Ok everyone,

here it goes. I've been involved in these forums for a while now and this is the first time I have ever posted my url.

I am posting it because I need some feedback from everyone. What do you think? Is it corny? Cheesy? Good? Bad? Beautiful? Ugly? .....etc....

I am very sensitive so be gentle with me :)

http://webfors.com

and my online resume at:

http://webfors.com/eric


So, let me have it!

[Edited by tabernack on 10-01-2000 at 10:16 PM]

I think it stinks! You'll never work in this town again! And I've gotten 500 letters saying the same! ;)

Hehehe, just kidding ya. :)

Your site is actually VERY nice. I love that opening. That's gotta be the best splash screen I have ever seen. Really! Excellent job. I didn't look over the content too much, but the general design is also pretty nice. Gets down to the point.

Keep up the good work. And I've changed my mind. You are allowed to work in this town. ;)

Thanks Vincent!

You may want to code an automatic intro skip so that someone only sees the intro once for all (use cookies for example) Because clicking one extra time for every visits to your site could get annoying to a lot of people.

Nice, simple design.

BTW, I was wondering... do you often use french curse words as your username? :]

tabernack is a french curse... oh my.... I didn't know that.... :)

Ok, I guess I should change it now that I have published my url.

It's just that I'm really attached to that name. I grew up with it, hearing it at least 40 times a day :)

Heh!

I'm a "Web Hosting Guru" now. Excellent!

Lookin, good. Heck, it looks dang good under Linux, which is hard to say for many sites.

John

EDIT: HardOCP fan to, eh... ;)

[Edited by JTY on 10-01-2000 at 10:17 PM]

Thanks John. By "under Linux", do you mean Netscape on Linux?

[H] :)

[Edited by tabernack on 10-01-2000 at 10:33 PM]

Yes. I viewed it in netscape in Linux to it and worked like a charm. :)

G'day tabernack,

I've got a bit of whinging and complementing to do, so you'll bear with me, won't ya? :D

============================================
Begin new reviewing format - copyright BC :D
============================================
Browser : Netscape 4.7
OS : WinNT 4.0
Resolution : 800X600
Speed : decent
========================
:bawling:
1. I actually like the Flash intro (one of the very few I'll let get away with, as I usually think Flash intros for business sites are just plain silly), but scrollbars show on my resolution. Worse, I can see the 'hidden' frame just hiding underneath the scrollbar. Ouch. Do you have any particular reason why you're using the hidden bar? (apart from holding the domain name constant in the browser URL bar...)

I don't know how you're gonna fix it, but... Uhmmm...

2. The HumanClick thing just seems to be out of place on the blue background and sitting as a blob below the buttons. You need some kind of solid border and a fraction more spacing inside the borders to make it look better.

3. On the Hosting page, the UUNet pic sticks its 'butt' out (the bottom border juts out about 2 pixels).

:idea:

4. I highly recommend a feedback form with targeted questions in order to get the best possible type of feedback - one which is detailed, and allows your tech staff to respond with the appropriate answer ASAP.

5. I think you need at least some type of heading on each page so that people aren't confused as to where they are. For example, the 'News' Page - if I accidentally clicked on to it I wouldn't have the faintest idea that this was actually the News page.

6. I suggest you set up a separate page for 'Design' and just explain where the connection between Webfors and the sister web design company comes in, before giving the URL. People find it confusing when they're taken to another site which they expect to be part of it (since all the other buttons leads to other parts of the site, and this is the only one which doesn't).

7. The Comparison Plans table could do with a color touch-up to look more aesthetically pleasing, but that's really a minor point.


8. Design wise : :agree: Simple, good colour theme, easy on the eye. Very good work.

9. Usability wise : very easy to use, consistent. Solid work.

Overall, very good. A couple of improvements could be made in areas, but well done!

Great feedback BC! I appreciate the time you spent going through my site.

I am going to spend the next few days trying to work out the things you mentioned.

Thanks again.

OK,

BC's point #1 is taken care of. Got rid of frames all together. Too much of a pain. I checked in Netscape and there are no more scroll bars.

Point # 3 is done too. Uunet pic got a butt tuck! :)




[Edited by tabernack on 10-02-2000 at 10:05 AM]

Hi BC,

I added a heading to each page so that takes care of #5.

So far, I have taken care of #'s 1,3,5. Getting there, but I have a couple of questions:

#2 - in IE the borders look good. I'm not sure how to fix that for Netscape. I'll have to look into it more. When you said "solid border" did you mean a border with a hard outline (like a black border)?

#7 - what would you recommend in terms of a "color touch up" for the Plan Comparison Table.

