Website Redesign. Feedback, Suggestions, Problems

[narangz]

Hello friends,
I've got a new website http://techiesrealm.com

Some of you might have visited it before. I've now redesigned it. The forum still needs to be redesigned. I'll do it soon. I am not good at photoshop so the logo still needs to be designed. If anyone can help, please contact me. I'll grateful to him/her.

Please note that you need IE 7+, Opera 9+, FF 2+, Safari 3+. IE 6 may not display it correctly. I don't have IE 6 so I haven't checked the site in it.

Please give your valuable suggestions, comments, problems, feedbacks.

Thanks!

[slugger]

search box does not appear on home page - needed I believe

also the image used just above the blue banner indistinguishable from the bg. IMO either make it easily visible or remove it. might also want to consider linking it to the homepage - click on the banner to go to the homepage

looks like you have use a bg image for sidebar
however the color gradient used makes it not so dstinguisahbe from the post bg

banner design not very appropriate for a tech blog - font more appropriate for a literary site

no difference between the homepage and article pages, except the latter has more post titles - if that is the only diff then IMO they could be merged

the recent posts and categories list should IMO appear on top rather than poll results

some page have CCL logo on top some at the bottom - any particular reason for the non-uniformity?

also the copyright statement at the bottom woud look more balanced if centered along with the CCL logo instead of the extreme ends they curently are in

[narangz]

1. I'll do it soon. I have that in my mind.
2. The image above the blue banner has rounded corners. Its easily distinguished on my displays! Or I am unable to understand you properly.
3. Yes there is. But its just for Sidebar titles like Categories, Comments etc which appear in CAPS.
4. I am not good at photoshop. Care to suggest a font? Need a logo too.
5. It'll be different when homepage will have hot posts from forum
6. Noted.
7. CCL logo appears at bottom only on main page. On other pages it's on top. I liked it this way. You dont like it?
8. I centered it. But the entries rss link didn't look nice when centred.

Thanks for the suggestions, slugger. I'll try the way you suggested. :)

More suggestions are welcome :)

[ray|raven]

^Dude ,whats the font on the header? Looks cute.

[narangz]

^^Bickham Script Pro

[ray|raven]

^Thanx.

Btw, if u designed the header urself, i think the jpg was compressed too much and lost a bit of quality. It looks blurred.
Use PNG.

And how abt using a nice theme, are u on wp?

[narangz]

ya created header myslef. will use png.

the main page isn't wp but blog is wp powered.

you don't like the design?

[ray|raven]

^Err, No.

I think its too bland. Try to get a simple yet elegant design.
And i see that the blog and main page are same, is the main page a part of the blog or did you use the same stylesheet?

Try to get a better theme.

P.S : Just my opinions , no offence meant

[narangz]

I designed it myself & the index & blog have almost same css.

Bland? Can you suggest me some themes & or a website to look at?

[iMav]

you seem to be working on the sidebar, I guess? it's not showing anything other than an empty gray slot and visitor map below it

i agree with slugger with regards to the font, suits more to a literary site

personally I would suggest making the banner a rectangle with round corners separate from rest of the content, remove the top white part, if you get what I mean

[narangz]

you seem to be working on the sidebar, I guess? it's not showing anything other than an empty gray slot and visitor map below it

i agree with slugger with regards to the font, suits more to a literary site

personally I would suggest making the banner a rectangle with round corners separate from rest of the content, remove the top white part, if you get what I mean

Sidebar is okay. It's complete. Which browser & version are you using? Screenshot would be great :)

Yaar, suggest a font. I tried many but settled for this one.

I'll try making the header with rounded corners. Understood what you mean.

[ray|raven]

@narangz,
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/01/08/100-excellent-free-high-quality-wordpress-themes/

And Bland : http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bland

*lacking in special interest, liveliness, individuality, etc.; insipid; dull: a bland young man; a bland situation comedy.

[narangz]

^^LOL! I know what bland means :D
Thanks for the link. I'll have a look at it :)

[ray|raven]

^Oops :D

[iMav]

Sidebar is okay. It's complete. Which browser & version are you using? Screenshot would be great :)
aag wali lomdi 2.0.014, screenshot:

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/6348/65985969nq7.jpg

[ray|raven]

I dont see no sidebar either;cept for visitor locations.

Am on FF3Beta5

[narangz]

Have you blocked Google Ads?

Please post index page Screenshot & articles page screenshot. Full screen, pls.

[ray|raven]

Yep, google ads are blocked by my office proxy.

[narangz]

That's the problem then. The index page currently has google ads on the sidebar + clustrmap. However the blog has many widgets on the sidebar. Is blog's sidebar okay?

@iMav- Have you also blocked adsense?

