ZoomConcept Reviews
Summary:
indeed it looks cluttered. As others said, whitespace, contrast, etc. can help a long way.
I've provided a screenshot with some slight modifications to your design: guttes widened, contrasting background (real light grey, boxes around elements trying to give them a more unified feel. Top ad moved to top of screen (above logo even) This may seem like a strange place perhaps, but its actually pretty common, and doesn't interfere with the user experience that much. Then again it may get fewer eyeballs.
One thing I didn't touch in the screenshot is that I think your right ad-column is excessively wide, while the middle-column feels really cramped. Perhaps making the right 2 columns the same width would help for the feel. (It's larger then most common ad-formats as well I think? )
Anyway here's the screenshot I hope it helps some. Cheers.
Ah, I'm just now looking at the current site. It's got the ad where I placed it :). I think the way you have it now (on the actual site) is better.
Lastly, perhaps a liquid or even responsive layout may do wonders on the cramped feeling. What's the percentage of users still having less than 1280 px width? Especially since it's a photo-enthousiast website I'd imagine they have better than average monitors as well. So designing for 1200 wide with liquid 'fallback' might be an option. Just a thought.
-
-
David commented:Thanks for all the work you have done on this moch up. It really helps add some extra touches. I'm a little unsure about the leaderboard banner at the top. Fills like an after thought But I do like the way the content is all together now. I did have plans to add some drop shadows throughout the content, but I was initially concentrating on the header first.
8% of our visits are less than 1280 wide which is another decision I have been thinking about. Going wider would be extremely beneficial as I could gain quite alot of extra space.
-
Geert-Jan Brits commented:
"Going wider would be extremely beneficial" . I agree. Although you can't ignore the 8% I believe you could give a much more roomy experience for the large majority. Still the advice above holds, e.g: the two rightmost columns should be of equal with imo, etc.
Attached Files:
-
Minor Problem on v6-idea2.jpg 1 If you want an image behind type, you almost have to drop the opacity down to like 22-32%... or I know I've gone as far as 8-13% before. 2 It seems like your content is constricted by giving a third of the real estate to advertisers. Personally I feel ads get more attention if they are smaller and consistent in size. That way you can guarantee they all get seen without scrolling.... More likely to be clicked and noticed. Although if they pay you per pixel then you're making out. Serious Problem on v6-idea2.jpg 1 Could really help to have an introductory paragraph telling your new visitors what exactly they can get out of this website. Maybe you could just put a tag line in the banner. Either way, make sure you spell it out for people. You only have less than 20 seconds to convince this site has potential for your new guest...It's sad, but true Critical Problem on v6-idea2.jpg 1 I thought this was a website for Flash & HTML Websites... Your banner image should be about you. Don't confuse the audience. I believe that 1/4 of internet users are ...well... not all there and need things spelled out for them. New Idea on v6-idea2.jpg 1 I feel like I'd prefer to see these module types on the left side. It appears dwarfed next to the image giants on it's sides. Summary:
Congrats on making it ten years on the web! If you want the most modern practices check out www.smashingmagazine.com for all the latest trends and freshest ideas. They are top of the line professionals giving advice.
Positive Feature on v6-idea2.jpg 1 Good one
I paid some extra attention to the forum-discussion element. I redid the tabs with a gradient-back, killed the horizontal divider in the process. I'd do the same for other tabbed elements