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Review for Together Forever
I had to do a re-take when the webpage fully loaded. The design is original and it is well designed, but there is too much going on. Too many colours, too many image collages, just too much, even the mouse rollover cursor and text colour. I certainly like the style and I am sure many visitors appreciate the layout, but personally, it is too ‘tacky’ for me. I do, however, enjoy how the quick links are artistically arranged at the top left corner.
Information
Site: Together Forever
Type: Fan-related
Owner: Stephanie
Reviewed By: Misao
Date Received: 12/11/06
Date Completed: 12/27/07
Preview
Presentation
I am not too fond of the layout size. Points for first impressions are scored within the first several seconds upon entering a website. By having super large layouts where tons of scrolling is required in order to view the layout at full capacity reduces a lot of points in the first impression category. As well, the navy blue border does not coincide with the layout, given its colour scheme and theme. The navigation column is very well-designed. I understand it is also because of the navigation column that the main content area is set inside iframes, but the use of iframes actually take away the overall dramatic appearance of the layout as well. I can’t believe I have to do tons of scrolling in the main window to view the full length of the iframe. And to be truthful, no one wants or will read updates made on or before April 01, 2007. There really is no need for the previous 17 update entries to appear on the mainpage. Either, move them to a second page so that only the most recent two to four are displayed on the mainpage or archive the entries.
The text in the little Welcome box on the bottom left corner of the layout header is really tiny. I normally have no problem reading small text (I do so all the time), but the combination of small text size and caplocks make the box extremely difficult to read. I suggest perhaps, a size larger or a different font type.
As well, I do not see the logic of why the quick links are more visually appealing and stand out more so than the actual site links. One would expect the site links (Doodlebops, News, Live, etc.) to attract more attention and not the reverse. Unless, of course, the site aims to promote the forum, gallery, guestbook and fanlisting rather than the main site.
The site’s coding seem to be in great order. However, I suggest an external style sheet for various reasons. The first being that it downsizes the original main HTML file, which helps especially if the site contains extensive amount of Javascript. The second being that editing becomes much more efficient and easier. The style sheet itself then can be simplified to reflect consistent coding. Instead of switching back and forth between declaring text colour by hexidecimals and by colour name, stick to one or the other. The corrected version of the style sheet is provided below for your benefit as the original has a bunch of errors. For example, font weight are default at normal. Another example, you cannot specify alignment simply with ‘align’, it requires a pointer to an element such as ‘text-align’. Equal signs have no function or value in style sheets.
body {
background: URL(bg_01.jpg) repeat-option;
scrollbar-face-color: #81C8E6;
scrollbar-arrow-color: #00089E;
scrollbar-track-color: #81C8E6;
scrollbar-shadow-color: #00089E;
scrollbar-highlight-color: #00089E;
scrollbar-3dlight-color: #00089E;
scrollbar-darkshadow-Color: #00089E;
cursor: URL(http://www.deedeerooneymoe.net/dbarrow1.ani);
}
td, table {
font: 10px tahoma;
color: #000000;
line-height: 14px;
text-align: left;
}
p {
text-align: justify;
}
a {
cursor: URL(http://www.deedeerooneymoe.net/dbarrow1.ani);
}
A:link, A:visited{
text-decoration: none;
color: #F505A3;
font-weight: bold;
}
A:hover {
color: darkblue;
onmouseover=”doRainbow” font-weight:bold;
}
A:active {
color: darkblue;
text-decoration: none;
font-weight: bold;
}
As well, there is need to declare yes for body scrolling, as scrolling is automatically defaulted at yes. Also be careful with declaring the <body> tag, which was declared twice. A proper and accurate HTML file only has one body tag.
Content
I am not a fan of Doodlebops nor do I know who they are, so I can only review on the organization of each page. I will assume that all information on the site is accurate as should be the case, considering this is a large fansite. However, consider putting the ‘News’ link before all the other links, considering the ‘News’ link is more or less a home link.
Doodlebops
I seriously dislike the About The Doodlebops page and find it very useless. Besides the basic stats, which are provided in a list and expressed in a three sentence paragraph, there is nothing this site has to offer that is not already on every other Doodlebops fansites. Well I click on a profile page (on a large fansite), I expect to read paragraphs about the character’s background, friends, personality, education, hobbies, etc.
Grammar is also a weak area for you, as the paragraph about Rooney is ridiculed in errors. He is the wisest of the group. He is often quick to learn and [enjoys/in] teaching his siblings, DeeDee and Moe! Rooney enjoys a good book, practicing his dance steps and playing the guitar. The square brackets are options of which you can change the meaning of the sentence simply by the use of one word over the other.
So what kind of a bus does Bus Drive Bob drive? There is no point in exlcaiming he drives an one-of-a-kind bus when the writer fails to elaborate more on the topic. It’s like breaking off in the middle of a sentence. I also find it confusing in learning about the previous casts, when the description of each character fail to inform the visitors who the characters really are. ‘The Penguin was a silly sort of character’ doesn’t cut it. If I describe myself to you as ‘A silly Chinese girl’, can you possibly develop a character personality profile simply with those four words? Certainly not. I may be a little biased in giving you this example link as the site belongs to me, but it should give you a clear distinction between an in-depth character profile versus a basic character profile stats card. Click here for the example.
Though the instruments page does not look to be any more informative, but then again, how much information and descriptive can be given for instruments? The only problem is the thumbnail image of Rooney and his guitar, which looks slightly distorted as if the image has been overstretched vertically.
