Reluctantly, it's my turn...

sjlplat

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Laneville, TX
I hate peer reviews, but it's a part of the whole development process so I guess it's a necessary evil. I've just about finished the overall layout of my new site, so I figured I'd throw it up here before I go to all the trouble of building the supporting documents and links.

Be gentle. I'm a softie. :D
 
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REALLY NICE job!! I like your site a lot, and I like the mouse graphic, did you create that one yourself?
 
Hey man, well first off you are my neighbor right up the road. I'm down in Nacogdoches.

I don't blame you for not wanting to do peer review on here. My site isn't great and I know it, but the web is not where my business comes from so I'm not in a rush to fix it right now. I'll be honest about your website.....I've looked at alot of sites posted on these forums and I don't like most of them.:D That being said, yours really looks good. I like it alot. It's clean and simple. The only thing that sticks out a little to me is the graphic behind the mouse. I can't figure out what that silver stuff is around the circuit board? For some reason my eyes went back up to that on every page. The circuit board doesn't bother me much but that silver (melted metal?) around the edges just struck me odd. Don't get me wrong, I don't think it looks horrible, it just stuck out more than anything else for me. Other than that one little thing the design looks great.

The only other thing that I noticed was your pricing page. I was looking at it and thinking that your prices were impossibly cheap. Then I saw down at the very bottom that the price did not include the parts. I understand that, but if my customers saw that price list they would be convinced the prices quoted would be their grand total before tax. I think I might make that part of the page more clear just to prevent people from being upset later.

Just a funny side note about pricing and customers.....I had an older lady call this morning and tell me that her flat screen monitor had died because nothing came on the screen but the computer was clearly coming on and she could hear the "music jingle" play when it booted to the desktop in XP. I told her it could very likely be a video card problem rather than an LCD problem. Finally she asks if I'd be willing to come out and look at it. I tell her yes and she asks what I would charge. I explained my service call fee was $65 and she loudly gaspped and said "Well I'm looking at your ad and it says if I have a small problem it's a small price and this is a small problem! I guess your ad is wrong!!" I explained to her that if she brought me the computer I would be glad to give her a free estimate and the problem might very well be small but if I come to her, I have to charge my service call fee. She said, "I'm sorry but I just can't believe you'd charge that much to come out. I'll have to find someone else or find someone to help me bring it in to you, but your ad is VERY misleading!" So if I got that much grief over my ad, I think she might have skinned me alive if I had your price list and she found out it was for the labor only.:D

Great looking site sir, I like it.
 
Nice looking site.

The only thing I would change is I would make your header smaller. Its a little overpowering. Maybe just make your logo smaller so the header would not take up as much space.

Other then that. Nice design, I like it.
 
Hey man, well first off you are my neighbor right up the road. I'm down in Nacogdoches.

We'll have to talk. You're the first person I've met from the area since I moved here. :)

The only thing that sticks out a little to me is the graphic behind the mouse. I can't figure out what that silver stuff is around the circuit board? For some reason my eyes went back up to that on every page. The circuit board doesn't bother me much but that silver (melted metal?) around the edges just struck me odd.

I wasn't too sure about the framing myself. I've tried a few different frames, and so far this one looks best. I'll keep working on it and see if I can come up with something that isn't so loud.

The only other thing that I noticed was your pricing page. I was looking at it and thinking that your prices were impossibly cheap. Then I saw down at the very bottom that the price did not include the parts. I understand that, but if my customers saw that price list they would be convinced the prices quoted would be their grand total before tax. I think I might make that part of the page more clear just to prevent people from being upset later.

That's definitely something I need to address. I wasn't sure if I was clear enough about the pricing. It might be more suitable to relocate the details to the top.

The only thing I would change is I would make your header smaller. Its a little overpowering. Maybe just make your logo smaller so the header would not take up as much space.

It seemed a little big to me as well. Thanks for reaffirming my thoughts.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Appleby View Post
Hey man, well first off you are my neighbor right up the road. I'm down in Nacogdoches.
We'll have to talk. You're the first person I've met from the area since I moved here.

I'd love to talk with you. It would be nice to know someone else close by in the business. We'll have to set it up when we both have a little time and we can talk.
 
Ok, I think I've addressed all the suggestions so far.

  • Reduced the frame size and texture on the PCB graphic to make it more subtle.
  • Moved the part pricing details to the top of the rate tables.
  • Reduced the size of the header, logo, and supporting text.

Thanks for all the input so far!
 
Very bright and very memorable site!

The only suggestion I have and it is pretty much a personal thing is the price list. In my opinion it is incredibly over powering and confusing to the customer. Maybe you could combine some of the hardware stuff that has the same pricing? Just a suggestion.
 
Very bright and very memorable site!

The only suggestion I have and it is pretty much a personal thing is the price list. In my opinion it is incredibly over powering and confusing to the customer. Maybe you could combine some of the hardware stuff that has the same pricing? Just a suggestion.

I thought it would be more clear to list everything in detail. If someone knows that a particular part needs to be replaced, an itemized price list should provide a clear picture of what the cost is going to be. I certainly don't want to confuse anyone.

I combined the prices, reorganized them in ascending order, and left everything itemized. Does that seem a little better?
 
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Thanks for all the input everyone! I spent most of the day making minor adjustments, adding visual effects, and adding supporting documents. I think all I have left now is to register accounts with social networking sites and vendors, and add some vendor logos wherever applicable.

Should be ready to go live any day now!

Hey if you are ever down in Nac, lets go to lunch.

PM your info and I'll holler at ya whenever I'm down that way. Likewise, feel free to look me up if you're in the area. Henderson is only 15 minutes away.
 
The site has gone live. It still needs a few minor additions, but they don't affect the function or presentation of the site, so I will add those later. Thank you all for your input!
 
Wow its coming out really nice.... I love the mouse and the background image on it... nice.. still hate you... lol
 
Wow its coming out really nice.... I love the mouse and the background image on it... nice.. still hate you... lol

Thanks! I tried some new things with this site, and I'm very pleased with the way they worked out. I'm actually a much better back-end programmer than a graphic artist, but selling web development services requires more visual presentation (you can see my backend coding skills in the contact form and CAPTCHA image). I figured if I was going to sell myself as a web developer, I had to move away from the back-end coding and provide something more visually appealing.
 
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