Name: Lauren
Site: Totally Perfect
Brief Description: It's where I blog, reads for you, graphics, html help....
Date of Review: 08/20/02

Splash: I really like the color scheme of this splash page. I would never have thought to put blue and orange together this way, but it really works! The combination of colors gives an exciting sort of energy to the page, which is very appropriate to your content. Nice job, there. I'm less fond, though, of the font you've used in the orange box. I would recommend using something prettier, like Arial. I would also suggest making the orange box smaller, because right now it is about the same size as the image. I would recommend making it about half the current height, and reducing the size of the text. The image doesn't appear to be horizontally centered in the box, so you should definitely check that, because it looks a bit odd. Lastly, the primary purpose of a splash page is to advise your visitors in advance about what they're getting themselves into, so you should warn your visitors about the Java and frames, at least (and any new requirements that you add as the site continues to grow).  2.5

Layout: I love what you've done with the title graphic ... it looks really neat. The tilted outlines are very original. And the overall look to the page is pretty. But the coding for this layout clearly began life as a blog, so you're using it for a different purpose than was originally intended. What does this mean for your site visitors? A *lot* of scrolling. I would recommend that you have a look around at some other websites to see some different ways of organizing your content, because there are about as many ways as there are people! You've already got all your pages grouped into categories ... perhaps your "Contents" page should just list those major categories, with each link leading to a page which lists the subcategories. That would be a fairly easy change to make, and would require a lot less scrolling. Also, your html help pages (for example, "Marquees") completely do not fit in the text window, due to the very long "xmp" codes. On these pages, your visitors have to scroll right *and* scroll down, which is pretty much a layout nightmare. You've formatted the "Drop Downs" page differently, and perhaps you could re-do the other pages to match. With your knowledge of pull-down menus, pop-ups, scroll-bars, etc. (as evidenced in your html help section), I'm surprised that your own layout is so simple. You could do something much prettier and easier to use.  1.0

Originality: The content of your "Reads" section was all stuff I've seen before, mostly in emailed "funnies." Much of the other stuff appeared to be taken from other websites (for example, the list of ALT codes) or magazines (for example, the beauty stuff). You give no indication of where you got any of this material, nor do you give your own comments on any of it. I'd love to see your own opinions about the beauty tips, for example. Have you tried any of them? What were the effects? What about the recipes? Why have you listed them here? Are they your own recipes, created by you ... or did you get them somewhere else? Why is this brownie recipe better than other ones? Put more of your own personality, your own thoughts, into the site, and it'll be a lot more interesting for your visitors.  1.0

Content: I enjoyed your html tips, your "Basics," your "ABCs," and your "Tests" pages the most. The tests page was especially interesting, as it gave a sort of encapsulation of your personality via these different test result graphics, because you have so many of them. I thought that was really neat. The stuff in your "Reads" section is very funny, though familiar. The html stuff is interesting, but your site currently isn't much of an advertisement for your skill with html, so I'd recommend using more of what you're offering to others, so that they can see it in action. In general, your site doesn't have a large amount of content, and it's rather difficult to see how it all ties together. I'd recommend adding some content that explains why you've created these different sections. Why the recipes? Why the html help stuff? Why did you create this site, and what is it about? It seems a bit random right now, but I'm sure there's a method to your madness. :-)  2.0

Navigation: Your navigation is about as clear and simple as it gets. On your main "Contents" page, you seem to list every page in the entire site. While this may seem like a useful thing for your visitors, it actually makes the navigation considerably less interesting. Use some of those ideas you discuss in your html help section to liven up your own navigation! Several of your pages (for example, Toybox) have no "Back" link. This made navigation rather frustrating and inconvenient. I would recommend going through your entire site to make sure that *every* page has a "Back" button, since it's well-suited to your current navigational structure. Also, check all your links, because some (for example, the J-Lo wallpaper) don't work.  2.0

Various Comments: I enjoyed looking at your site. Once you've worked a bit on the layout and added a bit of content that ties the whole thing together, I think it will be really neat!

Total Score: 2/5