SITE REVIEW: //removed

__link removed__

All help is appreciated.

What can I do to make this site worth visiting and coming back to?

How is the layout, does it "flow", is navigation easy?

A Valid XHTML Page ... Nice one ... The first I've seen in a while ...

Is there a way you can put in a header image, it looks a bit strange without one ...

Then on bigger resolutions it looks real strange that you have the menu's on either side of the screen, sticking to the sides, can't you make them rather stick to either side of the content?

Another thing that bothers me are the empty numbers on the right hand side, from 19 onwards ...

Further than that ... Nice one ...

My first impressions about such sites: Way too crowdy!
I agree with righteous_tresppasser, there SHOULD be a header image, as this way everything looks haphazard!
This is one of those sites, which has got content but not a good layout!
I would suggest, you should use drop down menus. The navigation looks out of reach and totally random!
But the best part is, it is quick loading and user friendly. So, i ll give it 7/10!

@righteous_trespasser - I have thought about a header image, will consider it again, but my main goal was simplicity. I wanted as much content visible above the fold as possible (but not too much--simplicity!).

As for the side menus - I haven't found a good solution for this one. I wanted the side to be a fullscreen experience.. but on lower resolutions everything is scrunched and on higher ones they're way off to the side. Maybe I can make them stretch out a little more. I'm pretty sure the way I have it designed, the middle content div cannot be wider than 500px (leaving about 150px on each side, for the 800x600 resolution computers.. should I not worry about those anymore?)

Empty numbers on the list... they bother me as much as they do you, it's just that I don't have 50 flash files yet for the "top 50" list to be filled =p

Thanks for taking the time to check it out!

@sana - I see that you are right about everything looking haphazard. When I first started, I tried to get a background image with "site url" about... 20px tall running along the top of the page, behind the top "navigation bar". Would that help at all? Or would it look better if I created a really slim header running across the page? Maybe a 32px tall one at most running along the entire top?

Navigation - i'll consider drop down menus, but i'm not sure if they're required. I tried to keep the site as simple as possible so that menus are not really needed (hopefully).
This is the way I see my navigation:
-Top 50 pictures on the left
-Top 50 flash files on the right
-Newest files in center (or main picture/file in center on other pages)
-There are 3 ways to find other pictures:
--click a tag to see related content
--"see more pictures" link (under top 50)
--"funny pictures" link on top

There are only 3 different pages! Index, Browse, and View. I think currently the navigation is fine, but if you have in mind another way to lay it out, please let me know.

Thanks for the help! I'm writing all this down! ; )



edit: Looking at my page, I got an idea--put an item in the sidebar lists at the very top, above #1, that says "browse all images"/"browse all flash". I have it up right now, could you guys please tell me if it's any better? Personally I think this fixes the navigation issue. But let me know--thanks! =)

I like your header idea! i think you should go for it.
As for the sidebar, it is better but i would really suggest a navigation under the banner, since in case of higher resolution, they are spread far away.

What i've gotten out of this thread so far:

-Header image: thin one up top?
Will try this, if I have time tonight i'll see what I can rig up.

-Navigation under banner?
Really, the only navigation there is to "go home", "view file" and "browse files". "view image" is not going to be a menu item, since only links/thumbnails can do that. Basically, that leaves "go home" and "browse files" for the navigation. There is already a series of links at the very top of the page that do just that. If I add a header image, these links will be right under it, or possibly to the side. Would that be enough for the navigation? Or should I somehow make it clearer for visitors? I think the problem is that it's too simple. It's really easy to get around the site... it's just that there's not many places to go. Maybe it just takes some getting used to.

-Make side menus stick to content?
I will look into using percents to maybe get it to "hug" the content a little better. But I think I will try to keep it in "fullscreen". I don't want any whitespace on the sides.

-Too crowded?
Personally, I don't see this, but if anyone can tell me which parts exactly look crowded I will look into it.

Thanks! =)

Anyone else?

New design up -- please check it out and let me know what you think.

Hate to post again but the site's been completely changed around--surely someone has some suggestions?

I am not a web design expert, but I did notice a busy site that took a long time for the page to open for me here in the Arctic. I have decent speed wireless and it took quite a while for the page to open.

why is 3/4 of the opening page empty ? that big area in the front middle ? empty.. I waited and waited for something to show up but it never did.

I think your front page has too much on it to navigate easily, it was too overwheliming for me where to go.. no direction or path to follow so to speak.

I would like to see something less cluttered and more orgranized maybe. just my opinion and only a opinion.. other wise I can see a lot of work went into this. Keep at it.!

@Majik_Imaje
The server is a little slow. They suck, actually. I think what you saw was some sort of half-empty page. Try refreshing a few times... there shouldn't be too much empty space. But thanks for taking the time to check it out. Hopefully it loads next time, haha.

My first impression: 6/10 Good

You have a gallery website. I dont know what else you can improve on your website, except the design. You can play to change the color of your header and sidebar. Your pictures should be a better quality, its dont look good at all.

@kiwipulse
Is the navigation ok? Does that need any work?
Which pictures look bad? The thumbnails? Or the full-size ones as well?

Navigation is #1. Your search engine doesnt work well. If I do a search on it, its only show your tag instead of your picture. Totally useless because your tag is already on your sidebar. The pictures and thumbs are very low quality, you should improve to choose better quality pictures. The tag on the thumb is useless.

My advice, look at the other galleries website, it may give you some ideas

@Kiwipulse
Lol, I haven't coded the search yet. Pictures+thumbs are generated on the fly, I will look into seeing if I can crank up the quality at all.
"The tag on the thumb is useless." - what are you referring to, and why is it useless?
Thanks for following up =)
Will take your advice and check out some other galleries.