[ray|raven]

^Yea, blog's sidebar is fine.

[iMav]

yeah, i had it, tried it by disabling working fine :)

[narangz]

Alright. Thanks, ray & Manan.
Anyone willing to help me on a logo?

[iMav]

an idea, currently no time to pimp it, even this simply put would work IMHO:

http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/1417/35365963xd0.jpg

[narangz]

Thanks, Manan. Yes, T & R should be like that coz that way they look nice. created a li'l bit in photoshop but I want a li'l bit of 3d sort of effects.

Thanks for your efforts :)

[blueshift]

Is that upper white bar a part of header you design or is just a theme bg?

Do you want logo and header for the site?

I will comment later on the design aspects.

[rohan_shenoy]

1. The search box looks like out of the theme.
2. The header is too big.
3. The font on headers should not slant/be in italics.
4. Increase the font size in the body.
5. Be careful of the IPR(intellectual property rights)
6. Tag line is not impressive. Remember, for tech blogs, tag line is not a must have. But if you have one, it should not sound larger than like.

[narangz]

Is that upper white bar a part of header you design or is just a theme bg?

Do you want logo and header for the site?

I will comment later on the design aspects.

The header is just the blue part. Yes, I need a logo & header. Comments on design aspects are welcome :)

1. The search box looks like out of the theme.
2. The header is too big.
3. The font on headers should not slant/be in italics.
4. Increase the font size in the body.
5. Be careful of the IPR(intellectual property rights)
6. Tag line is not impressive. Remember, for tech blogs, tag line is not a must have. But if you have one, it should not sound larger than like.

1. Out of the theme? Do you mean the search button background? Well it's same as the menu bar.
2. I can reduce the width.
3. Yes. Care to suggest a font?
4. It's 12px. 13 px looks very big to me.
5. Why? Did you find any copyright material? Articles are written by myself & theme is created by myself by taking ideas from various themes. I seriously do not tolerate plagiarism.
6. Any suggestions?

Thanks Rohan :)

[rohan_shenoy]

5. Why? Did you find any copyright material?

What about the images?
Anyways, you cannot put "Copyright" and "Creative commons license" on the same work. Someone may steal your work and still you may be deprived of your credit.

And yea, at 800x600, I can't see anything except that header and subheader links.
Reduce the header height. Width is OK.

[narangz]

Which images?

Well I'll try reducing the height.

[Gigacore]

Neat !!

[din]

Neat design. Simple, and clean interface.

Two suggestions though.

1- Simplifying technology .. That part, seems bit difficult to read

2- Adding water mark - you can add water mark same color as the image (transparent watermark) , it will look nice and still, will act as watermark.

Did I confuse you ? Got what I meant for the watermark part ?

[narangz]

One thing is for sure. I am not going to change the whole design. I've some things in mind. I'll do it when I'll be able to do it in Photoshop. However suggestions regarding tweaking parts of the themes are welcome.


Neat !!

At last some encouragement :D Thanks, Santhosh :)


Neat design. Simple, and clean interface.

Two suggestions though.

1- Simplifying technology .. That part, seems bit difficult to read

2- Adding water mark - you can add water mark same color as the image (transparent watermark) , it will look nice and still, will act as watermark.

Did I confuse you ? Got what I meant for the watermark part ?

Thanks Din Sir. :)

1. I'll modify it. I'll change the font soon.

2. You mean the Techies Realm text on images? By watermark I din't quite understand. See the latest post(clean your keyboard). Isn't the text okay?

[din]

OK, here is what I meant

http://c1hqqq.blu.livefilestore.com/y1psoAPog3H74nVYoP3FWKuWEMQ7yb9NYep5sxQRP8q512-KOXVXJv8hIhjPv12PGO2uMJ9ikIYnL0vlwv5YJrbfw/removingkeys-thumb-new.jpg

Click this link if you can't see the above image - Skydrive Link (http://c1hqqq.blu.livefilestore.com/y1psoAPog3H74nVYoP3FWKuWEMQ7yb9NYep5sxQRP8q512-KOXVXJv8hIhjPv12PGO2uMJ9ikIYnL0vlwv5YJrbfw/removingkeys-thumb-new.jpg)

(Sorry for using your image, just to show the example. I will remove it from skydrive once you see it )

You can see two copyright texts at bottom - first the transparent one which I meant. It blend with background and all colors.

Second is the one you usually give.

I think first one looks better as it does not overlap anything. But just my suggestion, please feel free to ignore if it does not sound as a good idea.

[Third Eye]

Nice and clean site.

[slugger]

@din

the second one looks neat

what sw did u use - a freeware?

[narangz]

That's nice, Din Sir! Why are you sorry? You are helping me :)

How did you do that?


