Okay, I'll try to be nice on this one.

Iffahear.

Your site pissed me off from the get go so please expect this to be one of my "no-offence-but-offence" type of reviews like the one on Yukhub (https://www.nairaland.com/3789349/yukhub.com-next-nairaland-review-probably ) but don't worry, if I sound harsh, just know it comes from a good place...

... and from seeing some very annoying things over and over. I am so writing a blog post about essential elements of a Home page soon.

But before that, let's get on with this review, shall we?

I. Design And Layout

Okay, there's not much of a design here.

I mean, what is that background? tiny bathroom tiles of different colours arranged together to form a background image?

This crazy user is not amused. Your design make him want to punch himself in the face with a hammer.

You need to change that. Get something that's ... well... not bland.

I'm not going to say more than that because if I start, I won't finish this review and there are more serious issues, that, if they were handled, I may not have noticed the background image was bland. Let's move on.

(i) Your domain name.

Okay, how do you tell people about your domain name?

Like, for real, how do you?

Do you have to spell it every single time?

I bet you do. Cos if you just say your domain name, most people will think it's www.reloading.com.ng instead of www.realloading.com.ng.

You already started confusing me from the domain name. But you already have the domain name so it's like crying over spilt milk, but for real, if you can get anoher domain name and rebrand it, that would be cool.


(ii) The first menu at the top of the page is missing a Home tab.

The user needs to be able to find their way back to your home page. This is a must.

(iii) Your Site Title in your header image.

While it must have looked good in Corel draw or Adobe photoshop, it's just ... hmm... not so lit here. Maybe it's the background that has sorta put a damper on everything, but the site title is not really grabbing my attention here. And why did you put the dot com dot ng at the end.

Your brand name is Realloading (shey that's how you spell it), the dot com dot ng should be silent and invisible.

(iv) Your tagline

I'm still trying to figure out what happens at your site, cos up till this point I still don't know. Because there is no tagline. Anywhere.

How am I supposed to know what you're about if you don't tell me?

WE ARE NOT PSYCHIC.

If you don't make it obvious, we won't just figure it out quickly and a huge number of us will just bounce.

Put a tagline there. It's highly needed.

(v) Did somebody kidnap your primary navigation menu?

I mean really?

It's almost as if you built the site solely to confuse us at this point.

How are we going to know where to go on your home page without a navigation menu?

Make one.

(vi) That Breaking News Ticker is in the wrong place.

It should be above right beneath that menu at the top.

Putting it after where your primary navigation menu is supposed to be doesn't really make sense. If it is breaking news, why isn't it at the very top of the page.

The way you put it now, you wrote Breaking news on it, but it's really more like "by the way" news and interrupts our flow.

(vii) What the hell is that ad doing there?

Before I tried to scroll down, I thought this was all there was on your site.

Yeah. True story.

The AD there also didn't help matters. I was about to get annoyed that I had been sent on a ghosthunt to a site that didn't exist or that didn't do anything because I wasn't able to figure out what your site was about..

And no, putting the pertinent information about your site in the Site ID section so that I have to hover with my mouse above the name in the tab in my browser before I know what your site is about is not a clever, ingenious move.

If I wasn't doing a review on your site, I would have left.

There's a concept known in the newspaper industry and on the web as the "area above the fold".

Here's what it means. Take a random newspaper. Any one.

Fold it in two horizontally. The area of the front page above the fold is the "area above the fold". Now if you notice, you can pretty much see a great headline and images that tell you what you'll find in the newspaper. You can decide whether or not you want to read this newspaper just by looking at this area.

On the web, the area that your visitors see when they first come to your site is the "area above the fold".

If this area doesn't catch and hold their attention, they will most likely not scroll down to see what else you have on the site. This means that this area should connect with what brought them to your site.

If it doesn't, they bounce.

So look at that area in your site, and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Move that ad to the sidebar, make those changes I have suggested already.

I had to scroll down below the fold to see what your site is about. That is not good.

(viii) Your right sidebar is cluttered with ads and disorganized

I got there and was immediately greeted by an ad.

I'm not going to start dissecting that section because that will take up one too many words.

This is how you should arrange it. Like I said in my last review, this is tried and true:

- Search bar
- Popular/Recent posts
- Categories
- Subscribe box
- Social Media links
- Archive

You can have your ads in between the sections after the first two sections, but not too many ads.

Because too many ads spoileth a home page.

Write that down.


(ix) Your Footer

If people make it this far down your page, which, right now, I doubt, seeing as "I didn't wanna go there" (in my Chris Brown voice), what you're showing them is a Search bar, a Calendar, some copyright thingy, your Site Rank, and DMCA bla bla bla

And the question is "Who you epp?"

The Calendar- unnecessary
The Site rank- pointless
DMCA- mehh, we don't care

What you need down there is a secondary menu, a list of a few interesting blog posts, social media links, maybe a call to action.

Lemme not talk too much before I finish this review at this juncture when I never even talk about your...


II. Content.

Now to the main content section.

If not for your desire to push everything important below the fold, I would have said it's been prominently displayed (which would have been good).

Funny thing is, it's now that I realise it's a site about music. (or is it? I just saw someone commented on a Jenifa's Diaries video.. hmm... this confusion na wa o)

(i) Your headlines

They're alright. I mean, your audience prolly eats this up.

No real yarns here.

(ii) So I click on a post and again I'm greeted by another ad that doesn't let me see anything till I scroll down.

NO. NO. NO.

If I wasn't reviewing this site, swear down I'll be gone.

Okay, I'm not going to suffer through this anymore.

Your ads are way way all over the place. I can barely find what I'm looking for.

You absolutely need to fix that IMMEDIATELY.


I would continue to review, talk about promotion and all but this site is not ready for that yet. Your site is cluttered with ads, the layout needs a lot of work and seriously, YOUR SITE IS CLUTTERED WITH ADS!!

I don't know any user that would suffer through this as I have.

Fix this issues and then I'll do a Re-REview or something.

**Drops pen, keyboard and everything**

By the way, if you're reading this, and you would like me to review your site, please don't post it here, post it here- https://www.nairaland.com/3765331/post-website-blog-here-get ... and if you would like to reach me for any reason, hit me up on whatsapp (+2348147018718)

Okay.

I'm out.

Copycracker, you are doing a good job here assisting us. I am intrigued by your detailed analysis. Your insight is guiding me in designing my new blog.

You are a rare fellow.

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