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Review for SMK Utopia
To be honest, I think I was too young when Scarecrow and Mrs. King was aired on television because I certainly don’t recall this show, though I am several years older than you. As far as fansites go, this site appears rather bland. The format and style is organized and simple, but the design of the header is rather plain. The title is so much larger, it overpowers the images on the left, which gives the layout and the site a lot less of a dramatic and empowering appearance and first impression.
Information
Site: SMK Utopia
Type: Fan-Related
Owner: Mandie
Reviewed By: Misao
Date Received: 11/08/06
Date Completed: 09/04/07
Preview
Presentation
The layout design is clean and crisp, but it loses a touch of elegancy and it doesn’t jump out to me with a “wow”. For starters, the text is so much larger than the image in the header. There is more importance in getting the title of the site out to the visitors than is the subject of the website through the use of visual imagery. The image should be larger and more exposed as is the purpose of headers in layouts. Take a book for an example, you will rarely find a novel where the size of the title is larger than the images on the novel. The rare one that you find will look, for a lack of a better word, ugly or stupid, because the novel is now lacking visual empowerment, which goes a long as appearance and first impression is usually what draws a reader to the novel.
The homepage looks very organized, both content and navigation. There is clear distinction between the introductory and updates as divided by classic headers. I like the use of a different colour and size for the update entry title, as it helps to distinguish between each entry. I suggest center aligning the ‘read more’ link found at the bottom of update entries so that it coincidences with the center alignment of the entry title and date found at the top. As well, delete the indented margin styling of ‘previous’ link so that it appears as far left as possible to align with the left margin of the content layer.
As for navigation, I like the format of the site links. It is clearly divided by borders and an icon that changes colour upon mouseover. The bullet style for ’site’ links and ‘pending reviews’ links does not appear as organized or pretty due to the smaller line height specification and indentation. Try formatting it the same way as the internal site links, like this:
Otherwise, both the HTML and style sheet looks good as is most when Wordpress is used. The style sheet impresses me. It is very organized and clearly divided into sections and subsections. Both HTML and CSS passed validation.
Content
In reply to your ‘Note to Reviewers’, I empathize with you in the graphics paragraph. When I first started web designing, the only program I had to utilize was MS Paint, so I completely understand where you’re coming from. Nonetheless, this is a review so a comment on your layout and designing skill is inevitable. So is pointing out sections and pages on the site that are incomplete. If you do not wish for reviewers to point this out, do not link the sections or add a site note to the link that says ‘under construction’.
There are also two sentences that are worded incorrectly on this page.
- I try to reach a decent compromise (between loading quickly and the quality) but
I will thatsometimes I may overdo it. - I have a hectic schedule,
whatwith school and other activities, and this site is not high on my list of priorities.
Scarecrow and Mrs. King
Before getting into the depth of this section, there are a few corrections need to be made on the mainpage. A summary is defined as: a brief statement that presents the main points in a concise form [link]. Since by default definition, a summary is informational, the description for About the Show would be better worded as: “A short/brief summary about the 80s television show.” The description for Episode Guide would also be better worded as: “A thorough guide on the episodes of the show, including quotes, a summary, and interesting facts.”
The synopsis is rather hard to follow along, especially for someone who has never seen or heard of the show. Here are a few questions I have after reading the synopsis. What was Amanda King’s job occupation before she partnered with Scarecrow? What was Amanda’s relation to Scarecrow before their first meeting? Did she know who Scarecrow was or was she a civilian caught in the middle of his job? Why does Scarecrow’s boss pair up Amanda and Scarecrow? Does she also have a spy license or was she offered the job with Scarecrow after their chance encounter? What kind of bad guys are they escaping from? Terrorist threats to the company or hired assassins, etc? The introduction of other characters at the both of the page is a little confusing since their role and purpose within the show is not outlined.
The episode guide page is very organized. I like the use of internal page links with a link back to the top for easy access. However the top season links are missing a space between the vertical slash and the link to the right of the slash. I am not sure if I am a fan of the page layout change to incorporate the episode guide. For the most part, this section is not a large branch off the site like a large image gallery so formatting the page differently with a separate header, which is larger than the page title on the main layout, is unnecessary. The preview image is also overlapping the number list of 1 and 2.
To be honest, I dislike the format of your idea of an episode guide. For starters, where is the summary of the episode? I am not talking about the two sentences located in the first paragraph. I am talking about a ten sentence or more paragraph detailing how the show starts, what it entails, and how it ends, leading into the second episode. As far as I educated from the synopsis page, Amanda was not recruited by Scarecrow to deliver a package. She just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, and Scarecrow interfered his mission by involving a civilian. How does Lee try to get ride of her? How does Amanda save the day? A side note, try not to use Lee and Scarecrow interchangeably as there can be confusion that they are two different and separate persons.
