Revamped

[icwebmaster]

We have just revamped our site design and would like to have your comments and or suggestions.

Our Site (http://intelcosmet.com)

Thank you in advance

ICWebmaster

[KDLA]

Hi icwebmaster -
Just looked at your website. I really like the colors, however I suggest using just black for your text. The use of several colors for your content is very distracting, and also not too professional.

I also suggest getting rid of some of the "too cute" graphics, such as the one indicating the navigation area and all the others that are tagged onto the bottom of the page. They look pretty juvenile - not something you want when asking for business.

Good Luck!
KDLA

[icwebmaster]

one of the points to keep in mind is that even though this company sells a great deal of product and services, they are a grassroots at heart. They are craftsmen(women) in the true natural term.

They wanted the site to be also visually intriguing as almost all the graphics for the most part have been designed in-house with attention to many details at times.

Colors for fonts have been adapted to better color management, but with color used at points as highlights using dark blue and minimal use of green.

The owners of the company enjoy the images brought forth and the site tries to adapt them into the ongoing content.

I agree to some points on your comment, but to point it as juvie' so to speak all rests in the opinion of the ongoing looker.

While many sites resort to common static lifeless images and linear space, here as much creative gestures are at times used as in the gestures towards the handcrafted personal care products without fancy flash tweens and hyperflips...

so, on with the reviews :rolleyes:

[KDLA]

You might want to read the sticky note in this forum regarding Website Reviews.

Your comments seem to indicate that you have no interest in changing your design or considering other opinions. If that's the case, it's probably best not to ask for a reviews.

Good Luck -
KDLA

[spufi]

Hi icwebmaster -
Just looked at your website. I really like the colors, however I suggest using just black for your text. The use of several colors for your content is very distracting, and also not too professional.

I also suggest getting rid of some of the "too cute" graphics, such as the one indicating the navigation area and all the others that are tagged onto the bottom of the page. They look pretty juvenile - not something you want when asking for business.

Good Luck!
KDLA

Ditto. It's way too busy with all of the graphics and whatnot.

[LJK]

Hi -
I agree w/ the above comments and just had to 'play' w/ it a bit to show you an incredibly pared-down version to see what you thought! [The code isn't perfect, but it'll give you some idea of what we're referring to...]

It's too large to send as one attachment - so just place all images in *one* folder [images] before trying to view ;-)

Good luck & have fun,
El

[icwebmaster]

Oh, please don't get me wrong, comments are welcome and looked for, though it does not mean they are all taken at heart as well.

Being open-minded and handing out comments myself does not mean attaching idioms in context"ie" juvie and others so to speak.

Taking that in stride, you will see some of the points taken have been implemented to a point and would like to thank that of those comments as well.

While some may not like all that which is shown in imagin, again this is a matter of tastes and styles, and when the customer is the one paying the cost, there tastes and desires are implemented as much as possible. What is most important as well is the technical side and flow, as much as the topical design is a major part.

While the site is an ongoing piece of work, comments are welcomed and wanted, good and bad, and sometimes I may have a snarky reply, but that again should be taken with a grain of salt and a coffee ;)

As for issues, validation is driving me some what batty, so if any comments or suggestions are possible, please do and I promise not to bite... :D

[KDLA]

Sorry - but I looked at your website again, and still feel a winking smiley face graphic is juvenile.

Juvenile - Of or relating to or characteristic of or appropriate for children or young people

Unless you're a multi-billion dollar operation like Wal-Mart (which can get away using a smiley face as its logo), smileys aren't really appropriate for a professional website.

However, as you wrote
again this is a matter of tastes and styles

so, no hard feelings. Maybe things (regarding both graphics AND semantics) are perceived differently across the border. You'll notice that most of the major cosmetics corporations (Lancome, Estee Lauder, Clinique, Avon, Mary Kay, etc.) advertising in the US are much more professional in their presentation. But, again, that's just a matter of taste.

KDLA

[icwebmaster]

Yes they do have a different sales approach, then again they are also all in the news based on toxic ingredients, animal abuse and more,,,I gather this is part of how to cover up such acts and misbeliefs.

Yes, this company is different, and maybe a smile is seen as a downside,,,then again, maybe as a client, a smile makes my day...

That aside, we will look deeper into the use of such graphics.

Now, on to the reviews,,,what I would really like is advice on that of validation and optimization without the need to strip down the look or feel, unless justified and merited.