As for the other points, I am already working on the feebback form and the "Design" page to explain to visitors of our alliance with Polex Web Design.

So far so good?

One thing I have realized is that Tabernack knows the knack of choosing fantastic domain names for his websites... some really killer domain names you have chosen!!!!!! :)

Regarding my opinions on your design, I think it best to wait for you to complete implementing what BC has already suggested.

Learner

Tabernack,

Great work! Already looking 50% better - the sum of small little details = a greater overall impression.

Point #1 can be closed - no scrollbars anywhere.

Point #2 - that's fine. It looks a bit pixelated/jagged at the corners, but you can always fix that later. One of the graphics monkeys can point out how to fix that later on. And yes, a solid outline :)

Point #3 can be closed - good work.

Point #7 - feel free to be a bit imaginative. You can use a black TD background and use white text for the 'header' cells (Features, price, etc.). But that border is fine. However, I do advise adding TABLE cellpadding/cellspacing = 2 to give it a bit more room and spread the table out a bit more to look better. Just experiment with different values and stick with values you like.

Good work! :Agree:

Great, thanks BC!

I'll continue to work on it and post again when I have something new to look at.

I appreciate the feedback.

Ok, I added the cell spacing in the Pricing table. Looks much better! Thanks.

Now I have to figure out what kind of colors to add to it. That's going to be tricky because I don't want it to clash with the rest of the site.

I just finished adding the design page which gives a brief introduction to Polex Web Design. I added a link to their site as well.

Now, the only thing left to do is add the form for feedback and colour up the pricing table.

Thanks again for the input everyone.

Originally posted by tabernack
Ok everyone,

I am posting it because I need some feedback from everyone. What do you think? Is it corny? Cheesy? Good? Bad? Beautiful? Ugly? .....etc....

http://webfors.com

[Edited by tabernack on 10-01-2000 at 10:16 PM]

Design is simple, I think it's nice. (About prices, how to convert canadian $ to us $?)

1 US dollar = 1.51 Canadian dollars at the moment. So $19.95/month Canadian = $13.00/month US. I should add that to my site. Good point Sergio.

Thanks,

Eric


[Edited by tabernack on 10-04-2000 at 11:21 AM]

Sergio has made a very valid point.

Include both info... Canadian and U.S. prices.

The reason is that since you have mentioned the Canadian connection to the dollar prices at the very bottom of the page, some U.S. viewers may just exit the page if they don't scroll down... assuming that the prices being way too high and hence not worth considering.

That is why Sergio has made a very valid point.

Learner

Tabs... make that US$12.95 !!!!!!

Learner

That's what I meant.. I mean yeah, $12.95.

You think I would've listen in Marketing class! :)

Hi Learner,

good point. I never thought of people not scrolling down.

Insead of confusing the table with 2 different prices, I put a notice at the top of the page as well stating that prices are in Canadian Dollars.

What do you think?

Sergio hit the nail right on the head before!!! He's a smart chap!!!

If you are planning to attract a lot of American clients as well, I still think that you should take Sergio's advice :)

Because clients have a habit of looking at price and key features first... then at all the text surrounding a page!!! Especially clients who are surfing a lot of hosting companies scouting for a great deal. So you shouldn't take the slightest chance of their having any slightest doubt in this regard.

What I would suggest is using two complementary colors in highlighting both the Canadian and U.S. prices. Furthermore, I also advise you to put the lower U.S. price above the Canadian price. There are psychological issues involved here.

By the way, I happen to be a marketing professional by qualification, and am currently working as an Advertising and Marketing consultant. At the moment, I know precious little about the game of webhosting, but know quite a bit about the game of Advertising and Marketing. :)

That is why I appreciate Sergio's suggestion.

Learner

[Edited by Learner on 10-04-2000 at 01:31 PM]

Thanks Learner,

off I go to make some changes.

You are welcome, Tabs... just let me know when you have finished making all the changes suggested by BC. I will then have a detailed look at your site and comment further.

By the way, I realize that Akashik (Greg) hasn't commented so far. He is another person whose comments would prove valuable to you. Let's hope he comments too.

Learner

Hi Learner,

OK, I added the US prices alongside the Canadian prices. Tell me what you think.

I haven't done the color touch up to the table yet. I'll get to that last, once my content is taken care of.

1. Centralize all the data under the 4 package columns. The text appears to close to the left of the cell wall.

2. Setup: Change $0 to FREE.

3. Remove Diesel Generators - sounds a bit forced, especially because you have UPS above it. You can mention it in a section devoted to describing the quality of your network.

