New site!

[Foamcow]

Just finished this one...

http://www.aesco.co.uk

Earth shattering design ;-) But it's clean and I quite like it.

Take a look and tell me what you think.

Can't change content, but if you see any speling erurs then let me know!

If anyone can work out how to get rid of the 1px glitch on the headings in IE then I'll send them a postcard!

<honk>*:O)</honk>
Foamcow Heavy Industries - Web site design in Cheltenham and Gloucester
Ham and Jam - British & Commonwealth forces mod for Half Life 2

 

[Foamcow]

...when users are on a page that's featured in the navbar, you should turn off that option's link and highlight it in such as way that indicates that it's the current location.

Removing the link entirely would result in the nav "buttons' shifting position would it not? Things disappearing and reappearing is much more confusing in my opinion - and my personal experience. In "all" design, consistency is key and is critical for good communication.

There is possibly an argument that the link should be disabled but for a site this size I don't think it's a problem. So, the user clicks the link to the page they are on and ends up at the same page? Is that any less confusing than the user clicking the link that worked just a moment ago and now does nothing? If they are truly lost then would they not find that equally as confusing?

It is already indicated that the user is on that particular page by being a different colour (although strictly speaking the "shape" should also be different. i.e. an underline or bolder).

In the past I have tried to look at this situation objectively and I really do believe that the way I do it is acceptable from a usability perspective.

Whilst I agree with much that jacob Neilsen says I don't subscribe to all his ideas. It's interesting to note the the guidelines he is applying in that list are based on his own set of criteria as outlined in his book.
I'm not saying that they aren't right just that they are, to a degree, arbitrary.

With a large site that branched to other sites and contained many links and pages then I would probably reconsider how the navigation worked anyway. For something with a dozen pages I consider it less likely that someone would get lost in the way Mr Neilsen states in his list.

<honk>*:O)</honk>
Foamcow Heavy Industries - Web site design in Cheltenham and Gloucester
Ham and Jam - British & Commonwealth forces mod for Half Life 2

 

[Foamcow]

Actually John, yes I see what you are saying.

However, since there is already a link to the unappended URL on each page (in the copyright notice) then will there be any benefit in including another link to the same URL on each page?

By having 2 links on a page that go to the same place, will link popularity by increased? I'm not sure of that.

If the copyright link wasn't there then I would have the link on the logo go to

http://www.aesco.co.uk

Like I said, I'm not certain of this, but it feels right to me.

<honk>*:O)</honk>
Foamcow Heavy Industries - Web site design in Cheltenham and Gloucester
Ham and Jam - British & Commonwealth forces mod for Half Life 2

 

[Foamcow]

Further on from the usability issue that blueark brings up (and it is a good, valid point).

May I site an example of what I meant when I said that disabling links can be equally as confusing.

Visiting the URL

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20031110.html,

as given by blueark.

Top left corner is a link to the UseIt.com hompepage. Click it.

You are, as expected taken to the homepage.
Now, it's disabled so if I click it, nothing happens. But I don't necessarily know why it's disabled.
Mr Neilsen is assuming that I know that I am on his homepage. He's broken the consistency of his navigation scheme. If it was still active I could click it and end up in the same place - possibly confusing but no more so than the link suddenly no longer working.

I can see the argument for and against both methods but disagree with Mr Neilsen's argument that it's any less confusing to disable or remove the link.

<honk>*:O)</honk>
Foamcow Heavy Industries - Web site design in Cheltenham and Gloucester
Ham and Jam - British & Commonwealth forces mod for Half Life 2

 

[blueark]

Actually, I heard some time ago that even his own site doesn't get full marks using his own usability guidelines, and it doesn't even validate!

Anyway, my original post did say it was only a small point, so we can just agree to disagree Also, I don't think he was making the point that the link "button" should be removed, just disabled (which yours aren't) and distinguished from other links (which yours are) - a reasonable comprimise on your part I think. Consistency is very important in design, I agree, and your site has it in spades. Actually, I found it easier to get around than useit.com!

Unlike most web commentators, Jakob Nielsen's arguments are generally backed up by mountains of user testing results, so the points he makes are worth mentioning, even if it just makes you question design decisions.

By the way, just looking at the site again, I find myself agreeing with johnwm about the Web Site Design link at the bottom right: I expected the "Earl & Thompson Marketing" text to be clickable, not the "Web Site Design" text, so I nearly missed it. Again, just a very small point!

 

[Foamcow]

so we can just agree to disagree

Never!!!

lol
oh go on then

Regarding the copyright link, I'm trying something.

<honk>*:O)</honk>
Foamcow Heavy Industries - Web site design in Cheltenham and Gloucester
Ham and Jam - British & Commonwealth forces mod for Half Life 2

 

[PPettit]

If you're still interested in obfuscating your email addresses... I use this bit of code to "hide" them on my site:

This portion sits in the <HEAD> section:

<script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript">
// Script Originally by SSI Developer ([URL unfurl="true"]www.ssi-developer.net)[/URL]
// Modified by James Crooke of CJ Website Design ([URL unfurl="true"]www.cj-design.com)[/URL]
function protectmail(name, address, link, subject, body) {
document.write("<a href='mailto:" + name + "@" + address + "?subject=" + subject + "&body=" + body + "'>" + link + "</a>");
}
</script>

Use something like this for the actual link:

<b>Click <script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript">
protectmail("[i]emailaccount[/i]", "[i]domainname.com[/i]", "[i]text for the clickable part of the link[/i]", "[i]message subject if desired[/i]", "[i]message body if desired[/i]");
</script>
to contact us for more information about our company.</b>

Even though the address is in parts, you can hover over it with your mouse and it looks like a regular "mailto:" link.

 

[traingamer]

Nice clean design. i like it.

Didn't find any spelling errors, just a few grammatical errors and run-on sentences.

AES want to understand the nitty gritty of the job

should probably be

AES wants to understand the nitty gritty of the job

and

Our variety of flexible recruitment packages allow our approach ...

should probably be

Our variety of flexible recruitment packages allows our approach ...

Greg
"Personally, I am always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught." - Winston Churchill

 

[AtomicChip]

Might as well get my two cents in..

These are strictly personal opinion, but...

1) The curves in the logo and on the right colum seem to be jagged.. There's gotta be a way to make that a little cleaner...

2) The menu items "About AES", "Contact AES", etc. look a little "weird" (great description, eh? ) - I might convert them to images to get a smoother, more anti-aliased look

That's it for me at first glance..

-----------------------------------------------
"The night sky over the planet Krikkit is the least interesting sight in the entire universe."
-Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy

 

[AtomicChip]

Actually, one more thing

The links in the copyright/design info kinda tick me off ... In the copyright, you have the company linked, but in the design info, you have "Web site design" linked...

I'm not going to visit "Web site design", I'm going to visit "Earl & Thompson Marketing"! =D

-----------------------------------------------
"The night sky over the planet Krikkit is the least interesting sight in the entire universe."
-Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy