Sitecritic.net Website Reviews – How can your website be improved?

Form

Sebastien tried to create an interesting site packed with information about mountain climbing and I think he has done a good job. The problem for me is that combining French and English together in the same page is always confusing. It might be better if he could provide an option for the user to browser the site either in English or French in the index page without showing too much information. The colors blend in well but I am not too sure about the layout.The logo on the top left hand corner looks blurry to me. The rest of the graphics look OK but I thought they could be brighter so that they stand out more. Overall, I would say that it is hard to find my way around the website though its visual appeal is alright.

The website starts with a standard header but does not end with a standard footer. I realised that different pages end differently. Most of the time, it ends with links similiar to those in the sub-menu. I also think the author needs to talk more about himself, his passion, inspiration and so on… Passion can be contagious. If someone is really passionate about something, people will know it and can be influenced by it easily.

The right column is pretty static and I am not sure if it is worthwhile having an extra column that does not really serve any special purpose as most the links in that column could have been incorporated in the left hand menu/sub-menu.

Function

The navigation was confusing and I could never tell when I was in the site. The top navigation path is non-clickable and does not tell the user where they are. Perhaps a sitemap really helps in this situation. Again, I could not find any indication of the existence of a sitemap. The sub-menu consists of French as well. Unless the site is only for French audiences, no one will know what “Aiguilles Rouges de Chamonix” is.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that the author had put in alot of effort in creating the site. The site could have been more user friendly if the navigation and English/French problem as stated earlier are resolved. A good way to test the usability of the site is to ask people who are never involved in mountain climbing to surf the site. The website can be considered well-designed if these people have no problem while navigating the site.