Just doesn’t “feel” right

[funkwumasta]

Hi all,

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I’m attempting to create my first fully featured web app and as such, I have absolutely zero prior design experience. I’ve been out of the programming game for a while, but recently decided to start up this website with a friend. In order to cut costs, I’ve taught myself Ruby on Rails over the past 6 months, and this website is the (current) fruit of my labors. I’ve gone over multiple design revisions, and base my designs off of professional websites I admire, but that “professional” quality seems to elude me. For the landing page, I’m simply going for a simple, yet striking impression on the user, that delivers a concise message. I like the idea of large full color images which is what I’ve gone for. Any critiques (constructive) would be much appreciated.

tl;dr

Would you help critique my website? Please?

It can be found here http://www.gosocialife.com

[TheDoc]

Whole page is blank for me. Just a black background.

[funkwumasta]

yep, sorry. messed up some JS. fixing it!

[funkwumasta]

ok fixed it. your feedback is much appreciated!

[NghiQuach]

Found a few kinks, in that the venues and contact stack if you click them on the same page.
I like the colors on faq page/about us. I personally don’t like the transparent top nav bar because when you scroll it goes under your logo, which can be distracting.

Its pretty solid nonetheless! Also maybe try to make it responsive? Not sure if the webpage is device friendly.

[funkwumasta]

Thanks for the feedback Nghi! Not sure I fully understand what you mean about the navbar. As in, you find it distracting that the content appears underneath the logo as you scroll down?

And yea, responsiveness will be my next big undertaking. As of now, I’m a one man team, and there just aren’t enough hours in the day to tackle it yet.

[NghiQuach]

Yeah that’s what I meant about the navbar.

Yeah I feel like opening up event locations to get directions on your phone can be very helpful.
As it is event orientated im sure people will want to get event details the day of from their phone incase they forget or something.

But yeah keep up the good work!

[TheDoc]

Feels really ‘busy’. Probably due to the choice of backgrounds.

The call to action could use some simplifying as well. Not sure where that brownish color is coming from in the color scheme, might need a re-think there. This whole box could use some simplifying and better spacing between elements: http://cl.ly/image/3R102e01333G

[Alen]

It’s a great start. I’ve been working with Rails recently and it’s just awesome.

On first visit to the site, it’s not apparent what the site is about. It’s very busy. “Live More, Do More, Socialize More, We make it Easy” – How? On the first page is not clear. How is what you are offering different from all other social media platforms that offer events and such? This needs to be ironed out on the landing page. See Path.com for some ideas. I would also reconsider “Get Started” action button, why simply not include the form right of the bat. Or maybe just include first/last name then once the user clicks continue you ask them for more info… although, I would ask for minimum information required and have the user edit their profile once they’ve signed up. This way you are eliminating signup obstacles. And increasing conversion.

Since venues are as important as your users, you should put more emphasis on this instead of simple link on the bottom. Venues are more valuable IMO, since this is the value you are providing.

That should get you thinking for now. Hope that helps.

[funkwumasta]

Thanks for the feedback!

The cta color was just leftover from previous designs. It was different from all the other colors in my scheme so i kept it, but i can experiment with other colors.

As for the message, i guess i was trying to be more “intriguing” but maybe more straightforward would be better. I like the idea of the form in the front page.

Not sure what to do about the “business” of the images. I like the idea of showcasing “featured” events on this page but not sure of a good way to display it. Maybe a smaller carousel image with spacing?

[Author]

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