CheckeredMichael Design

Thanks for all your feedback, I shall be trying really hard to redesign and really think about what is working and what isn't and I will let you guys know when I have finished it so you can give me more feedback. I appreciate all of your comments and will keep all of them in mind.

There is also a Sitemap generator you can use http://www.xml-sitemaps.com/ which automatically creates your sitemap and has a couple of cool features to help you have a bit of control over your sitemap. If your using some sort of CMS or Blog system then there are always plugins which will automatically do all the work for you, you just have to search for them.

You can usually get hosting pretty cheap. Check out one.com you can get your first year of hosting for free. You will need to pay about £10 for the domain registration, but if you use topcashback you can get £10 back so it is then free for the first year and you pay about £20 a year after. The problem with this site is you have to host all your domains separately so if you have loads of sites waiting to be hosted then this could be expensive but for one domain it is pretty cheap.
 
If you have many websites which you want to host on one hosting package then you could use ipage which allows you to host as many domains as you like on one package for about £24 a year.
 
If you would like a free hosting account you could try 110mbwhich offers a pretty good free package. The trouble with free packages is that they don't offer you any extras, so if you would like lots of databases, free ad coupons etc then you should look into paid.
 
I hope this helps and good luck.

Measure is too long for comfort at 1680px. I'd suggest a sans body font would be better suited to the design. Some padding issues, especially with the sidebar and contact form.
 
Try working to a grid.
 
I'd also suggest dropping the "Freelance" to the second line and reducing the font size, it makes more sense as a separate subheading.

I agree with PandaDoodle. It seems to lack structure.
 
Why not make everything the same width? Make the header and footer the same width as the main content section.
 
Group all of your social media elements together. You have some in the footer, some in the sidebar.
 
I would also make the checked background fill the entire header, it will make it stand out more.
 
 
Main things to work on are structure, alignment and spacing.

Nothing seems to fit, everything is floating not knowing where it should sit on the page no real continuity apart from the colours and I'm not the biggest fan on those either. You either need a more punchier yellow or green or add a dark brown to bring the other colours out.

I would highly recommend you see what and how do other web designers do (e. g. http://www.templatem...ory/web-design/). That's all I can say.

OK here we go...
 

To many rounded corners (and rounded in the extreme!)
Extreme use of embossed text
RSS feed block looks like an advert
Colour scheme clashes
Main navigation demanding all the attention.
Background playing havoc with my eyes
Copyright text is MASSIVE
The little tell your friends button seems to be wandering off on it's own

 
I think the problem is there is little to no subtlety. Reign everything in a lot and work on a different colour scheme.
 
Hope that helps

I think you need to go back to the drawing board with this one. Your current site really isn't working, and I don't think it's going to bring you any business either.
 
A few fundamental things are wrong with the site, the first being a cluttered and unbalanaced layout, with not enough contrast in places, and too much in others. The chequered pattern is too distracting in its current use, and the positioning of elements such as follow me don't make sense.
 
You really need to spend some time learning the fundamental principles of design. Have a look at more established freelancers sites and ask yourself why their sites are better than yours.
 
You say you've been doing web design for 3 years, but there are only 2 examples in your portfolio, one of which is your own site. If you've only made 2 sites in the last 3 years, you need more practice. Make up some fictional clients and build them a site from a fictional brief. Take apart some well designed sites and see what makes them tick. Trying to recreate them makes great practice (obviously don't use copied work to fill up your portfolio.)
 
Hope that helps

No problem, we're here to help.
Any questions or if you want some more suggestions then just post them up.
Keep us in the loop.

CheckeredMichael I love your attitude makes a refreshing change
 
I agree with Lev have a look at some other sites and see what works and what doesn't
 
a few links to have a look through
 
http://siteinspire.com/
 
http://cssline.com/
 
http://www.awwwards.com/css-gallery
 

I must be honest, I haven't read through all the comments (I skimmed them), so I really hope either nobody has suggested this or it hasn't been considered yet..
 
Anyway, here a few suggestions for you:

Looking at the name, I wouldn't use any rounded corners in the site... A layout with a 'tiled' theme would work quite nicely here (think higher contrast 'Windows Phone 7' tiles style).
Put some TLC into the colour scheme, light green and white doesn't really work too well like that. Green as a main colour generally works better for darker websites, on lighter sites it's best kept to enhance areas of the site (and in this case, try a brighter green).
Pick a more unique font-face for the site, there a bunch of nice (and free) ones on FontSquirrel to choose from. Something like Sansation Light is dead easy to read and works really nicely.
Play with the white-space, padding and margin are your friends, I promise.
If something is clickable ('Details' on portfolio page), make them look like it... Most people don't move their mouse pointers around to find clickable items, they move their mouse pointers to a item that looks clickable.
Background... Well, honestly? Change it; keep the background in the background. Without trying to sound rude, the one you have makes me think you were trying to find something to 'fill space'. Some of the best background ever have been nothing more than a single colour with a gentle gradient.

 
Your blog has got a layout more like what I was thinking of (square edges and white-space use), but it's a bit too far down the road. I'd say that's way more space than is really needed... Heck, I'd have great fun designing a site for you, I've got quite a few ideas flying around my head now.
 
Overall, I'd say keep the 'checkered' theme mentality, but apply that to the content and layout, not the background. And if you do decide to go back to the drawing board (I did see that comment), design the layout in black and white, work on spacing and layout, and then choose a colour for it. Hope that helps a bit..

Don't be a cock, mate. If someone comes to the community asking for help and advice, what gives you the right to make fun of their work? I bet yours isn't perfect either - like your manners.
 
Zalith has made some good suggestions, but I would say choosing a non-standard font from font-squirrel isn't a fast road to better typography. In my opinion it's better to get to grips with the principles of type using standard fonts. So many designers choose fancy fonts as a substitute for good typography, and it doesn't usually work.

Sorry, this isn't personal, but this idea that design happens in photoshop makes me so cross. The use of photoshop has nothing whatever to do with design. Design is the application of a set of principles and good practices in order to solve a problem. By all means, use photoshop to make your website graphics. It's good for that. But don't spread this damaging myth that photoshop is a design process. It's not only bs, but it's damaging to new designers who would benefit from knowing exactly what design is about.
 
Do you people work for Adobe or something?
 
@porkchops, yes the student versions are priced well - in fact, they're about the price the full versions should be. But remember, the licensing explicitly forbids any commercial work. If you're using the software to make money you're in breach of the licence (not that I personally care, but Adobe would if they got wind of it.)