Pulse Magazine has 2 Reviews
Below are the reviews left by other members on Pulse Magazine. Jump to review form?
![[img: avatar]](/avatars/Dye.jpg)
Dye gave it
on 23rd Jul 2009 and said:I've never reviewed a magazine website before so correct me if I'm wrong on anything in this review.
First off I don't like the fact that your website took a lot of time to load on my computer. I'm not sure what the cause of this is, but it is something you should definitely look into because for one, I have a very fast internet connection.
Now, as I look at your main website layout I can spot a few things that I can suggest to make it more efficient and presentable. Don't forget to mention more stylish!
Number One: I currently see that you have the link for home twice and very close to each other. I would suggest removing the one below the main Home link. It stands out and is more like an coding error than anything else.
Number Two: The font on your main header image is jagged. I would suggest fixing that up in your image editing program. If you are using MS Paint I frown upon you... if not... HURRAY! Have you tried using Paint Shop Pro X2? It comes in handy when you need to make font more smoother yet still completely readable.
Number Three: Have you tried styling your headers for your content and navigation areas? It would look a lot better than just a heading displaying text only.
Number Four: I understand that this is an online teen magazine. How about displaying more images of tennagers and topics teenagers like. For example: have you looked at other online teenager magazines? This one is a good example: Stunnazine
Now, I'm not saying to copy their ideas and what-not, but to grasp an overall picture of how a online teen magazine is design wise.Well, keep up the good work. I'm positive you'll make your website succeed!
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![[img: avatar]](/avatars/Roxy.jpg)
Roxy gave it
on 5th May 2009 and said:Layout/Design: I'm not fond of this design or layout at all. It just doesn't have the magazine feel I would except to see and the design itself is very "rough". For an online magazine, I think having your welcome message more prominent is a major element to tell visitors what the magazine is all about in a few words. Where it's located now is lost to the intensity of the overall graphics you have on the design and as part of the content.
I think it would be useful to get rid of the "blog" for the main page and possibly add a more magazine style look. Teen Magazine is a great example of what I had envisioned. Although they don't have a clear welcome message, you KNOW what the site is all about because of the layout and structure (not to mention the title) of the website. I'm not saying to copy their style, but learn from the way they have everything placed and what key elements they use to advertise certain aspects/pages of the site.
The navigation at the top isn't pleasing to the eye at all. You have too many colors going on and they don't complement each other in the least. I feel like you were trying to put too many styles onto this design in an attempt to make it look good and unique. Sadly, you failed in that aspect. I think keeping the navigation as straight text rather then a graphic, would have been the better route. The typography just doesn't match up and so the title against the font used for the navigation are clashing. I'm not trying to be harsh, but just stating my opinion.
Content/Pages: Everything seems to be one long list on the main page. The images of one of your "site model" confuses me? It just doesn't seem right to have them there. It seems very random. I think having graphics that actually go with each section would look much better and add more "eye candy" to the overall content and elements.
Why do you have live support? You're not providing a service, but articles, advice, and opinions (am I correct?). It just seems odd to me to have this as a feature. I'm sure you could achieve the same goal with a simple contact form or email.
About Us: Again, photos of one of your "site model"...just too odd to me. I think images of a group of teens or even little vector graphics would look much better here and actually make sense to the content of the page.
The team page is long and very messy looking. I think having a set width and height for staff member images would be a good thing to do. For those who don't have images, instead of just writing "no photo available", why not just add a nice image that either stats this or has the silhouette of an girl or boy? Same goes for the bio, I think having a set word count would be much cleaner looking. Just a good way to keep thing organized and consistent. Not to mention the page would be much more appealing! ;)
I don't like how the "apply to become a staff member" page doesn't match up with the main site's style. Why not add the form to have the same styles?
I think you should have the "Position Descriptions" page BEFORE the apply to become staff and contributor pages, so that potential staff know what they are excepted to do before signing up! I like the image use on the "Position Descriptions" page, (not all of them though) but don't like how some them looked like they were scaled the wrong way. I would look into fixing the sizes so the image doesn't distort like the first two do.
Ok, the "Question Database" page I'm assuming is a "visitors ask us questions and we answer them" type page? If so, there are many available scripts for you to use to make this process much easier. One of them being a script created by the very creator of this site, Jem! You can find her secure and correctly coded Ask&Answer script, BellaBuzz.
