feedback on my site

[mshort1985]

Hi all, this is my personal site which I designed quite some time ago and haven’t updated much at all besides content. I am starting to think I should perhaps overhaul it and update the design a bit, so I thought a good step to take would be to get people’s opinions of my current site to give me an idea of what I should focus on improving.

one problem I am aware of is the html is a bit of a mess which now that i’ve improved my skills a lot i am going to fix up including upgrading to HTML5

Thanks in advance.

http://www.michaelshortwebdesign.com/

[OniLinkCR]

Dude first thing I would get rid of is you (your picture). It draws an immediate attention and the way you faded it with the colors it’s just not going to work; unless you are Vin Diesel, George Clooney, etc then nobody needs to look at your picture in order to get hired. They need to look at YOUR work, YOUR qualities, YOUR skills. Sorry to be harsh, not in the interest of disrespecting you.

Also, the colors don’t sit/bode well with me. Also, there is a negative space between your picture and text, it doesn’t sit well with me, it’s too much space that isn’t very well aligned in my opinion.

Cheers and hope it’s a start.

[furrball1383]

I would have to say that you do need to overhaul your site, although one might argue its minimalistic, a web designer is always judged by their website first and then their portfolio, there are so many better templates that you could design by and new styles that you could add with css as well as more stylish menu bars, accordion and slider systems using jQuery for your portfolio, stuff like that. I also agree with onilinkcr that the colours are a bit too dark, I would suggest making use of image reflections and shiny edges in a website with dark colours otherwise it just seems a bit drab. I would really suggest browsing a few templates out there and picking one you’d like to emulate or use as your muse to build your own. Goodluck and send us link to the new page when you’re done!

[Brian Meyer]

Indeed. Scrap the site. Start from scratch. Post templates before investing to much in the code, if you’re interested in getting feedback.

[mshort1985]

Thanks all :) you all pretty much confirmed my thoughts :)

[robst]

Hey Michael,

I have to agree with the others, but, I don’t necessarily think having your photo on the site is such a bad idea…I would make it smaller and maybe put it on the contact page. OniLinkCR is right–companies are less interested in seeing photos of you, but your work and what you can do!

What I do like is your navigation…the simplicity and ease of it! The colors aren’t really working either…there’s some kind of pattern to the background that makes it appear “eery” or “scary.” Not sure if you want to “scare” your viewers away. The layout and text-alignment seems a bit off for me as well.

You’re obviously a talented guy, and I’m sure you’ll find a solution that uniquely defines you. Perhaps going back to the drawing boards will help. I find that drawing (even on paper napkins) helps get the creative juices flowing.

Good luck,
Rob

[mshort1985]

Thanks for your feedback Rob, yes the navigation is probably the only part i’m still fond of on the site. Mind you i’ve actually had positive feedback about the photo from a couple of clients saying it makes it feel more personal and less corporate which apparently made them trust me more *shrug* lol.

Either way, i’m not going to keep it. going in a new direction with my new design and hoping it’ll work out :)

as for the colours, the Green and Orange are the colours i’ve used for my business stationary (letter heads, business cards etc) so they will still feature on the site, but maybe not as prominently

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