Mon, 28 Feb 2000 22:50:00 +0000

Good point. I would not want to do business with a site that has a 'playful' look. If a site has a 'business' look, I will consider doing business with it.

I really like the 'business' look of your site, Eugene. I think you did a great job.

Good luck with your site.

Eugene Grinberg — Wed, 23 Feb 2000 19:12:00 +0000

Justin,

I agree with you, somewhat. But, http://www.bcentral.com is a service of Microsoft, which is known by everyone. They don't need to work hard to attract visitors, and convince them that they have a worthwhile service.

A relatively unknown site must have an extra edge, which I think begins with a more professional (corporate) look, to bring credibility to it. There are lots of Promotion sites and Webmaster Resources sites out there, so when a customer chooses who to do business with, an obvious candidate would be a business who can be trusted, and that, I believe, starts from a professional design of that business' site.

How do you feel about this?

Eugene.

Justin S — Wed, 23 Feb 2000 15:29:00 +0000

A corporate look just doesn't look right. Take for example some of your competitors:

bCentral (http://www.bcentral.com/) = very catchy and fun look, but at the same time it is creditable.

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Eugene Grinberg — Wed, 23 Feb 2000 15:24:00 +0000

Thanks Andy.

We were actually trying to go for the 'corporate' look. I believe it gives a site more credibility. And I think it shows: our log files show that an overwhelming percentage of our visitors procede to sub-pages after visiting the home page.

Eugene.

[This message has been edited by Eugene Grinberg (edited 23 February 2000).]

AndyB — Wed, 23 Feb 2000 10:21:00 +0000

This could be one of those 'form over function' things. I think there's a lot of artistic talent that went into the design. I liked a lot of the components on the pages, but ..... there's nothing intrinsically wrong with 'white space'. Sometimes it's easier to find what you want when there's a little visual relief.

For a bad example: try to find a rubber band in your kitchen drawer. Notice how much easier it is after you tip the contents on to the floor

Nobody objects to scrolling down .. scrolling across seems to be the kiss of death. Just keep the most important stuff at the top of the page(s).

aside to Justin: is there anything inherently bad about having a 'corporate' look?

Eugene Grinberg — Wed, 23 Feb 2000 03:39:00 +0000

Justin, I must admit, that was not easy.

Thanks for your comments. As far as the frames on the sub-pages go, would you suggest switching to a bit simpler text-based menu, instead of buttons?

Eugene Grinberg
http://www.interprosolution.com

[This message has been edited by Eugene Grinberg (edited 22 February 2000).]

Justin S — Tue, 22 Feb 2000 21:35:00 +0000

Brace yourself! Negative comments coming

1) Although the design is good, it doesn't fit with the content of your site at all! The design looks more like the design for a corporate site while 90% of your visitors will be there for the free stuff. I would suggest going for a catchier design...

2) The graphics have too much fading and blurring. It takes away from some parts of the site that you want people to notice: ie your logo and menu.

3) You have the world in the background, but not all the way around. WHat I mean is, you have a complete circle, but on the picture of the earch in the section with your logo, and the part with your menu. I would make it go all the way around.

4) I like how you use frames on your sub-pages, but the design doesn't look right with your content, and it's too cluttered. I don't think it's too cluttered on the main page, only on the sub-pages w/ frames.

Overall I like the design, but not for the content you have.

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Malte — Tue, 22 Feb 2000 20:28:00 +0000

Do the follwoing, so you'll be sure you wont have to scroll:

Make a screen shot at the resolution you want to design for, load it in Photoshop and design the page inside the white area. Then slice the image, copy the text and throw it all together in Dreamweaver or what ever program you may use.

I think the buttons on the right look kinda uncreative. MAybe you can come up with something fancier than rounded recangles.

Malte

Eugene Grinberg — Tue, 22 Feb 2000 15:20:00 +0000

Thanks.
I appreciate your comments.

Eugene

Tue, 22 Feb 2000 14:41:00 +0000

I think you have one of the best web designs that I ever saw. Gorgeous colors and a great composition. Wow!

As far as your content goes, you have lots of great webmaster resources.

Two words: Great Job!!!

p.s. I bookmarked your site