Critique my site (please)

Okay I have been working on this site, it is my first amazon linked site. Please check it out and let me know any feedback that you may have, I would greatly appreciate it!
http://hydroponicus.com/
Ian

 

It's painful to watch on first-load as the application of style takes too damned long, making it spend around twenty seconds looking like a rendering error. This is hardly a suprrise given the batshit insane file-count and sizes typical of something sleazed together with turdpress, much less the inept and ignorant asshattery in the code that's likely some form of OOCSS. It's an absolutely absurd 208 files spanning 5 megabytes -- in handshaking ALONE that's 40 seconds real world average on first-load... you might as well kick the visitor in the crotch with the three minute worst-case scenario. As if 3.2 megs spanning 52 files being scripttardery didn't scream developer ineptitude loudly enough, the 700k of CSS spanning 28 files confirms it.... You tack on that it seems to have 69 images for a page that by my count should only have twenty-two? Laundry list of how not to build a site before we even talk code or accessibility.

From an accessibility and usability standpoint you went and pissed all over usability with some goofy hard to read webfont. Sure, it might be artsy and fancy, but you know what? Keep it in your pants! All you've done is make the page harder to use by waving an artsy-fartsy prick in people's faces. Said accessibility woes are only further exacerbated by a hard to read light-grey on white, overriding the browser's native scrollbar, laughably broken attempt at being responsive, that stupid malifing fixed menu asshattery making the content hard to follow when you scroll down (assuming there's room for it), content seemingly slapped in the page willy-nilly with ZERO actual layout plan (hmm, or is it broken here? Mixing metrics? We'll see when we get to the code). IT then also falls apart miserably with scripting blocked/disabled so I can only assume that it was built using JS to build parts of the layout -- the pinnacle of epic /FAIL/ at web design and development.

So far? You might as well be telling visitors to the site to go **** themselves.

Popping the bonnet to have a look at what it's vomiting up for HTML, it's very much a worst case scenario of everything WRONG with turdpress... and then some. The MASSIVE code bloat bullshit of jQuery, ESPECIALLY that jQuery.ui idiocy just reeks of "I cans haz intarnets" web development. Crapping out 159k of HTML to deliver twenty content images and 4.8k of plaintext? Ineptitude of the highest magnitude since that's easily twelve to fifteen times what such a simple page should have used. That there's static scripting in the markup, static style in the markup, endless pointless DIV for nothing, the stupid pointless HTML 5 "structural" tags not even being used properly, and endless pointless classes for nothing?

Do the world a favor, drag that mess 'round back o' the woodshed with a 12 gauge, and put it down like Old Yeller.

To be frank, and as I often say; if you don't know what's wrong with code like this:

