I need some help re-designing the index page. I want something that appeals to the eyes as inviting and says "come read my articles." What do you think I should do? I've added new articles on the index page but I just don't care for the layout. http://www.debt-reduction-solution.com/
I wrote this on my Designs4Nuke.com site about 4 years ago and still applies today: Present your information in a clear and consistent manner. For example, navigational icons should function and appear consistently throughout the site. Remember you are developing a site and not just pages. Develop standards and guidelines so your team can avoid costly mistakes in design. This means writing down specifics like standard fonts, size, and layouts. Details, details, details. In other words make sure you storyboard the site and maintain a standards document. Link Logically! Provide links that are relevant to the information. Differentiate between key terms, concepts, and principles by using headers, bold, italics, and icons. By shifting the attention of the user you improve their ability to learn the concepts. Use intuitive, familiar procedures and graphics that don't require a lot of thinking, this facilitates learning. In other words, if a word conveys the meaning better than a picture use the word! Don't forget color! Color conveys meaning, highlights information, draws attention, or it can be annoying. Above everything else remember your audience! And ask yourself the following questions: Who is going to use the information? What kind of computers do they What's their connection speed? What's the goal of your site? What plugins will your user need to view your site? http://www.designs4nuke.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=7
It looks good, but there are some areas to consider... 1.) Some of the letters in the logo seemed to have been cut off at the very bottom...consider redoing that just a touch to include all the letters. 2.) I am getting some funny characters in my browser (Firefox)...check out this paragraph... -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tackle debts from holidaysThe confetti from New Year’s has been swept up, and the holidays are a memory, yet a painful reminder of the holiday season will be showing up in the mail very soon  your credit card bills. Holiday cheer may soon turn to panic for those who overspent during the holiday season. Here [...] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- You may want to fix that... 3.) There is a lot of empty space at the bottom where the google ads are...consider adding to that to fill it in and not bring so much attention to the ads... Those are all that I can think of for now, though. Great start, it just needs to be "tweaked" Take care! -Jonathan