Lets see some of your top ten websites so you might enlighten us overzealous designers. And people are stupid, they'll pay a thousand bucks for any website, because alot of people think its a good rate for an entire site, no matter what it looks like, and no matter where they are, be it the UK or the US or India for that matter. If its true that the average user prefer's a text based, default font, image light, bright and contrasting color scheme like the one you're showing, then why is it that major companies don't invest their $15,000 in you to design their websites? For instance reebok (
http://www.reebok.com/US/#), heavy flash, heavy graphic, strong interactive interface. Or sprite (
http://www.sprite.com) another heavy flash, heavy graphic design, this time augmented with audio clips. Or how about cnn (
http://www.cnn.com/)? CSS/HTML/PHP or ASP or CGI or some hardcore scripting language in the background, probably PHP, along with alot of high quality, heavy images. If what you say is true, then these companies, moreso than most, should know to make their websites more simplistic, with harsher color schemes, and less bandwidth eating materials. Yet they dont...why is that? Why is it that they pay bookoos of money to world class designers to come up with these over complicated websites, when they have the money to throw away on polling and surveying their customer base to find out what's expected from their website before they create it?
But most importantly, out of all my questions for you e85andyou, is how many more hits do you think this website is getting (
http://www.ethanolrfa.org/resource/made/) than your own, when both sites are distributing the same content, and your design is much simpler and easier to navigate? I'm guessing 100 fold, but thats my few years experience in design talking. I'm sure you're a much more seasoned veteran when it comes to design, seeing as you've stumbled upon the epiphany of "simpler is better."
Honestly, I was trying to give you some good tips and places to gather new ideas and better design practices, while introducing you to the harsh criticism you're bound to receive along the way in your designing venture. But, you're probably a high school or middle school student in some design class showing off your class project, and butthurt about the fact that I told you it sucks, when you know its better than anyone elses in your class. Well in the real world, it does suck, but I'm not going to explain why to you, because the design isn't worth saving. You just need to explore the information available and build off what you already know, then create something worthwhile, and try to quit being a smartass. Learn to accept criticism, its the best way to improve your skills, and shoot high, try to recreate whatever you think looks cool. Don't just rip it, draw it up yourself from scratch and add your own little touches to it. Its the best way to learn and progress in designing, and you've got alot of that left to do.