<link rel='stylesheet' id='thickbox.css-css'  href='http://hydroponicus.com/wp-includes/js/thickbox/thickbox.css?ver=1.0' type='text/css' media='all' />
<link rel='stylesheet' id='layerslider-css'  href='http://hydroponicus.com/wp-content/plugins/LayerSlider/static/css/layerslider.css?ver=5.2.0' type='text/css' media='all' />
<link rel='stylesheet' id='ls-google-fonts-css'  href='http://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Lato:100,300,regular,700,900%7COpen+Sans:300%7CIndie+Flower:regular%7COswald:300,regular,700&#038;subset=latin' type='text/css' media='all' />
<link rel='stylesheet' id='contact-form-7-css'  href='http://hydroponicus.com/wp-content/plugins/contact-form-7/includes/css/styles.css?ver=4.4.2' type='text/css' media='all' />
<link rel='stylesheet' id='tp_twitter_plugin_css-css'  href='http://hydroponicus.com/wp-content/plugins/recent-tweets-widget/tp_twitter_plugin.css?ver=1.0' type='text/css' media='screen' />
<link rel='stylesheet' id='rs-plugin-settings-css'  href='http://hydroponicus.com/wp-content/plugins/revslider/rs-plugin/css/settings.css?ver=4.6.5' type='text/css' media='all' />
<style id='rs-plugin-settings-inline-css' type='text/css'>
.tp-caption a{color:#ff7302;text-shadow:none;-webkit-transition:all 0.2s ease-out;-moz-transition:all 0.2s ease-out;-o-transition:all 0.2s ease-out;-ms-transition:all 0.2s ease-out}.tp-caption a:hover{color:#ffa902}
</style>
<link rel='stylesheet' id='woocommerce-layout-css'  href='//hydroponicus.com/wp-content/plugins/woocommerce/assets/css/woocommerce-layout.css?ver=2.5.5' type='text/css' media='all' />
<link rel='stylesheet' id='woocommerce-smallscreen-css'  href='//hydroponicus.com/wp-content/plugins/woocommerce/assets/css/woocommerce-smallscreen.css?ver=2.5.5' type='text/css' media='only screen and (max-width: 768px)' />
<link rel='stylesheet' id='woocommerce-general-css'  href='//hydroponicus.com/wp-content/plugins/woocommerce/assets/css/woocommerce.css?ver=2.5.5' type='text/css' media='all' />
<link rel='stylesheet' id='wp_automatic_gallery_style-css'  href='http://hydroponicus.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-automatic/css/wp-automatic.css?ver=4.5.2' type='text/css' media='all' />
<link rel='stylesheet' id='style-css'  href='http://hydroponicus.com/wp-content/themes/betheme/style.css?ver=12.1' type='text/css' media='all' />
<link rel='stylesheet' id='mfn-base-css'  href='http://hydroponicus.com/wp-content/themes/betheme/css/base.css?ver=12.1' type='text/css' media='all' />
<link rel='stylesheet' id='mfn-layout-css'  href='http://hydroponicus.com/wp-content/themes/betheme/css/layout.css?ver=12.1' type='text/css' media='all' />
<link rel='stylesheet' id='mfn-shortcodes-css'  href='http://hydroponicus.com/wp-content/themes/betheme/css/shortcodes.css?ver=12.1' type='text/css' media='all' />
<link rel='stylesheet' id='mfn-animations-css'  href='http://hydroponicus.com/wp-content/themes/betheme/assets/animations/animations.min.css?ver=12.1' type='text/css' media='all' />
<link rel='stylesheet' id='mfn-jquery-ui-css'  href='http://hydroponicus.com/wp-content/themes/betheme/assets/ui/jquery.ui.all.css?ver=12.1' type='text/css' media='all' />
<link rel='stylesheet' id='mfn-prettyPhoto-css'  href='http://hydroponicus.com/wp-content/themes/betheme/assets/prettyPhoto/prettyPhoto.css?ver=12.1' type='text/css' media='all' />
<link rel='stylesheet' id='mfn-jplayer-css'  href='http://hydroponicus.com/wp-content/themes/betheme/assets/jplayer/css/jplayer.blue.monday.css?ver=12.1' type='text/css' media='all' />
<link rel='stylesheet' id='mfn-responsive-css'  href='http://hydroponicus.com/wp-content/themes/betheme/css/responsive.css?ver=12.1' type='text/css' media='all' />
<link rel='stylesheet' id='Architects+Daughter-css'  href='http://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Architects+Daughter&#038;ver=4.5.2' type='text/css' media='all' />
<link rel='stylesheet' id='wwcAmzAffProducts-css'  href='http://hydroponicus.com/wp-content/plugins/woozone/modules/product_in_post/style.css?ver=4.5.2' type='text/css' media='all' />
<link rel='stylesheet' id='mfn-woo-css'  href='http://hydroponicus.com/wp-content/themes/betheme/css/woocommerce.css?ver=12.1' type='text/css' media='all' />
<link rel='stylesheet' id='jetpack_css-css'  href='http://hydroponicus.com/wp-content/plugins/jetpack/css/jetpack.css?ver=4.0.2' type='text/css' media='all' />
<script type='text/javascript' src='http://hydroponicus.com/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery.js?ver=1.12.3'></script>
<script type='text/javascript' src='http://hydroponicus.com/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery-migrate.min.js?ver=1.4.0'></script>
<script type='text/javascript' src='http://hydroponicus.com/wp-content/plugins/woozone//lib/frontend/frontend.js?ver=4.5.2'></script>
<script type='text/javascript' src='http://hydroponicus.com/wp-content/plugins/LayerSlider/static/js/layerslider.kreaturamedia.jquery.js?ver=5.2.0'></script>
<script type='text/javascript' src='http://hydroponicus.com/wp-content/plugins/LayerSlider/static/js/greensock.js?ver=1.11.2'></script>
<script type='text/javascript' src='http://hydroponicus.com/wp-content/plugins/LayerSlider/static/js/layerslider.transitions.js?ver=5.2.0'></script>
<script type='text/javascript' src='http://hydroponicus.com/wp-content/plugins/revslider/rs-plugin/js/jquery.themepunch.tools.min.js?ver=4.6.5'></script>
<script type='text/javascript' src='http://hydroponicus.com/wp-content/plugins/revslider/rs-plugin/js/jquery.themepunch.revolution.min.js?ver=4.6.5'></script>
<script type='text/javascript' src='http://hydroponicus.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-automatic/js/main-front.js?ver=4.5.2'></script>

Code (markup):

Or this:

<!-- body -->
<body class="home page page-id-65 page-template-default  with_aside aside_right color-custom style-default layout-full-width nice-scroll-on mobile-tb-left hide-love header-stack header-center header-fw sticky-header sticky-white ab-hide subheader-both-left wpb-js-composer js-comp-ver-4.4.2 vc_responsive">

Code (markup):

or this:

<div class="logo">
					<a id="logo" href="http://hydroponicus.com" title="Hydroponicus"><img class="logo-main scale-with-grid" src="http://hydroponicus.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/hydro-logo.png" alt="hydro-logo" /><img class="logo-sticky scale-with-grid" src="http://hydroponicus.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/hydro-logo.png" alt="hydro-logo" /><img class="logo-mobile scale-with-grid" src="http://hydroponicus.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/hydro-logo.png" alt="hydro-logo" /></a>				</div>

Code (markup):

Or for the love of Christmas this:

				<div class="menu_wrapper">
					<nav id="menu" class="menu-main-navigation-container"><ul id="menu-main-navigation" class="menu"><li id="menu-item-67" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page current-menu-item page_item page-item-65 current_page_item"><a href="http://hydroponicus.com/"><span>Home</span></a></li>
<li id="menu-item-1110" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-category"><a href="http://hydroponicus.com/category/blog/"><span>Blog</span></a></li>
<li id="menu-item-44" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-category menu-item-has-children"><a href="http://hydroponicus.com/category/beginner-hydroponics/"><span>Hydroponics 101</span></a>

Code (markup):

Do the world a favor, back the *** away from the keyboard, and go take up something a bit less detail oriented like macramé.

