please help me improve my site

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adamclement

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hi all!
i'm making a (sort-of) cv/resume website and was hoping to get some feedback from you guys.
it's adamclement.digital
any and all feedback is welcome!
thanks,
adam
:)
 
Honest opinion... start over, that 8bit design is really hard to read and honestly made me want to leave the site. Also as much as it's kind of trendy to be 8bit at the moment it's also kind of feels dated, especially to non tech/trendy people who might not be aware of the returning popularity of 8bit games.

I don't actually know what your site is for... you've got a great big contact button but I have no idea why I would actually want to contact you.

There are consistency issues with things like sizes of boxes on the timeline as well.

Nintendo have also been pretty hot of late over people using their 'products' without consent so your mario and pokemon might be an issue, not to mention looks quite 'immature' to me personally.

Why have you got links to sites you like, this is a portfolio/cv/resume type site so they aren't needed. You also need to put more emphasis on any 'portfolio' work that you have.
It's great having a little personality on your site but ultimately you're trying to sell yourself as a professional and imo some of your likes kind of makes you look like you're a little immature and/or have the wrong priorities.... I'll be blunt, if I saw your site I wouldn't hire you because you don't seem to be that serious about 'work'.

In my opinion, if you're someone who is basically teaching IT and web design etc, then imo you should really be showing off what you can do and to me this just doesn't really do any of that.

PS... hi fellow Huddersfield Uni person :p
 
What is the purpose of the website? All I see is a random collection of stuff - like something from myspace or an old geocities website.

If it is a CV resume thing then just makes it that. I don't want to see all the other guff (like the faces of facebook or a weather API).

Also work nothing it's a slow as a slow thing. Google agrees: 18/100: https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/?url=https://adamclement.digital/

No need for any of those third party scripts and resources.

Also worth nothing that white text on black is a poor combination. If you want people to read your words use a simple dark font on a white background. Dom't use Press Start.
 
I actually like the general look and I think you can make it work, however, I agree with my predecessors that right now it is too unstructured and unfocused.
 
I have to agree with @nshep.

I like and totally get it but I think if you can pull it together a bit and improve the structure then it'll sing. :)
 
Personally, I think if you are going to go with that 8-bit thing, it needs to not be entirely that look and have that feel sitting within a modern, typographically legible overall design, ie, maybe keep headings in an 8-bit look, but used a more legible font for body copt. That way, it will look more intentionally retro and not dated.
 
It's a CV/resume site.

It doesn't have to be funky or clever - it just needs to display the CV/resume to prospective employers. Which means the words need to be legible and easy to read.
 
Honest opinion... start over, that 8bit design is really hard to read and honestly made me want to leave the site. Also as much as it's kind of trendy to be 8bit at the moment it's also kind of feels dated, especially to non tech/trendy people who might not be aware of the returning popularity of 8bit games.

I don't actually know what your site is for... you've got a great big contact button but I have no idea why I would actually want to contact you.

There are consistency issues with things like sizes of boxes on the timeline as well.

Nintendo have also been pretty hot of late over people using their 'products' without consent so your mario and pokemon might be an issue, not to mention looks quite 'immature' to me personally.

Why have you got links to sites you like, this is a portfolio/cv/resume type site so they aren't needed. You also need to put more emphasis on any 'portfolio' work that you have.
It's great having a little personality on your site but ultimately you're trying to sell yourself as a professional and imo some of your likes kind of makes you look like you're a little immature and/or have the wrong priorities.... I'll be blunt, if I saw your site I wouldn't hire you because you don't seem to be that serious about 'work'.

In my opinion, if you're someone who is basically teaching IT and web design etc, then imo you should really be showing off what you can do and to me this just doesn't really do any of that.

PS... hi fellow Huddersfield Uni person :p
HA! thanks for the feedback.
i will not be re-starting, but i appreciate your comments.

i'm happy with the content tbh - it's meant to promote myself among educators in schools and colleges, so the content, order of content, and presentation is carefully considered. Had you arrived at the site in the way intended, you'd have reason to contact me, but i get that the CTA could be more clear - i will consider what to change the button text to. i'm not trying to 'sell myself as a professional' btw - it's not that sort of c.v. - no disrespect, but i asked for a design critique, not if you'd hire me for whatever it is you do, based off of this website.


timeline boxes are now uniform size - i forgot to do this - good spot, thanks
 
It's a CV/resume site.

It doesn't have to be funky or clever - it just needs to display the CV/resume to prospective employers. Which means the words need to be legible and easy to read.

with respect - it's my website it needs to do whatever i want it to do

i have now changed the font on everything bar titles and buttons though, so thanks for that feedback

i did ask for a design critique, rather than a content review - thanks though
 
Personally, I think if you are going to go with that 8-bit thing, it needs to not be entirely that look and have that feel sitting within a modern, typographically legible overall design, ie, maybe keep headings in an 8-bit look, but used a more legible font for body copt. That way, it will look more intentionally retro and not dated.


Thanks for the feedback - I am now looking for a font that fits what i want, but is still legible in a paragraph of text.
you are right - it was too 8 bit :)
 
thanks to everyone who gave feedback on the design, rather than content.

if you want to leave further feedback, please don't tell me 'what a cv site should be' - it's not what i'm asking for, i'm aware of what i want the content to be, i don't need you to tell me your opinion on what my site's content should be - i'm really just wanting advice on the actual design.

also, my server is set to cache everything for as long as it can, so be sure to do a <Ctrl><f5> if you want to see the changes i've made (and will make) to the site.
 
with respect - it's my website it needs to do whatever i want it to do
You did say:
"i'm making a (sort-of) cv/resume website"

Which is why I commented on the font styling. Even if it is for all the things you want to put on the site it's still quite jumbled - from a design point of view it's very busy with no real focus.

