original wordpress manipulation... needs critiques....

[mongushu]

hey Kirupa folk.


I would love some feedback on this project I just completed. Its essentially a portfolio site, showcasing some free software, web projects, and other media I've put together with occasional contributors.

What do you guys think? Where did I go too far or not far enough?

thanks for your time.


-Mongushu

http://www.spacesuitgroup.com

[Pasquale]

well first of all: the splash is pointless

I like the idea of using wordpress as a portfolio, but I think the header needs to be visually stronger

The left alignment of the nav leaves a large gap on the right, making it seem unbalanced.

[Phenex]

Quite frankly, it's an "empty" manipulation. Visit darkmotion's site to see how well Alaine Fontaine and the rest have manipulated Wordpress.

[doctor_funk]

I'm with DM on this, I really do appreciate when people use the Wordpress engine for things besides blogging. However, this can lead to some little quirks which you have to be careful of. For one thing, when displaying client work in posts, be sure to turn off comments. I know you're thinking of just screening every comment that comes in, but to be honest, clients don't want to even know that someone might comment on their products/services. They would rather shut you down/cut you off than waste time monitoring your site for potentially negative feedback which could hurt their business. I tell you this as a professional to a professional. Besides that, again, I agree with DM about the unecessary top page. Delete it or put something meaningful there. Helvetica Neue is widely used now(see gap.com) so try another font or have a look at dafont.com. When you get really deep into WP, try sprinkling some AJAX around. WP is an excellent playground for AJAX and a nice base to show off your skills.

[Pasquale]

Quite frankly, it's an "empty" manipulation. Visit darkmotion's site to see how well Alaine Fontaine and the rest have manipulated Wordpress. aww shucks :bucktooth:

[mongushu]

well, thanks for the feedback guys.

Great point about commenting on clients work. I will turn that off.

Good point about the splash as well. It is seemingly pointless. However, I am trying to figure out the best way to avoid forcing a visitor to use the url , "www.spacesuitgroup.com/spacesuitgroup/". I'll look into it.

hmmm.... empty? Not really with you on that... But thats ok. I'll try to take that one like, "empty as in minimal".... and thats ok with me. :thumb:

Helvetica Neue too common? I always thought that a popular font (excluding misused fonts like comic sans and chalkboard etc) like Helvetica and others meant it was a great font. Familiar, easy to read, and in the case of Helvetica Neue, rather stylish. I took a look at gap.com and didn't feel like their use of it, made my use of it any less appropriate or my site any less credible. I did like the defont site though. I guess I'll look around.

Ajax..... Im working on it. I started web development about a year and a half ago, starting with flash 8. Just recently (about 2-3 months ago) tried getting css under my belt. Ajax I guess is my next adventure. I've seen so many wonderful things being done with dynamic xhtml recently. Its completely pulled me away from flash... which is good...

now im rambling. THanks for the feed back guys. I appreciate it.

[hybrid101]

i like the minimalism, but dude, lose the splash:D
you could add a lot to it though, it still looks too bland:)

[will roberts]

yeah, at the moment it is too bland. Links dont really blend with the page and the fonts used could be much better.

Infact if you worked on the way you display the text more it would look MUCH nicer.