My first try at publishing

[jock of loch]

Hi,
well here goes, please tell it as it is. All comments good or bad regarding everything from layout to keywords da da da da da da!
Have had a ball so far, and promise to take everything in the best light.
Our website is www.lochdesignsjewellery.com
Remember this is far from complete but think these pages are OK. Took me a full day of publishing, re-writing and re-publishing, over and over.

looking forward to your comments,
Jock.

[helganog]

Re: My first try at publishing

Hi,
I love your logo! The site looks really good (I'm a novice designer too but obviously look at loads of other sites). I think the colours you have used are fabulous.
A couple of (minor) points:
The picture pf the blue stone in the bottom right (on purple background) doesn't have a "name" but all the others do (not sure of the correct terminology)
In the Contact Us page I would move the picture away from the bottom of the page
Give your pages a title
In the "About us" page - what's with the cows??? Is it a local picture - doesn't seem to have any relevance otherwise.
Finally - in my humble beginners opinion I think it is easier to navigate if the buttons are in the same place on each page.
Hope that's been helpful.
Otherwise..I really like the site and your jewellery and will keep checking back for the store to open so I can buy some!
Helga (see prev thread for my site)

[SChajin]

Re: My first try at publishing

Love the logo and the colors, don't know where the cows fit...but I love them too

[islandcrazy]

Re: My first try at publishing

What a lovely and well constructed site! I think you are doing a great job and your products are the star of the show! Your photos are just the right size to display your work. I love the personal photos, too...And even the cows are a good fit, as I think your intent is to show where you live ....the landscape, your surroundings, etc. People like to see the "real life" of the artist that handcrafts! I love that you put a pic of yourself in there, also.

The only thing I can suggest from a visual point of view is when you take the pictures of your jewelry, I would try to stick to only one or two background colors..like the cream and the teal....or the cream and the purple...I realize you have to choose what compliments the stones so that is a hard task...but sometimes when you put so many different colors on a page, it is not as pleasant to look at and it overpowers the delicate details of your jewelry. I have the same problem with my product shots and it is a real challenge! But it is not a huge deal.

I think you have done a wonderful job and I can't wait to see your other pages!

[bill2006]

Re: My first try at publishing

Love the logo and the colors, don't know where the cows fit...but I love them too

Cows?? what cows?
They must have been in the stables, all I see is an empty pasture.

Ditto above comments, don't forget to center your pages.

[jock of loch]

Re: My first try at publishing

Hi,
Thanks for the reviews,
and i like that you like the logo, as it is all my own (lotsa) work.
As for the photos and layout, yes, I see what you mean, but, as I can't do much about the pics for around 6 weeks or so, please wait until I post the upgrades.
By the way, my son who now lives and works in
Scotland, was far more critical than my good friends at vodatalk!
will hope for more reviews,
Jock
PS my jewelry(jewellery) is better in real life!!!

[jock of loch]

Re: My first try at publishing

PS,
forget the PS that was only my opinion,
Jock

[zigzag]

Re: My first try at publishing

Hi,
I enjoy your name as well as your site. Well done.
You should change your title of your home page from "home page" to "Loch Designs Jewllery Home Page". The reason is that this is the default description when one adds your page to favourites. Yes, I did!
You need to 'center in browser' your home page, and/or check the page dimensions are what you intended them to be.
I think the colours, pictures and pic border colours are great.
If I were to be really picky, your might get a classier look by showing fewer pictures, and with a picture border of 1 pixel.
I like the background colour, as I said, but there have been comments about colour clashes. You might find that for your product pages you will have to resort to the good old white background.
Great job. Good luck.

[jock of loch]

Re: My first try at publishing

Thanks for all your comments, and I have made changes to 3 of the pages including the home page.
Will publish them and ask for more comment, in a new thread.
It's amazing what you can't see when you think you've got it nearly right!
Again thanks,
jock.

[Jeremy]

Re: re-done 3 pages- need input thanks.

I do think you should keep all of your links (buttons) together to make one big navigation. It is confusing for me.

[crazidiamondxx]

Re: re-done 3 pages- need input thanks.

Hi, it's looking good although I have to agree with Jeremy on the buttons issue. I'm not keen on the white 'background' of your buttons either but that's just my opinion. Otherwise I like it. I also like the products you have on show. Well done and keep up the good work :o)
Karen

www.redgypsy.co.uk

[islandcrazy]

Re: re-done 3 pages- need input thanks.

Wow! Look how "unified" your page/pictures look now? Your jewelry really takes center stage since it is not competing with the different backdrop colors you had before.

Do you like it??? I think it is stunning! But you have to like it most of all! You will have to be careful with that dark purple, though , so it doesn't change the "color" of your stones...but you already know that!!! I think you could still use two different background colors in your product shots in your catalog pages when necessary, but I really think the one color on your home page looks more "elegant" instead of jumbled. But that's just my opinion.

I'm glad you kept the cows!!!! LOL Great job! Can't wait to see the finished site so I can shop!

[bill2006]

Re: re-done 3 pages- need input thanks.

Nice, looks very good now.
-Consider taking the parenthesis off Copyright © 2006-2006 (Loch Designs Jewellery)
-The "Links" doesn't work.
-The under construction message can now be taken off too.
-Nice view from your front porch, try to fit it in with your jewelry, i.e nature's inspiration or whatever = marketing.
-Notice on your NavBar that some titles start with lower case and others upper. Consistency is preferred.

Good work

[beegud2]

Re: My first try at publishing

Hi Jock,

You are off to a great start...vey nice jewellry too and I love your logo. Will be seeing more 'celtic' knots etc type designs... I think I have a nice celtic knot background somewhere in my image files...if you like send me and e-mail and I'll send to you...

[bill2006]

Re: My first try at publishing

You are duplicating your posts.

http://www.vodahost.com/vodatalk/customer-website-reviews-your-testing-ground/11038-re-done-3-pages-need-input-thanks.html