And also from a design aspect it is very slow. The google insights is a good indicator of which bits you need to investigate

Website design encompasses so much more than the layout and imagery. Good design includes the content, navigation, information flows, usability, accessibility, readability and many more -ilaties. Even little things like changing the pointer to a hand confuses - UX expects pointy fingers to indicates links. But on your site it's the whole page.
 
But back to the design aspects.

People expect to see a logo or tagline at the top or on the left. Then either below or to the right main navigation. There is also an expectation that this navigation will be sticky when they scroll especially on touchscreens.

When they get to the bottom of the page they expect to see contact details and often a secondary navigation with privacy policies and the like.

It's this standard structure that gives visitors a warm fuzzy feeling.

When you site loads there is this 'loading please wait' message. This should not ever be necessary. There is no reason for anyone to ever have to wait for anything. You have a very simple site with very basic content - it should be loading in a nanosecond. If you look at the google insights repost you can see why it's so slow.

Is this the sort of review comment you wanted?
 
But back to the design aspects.

People expect to see a logo or tagline at the top or on the left. Then either below or to the right main navigation. There is also an expectation that this navigation will be sticky when they scroll especially on touchscreens.

When they get to the bottom of the page they expect to see contact details and often a secondary navigation with privacy policies and the like.

It's this standard structure that gives visitors a warm fuzzy feeling.

When you site loads there is this 'loading please wait' message. This should not ever be necessary. There is no reason for anyone to ever have to wait for anything. You have a very simple site with very basic content - it should be loading in a nanosecond. If you look at the google insights repost you can see why it's so slow.

Is this the sort of review comment you wanted?

bit salty, but better - thanks.
 
Before creating any content, the first design criteria should always: what is the purpose of the website?

You can then sort out your marketing plan (which I suspect in your case will be very simple). This will determine the prospective visitor and from there you can write the content.

Only then do you need to play with the styling and layout.

If you have already done all this please excuse the egg sucking lesson. It may however be useful to those who think you start with the website.
 
Before creating any content, the first design criteria should always: what is the purpose of the website?

You can then sort out your marketing plan (which I suspect in your case will be very simple). This will determine the prospective visitor and from there you can write the content.

Only then do you need to play with the styling and layout.

If you have already done all this please excuse the egg sucking lesson. It may however be useful to those who think you start with the website.

you are approaching this from the wrong angle - this isn't a startup business
 
Didn't say it was. The process can be applied to anything

What is the purpose of your website?
 
HA! thanks for the feedback.
i will not be re-starting, but i appreciate your comments.

i'm happy with the content tbh - it's meant to promote myself among educators in schools and colleges, so the content, order of content, and presentation is carefully considered. Had you arrived at the site in the way intended, you'd have reason to contact me, but i get that the CTA could be more clear - i will consider what to change the button text to. i'm not trying to 'sell myself as a professional' btw - it's not that sort of c.v. - no disrespect, but i asked for a design critique, not if you'd hire me for whatever it is you do, based off of this website.


timeline boxes are now uniform size - i forgot to do this - good spot, thanks
Um... you didn't ask for just a design critique, you asked for
i'm making a (sort-of) cv/resume website and was hoping to get some feedback from you guys.
it's adamclement.digital
any and all feedback is welcome!
which includes content on said website.

Actually my point about whether I'd hire you is actually valid imo, this site is being aimed at other fellow professionals and imo doesn't come across in a manner that represents your position. At the end of the day though it's not my name/reputation that's being put on your website so it's entirely your choice to leave it like it is, but personally considering who is going to see this, I'd be taking a more professional approach.

Whether this site is 'that sort of C.V.' or not is questionable as well, you actually contradict yourself in your reply... if you're using this to promote yourself among educators in schools and colleges then it is literally being shown to other professionals in your industry and this can move into hiring and firing etc. So I think you also need to careful think about who it is that is likely to see this website and actually work out what it's actual true purpose is.

Edit: seems like I'm not alone because fisicx has a similar view about it needing to have it's purpose defined more as well.
 
Um... you didn't ask for just a design critique, you asked for
which includes content on said website.

Actually my point about whether I'd hire you is actually valid imo, this site is being aimed at other fellow professionals and imo doesn't come across in a manner that represents your position. At the end of the day though it's not my name/reputation that's being put on your website so it's entirely your choice to leave it like it is, but personally considering who is going to see this, I'd be taking a more professional approach.

Whether this site is 'that sort of C.V.' or not is questionable as well, you actually contradict yourself in your reply... if you're using this to promote yourself among educators in schools and colleges then it is literally being shown to other professionals in your industry and this can move into hiring and firing etc. So I think you also need to careful think about who it is that is likely to see this website and actually work out what it's actual true purpose is.

Edit: seems like I'm not alone because fisicx has a similar view about it needing to have it's purpose defined more as well.
fair point - i was clearer in another post - got muddled between them - the site isn't aimed at fellow professionals though and you have no idea of my position - thanks all the same :)

your concern is misplaced - but again thanks.

funny how my mumsnet post got me lots of interesting feedback on the design, and my graphic design forum post has feedback on if people would hire me or not, but i did ask for 'any and all feedback' - so it's fair game. i kind of expected you to chip in on things you knew about though - rather than casting aspersions over my professionalism.

still, again, thanks - your comments are appreciated :)
 
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