I lived with my original site for about a year and a half and started reading about people converting their sites to the WordPress platform. So I started researching that and made the decision to try it on my own.....after hours and hours of educating myself, as well as trial and error, I finally have something I think is presentable.

It is still going to be a work in PROGRESS, but I want to share it and see if any of you have any suggestions.

Note, I didn't create the site from scratch. I actually purchased a theme and customized it. So I hope it doesn't look too "canned". I was able to get rid of all the code to make it not look so bloggy (if that's a word!).

So here are my questions (don't feel obligated to answer each one...):
1) Suggestions/Feedback
2) Did the site load properly in your browser? If not, what browser are you using?
3) Have you seen this very same theme elsewhere that you can think of? (Not that I would switch themes, but would keep on working on the customization!)
4) Your thoughts on the slideshow on the home page

Let me know what you think!! I really appreciate all your feedback.

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Kari Thevenot, Virtual Assistant
www.yourlefthand.net

Originally Posted by YourLeftHand

So here are my questions (don't feel obligated to answer each one...): 1) Suggestions/Feedback 2) Did the site load properly in your browser? If not, what browser are you using? 3) Have you seen this very same theme elsewhere that you can think of? (Not that I would switch themes, but would keep on working on the customization!) 4) Your thoughts on the slideshow on the home page

Let me start with #4 because that is the first thing I saw on your site. The slideshow is sharp but the slides moved before I could read all of the information. It also takes up a lot of valuable real estate on your site so make sure it counts.

I found the white on black difficult to read and the font in some areas was pretty small. I tried a theme one time and I had someone come back and tell me they felt claustrophobic on my site. In some ways that is how I felt with the large header and the small font.

That being said you have done an awesome job. I always struggle with other people's criticism of my site because it is highly subjective. Not everyone will enjoy your theme unfortunately. Men and women take in the information on a site differently. They say men do not scan a website as fast as a women does. Make sure it is a theme you are comfortable with and can customize and make sure the important information such as how your business is going to help the client is above the fold.

FYI I was using Firefox to browse your site. Everything seemed to work properly and in place.

Have fun and enjoy your tweaking. I am constantly tweaking and adjusting.

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Lisa Olinda of Olinda Services
Keeping you on the path to success!
www.olindaservices.com

I love wordpress as a starting point for a web site so well done for having a crack at using it. Had a quick look at yours and I can see you have put a lot of work in. I wasn’t keen on the slide show and when I first loaded the page it seemed to change from one slide to another before I had time to really look at it, but I’m no expert on web design.

Hi there, I think you did a really nice job on your website. I like how the colors in your logo pop off of the black background a lot. However, I do agree on the things that were mentioned:

1) I actually thought the slideshow looked nice, but I agree that it sped by too quickly. I would suggest either slowing it down a bit or nixing the slideshow effect all together and try to incorporate what you've got in some other form. Also, maybe try to make it a bit smaller so that it doesn't take up so much of your space. All of the content seemed like a small-print after thought in comparison (IMHO).

2) The text is a bit hard to read and hurt my eyes a bit. I don't think I minded the size so much as it seemed like it was gray on black. Maybe make it a bit larger and really white?

I think that's it for me. Oh, by the way, I used Firefox and everything was fine

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Stephanie
New VA in the research phase :daisy:

Hi Kari,

A wonderful site full of good information and...

1) Your target audence is looking for information - quickly. although the slide show gives that information; it does so at your discression. Busy people do not have time to watch a slide show. you can place it under your introduction of services offered (see comment3)

2) Reading white on black is hard on the eyes and people over 40 won't appreciate the extra strain or the small font size.

3) Ask a few questions (specifically on the type of work you like and want to do) and then offer the solution with a click here. This will make the prospect perform a transderivational search - (look for matches in their memory) The slide shoe shoud go below this info.

4) Bold the headings they are like bullet points many people do not read every word - just scan.

I hope you find my tips useful.

Take care, Barbara

Hi, Kari

I thought the overall website was very nice. I really liked your left hand logo. I am into to bright colors and that caught my attention. The powerpoint presentation was really big and it went real fast. I found it hard to read the information. I had thought about using WordPress. Also, I used Firefox and your site came up real nice.

I would make the font a little bit bigger on your pages, or reduce the font size on your powerpoint. But I'm not a web designer. But I do know what I like in websites. I really liked yours.:daisy:

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Regeana Canada
Mrs. G's Office-To-Go

Hi Kari,

Personally, I love grey on black, however, some of your text is difficult to read. I think a bigger font would solve this issue.

Regarding the slide show I have two comments:

1) I find it distracting. I'm old fashioned, though & I don't like large flashy/moving things on the screen.

2) I question if potential clients care about what VA associations you are affiliated with. Not that I think it's bad info to offer, I just don't think it's Home page info.

The site loaded just fine for me & I'm on IE7.

I remember your old site & I like this one better. If you fix the text issue I would give it a two thumbsup!

Lezly

Hi all,

Thanks for all the feedback thus far. The things you've given me feedback on are the things I've been wondering about and are the exact reason I asked for a review! Esp the slideshow......I need to dig in a little deeper and see how to adjust the container for the slide show and maybe have it in the left column and targeted information in the right column. I'm just not sure how to do that yet, but I'll try to figure it all out!!!

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Kari Thevenot, Virtual Assistant
www.yourlefthand.net

I normally do not like a black background on a website, but I really like yours! You made it inviting!

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Sarah Waugh
The Ruby Slipper VA

I love your site, Kari (I'm a fan of darker sites ).

There are only a few adjustments I would make in the design. The text in the menu and content: Could you try a warm white for your text color instead of the grey? Something like #e7e7e7 or even a bit lighter, but not totally white, #f7f7f7.

If you want to slow down the slider, adjust it in this code from your site:

Code:

$(document).ready(function(){ $("a[rel^='prettyPhoto']").prettyPhoto({ animationSpeed: 'normal', /* fast/slow/normal*/

Just replace 'normal' with 'slow' (if that doesn't slow it enough, I would look in your JavaScript for those settings and change there).

Also, the slider area is a bit large, so perhaps making the images and text smaller and the size of the actual slider smaller in height by changing the height from 305 to something less that would still look nice, but not take up so much real estate. I like the slider, personally, it's just a bit large. (OMHO )

Great job overall!

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Jules, SunRise Virtual Solutions - WordPress Customization & XHTML/CSS Web Sites