SITE REVIEW: symplistix.com

Hello everyone.

New to Ozzu and looking forward to some good ole fashioned C&C.

I have had this site up for about a year now and it is time for a redesign. I am looking for some ways to improve the site and at the same time build on what I have done already.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

The site: Symplistix
Thanks,
Dave[/url]

The font is a little large...have you checked it in 800X600? Most users are still on 800x600 resolution. Also the top nav is longer than the header and footer bars but they both look very awesome! Scroll on the right is a nice touch but try a darker color...

A little more work and the site is going to look fantastic!

I'd make your "sites in development" divider on your portfolio page a little more clear. At first I just thought it was referencing the next site. Not all the sites below the statement.

Thanks for the help.

I think I have a bit of a css problem with fonts. In my IE 6.0 even with 800x600 the fonts look fine.

This was the first time I used css totally..no tables etc.

Thanks for the tip about the portfolio...I think that is going to have to be reworked a bit. I am not so keen on the layout of that area at all.

Dave

Looks quite good, the main page could use some graphics though to add to the effect. Overall though I like it, has a nice banner, and navigation system. Easy to use



Wouldn't have said so...

Steve

This is a good example of how site design should match its content. I feel you did a great job in doing so.

You did very well on every page to be clear and straight to the point which is what a lot of service-based websites need to do.

The design itself is very simple but clean, a look which should bode well for your target audience.

A suggestion I have, however, is pricing. Show your prices on the site, rather than having the client debating wether or not to contact you for a quote - or, have a free quote available.

Website design companies lose a surprising number of clients because prices aren't posted on the site itself or provide an easy and fast way of providing them with a price in $$, leaving the client feeling that they still need to search the web to see if they can find a cheaper firm (assuming you may be too expensive).

Dr. Jakob Nielsen, an expert in the field points this out in a lot of his books. Its definitely something to take into consideration.

I agree with steve, the home page could do with a little bit of eye candy... Looks cool though.

Thanks everyone for the response.

The pricing issue has come up before. I'm still divided about whether to post pricing or not. There are arguments both ways.

As for the 800x600 comment: At http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp the trend is moving more to 1024x768. 47% for 1024x768 and 37% for 800x600. Thankfully people are finally realizing that 800x600 is just plain ugly.

"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics."

2 things.

First, the main page is very plain. Not good for a web design company IMO. I wasn't compelled to dig around the site at all. People who are looking for a website company are usually looking for someone to do it because they can't so they are more likely to be impressed with a great layout than great code. Don't misinterpret me, keep the code nice and clean but liven up the visual aspect.

Second, your text is justified (aligned to both the left & right). That is horrible for usability. A ragged right edge makes it easier to read because it helps visitors keep their place. On that same note, you would have more readable copy if the lines were a bit shorter. I can't remember the optimum length (# of characters) but I know it is under 100. I think it was somewhere in the 40-70 range-maybe someone here remembers it???

Intereseting point: never thought about accessibility and justification. I'll take that into consideration on the redesign.

I did a hunt and found this on webstyleguide.com -

"When designing a fixed-width layout, we typically use page layout tables with text cells no wider than about 365 pixels. If 12-point Times New Roman type is used, this cell width yields a line about fifty characters long, averaging about nine to ten words per line"

I just noticed what you had mentioned about having your pricing on your site. I experimented with this recently. We had originally had all of our prices on our site. Giving your prospects all of the information on pricing gives them less of a reason to call. It also gives them a chance to be confused. What I did was put a range of prices-they can't get confused and they have to call our sales team to get an exact price. Besides, a price doesn't mean anything unless you totally understand all of the benefits of the product/service so it really is better to have them speak to your staff. Think about it like this, imagine the one product or service that you know the least about-what would knowing the price do for you? Nothing, you would just be looking for the cheapest price, without really knowing the difference. Take a look at my pricing page and maybe you can adapt it to what you're trying to do.

http://www.vsssleep.com/price.htm

Thanks Jeremy.

Websites are tricky sometimes. Quoting a price is often misleading becuase most users aren't educated as to what building a website entails. My range would be something like $200 to $20000. By the time I broke down all the pricing for different elements I might confuse more than help.

Pricing is what clients want to know. Bottom Line. It was good to mention that the visual aspect needs to be worked on because yes, a client wants to be "visually-lured" into doing business with you, but after they decide that, the next thing they want to know is "How much will this cost us?". You can't get around it.

From a personal stand point, I think its best to have the potential client fill out a questionnaire depicting what needs to be done so you can return them with an *estimated* price. But be sure to mention that prices may vary depending on further discussion....or something to that extent. But basically, your providing them what they want to know right away. Too many people are under the impression that prices will scare away clients when in fact, it brings you a step closer to the contract.

An interview w/ Dr. Jakub Nielson on this subject:
http://www.cioinsight.com/article2/0,13 ... 072,00.asp

Thanks for the link. The idea of a questionaire might work well actually.

Hello all,

I've been working on modifying my site based on a couple of suggestions here. I wanted to make it CSS valid and still keep away from tables entirely. I didn't use any hacks so I'm curious how well it will do cross-browser. It's still a work in progress--missing titles, etc and only the index page is modified.

Let me know what you all think.

OLD SITE: http://www.symplistix.com
NEW SITE: http://www.symplistix.com/float.html