Thread: New Site...time for pocket money???

I've decided to make some pocket money out of a hobbie I love, Web Design.
Joined the world of web design 3 months ago and with the help of this forum, have had loads of fun. I have been doing freebie designs for friends so far (6), but this has got out of hand and I'd like to develope a little business out of it, as my 'think tank sessions' and 'designs' take time and this is a thirsty job... LOL

I think finding a name and domain registration took longer than putting a logo and front page template together LOL

ONLY FRONT PAGE UP AND RUNNING as there is a vNB rugby game on today.

Please have a look and let me have your comments, critisisms and feedback on the front page's look and feel, as first impressions count for plenty.

If this works maybe I'll give up selling beer...LOL

Sorry, I'm a beer brain LOL
the link is www.froggdesigns.com

Cheers,

Hi, like all that you have done with the images/layout/style. But not to sure on the grey. Trouble is that its one of those colours’s that can show up in so many different ways depending on the monitor you are viewing on. And i maybe seeing it slightly different to you?

Good luck with your new venture.

Maybe you'll get the impression I've updated the site each time you return? LOL
Thats why these reviews are so important, I think I'm going to play with Nav Menu/ bars to bring an appearance colour change. I'm still happy with the grey look, but I think thats due to the amount of time it took to put together.

love the frogg, love the layout and concept ... don't know about the gray ... good luck with the designing

well ,
considering it took you two hours and 3 tinny's - it's a darn sight better than mine( 3 weeks and too many bottles of red) . I quite like the gray - it makes the link pages examples stand out. Hope this doesn't mean that you will stop giving advice - us newbies need all the help and support we can get.
matty

I agree with Chris.....and I too, have learned the hard way that gray is a tricky color to use in a large scheme. Not just the many browsers, but the monitors (especially flat screen) and versions of Windows seem to present too many variations for my taste, and although I am very keen on tech colors and such, keeping the overal continuity of Brand impression is more important to me.

Focusing on the graphic, there are at least 4 different color schemes that would work very well to allieviate the dependence on gray that I can see....

Interesting approach, for the business that is. What utility do you plan on using for your Online Support?

Beer! Another great design, in my opinion. I like the grey, but it would be interesting to see it in other colors. You have a way with making images Jump off your pages. I wish I knew how you do that, because I really like it. I think you will do well in this business, so if you want to give up selling beer, you just may be able to !! lol

Thanks for the feedback regarding the downfalls of a grey website, please have a look at the page options below and let me have your preference.

Grey
Brown
Green
Light Blue
Khaki
Blue

I'm swinging towards the khaki (quite neutral) as I have loads of graphics and graphic design examples which will feature on the other pages and this won't detract...
Cheers,

Yup!! I agree...Khaki... I kind of liked the brown to. Light blue didn't work.

I personally don't like the gray, to me, it seems too final. Now silver might liven it up some, or even a pale shade of yellow (beer color) but then that depends on what color your menu's are going to be too. The frog is really cute, anyway you can make it look alive? Like it's jumping onto the page? All in all, great job PLAYITBYBEERS, I wish I had your talent in creating webpages, I'm still struggling to get the bugs out of mine. (Maybe I need your frog to sift them out, LOL) Looking forward to seeing it's completion. Have a happy Father's Day!!!

Thanks Cindy,

Great minds think alike, I must have been look at a couple of colour variations while you were posting LOL
I've eyedropped some colour choices from 'my frog', but chosen the mild options on all.

Originally Posted by pristinelife

The frog is really cute, anyway you can make it look alive? Like it's jumping onto the page? All in all, great job PLAYITBYBEERS, I wish I had your talent in creating webpages, I'm still struggling to get the bugs out of mine. (Maybe I need your frog to sift them out, LOL) Looking forward to seeing it's completion. Have a happy Father's Day!!!

Thanks pristinelife,
On the jumping frog, I'm playing with flash at the moment, but I use such high graphic pages, I worry that the combination will result in my pages opening too slowly.

How are you? Warming up for the world cup? ( NZ 64 x 13 Canada )

I've opened the 6 pages in 6 different windows to check the colors. Was switching between them and the only ones that were not too bright, or 'hurt' the eyes, if I could put this way, was the Grey and the Khaki. The Grey looks great but not really 'alive'. So...the winer is....Khaki! It looks light, clear and very professional. Just my modest opinion, hey! l0l

Cheers,

Forgot to ask you if all the tools you use to build your site are from BV. Are they? Because it looks awesome! If they are from BV, WHERE ARE THEY!!!???? lol lol

Hey NZBR,
My reply seems to have been removed??? but we'll see you guy's in the final...
Template design in Photoshop, but everything else definately BV.

Cheers,

By 'template design in photoshop' you mean the entire background of your page? And then adding stuff using the BV tools? Sorry, but as you know, things are hard for a non professional like me.

Originally Posted by nzbr

By 'template design in photoshop' you mean the entire background of your page? And then adding stuff using the BV tools?

Hi NZBR,

Yes, the entire background (template) is created in photoshop. You can use any design program to achieve a desired look, I often use coreldraw as well.
I use photoshop because it reduces the size well and I slice up my artwork to reduce the amount of people 'borrowing' my pictures. (right click save the frog to see an example)

Cheers,

Like the khaki ... makes it all jump out at you ... keep up thegood work ... I think you will do well ...

Hi, like the new colours. Would also be a great background template for off road vehicles or military?.
Think you should start advertising & selling these on your site.

Hi Playitbybeer,

I like the grey on my laptop, but on a flat screen I have it looks a bit 'muddy'. Also some of the buttons / link words dont highlight to white when you roll over..the two at the top: Care & Packages, also browse, samples & enquiry. I do love the frog logo.

