Graphic INTENSIVE

[jgrillone]

www.banishedfaith.com
just did a major overhaul
broadband will definately make the journey more enjoyable

I would like some feedback on the design, I am seriously thinking of releasing
it as a style here

[Steve Machol]

Looks good, but it loaded awfully slow even with my cable modem. Also I routinely block all ActiveX scripting and stay away from sites that use them. Others may not be so picky but I thought I'd mention it.

[jgrillone]

just wondering

I dont know how to do active x scripting
can you tell me where it shows up?

thanks

[Steve Machol]

I have no idea where it's coming from. All I know is that when I access your site I get a ActiveX script warning from Norton Internet Security. Probably from a banner or other script you're running.

[jgrillone]

huh

I can oly think that maybe its from the flash movie, thats embedded in the header otherwise Im clueless

thanks for bringing it to my attention

[Steve Machol]

That's probably it.

[Richard-Beisamm]

Hi !

Jepp, its a Shockwave-Flash at the side.

Looks good, but it loaded awfully slow even with my cable modem. Also I routinely block all ActiveX scripting and stay away from sites that use them. Others may not be so picky but I thought I'd mention it.

Me too !

There are MANY "Webdesigner"-Companys out there, doing everytime the same fault:

Building an entry-page for a website, that uses Flash.

For securityreasons, i have always turned ActiveX off on my browser and NIS.

But....those "Experts" often forget to put an alternative link on the flash-intro page: SKIP INTRO

For all users with disabled ActiveX ( i guess at LEAST 50% ) the sitevisiting is ending at this point....

Good work, websitebuilders...a company´s Site that isnt already dead on the first page....

I hope, theyr customers didnt pay too much for this crap...

[Wayne Luke]

I personally can't see any text on the site... Not running any ad-blocking software and none of the forum titles show up, no posts, no messages.

[werehere]

It is very dark, but looks pretty cool. The main page flash is a little large for my taste, but the graphic work in it looks good though. I also would like to see the login/logout and footer stuff not just hanging out in the open in a center tag, looks out of place to me just hanging there, it also kind of looks that way for the nav bar as well. I think it would look just that much better if you docked those elements in a graphic in some way, so they are not just hanging.

Obviously you have done a lot of work to it, and it does show. Pretty cool!

It needs to be hosted somewhere else though, because it is painfully slow loading (I know that is not the issue here, but still)!

[Kehfera]

As a new web designer...

I have read a lot about standards for good web design. The work you have done is incredible. You might want to look up info about accepted norms or why someone might loose interest in the site.

I have done a lot of work as a Web Positioning Engineer. New title for making sure a site gets hit and remains at the top of the search engines. There is a science to this and many items that will keep your site from being visited.

For me these are the things I HATE about web sites and won't return unless they have unique (needed) information... (not that your site has any of these issues I am just putting them here for future information for others designing pages)

Text being too small to read from 3 feet from monitor - reason: a person should not sit closer than arms length from their monitor.

Too busy... too much content on the first page really irritates me. Just make it easy for me to navigate to where I need to go. Keep the colors suttle.

Slow loading sites...If your site takes more than 10 seconds to load (56K modem speed) a user is likely to go elsewhere. Also any splash page needs to go automatically into the site. The first thing a user sees should be a REAL page on your site. (doesn't matter if it is page 10 or 1 just so long as it doesn't as me to click again to enter the site).

As a FLASH designer - you can server-side calls just as with any other type of design. Try and limit the MOVIES - cute as they may be, moving takes time. Which again brings me to yet another issue. Icons that move - again cute and different - are constantly using time to continue to move. A site with a lot of moving parts or parts that move all the time like flags waving, I have no time for.

FYI - I have a cable modem so speed should not be an issue for me but a lot of HTML sites are still loading slowly. As for your site this and the text are the Items I would improve. You have really done a fantastic job with FLASH and vBulletin integration. I applaud you! You have exceeded me in getting the integration done. I have been working a bit with this (not much though) and want to have a regular site and a FLASH choice.

CONGRATULATIONS...

Kehfera

[Dean C]

very nice.... strange site tho lol...

cud do a little bit on the actual forums display as it jus looks like a black blob on a fantasticly designed bacground...

very impressed tho... like the theme tune too...

[moosey]

you have some nice ideas but dam I cant stand flash! If you havnt got broadband then you wouldnt wait for it to load, I have it and still struggled to stay. Its just so unnessesery, but whatever makes you happy I spose

[Ryan McBain]

Originally posted by Mist
very nice.... strange site tho lol...

cud do a little bit on the actual forums display as it jus looks like a black blob on a fantasticly designed bacground...

very impressed tho... like the theme tune too...

Well of course you like the theme tune, I did it

[Kehfera]

Originally posted by moosey
you have some nice ideas but dam I cant stand flash! If you havnt got broadband then you wouldnt wait for it to load, I have it and still struggled to stay.

As a whole (if used properly) FLASH designed web pages load faster than most all web pages. The problem with most pages designed by new Flash users is that the page as not been optimized for speed. AND the graphics get really elaborate. Graphics are OK but it is the content that counts!

Again...any page that does not load in 10 secs or less in 56K is not an optomized site...who says this? .... Check out this site it will open a designers eyes... Web Pages That SUCK and this is a good place to learn how to fix your problems Fixing Your Website . Both sites have been the defacto on most design standards. This guy has some good ideas but as with all ideas - take what you feel is right for your site and ditch the rest.

I learned more from this site on design than most other sites.

Kehfera