Thread: Redesigning my website--IT'S DONE!!

Hey all.. I've been needing a new look to my site for a while now so I started working on it last night. I have the main page done and would like some opinions on the design of it before I commit to doing all the other pages.

The test main page is at http://www.rakschristina.com/index2.html

Feel free to comment on the look and feel of it (clicking "enter" gets you to my current site if you want to make a comparison).

Well...

I hate to say this, but I really can't read that typeface very well. You got this blue on blue thing going on and the contrast is poor. Also, with the exception of the lying on the floor sword balancing photo, I think I like the photos of you on the old site main page better. (Though I like the way you're combining multiple photos of yourself together, that's cool.)

Sorry to be such a downer!

I agree about the text being hard to read... but I like the photos on the new site better. The combination of the three is really dynamic, and since both of the pictures on your previous site feature your cleavage prominently, I think the new pictures let more of your costuming and style show through (what can I say, that is absolutely the first thing that caught my attention on your current site)

Thanks for the input ladies! I had doubts about the blue on blue myself.... maybe I'll try something more silvery.

Originally Posted by tigerb

Well...

Also, with the exception of the lying on the floor sword balancing photo, I think I like the photos of you on the old site main page better. (Though I like the way you're combining multiple photos of yourself together, that's cool.)

Sorry to be such a downer!

Those other photos will find homes on other pages on the site. I wanted to show a variety of styles and a little more than my face and boobies.

Okay.. I changed the type color to a light grey. Better?

I can read the blue fine, Christina... It likely has something to do with monitor settings. Maybe silver lettering would be a more reliable choice.

It looks great!

Originally Posted by mihri

Okay.. I changed the type color to a light grey. Better?

I like the silver text. The picture on the right is really great. I don't think I've ever seen your hair styled like that before--very pretty! I also like the sword pic a lot. Not sure about the picture on the left though. It's an odd angle or something that seems a bit awkward.

The border is also very cool. You are so talented! ..g.:

Originally Posted by jaded

I like the silver text. The picture on the right is really great. I don't think I've ever seen your hair styled like that before--very pretty! I also like the sword pic a lot. Not sure about the picture on the left though. It's an odd angle or something that seems a bit awkward.

The border is also very cool. You are so talented! ..g.:

I'm sitting in the pic on the left and the pic was taken from above. I like the expression in it though, so unless I get more commentary like yours, I'm going to keep it for now.

The graphic was the easy part.I just found a free downloadable border graphic and did some cut-n-paste to make the picture border match.

Originally Posted by mihri

Okay.. I changed the type color to a light grey. Better?

Oh yes, that's much better contrast!

Hi - I like the black background for the entry page. This page seems a bit busy, is there any way you could pick one photo instead of 3 for it ? I don't think there is any harm in leaving some spaces. Also, I'd try to keep the font and backgrounds consistent in the whole site.

Originally Posted by Bellydancingcaroline

Hi - I like the black background for the entry page. This page seems a bit busy, is there any way you could pick one photo instead of 3 for it ? I don't think there is any harm in leaving some spaces. Also, I'd try to keep the font and backgrounds consistent in the whole site.

The setup of the entry page (dark blue with border) will be the look of the entire site. The burgandy site is my current one. Right now, if you just type in my url you get the burgandy home page. You can only get to the blue one by clicking the link above or typing the index2 extension.

As it happens, I just got done with the template for the rest of the site. Here's what the other pages will look like (with content added, of course... this is a blank page) http://www.rakschristina.com/template.html

Not all of the links are working right now, as I'm renaming some of the old pages when I put them into the new format. Again, this isn't the site people see when they go to rakschrsitina.com. All they see is the old burgandy site.

As for the 3 pics... I may bring it down to two, but I want to make it apparent from first glance that I do both Tribal and Raks Sharki.

thanks again for your input!!..g.:

The silver is much, much easier on the eyes. And I really like the grouping of different photos - it reiterates the Egyptian/ATS/Tribal Fusion copy, and makes it clear what someone who comes across your home page can expect to find inside.

I likes it! I think its fun to see all three.

I like all three pictures. You look lovely in all of them, and I think it shows the difference in costuming and styles nicely.

I dont like all 3 photos, I think you should get rid of the one on the left, then the photo on the right and bottom balance the page. Plus you look great in the 2 photos, the one one the left isnt that great....Just my opinion

I like it! I like the colour scheme, and the 3 photos!
D

I love it! I like your old one too.

I really like the layout and the silver lettering is easy to read. I like all three pictures and they do showcase what styles of dance you do but I understand why some think it's too busy. What if you shrunk the picture on the left down a bit. I think it would make it look less busy but still keep the theme that you're going for.

Great job with it so far!

I vote, take the photo on the left out. Everything else looks fine.

Thanks for all the input everyone! I'm afraid I probably won't get around to finishing it until after Tribal Revolution, now that I'm up to my ears in that, but I'll post when it's done!

I finished the website redesign.... well, except for the gallery. I need to learn a few more tricks in order to do it the way I want to, but it'll be there soon.

I kept the original first page pic that I know some of you weren't fond of. Every time I messed with it or tried to change it I became less and less satisfied with the newer versions. Maybe I'll change it some other time, but for now I like it.

Thoughts?

It looks nice, Christina! Crisp, organized, pretty, easy to navigate. I like it! I enjoyed reading your bio. And hey, you get points for spelling improv right! Yeah! (this seems to be a frequently misspelled word...)

Originally Posted by joanneraks

It looks nice, Christina! Crisp, organized, pretty, easy to navigate. I like it! I enjoyed reading your bio. And hey, you get points for spelling improv right! Yeah! (this seems to be a frequently misspelled word...)

Oh yeah.. "improve" used as "improv" really ruffles my feathers too!

.... unless of course, you're aiming to improve your improv skills...g.:

Love the site. Easy to navigate and you look fabulous!