Originally Posted by Collectors-info

Hi, like the new colours. Would also be a great background template for off road vehicles or military?.
Think you should start advertising & selling these on your site.

Thanks for the template idea, as this is still where my real passion lies. Not sure whether there's a market for military web sites??? I hope not...LOL

Cheers,

Originally Posted by Mouke

Hi Playitbybeer,

I like the grey on my laptop, but on a flat screen I have it looks a bit 'muddy'. Also some of the buttons / link words dont highlight to white when you roll over..the two at the top: Care & Packages, also browse, samples & enquiry. I do love the frog logo.

Hi Mouke,
That was my exact error, I designed on the laptop... I've been playing with layout and look so far, but should be able to announce the completion of the site later today. Thanks for the review, check back later, the complete site should be good. I hope LOL

Cheers,

Hi Andrew,

Just love what you have done.........What do you charge? I'm looking for something for this:
www.1globalchoice.com
Just want to keep my header

I like the way it shows now on my screen. I looked at the colors, and the gray and Kahki look the same. I like the Kahki color. You done a real good job. Everything is clean and not too crunched together, easy to nav.
Good luck!!

Your site looks very professional, I like it a lot. Best of luck to you!

Aim high...not just pocket money...go for the beer money!!

Thanks Vicki,
How did you know I was born thirsty???LOL

Cheers,

Hi SAman,
What does the name mean??
Thanks for the review, I though it would be a nightmare going from my previous style (large) sites down to this smaller size - It was a breeze...

Cheers,

Originally Posted by SChajin

Hi Andrew,

Just love what you have done.........What do you charge? I'm looking for something for this:
www.1globalchoice.com
Just want to keep my header

Hi Sharon,

I would love to put something together for you, the header looks similar to something I did for a company owned by one of the 'global softdrink giants' If you can give me a day or two to finish the froggy... I'll email you.

Cheers,

Hey Play It By Beer,

I've been going to ask you a favour 'cos I like your work but now you are charging I can ask how much it would cost for a banner and some other elements for my business site I am curently designing?

www.unitedwhiteshepherds.com/health.html

I know you are busy ... please let me know we are hoping to launch on July 1.

thanks

kym,

I'll check in with you later in the day. I've just noticed it's 5:15am LOL and the brain says its bedtime.
Time flies when you're having fun...

Cheers,

Now that you have seeming "solidified" your site design and layout, I think it is time to pay attention to re-writing your Content completely as a means to de-plagiarize it, if at least to avoid the consequences from such outright violation of both Copyright and 'theft of intellectual property'......
I think you know exactly what I am referring to, but if you do not, email me so I might provide side-by-side comparisons as proof of my assertions.

It is one thing to be inspired by your peers as you build your website, and to find a model that you can follow with confidence -- but it is completely different to duplicate written content and methodology from another despite "changing" it to a percentage of the totality.

And......it is something that RARELY happens here in VodaLand, as for the most part every member of the Community values not only their own works but that of their peers. This type of situation spoils the mutually progressive and confidence-bearing nature of the Community enviornment we have enjoyed for such a long time.

Hi Vasili,

You have mail.

Cheers,

Andrew....

Apparently you have not configured your email properly for a couple of your websites, as your contact forms do not function and email addressed specifically is not being picked up despite your "sending" from aliases using Outlook.

I have sent the same email more than six different times to to your "Frogg" alias as well as your "Addo" and Gmail accounts. Be sure to double-check this basic web-building function setup in your VodaHost accounts.....it would be a shame to continue to miss out!

Originally Posted by Vasili

Andrew....

Apparently you have not configured your email properly for a couple of your websites, as your contact forms do not function and email addressed specifically is not being picked up despite your "sending" from aliases using Outlook.

I have sent the same email more than six different times to to your "Frogg" alias as well as your "Addo" and Gmail accounts. Be sure to double-check this basic web-building function setup in your VodaHost accounts.....it would be a shame to continue to miss out!

Hi Vasili,

Very confused, as I've just tested both of the on line contact us form and enquiry and received both the auto-reply and the test form. The other email addresses also worked fine on test???


Cheers

Vasili's email does work, no problems there ... you may try mine if you like.

Originally Posted by PlayItByBeer

Very confused, as I've just tested both of the on line contact us form and enquiry and received both the auto-reply and the test form. The other email addresses also worked fine on test???

"Testing" email only via a local loop delivery is merely testing your internet connection, not verifying function (as I have repeated time and time again). You can send email all day long from Outlook using any alias you want as it is based on connection to send, but you won't receive any until your account functionality is configured properly. >> You have NOT properly set up your email service at VodaHost, nor configured your email forms on your websites correctly.

Proof that this is true?
This message was created automatically by mail delivery software.
A message that you sent has not yet been delivered to one or more of its recipients after more than 24 hours on the queue on oda13.vodahost.com.
The message identifier is: 1I1ROP-0007PT-FW
The subject of the message is: RE: Re Frogg designs
The date of the message is: Thu, 21 Jun 2007 11:27:35 -0700
The address to which the message has not yet been delivered is:
andrew@froggdesigns.com
Delay reason: local delivery failed

As I suggested, you should log into your Gmail to pick up a copy of all the emails sent to you.....that should be easy enough, right?

I have replied to the email I received from you PlayitByBeer ... did you receive it?

Hi LadyEye,

Bright and clear.

Thank You.

Mitchells Gold beer is your design? Hmmm Id be careful with that.

Karen

Originally Posted by Karen Mac

Mitchells Gold beer is your design? Hmmm Id be careful with that.

Karen

Hi Karen,

Why do you like them? LOL
Yes they are all mine and I have permission from the brewery to display them as some samples.

Cheers,

Hi Guy's and Girls,

Please can we return this topic to positive things???

Thanks,