Opinions Please on New Shop

[Paul Cooper]

Hi,

I am just about ready to go live with my first effort with Actinic and would welcome any comments please. I do have an issue with the SSL on the checkout with SSL registered to technobots.co.uk but the site is on www.technobots.co.uk which has not been resolved yet. Thanks to Kevin aka completerookie for his solution for adding tables, I would have been lost without it and to Norman at Drillpine for the tabber and multiple image patches.

Anyway, the test site is http://www.technobots.co.uk/acatalog/test/

Thanks

Paul

[Duncan Rounding]

The site layout and operation looks good but the colours are very hard to read. The yellow text is overpowering and the red text is almost impossible for me to read.

[leehack]

Your colour scheme is probably hiding a very nice shop, but the current palette makes it look amateurish, unappealing to look at and achieves nothing positive in my eyes. Take a look at your palette, a vast improvement on the colours used will result in a vastly improved website for your users.

[Darren B]

I have to agree, i like the site but the colours are a bit hard on the eye, i had trouble reading the writing

Laptop 17" screen res 1440, just my input for what is worth

D
ps Lee is the new kite logo better

[BigRedKeith]

Hi Paul,

I dont necessarily agree with the above comments, although the red text is one of the difficult colours to read, the site its self is very appealing. As a former bot nut, its just the kind of layout and colour scheme that would appeal to me. Sometimes people cant look past what they want from a site, even though they would not be a potential customer of this site. All you need to do is look at the outragous colours we use to paint the fighting bots to se that soft, mild and pastel colours are not the right thing for your target market.

As for "Amateurish", far from it, i think your target customers will find it exciting, appealing and useful. The red text is an issue but in general, not just because its a first attempt but because it will attract your target market, i think its a good all-round site.

Keith

[leehack]

ps Lee is the new kite logo better

Taking the 5th.

[Paul Cooper]

Thanks for your comments. I actually spent a long time with the colour scheme, looking at other sites and really trying to come up with something that isn't yet another white background theme.

I did have four colours of text for the main navigation area for different product areas but it proved difficult to find colours that would provide sufficient contrast to be legible. I may even just lose the red completely as I wasn't entirely happy and it's hardly used anyway.

The yellow is more of an issue as I was attempting to use it as it is one of our 'corporate' colours. I had already toned down the yellow from ffff00 to ffff40 in most areas but looks like a re-visit is necessary.

I accept that colour schemes are subjective so is was pleasing to read Keith's comments, I will canvas more opinions from selected customers as well before I rush into too many changes. Keith, were you into Robot Wars?

Thanks

Paul

[george]

I'd stick with either yellow or white for the section text, lose the red asap. Not three colours of regular text, throw the grey in the same bin as the red?

Text size in the top nav bar has to be made bigger, its one thing having a dodgy text size elsewhere (the product info for example), but the nav bar HAS to be readable by everyone.

The Technical Support button, while being helpful, is too eyecatching. Surely its the Shop page that needs that kinda highlighting?

Squeeze it all in a bit? Its busting my 17" monitor! (ooh err)

The bright blue round the main logo doesn't match anything on the rest of the page. Maybe use the blue elsewhere as well or ditch it?

Page titles are grim.

Hey, just my mutterings etc. Take it as you want too.

Good luck fella.

[Duncan Rounding]

Just noticed their's something fishy with this product (RC DIY speed control kit 10A - Part No: 1500-001 ) on page Online_Catalogue_Electronize_Speed_Controllers_351.html

If you hover over the datasheet then the link is showing from teh datasheet button right through to the add to cart button. Also you may consider opening the datasheet oin it's own page.

Apart from he colour scheme your site looks good. I do have an issue in be able to read the grey text, my eyes showing my age perhaps. I've also done dark background sites and the choice of text colours is always difficult.

[Paul Cooper]

Duncan,

When I hover over the data sheet button on 1500-001 I get http://www.technobots.co.uk/Data%20Sheets/1500-001.pdf and it does open in a new window. I wonder why you are getting different results?

As for the grey text, I did have white but it seemed too harsh so i took it to grey. I'll have a play again with text colours but as you say, choice is difficult.

George,

I did try to get a large size text early on in the site development but the next size up was too large. I'll try again now I have a little more experience in modifying things.

Not sure what to replace the grey text colour with but I'll play. Point taken about the tech support button. The blue around the main logo is used on all of our advertising, exhibition banners etc but I do agree it is out of place with the darker blues. I originally used this primary blue (as we do on our existing site) but yuk.

What do you mean by the page titles are grim?

Thanks

Paul

[Duncan Rounding]

On this page:
http://www.technobots.co.uk/acatalog...llers_351.html
if you hover over the price for 'RC DIY speed control kit 10A - Part No: 1500-001' you will see it underlines with red and in fact if you click on the add to cart or the price etc that is underlined then the datasheet is opened.

The datasheet certainly opens in the same window as the shop, not a new window - both with FF and IE7.

[TraceyHand]

it's probably only a missing closing </a> tag in your datasheet html, Paul (presumably in your product description, is it?)...nothing serious!

[Paul Cooper]

Ah, I see what you mean, well spotted - very weird.

In fact all of my data sheet buttons do not open in a new window as you quite rightly stated, certainly not as intended, I think I need a break!

[Darren B]

Paul and anyone else

The human eye can actually only see 3 colours at once, although we see many, this is why some people can see certain things on a page straight away. Always try to keep the 2 or 3 colours for the import things

Just my bit
D

[Darren B]

Taking the 5th.

Thanks Lee - Coward