vtjeep.com - a style question

[dismas]

I've been integrating a few pages with vBadvanced in the last few days and I'd like to get some opinions.

The site in question is at vtjeep.org. I've integrated the info page, the faq page, and others. You'll see on the home page that the site navigation is on the left but on the interior pages, I've moved the modules over to the right. I'm not too sure I like it that way but I wanted to get others opinions on this. Is it distracting to have things moved like that or do you prefer having the content to the left side of the page?

[TerryMason]

Cool to see another Jeep site here (I run www.jeepz.com). I've lately gotten on the SEO kick, and have learned some about vbadvanced. From what I understand, google and others will start on the left side of your screen and read top down. In your case, it would see your site map (good), then your calendar (probably bad).

I'd go into the vbadvanced permissions, and hide the following from the unregistered group:
calendar
online users
birthdays
proud member of
stats.

This way, you and all your users will see these, but guest and search engines (who are probably trying to find data quickly) won't see them.


Personally, I like the two column look better than three.

The moving nav (from left to right) doesn't bother me, but on your faq page you've got the login box twice.

I'd also open up your gallery to guests. My gallery is open (read only) to guests, and so far google has indexed over 10,000 pages from my gallery (use this for a search term - site:jeepz.com photopost ). Plus, alot of cool photos would draw more guests to register

good luck
terry

[dismas]

Thanks for the response! We aren't the only two off-roading related sites. I know the admin of Pirate checks in here from time to time as well. And actually, I run two off-roading sites. The other is www.vermontoutdoors.net

I'd like guests to see the calendar since it gives the newcomers an idea of what the club does and such. Not much there now because it's winter in Vermont but during the summer it would show more.

You have a point about the online members and birthdays. I'll make changes there.

The "proud member of" module I'll keep visible since there is another club in the area that has a bad reputation, so this helps us look better. Plus the TreadLightly! badge helps with environmentalists and land owners who might be coming in with a chip on their shoulder. It won't knock that chip off but it might help reduce the size of the chip.

And I'll think about the stats. I'd like to show that there's activity and such but then again, the threads in the forums would be evidence of that....

And as far as the gallery goes, the site just went through a redesign and the old pics were in database for which there isn't an importer to vB. So the pics are new, what few of them are there so far. I'm not worried about there being more... they will come. Though we have to keep the trail pics to club members only. Recently we lost permission to wheel on a chunk of land because someone pulled a pic off our old site which showed a Jeep covered in mud. They claimed it was taken at the land in question. It wasn't. It was on private land owned by a club member. So we can't have trail shots visible to the public.

Thanks for the feedback! I appreciate it!

[Shelley_c]

Normally I hate green but these days I've found a new love for the colour I loathed so much so I'll start of by saying love the colours in the alt1 and .alt areas. Personally. I think your should build off this colour because the rest of the style looks like a visual eyesore and doesn't compliment that nice green you applied.

I'm speaking of the .tcat and .thead gradients. Create something that will fit around and compliment the .alt colours. Maybe a darker/satuarated green might look visually better but the blue really destroys the colours.

Change the colour of the links if you do plan on keeping the blue (vbulletin gradients) to a colour that won't be drowned out and hard to view on us viewers. but I'm sure you will change the gradients so always remember to keep in mind the colour of the links against the gradients you use throughout your style.

I can't stress enough (and as become commonplace) that applying incorrectly saved images only paves the way for a visual nightmare. I'm referring to the collapse markers and the white jaggy border that surrounds the icon. Always ensure that you save the image to the same colour of the background it's being applied onto.

Same goes for the buttons (forum display). Incorrectly saved and I'd suggest that if you need to use an image as the bacground go for a textured background so the images aren't drowned out by the backdrop that they are being applied onto.

Overall, the foundation to a visually pleasing style is only about 30 minutes away but in it's current state colours are not balanced and many images are incorrectly saved.