SITE REVIEW: I'd really appreciate your input!

We are just getting started. Our site http://www.loftgolf.net is just getting started and I'd love some input from you pros. This is my first venture on-line and would love to succeed . I have personally studied and researched for 8 months, full time, to learn more and now I'm proud to say I know 4% of what I need to know! Thank you very much for your help!

4%? That's all? LOL. I think that is pretty hard to gauge as much as things change. Anyways, at first glance, I'd say learn CSS. Tables are bad news! I love the rollover, but again, I hate tables. My first site was tables too, but trust me, you will love CSS once you get the hang of it.

I love the header. Creative, colorful, fun.

Don't like the image. Some is wrong with it, probably the lighting. You might want to spring for a photographer. They aren't cheap so see if you can find an amateur with a really nice camera

Typography - not good. Rethink the font and size and variation. And justification. Takes me back to the 90's.

Background - there is something weird on the right hand side. that green is sticking out of no where.

I like typography on other pages. Like the shopping cart page.

Looks like you change the layout of products later on...okay i guess.

Well this is a good start. I would suggest finding some similar sites that you like and kind of modeling yours around those. Good luck!

I'm not really good in web design but I think that you need to change size and there are no creative at all. I think that you'd better reconsider your calling.

Frankly speaking I don't like the fonts you have used. So please change the font and size of the fonts too. It is really looking very ODD in today's web2.0 world.

Thank you for the feedback so far! I do agree that the images need to be better quality. Regarding the font comment, I think we've used pretty normal fonts, ie; Ariel. I do appreciate your opinion so please elaborate.

Ya know, I was going to let this comment pass, but the more I thought about it, the more it bothered me!

1. I made it very clear that this was a new venture for me after selling in excess of $100 million dollars in boats through the years, and that I have a lot to learn. (That's why I'm here)


2. I had no problem with the criticism on the site itself, even after you stated you're not good a web design, as that's why I'm here.

3. The statement "I think that you'd better reconsider your calling" was ignorant and insulting. This is NOT my "calling", this is a business venture. As I know nothing about web design I spent a lot of money in hiring companys to design it, and I want to know if I got what I paid for.

This whole internet thing is new to EVERYONE and no one has perfected it, so we're all trying to help each other. Snide comments help no one.

Calm down. You are always going to get a person or two that doesn't read the entire message and then say something...well inappropriate. Just take the other constructive criticism and make the changes that the Masters (LOL) suggest. Can't let it bug you. I would suggest this however and take with a grain of salt: if this is a business that is already thriving and there is money in the budget, you may want to think about hiring a pro or semi-pro. Not that the site is terrible, it's actually pretty good for your first time, I applaud you for trying something new. But you don't want an "okay" site to hurt a thriving business. So maybe hire a pro, keep learning and then you can update the site as needed. Just a thought. I'm going to duck now

I think it looks good, and fun. Some of the pages need a little more information (not so much empty space) The very first picture on the front page, doesn't look professional, you might want to take a picture of the polo shirt nicely folded and not too close up. The smallest things make a slight difference.

The colors just aren't working. Don't really like the yellow. The font needs to be smaller, and maybe a different font all together.

Hi mate,

even i am up with my first site and i also seek others help

I have just seen your site 8 months is a very long time span

I am sorry if I sound rude mate

1) font size is too big

2) in first shot i dont get what your site is about.

3) you have forum get it on first page main page and make it active

4) blogs add atleast 4-5 posts daily

your site looks under construction kind

tshirt image is too big

If I would be you i would look for other such site and get a similar idea

I have learnt 2 things
1) just do it
2) do it fast

whats the utility of your site? why people will come to your site?
why they will use your site? unfortunately i learn't this too late.

Hope it helps

1. Website design is too plain
2. Content is not rich

I appreciate your input but am not sure what yellow you are speaking about.

Hi,

To say this is your first attempt, I have to say well done. I have read some of the feedback already and I think they have missed the point, you require constructive criticism. My initial thoughts are:

1. Header is nice and portrays the fun aspect of your site.

2. I am viewing in Safari and the text isn't too big, perhaps would look a bit more professional if it was slightly smaller though.

3. I would move the t-shirt picture down underneath the 'For the greatest gear, don't forget, it's not .com it's loftgolf.net!' text as it makes it confusing as to what the site is primarily about.

4. If the main text could be brought in slightly so it is not so close the white box, it would again make it look a bit more professional.

5. The creamy/yellow background colour doesn't add anything to the site. A light green would make it look a lot fresher.

6. A few more pictures throughout the site would make it a lot more interesting. Perhaps add some more of the merchandise. I initially thought you had to login before seeing the merchandise as it comes up with that message first on the 'loft gear' page. The hats, gifts buttons etc above need to be made a bit more obvious else you will run the risk of people not leaving and not viewing the products.

Hope this gives you something to work on.

Thank you for the good advise, Sophie! We are doing a full photo shoot this weekend and will be adding a lot of pictures to the site. I will also see what the light green will look like on the sides. Once again, thank you!

I like the design, expecially the navigation bar. Personally though, I wouldn't make all the text bold on the main page, maybe do what you've done on the about us page, where you had the introduction sortof thing bold and the rest regular.

The contact form is nice and simple although there would be issues if people don't live in the US, like me. Maybe you could change the 'State' option to Country, and if they select the US to have the 'State' menu enabled or something?