[TheMaster]

Hey look! First Care Medical!

I wonder why an Australian company decided to "out-source" as it were, to the US? Cheaper perhaps? Hmmm. Nice job on their site on any case. And looking at the sample photos from their site, their based fairly close to where I live

Nice job on their site though. Perhaps the same design skills could be applied to your own? See the feedback thread....

[_Sam]

Shouldn't the asteroids be grey? Anyways I think there is not enough contrast on these. The Reliable Rabbit text does kinda disappear in the meteorite there, at least on my screen.

[TheMaster]

_Sam, on 20 June 2012 - 04:48 AM, said:

Shouldn't the asteroids be grey? Anyways I think there is not enough contrast on these. The Reliable Rabbit text does kinda disappear in the meteorite there, at least on my screen.

That's what a said on the feedback thread.

[gibbonweb]

If I were looking for a software developer, I'd care more about who they are than what tools they use. You are targeting a very technical audience here - which might be exactly what you're trying to do, but don't expect any "regular" clients by mentioning Redmine in the third sentence of your introduction ;-)

[_Sam]

TheMaster, on 20 June 2012 - 05:08 AM, said:

That's what a said on the feedback thread.

Well your post wasn't there when I wrote checked that thread and since the final design was different from what tom posted I didn't go back to it. Also after reading it now it's only a bit similar. I also agree with you on the social buttons, they are nice but don't really fit into the site.

[gibbonweb]

_Sam, on 20 June 2012 - 08:34 AM, said:

I also agree with you on the social buttons, they are nice but don't really fit into the site.

They should be asteroids which burst into flames if you click them.

[gushort]

gibbonweb, on 20 June 2012 - 07:06 AM, said:

If I were looking for a software developer, I'd care more about who they are than what tools they use. You are targeting a very technical audience here - which might be exactly what you're trying to do, but don't expect any "regular" clients by mentioning Redmine in the third sentence of your introduction ;-)

I agree. Who is your target audience?

Mentioning things like Rspec, Redmine, and Cucumber, especially in the first few paragraphs of your main site page, may just confuse a potential client. The client doesn't usually care what tools you use - if they do, they'll tell you up front about their project's tech requirements. Talk more about how you will help the client turn their vision into a functioning web application, how you will "hold their hand" from start to finish, help with getting their staff up and running with the app, and how you won't abandon them once they've gone "live". Mention how well you work with others, and how familiar you are with all the latest trends and technologies, but also aware that they may not be necessary for their project, and you can point out why.

I also think your header could be slimmed down a bit, it takes up too much space as is. The layout would look better if it adapted (read responsive) to various browser window sizes. When I opened up your site there was a lot of empty space on the left and right sides, plus the "Client portfolio" content was out of view - with the size of my window, and small amount of actual content, I should have been able to see it all without having to scroll down.

And I still think those asteroids look like flying turds

[TheEmpty]

TheMaster, on 20 June 2012 - 04:32 AM, said:

Hey look! First Care Medical!

I wonder why an Australian company decided to "out-source" as it were, to the US? Cheaper perhaps? Hmmm. Nice job on their site on any case. And looking at the sample photos from their site, their based fairly close to where I live

Nice job on their site though. Perhaps the same design skills could be applied to your own? See the feedback thread....

I work for them pretty cheap, yeah but they're a cool company and don't give too many deadlines, so I can work during the school year.

_Sam, on 20 June 2012 - 04:48 AM, said:

Shouldn't the asteroids be grey? Anyways I think there is not enough contrast on these. The Reliable Rabbit text does kinda disappear in the meteorite there, at least on my screen.

I'm no astronaut! Yeah I might try making them myself, these ones were designed by iTom, I know he's been taking the feedback and trying to work on it and looking at how other artist have done that stuff. Yes I agree about the name which is rather important :S

gibbonweb, on 20 June 2012 - 07:06 AM, said:

If I were looking for a software developer, I'd care more about who they are than what tools they use. You are targeting a very technical audience here - which might be exactly what you're trying to do, but don't expect any "regular" clients by mentioning Redmine in the third sentence of your introduction ;-)

Yes I guess you're right, I wanted it to be like, "look at all the professional software we use! WE R PROFESIONZAL, I CANZ HAZ UR MONEYS?"

gibbonweb, on 20 June 2012 - 09:08 AM, said:

They should be asteroids which burst into flames if you click them.

There is some CSS to make the rabbit float up/down and rotate, but it spins up my fan on my MBA.

gushort, on 20 June 2012 - 11:46 AM, said:

I agree. Who is your target audience?

Mentioning things like Rspec, Redmine, and Cucumber, especially in the first few paragraphs of your main site page, may just confuse a potential client. The client doesn't usually care what tools you use - if they do, they'll tell you up front about their project's tech requirements. Talk more about how you will help the client turn their vision into a functioning web application, how you will "hold their hand" from start to finish, help with getting their staff up and running with the app, and how you won't abandon them once they've gone "live". Mention how well you work with others, and how familiar you are with all the latest trends and technologies, but also aware that they may not be necessary for their project, and you can point out why.

