Hi,

>Please take a minute and critique http://www.cyg.net/~bandman.  The site
is
>a commercial one, advertising handcrafted toy soldier bands.  The person
I

When I read this, I got quite excited about the site, and rushed off to
see the toy soldier bands. And they're really cute!

But, back the review: the home page really doesn't work for me. The text
is difficult to read (all caps, busy background, not enough contrast). The
links are the same colour as other parts of the text (I couldn't see any
links until I spotted the dreaded "click here" - another no-no). There are
too many colours, creating a rather garish effect.

Also, the content: the first thing you see after the header is "phone and
ask for...". As a user of the site, I'm not going to phone and ask for
anyone, until you've sold me the idea of buying something. First explain
the product, how great it is, why I have to have one, *then* tell me how I
can get hold of you. Contact details should be on a separate page, or
right at the bottom of the home page, not taking pride of place as though
they're the most interesting thing you have to say. Links to other sites
should never be on your home page - do you want people to leave as soon as
they arrive? Put these on their page too.

>have created it for is not very familiar with the Net, and has definite
>ideas about how the site should look, so the design isn't totally my own!

I think you should let your client know that *you* are the expert, and you
know what works and what doesn't. Show him other sites that you believe
are effective and explain why, and how the same thing could work for him.

Good luck!



Lynnsey Skliros
Mobile Telephone Networks

The mind of the bigot is like the pupil of the eye; the more light you
pour upon it, the more it will contract. -- Oliver Wendell Holmes

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