Finally launched- need critique please

saltydianne

Hi all,
I can`t believe the time is here.   My site is live!  I have only tested on IE 7.0.   The only items I did not complete were loading the 3 little images for each jewelry product.  Some are there.  The others I cannot load until after the next photoshoot this weekend. 
 www.saltychix.com</A>
Please let me know about
1.  The techie stuff- navigation, user experience, pictures loading,
2.  CSS backend type stuff, how does that look?  (i now nothing about this)
3.   colors, visual appeal
4.  Does the site make you feel good? happy? sick to your stomach? you know what I mean. 
Any and all suggestions/advice/help are greatly appreciated.
Dianne

LiveWise

Great Site!!!  I like the colors and the products.  It`s very fun and inviting. 
 
I don`t know what it is about the pictures with the hats.  I don`t think the pictures do the hats justice.  Maybe it`s just me though.  If other really like the pictures, then don`t change. 
 
Good Luck!

Webline

Good look, layout, image. No obvious errors in coding. Nicely done.The one negative I do see is your document size. Your main page is 619kb, due mainly to the images. Could be a factor for users with slower connections, as well as bandwidth use.

saltydianne

Webline - WOW, thank you webline.  I told my web guys that you would be the one to identify ANY bugs in the code...(they know that I put the website up for review to the SUN community) they are graphic designers first and foremost so the images being crisp etc. is important, but you are right about the size.   I will ask them if it can be reduced and not lose any of the quality.  Thank you for taking time as I always enjoy and learn from your reviews.
- Thank you Natalie, you are right.  The cap pix need some help.  They are 1st on the list to have new photos taken.   I thought that having closeups would show the style and color better, but now I am thinking of having the models standing on the beach and taking a wider whole body pix to show the outfit and the caps.  
enjoy your weekend!
 
 

Nuevolution

I just checked your web site on the following Browsers:
1. Mozilla Browser- Looks fine from this end...
2. Opera Browser- Looks good from this end except for the buttons... I noticed that they have this ugly white outline... I think if you are trying to use drop shadows on the buttons, you should go with PNG`s instead of Jpg or Gif. (please look at the checkout, continue shopping and update quantity)
4. IE7.0... well like you said it looks good on that end..
5. Safari Browser - Looks good downloads fast...
Now here is something you may want to address ASAP... I went to www.w3c.org and use the HTML Validator tool, I noticed that there`s 12 errors that need to be addressed, and on the CSS side it looks good..
OVER ALL I LIKE THE DESIGN.... JUST FIX THOSE SMALL PROBLEMS...
as for the 619KB, don`t worry about it, it downloaded fast... Don`t worry about the customers that have a slow connection. Obviously if they can`t afford a DSL or Broadband connection, they can`t afford to purchase any of your items, thats why theres Walmart and Dollar Tree Discount Stores... Nuevolution1/14/2008 2:55 AM

saltydianne

Thank you very much Edgar for testing on the other browsers.    Nice to know we passed on those. 
You made me laugh, my web guys and I thought the same thing about the slow connections.....I had to figure out my target marke and make the website appeal to that arena.  The site is very graphic rich and that is how these web guys do everything.   
I just sent my web dev team an email about running it thru w3c.org.  
thank you for taking the time. 
Di

saltydianne

Hi Craig;
Great observations.  
The choppy load, used to bother me, but now I am used to it. I am hesitant to reduce the backgroud image.  I don`t want to lose any of the quality.  Yes, the caps do need better photos.   The final photo shoot for the caps did not quite work out like I expected.    
On my to do list - Belts on models for the main product shots, Better cap photos- not too close, I am going to make some keywords tshirt.   This SEO stuff is hard. 
Yes - that referring page should be changed to   Return to products.   Good catch.  
My goal is to take my entrepreneur friends with me to Necker Island!! how cool would that be?
Thank you for your help and input through all of my pre launch jitters!
di
 

luvmandlevm

I`m a little behind here but I did go to your site.  It loaded instantly.  No problems.  It made me happy and smile while on the site.  Love the colors and the "happy happy giddy" feel to it -  so beachy!
 
My only remark goes to Edgar.  Don`t rule out any customers because of what you "think" about dial up.  Many rural areas do not have DSL or Highspeed.  I live near Myrtle Beach and many of the summer rentals only have dial up simply because of their beach side location, not because the owners/tenants aren`t able to afford anything over a dollar store.