There is also a mix-up with Mandie’s reviews and related links. I believe the links were meant to appear after the review, of which isn’t necessary anyways because no links are provided.
Again, the internal page links on each casts’ profile page is very useful though they also have a problem: no space provided between vertical slash and link to the right. I expect to see the basic facts before the biography. It would be more logic to read some basic stats about a character before reading into their life-long experience and growth in the entertainment industry. The images provided for each character are very small and of poor quality. I understand that you want a screencap of the actors/actresses in character from the show. You can do that by moving those images down half the page where the profile of the character within the show is located, and provide a reasonable-sized, clear image of the actor/actress outside of their characters at the top of the page.
Character profile-wise, there isn’t too much to read as there are many that are missing half the profiles (the actor/actress biography) if not all. Black is not an eye colour, therefore Mel Stewart’s eye colour should be corrected to brown. Some corrections need to be made to Beverly Garland’s profile. This is the corrected version of the second paragraph of random facts.
Dotty enjoys cooking, and she also enjoys the company of men. She is always seen dating different men; these men include her flying instructor, her late husband’s best friend, and a man who found himself involved in business of which he shouldn’t have been involved in.
The four paragraphs of random facts also needs to be reworded.
At the beginning of the series, Dotty did not drive. Although she had difficulties and her instructor, Howard, made her nervou, Dotty took a driving class at the end of the first season.
Though there were little new window icons next to the links found at the bottom of each character page, it opened in the same window. The following links require an update:
- Kate Jackson - Wanda’s Kate Jackson Web Page no longer exist.
- Bruce Boxleitner - The links for both Mother/Daughter Tribute to Bruce Boxleitner and Official Site of Melissa Gilbert and Bruce Boxleitner no longer exist.
- Martha Smith - Link to PS Celebrities is now directed to the Official Martha Smith website and The World of Martha Smith no longer exist.
- Beverly Garland - Link to PS Celebrities needs to be updated to the new main site.
A Links page would be more suitable in the ‘Site’ section, but it serves its purpose well here. I like use of descriptions inscribed underneath each link to give the fans an idea what the links are, but some of them are rather pointless and ambiguous. For example: Fan fiction by Classic Couples. Considering that the link is a fanfiction site and it is titled Classic Couples, the description is not giving the readers any more insight that what is logically deduced. Perhaps state what kind of fanfictions the site offers: humor, comedy, angst, romance, adventure, etc.
These following links need to be either deleted or updated: Classic Couples, Claudia’s Lee Stetson Page, Jenni Lee’s SMK Page, Mrs. King’s Closet, Pax Message Boards.
Gallery
It’s quite interesting the Gallery boasts a completely different layout and scheme. The layout looks somewhat ungallery-ish. I think it’s the way the scheme is organized. If the Publicity gallery is going to have an icon, then the Cast and Screen Captures gallery should have one too to complete the style. Only the Publicity gallery list the number of folders and files in the subfolder, while the other two galleries don’t. The header to each table cell is much larger than required while the information describing each Gallery is super tiny that people may have to squint to read the fine lines. The Latest Additions table at the bottom is too long in its width, throwing the entire layout a little off. As well, with the exception of the Back to SMK Utopia link underneath the header, the links lead to non-existent pages.
And personally, I dislike going to galleries where I must click on a category, then a subcategory, and then another subcategory before I can view some actual images. For some galleries that boast a small collection of images, such as Kate Jackson’s Appearances, the Latest Additions table is pointless as well as the Random Files. These two tables should be displayed only on the homepage of the Gallery. The little grey box at the top right corner with the option of sorting images according to title, file name, date and position ruins the title table row. It should be listed directly below the title so it doesn’t distort the height of the top table row. [See sample]
You also need to set the width of the tables so that the width of the table doesn’t distort like the Tron (1982) gallery to Bruce Boxleitner. And honestly, if you only have on image to offer for one cast member (IE. Martha Smith), there is no need to make another subcategory within the subcategory. Just display her image on the first click into the gallery. But I like how you did the filmstrip bordering for the next/previous images on the preview page. All in all, this is a fairly large gallery, though lacking much in the organization and appearance.
Fan Fiction
I didn’t read any of the fanfictions but I made sure to check that all links were working properly. However, there are a few suggestions for you to improve this section. Make a note that those links at the top of the page are fanfic authors. Include some stats with the summary of the fanfic such as genre, length, the first day it was submitted/written, character involved, etc. Think fanfiction.net and their summary style. Consider using a drop-down menu for the page links. If a fanfic has 20 pages thus far and is still in progress, that is a lot of space used at the top and bottom of each fanfic chapter for page links. And last but not least, there are two Return to Top links at the bottom of the main page.
