WWW.OZCOMICS.COM
A professionnal website by Darren Close, and a review by "Pimptastique"
Description: The Ultimate Australian Comic Resource.
Look and Feel: Generally the look and feel is good. However, a few things
to consider for the web master(s): I would consider running tests on laptops
to see how the orange color comes through. I know that people like to think
that laptop screens are the same as your desktop monitor, but there is still
a difference - the technology isn't there yet. Often yellows, tans and oranges
are muted on laptops and are nearly indistinguishable. This really comes into
play where there is orange text which is likely to be more difficult to read
on a laptop screen. Now when I first was venturing into web design (1996-1998)
laptops were more expensive and mostly for business people; today students,
teachers, parents, everyone has laptops. This has fundamentally changed how
people have to think about their web designs. (You think that is a big change
just wait until we see cell phone / PDA combos with color screens which people
have to design for!)
Also there is a fair amount of whitespace wasted at the top of the site between
the navigation bar and the ozcomics.com graphic (I realize this is due to the
bunny image) and also below that graphic down to the actual start of the text
on the page. Believe me, whitespace is very necessary, but on an intro page
you want to stuff as much into a space which represents the typical 800x600
resolution browser space as possible. (*Note* 800x600 is the industry standard
resolution at this point, as monitors and video cards improve that will keep
getting bigger.) Usually you will have less than 8 seconds (!) to capture a
first time visitor's attention or else they are gone, typically never to return.
So its better to shrink the bunny picture a bit, move the text up and make sure
that what visitors first see is what you are trying to sell.
In designing sites I always like to make the opening page fairly simple, attractive
and have it fit into an 800x600 size area. Its better to put less on the front
and lure them to explore further. Now the balance to this is making sure to
offer easy navigation and enough to entice someone to start clicking around
the site. Something I initially had a problem with, but now think is a good
idea is the banner ads at the top. Initially I thought it best for consistency
to have banner ads on all the pages including the intro, but I am breaking with
my consistency doctrine and saying its a good idea not to have banners on your
intro for the reason that it takes up space and also is promoting someone else's
site when you should be trying to focus the visitor's attention on your site.
Studies have shown that people's eyes start at the top left and work to the
bottom left of a screen, but this site seems to go against this logic as its
graphic on the left side goes from top right to bottom left. Not that this is
a major faux pas or issue, I rather like it, its just something to show how
you must always be thinking and planning when developing a site. But on the
longer pages like: http://www.ozcomics.com/interviews/bachalo.html
the right side nav and part of the top nav get repeated, which looks weird.
I'd suggest fixing this as it takes away from the overall good quality feel
of the site.
Site Architecture: This site is very well laid out, there are not lots
of categories, subcategories, etc. Its a very straightforward site which makes
it easy to find what you are looking for and most importantly allows the visitor
to quickly find what they want.
Content: My first impression about content is negative because of a
simple mistake - on the intro page there is a graphic promising a chance at
winning a free signed comic and it says "More Details Inside!" but
this graphic does not link to the details, leaving the user to go on a search
for something, increasing their chances of simply leaving instead.
The content is very good and its well laid out with the newest info at the
top and previous articles located below the newest articles. Its updated regularly
with the articles being updated weekly (and unlike many sites they actually
do update it on schedule!). The OzCommunity Forums are a great place for comic
fans from all over to discuss things and with over 1000 members it is a good
place to ask questions or read posts by other fans.
Fortunately this site doesn't make the mistakes too many do and have banners
everywhere, they only have one banner on each page. There is nothing more frustrating
than trying to pick out the content of a page from amidst all those ads.
The site is not graphics intensive, which helps for those not using a T-1.
But that is not to say that there are no graphics, there are an appropriate
amount of quality graphics interspersed throughout the site, in a very magazine
style layout. While the graphics are not large they do a great job of breaking
up the text and adding visual appeal.
My Conclusion: A well done and well maintained site. Aside from some
color choices and a few minor things which could be fixed this is a great site
and a great resource for comic fans. I would say this site is an 8 or a 9 out
of 10. Being such a harsh judge, that should tell people how enamored I am of
this site in general despite not being a big comic fan or an Australian.
If you guys want me to review your site ( if it is a startrek site , don't bother asking ), well just post the URL at the forums and i'll see what i can do !
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