P.S.- I would like to thank Manan (iMav) for helping me a lot on Yahoo messenger today. Manan you rock!

Nice and clean site.

Thanks :)

[ravi_9793]

Good look. I like it.
I can design logo for you. Let me know the text and size of the logo you want.

[din]

OK, some tutorials here

Using GIMP bump map tool as a watermark for photos (http://www.tankedup-imaging.com/bumpmap.html)

Simple Watermarking in GIMP (http://fence-post.deviantart.com/art/Simple-Watermarking-in-GIMP-52987829)

You can use commercial products as well - to make the same effect

[iMav]

P.S.- I would like to thank Manan (iMav) for helping me a lot on Yahoo messenger today. Manan you rock!

no probs man, anytime :p

[narangz]

Good look. I like it.
I can design logo for you. Let me know the text and size of the logo you want.

Thanks :) It should be sized for the header.

OK, some tutorials here

Using GIMP bump map tool as a watermark for photos (http://www.tankedup-imaging.com/bumpmap.html)

Simple Watermarking in GIMP (http://fence-post.deviantart.com/art/Simple-Watermarking-in-GIMP-52987829)

You can use commercial products as well - to make the same effect

Thanks Din Sir. I'll have a look at them :)

no probs man, anytime :p

Thanks :D

[ravi_9793]

Thanks :) It should be sized for the header.


Please tell me exact size in pixels..and text on the logo.

[narangz]

The header height is 181 px & width of 950px. I guess 140-150 px should be the height & width should also be simlar. Rest is upto upto you.

The colours should match with blue. White would look nice I guess but if you think some other color looks nice then go ahead with it.

Thanks :)

[ravi_9793]

My first try :p
http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/5041/testtt5.jpg

Another try
http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/145/test2ez9.jpg

[din]

^^

First try looks nice !

[iMav]

IMHO:

being a tech site, clouds, birds, flowers don't look good and make no sense

but nice design for a misc banner, i like the design of the first 1

[narangz]

My first try :p
http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/5041/testtt5.jpg

Another try
http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/145/test2ez9.jpg

The design's nice but as iMav said a tech site shouldn't have clouds & birds.
You've got nice skills :)

Guess you forgot site logo.

[blueshift]

When I try to save the website for offline viewing, the upper white header, blue header and the menu image is not saved. Why? I tried in IE7, Opera 9 and FF 2.
And I notice that ur blue header is a part of background.

[goobimama]

No time for any other advice other than remove that useless visitors locations thing. IMO it has no relevance to your website and looks just plain out of place. Spice up that sidebar with some other stuff.

[narangz]

When I try to save the website for offline viewing, the upper white header, blue header and the menu image is not saved. Why? I tried in IE7, Opera 9 and FF 2.
And I notice that ur blue header is a part of background.

Err.. No idea about offline browsing :confused: I use CSS, maybe that's the reason.
The blue header is not a part of the background. It's a separate image.

No time for any other advice other than remove that useless visitors locations thing. IMO it has no relevance to your website and looks just plain out of place. Spice up that sidebar with some other stuff.
ClustrMaps relevance? I like it when it's all filled up with visitor dots. :D

[blueshift]

Sorry.. was busy with other work and my Airtel MO was too slow.
I designed this header with logo. I will change the colors if that looks like a Reliance logo to you. Fonts can be changed too. I was not sure which background to add.. I think white does look good.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a171/blueshift155/Digit/TRheader1.jpg

[narangz]

Hey the logo is cool :)

I prefer blue background & red won't look good on blue i guess. And as far as font is concerned did you like the current header font I am using? It's Myriad Pro.

Another thing I wanted are a couple of gadgets like a notebook & a cellphone in the header so that the user can know the kind of content from the header itself. What do you say or do you have some other idea?

If possible, give me two. One with blue background & one with white.

Thanks a lot for your efforts :)

And yeah, i don't think it's similar to reliance logo :D

[blueshift]

I 've done logo in red and blue and it looks nice with white bg. I 'll 've to change colors if u want a blue bg.

Didn't u like the red and blue colors that I am using for the logo and text?

Yeah I had thought of adding some gadgets like a MacPC, mobile,iPod but for the last few days my net was too slow...so couldn't search for any pics. Anyway I have this (http://art.prestigio.com/gallery/view/1173886811) wallpaper and another abstract (http://www.sxc.hu/photo/386479) wallpaper. They will look good for bg. I will try to make a customized bg btw.

About the font, I think Myriad Pro looks good as a content text but too much simple for header text. You can look for Sans Serif fonts here (http://www.dafont.com/theme.php?cat=501) or suggest me any.

