Web Design Advice Needed

[PlasticOstrich]

I'm not sure if this is the right forum section, but here goes. My website is being described as "apallingly pink" which is probably not a good thing. Two of you guys mentioned this before, so I was forwarned.

http://www.babyeishgames.com/Romeo-Juliet.html

I need some unbiased opinions on how I can improve it. What I've gathered is I should change the color, remove the EULA, make a button for the demo download, and somehow minimize the text and screenshots...think that will do?

[vigrid]

Best advice - pay a professional graphic artist a couple of bucks and ask him to create a website for you. If you don't know any, PM me and I'll send you in the right direction.

[eric_hein]

I'm totally not an artist, and vigrid's advice is your best bet. But if you still want an opinion...

Pink and white is definitely a bad idea. First, there's not enough contrast to read, and second, the pink is too bright. The font and the baby on the "Buy Now" button clash with the curly font at the top. The background should be some fancy and detailed pattern. Don't make the screenshots smaller, that's the only thing that's impressive at this point.

[Maupin]

I'd just download a simple white background, dark text web template from one of the free web template sites out there. If you don't have a lot of content, especially dynamic content, simple is best.

Get the download and buy links to the top of the page - at least visible to the visitor without scrolling. Lose the 1995 beveled tables. And personally the Poser baby just looks creepy to me.

[esrix]

You can actually get a lot done using minimal graphics, simple colors, and nice fonts.

Firstly: as mentioned in a previous post, avoid pink. And yes, avoid the bevel table.

Re-save your title graphic to a higher quality. You have a lot of noise in there and it will give people the wrong impression about your product.

I would also suggest increasing your color palette to maybe three colors to add more variety to your website.

Use san serif fonts for your text, as they are easier to read.

Move your download link and payment information higher on the page. I would suggest setting up some sort of link menu so that people can find other pages on your website easily.

[BlueFooted]

The advice already given is the best option: if you want a truly professional site you'll need a professional designer. But many of us don't want to (or can't) spend the money for that.

However, you can still clean the page up a bit with just a few simple changes. Here's a version I threw together in a few minutes that retains the pink look, since you may be attached to that . http://www.bluefootedgames.com/babyeish/baby.html

I am certainly not a designer, and I wouldn't consider that a 'done' page, but maybe it can be of some help. (All I can figure is that there is some reason why I want to delay getting started this morning working on my own game, so I did this instead.)

By the way, you should definitely compress your archives as standard zip and not as 7-zip. There is no reason to put a barrier like that up that could prevent people from being able to open your files.

[kevintrepanier]

There's too much ground to cover to give you a full critic of your website. What bothers me the most is the bad use of space (and everything being centered). If you can't hire a professional web designer, buy a book:
"Don't Make me Think"

Excellent book, an easy and quick read.

[PlasticOstrich]

Points well taken. I'm also thinking a professional overhaul might be needed.

[PlasticOstrich]

The advice already given is the best option: if you want a truly professional site you'll need a professional designer. But many of us don't want to (or can't) spend the money for that.

However, you can still clean the page up a bit with just a few simple changes. Here's a version I threw together in a few minutes that retains the pink look, since you may be attached to that . http://www.bluefootedgames.com/babyeish/baby.html

I am certainly not a designer, and I wouldn't consider that a 'done' page, but maybe it can be of some help. (All I can figure is that there is some reason why I want to delay getting started this morning working on my own game, so I did this instead.)

By the way, you should definitely compress your archives as standard zip and not as 7-zip. There is no reason to put a barrier like that up that could prevent people from being able to open your files.

I really like your design. It's much clearer. Would you mind if I built off of that layout for starters?

I'm working on an installer, too.

[BlueFooted]

Feel free to use anything that is helpful. I zipped up what's displayed there if you want to grab a copy. http://www.bluefootedgames.com/babyeish/babyeish.zip

I would probably add a button bar somewhere near the top with links for Home, contact, whatever other pages you have, etc. You could use something like what is available here to make it easier: http://exploding-boy.com/images/cssmenus/menus.html

[PlasticOstrich]

Thanks a lot. This was extremely helpful.

[PlasticOstrich]

In closing -- I updated my page with serious help from Bluefooted's layout, and will continue to refine it. I also have an installer working now. Definitely going to get the help of a web designer eventually. Thanks again for the insight.

[Spaiz]

And change your domain name. It's awful...hard to type it right from the first attempt...I don't even mention how to memorize it.

[MiceHead]

The game looks really snazzy! Gamers often expect videos nowadays -- how about adding one to give your uses an idea of how it plays?

[PlasticOstrich]

That's a great idea.

[Acord]

Advice: Before you go designing a page, or paying someone, find some stuff that you like that would fit your purposes - similar page layouts etc.

This way, your designer has something to base his ideas off of. It's quite the time saver.