Becca @ Apple Jam
Site Name: Apple Jam
Owner: Becca
Reviewed by: Jorja
Reviewed on: 15th August 2009
Browser: Mozilla Firefox
Screen Resolution: 1024 x 768
Site Name & First Impression
The site name sounds cute and quirky, I like it! However, you can shorten your URL. Back when I used Freewebs, I was able to change my site to site.webs.com instead of freewebs.com/site. Log into your account, go to 'Site Settings', and find the heading 'Primary Web Address'. I would prefer the name without the hyphen.
I load your site and I have the horrible feeling that the site was designed in Internet Explorer. This really isn't the best browser to use for webdesign or anything else as it is very unsafe, with bugs and such. Read this article and this one to see what I mean.
I am using Firefox, which is a very popular browser, and everything is in a state. The sidebar is running underneath the content and making everything look messy.
Text & Navigation
The text is too small; it needs to be bigger. The headers should stand out much more; try making them bold and varying the font - try Georgia or Times New Roman to add more interest. The link hover is a rather strange yellow.
The navigation doesn't even work in Firefox. I'm not sure why, but the links won't work. At this point I normally would stop reviewing but I will use Internet Explorer to review the content.
Add a bit more padding to the top of the navigation, and replace 'Me' with 'Owner' and 'You' with 'Visitor'; people will get confused with the trendy 'Me' and 'You'.
Layout
You should be aware of other browsers, Becca. Not only is there Internet Explorer and Firefox, but Safari, Netscape, Opera and Google Chrome! Try to use Browsershots to see what the site looks like in certain browsers. Also try these tips to help improve compatibilty.
Here is a full screenshot of your site in Firefox and Safari. Both browsers are popular, so be sure to fix these issues!
The layout itself could be better. I like the curved effect for the content and the way the navigation has been placed, but the images used look a bit squished and badly resized further to the left and right. Plus, they are celebrity images, which are illegal and unoriginal (read this article?). You should use stock images or your own images for your layouts, it is more unique.
The background is nice but looks to much with the big blend. There are also too many colours in the image. You are using pink, blue, white and yellow in the CSS, which I assume come from the shirt the man is wearing on the very far left.
The image is also quite wide and looks messy randomly placed as it is. In larger resolutions there will be a big gap to the right of the screen. You should crop the image so it is the width of the white section, and remove the kiss mark. It looks random and uneeded.
I would also suggest centering your layout with containers; either use this tutorial to centre your layout or, if you struggle, download one of Vicky's container templates. Then incoperate aspects of your layout into it, like the header and such. Plus, your site will then look good in all resolutions and many browsers!
Your coding has 35 errors, 21 warnings. I have definately seen worse and the errors aren't so bad.
You look like you know vaguely what you are doing, which is a nice thing to see compared to some coding I have seen in the past.
The first step to having valid coding is having a doctotype. A doctotype will process your webpage and inform the browser what coding you are using (HTML, XHTML, Strict, Transitional, etc). Place this on every single page, above your <html> tag:
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">
Next, in your <head> tags, you will need your character encoding. This does the same job as the doctotype:
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
There is a script in your <head> tags which is causing some errors; something to do with pop-ups and links.
I see you have an external stylesheet for your CSS, which is great, but why is there still some embedded styling (the div id 'main'). You should place it in your external file.
With your divs, you are using 'overflow:no'. You don't need to add this as you have not specified a height for the div. If you have, then you will need to change 'no' to 'none'.
You are also using something called 'inline styling'. This, for example, is a piece of inline styling:
<DIV style="position:absolute; left:80px; top:295px; overflow:no">
Inline styling is when you are defining widths, colours, fonts, etc. within the HTML document and not in the styling. You could easily incoperate this into your CSS.
This is invalid:
<body>
<body background="http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i216/bexyanddabob/BlackVintage.jpg">
You have actually repeated the <body> tag twice, just added the background element to it. Delete the second section, with the background URL; you can add it into your CSS, like so:
body {
background: #fff url('URL');
background-attachment : fixed;
}
You have repeated <div id="content"> twice.
Your CSS has 3 errors, 2 warnings.
With your div 'content', you have put 'WIDTHpx'. You need to put an actual numbered digit here.
In X/HTML and CSS, floated elements need to have a width declared.
Content
For this part of the review I'll be switching to Internet Explorer to review.
