Would like some suggestions/critique please!

[bioteacher]

I have been putting together a website (free one - I have a www. I paid for, but have had trouble putting together a photo gallery in CS4) and would like any first impressions, critiques, or suggestions!

http://nyexotics.blogspot.com/

Greatly appreciated! Thanks for looking!

[The Serpent Merchant]

looks good, the only thing that was bothering me was every time I loaded another page my screen flashed white. I don't know if that issue is on my end or yours

I liked the layout, it is a little busy at times, but within acceptable ranges. overall I really liked it

[jdouglas]

I love the layout, I would work more on organization than anything. I would work on alignment issues and also go for a wider look verses longer. I also do a bit of webdesign etc for work. And a general rule for most web design is 99% of monitors today are widescreens.

So you build the site to be wider than longer.

For example on your home page how you have a very long list of photos. Majority of people will start scrolling and will not go all the way down. Try having them aligned in 2's or 3's. Also on this I have a 32 inch monitor at 1080p and the information is only displayed on about 1/2 the screen the other half is the back ground.

Maybe not have the about me on every page? Possibly just on the home page and then have another section where you go more into detail.

I like how you have the home button at the bottom of each page. Also if you choose to keep the long list look then I recommend a back to top button. This way they either don't have to scroll back to the top or go home then back to the page they were on.

Despite all the criticism the artwork on the page looks amazing. Keep up the great work and you will have one killer page.

[jdouglas]

Also forgot to add one thing which actually is a major pet peeve for me when web browsing.

After I click on your amazing photos I can't navigate any where else. I need a next or a back to page button.

I hate using the web browser back button, I feel that the web browser back button should never have to be used. Think of it as immersion within your site, you should never have to stop clicking on new cool things, and hit the dreaded back button.

[bioteacher]

Aaron - Thanks for the feedback! I was worried it would look a little too busy at time with the adds, colors, and photos. I think the white flashing may be on your end - I don't seem to see it and I know I didn't add something like that.

jdouglas - Thanks for the critique! I totally agree on the wider aspect - I'm going to look to try to make it wider and fit more photos across, so it's not as long. Unfortunately, I don't think I can change the "about me" being on every page - believe me, I don't want or need info about me on any page! It's just a downfall of using a free blogging site. The site I'm actually designing for a more professional capacity is much cleaner and more organized - I used Dreamweaver CS4 to build it. My designed site is almost all but complete - just can't figure out how to make photo galleries in Flash CS4 or one of the other Photoshop programs.

You mentioned you couldn't navigate from the photos when you clicked on them? I'm a little confused as to what you mean or if it's different for you. I know when I click on them, they pop out and I can scroll through the photos either on the bottom of the page or by clicking on the photo - and when I want to go back to the page I just click the space to the side of the photo and it goes back to whatever page I was on.

Once again, thanks for the criticism. I'll use it to update the site and carry it on into the production of my other site.