Interactive
I like the fact that you have more than two interactive activities on the site. Interactives are a large part of a site that many are lacking today. Let’s start with contests. Alphabet is not exactly a contest. There are neither winners nor losers, and it isn’t a competition. It fits better under a ‘Game’ category. Nevertheless, interesting way to keep your fans to test their knowledge of SMK. However, there are a few problems with the layout of the page. The line divider between the form and the alphabet is really not required. It just looks really stupid. The line is not doing its job of being a divider as there is only a pixel of space separating the divider from the submit button. The line divider should be removed from all the contest pages.
The header for Current Round should be in black and with the stencil on the left. That way, it would be consistent with the header style for Previous Rounds, which should be singular as there is only one other previous round. The last two sentences in the instructions are also very ambiguous and confusing. Visitors are only allowed to submit one or more than one? Try rewording it to:
To participate, submit words following the theme, beginning with a letter of the alphabet that is still blank in the list below. Submit as many answers as you like using the form below.
There needs to be a break between the Trivia Answer field and the submit button on the Trivia Question page. The background colour to the trivia question should be changed to the light grey background colour as seen on the Guess the Quote page. The dark grey/black provides too much contract, drawing more attention than necessary.
SMK-related fanlistings links are not exactly interactive since they do not involve visitors and the site. This page is more suited if moved to the Site section. The Games section is pretty fun, though a different layout setup is not necessary. Just code these pages like the character profiles. The Graphics page is also really cute. I like the cartoon samples and wallpapers. The instructions for wallpapers are grammatically incorrect. Try rewriting it as:
These wallpapers are for you to use as your desktop background. Please do not distribute these wallpapers on your websites or other sites. They are made for your personal use only.
The Opinion section really involves visitors; it is very thoughtful for you to not only give others your opinions but also ask for others’ opinions to add to the database. I am sure visitors appreciate voicing their opinions to someone who will actually listen. The line dividers need to be removed from all the Opinion pages.
Site
This section is certainly organized differently from the rest of the site. It is interesting and I am fond of the format, but it isn’t inconsistent. As well, the links are not exactly linked accordingly since it doesn’t incorperate the accurate phrases. “About the site” should be linked instead of just the word about, only “link back” should be linked rather than the entire phrase, the word changes in front of “layouts and otherwise” should not be linked, and the word statement following “copyright and disclaimers” should be removed for linkage. However, for consistency purposes, I suggest re-formatting the page to look like the other sections of the website.
A short but to the point summary of how the site came to be was sufficient enough to give your fans an idea where SMK’s past. Though I expected the Why? to come before the Who? as one would believe in the logic of finishing one idea/topic before jumping onto the next. If you are going to strike out anything, it means that whatever text is unimportant, which should be deleted. There is really no point in wasting space for a sentence that is stroked out. Instead, replace it with a “I used to staff at Umb-Rella Reviews once upon a time, but my interest in reviewing has long since disappeared.”
There are a few fanlisting links that are no longer online or has moved: Amanda of Obsidian Rhapsody, Best Friends, Brothers and Sisters, Colin Firth, Computers, Harrison Ford, Harry Potter Series, Indiana Jones Movies, Julia Roberts, Luke Wilson, The Notebook, The O.C., Runaway Bride, Pride and Prejudicie (Book), Pepperoni Pizza, Sarah Dessen, Tom Felton, and Twilight. That makes about half your list.
There is also an incomplete sentence found on this page. “I was feeling rather bored one night (actually, I was waiting for my boyfriend of the time — who I now know is a complete arse, but we don’t need to go into that — to log on to AIM. Though he never did get on, I found something else to keep me busy: the creation of a website.) ——” So what exactly did you do after you were feeling bored? And what exactly did your ex boyfriend “never get on”? The way this is structured, it sounds very x-rated. Did I also mention this page is hard to read when everything is strung together? There are such things as paragraphs.
The HTML to the contact form is distorted, therefore the entire page looks distorted. The title to each text field is linked to a long string of HTML, the link to Return to Top is misaligned to the left, and a chunk of the background is missing between the main content and the footer. [See preview]
Of the links on the Thanks and Credits page, Liberta and Sillyish needs to be updated. I like how there is a variety of styles and sizes to choose from for linking back to SMK. Danielle Panabaker Online, Stacio Orrico Online, Soulmates, and Titanic Boards are all broken links found on the Affiliates page. A line break is required between the last field of the Affiliation form and the submit button. Consider displaying the first five of these affiliate links in the navigation column on the left, rotating randomly throughout the list. Also, the site FiftySix Listings where SMK’s link is listed at does not exist anymore.
Final Statement
A very nice though-out fansite dedicated to a television series that many won’t know anymore. I admire that. However, first things first, the site is definitely lacking much in appearances, organization and in some cases, content. Your first priority is to make a new layout. The current one is too bland (both colour and style). You need something of high quality that will attract visitors. Then finish the character profiles. After that, head over the gallery, and then the extras. You’re already on a great start.