[Lq6H1aGWSWa495]

I'm in the process of rebuilding my website (in between everything else I have to do) and I love the way its coming together, but is it too glitzy for people to come and sign-up for the newsletter or buy my books?

I suppose it helps if I put in a link http://tobiasroote.com/

 

[cinisajoy]

Show us your website.

 

[Stephanie Marks]

I wouldn't describe that as glitzy at all. At least not what I'm seeing on my phone. But that yellow is a bit hard on the eyes and difficult to read.

 

[cinisajoy]

Fix that horrible yellow.   

 

[Ros_Jackson]

No, but the speckled background makes it harder to read. Keep your graphic elements at the edges, and put your text on a high-contrast, solid background. The grey "click each image..." text is nearly impossible to read.

 

[mythsnake]

Looks pretty on-target for your audience. Is your concern that the background wallpaper is too busy? It did strike me as busy, but at the same time I really like the moon part of it.Agreed the yellow isn't quite working; would probably work better as a darker color.

 

[Lq6H1aGWSWa495]

OK, yellow I can deal with, I thought it stood out better, but hadn't considered phones etc.,

Some of the pages aren't finished yet so different styles apply, the nearest book page to being finished is the Artis Prime one.

I also have different themes running on each page. i'm not happy about the flash fiction page, but the blog and about me page look good (I think).

Yellow and Grey is now WHITE

 

[I'm a Little Teapot]

"While your here, please take a moment to sign up for my Newsletter."

Bit of a typo there.

Otherwise, it looks fine to me.

 

[mythsnake]

Having now seen all the different pages, I definitely agree that the opacity on the main body is an issue and you'd be better off going with a solid background for the text to stand out against. The underlay is just too distracting, which you definitely don't want when you're trying to get people to read. I felt the About Me page was the strongest of all the layouts, and the blog page was the weakest; way too much to distract going on in the wallpaper.

 

[Lq6H1aGWSWa495]

"While your here, please take a moment to sign up for my Newsletter."

Bit of a typo there.

Otherwise, it looks fine to me.

Thanks, caught that.

 

[ufwriter]

I really like the space background, and it's clear what kind of books you're writing because of it. I think the background on the "Flash Fiction" page makes it a little hard to read the text though. Perhaps just have that image as the header of the page with a solid background instead.

 

[Writer's Block]

A few tips from a web developer of twenty odd years (God, is it really that long...)

1) Put your text on a white (or almost white) background. Anything else will make it difficult to read.

2) Make your buttons stand out more, particular the email sign up on the home page.

3) Your book covers on the home page don't stack on a mobile screen.

Other than that it looks good, very dynamic, lots of SciFi action.

 

[Lq6H1aGWSWa495]

Having now seen all the different pages, I definitely agree that the opacity on the main body is an issue and you'd be better off going with a solid background for the text to stand out against. The underlay is just too distracting, which you definitely don't want when you're trying to get people to read. I felt the About Me page was the strongest of all the layouts, and the blog page was the weakest; way too much to distract going on in the wallpaper.

Thanks, I'm in muddled agreement with you. (In that I'm biased, but wanting it to look good for the reader)

I really like the space background, and it's clear what kind of books you're writing because of it. I think the background on the "Flash Fiction" page makes it a little hard to read the text though. Perhaps just have that image as the header of the page with a solid background instead.

Yes, I need to select some less invasive backgrounds. I'm using the overall header picture, or aspects of it to create the background - sometimes it works.

A few tips from a web developer of twenty odd years (God, is it really that long...)
1) Put your text on a white (or almost white) background. Anything else will make it difficult to read.
2) Make your buttons stand out more, particular the email sign up on the home page.
3) Your book covers on the home page don't stack on a mobile screen.
Other than that it looks good, very dynamic, lots of SciFi action.

Thanks, all good.

 

[Lq6H1aGWSWa495]

No, but the speckled background makes it harder to read. Keep your graphic elements at the edges, and put your text on a high-contrast, solid background. The grey "click each image..." text is nearly impossible to read.

Thanks, will work on the clean background.

 

[Cavyguy]

I look at lots of author sites.

Yours is one of the best I've seen. I wouldn't change anything, but I'm not a graphics person either, just a writer/reader.

Love it, Tobias.

 

[Stephanie Marks]

Oooooh, is there some sort of space background that I can't see? My phone must be cutting all of that of because all I see is a white page and blinding yellow. That would explain why you were asking about glitz.

 

[Lq6H1aGWSWa495]

I look at lots of author sites.

Yours is one of the best I've seen. I wouldn't change anything, but I'm not a graphics person either, just a writer/reader.

Love it, Tobias.

Thanks, I like it too, but I accept all critiques because it can only make it better. (Like editing I don't always go with the solution, but I can generally see the reactions from people are genuine. Which is why I posted the request)

Oooooh, is there some sort of space background that I can't see? My phone must be cutting all of that of because all I see is a white page and blinding yellow. That would explain why you were asking about glitz.

.

Thanks, I wonder where the yellow is coming from?

 

[an758GnQExU249]

1) Put your text on a white (or almost white) background. Anything else will make it difficult to read.

Bless you. Putting text on a patterned background or odd-color background is the bane of my poor eyes. Particularly when a page has a lot of text I am expected to read (like a short story).

I love the space border. I HATE the fact that active text is against a patterned background. Have pity on your readers that have eye sensitivity and eye strain.

 

[Lq6H1aGWSWa495]

Bless you. Putting text on a patterned background or odd-color background is the bane of my poor eyes. Particularly when a page has a lot of text I am expected to read (like a short story).

I love the space border. I HATE the fact that active text is against a patterned background. Have pity on your readers that have eye sensitivity and eye strain.

Yes, I probably will change that, but I do 'like' the lower contrast and my eyes ain't brill either. It will be the majority decision though, that's fair.

 

[Betsy the Quilter]

Perhaps mobile devices aren't a concern, but this is what it looks like on my iPad Air:

and most websites look pretty normal for me....

But if I got there on my iPad and it looked like this, I'd move on...

Betsy