Please review my simple site

[MidOhioVideo]

Hello,

Please review my simple site. I did it all in notepad, with a free graphics proggie to make the buttons, and a free flash composer for the few flash items. I took all of the pictures and backgrounds with my own camera (except for the stock photos of the cameras). I am not that artistic, more of the technical-type, so I'd like some input.

Go easy on me

www.midohiovideo.com

I want to add a paypal shopping cart soon. Also, I know the support downloads are dead links, I haven't gathered and zipped my software yet.

Thanks in advance,
MidOhioVideo

 

[ohmaild]

nice site and still have more potential for better one. love it dude. i like it the way you did it coz your using only notepad. develope your skill and knowledge. love it dude keep on and bless you dude. by the way check my site too. i used full flash and some little script and html. http://ohmaildsfaith.elementfx.com thanks dude. looking forward to any developement for you site.

 

[Hydrargyrum]

I think it's really great that you own all of your own content rather than ripping it off left and right like so many people often do. It's fundamentally a great site, and I can tell that you have put a lot of love into it. I also think it's quite awesome that you wrote it by hand. Many people don't do that, either.

Alas, I do have a few criticisms. Sorry. I hope they help, though.

Frames = ick. Why are you using a big frame, anyway? If you own your domain name, you should just set up your name servers. There's a dozen tutorials on that around here on the x10hosting forums, thankfully.

That whole middle frame thing is not good, either. Just to let you know, I couldn't initially browse your site correctly, because like most people, I have iFrames disabled. (It's been a long time since I've seen people use them for anything but ads, eh!) That right there is a good reason to not use frames. Learn the fine art of using php includes. It's super easy, and x10hosting has you idiotproofed by default so that you don't end up with the security problems that unsafe includes can pose. Learning php would be grand! And XHTML, as no one uses "HTML" anymore. Keep in mind, frames are a relic of an era where rollerblades were super cool and the organic soy latte could only be purchased at the most upscale coffee houses.

Also, your buttons are quite pixellated. Try redesigning them again (look up a tutorial on button making), and make sure to use antialiasing and save them in png format. Antialiasing is basically when things are nice and smooth. A png is like a gif or a jpeg, but it's not lossy and allows partial transparency. Which basically means that png images look much nicer than gifs and jpegs. Also, whilst Arial is a great utilitarian font, you might want to try something a little sexier for your buttons and banner.

Host your own web counter, don't use one of those silly free ones with a link back to the host. Try this one: http://www.stadtaus.com/en/php_scripts/counter_script/

I like that you've got lots of content and it's quality content. I like your mouseover larger images on the items you are selling. I also like your "main.swf" object. Your website has all kinds of great things going for it! Just fine tune the little stuff.

By the way, I should probably mention that one of your menu buttons is misspelled. I'll leave you to figure out which one, though.

 

[MidOhioVideo]

Thank you very much for your input, both praise and criticizms. I need both

Keep in mind, frames are a relic of an era where rollerblades were super cool and the organic soy latte could only be purchased at the most upscale coffee houses.

Haha! Well, that would explain it. I haven't designed a stand-alone site since 1999, and even then it looked dated. That iFrame limitation scares me. I will have to look into something different.

By the way, I should probably mention that one of your menu buttons is misspelled. I'll leave you to figure out which one, though.

Are you referring to "telephony"? It's a real word. If that's not the one, tell me which it is, because I must think it is spelled correctly...

Thank You!
MidOhioVideo

 

[dwd2000]

Frames = ick. Why are you using a big frame, anyway? If you own your domain name, you should just set up your name servers. There's a dozen tutorials on that around here on the x10hosting forums, thankfully.

That whole middle frame thing is not good, either. Just to let you know, I couldn't initially browse your site correctly, because like most people, I have iFrames disabled. (It's been a long time since I've seen people use them for anything but ads, eh!) That right there is a good reason to not use frames. Learn the fine art of using php includes. It's super easy, and x10hosting has you idiotproofed by default so that you don't end up with the security problems that unsafe includes can pose. Learning php would be grand! And XHTML, as no one uses "HTML" anymore. Keep in mind, frames are a relic of an era where rollerblades were super cool and the organic soy latte could only be purchased at the most upscale coffee houses.

I use frames too, so I guess I have a little more to learn too. I'm one of the dinosaurs that still uses html.

I like it very much. It looks very professional looking and simple. I like simple. I also echo the points about the little details. Very nice job.

P.S. I never roller bladed.

 

[sunils]

its so dark out there. and your header is not clear in that background. Try either changing the background or font color of the header. make the font size of the text in the home page little smaller. that will do for it now. later add some graphics...

 

[frankfriend]

Hi,

Not bad for a first site!

May I suggest that you try some new approaches for your next versions as you develop it further.

1] Try using CSS to control the style [colour text etc] so you can experiment easily with appearance

2] Lighten it up. It is just too dark.

3] Try a version getting rid of frames.

4] Develop on screen navigation- as navigation seems to be the reason for your use of frames at the moment.

5] It is great to use HTML this way, as you really learn how to do things.

Best regards

 

[dotaloc]

functional site

i thought the other reviewers mentioned some important and useful things.

the only other things i'd recommend would be

change the color of the background (outside of the i.frame, i think). right now the white to black contrast is just too much.

the bottom part with the links. maybe separators between the links (i often use '|' or something simple). maybe try and see what the links looks like when they aren't underlined. they look pretty noticeable down there, it is probably apparent that they are special text and may not need the underlining to show they are links.

The font looks a little too big to me.

The buttons have different font sizes so they all fit the designed area (i think), but they look a little scrunched. maybe make that area a little bigger, widen the buttons a little, and give the text a little more room to breathe.

the email button seems a little too far down the page for my liking.

i don't especially like web counters anymore. i don't know if someone thinking that your page actually has 10,000 views will make them much more likely to use your service. i may be mistaken.

nice, functional site that has some room to grow. good job!

 

[FalseHope]

http://ohmaildsfaith.elementfx.com/

Great Success !
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I'm guessing you're in the routing problem too.

 

[Hydrargyrum]

Are you referring to "telephony"? It's a real word. If that's not the one, tell me which it is, because I must think it is spelled correctly...

Nope, I was referring to the very last one, though I can't remember what it was that the button said, and I can't go look now because your site seems to be down temporarily. You used an apostrophe in a thing that was only meant to be plural. That could be considered a spelling error or a punctuation error. Either way, it jumped out at me like a goat on fire!

 

[numberone]

im guessing your a bussiness so id lose the web counter if i was you coz it looks a bit unproffesional and also the black backgound underneath the text makes the text hard too read but apart from those things it was pretty good

 

[MidOhioVideo]

Thanks a lot for all of your suggestions. I will be making some changes soon.

I have been in bed with the flu for the last week or so (man does that suck), heh... Now I awake to blizzard conditions, and my TV cable is out. At least I still have internet (for now)!

Thanks,
MidOhioVideo.com

 

[SrSarah]

I'm struggling with building my first site myself, and can't offer any technical advice. I like the functionality of the site and it's actually easier to use than a lot of established ones that I shop at. Aesthetically, I'd prefer to see it lighter, it's a bit too dark for my liking.

 

[satheesh]

Sorry,I don't like it.

 

[Cliff Dude]

The banner and images are VERY low quality, use PNGs instead of JPEGs.