[narangz]

Yes, I prefer blue bg & if you make different versions of it then please provide links to them :)

From the link you gave I liked almost all of the fonts. However I am naming a couple of them just to give you the idea of my choice:

http://www.dafont.com/aubrey.font
http://www.dafont.com/steiner.font
http://www.dafont.com/eurofurence.font
http://www.dafont.com/existence.font

You can use whatever font you like(not limited to above mentioned) & plz add a couple of gadgets too.

Thanks a lot. :)

[blueshift]

I made this few designs. The bg source links are given in post# 52.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a171/blueshift155/Digit/TRheader2.jpg
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a171/blueshift155/Digit/TRheader3.jpg
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a171/blueshift155/Digit/TRheader4.jpg

[narangz]

Hi,

I liked 1st & 3rd. Excellent :)

Can you please post the links to all 4 headers?

Thanks a ton mate!!!

[iMav]

i would suggest u to add the rss link (icon) on the home page too

[narangz]

ok manan. will do it. thanks :)

[blueshift]

*I dont know why other images are automatically resized to lower dimensions in Photobucket.

[narangz]

Hi blueshift!
Thanks man :) Can you send the rest of them to my email? If possible PSDs too. I had already sent you my email id via pm. please check it.

Thank you!

i would suggest u to add the rss link (icon) on the home page too

Done.
The homepage now has feeds enabled too.

[blueshift]

Finally was able to upload the images.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a171/blueshift155/Digit/1.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a171/blueshift155/Digit/2.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a171/blueshift155/Digit/3.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a171/blueshift155/Digit/4.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a171/blueshift155/Digit/5.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a171/blueshift155/Digit/6.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a171/blueshift155/Digit/7.jpg

I will send you the PSDs tonite(possibly) but some of the text layers are rasterized(only 1 layer)...so you won't be able to edit them.

I guess the forum itself is reducing the dimension.

[narangz]

Hi! Thanks a lot buddy!

Which credits should I give & in what format & where? I guess in footer?

For the images:
3 & 4?

[blueshift]

See this image:http://img359.imageshack.us/img359/8792/q1editednc1.th.jpg (http://img359.imageshack.us/my.php?image=q1editednc1.jpg)
1. Menu bar image not showing up properly on both sides
2. Reduce the size of font or don't use capitals.(like the one used in About/Contact page)
3. Reduce the size of images.(in the blog page too)

4. Too much of space for ADs on the homepage itself.
5. In the footer area, centre the copyrights part above the 'Site requirement'.
6. Remove that grey background from the CC image. Let it stand apart. Change its location..(I don't know where)
7. In the About page, why there is so much gap between the statements?
8. Why not make your blog page the homepage itself?
9. Use uniformity in your website.
10. I wouldn't mind if you link back to my DA page. :D

[narangz]

1. Ok, I used that intentionally. Will remove it

2. May I know the screen resolution you have? I know it sucks in 800*600. But most people atleast use 1024*768 these days. It seems OK in 1024*768 to me :(

3. Again screen resolution plz.

4. And still no cilcks :D

5. OK.

6. OK.

7. I am going to rewrite that soon :)

8. No coz in coming future it'll have hot forum posts too.

9. Please describe

10. Sure. I was going to ask you that for the logo. I'll do it when I rewrite the About page.

Thanks :)

4.

[blueshift]

2. May I know the screen resolution you have? I know it sucks in 800*600. But most people atleast use 1024*768 these days. It seems OK in 1024*768 to me :(
3. Again screen resolution plz.
4. And still no cilcks :D
9. Please describe


2,3 - Mine is 1024x768. The font is still big and doesn't get well with the post title and content....about the Feed images;its big than the normal I 've seen. And is it necessary to include them at that position?

4 - ADs on the home page itself doesn't look good. Nobody is clicking them...so why not remove it. Just a suggestion.

9 - Regarding uniformity, here are my observations.
In the Home page, your page title (Latest Article), the font is Myriad Pro at 24px uppercase and individual post titile has the same font at 18px.
In the About page, the page title has font TrebuchetMS at 24px but belongs to post title class.
In the Articles page, the post titles font is Myriad Pro at 24px.
All the page titles must have same font and size.
Also read post #2 by slugger. He too have some valid points.

For the content type, you have used Trebuchet MS at 12px. Its small. I sugget you try increasing the size by 1 or 2 or change the font to Arial and notice the difference.

Regards,
blueshift

1 thing left. The favicon is stretched in height. Why don't you keep in original size proportionately?

[narangz]

I'll do as you mentioned & I still remember what slugger suggested. It's just that I am working on various things that it got delayed.

I'll increase content font by 1 or 1.5px. I dont like Arial so I won't be using it.

The about page was written for previous theme. I will rewrite it soon. Waiting for some information from from my friend authors.

Thanks once again for you suggestios :)