This project is nearing completion, so i'd like to get some feedback on it.
Flash Player 9 is required.
http://www.byrographics.com/mailsolutions/
Flash Player 9 is required.
http://www.byrographics.com/mailsolutions/
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website critique...
- Thread starter snickelfritz
- Start date
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The design of the site is very nice - clean and simple, easy to use navigation, and the amount of info is good.
The site loads VERY slow for me. Right now I am browsing at Panera Bread on their wifi, so that may have something to do with it, but every other site I have gone to here else seems to load pretty quickly, so maybe not.
I am not sure of the reason for an all flash site though, is there some function that the site needs that only Flash can deliver?
An all Flash site hurts your search engine rankings a lot, is usually kind of a pain to update if something significant needs to change, and also may end up alienating some users. I understand what's done is done, and I definitely understand if the client was super insistent that it be flash. With that said though, next time I would really think twice about using flash for a project like this. You may want to check out this article for another opinion: http://www.wakeuplater.com/website-building/places-that-flash-does-not-belong.aspx
The site loads VERY slow for me. Right now I am browsing at Panera Bread on their wifi, so that may have something to do with it, but every other site I have gone to here else seems to load pretty quickly, so maybe not.
I am not sure of the reason for an all flash site though, is there some function that the site needs that only Flash can deliver?
An all Flash site hurts your search engine rankings a lot, is usually kind of a pain to update if something significant needs to change, and also may end up alienating some users. I understand what's done is done, and I definitely understand if the client was super insistent that it be flash. With that said though, next time I would really think twice about using flash for a project like this. You may want to check out this article for another opinion: http://www.wakeuplater.com/website-building/places-that-flash-does-not-belong.aspx
That's my critique. I mean when Flash is required but not so useful (I haven't checked the whole sire out, but I guess you use it only for the 2 navigation bars and the transitions) in my opinion is better not to use it. CSS + Javascript is more than enough. But this is just a personal opinion.
Moving to the design: it is clean, perhaps you can restructure the bars, moving home, contact, and map in the vertical one. Why do you have them within the tracking packages menu since they are not related to tacking packages? Finally, a sliding transition between pages could keep it even more neat.
Holy crap, that's very good, in fact it's almost perfect, I could only fault the font size but you may need all that info on the 'index'.
WOW you're good, I'm impressed, in case you couldn't guess.
The rollover buttons are nice: very 2.0...
But I have some nitpics:
* The portal seems small. On a wide display it seems to float in the center of the screen.
* The text and left links are very small. If I try to zoom the text with my browser nothing happens which is a big no-no. All the text sections are images imbedded in the Flash? Lot of folks dislike this.
* Not sure if Flash is really needed for this type of content? Do people who are tracking a package or buying box supplies really need Flash animation?
* Blue headings look like links but are not.
* The left logo graphic seems like it should be a link to the Home page?
* Not sure if the Flash system and lack of any meta data or doctype will provide browser rendering accuracy or search engine performance?
* Some folks hate clicking on a major nav link and then have a new web browser window open.
Overall the effect is cool but I just finished the new edition of Dan Cederholm's great book "Bulletproof Web Design" and can't help but feel that some of Dan's major points would serve this site well...
But I have some nitpics:
* The portal seems small. On a wide display it seems to float in the center of the screen.
* The text and left links are very small. If I try to zoom the text with my browser nothing happens which is a big no-no. All the text sections are images imbedded in the Flash? Lot of folks dislike this.
* Not sure if Flash is really needed for this type of content? Do people who are tracking a package or buying box supplies really need Flash animation?
* Blue headings look like links but are not.
* The left logo graphic seems like it should be a link to the Home page?
* Not sure if the Flash system and lack of any meta data or doctype will provide browser rendering accuracy or search engine performance?
* Some folks hate clicking on a major nav link and then have a new web browser window open.
Overall the effect is cool but I just finished the new edition of Dan Cederholm's great book "Bulletproof Web Design" and can't help but feel that some of Dan's major points would serve this site well...
it is a pretty nice site
but if you want to see a good flash site check this out
it is my friends
http://thehumananimal.com/
but if you want to see a good flash site check this out
it is my friends
http://thehumananimal.com/
I know I'm OT but what do you mean with "good"? You mean a site that shows off developer's flash skills or a usable site.
I'm assuming that's a repurposed flash template site? I think the animation/interface is smooth, but the logo is pretty lacking and doesn't seem to fit the slickness of everything else. Also, those of us with pop-up blockers will have to disable them for the tracking links.
You will have the typical SEO concerns, as well as people (myself included) advising against the accessibility/updatability of the proprietary all-flash platform.
You will have the typical SEO concerns, as well as people (myself included) advising against the accessibility/updatability of the proprietary all-flash platform.
Thanks for the input.
>
Many of my clients ask specifically for Flash, and it's basically the only kind of web development jobs I currently accept.
The market for Flash is better than for HTML for some reason, so I'm not starving for Flash Projects, and people seem generally willing to pay more for Flash than HTML.
This particular client actually came from a referral from another Flash job.
"I want that!!!"
>
The Home, contact, and map navs were moved from the sidebar to separate those aspects from the services and products content.
It's more or less a site organization decision that leaves room for more product links in the sidebar. (this client sells a very diverse range of products and collectibles)
>
I demo'ed some sliding page transitions.
Personally, I prefer this style of page transition,(since the pages can be cached as bitmaps, reducing CPU overhead, but my client wanted something more "bouncy", for lack of a better description.
>
Many of my clients ask specifically for Flash, and it's basically the only kind of web development jobs I currently accept.
The market for Flash is better than for HTML for some reason, so I'm not starving for Flash Projects, and people seem generally willing to pay more for Flash than HTML.
This particular client actually came from a referral from another Flash job.
"I want that!!!"
>
The Home, contact, and map navs were moved from the sidebar to separate those aspects from the services and products content.
It's more or less a site organization decision that leaves room for more product links in the sidebar. (this client sells a very diverse range of products and collectibles)
>
I demo'ed some sliding page transitions.
Personally, I prefer this style of page transition,(since the pages can be cached as bitmaps, reducing CPU overhead, but my client wanted something more "bouncy", for lack of a better description.
You are making clients happy which is important.
The pro Flash vs anti Flash debate is getting old. No reason to rehash it all here.
I will say this though: some clients will see some of the Flash eye candy out there and pant: "I want that!" Usually no one explains why other means of more accessible content delivery is in their interests. Does Flash help or hinder getting the clients message out there to the widest audience possible? I council my clients against Flash for several well documented reasons. I could be wrong but I sense the market is slowly moving away from Flash...
In this case good XHTML, CSS and Jquery Javascript would have delivered most of the navigation effects you have here AND increase usability.
But, hey, if the client loves it then...
The pro Flash vs anti Flash debate is getting old. No reason to rehash it all here.
I will say this though: some clients will see some of the Flash eye candy out there and pant: "I want that!" Usually no one explains why other means of more accessible content delivery is in their interests. Does Flash help or hinder getting the clients message out there to the widest audience possible? I council my clients against Flash for several well documented reasons. I could be wrong but I sense the market is slowly moving away from Flash...
In this case good XHTML, CSS and Jquery Javascript would have delivered most of the navigation effects you have here AND increase usability.
But, hey, if the client loves it then...
Site was designed and coded from scratch.
Logo was designed by an amateur local sign designer; I know, It's icky.
(if they hadn't already had the sign installed, I would have created a simpler logo design for this project)
It shows good flash skills but it is not an usable site it
it is my friend who is trying to become an music artist