Critique My OS Website - Orchid Board

shadytrake · #1 01-23-2011, 01:58 PM

Hey everyone. I am redesigning our Orchid Society website.

Here is the old site.

Welcome to Memphis Orchid Society

Here is the test new design draft.

Home

What do you think? Please critique the color scheme, layout, menu, content etc.

Some of the photos are "borrowed" just for testing purposes. They will be replaced with actual member photos once I cull the highest quality images.

Thanks!

RosieC · #2 01-23-2011, 02:37 PM

My personal view is that I like the smart modern style, however I'm not keen on the brownish/greenish/muddy colour behind the text.

But that could be just me... it seems a popular colour in clothes and all sorts of things these days so maybe I'm in a minority there.

I like the idea of a simple format, but with a nice high quality picture at the top of each page. I find it easier to read when a page is not too cluttered with images, but good single good images like you have can really set it off well.

Just my thoughts, taste is a difficult thing and good website design is a real skill, which my attempts at work has shown I don't really have

BikerDoc5968 · #3 01-23-2011, 02:37 PM

Much nicer than the original website. I think I would re-arrange the list so "Home" is 1st followed by "About Us" and then "Breaking News". I also like more of a "banner" presentation for the home page and maybe include meeting notices, etc on the home page. Not that Michigan Orchid Society has it right but this is our home page which was redesigned this past year.

MICHIGAN ORCHID SOCIETY (MOS)

I do like the photos and the layout of the pages. I do agree with Rosie in that you want to have more contrast between written material and the background color and you want the viewer's eye to focus on the important information on the pages and not be distracted by the background; like watermarks behind text, etc. You've done some very nice work. Love to see the finished website. Your Society should be thankful they have someone to undertake such a huge project!

RosieC · #4 01-23-2011, 02:51 PM

Just another thought. If you have a 'latest news' section make sure there is someone who will keep it up to date.

A news section helps attract people by making the society seem lively and active and makes the website seem up to date and current. However an out of date news section is worse than no news section at all.

We were advised on this at the company I work for when we had a profesional review of our website when our news section was 6 months out of date. They said we should either remove the section or should update it at least once a month.

Gin · #5 01-23-2011, 04:29 PM

I really don't like the background color not a happy color , also agree with Howard on the arrangement of the home ect .

Connie Star · #6 01-23-2011, 05:17 PM

Looks great to me. I would agree with putting "Home" first. I particularly like the opening page.

shadytrake · #7 01-24-2011, 08:36 PM

Thanks y'all. It's always good to test it on PC and Mac. I have a Mac and the background color appears a creamy taupe color which I like.

I checked it on my PC at work and WOW it is dark! That is not what I intended at all. I will re-vamp that.

I do want the Breaking News to pop up first as this is the most important calendar information for upcoming events. It will be updated monthly at least and probably twice per month once I get everything up to speed.

Keep the comments coming.

shadytrake · #8 04-10-2011, 04:45 PM

The website is completed. What do you think?Breaking News

Connie Star · #9 04-10-2011, 08:33 PM

Looking good!

Paul · #10 04-10-2011, 08:48 PM

I have to agree with Howard and friends who suggested putting the "Home" first, then the About Us" followed by "Breaking News", etc. I also am not a fan of the taupe and light blue color scheme -- it's too drab for my tastes.

On the plus side, I love the sharp pictures at the top of each page (not to mention that you included the name of the orchid and photographer/grower) and the ease of navigation.

Well done!