Given the relative simplicity of the content, I see NO legitimate reason for that page to even HAVE JavaScript, or for the HTML of the homepage to break past 12k, or for the CSS of the ENTIRE SITE to be more than 24k in ONE file. You have more CSS being vomited up in the markup than I'd have for the ENTIRE SITE!

... which means on top of everything else, it also has a nasty case of "caching, what's that?!?" as well.

The px media queries on a layout that seems to use dynamic fonts to a degree (kind-of) likely being why the responsive part is pathetically broken.... of course when idiotically presentational classes like "mfn-megamenu-cols-6" are used, all bets are off on the site ever being worth a damn.

Take Ripley's advice. It's the only way to be sure.

 

@deathshadow has effectively critiqued your site, so the only thing I will do is to post an image of what I see and ask you WHY anyone would want to buy from a business that obviously does NOT CARE ABOUT THE CUSTOMER. First impressions COUNT, and your first impression FAILS, ultimately DRIVING AWAY potential customers.

EDIT: For some reason the image I wanted to post will not load, so I will try to describe what I see.

First there is the header consuming 1/3 of my screen. WAY TOO BIG. Within the header I see three extraneous dashes in a vertical column.

Under the header are two images side by side with captions to the right of each image, "Where to start?" and "Hydroponics in History"

Below the second one is a table of some sort with 3 solid black triangles covering up part of the table. Above the table are two sets of carets side by side "< > < >"

After the end of the table, there is another lone image on the left, with "Hydroponic Growth Mediums >" written to the right of it. Note the extraneous caret.

Below that image is another image entitled "Deep Water Cultures >" with another useless caret. To the right of that image is another table of sorts with two sets of extraneous carets above it and 3 solid black triangles partially covering the table.

Below that table are two more images side by side, right-captioned "Aeroponic Hydro Systems >" with another extraneous caret and top-captioned "Blog" with a description to the right. Below the description I see some very light gray on white UNREADABLE text.

Below that are 3 columns entitled "Science", "Hydroponics 101", and "Grow Methods". Below each of those titles are a list of images with descriptions to the right of each. Below every description is some unreadable GARBAGE showing as very light gray on a white background.

Just looking at this mess hurts my brain. I did not look under the hood, but something must be terribly wrong just because of all of the USELESS carets displayed.

 

To tell you the truth that is a mother load of link rel stylesheet I have ever seen on my entire life of being a developer. I think you should re-evaluate your self and have a look again at w3school on basic html and css..

 

Its got to be the theme I am using then (BeTheme) with muffinbuilder. I appreciate the raw !! So I should look for a different theme you are thinking? I know in-line styles are horrible, I guess I just didnt think that this theme was that bad!

 

I agree. Perhaps go back to the learning process and fine tune some things. The truth is if you're a web developer you should never stop learning. Always continue researching, reading, keeping up with new methods, ect.

 

Muffinbuilder? never heard of it, but the name does a good job of painting the idea of weight gain as the result...

*GOOGLE'S IT* -- drag and drop design? Ok, so it's broken WYSIWYG bullshit. There's a reason no self respecting developer uses that nube-predating scam bait nonsense.

Really you've hit upon a series of things that resulted in your failure... using the steaming pile of manure that is turdpress for something that is clearly not a blog, using some rubbish off the shelf theme, and then using some garbage WYSIWYG nonsense to try and style it.

There's a reason I do not advocate using ANY of the things you used; off the shelf solutions can only take you so far, ESPECIALLY if you lack the knowledge of the underlying technologies (HTML, CSS, JS) to have any clue over how badly those things are bending you over the sawhorse and telling you to "squeal like a pig".

Wordpress, off the shelf templates, WYSIWYG/visual design programs - they're all just predatory hoodoo-voodoo scams designed to put the saddle on people and take them for a ride. Hence why I've NEVER seen a site built via any of those methods that was worth a flying purple fish.

 

I agree with everybody above. Do yourself a favor, throw that template out. From the font to the overall design it's so not user-friendly.

 

Thanks for the tips everyone I greatly appreciate it.

 

WELL GOOD NEWS

Keywords are on the rise

I WOULD recommend running that on Wordpress with a CLEAN theme - clean meaning no BS frameworks etc

BUT Keywords are up, which really goes to show, CONTENT ( NOT CODE ) Its still KING!