A New Website

[Dragonos]

Hello. ^___^
I'm in the 10th grade and have made a new website for my team (#95). (before we had an ugly site)
Please list some pros/cons so I can ameliorate it.

team95.org

Thanks,
Dragonos

[rsisk]

Some quick observations...

1. Why are some contacts links and others are not?
2. Text on facilities page crossed into calendar area (IE 7.0 on 1024x768 display)
3. Nothing in the calendar even though you have stuff in events. Maybe use Google Calendar and have the events linked in the calendar.
4. You need a contact link on the volunteer page.
5. Don't understand sponsors on the right side of page with "your ad here" place holders. Why not have links and images for the sponsors on your sponsors page?

Love the graphic on the default page, kind of a cross between Peter Max and Sgt. Peppers ;>

[cdennisxlx2]

First of all its really really slow and im on a very fast connection

also, i don't like how the main page is a completely different idea then the rest of the site, i would make the whole template look at least close to the main pages design or vice versa.

other then that, i agree with what was said above

its defiantly a good start, and im glad to see another student interested in web design

[Andrew Schreiber]

DISCLAIMER: I am not saying these things to be harsh or critical. This is all advice based on my personal usage and what I know about people.

First, it is slow, I cant tell if is something on your page or if it is your host taking a while to send those images. Also, I know that IE6 is outdated but if I recall the numbers it still holds a SIGNIFICANT share of the browser market. This means that that big .png file on your frontpage is going to look horrible because IE6 doesn't support png transparency. This is an issue that a lot of us tend to forget because we use the latest browsers.

Also, I occasionally use lynx to browse the internet, for anyone who doesn't know what lynx is it is a browser that runs in the command line on unix based operating systems. Now, I am a minority that still uses CLI browsers but there are people out there who use them or screen readers to browse the internet. While you may think that visual attractiveness is the most important thing usability is head and shoulders above it. If my browser/screen reader cannot access your site I wont browse it, simple as that. I havent had a chance to check but make sure all images have alt tags on them that are of reasonable length.

Now, as far as layout goes, most users HATE having to click around to find information. The most commonly accessed information is going to be what you do. Fact is, most people don't care about your team's blog. They want to know what Team 95 is, what they do, where they are a from. My suggestion is to have your teams Mission Statement right there on the home page. I realize it is up in the banner beneath the nav bar but I found that hard to read. Text should be placed over a relatively clear background to improve readability. I got majorly distracted by the swirly background and found it hard to read the text.

The Google Ads, well executed, I nearly thought it was part of your navigation.

I like the colors after that first page, but they are in no way consistent with each other, pick one and go with it.

Personally, I would move the Calendar and Links to the left and leave the ads on the right. This way the ads will be alone on that side.

Good Job though, the color scheme is well implemented and is quite pleasing to the eye.

[Mike AA]

I don't know if you changed the page or if there was a problem last night but the website loads fine for me on a flaky DSL.

This looks good and effective. I like the place for sponsors but you may want to only have one showing to let people know its available.

-Mike AA

[Blad3101]

I would reduce the use of .png images on your splash page (index.html), you can speed up load times and still keep the flashy look with .gif images.

[coolfilmaker]

You might want to make a favicon.

[Vpr99]

It looks nice, but most of the pages (especially the front page) load very slow, due to the large splash page image.
I agree with Andrew Schreiber about most of his comments. Still, it looks like a nice site.