Site check please

[technoknow]

Hi,
I'd like to get some of you to look at a site I've been working on, to get an idea of load time and how the images look on different screens/resolutions.
The "Merchant" button will eventually go to an online Miva Merchant store that I'm struggling with!
I'm also working on the HTML version and am trying to figure out how I would direct users to it. I thought about using JavaScript to check for the Flash plugin but I think that some users with the plugin and a slow connection would rather view HTML. Any input on this would be appreciated.
Here is the site:

http://sarahsfabrics.com/

Thanks,
TechNoKnow

 

[Adam14]

Ok, my opinion....the intro is really cool!!!...the video, and the way the letters drop down, very nice! Now, once the site is launched, I think you could use a "relaunce site" button. I have a pop-up blocker and it didn't open for me, so I had to restart the whole thing, I've had this happen on a few sites, but usually there is a relaunch button, so I can relaunch things...more and more people have pop-up blockers now, so it might be worth looking into. Once, the main site opens, I found the animation, like the black line that drops down from the menus, to be a little choppy...what fps, are you using?...and would it be a huge pain in the butt to raise it as little?...not trying to nit-pick, just thought you might want the details, as I see it...overall, a very nice looking site..that intro is very unique, to me anyways And as far as load time, no problems here and I'm on a 56k. Also, regarding the html site, could you have options at the beginning where it says "enter", like "enter flash site", and "enter html site"?

Adam

 

[firegambler]

Hi,

win2k
ie6
LAN

for me too the site loaded pretty fast (but I have a LAN connection so probably my statement doesn't count that much here ;-))
Adam is right, the animation in the beginning is pretty choppy.
One more thing: The 'home' section and the 'about us' section have rather small fonts so getting them more crisp would help reading the text. If you are using MX2004 you can turn off anti alias text and set your text fields to a full pixel value.
A 'download flash'-button might be worth a thought.

The design is straight, I like it.

regards

 

[technoknow]

Thanks for checking out the site Adam14 and firegambler.
Adam, glad you liked the intro! I didn't think about the pop-Up window being blocked, but it wouldn't be a big deal change that. By a "relaunch" button do you mean having a link for people to go back to the intro? I agree about raising the fps to make the line animation move smoother, thanks for the suggestion. Something that I've been thinking about is that since it is an e-commerce site, (or will be if I ever figure out MIVA), there should be a way for people to skip the intro and everything and just go directly to the store. So maybe I'll have a splash page with the options, "Enter Flash Site", "Enter HTML site", and "Enter Online Store".
FireGambler, the fonts are small, I'll try your idea to sharpen them up, and add a download Flash button.
Thanks for your time,
Jim

 

[Adam14]

As far as relaunching I meant, you click enter and the pop-up occurs....you could have the enter button change to relaunch as soon as you click it, so if the user realizes it's been blocked out he can click again to relaunch the pop-up without blocking it

Adam