new website would love feedback

[azarchitecture]

hi, so im in the beginning stages of launching a new website... USAarchitecture.com. the aim of the website is to showcase unique and interesting architecture from around the country. currently, the work deals only with some of the properties my company works with in the metro Phoenix, AZ area. i realize some of the images are low res and need to be adjusted, but would love to hear feedback or any categories that seem to be missing... thanks!

max

http://usaa.vilocity.com

[j.fleet]

The site has some good stuf on it but it looks abit plain, try making your nav bar more interesting at least. Also adding some social bookmarking tools is a very good way to quickly drive more traffic to your site



Free cut out people, trees, cars and skies - www.kropped.com

[ArtisticAthlete32]

I agree with j.fleet, the site has some good stuff on it but it's really plain. Add some color...a lot of color. Bold is better! Color and graphics is something that will grab someone's attention and intrigue them; hence, they'll keep looking at your website.

Also, when you first get to the website, the left side is completely bare. Think about adding something over there to even out the page.

You're going in the right direction. I think that's a good idea for a website. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product!

[solidred]

This appears on the home page, in bold letters:

Live. Work. Sleep. Dream.

It has the appearance of something wishing to claim simple profundity. However, I see problems with it:
Firstly, there is a notional division of the quartet into two pairs: 'live + work' then 'sleep + dream'. The first has allusions to 'live to work' or 'work to live', the second to Shakespeare's 'sleep, perchance to dream'. For the first well, which is it to be? For the second, what point is being made here? Does it cast light on the first pair?
Maybe it isn't supposed to be two pairs. Maybe it's just four words, each describing a basic life activity. As such, it would be hopelessly, meaninglessly bland: Drink. Inject. Revive. Stagger. would at least contain some sort of rhetoric, if a sad one. Or, are buildings all about housing the activities 'living' 'working' 'sleeping' and 'dreaming'? Well, sure but by the same token we could say 'Chatter. Piss. Doze. Prevaricate.'

I'm being obtuse, I know. But don't forefront words like this - like poetic essence - if it doesn't mean anything. Because drawing attention to some essential vacuity on your homepage does you no favours whatsoever. It looks like hack-level marketing bumpf.

If I've got this all wrong, enlighten me. However, for all my negativity, it may help you developing the site if you're told - even in such miserablist terms as mine above - that some people at least will be dissuaded from moving any further into your site when the very opening page seems to give such clues as to ...content.

[solidred]

P.S. Here's a site that's recently been set up in the UK covering broadly similar ground: http://www.bestbuildings.co.uk/
I'm not suggesting it's better or worse than yours... simply it might be useful for comparison purposes.

[thomascui]

More bolder colors and graphics will make your site more eye-catching.

Tom

Atchitectural Rendeing: http://www.archivisionstudio.com/
Atchitectural Model: http://www.archivisionmodels.com/

[JWmHarmon]

ArtisticAthlete32 says, "the left side is completely bare."

I kept waiting for something to show up in the white space.

Henry David Thoreau wrote that our lives are frittered away be detail and that we should seek simplicity.

There is nothing wrong with a web site design that is simplified. Spreading out the text on the left would fill in the white space.

Perhaps putting the Live Work Sleep Dream text on separate lines, maybe tabbing over each successive word would be adequate.

Live
Work
Sleep
Dream

Solidred takes issue with these words.

Since this is a web site that seeks to connect people looking for unique homes with those selling unique homes, I think the words are appropriate.

Live as you would choose to live.
Work where you want in whatever career you choose.
Come back home to sleep.
Dream about your future, dream about your goals, dream about open-ended possibilities.

Read Shakespeare if perchance you like his musings.

Simplicity has its place and complexity has its place.

Making the menu choices more prominent might call more attention to them.

[iphilblue]

I don't think putting more colors and bigger fonts will do anything good. I think a slick, simple design is better than an over-worked one.

However I do agree that your menu needs more prominence, but maybe it's because of its position?

Also your search tool is a bit old-school. Perhaps you should have a simple free text search and offer all the filter options as an advanced search mode.

Finally this page is ridiculously long to load: http://usaa.vilocity.com/index.php/gallery

Because you have dozens of images that are close to 100kb each. Try using an image compression tool. Each image should not be more than 12kb.

Just trying to give you some tips!

[starkca3]

well overall the site seems ok to me. Just ok i suppose. I definitely agree on solid's critique of the four words. They seem rather cliché to me. My find a better heading?. Cant really think of one off the top of my head. or just find something else all together? As far as the slow loading gallery page you could just reduce file sizes correct?

The only other thing that i found annoying was the excess in google ads. I suppose if you need the money then its good byt maybe try to limit it? We can all find Home Depot if we need it, its not your sites job to tell us about it. I think the ads subtract from the mission of the site so to speak.

Was thinking that Possible to replace that whole left column on the home page you could include some type of mission statement you know? Just to tell visitors exactly what this is for, for those of us who browse till we drop all the arch sites.

Oh last thing, i dont really like the search layout of the "Architects" tab much :/ somewhat the same for the resources page layout

but you know, its just a start right?