The sidebar is okay but the way things are written could be improved. For example, this:
Welcome to my dark and dusty patch on the the world wide web xD. If you want to contant me just tag i love talking to people. :) This Layout is my first go at like a non pixeled layout it was made in gimp, if you have any tips or know tutorials for improving my graphic making skills id be very grateful for you to tag or tell me or w.e. :D This layout features you me at six to start with i didnt plan for this to be a layout i was just messing around with some pictures on gimp. The rules on this site are the normal if you use anything link back ;D p.s I Love you x x.Music?!
Would look neater as:
Welcome to my dark and dusty patch on the the World Wide Web. If you want to contact me, just leave a comment; I love talking to people!
This Layout is my first go at a non-pixelled layout. It was made in Gimp, if you have any tips or know tutorials for improving my graphic making skills I'd be grateful for suggestions. :D This layout features You Me At Six. To start with, I didn't plan for this to be a layout; I was just messing around with some pictures on Gimp. TIf you use anything link back please.
Music?
I am glad music is optional; I hate loading a site only to have something cutting through what I'm listening to. I would also recommend making the little message a bit shorter; just a sentance or two explaining about the site.
If you want to improve graphic skills in Gimp, head to Gimp Tutorials; you can do some pretty cool things with the program!
The section in your sidebar talking about you could also be improved. Try:
My name is Rebecca, but please call me Becca or Bex. :D I live in a small town in England (where it rains like 24/7). I've only lived here for 3 years - I don't know if I prefer the country or the city, but being near the beach keeps me amused. I don't normally get on with people; I'm pretty awkward. Though there are four amazing people in my life that I couldn't live without: Dayna, Charlianna, Abiee and Jake. They're 100% awesome, they put up with me. ;) More?
Don't forget to proofread and check the way you write; it doesn't look professional!
Me
Whoa. You have a lot of links here. I would suggest trying to keep things neat and delete anything you don't think is necessary, or add to other pages. For example, 'On My Ipod' and 'Some of My Favourite Shops' don't need seperate pages, you could add them to 'Me' or 'Factfile'. Save space and tabs!
Me - This page is descriptive but use a spellchecker or capitalise things like 'tbh' and 'atm' so it looks more professional and is easier to read. I also look silly in pictures no matter what I do so never fear, you are not alone. :)
Capitalise the bands you listen to; they are Proper Nouns. Seeing as I am pretty much a My Chemical Romance geek, you may want to do that.
Mee should be Me
Whatevers should be whatever's
Skinnie should be skinny
Colours all though should be colours, although
Tee shirts there should be t-shirts they're
Is just too long, i should be is just too long; I
Dont should be don't
Allways should be always
Quiet alot of should be quite a lot
Favs should be faves or favourites
Listen too but should be listen to, but
Alot should be a lot
i wont should be I won't
Thats should be that's
Retared should be retarded.
im should be I'm.
You could add the fact file to your 'Me' page, or some of the details. Maybe add a 'Favourites' section to the main page about you and list your favourite bands, shops, drinks, etc.; and maybe a 'contact' heading too, and list your emails and such?
The image on 'On My Ipod' isn't loading for me; it's broken. To be honest I was expecting the artists on your iPod and not the songs but that's okay. I would suggest adding these to the main page too, and capitalise the bands and song titles.
The Toybox is okay, but don't get too carried away. I'm not here to correct your grammar through the entire review, as I have already given some suggestions, but do type properly!
'My Dawwg' makes no sense to me until I load the page; your dog is sweet! You could easily put the images on the 'Me' page though.
The 'Baaack!?' link on each page looks pretty silly because of all the symbols; just 'Back?' will do.
The 'Things I've Found' page is reasonable but soon the page will look quite cluttered with all the links! Either make thumbnails for these, so it all looks neat, and then link the thumbnails, or link to the awards like this: [Donor] [Award] [Reason for Award].
Try the same set-up for 'Answers to Quizzes I've Done'.
'Obsessions' is okay but you've repeated one icon three times.
cgs should be CGs. On 'Made For Me', why not link the graphics like I've suggested above? And if you have lost track of where thinks came from, they shouldn't be on your site. Also capitalise and link ctmb.
Off should be of.
Gigs I'm Going Too should be Gigs I'm Going To.
You
The pixels are nice but need some more shading to make them look 3D. I'm not sure which program you use but try this tutorial.
The two jar-like pixels I have seen somewhere before, or something like it. The whales are so cute!
The apple needs to be shaded more carefully.
The scribbles are nice and cute! Some of the outlines look a bit thick. Also try and use a darker colour than the actual scribble instead of brown.
Plz should be please.
The celebrity icons are of My Chemical Romance, which is my favourite band, but they aren't your images to use; no doubt you just Googled 'My Chemical Romance' or something? Anyway, that's why it's illegal to use these images.