The autograph page is a cute, original section. The chronology of events is an informative section, though it would make more sense if the chronology is reversed, with the most recent event at the top of the page, much like how the update entries are formatted as most people who venture to this section are more interested in learning about current and future events.
I really like the profile pages for the off-set characters. They are very informative and better organized. I suggest moving the basic stats to the top of the page. It is more logical to have basic stats before going into more detail of the character’s life history. Consider making a ‘Past Work’ column for Lisa Lennox’s page, and a ‘Basics’ column for both John Catucci and Jackie Richardson to maintain the consistency of this section.
Live
I really do not understand the need for a separate window and separate layout for this section, considering it all fits comfortably in the main site’s layout, and the section doesn’t boast any more extensive information other than dates, locations and prices. The amount of scrolling is becoming a big nuisance, and honestly, if I was not a reviewer, I would have left the site already. The link to Hillside Centre on the ‘Canadian Promotional Mall Tour’ page is broken. Also consider removing the ‘Purchase’ links from events hosted in April 2007 since there are no longer purchaseable at this point in time.
Media
This section is definitely a step up from the previous two sections. It actually has quite a bit to offer to visitors. Consider providing a name and possibly email address for donators out of courtesy and for proper copyright credits. A donator name was not provided for the one Buddy Icon. Consider providing wallpapers for bigger resolution users. Due to large monitors and widescreen laptops, many computer users are using resolution sizes larger than 1024×768.
The Ask a Question page is in the wrong section. Since this is more or less similar to a FAQ page, which is more appropriate if placed in the Site section. All the email addresses on this page are linked incorrectly. Rather than being linked as an email address, they are currently linked as online URLs. The proper HTML tag for linking email address is <a href="mailto:EMAIL@AOL.COM">.
The Exclusive Interviews page is unique. It is great one of the interviews is exlusive to Together Forever. In the Press is also a great section. However the link to ‘It’s Doodlemania!’ under Doodlebops is incorrect (leads to a blank page), and consider providing some sort of warning for the ‘The Dad Behind ‘The Doodlebops” since the links opens in a new window. Each separate lyrics page is missing background tags for the page title, the main content area, and the ‘go back’ link.
The Music page is actually quite nice and easy to navigate. However, I am sure some visitors would appreciate it if these music files were available for direct download so they can listen to them on their desktop/laptop. The use of javascript for new windows to load the Videos are a big plus, since visitors can load more than one video at a time, however, a ‘All videos open up in a new window’ note should be provided at the top of the page.
Games
I am glad to see sections like the Coloring Pages and Connect the Dots, which are great activities for the older and younger audiences. I like how you come up with certain original activities like Fan of the Month to bring the originality to your site and to your visitors. However, make sure you have permission from the original fansite to host the coloring pages and connect the dots on your webpage. Sometimes a credit link is not enough.
TV
I am not too sure why the site has an Episode Synopsis section since this section is useless. A sentence does not elade to a summary. ‘After coming across dinosaur tracks, the Doodlebops follow them in search of a real life dinosaur!’ What did they do during their search for a real dinsoaur? Where did they go? Any significant places where they stopped to refresh? How long did they go on the search? Did they find a dinsoaur? These are bit a few questions you’ll need to answer in a summary: who, what, where, when, and why? What you currently have does not even classify as a preview description. As well, each separate episode synopsis page is missing background tags for the page title, the main content area, and the ‘go back’ link.
The Schedule page is helpful though a ‘Last Updated’ info should be provided on this page so fans know if the info on this page is up to date. As far as I know, the information listed here could be from April 2007 and the TV listing schedule could have changed three times since then.
WWW
The ‘Apply here’ link on the Affiliates should be reworded to ‘Send email with following information to apply for application’ so it doesn’t mislead visitors in thinking the link leads to an online form rather than an email address. I must say I am a little surprised at the linkware button sizes since the standard is usually 88×31 and not 100×35.
The spacing between each link on the Message Boards/Others links is not consistent. Some links appear one line after the other while others are separate by a large gap of space. The links to Disney Mouse Links and Cookie Jar are not working. There is also no reason to include the Doodlebops Fanlisting link on every page located in the Quick Links, on the other Doodlebops links page and under Network on the main WWW page. It looks like shamelessly advertising for your fanlisting.
The Gallery is a wonderful section and I admire the large collection of images. I don’t think I have seen any fan-related gallery bigger than yours (based on one series/fan-related topic). The Store is also a great addition to the site, though I was misled to think that your site hosted the store. Instead, this section is simply an information directory with links to the rigth places to purchase specific merchandise. Maybe this little piece of information should be provided on the Store home page before the links. Also, do a quick check through all the purchase links as some of them are broken links.
Site
There is no need to include a link to the official website on the About the Site page. Remember, this page is about Together Forever, not trying to link Together Forever as a sister site or affiliate site with the official website. This is about <i>you</i>, not them. An update of the Awards page is needed. All links except for the first one are all broken links. Both links back to the actual WPR sites are also broken. Consider making an online contact form, which makes it easier and faster for your fans to contact you.
The About Me page is actually quite short. I expected something a little more longer and in-depth. Rather than focussing entirely on your interests, maybe write a paragraph about your personality, lifestyle, etc. as I am sure you fans will be interested in knowing those things. I understand this information may easily be accessible on your MySpace or LiveJournal account, but sometimes a short paragraph on your fansite is beneficial since your visitors are already at Together Forever.
Final Statement
I can’t say too much about Doodlebops since I don’t know what they are but the site itself is a great site. The site has lots to offer from information to gallery to interactive activities. However it is lacking in detail in some areas and this should be your primary focus. The site has great potential in expanding.