Thanks for that great feedback and an idea on how to fix it! I'll be taking that to the bank when I get some free time again

gushort, on 20 June 2012 - 11:46 AM, said:

I also think your header could be slimmed down a bit, it takes up too much space as is. The layout would look better if it adapted (read responsive) to various browser window sizes. When I opened up your site there was a lot of empty space on the left and right sides, plus the "Client portfolio" content was out of view - with the size of my window, and small amount of actual content, I should have been able to see it all without having to scroll down.

Perhaps, but after the graphics are redone, I'm hoping the branding on the asteroid would be more prominent and it's only one page.

gushort, on 20 June 2012 - 11:46 AM, said:

And I still think those asteroids look like flying turds

Hehe, we'll be working on that

[arronhunt]

✔ Cool illustrations
✔ Simple and nice
✔ Cool shake animation when you click something you are already viewing
✘ The shake animation is too slow. Speed it up and make it more subtle (only like 10px on each side)
✘ "More Photos" takes you to facebook. No.
✘ Footer?

I lick it. It would really enhance it if you added some subtle animations to the floating asteroids (or at least the rabbit) so they kind of moved around a little bit like they are floating in space. You could go the extra mile and have them interact with the cursor (ie push them around).

[TheEmpty]

arronhunt, on 20 June 2012 - 12:03 PM, said:

✔ Cool illustrations
✔ Simple and nice
✔ Cool shake animation when you click something you are already viewing
✘ The shake animation is too slow. Speed it up and make it more subtle (only like 10px on each side)
✘ "More Photos" takes you to facebook. No.
✘ Footer?

I lick it. It would really enhance it if you added some subtle animations to the floating asteroids (or at least the rabbit) so they kind of moved around a little bit like they are floating in space. You could go the extra mile and have them interact with the cursor (ie push them around).

Shake changes add to todo list. Alright fine, I'll get off my arse and make a lightbox gallery. I'm not sure what to put in the footer, but it does "exist" (css is there).

[gushort]

ThatRailsGuy, on 20 June 2012 - 12:10 PM, said:

I'm not sure what to put in the footer

Standard copyright, maybe a small rabbit head logo, and email address (maybe info@yourdomain.com or siteadmin@yourdomain.com) would do. Most times it is just there so surfers know there is nothing more to see below

Another thing you will want to do is build up your portfolio. A good way to do this would be to approach some non-profit agencies in your area, preferably prominent ones in the community, and offer your services in-kind (you won't make money, but should be able to get an "in-kind donation" receipt (for a ridiculous amount ) for tax purposes. Now you will have a recognized agency name (if not nationally, hopefully locally) on your website, which will instil confidence in any potential clients. And if you are fluent in any other languages, don't forget to mention it.

And don't be afraid to "borrow" site designs from existing sites that catch your fancy. Of course it is better that you just get some inspiration, or maybe just steal use an aspect of a well designed site. Visit sites lie Website Awards, then go to the accredited designers' sites to have a look at how they are presenting themselves.

[TheEmpty]

Still want to add an animation to the header and fix up the rocks. And also add a light box for viewing client photos. But I updated the copy and added client quotes for the footer. Also try clicking on the app name in the quote http://reliablerabbit.com

edit: seems the scroll on clicking the link only works in chrome, using jQuery, but apparently jQuery isn't perfect

[@Tom]

As soon as I get home in the next week I'll have all summer to get those damn asteroids working

[TheEmpty]

Gallery is now live. Works very nice on mobile devices as well. Still need to find a way to make the gallery not feel so bland though.

[Lluvia]

I think the space helmet looks more like a plastic bag, and it needs to be more alpha around the face. The asteroids remind me of chocolate chip cookies I would have loooved to see a sample of your work online. Interact more with your page. Your name, reliable rabbit, should be on something that gives the feeling of safety, not in a flying rock that could burst into flames. But in something like a spaceship, that would make it pop up and you could play with a cooler font there. I made a little helmet for your cute rabbit!

[TheEmpty]

Thanks Lluvia! The astroids are something that I really want to work on. Eventually the rabbit too. Unfortunately my graphics skills aren't the best and at the moment it's not worth spending the time on the site. I'm hoping that soon I'll have time to really sit down and learn Maya and actually design the rabbit in 3D but use some advanced rending to still give him a 2D look. But that would allow me to work with him better and do several poses and introduce things like a top hat, monocule, space helmet, or shoes. As far as work online, a lot of what I do is under NDA so there isn't too much to show on the site or even claim to have done. Most of my work is done under my name instead since I can personally claim ownership. The sites currently shown on RR are sites that I've done from start to finish and know the owners very well.

TL;DR yeah I know it needs some work I want to work on it, but at the moment that's just too unprofitable.

[Hinoeuma]

Kinda cute! One thing, though- grey text on black is really hard for people with astigmatism (like me) to read.