Site Design and UI usability critique

It doesn't matter if you do all the error checking in the world, or if you have the most beautiful graphics, if your site or application design isn't usable, it's not going to do well. Get input and advice on usability and user interface issues here.

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PrObLeM
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Site Design and UI usability critique

Post by PrObLeM »

Hello,

I would like a critique of my site http://www.sp0rk.com/ , not only the design but the usability of the site as a whole.

Sp0rk was created to help friends communicate with eachother no matter where in the world they may be. Now sp0rk has evolved into a place where anyone can join and meet new people. By using new technology and standards sp0rk has been trusted into the web 2.0 era.

Some Features: (more comming)
-blog
-image hosting
-tagging
-comments (using ajax)
-friends list
-itunes playlist upload
-playlist stats
-you can buy albums directly from the site via amazon


A few buzzwords, that apply to sp0rk, for all of thoes VCs out there

* AJAX
* RSS feeds
* Javascript
* PHP
* Social Networking
* Taging
* Folksonomy
* iTunes
* ham sandwich

site url: http://www.sp0rk.com
my personal page: http://www.sp0rk.com/users/mike/

Thanks alot.
Charles256
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Post by Charles256 »

not valid CSS http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/vali ... sp0rk.com/
a lot of HTML failed validations
http://validator.w3.org/check?verbose=1 ... sp0rk.com/
and I'll look at it later;)
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feyd
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Post by feyd »

First the validation errors:
HTML: 61 errors
CSS: 1 Error, 7 Warnings and a bunch of notices
Fails WAI
Fails Section 508

OK, so now on to design:
Logo: plain, but readable.
I feel your header control bar could be better positioned under the logo, or jazzed up with something as it doesn't pop on the page enough to catch my eye. I feel whitespace is just as crucial as positive space, so the tags are very cramped, although If find the ~random size changes interesting.. the central column could use some more whitespace as well, and the right column somewhat feels like noise...

I think the page may work a little better if centered, but the page is still unbalanced due to the volumn of color and shapes of the right side over the left and center..
Charles256
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Post by Charles256 »

hmm.the word too busy comes to mind...just seems cluttered to me...
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PrObLeM
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Post by PrObLeM »

I Fixed the xHtml Errors. silly me, also the Section 508

Tags block: This is very similar to how other major sites lay out their tags. i.e flickr, collegehumor etc etc.

And I'm going for a minimlistic look that has worked for other big name sites. How can i still have the content on the front page while still having users browse the site?
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jayshields
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Post by jayshields »

my criticism:
- google ad gets in way
- content block too thin
- random font sizes on left looks a bit weird
- the goombas in top left are too big
- sounds too much like http://www.b0rk.co.uk/
- logo is too simple

how to improve:
- move the link bar at top in place of google ad and make it bigger, if you want to keep the google ad move it out of sight, ie. very bottom of page
- make the link bar have image buttons with rollovers or something snazzy
- reduce white space in sign up block

good points:
- nice and simple
- two tone colour scheme
- straight to the point content

sorry if im harsh, im just trying to give constructive criticism.
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PrObLeM
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Post by PrObLeM »

jayshields wrote:my criticism:
- google ad gets in way
- content block too thin
- random font sizes on left looks a bit weird
- the goombas in top left are too big
- sounds too much like http://www.b0rk.co.uk/
- logo is too simple

how to improve:
- move the link bar at top in place of google ad and make it bigger, if you want to keep the google ad move it out of sight, ie. very bottom of page
- make the link bar have image buttons with rollovers or something snazzy
- reduce white space in sign up block

sorry if im harsh, im just trying to give constructive criticism.
I fixed that stuff. Any more suggestions?
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