The other icons are okay but should have maybe more interest; try textures or text.
The animated icon is alright but anything moving on a page distracts the visitor. Most of the icons just look like cropped images.
The layout images are cute.
'Blendy Bandy Things' are also known as blends. These open up in the wrong place; you have ?action=view¤t= in each URL. You need to take these out.
The first two are too blurry. The next one is alright. The next one doesn't load. The next one is also okay.
You aren't a bad reviewer, I read through the review you wrote, but you need to write properly to attract more reviewees; it's hard to read, but you are making good points. I might apply.
The tutorial for pop-ups isn't very useful because why people want things to pop-up and annoy the visitor is really beyond me.
You are using <textarea> to display the code. Textarea is for things like comment forms which require input, not for displaying code. You need to use <code>; see here for more information.
The tutorial for the border isn't at all bad! You just need to touch up on the way it's written. People will judge your site on how you write; if you write badly people will be put off and leave when they can't read anything. You really need to work on your grammar; use a spellchecker if you struggle.
Delte should be delete.
Okay So Im should be okay, so I'm
This:
Okay so start with your image mine is just a black heart from a brush i have already on there (Im too lazy to draw anything decent : ( ) Make sure it has a white background or whatever colour you want the border to be.
Should be this:
Okay, so start with your image - mine is just a black heart from a brush I have already. (I'm too lazy to draw anything decent).
Make sure it has a white background, or whatever colour you want the border to be.
The 'Brushes in Paint' tutorial is in a bit of a state. The page has no proper layout; why not set it up like the tutorial about the border? It would look much neater and messy without all of the lines all over the place and big black text.
A lot of the tools in Paint can be used to create the default brushes in other programs, so I guess this tutorial is a little useless. Also, if you are going to watermark anything, add least make it small and blend it in a bit, big watermarks are unattractive.
I won't review the 'Don't Click' page because I know what is lurking there, I used to have one myself.
If you are using things off Google (which needs a capital letter), then you should specify where on Google. Google isn't a site, it is a search engine.
The page of pictures doesn't have a proper layout. You should also use thumbnails for these.
Credits too google should be Credit goes to Google.
Haha. The 'Ways to Fail an Exam' made me laugh; pretty epic but I doubt anyone would do that.
Site
On the affiliate application, rewrite the page to this:
I'd love to be your affialiate! There just a few rules.
Well, that's it really. Now you've read the rules, apply at the tagboard.
- Nothing nasty; keep it clean
- Update at least once a month
- Pixel sites, CGs and those type of sites are what I'd really like to be affies with. But If I love your site, and you have a different type of site, I'll still accept.
I would suggest adding a form for when people apply for things like affiliates, reviews or when they just want to contact you; it's easier to fill in a form. Try All Forms, I use them and they're great.
I like the past layout page; your pixel layouts were really cute and well done. It's nice to see you've experimented with other styles.
The Credits is okay, but link the names and sites! You should credit the programs for helping you make these. You also need to credit Freewebs properly; you are meant to add a Freebar to your site. Look around your account until you find it; it is meant to be on every single page, otherwise Freewebs will close your site.
Don't forget to credit the brushes and images.
The Cbox looks okay, but make it more like your CSS; use the blue for the text, and the pale blue for links.
On 'Reviews of Apple Jam', I see you have named one of the files 'OhImCrap.html'. I don't think you're crap! I just think the reviewer was pretty harsh - they didn't really give reasons why they said these negative things. Have more faith in yourself!
Organisation
It could be better.
Originality
I liked the pixel layouts; I never understood how people could pixel an entire layout! Be sure to bring them back sometime soon.
Overall
Becca, you have a lot of potential and I mean it. At first, when I loaded your site, I was annoyed because I'd have to use I.E to view the content and it looked messed up in my browser. But as I went through, I realised it was just a simple human error. It is true that you need to make your site more compatible in browsers or try using Firefox to design your site, but your graphics aren't all that bad.
Obviously there is room for improvement, as there is in any site, and I would start with your grammar. I know it sounds stupid and pointless but as I mentioned earlier, good grammar is appealing and looks more professional! At times things looked a bit silly with things like 'Baaack?!' but I wasn't much better in my Freeweb days so you're not alone.
You need to improve on your organisation; like using thumbnails and such. Some graphics you had seemed to be there to fill up space; remembering, quality above quantity!
Keep on practicing with your graphic skills - I know that in time your site will be somewhere. I give Apple Jam three hearts. :)
