Hi. I've been reading the forums for a fair few months now and have finally got a site up together, so I thought for my maiden post, I'd put it up here and see what you guys think of it. As you will see, I'm not the best designer in the world, and there's not much content on it yet, but I'm hoping to attract local individuals and business are who looking to develop a web presence. I'm currently offering my services free, so I can gain experience and at the same time build up a portfolio that I hope to use as a levy to eventual employment at a local web design agency (as I have no relevant qualifcations in the field). I also feel as if I might not be quite good enough to command a fee for my services and wouldn't like to short-change anyone.

 

If it's okay, what do you guys think of the design and the coding? Is there anything I'm doing wrong or aspects that do with improving. I made all the graphics in photoshop cs2 and wrote the xhtml and css in notepad. Please be brutally honest where posssible and also, how far off in your experience do you think I am of being employable as a web designer. I appreciate that is a bit of an open question, but my knowledge of what employers are looking for is limited at best.

 

Thank you in advance for taking the time to look at my site.

Welcome to WDF!

 

Site looks good. You missed your form labels though!

Well, I don't know much but I think the site looks great!! Keep up the good work!!

Thanks guys. I completely missed the labels, so pointing that out is much appreciated. I'll get on it asap.

Welcome to the forum!

 

Your site is gorgeous. I love how sleek it is. I'm not sure I like the chunky text you're using for your image links, etc., but I don't strongly dislike it.

 

If I were to say one thing, it'd be... don't put yourself down in public. You may think you suck, but we didn't think that until you pointed it out. And if you keep telling us how bad you are, why should we believe any different?

 

Your website right there is good. Is it the best website in the world ever? Probably not. Is it bad? Not by a long shot. Be proud of your work, okay?

Hi

 

I also think your site is great. Rachael's comment was well deserved. I'm very much in the same position as you (experience-wise, and location too!) at the moment, and lacking confidence about my work, but there's no need to put yourself down. Your layout is really well done in my opinion - better than mine at least! (that's not me putting myself down btw - just stating my aspirations). Be proud of it!

Hi,

 

It looks good so like the others said, don't be so hard on yourself. I've seen a million times worse charging people for their work so I wouldn't worry about it. The moral of the story is, if someone is willing to pay for it, then it's worth money. Your work is worth money

 

I admire your commitment to improving your skills but at the end of the day, the best way to learn is to jump in the deep end. Go to some of the small business forums in the uk and you'll find lots of people looking for cheap websites. Be aware that these are the worst customers to have, even if you're not charging them they'll still expect the world. Do some hard yards there and you'll have a nice portfolio to show for it. Just don't bite off more than you can chew.

 

Comments on the website would be look at the content. Start with what's interesting to the visitor rather than talking about yourself. Try and make it clear to them what the benefits of working with you are and remember most of them have no idea what html or css is.

 

As for getting a job, email some companies and ask them what they look for in a designer. Make it clear you're not asking for a job. Just what skills you need to show them. I think you'd be surprised by the results.

 

Good luck.

Welcome to the forum!

 

Your site is gorgeous. I love how sleek it is. I'm not sure I like the chunky text you're using for your image links, etc., but I don't strongly dislike it.

 

If I were to say one thing, it'd be... don't put yourself down in public. You may think you suck, but we didn't think that until you pointed it out. And if you keep telling us how bad you are, why should we believe any different?

 

Your website right there is good. Is it the best website in the world ever? Probably not. Is it bad? Not by a long shot. Be proud of your work, okay?

 

Very good point!

 

Work - especially design work continually evolves and matures, when I look back on very old sites that I have done im always very critical of them but they are a good indication of how far I have come.

 

Yours is a very strong start and I look forward to seeing more of your work in the future!

Hey,

 

Like notbanksy, I'm in a very similar position to you. I don't have much experience or confidence in my work. Just reading your intro on your landing page, it could have been written about me.

 

As for the site itself, I really like it. You should be proud of it. I think you have a lot of potential. The only thing I would say is that your navigation is not immediately obvious (well it wasn't to me) but that's not a major thing.

 

Keep up the good work!

Hey mate,

 

Looks really good overall, although I have a few comments:

 

- Your header is very strong, possibly a bit too dominating, and I would personally change it from a GIF to a png, or a combination of jpg/png to prevent dottyness.

 

- Your navigation is a bit week, took me a while to notice it.

 

- I don't like the right hand column "Latest Work", it gives the feeling of all pages being the same. Maybe make it smaller and less prominent, or look different in some way!

 

- Your overall text/heading could be funkier.

Some really great advice and a lot of food for thought. Thank you guys.

 

The more I look at it now, the more prominant the flaws have become. The links are definitely a problematic area and I don't think I've made it as easy for my visitors to use as I should've done. When I was making the design in photoshop, I really wanted to try and make a bold statement, but I honestly feel now as if I've tried to do too much. Too many colours and too much going on, to a point where it actually distracts from the rest of the site.

 

I agree, the pages are a bit samey, I was hoping this would sort itself when I had a bigger portfolio and different graphics on all the pages but I come to a point where these problems are big enought to warrant a re-design.

 

I've made a new design last night. It's a lot more simplistic and will hopefully make life easier for people visiting my site. I guess I've got to learn to appreciate that sometimes less is more.

 

I'd also like to thank you all for giving me a bit of confidence in my own ability. I've always given myself a hard time over my abilities. I worry that people I may be asked to design websites for might be disappointed by what I can do for them and I really don't want to sell anyone short by painting myself to be something I'm not, then failing to live up to the expectations. Especially as their website is going to reflect on their business, so I really want to do the best I can for them.

 

Downplaying myself though, is probably going to have the other effect. I guess I was thinking that if I don't promise them the world, they'll be pleasantly surprised with what I make for them, but you guys are right. If I don't have confidence in my own ability, why should potential customers feel any different. I guess I need to find a happy medium and am going to re-write the text too to focus on the positive aspects of my services rather than the negative ones.

Agreed about your navigation,

Good start buddy! Your site is better than at least 80% of the websites I see on a daily basis, so don't feel bad about it. It's pretty good. I can see that you have style that with time and practice will make you a great designer. I love the way you're thinking about clients and expectations, but you really are not bad. You're not great yet but you're pretty good. Not a designer for Sony-like corporations, but pretty good for the Pizza shop in front of your house and the likes.

 

Experience is gained with work. Take small projects for now to develop your skills and I'm sure you'll do great.

 

Good luck!