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lbbb

posts: 27

Aug 17, 2007 5:03 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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I have just started a new business http://www.littleblackbookofbeauty.com/.
I built the site myself and would like some feed back. My site basically is an online beauty guide for the Metro Detroit area. I will be adding more features as the site grows but I am just looking for suggestions at this point.

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Little Black Book of Beauty
248.289.6660
http://www.littleblackbookofbeauty.com
mnw@littleblackbookofbeauty.com

Webline

posts: 687

Aug 17, 2007 6:08 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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Right off the bat, I loved the look; the colors and the retro type of style is, I think, great. For me, the menu text could be just a bit darker or stronger so that it stands out just a little better against the white.

Viewing the page source, I`m not quite sure why there are 2 head sections. For SEO, I would suggest your menu links and some of your keywords along the bottom of the page.

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M Hall
Website Critique Community
International Society of Curmudgeons

awc045

posts: 5

Aug 17, 2007 10:18 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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I agree with M Hall above - great look, great colors. Very pleasing visually. I would add a little more content (text, pics, links, etc.) to the middle of the page. It looks a little bare, but otherwise very nice.

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Andrew Campbell
ACE Computer Services
http://www.acecomputernj.com

CraigL

posts: 9051

Aug 18, 2007 3:42 AM ET Quote Report Abuse

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I liked the site, looks good, so I started exploring. Here`s one problem I had.

Went to the Beauty Services Guide link.
Chose Cosmetic Dentistry
Chose Allen Park
Arrived at Szalia & Szalai

Okay, figured that`s fine, so I clicked the "Back" button on Mozilla FireFox and it failed. I couldn`t go Back. But I tried it in Explorer, and it worked.

So there`s a "validation" problem, where you test for different browsers. Even if you don`t go for all browsers, you should at least test for Firefox, as that`s a growing market-share browser.

I think the copy on the front page could have some more pizazz, and explain better that you`re like a consolidated directory for not only beauty "products," which is a vague impression I got, but also for services like dentistry and surgery, etc. I mean, I got that idea...but it wasn`t as clear, concise, and obvious as I`d want it to be. And not at all "exciting." :-)

See, I think you have this total excitement and passion for compiling this directory, maintaining it, then having articles and help advice for people in a 1-stop-shop concept. But between the excitement in your heart, and the written page....there`s a lot of lost passion. A good copywriter could help you keep all that energy and excitement, right through to what OTHER people see when they look at what you`ve created.

:-)

vwebworld

posts: 1237

Aug 18, 2007 7:04 AM ET Quote Report Abuse

Points: 0 Vote

Style / design - look good. The pages do look a little barren because of all the white space. So, you could increase the font size a little.

Advertise with us You say "Please review our advertising rates below (with a link). Then you have another link below. Why have two links? Just incorporate both into one.

Images - The file sizes for some of your images is large for the size of the image. For example, on the cosmetic dentistry page, gyms page, and personal trainer`s page. (I didn`t check the images on every page). The images should be resized before you put them on the page rather than just shrinking (or setting a smaller width and height) but using the orgininal image.

Also, you should have an alt image tag for each image that is more desccriptive than the name of the image file (Gym-1.jpg).

Contact us - you might consider providing an online form in addition to just an email address. It is more user friendly because the viewer does not have to open their email program, they just complete the form on the page. Also, if the person is not on their own computer, they may not have access to yourown email.

HTMLcode: As already mentioned, the two <head></head> sections in the HTML of your web pages does need to be corrected.

~Roland

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Web Design | Best Beef Jerky | ecommerce articles | Follow vwebworld on Twitter

lbbb

posts: 27

Aug 18, 2007 7:51 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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Thank you for all the comments. I will be taking some time over the next few weeks to work on your suggestions. This is my first site so it`s all new for me. Can someone explain the two <head></head> sections to me. I am a bit confused with what needs to be changed.

Thanks, Mika

-------------------------

Little Black Book of Beauty
248.289.6660
http://www.littleblackbookofbeauty.com
mnw@littleblackbookofbeauty.com

lbbb

posts: 27

Aug 18, 2007 7:57 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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I agree the front page needs more pizazz and needs a better explanation...Do you know a good copyrighter that could assist....I just do not have a good writing flare....Thanks, Mika

-------------------------

Little Black Book of Beauty
248.289.6660
http://www.littleblackbookofbeauty.com
mnw@littleblackbookofbeauty.com

lbbb

posts: 27

Aug 18, 2007 8:04 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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If you have any more comments please let me know!!! Thanks, Mika

-------------------------

Little Black Book of Beauty
248.289.6660
http://www.littleblackbookofbeauty.com
mnw@littleblackbookofbeauty.com

vwebworld

posts: 1237

Aug 18, 2007 8:33 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

Points: 0 Vote

Can someone explain the two <head></head> sections to me. I am a bit confused with what needs to be changed.

Thanks, Mika

A web page should only have one section of the html code defind with <head> </head>. Having more than one <head> section may affect how your site is seen by various browsers. Browsers expect to find certain information in the HEAD section. Simply stated with more than one <head>, you might confuse the bowser.

Your html code also specifies <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" You might want to consider changing that or correcting some of the validation problems.

What program was used to create the site? Was code copied and modified from another source?

~Roland

-------------------------

Web Design | Best Beef Jerky | ecommerce articles | Follow vwebworld on Twitter

Webline

posts: 687

Aug 18, 2007 8:34 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

Points: 0 Vote

Your basic code structure should be like this ....

html opening tag
head opening tag

your title, meta tags, import css and javascript, etc.

/head closing tag
body opening tag

your main content

/body closing tag
/html closing tag

If you view your source code, you have a head section right at the top, then near the end of the page you have it again, although the information in it is slightly different. You should only have the head area at the top. If you like, I can clean it up for you if needed.

-------------------------

M Hall
Website Critique Community
International Society of Curmudgeons

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