[thelist] Design check: stinkfactor.com

Joshua Olson joshua at alphashop.net
Tue Jan 29 13:11:01 CST 2002


----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Buffington" <mike at stirlingbridge.com>
Subject: [thelist] Design check: stinkfactor.com


> I posted this late last Friday night but didn't get much/any response so
> I thought I'd give it another shot:
>
> I'm looking for ideas to make the front page of www.stinkfactor.com a
> little more compelling, a little more intuitive.
>
> Also looking for any constructive criticism about any part of the site.


Michael,

Ok, so you want some feedback!  You specifically asked for ideas to make it
more compelling:

1.  A little more contrast between the text and the background color might
facilitate reading of the material.

2.  Since you only have 3 navigation items (Latest News, Challenges, Behind
the Scenes), why not come up with some images (or short descriptions) to
help you identify what is behind the links.

3.  As they are now, on the right without underlines, a newbe might not know
that they are links.  It seems to be common that sites that utilize a lot of
css for layout tend to try to remove all the old browser hints that users
are used to, such as making links blue and underlined.  In reality, overly
customizing the default behaviour of the browser leads to decreased
usability.  (Do I sound like Jacob, or what!)

4.  The individual pieces of content on the home page may draw my attention
with a sample image.  I am not talking about a full blown image, but perhaps
a nicely cropped image from the story.  Much like the images you have in the
challenges subsection.

5.  A search box at the top might be nice if you end up with more content
down the road.

6.  A random quote (of the witty type) might get me to refresh a couple of
times.  This gimic is common, but still nice.  Perhaps a witty quote that
relates to a story on your site, and a link to that story would be nice.
For example:  "Confusous say, 'cinnamon kick your butt every time'... see
how he learned this less."  Make the last part a link directly to the
Cinnamon Challenge 2001.

7.  A nice (though perhaps smaller) graphic like you have at the top of
http://www.michaelbuffington.com/mb/ might be nice... well, at least more
interesting.

-joshua




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