Otherwise else is pretty much cool.

You may, however, wish to shift the Bandwidth Included above POP Accounts... but it is not compulsory.

Learner

Thanks Learner,

all this feedback is great. I made the changes to center the data in the pricing table. Damn Netscape. In IE it was already centered.

Looks much better, thanks for pointing that out.

Made the other changes you mentioned as well.

Every little bit of input helps make it look better.

Thanks everyone, and feel free to go through the site again and let me have it some more. :)

I am going page by page for your convenience:


http://webfors.com/index2.html ->

1. The white paragraphic textual content is too close to your navigation box. Add a little cell padding. It will more aesthetically pleasing.

2. CONTACT INFORMATION
Please feel free to contact us using the following addresses:

Sales - sales@webfors.com
Customer Support - support@webfors.com
Webmaster - webmaster@webfors.com[/B]

Key in the full email address also. This is just making it easy for clients who aren't internet browser savvy.

3. Embed the FLASH graphic at the top of the textual content, not at the bottom. You have made an impressive graphic, so putting it at the top will only create an immediate better first impression. :)


http://webfors.com/hosting.htm ->

4. The white paragraphic textual content is again too close to your navigation box. Add an equal amount of cell padding which you decide to add to No. 1 above for continuity in design.

5. The "N" & "E" characters in the uunet.gif suffer from little white spots at the edges. Please redo that or change the graphic completely. It looks quite displeasing to the eye. The att.gif is perfect however.

6. Again, I notice that the bottom-most line of the uunet.gif is jagged, meaning it falls one pixel lower than the base line of the entire horizontal white strip.

7. A vertical line comprising of pink pixels is clearly visible on a large monitor. It is at the extreme left edge of the uunet.gif image.


http://webfors.com/pricing.htm ->

8. The pricing table is too close to your navigation box. Add an equal amount of cell padding which you decide to add to No. 1 above for continuity in design.

9. Reword the text in these two cells as follows. Because it will be more meaningful + remove the ambiguity for people from other countries who may not understand what the term CND may mean... and only thus get confused by seeing two prices listed in your table!!!!

The proper full english worded text should read as (as below) to prevent even the slightest misunderstanding.

Monthly Fee in
U.S. Dollars

Monthly Fee in
Canadian Dollars


http://webfors.com/services.htm ->

10. The services table is again too close to your navigation box. Add an equal amount of cell padding which you decide to add to No. 1 above for continuity in design.

11. There could perhaps be a slight confusion regarding which price applies to which plan once the client has scrolled midway down the page. So it is important to break up the plans into individual boxes (separated with an healthy amount of horizontal space between them).

12. The text inside all the plan boxes need to be a little away from the edges again. So increase the cell padding a little bit.


http://webfors.com/guarantee.htm ->

13. It would be a good idea to fill up the blank space at the bottom of the page with another relevant FLASH graphic that you create so beautifully!!! This will help in the page not looking so "empty-ish" as it does right now.


http://webfors.com/feedback.htm ->

14. This page again looks a bit "empty-ish". Here are some suggestions:

14a. A well-laid out form on this page

14b. A little text input box where viewers can type in their feedback and press a SUBMIT button to send it to you immediately

14c. Expand the existing text matter by asking a few questions.


http://webfors.com/news.htm ->

15. Give two more little news snippets to fill up the page so as not to let it look too "empty-ish".


http://webfors.com/design.htm ->

16. Again the page looks a little "empty-ish". It would be a good idea to insert your POLEX logo centered and above your POLEX link. That should take care of the problem.


That's all, Tabs!!!

Feel free to ask if you need further clarifications.

Learner

WOW,

excellent feeback Learner. It's going to take a while to go through it all! :)

I will start working on it now and keep you posted on the progress.

I know, my gif's on the hosting page suck. I've tried everything. I'm going to have to get someone to fix them up for me.

Thanks again and off I go!

If I can help you out, I will !!!!!

Learner

Well,

I just finsihed playing with them again and they don't look as bad now. Take a look and tell me what you think and then you can tell me which ones suck.

Thanks again.

I'm halfway through your list. Finished the cellpadding issue in Netscape.

Originally posted by tabernack
Take a look and tell me what you think and then you can tell me which ones suck.

Yup... it looks much better than the previous time, Tabs.

The UUNET text does look a bit warped at the edges. So this has been corrected for you...

http://www.azhardoctor.com/tabernack

:)

Learner

Great site! I don't think there is anything I'd change...tho I just took a brief look. But it looks great!

I made this post almost 2 years ago :)

The site has changed a couple times since then but thanks very much for the review anyway :)