Review #1 from Calm Banana
(Note: The site has changed a lot since this review. I still wanted it up because I appreciate any help I get with this site, because every little bit makes it better.)
Reviewer: Rachael
First Impressions 8/10
Before I've even clicked your link, I'm expecting to see a young teeny-bopper type of website. I'm expecting... lots of
pink, lots of glitter, and some poor quality Myspace layouts. Why is this? It's because of the "z" in your domain name.
Once you're old and boring like me, it suddenly doesn't seem so cool to spell with a 'z'. However, once seeing the
description of your site, your target audience is 10-16 year old girls, which rules me out.
Upon clicking your link, I see... a fast loading website, and lots of white space. White space is good. The rose on the
right hand side would be nicer slightly larger, and it clashes more than just a little bit with the pink on your banners.
Consider toning them down a bit. Other than that, my first impressions are good. I see no glitters; I'm not blinded, and I
don't see bubble writing. Good work.
My Comments:
Eh...yeah ;) The "z" is because Girls&Friends just doesn't look right to me, and it's sentimental, because ever since that lovely January 23, 2006 day, it's been Girlz with a "z." So, I think it's staying. I'll add that tidbit to the "History" page. We do have pink, but it's not overwhelming, I think. I'm so not the Piczo type, so I make sure that I don't have any of that on G&F.
Aesthetics 6/10
I'm all for clean sites and minimalism, but your site seems to be just a little bit... bare. This may be dangerous to say,
but I think there's too much white space. A bit more colour would finish the look off nicely. Looking at
your code, I see you're using a freewebs template. I'm assuming you're hosted by freewebs? Or are you just using one of
their layouts? If you're not hosted by them, you should try to make your own layout. If you are hosted by
them, then still try to make your own layout.
I love the shades of pink that you use for your links, perhaps consider using those for your h1 tags, just to add some
more colour. I do think you need more colour in your website, but...no glitters!. Please don't blind your
visitors, especially not oldies like me.
Fluid layouts like yours are good, but when I view your site maximised, it's a bit too wide. If you consider making it a fixed width, or even add some padding to
your body tag, that would make the whole site look less bare.
My Comments:
Yeah...it is bare ;( I'll see what I can do about that. Yes, I am hosted by Freewebs, and I will someday. I'm just overwhelmed by how much work it would be (yep, I'm a tad lazy). And, no, no glitters here. I prefer glass text, anyways.
Usability 8/10
I find your site very easy to use. Your navigation is right below your title, which means I always know which site I'm
on, and where I can go. Whilst I do like the colours you've used for your links, I think they could do with more contrast.
I like that they're underlined though; they stand out from normal text. I can tell where I'm supposed to be clicking, and
that is good. I also like that you don't make my cursor do anything unexpected.
Another thing that confused me a little bit is the pixel text next to the new/updated links in your visitor content
section. The shades of pink used are very similar and make for hard-to-read text. Consider altering them slightly. I do
like the pixel text though, it's a cute way of showing which pages are new/updated.
Being really pedantic now, I got a little bit confused using your "contact us" page. I filled in the form on the left and
couldn't find the 'submit' button. It's slap bang in the middle of the page, so really I should have noticed it, but... I was
expecting it to be directly underneath the bottom of the form. You might want to consider moving it. Alternatively,
leave it where it is and roll your eyes at me for being a bit stupid.
My Comments:
Yes, I'll change the pixel text so it contrasts more. I'll move it (no, I'm not rolling my eyes lol).
Content 9/10
Consider moving your blog to your front page. That would make the front page less 'bare', and let people jump right
into your site without having to click any extra links. Also consider splitting your links page, or renaming it, as this
page has content which does not fall under the title of 'links'.
Your site history was interesting, and I'm glad to see you've moved on from the "~*~Linkz~*~" times. I never went
through that phase, I was never cool enough. I'm glad to see you have more accessible navigation now. Please keep it
that way!
I'm glad to see you have several awards, because you have a good little site going on here. Some of the images are
broken though, so take a look into that. You're using WAK's ask and answer script, which is known to be unsafe. I'd
recommend phpAskIt instead. You can find it on Amelie's site http://not-noticeably.net.
I would love to see more information about you on your 'about Anna' page. And, unless I'm wrong, doesn't G&F have
two webmistresses? I wanna know about the other one too!
You have lots of visitor content, which is good. I can tell that you make your site to provide visitor content rather than
focus on yourselves, so it's important to have good quality visitor content. One thing - the images on your 'sign sets'
page are broken. Your site namer is cute, especially because if I used my initials I'd get "Brighter Day", and that's cute.
On your 'get hosted' page, you don't technically explain what it means to get hosted. If you're using freewebs, it might
also be hard for you to host people as they'd have to send you copies of any changes they want making to their pages,
which just creates more effort for yourselves.
I'm a bit confused about your 'site tips' page. A novice webmaster might not know whether your points listed are "do's"
or "don't's" Perhaps make it a bit clearer? I like your graphic demonstration, the second is most definitely better (as well
as easier on the eyes!)
I love your article on Splash pages, and I wholeheartedly agree. Splash pages are bad! BAD! You have very valid points.
I could suggest some more if you wanted... And you might want to point out that "The Opinionist" leads to an external
site.
Did you make all the props on your dollmaker? If you did, I congratulate you. They're much better than I could ever
do. If you didn't, you should credit where you got them from.
I like your taste in music. I have some of those songs on my MP3 player too! You should checkout Hellogoodbye and
Simple Plan, you might like them. Randomly, I'm actually seeing Good Charlotte in concert next week. They should be
good.
I like your explanation of HTML. It's not too technical, but neither is it patronizing. Good work. And... you taught me
some Spanish. Thank you!
My Comments:
*shudder* I can't believe I did that. I'm glad I didn't discover Piczo in those times! Don't worry, it's staying this way ;) I know about the links...I recently organized my Photobucket account, so I need to go through and fix the broken images. Yes, we do...I'll get Bubbles on that ;) Yeah, we're mostly a content site. I love Paint Shop Pro, so I love making graphics :D I'm deleting the "Get Hosted" page, and maybe bring it back later. I cannot STAND splashes. Bubbles loves them (and IE...) but I can't imagine why, lol. I'll point that out. Cool, I'd like to know which songs you've got on there (if you reply to this). I've heard some Hellogoodbye songs, but no Simple Plan. I'll check them out. Thanks, and my Spanish teacher would like to know that, lol.
Overall 8/10
Overall I think you've done a great job with your site. There are no major flaws. Your structure is fine, your grammar is
perfect, and you seem to have a nice attitude. I came to your site expecting one thing, and left having seen something
entirely different, and a whole lot better.
I think your site has a lot of potential and now that you've got the structure and content pretty much sorted, you can
concentrate on refining your site to the little gem it could be. I definitely think you should consider adding the 'friends'
part into the content more. I would love some friendship advice right about now.
Keep up the good work, and with a little bit of time, I think your site could be wonderful. Hasta Luego!
TOTAL: 39/50
My Comments:
Yes, I think I'll start on that now, especially now that I've been through a lot of drama (catfights, cliques, etc.) from last year. Thank you so much for your review, it's very uplifting...since I just came back from a braces adjustment like hurt like you-know-what.