Any Tips for Site Redesign?

[MichaelYakutis]

We are in the process of redesigning our site at And To Be Loved. I was hoping to get a little feedback about the new main page (below). Does anyone have any thoughts or opinions? A few things to keep in mind - this is an LGBT comedy series and we are going for bright and vibrant; also the new title is just a place holder until we design a new banner, and then the top banner ad will then be moved above the title.

You can view the existing site here: http://www.andtobeloved.com/archive/cha ... e-142-jpg/

Thanks!

[MichaelYakutis]

After getting some feedback at other forums, I have re-re-designed the site's main page. Here is the latest incarnation which I feel works much better than the last. Thoughts anyone?

[VeryCuddlyCornpone]

I find it a lot easier on the eyes than the original you posted! The subdued colors bring the eye to the more detailed part of the page that contains the comic, which is what is supposed to happen.

I don't know much about design, so that's all I can really provide as for feedback. But I think it looks good.

[MichaelYakutis]

I find it a lot easier on the eyes than the original you posted! The subdued colors bring the eye to the more detailed part of the page that contains the comic, which is what is supposed to happen.

I don't know much about design, so that's all I can really provide as for feedback. But I think it looks good.

Cool thanks! Yeah, we're a lot happier with this newest design. The previous one was a tad too bold. I'm not a site design expert either, so if anyone has any tips, please tip away!

[McDuffies]

It depends on what ends up in white boxes, it seems like it might end up being cluttered, because boxes are of various sizes and aren't aligned, they look a bit randomly thrown around, but maybe it won't look that way when they're filled with content.

[MichaelYakutis]

It depends on what ends up in white boxes, it seems like it might end up being cluttered, because boxes are of various sizes and aren't aligned, they look a bit randomly thrown around, but maybe it won't look that way when they're filled with content.

Yeah right now there's content we simply don't have yet so we can't include it in the boxes you are refering to. I think that once they are filled it should look fine. And the banners well....banners are banners lol.

[Wonderdrome]

Oh man, you wrote this over a month ago, and you still haven't updated! For shame!

Just kidding, you're fine. I just wanted to chip in on one thing I noticed- the new design took all the texture out of the flames along the bottom! I'm against this! Not only for subjective reasons either- I think the color texture in the bottom design makes it less obvious that it repeats going outward from the middle. I can't say just why that repetition strikes me as a negative... and I don't suppose it strictly is, but without the color texture it makes that bottom thing seem a little underwhelming. (Begging the question: Should it be overwhelming? Well, no, but there's times when there should be more going on, and I'm trying, with great difficulty for some reason, to explain that it seems to me that this is one of those times.) Maybe these are all subjective reasons after all.

Anyway, good luck with it all, and I hope you aren't stressing too much about it. Remember- people who give hard answers to aesthetic questions are salesmen and answer-mongers.

[MichaelYakutis]

Oh man, you wrote this over a month ago, and you still haven't updated! For shame!

Just kidding, you're fine. I just wanted to chip in on one thing I noticed- the new design took all the texture out of the flames along the bottom! I'm against this! Not only for subjective reasons either- I think the color texture in the bottom design makes it less obvious that it repeats going outward from the middle. I can't say just why that repetition strikes me as a negative... and I don't suppose it strictly is, but without the color texture it makes that bottom thing seem a little underwhelming. (Begging the question: Should it be overwhelming? Well, no, but there's times when there should be more going on, and I'm trying, with great difficulty for some reason, to explain that it seems to me that this is one of those times.) Maybe these are all subjective reasons after all.

Anyway, good luck with it all, and I hope you aren't stressing too much about it. Remember- people who give hard answers to aesthetic questions are salesmen and answer-mongers.

Haha, actually the person buidling the site just started doing it yesterday (we know nothing about how to build a site like this so we bartered with someone to do it for us - thank you BarterQuest!). We are hoping it will be done around the end of the month, but it's really out of our hands.

You can't tell from the image I posted, but the flames do in fact have a faint texture to them. Not nearly as strong as the red/orange/yellow flames from the previous design, but there is a slight texture. Maybe I should have posted the image in full size so people could have gotten a better look....My bad. But I didn't want to flood the thread with large images.

One other thing we changed (as of yesterday) was instead of having a light orange background, we are going to have a very light minty green background which will hopefully help the artwork stand out better (the green color looks better than it sounds).

Thanks for your input though! It's always appreciated. I'm glad we did decide to keep a faint texture to the flames after all, since we considered removing it all together. And yeah, I also understand that everyone's opinions are just that - opinions. And everyone's is different so...

[MichaelYakutis]

Hey all, just wanted to let everybody know that the site is now fully redesigned and up and running. You can check out the new (and hopefully improved) ATBL site here: http://www.andtobeloved.com/comics/

There is still a minor glitch or two here or there that needs to be looked at, such as the "last" button showing up while on the last page.

And you'll also see a bunch of buttons at the top of the screen for other comics. We will be launching those within the next month or two, so I'll repost when those are up and running.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

[Montyandwoolley]

I've recently re-designed my site, and although it's not entirely finished i'm happier with how it looks. I've gone as minimal as I can, because I figure - I don't want to look at advert banners, I imagine no one else does either.

[MichaelYakutis]

I've recently re-designed my site, and although it's not entirely finished i'm happier with how it looks. I've gone as minimal as I can, because I figure - I don't want to look at advert banners, I imagine no one else does either.

Yeah, nobody likes ads. But without ads, the only thing you have to rely on is possibly a store or selling your comic as a digital download. We make pretty decent money with advertising and that's where most webcomics get their revenue. Its a give and take. If people want to read free comics, they gotta be willing to deal a few ads. Our site didn't have any ads for the first year it was online, which was cool. But things change. I'm looking at two ads at the top of CG right now, and they're perfectly understandable. Gotta pay the bills!

[McDuffies]

I don't mind ads, I actually like the idea that my favourite comic artists are being rewarded in some way. I like seeing ads that are not for other webcomics, because that makes it feel less like webcomic community is circulating a fixed amount of money... Of course when I say that I don't mind ads, I exclude from that ads with sounds, popups and those that spread over more space than was assigned to them. Oh and porn ads, I don't like them either, just cause I'm reading a comic that has some adult themes doesn't mean I wanna see tacky pornographic images all around it.

[MichaelYakutis]

I agree with everything you just said, McDuffies. Ads with sound are the ABSOLUTE worst. And I hate it even more when they don't kick in right away (usually from slow internet), and a minute later you suddenly you hear all these weird sounds and for a minute you think itunes is going nuts and you're losing your mind. That's what happens to me anyways...