Hi,

 

Im working on building a small portfolio type site that I can build up over time.

 

The current site changes CSS based on the time of day. I like the idea of this but the image I have in my head doesnt match what ive created.

 

Basically I just wanted you to throw a few ideas at me as to what I can do to give it a more interesting feel. I think its more the background thats a bit plain. Be gentle with me though!

 

The site is here: http://gennacarr.uuuq.com/index.php

 

Cheers

 

-Gen-

There's nothing extremely wrong with it. It just lacks information/content. And design...

 

Its very plain and looks simple... It doesn't make you look special...

 

Did you hand code it? Or did you use some sort of WYSIWYG software?

I hand-coded it - not sure why you think I have used a WYSIWYG. It does lack something (although im aware theres no content as of yet) but I dont know what it is. I find it hard to get that professional look from a website and posting here for ihelp.

 

The image on the site was made from scratch and I was pleased with it when I done it, but on the page it doesnt look how I wanted it to. Although I quite like my other pages (ie when it changes to sunset and night) but the daytime one doesnt have any 'feeling' to it.

I really like the idea of your site, it looks fresh and clean, once you have content on it I think it will come a live and really help lift it from the page.

 

A couple of thing I would change:

 

your menu, I think that it makes your site look a little amateurish...if it had a nicer crafted menu I think it would make the site look really good. What might be a nice effect, if you have the image changing maybe design a menu that will also change in colour so that your colour scheme is always fitting.

 

your text layout, look at playing with size, colour line spacing adding heading and making the content really pop off the screen. As at the moment it looks like it was an after thought. With a little more playing about with it I think that the text could look a lot better that it does now.

 

Other then that I do like the idea of it, and I think that it could be a great site once you start adding the content to it. I look forward to seeing how it develops

It's a very simple site, too simple in fact. If you want to create a portfolio, you're going to have to come up with something better than that, remember that rather than concentrating on complicated development ideas (such as the time of the day), come up with some more creative design ideas to show off your design work, something that you're not showcasing at all.

 

No offence, but I'd go back to the drawing board completely. One thing I would suggest is to remove the .tk TLD and get a more professional one, like .com or .net, you won't spend more than £8 for a year for each of those, and I can give you a years hosting for £14.99 if you want me to (reasonable).

 

If possible, could you show us the source code for your site? It'd be nice to see how you created it, and that's something .tk domains won't let us do because of the frameset application.

 

I know I've spoken about the design, but I think you could do with some inspiration, head over to CSS Galleries like www.designshack.co.uk or www.cssmania.com to check out some of the best websites on the net. I'm not saying steal ideas (let's not start that again), just take some inspiration and see what the current trends are. That way, you can spend a long time getting a design perfect. This is something that will take months, not days or hours, so don't expect to get it right first time, nobody ever does.

I'm not sure I agree with Traxor as far as going back to the drawing board.. I like where you're going with the site. A couple of things to think about tho:

 

The background seems too flat to me, it doesn't feel like it fits with the detailed header image. You could try a gradient or a nice image to give it some feeling.

As traxor said, loose the .tk domain - it's not very professional

The navigation seems a bit too simple, I'd have another think about this.

I know your still working on the page content, but try adding an image from your portfolio to the homepage, give it some depth.

 

I like your idea for Easter Eggs in the header image - it's always nice to have something to play with on a site.

 

Good job so far!

ah yes, I forgot about the .tk not allowing acces to the code. The actual site address is: http://gennacarr.uuuq.com/index.php.

 

I am just starting out and have only just finished uni. My degree wasnt in web design but I done a module on it and am trying to learn more, therefore the site is very much a starting point.

 

Here are the links to the other pages so you can see the time changes:

 

http://gennacarr.uuuq.com/night.html

http://gennacarr.uuuq.com/sunrise.html

http://gennacarr.uuuq.com/sunset.html

 

I was trying to do something a bit unique with the time change thing but I dont thinks its going down too well. Ive also thought about having each page as the change instead - ie, Home as sunrise, CV as daytime, Work as sunset and Contact as realistically I dont think anyone will be viewing at at, say, sunrise. - or just restart altogether?

I really like the idea of changing image depending on the time, it works really well in the iGoogle themes etc. The problem is users aren't going to be seeing your site at different times of the day, it'll be more likely they'll only see it once or twice. Because of this I think I'd go with changing it on a page to page basis instead.

 

Nice work on the different graphics, they all look really good!

I like and i think with content it will start to spice up a bit.

 

I'd stick with the time change thing, i did this a while back for a client with a diffrent theme for day/night and the users loved it. Granted that with a portfolio site there is less chance a visitor will experience it but many portfolios have these little touches and that's what makes them unique and the web fun.

you need

 

1. some good looking menus

 

2. a blog, articles

 

3. dark backgrounds

 

4. some more links related to your subject...

Design is not really that exciting, it feels very closed off and small. You should look to "pushing the envelope" a little more. Break the barriers and give the site an overall "bigger" look and feel.

 

Also rather than time of day change, I think you should make section to section changes, at least then you'll get to show off the other illustrations for the one time user (which will be most - if you get any - of your traffic). Good luck.

its got real potential - love the purple. one thing tho, I think if you have rounded edges and square edges, it lacks consistency - try choosing one and sticking to it?!