did in my last job 11 years ago as an estate agent.

Duh

[Welly]

On first impressions:

Very much like the look, very clean and up to date.

I found the text about 'what we do' a bit long winded, I know it's hard to shorten stuff like that but I personally don't like reading stuff until I want to. It was a bit of a read to be honest.

I would want to see a section of a Rotary engine operating, then a street car scene and a racing car scene, customers would then understand he knows about their engines and can cater for the public and professionals.

They're funny beasts the Mazda's and customers want to trust that their car will be in good hands, some proof of this might be nice like: before and after stats, images of dyno graphs, a race image, a street car etc.

I suppose something to capture your interst first and then you can go off to all the techy stuff?

[slick]

So far, I quite like it. It gives a sort of a 'professional' feel to it. The text is a bit poor, but I assume you will be re-wording it? Also some testimonals would be great. It will give any possible customers some sort of 'satisfaction'.

I would also consider changing the pictures at the front...

I wouldn't go for any animations, it just looks crap (in my opinion anyway), just keep it it neat, simple and professional.


Don't be offended or owt y anyting I have said, just my two cents thats all!!