UK Webmaster World New Design

[temi]

Finally got working on the new design for UK Webmaster World. Its not complete yet but here is what it look like so far, suggestions to improve it and your opinions are welcomed : http://www3.velnetweb.co.uk/images/whatdoyouthink.gif

Thanks

 

[Duke]

I actually forgot you were working on this, sorry buds.

I think it would be better if it was centered in the page rather than off to the left.

 

[temi]

Thanks Duke, the real thing is actually centre, it appears to be to the left because its only and image that is not controlled by html


I think the top is a bit crowded, I am thinking of removing some of the stuff a the top. I was also thinking of removing the blue colour so that its its tri colour, it will probably have more visual impact that way
What do you think?

 

[Duke]

Quite honestly I like the blue in there because of the stark contrast it provides and blue is such a good webcolor to begin with. I do know what you mean though because that interactive header makes the site look a bit top heavy. The other thing that would be great is if you could lose some width in the left margin quick nav. area and add it to the center of the page where your articles are.

Other than those few minor things, it really is clean and professional looking IMO. Great work!

 

[Duke]

Actually I do have one more observation, sorry.

I like the fact that you split the two content cells in the middle just under the header in the articles area. The only complaint I do have about it is that the cells are different widths with the "Welcome Webmaster Resources..." cell being larger than the "Featured Webmaster Site/Tools". I think it would look more balanced if they were both equal in size.

 

[temi]

Actually I do have one more observation, sorry.

I like the fact that you split the two content cells in the middle just under the header in the articles area. The only complaint I do have about it is that the cells are different widths with the "Welcome Webmaster Resources..." cell being larger than the "Featured Webmaster Site/Tools". I think it would look more balanced if they were both equal in size.

Thanks for that observation Duke, I will divide it equaly. What worries me most about the design is the top, its way too busy. I will have to either remove the banner or remove the smiling woman at the top.

What do you think?

 

[temi]

Quite honestly I like the blue in there because of the stark contrast it provides and blue is such a good webcolor to begin with. I do know what you mean though because that interactive header makes the site look a bit top heavy. The other thing that would be great is if you could lose some width in the left margin quick nav. area and add it to the center of the page where your articles are.

Other than those few minor things, it really is clean and professional looking IMO. Great work!

Thanks for your suggestion, as can see your argument for reducing the quick nav bar on the left, I will do that
Temi

 

[Duke]

Thanks for that observation Duke, I will divide it equaly. What worries me most about the design is the top, its way too busy. I will have to either remove the banner or remove the smiling woman at the top.

What do you think?

Aside from that woman looking a bit homely in nature, I like the look of the header. The problem isn't so much the header IMO but more the fact that you have 3 navigation bars bordering it (one from above and two below).

Maybe you can take the banner out as well and move it beneath the two split cells with webmaster resources and webmaster tools and above the free stock photo images or even lower on the page. I believe it would look better if you could spread the images out a bit because putting them in one area just makes that area cluttered.

If you were to pull the banner out of the header, you could then compress the size of the banner with ugly chick in it which will add you some content space. If you were to have part of the article with a "Read Entire Story" or "Read More" link then you'd not only save space but up the navigation required to view the article.

Lastly, do you have any other professional looking gals you can put in that header other than horse woman? No offense, but the last time I saw a mouth like that, it had a hook in it.

 

[temi]

Thanks Duke,
I am making quite a lots of changes to the top, the whole concep look completely different, I will show you the new one in a few hours when its ready
Thanks

 

[martian2k4]

I like it a lot, Will the forum design be changed to it aswell?

 

[temi]

Yes Martian,
The forum design will change as well

 

[stealthhosts]

Has this been created from scratch?

Is it just a local copy at the moment or is there a test server to look at? I would be happy to offer some QA time on it if/when you get to a release state.

Looks nice, although I like the existing pages as well.

Lewis

 

[temi]

stealthhosts,
Yes it was created from scratch and we are actually still working on it. I will like you contribution, at present its in graphic form but by tomorrow I will have it in html, once its in html and I start adding pages I will let you know.
All input very welcomed.
I am redesigning it becuse current design has been online for quite a while and its looking dated.

I will be starting an articles section when the new site goes live in case you want to do some article on MCSE or CCNA certification or any IT related articles for that matter, that will be an opportunity to pickup some links

Thanks

 

[stealthhosts]

stealthhosts,
Yes it was created from scratch and we are actually still working on it. I will like you contribution, at present its in graphic form but by tomorrow I will have it in html, once its in html and I start adding pages I will let you know.
All input very welcomed.
I am redesigning it becuse current design has been online for quite a while and its looking dated.

I will be starting an articles section when the new site goes live in case you want to do some article on MCSE or CCNA certification or any IT related articles for that matter, that will be an opportunity to pickup some links

Thanks

Cool,
No problem, just give me a shout if/when. I actually started in webdesign in a testing role, QA and validation 'should' mean that I never find any errors in my own sites, sadly due to the way my brain works it is far easier to spot other peoples mistakes than my own lol.

I would be happy to put an article or two together for you, just let me know some topcs you might want. One thing that may well be useful to new webmasters is a tutorial on server management (securing, administrating and configuring webservers) as well as stuff on adding content (SSH, SFTP, etc). I dunno, I'll have a think. Just let me know what you want.

Lewis

 

[temi]

I think an article on each of the topics will be quite excellent starting with securing a server, one can then do another one on administrating and configuring webservers will be the last on. By the way would that be IIS server or Apache or both?

If this is going to take you a lot of time I am happy to pay some money towards your expensis. As the articles will grately enrich the site, I am hoping to lanch the new look with lots of useful contents in August
Thanks

 

[stealthhosts]

I think an article on each of the topics will be quite excellent starting with securing a server, one can then do another one on administrating and configuring webservers will be the last on. By the way would that be IIS server or Apache or both?

If this is going to take you a lot of time I am happy to pay some money towards your expensis. As the articles will grately enrich the site, I am hoping to lanch the new look with lots of useful contents in August
Thanks

No reason not to cover both windows and a major linux distro (redhat?) for security and web server config. I have some published security walkthroughs and papers anyway so I'll update them to latest versions, any new content I'll just write.

Glad to help

Lewis

 

[Duke]

Temi, I'm also willing to help you with beta testing the new site when it's live and whatever else you need.