Contact: This link is a huge NO-NO! Especially if it's in the main navigation. You should never add a link to your email on a website unless you want tons of spam. And regardless, not everyone might have an email client setup on their computer to directly email you. That's what the link does. I would simply make this a page of its own, add email address (no links, just plain text) and possibly a form if the user doesn't have an email setup.
FAQ: For one thing, why does this page lead me out of the site? Personally, I feel no link in the main navigation should ever take a visitor outside of the main website. Anyway, the page seems to lead to another page that looks like it could be equaled to that of your "question Database" page. Usually, an FAQ page is filled with WEBSITE related questions that users have "frequently" asked the owner/staff, so that you don't have to repeat yourself to a million and one people the same answer! I would make this it's own page WITHIN the site or just get rid of it, if you have nothing to put in it.
Overall: A lot of work needs to be done to this site. It has a lot of potential and I'm sure it's been doing OK so far, but why not make it be GREAT instead? I would highly suggest making a good plan for this site. With site's like yours, it takes early planning, clean organization, and a strong team to get things working in the right order. Hopefully this review has helped in bringing to the light some major issues and gave good advice in the long run. If you ever need any help or have any questions, related to design or coding, please do not hesitate to message me.
Also if anything in my review was confusing or not understandable, please be sure to tell me so that I may clarify it for you. Good luck to you and your team!
UPDATED 04 May 09:
I will admit, it's a major step up from the last layout! I like the colors of this one though and think the content is much easier to read and look at. I love the images chosen throughout the site.On the main page, the Advice and Reviews images could probably go side-by-side, rather than one on top of the other. I'm really trying to get you to step away from "stacking" things. lol =D Also, maybe a white 1-2 point border around the letters would make it easier to read on the graphics.
I like the staff page! Was that description at the bottom always there or did you recently write it? If it was there, I didn't even notice it! I like it and think it should brought up to the top of the page, rather than the bottom. You could even add the images to "float" to either the right or left of the paragraphs.
You can easily do that with the code below, I gave you two options just in case:
Embedded:
<img src="IMAGE URL" style="float: right" />External:
#img { float: left; }The external code would go in your external style sheet. You could also add the links on that page above the paragraph in a horizontal line, rather then vertical and make the font size smaller so it would fit. So that the visitor can read the paragraph when they get to the page, but still be able to see the links at the top!
Something else I noticed, that didn't bother me too much with the last layout, is the column list. With this layout, it's not as eye catching in the last one. Why not make a "columns" page with the same list and links to those archives? You could make a graphic like the advice and reviews buttons and add it in? Just a suggestion. ;)
Like I said, major step up from before. With just a few more tweaks here and there (more organization and content structure) I'm sure it'll be a fine website. Good luck!
PS: I was re-reading the review I wrote above and noticed a lot of spelling and grammar mistakes, just want to apologize for that. I type fast and never look over my work. XP
UPDATED 05 May 09:
Glad I could be of some help. I see the changes and think they look great so far!About the graphic buttons on the main page, when I suggested to add a white border, I meant on the letters themselves, not as it is now. ;)
Great job, though!
UPDATED 05 May 09:
Heh, I was browsing this site, when I read your comment...WPcandy.com. You see their logo at the top, see how it has that sky blue border around the white letters? That's what I meant. =)UPDATED 05 May 09:
Cool, that looks much better! I like the style that was added, looks more button-ish...haha!Using Firefox on Mac | Report This?
velociteen's Response:
Thank You for your review; I will take these into account during the next update. =]
UPDATED 04 May 09:
I just made most of the modifications you suggested. What do you think?UPDATED 05 May 09:
Thanks! Made more modifications, and also created more buttons to replace the links on the "Staff" and "Submissions" pages. =]I really appreciate your comments!
UPDATED 05 May 09:
Oh, whoopsies. :SWhat do you mean by a white border on the letters? Do you have an example?
UPDATED 05 May 09:
Oh, okay! I fixed the buttons and put a border around the letters. :D Thanks!UPDATED 05 May 09:
Haha! Thanks! :D I'll try not to update my site anymore after midnight... :S lol
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