The Design Center / Web Design & Review / Reader Sites for Review  

Readers post their web sites for review

Mission: to help new and amateur web masters get help through reviews and critiques of their web sites. Please look for those who specifically ask for help.

Web Designers: If you are an experienced web designer, we ask that you critique a web site BEFORE posting your own. Select the site you wish to critique, then use the Design Cafe "Web Site Review" forum to post your review or critique Thank you

Disclaimer - Reviewer Beware: We do not endorse these sites or their products as Good or Bad by virtue of posting them here. All content was authored by the posting party, NOT Web Design & Review. They were posted by their authors specifically for the purpose of a CRITIQUE -- not advertising! You are also advised to turn OFF cookies while viewing these sites.

Web Site Reviews and Critiques       All review requests and reviews are now featured in the
      Web Design & Critique forum
      under the Design Cafe.
      Please post your site for review at that location. Thank you.

 

Job openings for designers, illustrators and web designers       New job listings have been posted:
      There are immediate openings and projects available
      for capable web designers, illustrators, programmers and
      graphic designers.
      The list is updated daily at the DTG Forums Jobs Listings.

 

 

The last sites posted here for review were in January of 2007.

All reviews now held in the DESIGN CAFE FORUMS

This area is soon to be discontinued  

Previous sites posted for review...

Art Related sites: refers to artists, illustrators, photographers and those involved in an artistic endeavor. This also includes art and photography galleries, art resources, designer resources, arts and crafts and others in this genre.

Business sites: Any online commercial business for profit: ecommerce, shopping, SOHO, retail, merchants, gifts, dot-coms, etc. Web services and online directories will be listed here as well.

Education: learning, home school, reference, K-12, research, training -- should have a dot-edu or dot-org domain designation.

General Audience: home, family surfing -- house and home, living, lifestyles, personal health, fitness, news, weather, etc.

Industry: involved in manufacturing, technology, corporate, but NOT ecommerce.

Organization: specifically not for profit - government, association, charity, church, etc. Should have dot-org, dot-gov or dot-edu domain designation.

Pastimes: hobby, leisure, music, sports, entertainment, travel, fan sites, collectables, etc.

Personal: personal home pages, family sites, geneology, etc. (Not portfolios, Not for profit)

Professional: lawyer, accountant, engineers, architects, employment agencies, doctors, consultants, others NOT in the design or web fields

Publication: newsletter, zine, book, info source, periodical, eBook, publishers. Also includes news and literary sites.

Graphic / Web Designers
design and design studios. These include freelancers, programmers, web designers, agencies, and those who posted their portfolios.

 

Reviewing Web Sites

One designer recently said

"You learn good design by looking at bad design."
... another states
"You learn good design through the works of others."

Both of these are correct -- but only to a certain point. We believe that you learn good design through the works of others only when you make an effort to actually evaluate the work and state why you think it works or doesn't work. Only then do you actually make it part of your knowledge-base. We're all born with the same set of tools. Those tools you develop and 'grow' are the ones that you use for life -- the effective ones.

If you find a site you like, make an effort to state why you like it. If it doesn't work, state why -- regardless of whether or not you tell the rest of us about your feelings. Just do it!

Aesthetics & Eye Appeal

Personality:

  1. Does the site's look and feel seem to match the subject matter
  2. Does the site align visually with the intended reader or market?
  3. Do you immediately get a sense of what the site is all about?
  4. Could you easily see "About" and security information?

Design & Layout

  1. Are the graphics appropriate to the subject of the site?
  2. Are the graphics appropriate for the intended audience?
  3. Are there graphics that seem superfluous or unnecessary?
  4. Is the color scheme appealing and suggestive of the topic?
  5. Is the layout cramped and 'too full' or is there proper spacing and visual rest areas?
  6. Is your eye drawn to the most important elements? Do they then relate into the content?

Reader Usability

  1. Is the site understandable?
  2. Did you know what to do to get to the information you wanted?
  3. Were there guide posts or 'help' features included
  4. Are the areas of content clearly defined
  5. Were there distractions like spam and blinking ads
  6. Are there visual elements, design elements, pictures, or content blocks that are distracting, or that keep you from flowing into the content message?

Functionality

  1. Is navigation Intelligent, logical and clearly understandable
  2. Does the technology work - Java, scripts, movies, etc. or are you required to load a program or do something in order to use the site?
  3. Do buttons and links send you where you expected to go?

Meeting reader expectations

When reviewing a site, always keep in mind the intended function of the web site. Readers will go there with some expectation or implied promise of performance.
      For instance, some sites are developed purely for the purpose of spam, advertising, or selling something. Catalog sites, and product manufacturers/vendors who are marketing and merchandising their own products, are obligated to sell online. Always take the intent of the site into consideration -- then ask:

  1. Do they do a good job delivering what you expected?
  2. Are you invited in to the information?
  3. Does the look, feel and content seem comfortable and honest?
  4. Is the selling activity high pitch, low pitch or rude?
  5. Is the expectation or promise fulfilled?

Posting Your Reviews

Post your reactions to our online Site Review Form. Professional Web Designers should use our Professional Critiques Form or send your comments and impressions to: admin at Webdesign-review dot com Thank you

YOU MUST include the URL or TITLE of the web site you're commenting on. Otherwise we won't be able to match it up with the site description originally posted to WebDesign & Review. Your comments may be published, but your name and/or email address will NOT be published to anyone.

Get a Formal Critique or Site Makeover If you were disappointed that no one reviewed your site... or you would just like to get a check-up to see how you or your designer is doing, then consider getting a Formal Web Site Critique or Site Makeover

Participate in your Design Center

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