Hello fellow nairalanders!!!

I just thought to ask you guys to do a review of 2 recent sites I just did and post your comments/inputs here. I'm currently looking forward to improving my work as much as possible and know I can use some critique. Show no mercy! Just tell me as it is. The aim is to have my errors pointed out, with advice on how to improve on them.

Here are two of the most recent ones I just did. SHould add more later as soon as I'm done with the ones I'm currently working on:


http://www.westrendltd.com/

http://www.dinresourcecentre.org/ (this one's still not fully completed yet - awaiting content from the client)

thanks guys!

If you haven't already, please read: https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-295593.0.html

Show no mercy!

Interesting 

For the record, I like http://www.westrendltd.com/ better - the layout is neater, IMHO.   The other looks crowded to me.  I give both sites 9.5 out of 10 (just because I don't believe that anyone, including myself is 100% good at anything  )

Also, I see both sites are using html files.  This leads me to suspect that you aren't taking advantage of includes.  For example, if I decided to make you change background color of 4 of your pages, I am suspecting (I stand corrected) you will have to make that change 4 times, as opposed to within one include file.  I personally like to divide my pages into the following includes (at a minimum), thus leaving only the content visible per page: header, footer, left column, right column, navigation.  Basically, anything that appears on more than one page deserves an include.  It just makes maintenance easier.

http://www.westrendltd.com/
1) contact field: "one or more fields are required".  Why not specify which field?

2) Numbers above top nav items: what's the purpose of those? I don't think they are necessary

3) I would increase page width to 965px which is what the Yahoo Group recommend for 1024x768 sites. This allows for more content.

4) http://www.westrendltd.com/about-westrend-ltd.htm - I would bring the map up so that people see this as the first thing.  I don't think you have to make it that big either.  Again, 965px page width would have helped here.  This applies to all other pages as well.

5) There is a disconnect b/w the top nav and left nav. They should be consistent.  To increase real estate, I would remove the left nav and move the items under "services".  Also, why is "home" green and others aren't when on those pages?  This needs to be corrected.  This will also bring the content below the left nav up, to the fore, and I want to believe that especially for the testimonials, you would want potential customers to see that first, considering we read from left to right.

6) Our team: Probably would be nice to have their photos on there.

7) FAQ: The norm is to have the links to the questions at the top and then when you click, via intra-linking, you are taken to the answer, which also should have a "back to top" link, back to the linked questions.

8 )  You are a Webmasters of Africa Member? Interesting 

9) At bottom of left column, I see, "for more testimonials".  This would lead me to believe that if I click the link, I am taken to a separate page.  However, especially if I am on another page, I am taken back to the home page and to the top of the document.  Since the testimonials appear on every page, take that line out.  Or create a testimonials page and redirect people there.

10) I know you are using xhtml transitional but you could have presented your content without resorting to tables.  Except you are presenting strictly tabular data, use floated divs (like at the bottom of the home page).

11) Move your styles and javascript, unless they are absolutely specific to the page, to external files.  This helps reduce page weight.

12) http://www.westrendltd.com/clientele.htm - you could have used UL/LI and not nbsp and "-", to make your code semantically correct.

http://www.dinresourcecentre.org/ (this one's still not fully completed yet - awaiting content from the client)
since it isn't complete, I would just say to make sure you inculcate advice from above website to this site as well.

Again, very well done.  Just correct the other issues and na you I go dey bow to, he he.

yawa-ti-de,

Thank you so much for taking your time to do a review of my sites and offering your surprisingly ver professional advice! Thanks a bunch! I will try to work on the tips you gave and the corrections. Maybe I go just copy your review save am to system for easy access.

Thanks again! God bless!

Yawa-ti-de I want to thank you on behalf of Petres_007 for job well done and the positive critics you gave on the site. Its a good avenue to make him do better.

royal:
Thanks for the compliments. I try to practice what I preached here:
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-295593.0.html

Thanks once again

To add to what Yawa-ti-de has said on http://www.westrendltd.com menu, try to put icons instead of da numbers.

@poster

I believe you're richly blessed with this posts. especially, yawa-ti-de's comment

Poster, sorry for posting again but this escaped my memory to test until now: you need to optimize your images BIG TIME. For instance: http://www.westrendltd.com/images/trucks-fleet1.jpg is a whopping 205KB

I don't know what you use for your graphics but I use photoshop and it has "save for the web". If fireworks, I have no idea but I am sure a similar function, considering both software are owned by the same company, exists.

Good luck!

Well i didn't see anyfin wrong with that number that indicates the link. it's nice !

yawa-ti-de:

Poster, sorry for posting again but this escaped my memory to test until now: you need to optimize your images BIG TIME.  For instance: http://www.westrendltd.com/images/trucks-fleet1.jpg is a whopping 205KB

I don't know what you use for your graphics but I use photoshop and it has "save for the web".  If fireworks, I have no idea but I am sure a similar function, considering both software are owned by the same company, exists.

Good luck!

In fireworks, to export an image for the web

from file click on image preview,

select the picture format, and select the quality,  (for the web, 80 - 85% quality will be ok)

as you change the quality, you see the image size on the right,

then u click on export.

Hope that helps

quadrillo:
Thanks for the tip. Now, if I am in an environment where they only have FW, I know what to do.

Thanks once again.