Keep in mind, that the graphic touches are also those implemented from that of the owners and unless they say it goes, it stays unless I can convey otherwise.

On another note, being different in that if a sitedesign, each merits on it's own efforts, each style is a matter of bugdet and tastes, Major corps for cosmetics have issues to keep their market hold while facing the environmental issues and new regulations.

This market for one is one that falls into grey zones with little or no legislation, While California and now Quebec have adpapted stricter laws towards cosmetics on a whole, it still has a very long way to go.

As for the owners and how they see the major corps, they are not concerned in any form or way as the concept of this company is unique and outside of the mainstay of polluted toxic products, then again, that's a matter of taste right, some like the idea of hightech garbage with a touch of someones lost foreskin as a fixing agent,,,quite the world we live in right?

[LJK]

Hi -
But it's still possible to be unique without being overly 'cutesy'!
[Check out Garden Botanika's site - a similar concept but clean,
simple, light...and adult.]

Good luck,
El

[Sanim]

Whoaaaaaa!!! Looking at your site's source, your Meta description tag is HUGE. I don't mean to be a nag, but I think Google and most search engines only index the first 50 characters/words of your description. I don't normally mention little things like that, but that's a HUGE description.

[icwebmaster]

thks,,,it was a leftover,,,will have that fixed in a snap...

once again thks for the tip...

as for the smiley hangup,,,

[icwebmaster]

After a little reworking,,,comments???

[aznchong91]

I can't seem to access your site...is it intelcosmet.com?

[icwebmaster]

there is a error with our host and will have this worked out shortly

sorry for the issues

will repost as soon as it is fixed

[icwebmaster]

well, thanks to a bunch of techs, the server is now back online. There were dns changes along with server issues. Now all is up..

:D

[dera]

incorrect use of the title http://fabio.6te.net/?p=26

[icwebmaster]

could you please explain,,,characters are not over and it relates to site,,,so what is the issue???

[KDLA]

She's referring to the >> character in the title

What can go in the title tag Only non formatted Text Numbers and Symbols can go in the title tag.
In other words you cannot do
<title><b>BOLD</b> Title</title>
Note:For some symbols such as the < symbol etc. they must be converted into their HTML symbol code.
Example #1 shows what may happen if incorrect use of the title tag is applied.
<title><b>BOLD</b> Title</title>
May Produce: < b> BOLD < /b> title
<title>>>> Title</title>
May Produce: >>> Title Note this is invalid syntax Correct way
<title>&gt;&gt;&gt; Title </title>[/B]

IntelCosmet Natural Cosmeceuticals » PhytoAromatic All Natural Skin Care! - Home

The ">>" needs to be "&raquo;"

Noticed that the smiley is gone.

KDLA

[icwebmaster]

strange, it is that when I look at the source html from within mambo,,,is it possible that maybe mambo is converting this as seen from your viewing point?

yes, smiley went on vacation ;)

which I gather is more appealing at this point ;)

[KDLA]

I'm not familiar with that program. Is this the first site you've done with it? If so, it might be some sort of breadcrumb setting that needs to be changed.

KDLA

[icwebmaster]

You have not heard about Mambo, wow, where you been hiding? :cool:

[icwebmaster]

What you are seeing is a SEF replacement as mambo does some basic SEF

$mosConfig_sitename = 'IntelCosmet Natural Cosmeceuticals &raquo; PhytoAromatic All Natural Skin Care!';

as you can see, the correct character coding is used and is SEF replaced on the title block.

SEO for SEF is not yet completed and is still a work in progress.

[KDLA]

I've heard of Mambo, just not used it.

I work for a government agency; we use whatever program the Administration tell us to, which is currently Dreamweaver. However, I prefer to code everything myself without the aid of an editor.

[icwebmaster]

Mambo is more then an editor, it is a opensource GPL CMS solution that is quite user friendly, one that takes the chore out of core coding and allows the user to be quite flexible towards layouts.

As for making a site fully compliant with standards using mambo, well that is where applied coding is useful to know, but a lot of user groups to guide you in the right direction if your questions are well formed.

After looking at many CMS type solutions, this was one of the favorites chosen and so far works quite well for an all in one CMS with many thirdparty options as well

My opinion of course, but as you can see the site runs quite well, almost all browsers work quite fine as well from the feedback without the need for major coding. Speed is quite good with loadtimes for 56k just under a min, not the best, but not a target audience either.

All feedback is most welcomed towards making this site better without the need to strip it down to a flavorless box. :)